The Quite Nerdy Blog

Lady Bird is the final big Oscar contender to be released here in the UK and despite being a far lower key movie than any single other one of the other Best Picture nominees, it still manages to be an absolute knockout. The story is about as simple as they come. It's a coming of age story about a young girl who calls herself Lady Bird, making her way through her final year of high school before she heads off to University. Along the way, she gets involved in plays, meets boys and just generally tries to work out who she is before she takes on the world. In terms of plot, it doesn't exactly break any new ground and anyone who's seen their fair share of coming of age movies will spot a lot of the beats coming. With that said, it hits all those elements in just the right ways, making you see all these events afresh. So not an original plot but one that will absorb you regardless. As the list of nominations may make you realise, Lady Bird is a film full of great performan...

The Shape of Water is the next film from the bizarrely beautiful brain of Guillermo del Toro, the twisted mastermind behind Pans Labyrinth. I want you to bear with me as I describe the plot here because it does get pretty wacky but in the world of the film, it all makes sense. Elisa is a mute cleaner at a secret government facility in 1960s Baltimore and she is plagued by isolation. If I said her morning routine isn't too dissimilar to that of Lester Burnham from American Beauty, that would give you a good idea of it. One day, there's a new subject in the facility, one shrouded in mystery but seemingly much more docile than any of the men in control realise. In time, while cleaning his tank, Elisa comes to realise how special this creature is and a bond develops between the two. As a premise, I know that sounds absurd but it's the sincerity that everyone involved gives that allows us as an audience to be carried along with the plot, which goes to some wonderful and we...

Phantom Thread is the newest movie from auteur supreme Paul Thomas Anderson, the genius behind Boogie Nights, the Goodfellas of porn. I haven't seen all his films up to this point and haven't even seen his other pair up with Daniel Day-Lewis, There Will be Blood but I'm yet to see a film of his I haven't enjoyed. The story of Phantom Thread is a little odd in that it sounds very mundane but just bear with it. Reynolds Woodcock is a highly celebrated designer who creates stunning dresses for women in a lifestyle that is heavily self regimented. One day, while out in the country, he finds a waitress who he decides is his new muse and takes her home to model on her and keep her around. Now, the plot is interesting in that it never really heads anywhere extremely out there but still surprised me with the direction it went. It's hardly an exhilirating thrill ride but I was always interested with the little twists that sprung up but honestly, the plot isn't really...

It came out back in October and I missed it but having had the chance to see it about a month ago, I've wanted to talk about it here ever since. Finally, a big enough gap in the schedule has appeared and with it being a Best Picture contender (as well as Best Actor, Best Song and Best Adapted Screenplay), I'm just going to gush about this beautiful movie. The story is of a seventeen year old boy (Elio) living in Italy whose family invite an American student in his twenties (Oliver) to stay and study Classical architecture with them. Over this long, sumptuous summer, the two grow closer and begin to fall in love, as Elio slowly and internally deals with who he is and how his sexuality defines him. The story isn't exactly what sells this film and in fact, it's worth seeing a second time so you can focus on things that aren't the plot but it's a lovely story that acts as an entry point to completely envelop you. Every performance in this film is perfect and i...

The Post feels like one of the most Oscar-y movies ever made and seemed like a clear frontrunner for a good while until the nominations came out. Still, it has garnered two nominations (for Best Picture and Best Actress for Meryl Streep) and we should discuss whether it deserves those or should have picked up in other categories. The story is of The Washington Post who, upon hearing about the Pentagon Papers (papers about the US's dodgy involvement in Vietnam), decide they should try and publish them. However, the government discover that the New York Times have these papers too and outlaw them publishing it, leaving a dilemma for the Post: publish and risk imprisonment or keep quiet under the reign of a government trying to control the facts. I didn't know the story and it was interesting to see it all play out but it feels like an unfinished story which, for anyone who knows the history of this, it really is. Still, it plays out well and you can rarely fault Spielberg as ...

Coco is Pixar's newest film and hot damn, they are still fully on track. The setting is Mexico on the Dia de Muertos (Day of the Dead) and is about a young boy called Miguel who suddenly finds himself in the Land of the Dead. He has to receive a blessing from his family to return back to the mortal realm before sunrise or he will be stuck there forever. In doing so, Miguel finds himself with a skeleton called Hector who is at risk of being forgotten in the living world. The story isn't exactly going to make waves for revolutionising animated storytelling but it does what it wants to do well. Plus, there's one plot element that I thought I had called from the very first trailer but the film managed to subvert that in a way I didn't see coming at all so bravo for that. Acting is always a little harder to talk about in animated films, especially one like this where most of the actors aren't big name celebs but essentially, all the vocal performances are fantastic...

Edit: this post was edited on 23rd of January to show how average a job I did in predicting the nominees, green highlight means I got it right, red means I didn't with a total score at the bottom. Every year, I get much too heavily invested in Awards Season and lose track of stuff like relationships, work and sometimes even eating. This year is no different and with the nominations for the 2018 Academy Awards (Oscars) being announced a week today, I decided to try my experienced yet highly unprofessional hand at predicting who will get nominated. For each category, I'm going to try and pick three safe bets but also throw in one that is less likely but deserves the nom. Come back in about six weeks if you're looking for final winner guesses but for now, lets speculate wildly on films, many of which I haven't seen yet. Best Cinematography Likely Bets: Blade Runner 2049 Dunkirk The Shape of Water Unlikely but Worthy: Call Me By Your Name This has been a...