Sundance '15: 10 Things I Learned and 5 Great Films I Saw

                                 

By all reasonable measures, and from what I’ve personally observed, between the snow and the people, Park City, Utah is the whitest place in America. It’s a quaint little ski town nestled in the frost covered peaks of Northern Utah, some 25 miles or so outside of Salt Lake City. Park City is a place with so many rich white people that the city's public transit system is 100% free. Because God knows poor black and brown folks in the inner cities couldn’t benefit from that at all. That’s just what rich white people on vacation need. Free public transportation.

Park City is the kind of place I could totally hate. Or at least be very envious/jealous of because it’s a place that offers things and experiences most people will never enjoy. A place black folks can only dream of or see in movies. (Irony.) It’s a winter wonderland where America’s elite come to play. But once a year, in the last week of January, Park City is transformed. Reimagined as a place where the little guys can rule the day. A place where dreams can suddenly come true. A place where lives can change overnight. A place that can lift people from total obscurity to unbelievable superstardom. For two weeks, Park City is home to the Sundance Film Festival. One of the most recognizable and prestigious independent film festivals on the planet.

Over the course of two weeks, I slowly fell in love with Park City. Or least this far more palatable version of Park City. It's a filmmaker's wet dream on steroids. It’s a kin to Comic Con or something only the people are pretty, tan, and they don't smell like basement and Doritos. Everywhere you go people are discussing films. Ones they’ve seen. Ones they want to see. Ones they love. Ones they’ve loathed. Throughout the city every conversation is peppered with some form of “Have you heard anything about Movie X?” or "Oh you saw Movie Y, what did you think?" The experience is one that somewhat confirms your love for something that at times you feel like is silly or stupid. Sundance is a validation for the love of film. Sure you all love different films and have different taste, but the overall theme remains the same. We all love movies! As a film festival novice, I’m here to share the 10 things I learned and my top five films I saw during my time at Sundance 2015. Note: This order doesn’t mean anything. The 10^th thing is no greater or worse than the 1^st.

 

1: You CAN’T See Em' All

There is no fucking way to see every film. The sheer number of narrative films, documentary films, short films, art/experimental films, animated films etc, etc is overwhelming. So don’t go into it thinking you’re going to see everything because you wouldn't/can’t.

2: You WILL See A Horrible Film

It’s Sundance. This film festival has being the launching pad for some of film's greatest talent in front and behind the camera. In fact, last year's Grand Jury and Audience Award winning film Whiplash is nominated for multiple Oscars including Best Picture. Great films clearly come out of the festival but that doesn’t mean you won't see something B-A-D, bad. Just be ready to hate something.

 

3: Make A Plan

This one piggy backs off number one. Since you can’t see it all, at least make a list of films you'd like to  try to see. Game plan at least 10 films you want to see, rank them from most desired to ones you could live without seeing. But…

 

4: Be Flexible

Over the course of Sundance, films will either gain or lose buzz. You’re only going off of four factors when deciding what films to see. The description of the film. The performers in the film. The filmmakers behind the film. And the buzz. Something you could have really wanted to see could turn out to be complete shit via a couple days of word of mouth. The buzz of the festival can lift or sink a film. Speaking of…

5: Trust The Buzz

For the love of God trust the buzz! If you’re in a room with 100 and 99 people don’t like one guy, something isn’t wrong with 99 people. Ask questions. Let people be your guinea pigs. Don’t get so entrenched to see something that you'd ignore what people are telling you. If the buzz is overwhelming, good or bad, just trust that it’s correct and act accordingly. If it’s mixed, just go see for yourself.

 

6: You WILL Regret Things

You’re going to skip out on something you should have seen. You’re going to see something you don’t like. It will happen. And yes, you’ll be upset with yourself. That's fine. Remembering number one, you should expect this to happen at least once or twice.

7: Lines, Lines, Lines

Like Six Flags in the middle of the summer, most of your time at Sundance will be spent waiting in lines. Waiting in lines for the movies. Waiting in lines for the bathroom. Waiting in lines for concessions. The one saving grace unlike Six Flags, where you wait hour for a one to two minute thrill, you get to see a two hour movie.

 8: Sleep Is Optional

Since Sundance is all lines, you need to be at places really early to secure a spot inside the theater. Films play as early as 8AM which means you need to be up and ready to arrive at least one hour before the showtime. Films play as late as 11:45PM which means you could be getting out of a film at 2AM or later. Plus travel time. Sure most venues are in Park City, but some are as far as Sundance Mountain Resort and Salt Lake City. So if you want to see movies, just know you’re not going to be sleep much at all.

