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What da fudge is this Hell or High Water? That looks my kinda movie.

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It's really good and Bridges was great in it.

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Not as good as Ben Foster who wasn't even nominated.

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Well yes, I have to agree with you on that. He really stole every scene he was in. I loved that scene with him and the waitress. I don't remember exactly what he said to her but I was cracking up. It was something about him being trouble.

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lol!

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It's good! I saw it on dvd a couple weeks ago and wish I had seen it on a big screen because it has these wide sweeping bleak landscapes like an old fashioned western.

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mahershala ali!!!!!

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He just had a kid 4 days ago! wow this will be a memorable week for him!

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If having the kid didn't seal it this definitely makes it the biggest of his life

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well deserved and the man´s obiously a class act.
great speech

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So happy Mahershala Ali won supporting actor. He deserved it.

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Didn't see it but he looked sharp as hell in that suit.

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Haven't seen it yet but seems a great movie.

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He was good, but not as good as Ben Foster in Hell or High Water, and he wasn't even nominated.

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Ben Foster was great in "Hell or High Water," but I'm good with the Ali win, because I think he actually earned it with his work in "Free State of Jones."

I think Jeff Bridges and Ben Foster in "Hell or High Water" gave stronger performances than Mahershala Ali's in "Moonlight," but for me they're not as powerful as Ali in "Free State of Jones."

That said, Ben Foster is one of my favorite actors, and I've never seen a less than impressive performance by him. I love his intensity, his commitment, and his ability to transform while always being (as far as I've seen) completely convincing. I hope he keeps getting great roles.

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I haven't seen Free State of Jones so will check it out.

It doesn't bother me that Ali won, just that Ben Foster didn't even get nominated for an excellent performance (one of many in his career), and he even had more screen time than him too. He actually should have been at least nominated for Best Actor in a Lead Role imo, but no, he was totally snubbed.

Yes hopefully he keeps getting great roles and we keep enjoying them.

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Yes, I think Ben Foster is a seriously talented actor who can memorably pull off some very "out there" characters or improbable transformations and still manage to avoid feeling at all gimmicky. Just off the top of my head, 3:10 to Yuma, Rampart, Kill Your Darlings, The Program... all top-notch skills there.

Sometimes I wonder if it's better for character actors like him to not get Oscar-nominated. As soon as you become widely known, it's harder to disappear as a character. I think some of that is because Hollywood tries to typecast its "movie stars" and some of that may also simply be audience psychology ("Oh, I know that guy. He was such-and-such character...").

I'm interested to hear what you think of Free State of Jones. Ali's performance in it is a very different kind of performance than Foster's in Hell or High Water. Come to think of it, Ali and Foster are also very different kinds of actors from what I've seen. Ali seems to be relatively more internalized and his performances rely more on his non-verbal expression, whereas with Foster, I feel like what makes him stand out is his technical skill with changing his voice and posture, and his affinity for going big.

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Well I don't think it hurts to get nominated, however, I do think it hurts if they actually go and WIN an Oscar, and not just for character actors but 'lead' (btw, less talented imo) actors too. Like you say, Hollywood then tries to typecast them, and also they suddenly ask for more money, and they end up losing out on being considered for roles in smaller budget, yet more interesting, films.

It's true what you say about audience psychology though. That's why I love 'world cinema', because I can see actors I have never seen before and that helps in making me 'believe' their characters more.

I'll let you know what I think of Free State when I see it, I haven't had a chance yet, but I will before the end of the week for sure!

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I finally saw Free State of Jones and I've got to say Ali was great as Moses. I didn't even recognise it was him at first. So okay, I'm happier now that he won the Oscar. Still think that Foster should have been nominated though. Both great actors, in any case. Thanks for the recommendation, I really enjoyed the film.

I had a colleague that was from around Tenessee and she met a British blackman who was studying at university there and she ran off to the UK with him because going back several generations her family were real supreme racists, I think she actually said they were from the Klu Klux Klan. She had five brothers and she was the only girl in the family and none of them want anything to do with her. Not that she cares, she's very happy living her live with her husband in the UK. But this film highlights where that kind of mentality comes from.

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Hi Cornelia123, sorry for such a late reply; life threw me off my groove here, but it's settled now. Hope all's good with you.  

I'm glad you liked "Free State of Jones"! I thought it was a much better movie than reviews made it out to be (esp. since some critics didn't separate their idea of the film's perceived politics from their critique of the film on its own merits). I had some issues with "Free State of Jones" myself, but there's a good film in there, and I'm glad I saw it.

Yeah, this film did a good job depicting some of the racist mentality that still exists today. I know people who—although they've never explicitly expressed a dislike or distrust of people of a different race—nonetheless think of them as being meaningfully, inherently different, and treat them that way. I don't get it. We're all here in this time and place, we ought to make the best of it together. I'd rather try to learn about and share the best of everybody's cultures and ideas, and be glad for and try to expand on what I have in common with other people, than use any differences as a barrier. I know it's not always as simple as that, but it doesn't have to be impossible, either.  

That's unfortunate about your colleague's blood family. Good on her for moving on, sometimes that's all you can do, or it's best.  

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That's why I love 'world cinema', because I can see actors I have never seen before and that helps in making me 'believe' their characters more.

Yeah, I enjoy seeing non-Hollywood films partly for that reason, too. 

Although there are also actors whom I just enjoy watching, and I don't mind that I know it's them nor if they give a performance that feels "like them." In fact that may even be exactly what I was looking for! (It's taken me a while to reconcile with this: how to or whether to judge between actors who do something different from role to role, and those who tend not to, but for me it still just boils down to honesty and charisma).

Anyway, there are times I seek out the work of actors I like, and there are times I don't even want to think about the notion of an actor behind the character—I just want to be immersed in the story as though it were real.  But the problem with alternating between knowing and not knowing, is that eventually I can't "not know" anymore! That immersion thanks to a total lack of recognition of an actor isn't sustainable. Turns out that many known actors are known for good reason. I've also recognized certain talented non-Hollywood actors understandably getting cast again to lead good non-Hollywood films. There is no escaping knowing!

What to do? I used to avert my eyes from opening credits. Then I found that good actors have a way of drawing my attention, anyway, such that eventually they *will* feel familiar, and then recognizable even if I don't know their name. And I do indeed like certain actors more than others, and often find it worth seeking them out. It's been an uphill battle to "not know" ever since! :)

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Oscar's an oscar. Hilarious.

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Suicide squad for best makeup.
No argument there

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Seriously?

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It had good makeup. that is all the award is for.

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Fair enough, I just didn't think the makeup was that great.

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Not more impressive than Star Trek, imo.

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Yikes. They have people that actually come up and yank you off stage now? Just give em a big hook and be done with it!

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the guy thanks his deceased wife and he gets almost dragged off stage.
So much for tolerance and empathy Hollywood ...

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That was embarrassing...happened right as he was talking about his wife that passed away...

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Was rooting for Fantastic Beasts and it won! Much to my surprise. In yo face La La La...

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Yewpee. Hated that film!

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A little late to the party, I was looking for a decent live stream and I finally found one. :)

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👍

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WHERE did you find decent live stream? I am still stumbling around on the Internet....like a blinded Greek drama figure...

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I said decent, I spoke too soon. It's glitchy as hell, at least for me, but here it is anyway.

http://fulltvshows.org/live/

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OH! I think I got it : ) They're talking about casting director Lynn Stallmaster....something about Jackie Chan, too...okay, I think I'm in...

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Cool. Let me know if it gets glitchy for you. :)

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