Film, Box Office, and Stuff

Immensely enjoyable and hilarious.  James Franco nails Wiseau, not just inhabiting the man's aura and personality, but also his pecs!  Franco also does a solid job behind the camera.  Rogen is great as the guy that says what we were all thinking when we saw The Room .  And the film does a superb job of recreating the infamous 2002 production.  It is just very hard to find fault in a film that plays out to one of the most addictive 90s dance classics, but it is one of those films where you will find it hard to take your eyes off the screen.  Particularly if you've seen The Room , and particularly if you hated it.  The Disaster Artist makes those 99 minutes seem like less of a waste. A-

An emotional and beautifully conveyed character study of a middle-aged man and the neurosis that builds up over the years.  I've long to go, yet Mike White's touching script is never not relatable, and it is brought to life by two terrific performances in Ben Stiller and Austin Abrams.  As father and son, they infuse such a bond that each intimate exchange of dialogue between them registers as it should, charged with feeling.  I do not tear up often, but multiple times the tear ducts reacted. I think Brad's Status is special film that is seemingly flying under-the-radar, and it really should not.  It is an important examination of how men view themselves and of what is important to them, how we judge success, the paranoia of success etc., but it is also just a really heart-warming drama. A

Here are my predictions for the forthcoming Golden Globe Awards, held on 7th January 2018.  My predictions are below, then afterwards I will come back to this post and add the winners, and then calculate how well I did with my predictions.  My predictions, much like their nominations, will be expectant on the Hollywood Foreign Press Association wanting to make a clear statement to Hollywood, so I am favouring films that are liberal, feminist, multi-cultural, anti-Trump etc. Red = Predicted Winner Green = Actual Winner Best Motion Picture, Drama “Call Me By Your Name” “Dunkirk” “The Post” “The Shape of Water” “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” Best Motion Picture, Comedy or Musical “The Disaster Artist” “Get Out” “The Greatest Showman” “I, Tonya” “Lady Bird” Best Actress in a Motion Picture, Drama Jessica Chastain, “Molly’s Game” Sally Hawkins, “The Shape of Water” Frances McDormand, “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” ( Winner ) Meryl Streep,

I can declare that this was a record year for me in terms of cinema attendance.  I paid and attended the cinema sixty times in 2017.  Second place is now 2013 with 47 views.  Now, unless I make a concerted effort, 2018 will most likely drop because it is difficult to maintain an average of five cinema visits per month here in China. Here is my cinema viewing history: 1992 - 1 1993 - 5 1994 - 3 1995 - 4 1996 - 3 1997 - 13 1998 - 11 1999 - 9 2000 - 17 2001 - 22 2002 - 13 2003 - 22 2004 - 21 2005 - 28 2003 - 20 2007 - 8 2008 - 5 2009 - 21 2010 - 21 2011 - 13 2012 - 31 2013 - 47 2014 - 43 2015 - 32 2016 - 45 2017 - 60 *NEW RECORD* The films I saw last year were: Arrival La La Land Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (3D) Passengers (3D) Kubo and the Two Strings (3D) 西游伏妖篇 Journey to the West: The Demons Strike Back (3D) Kung Fu Yoga xXx: Return of Xander Cage (3D) La La Land Sing (3D) La La Land Resident Evil: The Final Chapter (3D) Assassin