9: See The Docs

When you think Sundance, it’s so easy to get caught up in watching the narrative films, but don’t get all wrapped up the hype of the stars and traditional storytelling. There are so many interesting people and subjects that are explored by brilliant documentary filmmakers. I’ve learned that docs are usually a safer bet because most can’t lean on a star. They almost HAVE to be good or they can’t be made.

10: Have Fun

This one is simple. Watch movies. Talk to people and share your thoughts. Have a few drinks and create memories.  Just have fun. (Confession: I came up with the idea for the “10 Things I Learned" and couldn't think of ten so this one is kind of a cop out. I was already committed to “10” so yeah, get over it.)

Top Five Films I SAW

1: The End of The Tour (Jason Segel gave the best performance of the festival in my opinion. Like early Oscar-worthy. Never has 140 minutes of two guys talking been so damn good.)

2: The Bronze (I haven’t laughed that hard at a film in YEARS. It’s like first Hangover funny. Also, Greatest. Sex. Scene. EVER.)

3. Dope (Very funny. Super sharp dialog. And the three leads are perfect. Shameik Moore is about to become VERY VERY famous. Buy the stock while it’s low.)

4. Z For Zachariah (Quiet, but very fascinating character study of jealousy, loneliness, and dueling desire of two men. It’s smarter than just being a story of a good guy and bad guy which it could have been.)

5. Me And Earl And The Dying Girl (The most talked about film of Sundance ’15. Also the Jury and Audience Award winner. Also sold for $12M. It’s a total love letter to filmmaking and doesn’t go into the typical troupes of the "teen coming-of-age" genre. )

I May Be Wrong, But I Doubt It! (Episode 5)

It's that time of year again. You know that wonderful time where the flowers bloom, the snow melts and the movies stop sucking. From about the end of Oscar season to the start of the summer, we have to sit through some pretty horrible films, (Scary Movie 5 ring a bell?) but that's over now as Pain and Gain semi-officially kicks off the summer blockbuster season. (Although Iron Man 3 is really going to get things rolling next week.) I thought I'd do a podcast breaking down all the big movies coming up this summer. I've enlisted the help of my good buddy Dylan Kress. Dylan's a fellow film maker and film lover that I know here in LA. I thought I should turn on a mic and let you listen in on our epic debates. So thanks for listening, leave a comment below, or not because you guys never do, but I still love you and last but not least, ENJOY THE VIEW!

The Glamorous (A Recap of the 2013 Oscars)

2013 Best Picture Winner, Argo.

It’s really hard to react to something you “technically” didn’t see. Yep, that’s right I didn’t watch this year’s Oscars. I know, I know, but in my defense, I didn’t have cable, so yeah, there’s that. However, I still heard about all of the funny/big/surprise moments as they happened.

That’s the great thing about the Internet and YouTube and Facebook and Twitter. You never miss a moment of major news events happening in the world. Everything and everyone is so connected that I literally stayed on my Facebook and Twitter news feeds and it was like I was watching the show. But since I didn’t “see” the moments happen and they don’t have that “organic” feeling of seeing them live, I don’t feel right telling you my best moment or worst moment or best dressed.  I’ll just give you my biggest winners and losers of the night.

Big Winners

Argo

Affleck still went home a winner.

Argo was the biggest winner of the night simply because it took home the biggest prize and, honestly, it was an easy call. Lincoln lost a ton of steam and the way Argo was sweeping everything else you just knew it was going home with the “Big One”. Besides, I can tell you one thing about Hollywood that I’ve learned to be completely true. We, (And I can say we damn it because I live here and I WORK here.) love to hear about ourselves. Especially the big wigs out here. Hollywood loves great movies about Hollywood. (Cut to the producer of The Artist laughing while holding a Best Picture statue.) And of course it was going to win at least three awards, so I predicted both of Argo's wins in film editing and adapted screenplay. No way it was winning Best Picture without taking home a few other awards in the process.

Christoph Waltz

Waltz is 2 for 2 at the Oscars.

