Ferrell Takes the Field (2015)

Will Ferrell makes a comedic documentary that might've worked better as a pure mockumentary like 7 Days in Hell.  I understand that there was an actual cause to raise awareness for the charity Cancer for College, but this performance art was kind of lame.  Ferrell plays very briefly with ten different MLB teams, all in different positions. That adds up to about one play, or a third of an inning per team.  It's funny at first when he gets traded away after a single play, but it gets old fast because he does it ten times!  There wasn't enough comedy to make this very entertaining.  To be totally straight, baseball isn't the most exciting sport to begin with.  Even Will Ferrell couldn't save this one.  

Trainwreck (2015)

Judd Apatow takes his tried and true R-rated comedy formula, and refreshingly puts a female protagonist at the helm.  Amy Schumer pens this hilarious not-your-typical romantic comedy.  No, Schumer pokes fun at romantic comedy cliches in a satire of sorts.  Her self deprecating, biting, edgy, raunchy humor is exactly what we've come to expect from Schumer.  But at the same time, there is a good balance between humor and seriousness.

Amy Schumer and Bill Hader play great leads. They have good chemistry together, and they make each other funnier feeding off of each other's energy.  Tilda Swinton is unrecognizable in her tanned skin tone.  And the MVP award goes to LeBron James playing himself. Is there anything he can't do?  As the concerned friend and patient of Bill Hader, he is actually really funny.  

Sufragette (2015)

The protagonist, played by Carey Mulligan, is a young working class woman who does not like to be classified as a Suffragette, but when her husband predictably throws her out she takes up the cause wholeheartedly.  Both Carey Mulligan and Helena Bonham Carter are excellent. Meryl Streep gets a brief moment in the spotlight as activist Emmeline Pankhurst. Her screen time is very brief, emphasizing to the audience that the groundwork done by average women was of utmost importance to the cause.  Pankhurst served as inspiration, but the people had to act on their own--change is effected from the grassroots.  Their method is militancy, and yet the audience is made to sympathize with the suffragettes who are thwarted by the patriarchal society of Great Britain.

The camerawork is very unsettling throughout the movie.  Much like any effective activism, it is in-your-face.  The camera is so close to Carey Mulligan's face, that the viewers are quite uncomfortable. But you should feel uncomfortable, because in order to upend the status quo, we cannot be satisfied with comfort.  The cinematography understands this and does not let the audience forget it.  The end of the film has a fade to white, followed by real, powerful archival footage from 1913, which is pretty incredible in and of itself.

I got to see an advanced screening of this movie at The Charles Theater by the Gender Studies Department at JHU!

My Emmy Picks 2015

It has been a great year in television, which makes choosing awards all the more difficult. SNL alum Andy Samberg is hosting the Emmys telecast.

Comedy:

Comedy: I'm going to pick Amazon's Transparent to become the first streaming show to win the big award.  The first season came out a while ago at this point, but it is as relevant as ever in our ever changing society that has put Caitlyn Jenner in the public eye.  Transparent will have to fend off five-time defending champ Modern Family which is chasing a historic sixth win, but based on its lack of nominations in directing and writing and just two supporting actors, it seems that love for Modern Family is waning.

Actor: Jeffrey Tambor hands down for Transparent.

Actress: You should never bet against Julia Louis-Dreyfus, but I'm pulling for Amy Poehler to win for the final season of Parks and Recreation.  The perennial bridesmaid, Poehler deserves to finally win for playing the neurotic Leslie Knope.  The other Amy, Amy Schumer, is also having a phenomenal year--but I think the nomination for sketch comedy show is the win.

Supporting Actor: Tituss Burgess in Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt is hilarious and he should hold off two-time winner Ty Burrell.

Supporting Actress: Allison Janney wins all the time, and with the popularity of Modern Family declining, I do not think Julie Bowen will beat her.

Directing: Transparent

Writing: Transparent

Drama:
Drama: This is Mad Men's year to win it all back.  Going out with a phenomenal final season and an extremely well received finale, I can't imagine it losing.  Mad Men going for a fifth win should break the tie for most wins in this category.

Actor: Jon Hamm's Don Draper has never won in this category, though he is always nominated. This is the year it'll finally happen.

