I'm With Us

Something unexpected happened to me at the polls today.

It wasn't the overaggressive (not to mention, uninformed) man who practically accosted me with his "knowledge" as I walked in the door. It wasn't the short wait or free coffee and pastries at my new voting precinct. (But, way to go Precinct #2!)

It wasn't the names or proposals on the ballot. I came prepared. I knew who was running. I understood everything at stake.

The thing that took me by surprise... so much so, that I paused for a moment just to savor the feeling... was my reaction to reading my ballot behind those trifold walls. That my eyes actually teared up when I saw a woman's name as a major party candidate for President of the United States. And, that I had just as much opportunity to shade in her box as I did any other box on the list. It was an option. It was finally there.

I've always thought of myself as an empowered Gen-Xer. I never thought of myself as being raised in an era where I was allowed or disallowed to do things simply based on my gender.

Yet, somehow, simply seeing a fellow female's name on a very important piece of paper this morning had enough power to bring me to tears.

Just as I can take for granted that I'm even allowed to step foot in a polling station and cast a vote, my female ancestors will be able to take for granted that their name could even be on the ballot.

It's no longer a "what if", a "one day", or a "that will never happen". It's happened! It's now the norm. We can move forward.

No matter the outcome of tonight's results, this is how America now works. Race, religion or gender no longer impedes our ability to progress. We're running out of "firsts" to brand people with in the political race.

We can move past this silly notion of what's allowed and why it took so long to get there. We're now here! And, it's such an American place to be.





*Disclaimer: My vote today was not based on gender, race, religion or party lines. There was one candidate I agreed with on many things and one I didn't agree with at all. Please save your political lectures for your own social media page. If something inside you is offended by my feminism, you've likely had the blessing of never experiencing the type of treatment that the rest of us battle with every day. Take a moment away from staring at your shoes and take a gander at that glass ceiling that so mesmerizes the rest of us all.

The Revenant: Review

I predict an award season sweep for The Revenant. And, if this prediction is to come to pass, it will be very well deserved.

Those who remember my lack of award season support for Alejandro Inarritu's last directing effort, Birdman, (at least in the directing category) will be please to hear that I've pulled a total 180 in terms of recognizing this year's directing (producing and writing) effort as a job 100% well done.

Stories like The Revenant are hard to come by in today's modern cinema.  A flawless, three act, fully-thought out script captured to perfection by brilliant camera work, acting, set design, makeup and seamless use of CGI. Each act allotted to its own hour which, in order, could have been simply titled as The Why, The Survival and The Revenge.

Although there were many other films to love this year, The Revenant as a whole was the perfect package. (And, since The Hateful Eight was snubbed in all of the big categories, I can now publicly throw my full support behind The Revenant.)

Here's my support of the sweep in each category:

Cinematography: AMAZING!!! I've been critical in the past of too-close camera work. (Beasts of the Southern Wild) But, today, while I watched the lens fog up as Leonardo DiCaprio's Hugh Glass painfully pulled in and out each sleeping breath... I thought to myself, "THIS is when you decide against the slow pan and just shove the camera right up in there!" Toughest Competition in this Category: The Hateful Eight. My eyes enjoyed both films for the same reason: The magnificent capturing of our nation's topography in the winter snow. Such a thing is much more appreciated on screen than in my driveway.

Visual Effects: I can already predict the Academy's choice of  using "The Bear Scene" while introducing The Revenant as a nominee. CGI has never been trickier and it will be the right choice. Toughest Competition in this Category: Any of the other nominees (Mad Max: Fury Road, The Martian, Ex Machina, Star Wars: The Force Awakens) should have a fair shake in this category. (Although, that bear alone, should give The Revenant an edge...)

Production Design: Come on...

We may also need to give an honorary award to the continent of North America for this. Toughest Competition in this Category: Well, The Martian's team did create Mars and all...

Film Editing: I completely humiliated myself by being the only one in the theater to audibly gasp during the "Horse/Cliff" scene. That's some good editing right there, not to mention the epic battle and fight scenes cut to perfection throughout. Toughest Competition in this Category: Possibly Mad Max: Fury Road. This genre tends to do well in the technical categories and, although I haven't seen the film yet, the trailer alone has enough cuts to impress in this category.

Sound Editing: Fight scenes, battle scenes, bear noise scenes, hallucinatory Pawnee voice scenes, Leo grunting scenes... the ingredients are all there. Toughest Competition in this Category: Any of the other nominees have a chance at taking this one home. The fact that Leo's voice didn't always seem to match up with his lips might be reason enough for this Oscar to slip out of grasp and ruin a full sweep.

Makeup and Hairstyling: Two scalped skulls and a thousand bear wounds just might seal this deal. Toughest Competition in this Category: I don't know what on earth The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared is. But, it sounds like something some aging techniques may have been used in.

Costume Design: Furs, suede, leather... all the classic Western elements were there. Toughest Competition in this Category: Any other nominee. I love when the costume designers are allowed to shine in films that are otherwise not recognized during award season. I will not cry if we take a loss on this one. (And, at one point, Tom Hardy had a fleece blanket thrown over him that I swear could have been purchased at Walmart.)

Directing: Alejandro, Alejandro... please forgive my criticism of Birdman's single-shot steady cam experimentation. Consider this full endorsement as penance.  Toughest Competition in this Category: Not a chance he will lose this one.

Supporting Actor: for Tom Hardy's punk ass bitch... er, portrayal of Tom Fitzgerald. I absolutely hated him, so job well done. (I would have loved to see some recognition for Will Poulter in this category as well. If Leo was this picture's grit, that kid from We're the Millers was its heart. Maybe he'll be recognized with his cast at the SAGs?) Toughest Competition in this Category: I'm personally rooting for Sylvester Stallone as Rocky in Creed. And, no one's ever safe against Christian Bale.

Best Actor: I've been rooting for Leo's Oscar since What's Eating Gilbert Grape. This year is his best chance at being rewarded for his best role to date. Toughest Competition in this Category: Eddie Redmayne in The Danish Girl. I cannot find a more sensitive way to say this; but he went full trans at a time when it is very trendy to do so.

Best Picture: Add together all my endorsements above and this should equal a Best Picture statue to have and to hold. Toughest Competition in this Category: *crickets*