Episode 31: Phrasal Verbs and the Oscars

Listen to this Episode of "Coffee with Gringos" here or on iTunes, Spotify, Google Play and Stitcher.

TRANSCRIPT

Paige: You're listening to Coffee with Gringos. I'm Paige Sutherland. 

Mariah: And I'm Mariah Wika. This week on the podcast, we're talking about an annual event where all of the biggest stars get together. We're chatting about the Oscars. As we talk, we'll be using phrasal verbs. We know that these are tricky, and we wanted to be sure that you had a chance to hear them in context. So, as we talk about the movies we watched, we'll be using those a lot.

Paige: Just to point out for our listeners, the Oscars is the biggest night in Hollywood.

Mariah: Of course.

Paige: So, it's in Los Angeles. Everyone is dressed up. Best gowns, jewelry, hair, makeup.

Mariah: The tuxedos.

Paige: Everything. I mean, they spend maybe three hours before the event just walking down the red carpet to show off how beautiful these people look.

Mariah: Right. Right, and it's always so fun to watch everybody show up. And it's such a surprise to see what they're wearing. It's a huge deal. Something that I love about it is that it brings together people who are the celebrities, the actors, and the actresses, but also makeup artists and audio producers and people that do the behind-the-scenes work of films that normally don't receive any attention or recognition. I think that's a really special thing.

Paige: And I just want to give disclosure... if you have not watched the Oscars, did not read up on it, we might give a few things away about who won, what movies, what actors, what actresses. So, let's talk about the movies now.

Mariah: Yeah, perfect. 

Paige: So, I'm a big movie buff. I saw all of the Oscar nominated movies.

Mariah: If you listened to our episode on books and movies, which you can find on the website, you know that Paige is a movie fanatic, and I'm not. But, I did manage to see some of those movies. And so, I'm not totally behind this year.

Paige: Okay, so, I know that you saw Roma.

Mariah: I did.

Paige: There was a lot of talk about that movie. A lot of buzz around this movie. It was nominated for lots of awards, particularly best picture, which is basically best overall movie category. What are your thoughts?

Mariah: I loved Roma. I mean, Roma is a movie that comes from Mexico. And so the director really stayed true to Mexican culture and history. I would say that Roma is not the fastest paced movie in the world, but the story is beautiful, the acting is phenomenal, and it was released on Netflix. And so, it's a movie that really keeps up with this trend of streaming services, right? You could see it in theaters, but it was also streamed on Netflix. Really, really interesting in that way. I thought it was beautiful. I loved it.

Paige: It was really a breakout movie. Because usually this kind of movie... it was in Spanish... is only nominated in the foreign film category. But this year, it was really a breakout because it was nominated in so many other categories.

Mariah: Right, and so it stood out among the other films in that way. And I think that that's a great sign for the future that to think that movies that are in other languages are not anomalies, they're just spectacular films that deserve to have their place with films that are in English. 

Paige: And so I have to point out a movie that we both saw. Because I unfortunately have not seen Roma, I need to. It's on my list. But... A Star is Born. That is a movie where the characters really got a long well. I mean, the chemistry was phenomenal.

Mariah: Oh my gosh. Yeah, I mean did they get along, or were they in love? It's tough to say. The chemistry between Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga is just fantastic. I mean, it's the classic story of this rock star that discovers that discovers this young talent and y'know, he tries to help her rise to stardom and of course the journey is complicated, and I thought it was beautiful. I thought it was beautiful and sad, and I liked it a lot. I thought it deserved the attention it received.

Paige: And talk about breakout performance.

Mariah: From Lady Gaga.

Paige: I mean, Lady Gaga, this is her first time ever acting. Bradley Cooper, this is his first time singing and performing. He learned the guitar for this role. He directed the movie! So, they were really breakout performances for both Bradley and Lady Gaga. And just overall, I think a really good story.

Mariah: Yeah, yeah, definitely. I thought it was fantastic. 

Paige: Another one to mention is The Favorite. I heard a lot of talk about The Favorite. It was a let down for me. I expected it to be this really funny, great drama story. But, I didn't love it.

Mariah: It didn't live up to your expectations.

Paige: No.

Mariah: I was looking forward to The Favorite. But, I struggled to keep up with the plot. I don't know if it was just me, but I thought it was hard to follow. And I also don't love that time period. So that's part of it. I thought it was really artistic, and I thought that the acting was fantastic. But it wasn't a film that I enjoyed. It made me feel uncomfortable, but sometimes that's the point of movies, right? To feel a little uncomfortable and to make you think.

Paige: I agree. I kind of went into the movie with that feeling of... I don't love this time period, I don't love the outfits, I don't love the traditions, I don't love the culture of that period. It's very sexist. And so I kind of was like...I don't normally like this style of movie, but everyone says it's good, I love Emma Stone and Rachel Weiss, I think they're great actresses. Like you said, the plot just wasn't there for me. 

Mariah: No, I totally agree. And then of course there's the film that won it all, right? You've seen it, and I have not seen it. Green Book.

Paige: Yeah, I know that there was a lot of controversy about whether this should win or not. Regardless of that, I thought the movie overall was great. It checked all the boxes for me. It had great actors, they had phenomenal performances, and the story for me... I am a sucker for true stories. I love movies that talk about a real relationship. And this movie was about a friendship between a black and a white person, which during that time period was not common. It was this heart-wrenching drama, but also a lot of comedy sprinkled throughout it. It was just an overall good story.

Mariah: Right, which is probably why it took away the big prize! I would love to see that movie. I think that it sounds worth a watch for sure.

Paige: Another movie I have to point out is Bohemian Rapsody. So that movie won best actor, for the depiction of Freddie Mercury, of the band Queen. I'm not a huge fan of movies about rock stars.

Mariah: Why not?!

Paige: I think they're very stereotypical. It's always rock star wasn't famous, fame takes over his life, he does drugs, has a lot of sex, his life goes down. It's always the same story.

Mariah: The rise and fall.

Paige: But this was... it had a tinge of that, but it was mostly about the music. It was a lot of music, good music, and they showed you how the band was formed, their practices, how they wrote songs, and why they wrote them. 

Mariah: This is one that I haven't seen and definitely need to - another one to add to my list. But, I heard that the music is just phenomenal. I love music, and of course, back in the day, Queen blew up everywhere. The music was and continues to be a powerful cultural presence. And so I think it's one that I would enjoy, especially since I love musicals.

Paige: I think the overall performance of this actor really stood out. He was incredible both with the acting and the musical part. Looking back, we talked about a few of the movies, you obviously still need to see a few... 

Mariah: I need to get caught up.

Paige: What would you say has been your favorite this Oscar season?

Mariah: I loved A Star is Born. I thought it was really sad but a beautiful story, great music, and that performance between Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper was unreal and so cool to see lady Gaga outside of her general comfort zone. How about you?

Paige: That's tough. I think A Star is Born is up there for me, but Green Book might have to be the winner for, again, a sucker for a true story.

Mariah: We hope that as you listened, you got some good movie suggestions, and also that you were able to follow along with those phrasal verbs. We know that they're a tricky part of English, and so, if you were confused along the way, check out the transcript and vocabulary guide on the website. Thanks again for listening, and we'll talk to you soon.