If I were this guy’s agent, I’d be calling Quentin Tarantino right now (Tarantino also had a big night as he won for Best Original Screenplay for Django Unchained.) and ask when and where his next project was. I wouldn’t care if he was asking Waltz to dress in drag and play a Mexican prostitute, I’d make Waltz take the role. Waltz has won twice in the last four years and both times for playing what was essentially the same character. He’s a brilliant actor who seems to shine under Tarantino’s direction and why wouldn’t he. A character actor like Waltz will always perform well when given such juicy dialog and note worthy scenes to work with. This year’s Best Supporting Actor nominee field was the strongest in Oscar history, so if anyone of those guys won, it would have been okay with me. Still, I thought there was no way they would give it to Waltz again, especially for a second Quentin Tarantino film. (I still picked him to win in my office pool. AKA Hedging my bet baby!)

Big Loser

Lincoln

12 Nomination only equaled 2 Wins for Lincoln.

Damn, damn, damn! I knew the movie about freeing black people wasn’t ready for the big time. (That’s a joke.) From having all the momentum in the world a few months ago when it was nominated for twelve awards to going out with such a loud thud last night. I haven’t seen a performance that bad under the big lights since Tom Brady in the 2012 Super Bowl. (I originally had a “male performance” joke about Jimmy Johnson but… yeah…) Daniel Day-Lewis winning for Best Actor was a foregone conclusion, but I really thought it was set up for Spielberg to win another Best Director award. With Affleck and Bigelow missing from the nominees I thought his road to Oscar gold was clear, but with the film losing at every turn to Argo there was no way he was winning it. When a President announces your film and it still doesn’t win, it’s over. You get Lincoln in a theater be it “Ford” or “Nokia” and bad things WILL happen. (Hey I kid, I kid. I love Lincoln. Remember, I’m black, so his picture hangs next to Dr. King’s (not Waltz’ character from Django) and Obama’s. Still too soon huh?)

Bonus Winner (Or Loser)

We have an office Oscar pool at my job and I think I’m doing pretty well. I’m writing this at 10:45 PCT so I’m still not sure if I won. I can’t remember exactly what I picked, but I’m pretty sure I got 16 out of 24 awards right. And I should have gotten at least two more right if I went with my gut or remembered what I said about Lincoln. Production value makes period pieces Paris! So congrats to all the winners and better look next time to the losers. But just like me in my office Oscar pool, it’s just an honor to be in the pot or even be nominated. What the hell am I saying? That’s crazy talk, I wanna win!

Thanks for reading and don't forget to subscribe and share the blog. Join in the discussion by leaving a comment below. Follow me on twitter @ParisLay. Until next time... Enjoy the View!

All That Glitters...

       On Sunday, February 24, the Academy Awards will be handed out.

A long time ago I realized that predicting who’s going to get nominated for the Oscars is like trying to predict where that little disc in Plinko is going to fall. You can put that sucker in the middle, on the left or the right side and it’s still going to do whatever it wants. I stop trying to predict who’d get nominated years ago. Every year there’s someone/some film that should’ve been nominated that gets left out and someone/some film that shouldn’t win, but it does.

I'll prove it. Let’s play the “do you remember game” shall we. Do you remember Ed Wood? Do you remember Martin Landau in Ed Wood? Even better, do you even remember who the hell Martin Landau is? (“No” would be a totally reasonable answer to all three of those questions by the way.) Do you remember Pulp Fiction? How about Samuel L. Jackson’s role in Pulp Fiction? Not only can you probably name Jackson's character, you can probably give me more than a few lines of dialog from him in that movie. I tell you that to tell you he didn’t win the Oscar that year. Jackson lost best supporting actor to Martin Landau. Neither did Denzel Washington for Malcolm X, but don’t worry, I’ll give you another chance. Do you remember Saving Private Ryan? It’s only the greatest WWII movie ever made and it arguably has the greatest opening sequence in movie history. (When WWII vets of D-Day saw it, the opening beach assault that is, it was said that some started to cry and have flashbacks. Now that's movie making.) Well that movie didn’t win best picture. Neither did Citizen Kane. Too far back you say? Okay, lets do something more "recent". Do you remember The Iron Lady? How about The Help? Do you remember Viola Davis in The Help? Well, Davis lost best actress to Meryl Streep for her lead role in The Iron Lady. And that was just last year!  Needless to say, the Oscars get it wrong sometimes. Really, really wrong. I just find it easier to do the biggest snubs and the biggest surprises of the nominations and then do the same thing to the winners weeks later.

Biggest Snubs

Affleck and Bigelow won't be hearing their names called.

