I had the great honor to speak with the incredible Ted Danson, Mary Steenburgen, & Mike Schur about the second season of the fun, lighthearted mystery...
Sydney Sweeney gives a knockout performance in an unbalanced narrative.
Not knowing Christy Martin’s story and uncertain of how Sweeney would pull off this role, I approached this film with caution. To my surprise, Sweeney’s transformation and gripping performance salvages the spotty storyline.
At first glance, “Christy” appears to be a stereotypical female boxer biopic – Christy starts her career from the bottom, has to prove herself as a worthy woman fighter, and build up to her life-changing match. Well, that element is partly there. Christy does start from the bottom, but the film portrays her success as quick ladder climb. She wins almost all her matches and becomes the first female fighter to sign with legendary promoter, Don King (Chad L. Coleman). Her toughest fight, and the real challenge of the story, is what she faces outside of the ring. Martin struggles with prejudice of her sexuality and to feel safe to be with a woman she loves. Her parent’s pressure her to steer away from this “lifestyle”, which is why Martin submits to a marriage with her bum trainer, Jim Martin (Ben Foster), who quickly shows his true, dark colors as an abusive, controlling, and manipulative husband.
There is a lot to unpack with Christy’s story and sadly, the film fails to show the complexity of Christy’s story. The lack of development and backstory of Christy’s relationship with her parents makes her motive to please them a fairly weak. From an audience perspective, they are terrible, especially her mother. They do not help her in any way, so one wonders why she even bothers to suffer in this trapped life to please them.
Perhaps, the biggest downfall, are the lackluster matches. While, they are decently shot fights, they carry no weight or emotion. Christy wins and we move on. I’m not sure if that’s what we are intended to feel, as we are much more concerned for Christy’s safety and well-being in her personal life.
It is not lost on audiences the irony of Christy choosing a “safe” and “acceptable” spouse, ended up being a spouse that almost murdered her. That aspect to this story stays with you and is absolutely heartbreaking.
As whole, “Christy” is an intriguing tale and the entire cast, especially Sweeney (who is quite possibly at her best) and Foster are captivating, however, the misdirection in the screenplay might take away from those compelling performances.
“American Sniper” Clint Eastwood, Robert Lorenz, Andrew Lazar, Bradley Cooper and Peter Morgan, Producers
“Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)” Alejandro G. Iñárritu, John Lesher and James W. Skotchdopole, Producers
“Boyhood” Richard Linklater and Cathleen Sutherland, Producers
“The Grand Budapest Hotel” Wes Anderson, Scott Rudin, Steven Rales and Jeremy Dawson, Producers
“The Imitation Game” Nora Grossman, Ido Ostrowsky and Teddy Schwarzman, Producers
“Selma” Christian Colson, Oprah Winfrey, Dede Gardner and Jeremy Kleiner, Producers
“The Theory of Everything” Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Lisa Bruce and Anthony McCarten, Producers
“Whiplash” Jason Blum, Helen Estabrook and David Lancaster, Producers
Will Win: “Boyhood” Could Win: “Birdman” or “American Sniper” (I wouldn’t be surprised considering box office success) Want to Win: “Whiplash”
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BEST DIRECTOR
“Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)” Alejandro G. Iñárritu
“Boyhood” Richard Linklater
“Foxcatcher” Bennett Miller
“The Grand Budapest Hotel” Wes Anderson
“The Imitation Game” Morten Tyldum
Will Win: Richard Linklater, “Boyhood” Could Win: Alejandro G. Iñárritu, “Birdman” Want to Win: Richard Linklater, “Boyhood”
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BEST ACTOR
Steve Carell in “Foxcatcher”
Bradley Cooper in “American Sniper”
Benedict Cumberbatch in “The Imitation Game”
Michael Keaton in “Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)”
Eddie Redmayne in “The Theory of Everything”
Will Win: Eddie Redmayne Could Win: Michael Keaton or Bradley Cooper Want to Win: Since Jake Gyllenhaal was snubbed! I’m hoping for Bradley Cooper
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BEST ACTRESS
Marion Cotillard in “Two Days, One Night”
Felicity Jones in “The Theory of Everything”
Julianne Moore in “Still Alice”
Rosamund Pike in “Gone Girl”
Reese Witherspoon in “Wild”
Will Win: Julianne Moore Could Win: Not contest Want to Win: Julianne Moore
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BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Robert Duvall in “The Judge”
Ethan Hawke in “Boyhood”
Edward Norton in “Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)”
Mark Ruffalo in “Foxcatcher”
J.K. Simmons in “Whiplash”
Will Win: J.K. Simmons Could Win: No Contest Want to Win: J.K. Simmons
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BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Patricia Arquette in “Boyhood”
Laura Dern in “Wild”
Keira Knightley in “The Imitation Game”
Emma Stone in “Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)”
Meryl Streep in “Into the Woods”
Will Win: Patricia Arquette Could Win: Emma Stone Want to Win: Patricia Arquette
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BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
“American Sniper” Written by Jason Hall
“The Imitation Game” Written by Graham Moore
“Inherent Vice” Written for the screen by Paul Thomas Anderson
“The Theory of Everything” Screenplay by Anthony McCarten
“Whiplash” Written by Damien Chazelle
Will Win: “The Imitation Game,” Graham Moore Could Win: “Whiplash,” Damien Chazelle or “American Sniper,” Jason Hall Want to Win: “Whiplash,” Damien Chazelle
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BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
“Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)” Written by Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Nicolás Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris, Jr. & Armando Bo
“Boyhood” Written by Richard Linklater
“Foxcatcher” Written by E. Max Frye and Dan Futterman
“The Grand Budapest Hotel” Screenplay by Wes Anderson; Story by Wes Anderson & Hugo Guinness
“Nightcrawler” Written by Dan Gilroy
Will Win: “The Grand Budapest Hotel” Screenplay by Wes Anderson; Story by Wes Anderson & Hugo Guinness Could Win: “Boyhood” or “Birdman” Want to Win: “The Grand Budapest Hotel” Screenplay by Wes Anderson; Story by Wes Anderson & Hugo Guinness
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BEST ANIMATED FILM
“Big Hero 6” Don Hall, Chris Williams and Roy Conli
“The Boxtrolls” Anthony Stacchi, Graham Annable and Travis Knight
“How to Train Your Dragon 2” Dean DeBlois and Bonnie Arnold
“Song of the Sea” Tomm Moore and Paul Young
“The Tale of the Princess Kaguya” Isao Takahata and Yoshiaki Nishimura
Will Win: “How to Train Your Dragon 2” Could Win: “Big Hero 6” Want to Win: “Big Hero 6”
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BEST DOCUMENTARY
“CitizenFour” Laura Poitras, Mathilde Bonnefoy and Dirk Wilutzky
“Finding Vivian Maier” John Maloof and Charlie Siskel
“Last Days in Vietnam” Rory Kennedy and Keven McAlester
“The Salt of the Earth” Wim Wenders, Juliano Ribeiro Salgado and David Rosier
“Virunga” Orlando von Einsiedel and Joanna Natasegara
Will Win: “Citizenfour” Could Win: “Last Day in Vietnam” Want to Win: “Citizenfour”
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BEST FOREIGN FILM
“Ida” Poland
“Leviathan” Russia
“Tangerines” Estonia
“Timbuktu” Mauritania
“Wild Tales” Argentina
Will Win: “Ida” Could Win: “Leviathan” Want to Win: “Ida”
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BEST ORIGINAL SONG
“Everything Is Awesome” from “The Lego Movie” Music and Lyric by Shawn Patterson
“Glory” from “Selma” Music and Lyric by John Stephens and Lonnie Lynn
“Grateful” from “Beyond the Lights” Music and Lyric by Diane Warren
“I’m Not Gonna Miss You” from “Glen Campbell…I’ll Be Me” Music and Lyric by Glen Campbell and Julian Raymond
“Lost Stars” from “Begin Again” Music and Lyric by Gregg Alexander and Danielle Brisebois
Will Win: “Glory” Could Win: “Everything Is Awesome” (Long shot) Want to Win: “Everything Is Awesome”
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BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
“The Grand Budapest Hotel” Alexandre Desplat
“The Imitation Game” Alexandre Desplat
“Interstellar” Hans Zimmer
“Mr. Turner” Gary Yershon
“The Theory of Everything” Jóhann Jóhannsson
Will Win: “The Theory of Everything” Could Win: “Interstellar” Want to Win: “The Grand Budapest Hotel”
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BEST COSTUME DESIGN
“The Grand Budapest Hotel” Milena Canonero
“Inherent Vice” Mark Bridges
“Into the Woods” Colleen Atwood
“Maleficent” Anna B. Sheppard and Jane Clive
“Mr. Turner” Jacqueline Durran
Will Win: “The Grand Budapest Hotel” Could Win: “Mr. Turner” Want to Win: “The Grand Budapest Hotel”
