The Quite Nerdy Blog

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...

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri is a nightmare to type and also the third film from Irish writer/director Martin McDonagh. Like his second (Seven Psychopaths) the film is set in America, specifcally Ebbing, Missouri (shocker, right?). The story is of a mother who, months on from the death of her daughter, is still seeking justice and in order to motivate the police to do something about the case, she puts up three scathing billboards. Instantly, the police are furious and it becomes a twisted series of retaliations as things get progressively darker. It's a testament to the script (which I'll return to later) that I could never predict where the film would head next, making it an unpredictable thrill ride but it's also one that refuses easy answers. As the credits rolled, I asked myself whether the characters were making the right decision but McDonagh has done that deliberately. There's no easy answers when things this horrible happen so you're not ge...

TV has had a pretty strong year this year and while my deliberations weren't quite as tortured as the ones I've had to go through for the film list earlier in the week, I've still had to fight myself to whittle them down. It should be added that you're more likely to disagreee with this list than the film one as I haven't had time to watch every hit new show and ongoing ones that I never got into are also going to be obviously snubbed. If your favourite isn't here, I'm sorry but deal with it, maybe have a read and find your next favourite in here. GLOW Season 1 GLOW was a show that was just excellent fun. There is genuine sincerity there and you get to see boobs but most of all, it is as joyous as the wrestling shows it is based on. Broadchurch Season 3 Whatever your thoughts on season 2, Broadchurch returned as strong as ever before here, weaving a terrific mystery while refusing to make light of serious subjects. Wet Hot American Summer: T...

Black Mirror is back and I have never been so excited for TV. I mean, briefly, then I started watching and I remembered that this is not a joyous show, this is a show that delights in dragging viewers through the dirt, repeatedly. In fairness, the show has always been excellent at that and Season 4 is no different, for better or worse. Due to the anthology nature of the show, I'm going to repeat my format from last year (feel free to go back and read that) and break the show down by episode. I will try and avoid spoilers but for the best experience, just go watch the show blind. I highly recommend all of it so just go, get miserable and then come back. K, thnx. Episode One: USS Callister Director: Toby Haynes (Some of the good episodes of Doctor Who and Sherlock) Genre: Space Epic Technology Addressed: Virtual reality/video games When the first images of USS Callister came out, a lot of people panicked. Sure, Black Mirror is sci-fi but not this kind. Plus, many felt t...