Author Spotlight
Addie Moore
With the Oscars on March 12, I decided to hunker down on my couch and watch the ten movies nominated for the Best Picture award and choose which film truly deserves the title.
After 30 hours of watching this year’s best in cinematography, I confidently stand behind my ranking.
Top Gun: Maverick
Tom Cruise and Miles Teller. Enough said.
Pete “Maverick” Mitchell is still the same reckless, witty Naval pilot that starred in the original “Top Gun.” 36 years later, the only difference is he’s not a student anymore — he’s the teacher.
This new take on the popular 1980s film “Top Gun” is a respectable sequel — appealing to the original audience with references to the first film, but also modernized for a younger generation.
Production-wise, “Top Gun: Maverick” surpasses its prequel. Instead of acting in fake planes in front of green screens like in the first movie, Paramount Pictures paid over $10,000 an hour for access to real naval fighter jets to make the plane scenes more realistic, according to cinemablend.com.
The best parts of “Top Gun: Maverick” are the small homages to the original movie. Not only is the 1987 Oscar Best Music award winning song “Take My Breath Away” played throughout the movie, but “Great Balls of Fire” is also sung by Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw — a tribute to his late father and Maverick’s former partner “Goose.”
“You saved Hollywood’s ass and you might have saved theatrical distribution,” filmmaker Steven Speilberg said to Cruise at the Oscar nominees luncheon. “Seriously, ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ might have saved the entire theatrical industry.”
There’s no doubt Speilberg is right — I went to see the movie four times within its release month.
Avatar: The Way of Water
The 8 p.m. Monday showing of “Avatar: The Way of Water ”had me expecting a three-hour nap in the comfy theater chairs. But the entirety of the film ended up demanding my complete attention. I spent the runtime either jumping at each gunshot or gawking over the beautiful planet of Pandora.
After living the past 15 years in the jungle, protagonist Jake Sully and his family flee their home to live with the Metkayina clan — people of the water.
Although the new setting was gorgeous — huts over the ocean, turquoise water, vibrant reefs — the kind-hearted Metkayina people and their animals stood out the most. They immediately welcomed the Sully family and treated them as their own.
The first “Avatar” movie is the highest grossing movie of all time — making almost three billion dollars. I wouldn’t be surprised if this sequel surpassed its original — especially considering it’s the third highest grossing movie only three months after its release.
Instead of being a mindless story with robots and time travel like most sci-fi films, this movie has a heart-warming theme of loyalty and friendship. I’m not usually a fan of futuristic, action-packed films, but “Avatar: The Way of Water” blew the genre out of the water — literally.
Elvis
With so many Elvis Presley impersonators mimicking his voice, movement and style, I rented the movie “Elvis” expecting not much beyond this stereotype.
I’ve seen Austin Butler on Disney Channel and was confident that he wasn’t a good pick for Presley. That is, until I saw him on the big screen mimicking his signature thrashing dance moves with such care, managing to pay tribute to the rock-and-roll icon without mocking him.
Butler’s performance was outstanding to watch. According to Entertainment Weekly, Butler spent a year and a half studying interviews and voice tapes trying to unpack who Elvis Presley really was — while also mastering Presley’s signature Southern twang. Butler’s dedication to the role even ended him up in the hospital after finishing filming the movie from exhaustion.
Butler wasn’t the only thing that made this movie Oscar-worthy — the detail and history the writers included in the story is impeccable.
Before watching, I had no clue how much Presley struggled for fame — government involvement and military leave are usually left out when hearing the story of the King of Rock and Roll. It’s wonderful to finally see the full story and think about Presley as a real person instead of just a musical prodigy.
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