Best Picture Nom: BlacKkKlansman

Should this movie win Best Picture?

Me: If we are allowing remakes to win Best Picture, then yes. I personally don't like that idea, but I would be okay with this one being the exception. This was a tightly written, well-executed movie on every front. The undercover aspect of the characters' journey was compelling and infused a mechanical tension that felt real, yet there was plenty of natural, emotional tension with the racial implications. The movie's setting was presented well while not going overboard.

The wife: I think it will win, and I'd be okay with that. I feel like the movie showed the truth of racism in a very real way. It wasn't biased one way or the other in the sense that it's coming from just one black person's stance or one white person's stance. With it being based on a true story, it felt very real and factual and didn't get the "Hollywood treatment" like a lot of movies based on true stories tend to turn out.

Do we recommend this movie?

Me: Yes. It was a fun movie to watch, mostly well-paced, and gave the audience both sides of the story that the characters don't all have, which usually makes for a more interesting approach to storytelling. It should relate to just about everyone these days.

The wife: Yes. It balanced the seriousness of the issues with a light-hearted approach. It wasn't too heavy of a movie to watch.

The best parts of this movie?

Me: The acting, both from John David Washington and Adam Driver, was good. I think Topher Grace somehow was both miscast completely, yet was the perfect person for his role. He just didn't come off as empowered as he should, as if standing in his presence was a big deal. Also, Spike Lee's presentation of today's racial issues in our society was the perfect final piece to remind us of how prevalent this issue still is.

The wife: The last few minutes of the movie where they showed recent protests, which is one of the main reasons it probably will win Best Picture. The movie showed racism from a long time ago, yet, at the end, proved that we still deal with this issue today just as much.

The worst parts of this movie?

Me: To me, there was no definitive weakness. It was a little more drawn out than it needed to be at times, but there was no wasted screen time with the main characters. I'll be honest, though. I had to rewind a couple of moments at the end because I missed one or two important occurrences that made a difference, so maybe those clips could've been better shot and edited.

The wife: There really isn't a worst part. I really enjoyed it from start to finish.