At the Cinema - April 2021

The Father – 10

Anthony Hopkins won his second Best Actor Oscar, in a huge upset over Chadwick Boseman, for his portrayal of a an elderly man in the throes of dementia.  The screenplay also won a well-deserved Academy Award, as it plays with his life the way Christopher Nolan plays with time.  Olivia Coleman plays the daughter trying to care for him. 

I didn’t realize until late in the movie how bad his dementia was, to the point that his life was almost a hallucination, and his memory was not only playing tricks on him, but playing tricks on us.  As I age, and  not only does my memory suffer, but my proficiency at Jeopardy and trivia fades, movies like this are the real horror movies.  How bad can things get?  At 28, 38, or 48 I probably would not have been as moved as I was just days from turning 68.  I also have to confess that I had to go a you tube video to explain the movie.  I find myself doing that more and more.

As for Hopkins’ Oscar win, my comment is this.  He is brilliant, but I can’t help but think that any number of actors could have been as effective in this role.  Boseman’s performance was one that I just couldn’t see anyone else doing as well.  That’s my two cents.

The Mole Agent – 9

A great companion piece to The Father, this is a Chilean film that got an Oscar nomination for Best Documentary, although I found it hard to believe as a documentary.  The film centers on 85 year old Sergio who is recruited to go undercover in a nursing home to investigate abuse. It’s a wonderful story and the filming is so realistic that it just doesn’t play like a documentary.  It’s almost too good. 

What Sergio finds is a world of loneliness and family abandonment.  If you’re old, but feeling like you’re going to hang around for a long time, The Father and The Mole Agent combine for a double feature that will give you a whole lot more questions than answers about how you can script your twilight years.

Minari – 10

This Oscar nominated film is the story of a Korean family who moves from California to Arkansas in the 1980’s to try to raise Korean produce on a plot of land that the father has purchased.  The less than enthusiastic family is joined by the wife’s grandmother, (Oscar winner for supporting actress Youn Yuh-jung – who is hilarious) and a local helper (an almost unrecognizable Will Patton).  Together they try to overcome all the adversities and uncertainties that farming must bring.

This is a wonderfully gentle movie.  I spent a year in Arkansas, and the film gets it right in how great the people are there.  You are holding your breath waiting for a bad egg to surface, but the locals are nothing but helpful to the struggling family.  This enjoyable film has more heart that you could ask for.

My Octopus Teacher – 10

The movie that won the Best Documentary Oscar contains probably the most amazing footage I’ve ever seen in a movie.  Day after day for over a year, filmmaker Craig Foster dives into a South African lagoon where he begins a journey of self-discovery led by an Octopus, whose one-year life span is an adventure that Craig gets to document.  Did I mention that the footage is amazing?  If you are not enthralled by this camerawork, you aren’t alive.  It is just unbelievable how close he gets to the octopus, not only physically, but emotionally.  As their relationship develops and the octopus is the hunter and the hunted in the ocean’s ecosystem, I couldn’t help but be moved.  In a year of great documentaries, most about the political and social media world, Netflix pulled this one out of the ocean, and it is riveting.  The Best Picture Oscar has eluded Netflix, but their documentary contributions are just marvelous.

                                      

Always Be My Maybe – 9

What a pleasant surprise to find a rom-com that lives up to the genre.  An Asian comedy about a life long friendship, I found this even better than Crazy Rich Asians.  Ali Wong and Randall Park play childhood sweethearts who have avoided each other for 15 years.  She is a successful restauranter and he still plays in his unsuccessful rock band that he loves.  Charming and funny, when you’re in the mood for a non-Hallmark romance, check this one out.

Roadies and High Fidelity – reprise

For my music loving, music browsing friends just a reminder to check out these two one-season wonders now showing on Hulu.  Roadies, a Cameron Crowe story of the support team behind a touring rock band, flew under the radar on its initial Showtime run, and High Fidelity didn’t get a second season, but that’s ok, because the first seasons would be hard to top.  I’ve got to confess, I’ve binged these all the way through, twice.  They both have heart, and moments of brilliance, and if you are one of those people who miss record stores, from Tower Records to the local store, these are for you.

How to Fix the Oscars

This year’s Oscars, with its all-time low viewing audience, somehow was able to put together a finale even more credibility-shaking than the Moonlight – LaLa Land debacle of a few years ago.  The producers got into the prognosticating business and they were so sure that the late Chadwick Boseman was going to win and the night would end with tears, they stupidly moved Best Actor to the last award and got what they were asking for – a huge letdown when Anthony Hopkins won, and he wasn’t even there to accept his award.  He was sure too, I guess. 

What a mess.  It was heartbreaking for us movie fans who still love this bullshit, and we know that’s what it is.  But, all award shows have lost their appeal.  Maybe its backlash over the political statements (and this one was heavy with that.)  Maybe it’s the inherent unfairness of trying to single out a performance as “best.”  Maybe it’s the rise of streaming and the fact that award shows haven’t figured out just how to sort that out.

I don’t know the answer to getting the audience back, so I’m going to just offer up some suggestions on how the show can get better, because let’s face it, it can’t get much worse.

1.     Go back to the host.  Find someone who isn’t snarky or swarmy, and just has some nice appeal.  And make sure he or she loves movies.

2.      Do what you do best.  American movies became beloved because of their musicals.  Take a cue from the Tony’s (and from Kelly Clarkson) and start the show with music.  Where do most actors start?  In local musical theater.  Gather up all these great singers and dancers and put on a show.  I’m thinking of a whole crew of superstars who are great, but rarely get to sing in a movie like:  Ann Hathaway, Emily Blunt, Amanda Seyfried, Evan Rachel Wood, Kristen Bell, Gwyneth Paltrow, Anna Kendrick, Katy Sagal, Emma Rossum, Emma Stone, Emma Watson.  And that’s just the women.  Hell, you could do it with just Emma’s.  Next year we’ll do the men.   Maybe they could do a medley of the best song nominees, or just a great production number. 

3.      They hit on something this year in asking people what their favorite movie is.  Start right now and tour the nation.  I’d be glad to tell somecatone about my favorites, and take us all and put together a clip package to end all clip packages.  Use it in the advertising.

4.      Remind us why we love movies.  More movies, less talk.   Highlight great winners of the past along with the nominees in each category.  I’d almost consider pre-filming the Thank you speeches to contain them to a time limit. 

5.      Never, Never prognosticate.  And no one should ever be giving out an award they have an interest in.  As big a supporter as I was for the Sound of Metal, I did not like Riz Ahmed presenting the Oscar for Best Sound.

6.      Modern it up.  The graphics could be jazzed up.  Maybe it’s even time to sponsor the awards.  Here’s what I mean:

The Katherine Hepburn Best Actress Award goes to …..
The Jason Robards Best Supporting Actor Award goes to ,,,,
The Frank Capra Best Director Award goes to…

It could be a one-year experiment.  There’s no where to go but up.

Lastly, hire a great producer.  I’m available.

One final word.  As many of you know, I’ve been trying to watch the top 250 films of all time as selected by film critics from all over the world in the Sight and Sound Poll, last released in 2012 and due out again in 2022.

For my next blog I’m going to give you the gift of my top 250 favorite films.  Check it out.  I predict you will think I’ve lost my mind.

In closing here’s my all-time favorite Oscar production number, from 1979:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fyZkOHcjyak

 

Enjoy!

My Annual Oscar Predictions

It’s time for my Oscar preview, and my first prediction is that viewership will be down again. 

What you’ll miss if you don’t tune it is some recognition of some good movies, and a few great ones. But mostly you will miss what may be the single most competitive category ever. I’ll save that for last: Here goes: 

Best Visual Effects
Will win: Tenet
Should win: Tenet. At least we understood how fantastic the effects were, if nothing else 

Best Sound
Will win: The Sound of Metal
Should win: The Sound of Metal, as sound was what it was all about.

Best Editing
Will win: The Sound of Metal
Should win: The Sound of Metal

Best Makeup and Hair
Will win: Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Should win: Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, just for Viola Davis’ transformation

Best Costume Design
Will win: Mank
Should win: Ma Rainey

Best Production Design
Will win: Mank
Should win: The Father. After watching the movie, watch the you tube video explaining the sets.

Best Original Song
Will win: Speak Now
Should win: Speak Now, from One Night in Miami

Best Score
Will win: Minari
Should win: Soul, but Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross are also nominated for Mank, so their vote may split.

Best Cinematography
Will win: Nomadland
Should win: Nomadland. This was the standout feature of this movie for me

Best International Feature Film
Will win: Another Round (I didn’t see it)
Should win: Collective, which is mind blowing

Best Documentary Feature
Will win: My Octopus Teacher
Should win: Collective, by a nose, but Octopus has late momentum and it is also fantastic

Best Animated Feature
Will win: Soul
Should win: Soul, because it’s the only one I saw 

Best Adapted Screenplay
Will win: Nomadland
Should win: The Father, for layer upon layer of brilliance

Best Original Screenplay
Will win: Promising Young Woman
Should win: Promising Young Woman, a full load of creativity

Best Supporting Actor
Will win: Daniel Kaluuya for Judas and the Black Messiah (which I haven’t seen)
Should win: Paul Raci, for a low-key but stunning true supporting role

Best Supporting Actress
Will win: Youn Yuh-jung for Minari
Should win: Youn Yuh-jung in a surprisingly weak field

Best Director
Will win: Chloe Zhao for Nomadland
Should win: Emerald Fennell for Promising Young Woman

Best Actor
Will win: Chadwick Boseman in Ma Rainey, the lock of the night
Should win: Riz Ahmed in Sound of Metal

Best Picture
Will win: Nomadland
Should win: The Sound of Metal 

Best Actress (ranked by their chances)
Will win: Viola Davis (Carey Mulligan, Andra Day, Francis McDormand, Vanessa Kirby) Any of the first 4 could win, and I’d be happy. I didn’t see Kirby (only because of the subject matter at this moment in my life)
Should win (ranked by their performance): Andra Day (Mulligan, Davis, McDormand,) I’ve saved the best for last, because the Best Actress Category is phenomenal. I will be happy for any that win. I’ll actually be rooting for Mulligan. I remember the year that Streisand and Hepburn tied, and if this turned out to be a 4 way tie, it would be fine with me. The most interesting and competitive category of the night, which is why I saved it for last:

The thing about movies and the Oscars is that you never know which movie will stand the test of time. Saving Private Ryan is now a classic, but lost to Shakespeare in Love, and I was one of the few that agreed at the time. 

The Social Network and Inception both lost to The King’s Speech which I disliked.
I liked Get Out more than The Shape of Water
I liked La La Land, Arrival, and Hacksaw Ridge all more than Moonlight
I liked Whiplash and The Imitation Game more than Birdman
I liked The Sixth Sense more than American Beauty
But, that’s while I’ll be watching. Enjoy what will probably be another pandemic-weird show.

At the Cinema - March 2021

Promising Young Woman – 10 (PPV)

Carey Mulligan makes her bid for an Oscar by running up and down the scale of emotions as a woman seeking revenge for a sex crime in this “Death Wish” meets “step into my spider web” movie. This is director Emerald Fennell’s first feature and she takes the audience on Carey’s unpredictable roller coaster ride. Fennell was the showrunner of the second season of Killing Eve, which was my favorite as it made Jodie Comer into an Emmy winning star with the same kind of manic energy that is seen here. If Mulligan wins an Oscar, think how many women are going to be lined up trying to work with Fennell.

Cassie Thomas (Mulligan) sets traps. Every week she goes out and acts like she is wasted, until a nice man steps in and offers to assist. Invariably the men try to take advantage and Cassie makes them pay. It’s a lesson in the concept of “consent.” It also makes one reflect on the effect of alcohol in the world. When Cassie begins to fall for a guy she used to be in medical school with, she softens, but only temporarily. The ride gets crazier, and culminates with Cassie trying to bag her ultimate prize, the guy who committed the original crime. Fennell sticks the landing as the movie culminates with the most heart-wrenching turn of all.

Phantom Thread – 9 (Showtime)

Director Paul Thomas Anderson accomplishes the impossible in 2017’s Phantom Thread. He finds an actress that can go toe to toe with Daniel Day-Lewis. Her name is Vickie Krips and I had never heard of her. I may never see her again. But she stuns in this movie, and make no mistake, this movie is all about the acting.

Phantom Thread is the fictional story of a fashion icon named Reynolds Woodcock (Day-Lewis) who rules the London fashion scene in the 1950’s, dressing royalty and the famous with elaborate gowns. He is obsessive and set in his ways. Any slight disturbance, like scraping your toast loudly, is a distraction to be derided. He apparently has discarded many young ladies after short dalliances, with the help of his co-partner and sister Cyril, played smartly by Leslie Manville. Into Reynolds’ life comes a waitress named Alma (Krips.) She is more strong-willed and skilled than he is used to, and a three way tug of war ensues in the House of Woodcock. There are slick twists to the story as Alma tries to maintain her power. If you are a fan of incredible performances in a smart script, this is a movie not to miss. It took me awhile to get around to it, but glad I finally did.

Enemy – 8 (PPV)

Jake Gyllenhaal added to his resume with this strange movie, directed by Denis Villeneuve. I’d never heard about it, but I’ve become such a big fan of the director, I grabbed this 2013 film, when it came to my attention. Jake plays a mild mannered, rather boring professor, who sees an actor that looks like an identical twin in a movie that is recommended to him. He finds this unsettling and begins to explore the other person’s life. The twin is an actor and he’s as irrational about their existence as the professor is. What ensues is the most bizarre movie with the craziest ending I’ve seen in a long time. I was baffled. I actually had to go watch a video on You Tube explaining the movie and especially the ending. I am ashamed to admit, I caught none of this in watching the movie. Totally over my head, but certainly well done. Denis always has a trick up his sleeve.


A Most Violent Year – 8 (Showtime)

No flourishes, one ridiculous foot chase, and a very simple story is how I’d describe this one. Oscar Isaac, who I’m not a big fan of, owns a fuel oil company in New Jersey. He’s trying to stay honest in a dirty business. