Weekend Box Office Review 2-24-17 to 2-26-17/ Weekend Preview

        Here are the weekend domestic box office results for the weekend of 2-24-17 to 2-26-17 as well as my 5 key takeaways, as well as my predictions for the top 5 films at the box office this weekend. So without further ado...

Box Office Totals courtesy of boxofficemojo.com

TW	LW	Film	Studio	Weekend	# of Theaters	Total Domestic Gross	Weeks
1	-	Get Out	Universal Pictures	$33,377,060	2,781	$33,377,060	1
2	1	The Lego Batman Movie	Warner Bros.	$19,208,097	4,057	$133,214,675	3
3	4	John Wick: Chapter 2	Lionsgate	$9,358,982	2,954	$74,771,682	3
4	3	The Great Wall	Universal Pictures	$9,125,960	3,328	$34,831,600	2
5	2	Fifty Shades Darker	Universal Pictures	$7,792,655	3,216	$103,727,870	3
6	5	Fist Fight	Warner Bros.	$6,571,348	3,185	$23,446,175	2
7	6	Hidden Figures	20th Century Fox	$5,805,737	2,022	$152,746,541	10
8	9	La La Land	Lionsgate	$4,689,292	1,733	$140,949,357	12
9	7	Split	Universal Pictures	$4,098,990	1,901	$130,823,885	6
10	11	Lion	The Weinstein Company	$3,832,257	1,802	$42,840,594	14

1. With the help of strong critical reviews, Get Out took the number one spot at the box office. 

2. Lion, La La Land and Hidden Figures have all had great runs in and out of the top 10 and all are well-deserved for the best picture Oscar nominees.

3. Outside of the Oscar films, Split has a great 6 week run at the box office.

4. The biggest loser of the weekend was Fifty Shades Darker which made 61.6% less than it did last weekend and the biggest winner of the weekend was La La Land as it made 2.1% more than it did last weekend. 

5. I went 1 for 5 on my predictions.

Predictions

1. Logan $180 Million

2. Get Out $19 Million

3. The Lego Batman Movie $13 Million

4. Before I Fall $9 Million

5. John Wick Chapter 2 $ 6 Million

        So ladies and gentlemen what do you think of this weekend's box office totals and what are some of your takeaways? Let me know in the comments section below and let your voice be heard.

                                                                                                                                       Jonah Sparks

My Reaction to the 89th Academy Awards

        Well if you didn't know it, The Oscars were on last night and like everybody else I was watching and following along very closely and I even did my first live blog. As with every Oscars ceremonies there are always some great things and some very controversial things that happen or are said. With all of that being said I'm going to give you my 5 overall thoughts on the Oscars as well as a small look ahead to the 90th Academy Awards. So without further ado...







Best Picture- Moonlight – Adele Romanski, Dede Gardner, and Jeremy Kleiner
Best Director- Damien Chazelle – La La Land
Best Actor- Casey Affleck – Manchester by the Sea as Lee Chandler
Best Actress- Emma Stone – La La Land as Mia Dolan
Best Supporting Actor- Mahershala Ali – Moonlight as Juan
Best Supporting Actress- Viola Davis – Fences as Rose Maxson
Best Original Screenplay- Manchester by the Sea – Kenneth Lonergan
Best Adapted Screenplay- Moonlight – Barry Jenkins and Tarell Alvin McCraney from In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue by Tarell Alvin McCraney
Best Animated Film- Zootopia – Byron Howard, Rich Moore, and Clark Spencer
Best Foreign Language Film- The Salesman (Iran) in Persian – Asghar Farhadi
Best Documentary Feature- O.J.: Made in America – Ezra Edelman and Caroline Waterlow
Best Documentary Short Film- The White Helmets – Orlando von Einsiedel and Joanna Natasegara
Best Live Action Short Film- Sing – Kristóf Deák and Anna Udvardy
Best Animated Short Film- Piper – Alan Barillaro and Marc Sondheimer
Best Original Score- La La Land – Justin Hurwitz
Best Original Song- "City of Stars" from La La Land – Music by Justin Hurwitz, Lyric by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul
Best Sound Editing- Arrival – Sylvain Bellemare
Best Sound Mixing- Hacksaw Ridge – Kevin O'Connell, Andy Wright, Robert Mackenzie, and Peter Grace
Best Production Design- La La Land – David Wasco and Sandy Reynolds-Wasco
Best Cinematography- La La Land – Linus Sandgren
Best Makeup and Hairstyling- Suicide Squad – Alessandro Bertolazzi, Giorgio Gregorini, and Christopher Nelson
Best Costume Design- Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them – Colleen Atwood
Best Film Editing- Hacksaw Ridge – John Gilbert
Best Visual Effects- The Jungle Book – Robert Legato, Adam Valdez, Andrew R. Jones, and Dan Lemmon

Alright here are my 5 takeaways from The Oscars last night...

