Tag Archives: Three Billboards

And the Award Goes to… The Women’s Race to the Oscars

While this is ski season for my husband, you’re more likely to find me tucked away in a movie theater, and this season I have had the pleasure of seeing several movies that have garnered many Academy Award nominations—all starring women in lead roles…

Lady Bird – a coming of age movie featuring two strong female performances—Saoirse Ronan as young Lady Bird, and Laurie Metcalf as her mother. Directed by Greta Gerbig, this quiet film balances vulnerability with raw, simple emotions and warmth.

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri – a dark character-study involving a mother struggling with an unsolved case involving her daughter. As usual, it’s star, Frances McDormand delivers a powerful performance as a woman who is clearly not easily defined.

The Post – yet another movie with a female lead, starring Meryl Streep who must be getting tired of the endless nominations. While this true story is compelling, and painfully relevant still today, even with the casting of Streep and Tom Hanks, the storytelling falls a bit flat.

The Shape of Water – arguably, the quirkiest of the movies nominated, with an endearing and understated performance by Sally Hawkins. Part fantasy / love story, The Shape of Water also stars Octavia Spencer as Hawkins’ partner-in-crime. Both are up for Oscars.

I can only speak for the movies and performances I have seen, so my Oscar predictions are…

Best Actress:

Frances McDormand  /  Three Billboards

Best Supporting Actress:

Laurie Metcalf  /  Lady Bird

 

Best Director:

Guillermo del Toro  /  The Shape of Water

(But I’ll be thrilled if Greta Gerbig wins for Lady Bird)

 

Best Picture:

Lady Bird


 Bonus Prediction…

Best Animated Movie

Coco (Delightful & insightful, the best to come along since Toy Story 3)

The Oscar telecast is Sunday, March 4 on ABC, so there’s still time to catch a movie or two.  Pass the popcorn!

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

60-Second Movie Review

With my background in marketing, I couldn’t help but be intrigued with a movie centered around three billboards. Less about advertising, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri is a dark tale centered around an unsolved case involving a rape and murder of a young woman in a small town in the South—where racism and hate run rampant.

Written and directed by Martin McDonagh, Three Billboards stars the great Frances McDormand as Mildred, a mother who is beyond frustrated with the local police force after months pass without her daughter’s case being solved. With help from three billboards expressing her anger, Mildred sets off a chain of events that pull the town into even deeper despair.

Tough, gritty and painful, Three Billboards is also darkly comical at times, and reminiscent of Crash. With no definable good vs. bad, Three Billboards is best as a character study, with raw performances from McDormand, Woody Harrelson and the rest of the cast. This Oscar-worthy film will also spark animated conversations with moviegoers. You may need a drink after this one.