NETFLIX PICK: The One I Love

It's a snow day here in Franklin, Tennessee. And if you took a poll about the activities kids do when they don't have to come to school, I assure you that "watch Netflix" would rank near the top.

So that's what I have done so far today. And I've kicked off my lazy day with this brilliant movie directed by Charlie McDowell. 

Much like the trailer, I'm not gonna give this one away for you. What I can tell you is that if you choose to watch this, you're in for a surreal, phantasmagorical ride.

Along with being funny, somewhat creepy, and whimsical, it's one of the most realistic "weird" movies I've seen. Though the premise is oddball and Twilight Zone-esque, the way the characters handle it feels incredibly authentic. The way that the phenomena is "explained" is perfect too - not the overkill it could have been.

I'm sitting here kind of frustrated with myself because it's really hard to talk about how cool this movie is without giving it away. So go watch it. You're gonna enjoy the music, the performances by Mark Duplass and Elizabeth Moss (again, I can't even tell you why they knocked it out of the park), and the attention to detail. 

Sorry this one was so vague. Let me know if you wanna chat spoilers after you watch it.

Stay warm out there.

P.S. - Don't you dare look now - but do a double take of the poster after you watch the movie. Too cool.

Room

"There's so much of 'place' in the world."

Just a quick recap of this movie's Oscar status:

Emma Donoghue - nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay (of her own book of the same name)

Brie Larson - nominated for Best Actress for her role as "Ma"

Lenny Abrahamson - nominated for Best Director

Room - nominated for Best Picture

Room is a masterpiece of storytelling that uses its medium to its utmost potential. Go into this movie blind - don't watch the trailer whatever you do - but know that you are about to experience something unique, beautiful, emotional, and complex.

Room, if you don't know the premise, is about a woman named Joy who is kidnapped and kept in a garden shed as a sex slave for 7 years. During her time in "Room", she has a son named Jack - who changes everything. The relationship between "Ma" and her son Jack unfolds on screen, and the story is told through his perspective.

Despite the heavy subject matter, Room finds the absolute perfect sweet spot between the dark and the light. My favorite movies are the ones that make me feel a wide range of emotions in their runtime, and Room goes above and beyond that criteria. I laughed and I cried. Every muscle in my body tensed up, and I got chills for 30 seconds straight. It wrecked me.

Jacob Tremblay, who plays Jack, is among the best, if not the best child actor I've ever seen. His chemistry with Brie Larson, along with the movie's fantastic attention to detail, make the movie feel authentic and special.

Though I had heard the second act was less than the first, I disagreed - it deals with a different antagonist, but the impact of it is crucial to telling the story and I enjoyed it just as much as the first act.

The camerawork is visionary and makes full use of camera movements to force perspective of space - making small places seem big and small and showing how big the outside world really is.

The music, composed by Stephen Rennicks, completely enhanced every frame - I would have preferred Room's score to be nominated over Carol's.

This is a movie about the good and the bad in the world, finding strength when it's the hardest to, and the relationship between mother and son. It sticks with you. It never falls into the cliches it should've fallen into. It might make you cry multiple times, of sadness and of joy. It changes the way you see the world.

It's easily one of the best films of 2015. I hope it takes home some Oscars, and I hope you go see it before then.