1. Let's go ahead and get the elephant out of the room. The ending to The Oscars last night was the greatest moment in Oscar history. That moment left me in utter shock and confusion on what in the world was going on. When it was firstr announced La La Land, that seemed right since it was the heavy favortie going in, but when it was announced that Moonlight won, I didn't know what to think. Both films were deserving and it made for television. I do feel bad for Warren Beatty in this situation because it wasn't his fault (I'm sorry I blamed him) and now this will be the most talked about thing for at least the next few days.
2. Outside of the ending, there weren't many surprises in the evening and all of the winners for the various categories deserved the win and nobody should really complain.
3. I was kind of shocked Casey Affleck won mainly due to the controversy surrounding him and because of the SAG award trend over the past 23 years. Casey Affleck was brilliant in Manchester by the Sea and before you criticize him for winning, please see the film.
4. If it hadn't been for the screwup at the end, I would've went 16 for 24 on my predictions but instead I went 15 for 24 which is a tad better than last year.
5. Here is my judgement for Jimmy Kimmel. I thought he was brilliant as the host and he really just brought a lot of fun to the show the likes of which hadn't been seen in years. The Matt Damon jokes were timed and spaced out perfectly and all of them were unique. The tour bus joke was fantastic and it went a little slow at first but with a little help, it went over really well. I would love to see Kimmel come back, but if he does it won't be for another 3 years or more,

Overall I give this years Oscars an 9 out of 10.


As for next year's Oscars there are a lot of fantastic films coming out and the categories are going be stacked. Look out for A Ghost Story, Wind River, Ingred Goes West, Dunkirk and Mudbound to be big-time contenders. Look for these people to be in contention to host next year...

1. Justin Timberlake
2. Louis C.K.
3. John Oliver
4. Kate McKinnon
5. Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and Kevin Hart

        So ladies and gentlemen what were some of you overall impressions of last night's Oscars? Let me know in the comments section below and let your voice be heard.

                                                                                                                                       Jonah Sparks

89th Annual Academy Awards Live Blog

        Well ladies and gentlemen it's that time of year, the Oscars are here. I'm going to be doing a live blog of tonight's award show which starts at 8:30 PM tonight on ABC. I'll be updating the blog as quick as possible while the award show is going on. To get new updates just hit the refresh button and they'll be there as up to date as possible, also share your thoughts and opinions below or tweet to me on Twitter @JonahSparks_72. So without further ado let the show begin...







Overall this was one of the fun Oscars I've watched, there weren't many surprises other than the big screw up at the end and Jimmy Kimmel was a wonderful host and I'll go more in-depth tomorrow. Thank you to everyone who followed along and please continue to support

12:12 PM
What in the world just happened? This has to be the biggest Oscar screw up ever. I think John Travolta has been topped. My God Warren Beatty what did you do? This is just absolutely crazy.

12:03 PM
Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty out to present the award for Best Picture and the nominees are...

Arrival – Shawn Levy, Dan Levine, Aaron Ryder, and David Linde
Fences – Scott Rudin, Denzel Washington, and Todd Black
Hacksaw Ridge – Bill Mechanic and David Permut
Hell or High Water – Carla Hacken and Julie Yorn
Hidden Figures – Donna Gigliotti, Peter Chernin, Jenno Topping, Pharrell Williams, and Theodore Melfi
La La Land – Fred Berger, Jordan Horowitz, and Marc Platt
Lion – Emile Sherman, Iain Canning, and Angie Fielder
Manchester by the Sea – Matt Damon, Kimberly Steward, Chris Moore, Lauren Beck, and Kevin J. Walsh
Moonlight – Adele Romanski, Dede Gardner, and Jeremy Kleiner

and the winner is... Moonlight – Adele Romanski, Dede Gardner, and Jeremy Kleiner

11:59 PM
I think we all do Jessica

11:53 PM 
Leonardo DiCaprio out to present the award for Best Actress and the nominees are...

Isabelle Huppert – Elle as Michèle Leblanc
Ruth Negga – Loving as Mildred Loving
Natalie Portman – Jackie as Jackie Kennedy
Emma Stone – La La Land as Mia Dolan
Meryl Streep – Florence Foster Jenkins as Florence Foster Jenkins

and the winner is... Emma Stone – La La Land as Mia Dolan

11:51 PM
WOOOOOOOO Congrats to Casey Affleck. A very well-deserved Oscar and one that I've been calling since the trailer for the film came out. He becomes only the 4th actor to win the Best Actor Oscar without winning the SAG Award for Best Actor.

11:47 PM
Brie Larson out to present the award for Best Actor and the winner is...

Casey Affleck – Manchester by the Sea as Lee Chandler
Andrew Garfield – Hacksaw Ridge as Desmond T. Doss
Ryan Gosling – La La Land as Sebastian Wilder
Viggo Mortensen – Captain Fantastic as Ben Cash
Denzel Washington – Fences as Troy Maxson

and the winner is... Casey Affleck – Manchester by the Sea as Lee Chandler

11:41 PM 
Halle Berry out to present the award for Best Director and the nominees are...

Denis Villeneuve – Arrival
Mel Gibson – Hacksaw Ridge
Damien Chazelle – La La Land
Kenneth Lonergan – Manchester by the Sea
Barry Jenkins – Moonlight

and the winner is... Damien Chazelle – La La Land

11:33 PM
Amy Adams out to present the award for Best Adapted Screenplay and the nominees are...

