Going to the Movies...Not

I began writing about going to the movies in 2008.  And, I think that I have written about the upcoming Academy Awards every since then. But not this year.

Wait, before you think that I joined the boycott of this year's Oscars, let me explain.

For 10 years, my husband and I have prepared to watch the Academy Awards by trying to see many of the movies nominated in the "best movie" category. And likewise, to see the movies with the best actors/ actress nominees.  It's a mad scramble, sometimes. Our local theaters don't necessarily bring in these movies.  So the first obstacle to seeing the movies is being able to see them.

This year, the nominees for best picture were: Bridge of Spies; Mad Max: Fury Road; The Revenant; Spotlight; The Martian; The Big Short; Room; Brooklyn.

And the winner is....Spotlight.  By sheer chance, that is the only movie that we saw in advance of the Academy Awards program.

Other than the paucity of our local theaters showing all these movies, we read reviews in advance, and based on our interests, decided that we wanted to see Spotlight; Bridge of Spies; and The Big Short.

So, why not the others?  Hard to say, exactly. Except...

• no stomach for the dystopian view of the world (Mad Max: Fury Road)
• no desire to contemplate someone being stranded on Mars;
• no interest in protracted vengeance by a 19th century hunter; 
• no need to see the dramatization of a novel I read about a woman held captive by a psychopath;
• not sure about a borough in New York City.

But, we watched the annual distribution of the Oscars anyway.  I still love movies. But I must say that this year's selection of dystopian, dysfunctional, disgusting premises left me cold. 

No hurray for Hollywood for me this year. Here's hoping for a better selection in 2017.  Maybe then I can go back to my "Going to the Movies" series.