There were a few snubs in the best picture category but I can give the Academy a pass because 2012 was a strong year for films. They have ten slots for this very reason and they STILL only used nine. Skyfall, The Dark Knight Rises, Moonrise Kingdom, and The Master come to mind right off the top of my head as films that could have garnered that tenth slot but I can still give them a pass. It’s not including Ben Affleck and Kathryn Bigelow in the best director block that got me. I get that Bigelow has won before and all that jazz, but you can’t tell me Affleck couldn’t beat out anyone not name Spielberg or Lee for a spot in the best director category this year.

Samuel L. Jackson and Leonardo DiCaprio getting left out of the best supporting actor category was a little shocking as well. Jackson I understand because he did so much "chest-beating" about how he was going to win, that I just knew he wasn’t even getting nominated. I guess DiCaprio’s turn as the sadistic slave owner Calvin Candie was a little too "raw" for the voters. Funny, because the Academy usually loves when a “good guy” plays the bad guy.

Biggest Surprise

Quvenzhané Wallis is cute but she shouldn't win an Oscar.

Beast of the Southern Wild getting nominated for anything, much less getting nominated for four out of the big five; best picture, best director, best screenplay and best actress. I saw this film and I got to say it because no one else will, it sucked. I watched it two times with the hope of liking it and still nothing. Sometimes, just because something is “weird” or “offbeat” or “hard to understand” doesn’t mean it’s good. Sometimes, it’s just “weird” “offbeat” and “hard to understand” because it sucks. Also, I thought the film being released so early in the year would hurt it because I didn’t think it had the staying power to remain fresh in the voters’ eyes. I was CLEARLY wrong on that one.

Greatest "one man carry the team" job since
LeBron led Cleveland to the '07 Finals.

If you ask me, it’s setting up to be a very big year for Lincoln. It has the most nominations with eleven, critics love it and it’s done very well at the box office. (Those eleven nominations can’t hurt its chances of making even more money either.) However, the most nominations doesn’t always guarantee Oscar success. Even if that movie is directed by Steven Spielberg. (See 1986’s The Color Purple.) With Affleck and Bigelow missing, best director seems to be a lock for Spielberg and without Zero Dark Thirty and Argo getting the nod at director, it seems like the best picture award is Lincoln’s to lose as well. (Not always the case as both Lee and Spielberg have walked away with best director wins with their films still losing out on the big prize. Saving Private Ryan to Shakespeare in Love. Brokeback Mountain to Crash.) Best actor is just a “show trial" this year because we all know Day-Lewis is walking away with that one. It’s this year’s “mortal lock/willing to bet my life this guy/girl wins it” category. The toughest category to call is the best supporting actor. It’s going to be really tough to pin down because it’s the first time in any category, that I can remember anyway, anyone could walk away with it and I wouldn’t be upset at all. I have no clue who wins but they all honestly deserve it.

Personally, I would not have wanted to be a voter this year. With so many great films, great filmmakers and great performances in 2012, a lot of them were undoubtedly going to get left out. I’m not going to go line-by-line and award-by-award because it’s pointless. We really don’t have a clue what’s going to happen and years later, some of the winners are going to look "funny" and others down right wrong. You know kind of like that time when everyone thought those “finger mustaches” were all the rage. (Funny.) Or in the 80s when everyone thought doing cocaine was "cool". (Down right wrong.) I say why try to stop a car that has the key broken off in the ignition and no brakes when it’s heading for a cliff. Do what I do; get a stick and a bag of marshmallows, let it crash and burn. Then just sit back, relax, enjoy the flames and have a roasted marshmallow.

Thanks for reading and don't forget to subscribe and share the blog. Join in the discussion by leaving a comment below. Follow me on twitter @ParisLay. Until next time... Enjoy the View!

Spoiler Alert 2012: The 1st Annual Year-End Movie Blowout Extravaganza PT. 2

If you missed PT. 1, check it out here.

Paris: True. That dude is amazing. What about the best supporting role you saw this year?

10) Silver Linings Playbook

Greg: Christopher Waltz was absolutely amazing in Django Unchained. But if I had to pick someone else, I'd say Jennifer Lawrence in Silver Linings Playbook. Which I'd actually replace Les Misérables with in my top ten. (This is the first time Greg changes his mind. Notice, I said "first time".) She plays a cop's widow who is a friend of a friend and she's also a bit crazy like Bradley Cooper's character. After seeing her in The Hunger Games and believing that she was Katniss Everdeen, I was surprised to also believe her as a crazy girl who just wants to participate in a dancing competition.

