unless I missed it, neither of them ever said Vicky Krieps's name!

Ugh, that is not right. She is an amazing find, and I'm slightly miffed she is being ignored while Daniel Day Lewis and Leslie Manville got their Oscar noms. She holds her own against them every step of the way.

The only movie with major Oscar noms I hadn't seen yet was I, Tonya so I remedied that earlier this week. I found it entertaining but perhaps a bit too breezy for its subject matter? Its glibness is both a feature and a bug, I think. It reminded me a lot of The Big Short from a couple of years ago, both in tone and in format (specifically the fourth wall-breaking). The performances are very fine, especially Margot Robbie in the title role, despite her being such a physical mismatch for Harding. Allison Janey has a showy role as her mother, and while she (and her parrot) is an amazing scene-stealer, I don't think it's as layered and complex as Laurie Metcalf's performance in Lady Bird -- so my hope is that Metcalf would take it come Oscar time, even though I flove Allison Janey in general.

Okay, so there are all these prestige Oscars-y movies all over your multiplex right now, right? But forget about all that. If you're gonna go see anything in theater this weekend, GO SEE PADDINGTON 2. Doesn't matter if you haven't seen the first Paddington movie (it's on Netflix and is perfectly charming). But this second movie is on another level. It is a hilarious and heartwarming delight, and is honestly fucking magical in some of its visual imagination. There is a sequence involving a pop-up book that was so lovely, it made me well up and took my breath away. The characters, especially the damn bear, will give you ALL the feelings. I cried, like, 3 times. Hugh Grant is in it hamming it up as the villain and I haven't seen him having so much fun since the first Bridget Jones movie. If you have kids, take the kids. If you don't, go anyway, with friends or by yourself or whatever. It will make you feel better about the state of the world.

I'd intended to see The Post today, but a migraine coma derailed my afternoon moviegoing and I feel way too groggy and dizzy to go to an evening show now. Maybe tomorrow afternoon.

I'd also vaguely like to see Darkest Hour, but not enough to see a 2-hour spinach movie that starts at 9:40 pm.

I agree entirely with Vonnie about I, Tonya.

I have been hearing amazing things about Paddington 2.

I suspect it will suffer the same fate as Babe 2: Pig in the City (also an unexpectedly great sequel that didn't find its audience).

I always thought Gremlins 2 was a better movie than the first one.

Paddington 2 has been a massive hit in the UK and it's extremely well reviewed. It's no Pig in the City. But yeah, go see it.

The animated pop-up book sequence which Vonnie mentions is an homage to the Paddington TV series British kids grew up with in the late '70s and early '80s. Paddington was a little 3D model and everything else was drawn in 2D, and it was narrated by Michael Hordern. It was lovely. Lots of it on youtube.

Going to see The Shape of Water today, using moviepass for the first time.

Saw The Post yesterday and enjoyed it. It was beautifully cast. Streep was wonderful, as usual, but so was Carrie Coon and, well, everyone. I did not think Hanks' performance was weak, but it just can't live up to Robards in the same role. There were a couple of Spielbergian on-the-nose moments, but also some wonderful subtlety. I love that Graham saying "I'm not speaking to you right now" and turning away was such a tiny moment but said so much about her taking her power. I heard a couple of gasps in the audience.

I saw it today and liked it very much. I think The Shape of Water suits my sensibilities better, but I kind of want this to win Best Picture so it underscores how the press is *supposed* to report on political corruption.

But this second movie is on another level. It is a hilarious and heartwarming delight, and is honestly fucking magical in some of its visual imagination. There is a sequence involving a pop-up book that was so lovely, it made me well up and took my breath away. The characters, especially the damn bear, will give you ALL the feelings.

I haven't seen either Paddington movie, but this is a little bit of how I feel just having watched Brigsby Bear, which came out earlier this year. I don't know if it is streaming, but I got it on DVD from the library. So sweet and sad and heartwarming. Highly recommended.

Also, I finally got out to Phantom Thread. I don't really get the Rebecca comparisons. In fact, I rather think they led me astray regarding how to interpret the characters at first.

I liked it, but it didn't wow me. Except for the score, which I agree was magnificent. I suppose I don't see why it is a love/hate movie either, but, then again I hated both The Master and Inherent Vice and other people don't understand that. Still, I was happy to finally see something by PTA that I liked again though I don't expect it to dethrone There Will Be Blood or some of his other earlier stuff for me.