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Film critic Mark Bubien and Bob review recent Oscar winners.  Although these were movies honored in the 2015 awards ceremony, the nominations and winners were for films produced and released in the year 2014.

Critical themes in the discussion:

-What is artificial intelligence? What does it even mean to be intelligent?

-Hollywood’s tendency to honor “artistic” films rather than blockbusters, even when blockbusters are themselves artistic.

-Hollywood’s dislike of having somebody do more than one thing, such as an actor who also directs, or a maker of science fiction blockbusters who also does an artistic film such as Spielberg directing The Color Purple.

-Believing in yourself as opposed to over concern about the opinions of others.

-Putting aside the morality of homosexuality and the Bible’s position, one can agree that in the past, coming out of the closet took courage (as depicted in the film Imitation Game). But these days, does it take courage to confess /support the gay lifestyle or are we instead seeing people lose jobs for having an opinion which criticizes the gay lifestyle?

-Is it fair for films such as Imitation Game and Selma to look at problems of the past, stimulate emotional responses to the cruelty and persecution, and then extrapolate by insinuating that these same problems are going on today?

 

Reviews: 

The movies listed below were discussed. Those on the top part of the list were talked about in greater detail.

-Grand Budapest Hotel

-Birdman

-The Imitation Game

-American Sniper

-Theory of Everything

-Boyhood

-Selma

-Intersteller

 

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