Paris:  Like I said, I haven't seen it but everyone is raving about her performance in that film. I kind of want to see it more now, but I thought she was a “crazy girl” in The Hunger Games too. I love my brothers and sisters, but no way I'm taking either of their places in a battle royal to the death. My love as a brother only goes so far and “Replacing you in a battle royal to the death” is on my “Things I'd do for mama and a child"list not the "things I'd do for my siblings" list.

Greg: You should see Battle Royal, it's a Japanese "hunger games" but it's a better story/movie.

Paris: Don't get me started on The Hunger Games. When we talk about most disappointing films I'm sure I'll have a thing or two to say. But back to supporting roles--

Greg: Leo DiCaprio should also be mentioned. His role in Django Unchained was so disgusting that I started to hate him so much after the movie I had to remind myself it was Leo DiCaprio to calm me down. (Yep it’s happening again and he's cutting me off to do it.Wait for it.)

Paris: There were a lot of really good supporting roles this year. John Goodman was great in Argo and Flight. I'd say he was the best “scene-stealer” of the year. Alan Arkin was money in Argo, but I’d go back to Django Unchained. Waltz, DiCaprio, and Samuel L. Jackson were all amazing but I'll go with DiCaprio. Why? Because he's NEVER BEEN THE BAD GUY and he played it so well! When guys like him do roles like that, they kill it. They get to have fun and let loose. The role is so far from what we normally see from them, that they seem even more amazing then they really are. Think Denzel in training day. By the way, as a Black man, I can lead any discussion about movies back to Denzel Washington. It's kind of a superpower. I’ll end my thoughts on Leo’s chances with this. There’s a scene where he, Leo, holds Kerry Washington (who was NOT GOOD AT ALL IN DJANGO. Not because she was bad, but because Tarantino didn't have anything for her to do but cry and cower.) by her head and he's threatening her with a hammer. You honestly don't know if he's going to kill her or not. You see, it's not the crazy things bad guys do, its when they DON’T do something crazy and you think THEY WERE is when you know someone is really "killing" a role as a bad guy. That scene, for me anyway, was the moment when I gave the award to Leo.

Greg: Oh yeah, that was a brilliant moment and that "shake his hand part" too. I got the creeps from that. Okay you've convinced me. DiCaprio for the win! (And there it is! He changes his mind ladies and gents. But wait, there's more!)

Paris: Okay, next up is the most disappointing film of the year.

Greg: Flight *cough* *cough*

Paris: That's cold. We already have your thoughts so I'll give you mine and it wasn't very hard but I did have a few choices this year. Prometheus. This is 40. The Hunger Games. Quick rant about The Hunger Games. One, the effects sucked. The fire was about as real as Donald Trump’s hair. In fact, I think it's what they used.

Greg: I'll believe that.

Paris: Two, I didn't get to see anyone “fight to the death”. I know it was PG13 and all that, but if the movie is about a tournament of kids "fighting to the death" and you don't SHOW them “fighting to the death” it'd be like making a movie about Lincoln's last days and NOT showing him getting assassinated. See, I knew I'd have somewhere to use that analogy.

Greg: I wasn't too disappointed about that. I actually enjoyed the movie, aside from who ever that cameraman was. I wanted to kill that man! Made me sick to my stomach! "Oh look, someone's moving on the other side of the room, follow me!" The story was entertaining enough that I thought it was better than Flight. I was more disappointed with Les Misérables, even though it was in my top ten before I removed it for Silver Linings Playbook.

Paris: Anyway, the most disappointing film to me was The Hobbit.

Greg: Not The Hobbit.

Paris: Yep, The Hobbit.  I saw it in 48FPS (Frames Per Second) and for those who don't know, most films are shot in 24FPS. It’s what makes a movie look like… well a “movie”. The Hobbit looked like a BBC TV show. A very, very, expensive BBC TV show.

Greg: What's wrong with a BBC show? I like Doctor Who.

Paris: Nothing, but I don't expect to see one in a movie theater. It takes you out of the film and the actors seem to be moving too fast at first glance because they are moving too fast. Even after getting past that, the movie was way too damn long.

Greg: It didn't feel that long to me.

Paris: I don't know anything about the "lore" of LOTR (Lord of the Rings) so I didn't know this was the first of three movies. I also had to see it twice because the projector overheated, the NUMBER ONE SIGN A MOVIE IS TOO LONG,  and I thought I missed out on the big dragon battle. So I went to see it again and all I missed was the dragon opening his eye! Literally all I missed!

Greg: All right, I'll give you that one.