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BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
“The Grand Budapest Hotel” Production Design: Adam Stockhausen; Set Decoration: Anna Pinnock
“The Imitation Game” Production Design: Maria Djurkovic; Set Decoration: Tatiana Macdonald
“Interstellar” Production Design: Nathan Crowley; Set Decoration: Gary Fettis
“Into the Woods” Production Design: Dennis Gassner; Set Decoration: Anna Pinnock
“Mr. Turner” Production Design: Suzie Davies; Set Decoration: Charlotte Watts
Will Win: “The Grand Budapest Hotel” Could Win: “Interstellar” Want to Win: “The Grand Budapest Hotel”
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BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
“Captain America: The Winter Soldier” Dan DeLeeuw, Russell Earl, Bryan Grill and Dan Sudick
“Dawn of the Planet of the Apes” Joe Letteri, Dan Lemmon, Daniel Barrett and Erik Winquist
“Guardians of the Galaxy” Stephane Ceretti, Nicolas Aithadi, Jonathan Fawkner and Paul Corbould
“Interstellar” Paul Franklin, Andrew Lockley, Ian Hunter and Scott Fisher
“X-Men: Days of Future Past” Richard Stammers, Lou Pecora, Tim Crosbie and Cameron Waldbauer
Will Win: “Interstellar” Could Win: “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes” Want to Win: “Guardians of the Galaxy”
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BEST FILM EDITING
“American Sniper” Joel Cox and Gary D. Roach
“Boyhood” Sandra Adair
“The Grand Budapest Hotel” Barney Pilling
“The Imitation Game” William Goldenberg
“Whiplash” Tom Cross
Will Win: “Boyhood” Could Win: “Whiplash” Want to Win: “Whiplash” or “Boyhood” are both deserving
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BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
“Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)” Emmanuel Lubezki
“The Grand Budapest Hotel” Robert Yeoman
“Ida” Lukasz Zal and Ryszard Lenczewski
“Mr. Turner” Dick Pope
“Unbroken” Roger Deakins
Will Win: “Birdman” Could Win: “The Grand Budapest Hotel” Want to Win: “The Grand Budapest Hotel”
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BEST SOUND EDITING
“American Sniper” Alan Robert Murray and Bub Asman
“Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)” Martín Hernández and Aaron Glascock
“The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies” Brent Burge and Jason Canovas
“Interstellar” Richard King
“Unbroken” Becky Sullivan and Andrew DeCristofaro
Will Win: “American Sniper” Could Win: “Interstellar” Want to Win: “American Sniper”
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BEST SOUND MIXING
“American Sniper” John Reitz, Gregg Rudloff and Walt Martin
“Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)” Jon Taylor, Frank A. Montaño and Thomas Varga
“Interstellar” Gary A. Rizzo, Gregg Landaker and Mark Weingarten
“Unbroken” Jon Taylor, Frank A. Montaño and David Lee
“Whiplash” Craig Mann, Ben Wilkins and Thomas Curley
Will Win: “Whiplash” Could Win: “American Sniper” Want to Win: “Whiplash”
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BEST MAKE UP & HAIRSTYLING
“Foxcatcher” Bill Corso and Dennis Liddiard
“The Grand Budapest Hotel” Frances Hannon and Mark Coulier
“Guardians of the Galaxy” Elizabeth Yianni-Georgiou and David White
Will Win: “Guardians of the Galaxy” Could Win: They all stand a chance Want to Win: “Guardians of the Galaxy”
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BEST DOCUMENTARY (SHORT)
“Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1” Ellen Goosenberg Kent and Dana Perry
“Joanna” Aneta Kopacz
“Our Curse” Tomasz Sliwinski and Maciej Slesicki
“The Reaper (La Parka)” Gabriel Serra Arguello
“White Earth” J. Christian Jensen
Blind Guess: ”Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1”
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BEST SHORT FILM (ANIMATED)
“The Bigger Picture” Daisy Jacobs and Christopher Hees
“The Dam Keeper” Robert Kondo and Dice Tsutsumi
“Feast” Patrick Osborne and Kristina Reed
“Me and My Moulton” Torill Kove
“A Single Life” Joris Oprins
Blind Guess: “Feast”
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BEST SHORT FILM (LIVE ACTION)
“Aya” Oded Binnun and Mihal Brezis
“Boogaloo and Graham” Michael Lennox and Ronan Blaney
“Butter Lamp (La Lampe Au Beurre De Yak)” Hu Wei and Julien Féret
“Parvaneh” Talkhon Hamzavi and Stefan Eichenberger
“The Phone Call” Mat Kirkby and James Lucas
Blind Guess: “The Phone Call”
We will see how many of my predictions are right…Watch the 87th Academy Awards Sunday, February 22, 2015-7pm ET on ABC. Hosted by Neil Patrick Harris!