Arrival – Eric Heisserer from "Story of Your Life" by Ted Chiang
Fences – August Wilson from Fences by August Wilson (posthumous nomination)
Hidden Figures – Allison Schroeder and Theodore Melfi from Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly
Lion – Luke Davies from A Long Way Home by Saroo Brierley and Larry Buttrose
Moonlight – Barry Jenkins and Tarell Alvin McCraney from In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue by Tarell Alvin McCraney

and the winner is... Barry Jenkins and Tarell Alvin McCraney from In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue by Tarell Alvin McCraney

11:31 PM
So happy for Kenneth Lonergan who've I said from the beginning deserved to win the award, but was overshadowed by La La Land.

11:28 PM
Ben Affleck and Matt Damon out to present the award for Best Original Screenplay and the nominees are...

Hell or High Water – Taylor Sheridan
La La Land – Damien Chazelle
The Lobster – Yorgos Lanthimos and Efthimis Filippou
Manchester by the Sea – Kenneth Lonergan
20th Century Women – Mike Mills

and the winner is... Manchester by the Sea – Kenneth Lonergan

11:24 PM
That might've been one of the more tougher In Memoriam's to ever watch. 2016 was a horrible year and right now 2017 is off to a bad start.

11:20 PM
Jennifer Aniston out to introduce Sara Bareilles to perform the In Memoriam

11:16 PM
Scarlett Johansson out to present the award fro Best Original Song and the nominees are...

"Audition (The Fools Who Dream)" from La La Land – Music by Justin Hurwitz, Lyric by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul
"Can't Stop the Feeling!" from Trolls – Music and Lyric by Justin Timberlake, Max Martin, and Karl Johan Schuster (Shellback)
"City of Stars" from La La Land – Music by Justin Hurwitz, Lyric by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul
"The Empty Chair" from Jim: The James Foley Story – Music and Lyric by J. Ralph and Sting
"How Far I'll Go" from Moana – Music and Lyric by Lin-Manuel Miranda

and the winner is... "City of Stars" from La La Land – Music by Justin Hurwitz, Lyric by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul

11:13 PM
Samuel L. Jackson out to present the award for Best Original Score and the nominees are...

Jackie – Mica Levi
La La Land – Justin Hurwitz
Lion – Dustin O'Halloran and Hauschka
Moonlight – Nicholas Britell
Passengers – Thomas Newman

and the winner is... La La Land – Justin Hurwitz

11:06 PM
Spoiler Alert

11:04 PM
Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone out to introduce John Legend to perform "Audition (The Fools Who Dream)" and "City of Stars" from La La Land.

11:01 PM
Mean tweets are the funniest thing ever.

10:56 PM
Javier Bardem and Meryl Streep out to present the award for Best Cinematography and the nominees are..

Arrival – Bradford Young
La La Land – Linus Sandgren
Lion – Greig Fraser
Moonlight – James Laxton
Silence – Rodrigo Prieto

and the winner is... La La Land – Linus Sandgren

10:51 PM
John Cho and Leslie Mann out to introduce the Academy Awards for Technical Achievement

10:46 PM
They are also out to present the award for Best Live action Short and the nominees are...

Ennemis intérieurs – Sélim Azzazi
La Femme et le TGV – Timo von Gunten and Giacun Caduff
Silent Nights – Aske Bang and Kim Magnusson
Sing – Kristóf Deák and Anna Udvardy
Timecode – Juanjo Giménez

and the winner is... Sing – Kristóf Deák and Anna Udvardy

10:43 PM
Salma Hayek and David Oyelowo out to present the award for Best Documentary Short Subject and the nominees are...

Extremis – Dan Krauss
4.1 Miles – Daphne Matziaraki
Joe's Violin – Kahane Cooperman and Raphaela Neihausen
Watani: My Homeland – Marcel Mettelsiefen and Stephen Ellis
The White Helmets – Orlando von Einsiedel and Joanna Natasegara

and the winner is... The White Helmets – Orlando von Einsiedel and Joanna Natasegara

10:36 PM
It is now official that La La Land will not tie the record for most wins by one film at the Oscars.

10:35 PM
Great moment to see Michael J. Fox and Seth Rogen presented together mainly due to Michael J. Fox's disease and Seth Rogen's charity to fight Parkinson's

10:34 PM
Seth Rogen and Michael J. Fox out to present the award for Best Film Editing and the nominees are...

Arrival – Joe Walker
Hacksaw Ridge – John Gilbert
Hell or High Water – Jake Roberts
La La Land – Tom Cross
Moonlight – Nat Sanders and Joi McMillon

and the winner is... Hacksaw Ridge – John Gilbert

10:32 PM
Had to be awkward for Jones and Ahmed as they announced the award for another film that beat their film.

10:31 PM
Felicity Jones and Riz Ahmed out to present the award for Best Visual Effects and the nominees are...