Paris: The dinner scene in the beginning was about 35-45 minutes too long and one more thing, if Gandalf knew the “butterflies can go get giant eagles trick” the whole time why didn't they use it in the beginning?! If I was Bilbo, I would have kicked him in the balls for all the walking we did.  Plus the eagles dropped them off at the TOP OF A MOUNTAIN... LIKE 60 MILES FROM WHERE THEY NEEDED TO BE!

Greg: Well, while you were sulking at having shilled out more money to see The Hobbit again. I saw Les Misérables twice and paid for it FOUR TIMES and it wasn't as good as I thought it was going to be. I saw it Christmas night with my friends. I was sitting in the theater waiting for them when they told me to go to the other theater across town because they were going to miss that showing. Lucky for them, not for me, that I had accidentally purchased a ticket for that showing before I bought the ticket for the theater I was in. So I get to the second theater, I wait in line again, get to my seat and I can't hear the movie. So I miss a lot and the movie seems boring to me, taking into account that I usually enjoy musicals. So I go back again, a few days later, and I take my little sister with me. I get bored during Anne Hathaway's big moment, so I order a hot dog and agree to wait while it cooks.

Paris: Damn! Seems like someone was more disappointed in a movie that was once in their top-ten than the movie they picked, Flight. (And the circle is almost complete.)

Greg: Hugh Jackman sounded like a goat at one point. I know because I lived on a goat farm and Russell Crowes character, my favorite character in the movie, dies off and so it was painful. That said, it was better than most other movies I've seen this year and I have the soundtrack on repeat as we speak, so it was really good, but I was disappointed that it wasn't my favorite movie of the year. (There we go, the final flip-flop.)

Paris: True. One last thing about my top-ten list. I added The Avengers because I do really think it was one of the ten best films of the year. I don't like that "summer popcorn flicks" or "superhero flicks" never get the love from critics on that "award winning" level. The Avengers is one the years best reviewed flicks so why wouldn't you put it in your top ten? And again, The Dark Knight Rises goes in my top-ten because Batman fans are crazy and they're still pissed about TDK not getting love in '08.

Greg: First off, The Avengers was a good movie, but wasn't a top-ten movie for me. Mostly because the writing wasn't the best. Yes it was entertaining, but just throwing special effects at you shouldn't be a reason for being top-ten. I know there have been movies that have won for that, but I don't agree with those either, unless they make more effort to tell a great story. As for TDKR, wasn't nearly as good as The Dark Knight. Mostly because Bane didn't feel like the real bad guy in the story. Batman seemed to be defeating himself more than anything else and it was boring.

Paris: Fair points but lets wrap this puppy up. I'll say that Life of Pi and Skyfall were the best looking films of the year. Both of those films “popped” off the screen to me. I'm not a big cinematography guy, but you can't help but notice the way those films LOOK on the screen. Moonrise Kingdom was the best love story I saw, although I'm not totally sure they shouldn't be checking to see if a person is a registered sex offender or not before they're allowed to watch it. As I already said, Zero Dark Thirty gets my nod. It's so visceral, so real that I, as an Iraq War vet, got physically uncomfortable watching it more than once. It was that real to me. It wasn't "pretty" but it was shot just the way it needed to be. The performances where all top notch and I'm sure Jessica Chastain will give Jennifer Lawrence a run for her money.

Greg: I wish I could comment on that.

Paris: If you've seen Homeland think Carrie, but more "believable crazy". If that makes sense.

Greg: I haven't seen Homeland.

Paris: Carrie is the show’s lead played by actress Claire Danes. She’s actually won a few awards for her performance but she’s a little "TV over-The-Top” and “no one THAT crazy would be in the CIA" crazy. Overall, I still choose Zero Dark Thirty because, like Django Unchained, it held my attention the whole time and because I'm Black, I have to give the nod to Zero Dark Thirty.

Greg: Now I feel racist if I say I give the nod to Django Unchained because I'm white Hispanic. But I give it to Django Unchained because while it was silly, it still had real moments. That's important to making a good film, how believable it is to an audience and it had that.

Paris: "Real" is a word that I would use "lightly" when talking about that movie. Let’s just say the shootouts at the end of ZDT and DU were very different.

Greg: I think the word I'm searching for is "believable". Within the constraints of the universe that Tarantino created anyway.

Paris: I've seen people get shot and trust me, they don't bleed like that.

Greg: You mean they don't bleed like that?! I don't understand this world anymore!

Thanks for reading and don't forget to subscribe and share the blog. Join in the discussion by leaving a comment below. Follow me on twitter @ParisLay. Until next time... Enjoy the View!