Actress: This is probably the hardest category to predict.  Tatiana Maslany finally broke through for her roles in Orphan Black. Robin Wright took a front seat this season in House of Cards. And Elisabeth Moss has never won for her role in Mad Men.  But I think this year we will see the first African-American to win this award.  Viola Davis is carrying the torch for Shondaland, but my pick is Taraji P. Henson leading the way for her highly acclaimed but Emmy-snubbed show Empire.

Supporting Actor: Jonathan Banks for Better Call Saul gets more screen time than he used to in Breaking Bad, but I think Peter Dinklage will take home his second Emmy for Game of Thrones.

Supporting Actress: I think Lena Headey will win for Game of Thrones so long as Emilia Clarke (also Game of Thrones) doesn't split the vote.  In which case, Uzo Aduba will win in the supporting category after winning last year as a guest actress (albeit in a "comedy").

Directing: Mad Men (Person to Person-- the finale)

Writing: Game of Thrones (Mother's Mercy--the finale)

Movie/Mini:
Limited Series: Olive Kitteridge (HBO's category to lose)

Actor: Mark Rylance for Wolf Hall, though David Oyelowo could pull off a win after being snubbed last year for Selma

Actress: Frances McDormand for Oliver Kitteridge

Supporting Actor: Bill Murray for Olive Kitteridge

Supporting Actress: MoNique for Bessie because the three American Horror Story actresses will cancel each other out.

Directing: Olive Kitteridge

Writing: Olive Kitteridge

Reality Competition: Amazing Race is always favored to win and it always should

Variety Sketch: SNL finally has a category that it will dominate year after year, but this year belongs to Inside Amy Schumer. Key & Peele in its final season will have to settle for the nomination. SNL already received numerous awards for its 40th anniversary special, so voters will not feel obligated to award SNL in an anniversary year here.

Variety Talk: This is the other impossible category to predict. Three of these shows are no longer on the air. And two of their hosts are no longer on TV.  I don't think Jon Stewart will win because Colbert has been on a streak lately. But I think David Letterman will take home the trophy for his triumphal last season in a storied career. And John Oliver always has next year when the competition will be a little thinner.

Update: A measly 13/24. This was HBO's night, with a clean sweep in comedy, drama and limited series. Game of Thrones triumphed over Mad Men (also for writing), so the tie still stands at 4 for most Emmys for best drama. Game of Thrones with 12 wins has the record for most wins in a single year for a series.  Jon Hamm finally won his first Emmy rightfully, marking the first and only acting Emmy for Mad Men. Uzo Aduba won for a second year in a row for the same role, though this time as a dramatic actress. Viola Davis becomes the first African American to win Best Actress in a Drama. Veep triumphed over Modern Family, so the tie still stands at 5 for most Emmys for best comedy. Allison Janney is now tied with Ed Asner for most performance Emmy wins. Amazing Race fell to The Voice. And Jon Stewart went out on top.

Pink Flamingos (1972)

I don't think I've ever seen a movie quite like this.  It is notorious for a very good reason.  It's just so out there and so sick that it is borderline brilliant.  Sometimes you're not sure whether you want to laugh hysterically or vomit (in a pink phlegmingo barf bag) and more often than not, I was just completely and utterly speechless.  It is so gross beyond belief making me wonder how did the crazy mind of John Waters come up with this stuff?  It is so over-the-top, you literally cannot imagine what might come next.  This is exploitation film at its most bizarre.

The film's characters compete for the title of filthiest person alive, outdoing each other every time, culminating in an infamous scene at the end in which Divine actually eats dog poop.  Everyone is given long monologues that are delivered with flaming gusto and flamboyance.  The costumes and makeup and wacky hairstyles are totally insane.  And perhaps the quirkiest thing about this movie is the awkward zooms in and out that don't really make any sense.  Add that to the intentionally wobbly camerawork, and you cannot help but laugh.  The movie despite all of the gross-outs is hilarious.

In the re-release that I screened, John Waters does a commentary at the end and presents some deleted scenes.  This includes the original trailer for Pink Flamingos which hilariously does not feature any of the actual footage, just audience reactions and everyone has the same WTF face.

I think the pink flamingo tradition at Johns Hopkins must be a tongue in cheek reference to this film since Waters is a Baltimore native and his films take place in and around Baltimore.  One day in the spring, hundreds of pink lawn flamingos appear on the quad and everyone steals some as room decorations, but little do they know the sick movie it references.