Deepwater Horizon – Craig Hammack, Jason Snell, Jason Billington, and Burt Dalton
Doctor Strange – Stephane Ceretti, Richard Bluff, Vincent Cirelli, and Paul Corbould
The Jungle Book – Robert Legato, Adam Valdez, Andrew R. Jones, and Dan Lemmon
Kubo and the Two Strings – Steve Emerson, Oliver Jones, Brian McLean, and Brad Schiff
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story – John Knoll, Mohen Leo, Hal Hickel, and Neil Corbould

and the winner is... The Jungle Book – Robert Legato, Adam Valdez, Andrew R. Jones, and Dan Lemmon

10:29 PM
We're a little past the halfway point,but I have to say that Jimmy Kimmel is killing it right now as host.

10:23 PM
Thank you Richard Roeper for saying the obvious and true statement

10:21 PM
This is just awesome. Their reactions are priceless and it's really cool to see them do that for those people. Kinda makes me a little jealous.

10:14 PM
There is the first award in what could potentially be a massive haul for La La Land with 10 more nominations for tonight still to be announced.

10:13 PM
Jamie Dornan and Dakota Johnson out to present the award for Best Production Design and the nominees are...

Arrival – Patrice Vermette and Paul Hotte
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them – Stuart Craig and Anna Pinnock
Hail, Caesar! – Jess Gonchor and Nancy Haigh
La La Land – David Wasco and Sandy Reynolds-Wasco
Passengers – Guy Hendrix Dyas and Gene Serdena

and the winner is... La La Land – David Wasco and Sandy Reynolds-Wasco

10:10 PM 
They are also out to present the award for Best Animated Feature and the nominees are...

Kubo and the Two Strings – Travis Knight and Arianne Sutner
Moana – John Musker, Ron Clements, and Osnat Shurer
My Life as a Zucchini – Claude Barras and Max Karli
The Red Turtle – Michaël Dudok de Wit and Toshio Suzuki
Zootopia – Byron Howard, Rich Moore, and Clark Spencer

and the winner is... Zootopia – Byron Howard, Rich Moore, and Clark Spencer

10:08 PM
Hailee Steinfeld and Gael García Bernal out to present the award for Best Animated Short and the nominees are...

Blind Vaysha – Theodore Ushev
Borrowed Time – Andrew Coats and Lou Hamou-Lhadj
Pear Cider and Cigarettes – Robert Valley and Cara Speller
Pearl – Patrick Osborne
Piper – Alan Barillaro and Marc Sondheimer

and the winner is... Piper – Alan Barillaro and Marc Sondheimer

10:07 PM
I'm glad this running joke isn't as bad as the one Neil Patrick Harris had.

10:00 PM
Dev Patel out to introduce Sting to perform "The Empty Chair" from Jim: The James Foley Story.

9:56 PM
Charlize Theron and Shirley MacLaine out to present the award for Best Foreign Language Film and the nominees are...

Land of Mine (Denmark) in Danish – Martin Zandvliet
A Man Called Ove (Sweden) in Swedish – Hannes Holm
The Salesman (Iran) in Persian – Asghar Farhadi
Tanna (Australia) in Nauvhal – Martin Butler and Bentley Dean
Toni Erdmann (Germany) in German – Maren Ade

and the winner is... The Salesman (Iran) in Persian – Asghar Farhadi

9:45 PM
I can't really be mad that Viola Davis won, but she was in the wrong category and had she been put in the Best Actress category then Michelle Williams walks away with this award without any competition.

9:40 PM
Mark Rylance out to present the award for Best Supporting Actress and the nominees are...

Viola Davis – Fences as Rose Maxson
Naomie Harris – Moonlight as Paula
Nicole Kidman – Lion as Sue Brierley
Octavia Spencer – Hidden Figures as Dorothy Vaughan
Michelle Williams – Manchester by the Sea as Randi

and the winner is... Viola Davis – Fences as Rose Maxson


9:37 PM
Vince Vaughn out to introduce the honorary Oscar winners and those winners are...

Jackie Chan (Actor)
Anne V. Coates (Film Editor)
Lynn Stalmaster (Casting Director)
Frederick Wiseman (American filmmaker)

9:33 PM
That Beauty and the Beast spot just makes my anticipation for the film even higher and the next two weeks might be two tough weeks to get through.

9:30 PM 
Well after those awards La La Land is 0 for 3 and the best it can do is tie the record for most wins by one film. One more miss the hype train might be dying a little.

9:28 PM
They are also out to present the award for Best Sound Mixing and the nominees are...

Arrival – Bernard Gariépy Strobl and Claude La Haye
Hacksaw Ridge – Kevin O'Connell, Andy Wright, Robert Mackenzie, and Peter Grace
La La Land – Andy Nelson, Ai-Ling Lee, and Steve A. Morrow
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story – David Parker, Christopher Scarabosio, and Stuart Wilson
13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi – Greg P. Russell,[n 1] Gary Summers, Jeffrey J. Haboush, and Mac Ruth

and the winner is... Hacksaw Ridge – Kevin O'Connell, Andy Wright, Robert Mackenzie, and Peter Grace

9:26 PM
Sofia Boutella and Chris Evans out to present the award for Best Sound Editing and the nominees are...

