OSCAR nominations 2017: THE (somewhat subdued) OUTRAGE!

Forgive me if I can't work up the same outrage as I usually do for the annual OSCAR nominations that dropped Tuesday morning in a pre-packaged infomercial (who came up with that bone-headed idea?).
Blame it on John Williams NOT composing a film score in 2016 (Actually, he did-"The BFG"!) Yet still, the Academy made THREE glaring omissions this year: 

Outrage #s 1 & 2: While the Academy didn't exactly SNUB Denis Villeneuve's excellent ARRIVAL (8 nominations), in typical fashion, they overlooked the two most-vital contributions to that film's success: Lead Actress Amy Adams (Hello!) and composer of the eerie, otherworldly score by JOHAN JOHANSSON (I am obsessed with Best Original Score nominations!) I don't want to nit-pick on the five Best Actress nominees who stole Amy's spot--but does Meryl Streep really need a 20th nomination?? I will gladly pick-on the undeserving composer, though: a likely formulaic, derivative Thomas Newman score for the forgettable "Passengers." (I say 'likely' because, full disclosure, I have not seen the movie nor heard the score).

Outrage #3: the (virtual) shut-out of Martin Scorsese's "Silence." With only a nod for Best Cinematography, it received the same number of nominations as "Trolls." Marty deserves better than this--he's a national treasure! I blame the studio and their crazy release schedule: the general public had no way to see it before January 13th. Thus, it has zero award-show momentum.

I recently saw it myself just last night: it is brutal and punishing for all of its 2 hour-40 minute running time. It is also a work of art.

#OscarsSoLame

My Big, Fat Polish Wedding?

DEMON (Poland 2016)

Directed by the late Marcin Wrona

After having spent a lovely weekend in the Polish countryside last August attending the wedding of my nephew, it was only fitting that when I returned home that I see this film from Poland about a Polish wedding in the countryside ... that, as you can guess from the title of this film, goes terribly wrong! 

Reminiscent of the last segment in 2015's "Wild Tales" from Argentina, this is a wedding reception from HELL! Literally, the groom becomes possessed by a demon. The movie gets off to a promising start by setting a creepy, ominous mood, before losing its focus in the never-ending reception.

Despite the committed performance from its cast, the movie never gets its footing: does it want to be a horror film, a black comedy, or a meditative look at recent Polish history towards its Jewish countrymen? It tries a little of all three, with varying degrees of success. 

The 'demon' of the title turns out to be a nice Jewish girl who just wants to get married. Nevertheless, she ruins a perfectly fine Polish wedding reception, so that by the end of the endless (and epically stormy) night, nobody returns for the 'poprawiny'! That's the real tragedy, for everyone knows the poprawiny is the best part! (For you non-Poles, that is the day-after party).

For the record, the events depicted in this film bear no resemblance to the wedding and reception I attended. That being said, I did notice these similarities:

- The groom's tie-toss went off without a hitch;

- Lots (and lots!) of vodka was consumed;

- One of the guests is a sullen, disturbed man named "Ronaldo"--in the middle of Poland? Go figure ...

This was NOT my nephew at his wedding (although he may have felt like this on the inside)