countdown to the oscars...

Over the weekend I FINALLY started navigating my way through the list of Oscar nominees. As you very well know, I’m knee deep in my annual quest to see every film with a Best Picture nomination, which means lots of time spent either on my couch cuddled up under my favorite down throw or in a theater with my feet up on the chair in front of me taking it all in via surround sound while the scents of heavily buttered popcorn waft all around me. You won’t hear me complaining. (You also won’t find me consuming massive amounts of buttered popcorn - because I hate popcorn - even movie theater popcorn - hate is a strong word - the wrong word - but that’s another story, never mind, anyway…)

On Friday night I went to The Theory of Everything. It was a great pick for my very first Oscar flick. I sobbed. Multiple times. It was phenomenal. it was a beautiful depiction of the harsh reality of a life trapped inside a body that doesn’t function and serve the full capacity of the mind. Eddie Redmayne was remarkably brilliant and definitely deserved his globe win and Oscar nod. Felicity Jones is amazingly lovable even as she is caught in the tension between a two-year diagnosis and a seeming eternity. My favorite quote from the film has to be “where there is life, there is hope” - Steven Hawking. I can cling to that for a while I think.

On Saturday I trekked to RedBox and spent exactly 54cents to rent Boyhood - a movie that took 12 years to complete and felt like it took about that long to watch. Ok that’s a little bit extreme but it was definitely slow. It was a long and arduous menagerie of drunken a-holes who continuously failed to meet expectations and mother who felt like she couldn’t give her kids the chance they deserved. The standout quote for me was, “You know what’s next? It’s my funeral. I just thought there would be more.” Isn’t that true in life - we always think there will be more. I want to sit in these moments - even the casual and mundane and appreciate them for the gorgeous, beautiful right now.

Sunday I drove out to the desert to see Gan and I had absolutely no doubt which movie we would see together - as suspected - American Sniper. I almost don’t even have words for this film. It was heart-wrenching and anxiety ridden and inspiring and breath-taking and horrifying all at the same time. Yet something in me screams that these are the kinds of movies we NEED to be seeing. We need to remember THIS IS HAPPENING. This is the war we’re fighting. Our soldiers are willing to give up their lives to protect our country, our freedom. And there are a million arguments that can be made against that statement - but at the end of it all I will proudly stand as a citizen of the United States of America and praise the Lord for this place I get to call home and the many who have chosen to fight bravely and defend with honor.

I would say my first major Oscar viewing weekend was a major success. Out of the three films, I would say The Theory of Everything takes my top slot for Best Picture; however, I am only three deep so there could a contender within the remaining five. WE SHALL JUST HAVE TO WAIT AND SEE!