Arrival – Sylvain Bellemare
Deepwater Horizon – Wylie Stateman and Renée Tondelli
Hacksaw Ridge – Robert Mackenzie and Andy Wright
La La Land – Ai-Ling Lee and Mildred Iatrou Morgan
Sully – Alan Robert Murray and Bub Asman

and the winner is... Arrival – Sylvain Bellemare

9:25 PM
True Statement

9:23 PM
Cheryl Boone Issacs out to give her annual speech.

9:20 PM
So far I'm 3 for 4. How is everyone else doing?

9:15 PM 
Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson out to introduce Lin-Manuel Miranda and Auli'i Cravalho to perform How Far I'll Go from Moana.

9:10 PM 
That was a cool moment with the real-life Katherine Johnson who Taraji P. Hensone portrayed so beautifully.

9:07 PM
Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer and Janelle Monáe out to present the award for Best Documentary Feature and the nominees are...

Fire at Sea – Gianfranco Rosi and Donatella Palermo
I Am Not Your Negro – Raoul Peck, Rémi Grellety, and Hébert Peck
Life, Animated – Roger Ross Williams and Julie Goldman
O.J.: Made in America – Ezra Edelman and Caroline Waterlow
13th – Ava DuVernay, Spencer Averick, and Howard Barish

and the winner is... O.J.: Made in America – Ezra Edelman and Caroline Waterlow

9:03 PM
Alright Shooter you win the night

9:01 PM
Wow I did not see that one coming at all, but it was a well-deserved award for Colleen Atwood.

9:00 PM
They are also out to present the award for Best Costume Design and the nominees are...

Allied – Joanna Johnston
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them – Colleen Atwood
Florence Foster Jenkins – Consolata Boyle
Jackie – Madeline Fontaine
La La Land – Mary Zophres

and the winner is... Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them – Colleen Atwood

8:56 PM
Kate McKinnon and Jason Bateman out to present the award for Best Makeup and Hairstyling and the nominees are...

A Man Called Ove – Eva von Bahr and Love Larson
Star Trek Beyond – Joel Harlow and Richard Alonzo
Suicide Squad – Alessandro Bertolazzi, Giorgio Gregorini, and Christopher Nelson

and the winner is... Suicide Squad – Alessandro Bertolazzi, Giorgio Gregorini, and Christopher Nelson

8:54 PM
Could my boy Umberto be dropping some news?

8:51 PM
So far I have to say this has been a really solid opening to the Oscars and the best one since I've been covering it.

8:49 PM
A very well-deserved honor for Mahershala Ali. His performance left me absolutely speechless.

8:46 PM
Alicia Vikander out to present the award for Best Supporting Actor and the nominees are...

Mahershala Ali – Moonlight as Juan
Jeff Bridges – Hell or High Water as Marcus Hamilton
Lucas Hedges – Manchester by the Sea as Patrick Chandler
Dev Patel – Lion as Saroo Brierley
Michael Shannon – Nocturnal Animals as Detective Bobby Andes

and the winner is... Mahershala Ali

8:43 PM
Look we all knew this was going to be political, but come on you have to laugh a little bit and lighten up.

8:38 PM
This has to be one of the best monologues ever. I'm in tears.

8:34 PM
Alright Kimmel let's see what you got. I hope this monologue is perfect.

8:32 PM 
I really enjoy this song quite a bit. Also this is great way to get the song over with so that we aren't wasting too much time on them later on tonight.

8:30 PM
Here we go.

8:29 PM
My favortie comedian bringing the jokes

8:25 PM
Here are my predictions...


Best Picture- La La Land – Fred Berger, Jordan Horowitz, and Marc Platt
Best Director- Damien Chazelle – La La Land
Best Actor- Casey Affleck – Manchester by the Sea as Lee Chandler
Best Actress- Emma Stone – La La Land as Mia Dolan
Best Supporting Actor- Mahershala Ali – Moonlight as Juan
Best Supporting Actress- Viola Davis – Fences as Rose Maxson
Best Original Screenplay- La La Land – Damien Chazelle
Best Adapted Screenplay- Fences – August Wilson from Fences by August Wilson 
Best Animated Feature- Zootopia – Byron Howard, Rich Moore, and Clark Spencer
Best Foreign Language Film- Toni Erdmann (Germany) in German – Maren Ade
Best Documentary Feature Film- O.J.: Made in America – Ezra Edelman and Caroline Waterlow
Best Documentary Short Film- The White Helmets – Orlando von Einsiedel and Joanna Natasegara
Best Live Action Short Film- Sing – Kristóf Deák and Anna Udvardy
Best Animated Short Film- Piper – Alan Barillaro and Marc Sondheimer
Best Original Score- La La Land – Justin Hurwitz
Best Original Song- "Audition (The Fools Who Dream)" from La La Land – Music by Justin Hurwitz, Lyric by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul
Best Sound Editing- La La Land – Ai-Ling Lee and Mildred Iatrou Morgan
Best Sound Mixing- La La Land – Andy Nelson, Ai-Ling Lee, and Steve A. Morrow
Best Production Design- La La Land – David Wasco and Sandy Reynolds-Wasco
Best Cinematography- La La Land – Linus Sandgren
Best Makeup & Hairstyling- Suicide Squad – Alessandro Bertolazzi, Giorgio Gregorini, and Christopher Nelson
Best Costume Design- Jackie – Madeline Fontaine
Best Film Editing- La La Land – Tom Cross
Best Visual Effects- The Jungle Book – Robert Legato, Adam Valdez, Andrew R. Jones, and Dan Lemmon

