Movie Oscar Picks

Well, I'm going to venture into a field here I'm sure more than a few will shrug at; I like movies. They are a momentary escape from daily life and a glimpse into another world. My thoughts are though that if an actor, actress, director etc. ventures out with personal opinions and/or law enforcement issues where i cannot separate the two we have a problem. I need to be able to stay in a suspended belief of the character as the character is portrayed, not as an issue character. Some involved making movies have crossed that line for me and I can't separate them. With that being said here are my top 3 picks for the year.

La La Land
Ok, now I've lost a bunch of you. It is a throw back movie to movies of the 1940's-50's. Beautifully directed, acted, filmed, script, etc. A slam dunk for Oscar best picture. A story of hopes and dreams, and "what ifs". It makes one think introspective. But you have to like musicals, big band, jazz . . .

Hell or High Water
Great flick, and gets stronger as it goes along. A modern day tale in west Texas of a pair of bank robbers and a Texas Ranger trying to catch them. A fabulous well told story with a scene at the very end where everything is frozen with suspense, know one is moving or talking and you will be frozen as well. Jeff Bridges plays his character with zest and perfectly. (Movie is available for rental now)

Manchester by the Sea
An excellent movie . . . but I never want to see it again. Great acting and script. It is a movie too true to life in many regards, but yet done so well it is worth seeing. A lot of dry humor amongst tragedy.

IMHO others ranked below these three.