Nine Movies in Six Days

It seems like every Academy Awards season I’m always disappointed by how few movies I’ve seen. This year I decided to change that. Last month before the Golden Globes I decided to see as many movies as I could in a week. That meant a lot of late nights and very busy weekends, but I was able to see nine movies in six days. Was it crazy? Yes. Would I do it again next year? It’s already on my list of things to do in 2015!

Here’s what my crazy schedule looked like:

• Tuesday – Gravity 3D
• Wednesday – The Wolf of Wall Street
• Thursday – The Hobbit
• Friday – Her and American Hustle
• Saturday – August: Osage County
• Sunday – 12 Years a Slave, Philomena, and Nebraska

After the crazy movie week I decided to take a break. It’s exhausting to watch that many movies and it does get expensive too. Since writing the first draft of this post I had an opportunity to Redbox Captain Phillips and Blue Jasmine. The only movie left on my list is Dallas Buyers Club.

Initial thoughts:

1. Nebraska – This was my favorite movie. I think I could have watched it again right after it finished. I loved the storyline, the black and white, and the subtle performances. 
2. 12 Years a Slave – I probably won’t watch this movie again, but it was so well done. It was hard to watch (although less so than the other Steve McQueen movie I’ve seen – Hunger) and it was a strange way to start our Sunday morning at 10:00am. 
3. Her – I really need an operating system to organize my emails and who can understand what I’m saying better than Siri.
4. The Wolf of Wall Street – I’m sick of people complaining that this movie exploited women and focused too much on drugs. That’s like complaining that The Hobbit had too many dwarfs. What did people expect when they went to see a movie about a corrupt New York stock broker? I thought it was hilarious, but 40 minutes too long.
5. Philomena – Beautiful, happy, and sad movie. Besides 12 Years a Slave, it was the only movie that made me cry. As someone who is also adopted, I find it extremely touching that a woman never stops caring about her child she has to give up and that she always wonders what their life is like, if they’re happy.
6. American Hustle – Great individual performances but the overall story just didn’t do it for me.
7. Gravity – I never want to go to space. I thought this was kind of the Cast Away of outer space. I’m also not a big fan of 3D movies. I hate wearing glasses over my glasses.
8. Captain Phillips – This film was much better than I thought it was going to be. Now every time I see a Maersk truck on the road I yell at them, “I am the captain now!”

Predictions (In a Perfect World):

• Best picture – 12 Years a Slave (Nebraska)
• Best Director – Steve McQueen (Steve McQueen)
• Best Actor – Matthew McConaughey (Leonardo DiCaprio)
• Best Actress – Amy Adams (Meryl Streep)
• Best Supporting Actor – Jared Leto (Michael Fassbender)
• Best Supporting Actress – Jennifer Lawrence (Julia Roberts)