My Official 89th Annual Academy Award Predictions

        Alright ladies and gentlemen it's that time to give you my final predictions for tonight's 89th Academy Awards. I'll give you every single one of my picks for all 24 categories to be awarded tonight. They will be listed with the category (in BOLD), the film that won the award (in italics) and the recipients of the award. The Awards show will be live at 8:30 on ABC. So without further ado...







Best Picture- La La Land – Fred Berger, Jordan Horowitz, and Marc Platt
Best Director- Damien Chazelle – La La Land
Best Actor- Casey Affleck – Manchester by the Sea as Lee Chandler
Best Actress- Emma Stone – La La Land as Mia Dolan
Best Supporting Actor- Mahershala Ali – Moonlight as Juan
Best Supporting Actress- Viola Davis – Fences as Rose Maxson
Best Original Screenplay- La La Land – Damien Chazelle
Best Adapted Screenplay- Fences – August Wilson from Fences by August Wilson 
Best Animated Feature- Zootopia – Byron Howard, Rich Moore, and Clark Spencer
Best Foreign Language Film- Toni Erdmann (Germany) in German – Maren Ade
Best Documentary Feature Film- O.J.: Made in America – Ezra Edelman and Caroline Waterlow
Best Documentary Short Film- The White Helmets – Orlando von Einsiedel and Joanna Natasegara
Best Live Action Short Film- Sing – Kristóf Deák and Anna Udvardy
Best Animated Short Film- Piper – Alan Barillaro and Marc Sondheimer
Best Original Score- La La Land – Justin Hurwitz
Best Original Song- "Audition (The Fools Who Dream)" from La La Land – Music by Justin Hurwitz, Lyric by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul
Best Sound Editing- La La Land – Ai-Ling Lee and Mildred Iatrou Morgan
Best Sound Mixing- La La Land – Andy Nelson, Ai-Ling Lee, and Steve A. Morrow
Best Production Design- La La Land – David Wasco and Sandy Reynolds-Wasco
Best Cinematography- La La Land – Linus Sandgren
Best Makeup & Hairstyling- Suicide Squad – Alessandro Bertolazzi, Giorgio Gregorini, and Christopher Nelson
Best Costume Design- Jackie – Madeline Fontaine
Best Film Editing- La La Land – Tom Cross
Best Visual Effects- The Jungle Book – Robert Legato, Adam Valdez, Andrew R. Jones, and Dan Lemmon

        So ladies and gentlemen what do you think of my picks and what are some of your picks? let me know in the comments section below, let your voice be heard and have fun watching the Oscars.

                                                                                                                           Jonah Sparks

89th Academy Awards Who I Want to Win

With the 89th Annual Academy Awards this Sunday, I figured I would let everyone know who I am rooting for at this year's awards presentation as well as an explanation to as to why I chose the nominee (NOTE: These are not my official picks (those will be out on the night of the Oscar's) though I may already go ahead and pick a couple that I have my mind made up on. So without further ado...









Best Live Action Short Film, Best Documentary-Short Subject and Best Foreign Language Film

I don't really know a lot about the nominees in each of these films or I haven't seen any of them , so I can't really root for something that I don't know a lot about.

Best Visual Effects

The Jungle Book – Robert Legato, Adam Valdez, Andrew R. Jones, and Dan Lemmon
This entire category is stacked with films who have some gorgeous special effects, but to me the effects in The Jungle Book are revolutionary and deserves to be honored with the award. The fact that the entire film was shot on green screen on a sound stage in Hollywood and made to look so real is remarkable and it will be a shock if anything besides it wins.

Best Film Editing

Hacksaw Ridge – John Gilbert
When you are my favorite film of the year, you are going to get a lot of love from me this time of year. Look La La Land is going to run away with the award, but it wouldn't be a shocker if Hacksaw Ridge won the award. The film moves at a frantic pace during the late second act moving into the third act with the war scenes and everything is so smooth and crisp that you actually feel as if you are there and seeing everything happen at once.

Best Costume Design

Jackie – Madeline Fontaine
Out of all the awards La La Land is nominated for, this is the one that it probably won't win. You could argue that Jackie ultimately shouldn't win either because it falls in line with La La Land in the fact the dress worn by the main character at crucial points in the film is what got the nomination, but when it comes down to it, making the iconic pink dress that Jacqueline Kennedy wore look so good on the big screen is enough for me to

Best Makeup & Hairstyling

Suicide Squad – Alessandro Bertolazzi, Giorgio Gregorini, and Christopher Nelson
Look I know Suicide Squad was a very disappointing film and to be honest it doesn't deserve any big accolades except for this award. The makeup in this film phenomenal espeically the work done on Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn, Jared Leto as The Joker and Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje as Killer Croc. The other two films nominated deserve to win as well, but Suicide Squad had the best of the bunch.

Best Cinematography

La La Land – Linus Sandgren
I'm a huge fan of camera movements and if cameras aren't in the right place or they are put into weird angles, then it throws me off while watching a film. La La Land doesn't do that and the camera movements in the film are so swift and crisp and the tracking shots used in the dance numbers or when Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone are just walking down the street are just so sharp and this film did a lot and it really does deserve the award.

Best Production Design

La La Land – David Wasco and Sandy Reynolds-Wasco
Had Hail, Caesar! not been such a disappointment, I would've rooted for it because unlike La La Land it was set in classic Hollywood and the way the sets were designed to make you feel like you're in the decade are remarkable. However La La Land captures the L.A. scene perfectly and it even has nice subtle nods to classic Hollywood which is something that really gets to me and if anything else wins the award it will be a shock.

Best Sound Mixing

Hacksaw Ridge – Kevin O'Connell, Andy Wright, Robert Mackenzie, and Peter Grace
War films are the best films when it comes to sound mainly because everything you hear makes you feel as if you are right there on the battlefield and in this film the sounds are just mixed together well to combat the score and really help build tension filled moments. La La Land may when this award mainly due to it being a musical and the sounds in musicals really elevate films, but it wouldn't shock me if Hacksaw Ridge won the award.

Best Sound Editing

Hacksaw Ridge – Robert Mackenzie and Andy Wright
As mentioned before with Hacksaw Ridge with Sound Mixing, I could say the same things in that the sounds of this film are very crispt and everything matches up so well and combined with the score, it really elevates the film. Again the main competition is La La Land but it is going to be a tight race between the two.

Best Original Song

"Audition (The Fools Who Dream)" from La La Land – Music by Justin Hurwitz, Lyric by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul
La La land is a true musical and to have a good musical you need songs that will stand the test of time and Audition is one of those. It's just a powerful song and it really just brings everything full circle and you truly see the development in Emma Stone's character when she sings the song. Now it's main competition is from same film and it's City of Stars and while I think Audition will win, City of Stars could steal some votes and How Far Will I Go from Moana may sneak in and win the award.

Best Original Score

La La Land – Linus Sandgren
Not only does La La Land have a great number of songs, the score is very catchy and upbeat enough to keep you in the film.

Best Documentary Feature 

O.J.: Made in America – Ezra Edelman and Caroline Waterlow
2016 was the return of O.J. Simpson into our lives with not only this documentary, but with the tv show The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story and with that show having a lot of success, it helped out this documentary and this is going to runaway with it mainly due to the continues buzz it has been getting and its in-depth analysis on the case. Plus it's the only film in the category that I have seen so I can't root for anything else.

Best Animated Short Film

Piper – Alan Barillaro and Marc Sondheimer
The only reason why I am rooting for this to win is because it's the only short film I've seen out of the nominees. But also the short itself is really charming and very funny and heart-warming. It tells a great story within a 5 minute time span and it's really one of the better short films made and hopefully it can pull out a victory

Best Animated Feature

Kubo and the Two Strings – Travis Knight and Arianne Sutner
If you haven't seen Kub and the Two Strings then go see it right now. I'm a massive fan of stop-motion animation mainly due to me being appreciative of the hard work that goes into the films and if Kubo were to win it would be huge. The reason why it'll be huge is because Laika is struggling financially and having this film win the award would bring a lot of publicity towards them and more filmmakers will want to make more films with the studio and will bring more money to help. With all of that being said, I think Zootopia wins the award mainly due to the big marketing push Disney has put on the past two months and looks like Kubo will go home empty-handed.

Best Adapted Screenplay

Arrival – Eric Heisserer from "Story of Your Life" by Ted Chiang
People can complain all they want to about Arrival, I thought it was a well thought out film that had you puzzled from the moment go, but as things became more clear, you appreciate it even more. Now you could say there are some really predictable moments and the ending felt a little forced but everything leading up to it was pure gold. Moonlight is the one walking away with the award here mainly due to it's structure in being able to keep the same story going with the same character.

Best Original Screenplay

Hell or High Water – Taylor Sheridan
Taylor Sheridan is such a talented writer and his past two films have been some of my favorites (Sicario and Hell or High Water) and this guy has such a bright future ahead of him and it would be a crownign achievement for him he won the award. However Damian Chazelle is going to runaway with the award and rightfully so as La La Land is a magnificent story and it would make the award predictable, but it would be well deserved if either won.

Best Supporting Actress 

Michelle Williams – Manchester by the Sea as Randi
Although she may not be on the screen for a long time, Michelle Williams gave one of the more emotional performances of the year. Once you find out the main twist of the film, you automatically feel terrible for her and it really shows when she has a one on one scene with Casey Affleck and the way she is able to portray heartbreak is just unbelievable. However she may not win because of Viloa Davis who is in the wrong category to begin with (should be Best Actress as she has just as much screentime as Denzel Washington) and the fact that Viola gave a very emotional performance as well doesn't help Williams's chances, but I wouldn't be shocked if she ended up winning the award.

Best Supporting Actor

Mahershala Ali – Moonlight as Juan
Mahershala Ali is a phenomenal actor and he has built such an impressive filmography and after giving two great performances in Hidden Figures and Moonlight, he is the guy I'm cheering for. His performance in Moonlight is just terrific and while the other nominees all gave some great performances and he has some tough competition with Jeff Bridges being nominated, but I think Ali has this one wrapped up.

Best Actress

Natalie Portman – Jackie as Jackie Kennedy
This might be one the greatest acting performances of the decade so. Natalie Portman is perfectly cast as Jackie Kennedy and she does a great job getting the voice down as well as the way Mrs. Kennedy presented herself. While the film isn't great by any means, you go see the film due to Portman's performance and it really does force you to take a step back and realize how good she is. Her toughest competition is Emma Stone for La La Land and I believe she'll win the award, but seeing Portman wouldn't be a surprise and neither will Isabelle Huppert is Elle as the Golden Globe award may have pushed a little momentum her way.

Best Actor

Casey Affleck – Manchester by the Sea as Lee Chandler
Now while Hacksaw Ridge might have been my favorite film of the year, Manchester by the Sea was a close second and one of the reasons was Casey Affleck's performance in the film. The way he is able to hold in his emotions throughout the film is remarkable especially with everything his character has gone through and only Casey Affleck can do that. Now for the longest time he was the runaway frontrunner, but as of late he;s lost momentum due to Denzel Washington winning the SAG award and if you look at history of the SAG award for Best Actor, out of 22 years, only 4 times has the winner not gone on to win the Best Actor Oscar (Benicio Del Toro won the award, but won Best Supporting Actor at the Oscars) so with that it doesn't look good for Affleck, but there's always a chance.

Best Director

Mel Gibson- Hacksaw Ridge 
This may cause a little bit of controversy for some people. I know Mel Gibson has not had the best of luck as of late when it comes to his personal life and quite frankly he has pissed off the wrong people. However it says a lot that the voting body of the directors branch within the  Academy is willing to nominated him and forgive says and lot and if they are willing to nominate him, they might be willing to give him the win. What he was able to with Hacksaw Ridge is an astonishing achievement and it reminded us of how good this guy really is and I'm holding out hope he wins.

Best Picture

Hacksaw Ridge – Bill Mechanic and David Permut
I think this is the most obvious one I'm rooting for simply because it was my favorite film of 2016 and it was just done so beautifully well by Mel Gibson. It's a fantastic story and it has some insanely good visual effects and it makes you feel like you are on the battlefield. Look it's a longhsot and La La Land basically has this and several other awards wrapped up, but I can still hold out a little bit of hope


        So ladies and gentlemen who are you rooting for at this year's Academy Awards which air on February 26th at 8:30pm on ABC and what do you think of the people I'm rooting for. Let me know in the comments section and let your voice be heard.

                                                                                                                          Jonah Sparks

My Review of A Cure for Wellness

        So I recently watched A Cure for Wellness and I'm here to bring you my review. So without further ado...







        A Wall Street stockbroker (played by Dane DeHaan) travels to a remote location in the Swiss Alps to retrieve his company's CEO (played by Harry Groener) from an idyllic but mysterious wellness center. He soon suspects that the miraculous treatments are not what they seem. His sanity is tested when he unravels the spa's terrifying secrets and finds himself diagnosed with the same curious illness that keeps all of the guests there longing for a cure.

     

        This is a very strange and weird film. As a film concept this is one of the more intriguing ones of the year and it deals with a lot of varying issues and it tackles them well. The first few minutes of the film really grip you as you are getting ready to go on this journey with Dane DeHaan's character as he tires to fin his boss. Speaking of Dane DeHann, he gives a truly terrifying performance and he's really able to show his range as an actor. Gore Verbinski is a very great director who has hit a rut as of late, but this film will absolutely help climb back up the ladder as he does a great job using different and unique camera angles to get the perfect shot and it helps build the suspense on what we are going to see next. Visually the film is gorgeous and there are some pretty horrific moments that can leave you scared. There are some moments where the film does get slow and it can become confusing when it doesn't know where it wants to go, but when it does pick back up it keeps you on your toes. The ending of the film feels really corny and actually to put it bluntly the ending is quite stupid, but while being stupid it does hint at more of these films to come to go on another adventure with the characters. Another thing that hurts the film is the length and had the film been at least 50 minutes shorter (shaving 50 minutes off of a 146 minute runtime isn't too bad) then the film wouldn't have dragged on and it would've kept an upbeat pace to make the suspense come at you non-stop and you as an audience member would be more tense. Overall the film has a very interesting concept with a great standout performance from Dane DeHann, but the film drags on for too long, too many slow scenes that ruin tension and a pretty terrible ending make the film worse than it should've been. I give A Cure for Wellness a 5 out of 10.

        So ladies and gentlemen what did you think of A Cure for Wellness, what would you rate it and what did you think of my review? Let me know in the comments section below and let your voice be heard.

                                                                                                                   Jonah Sparks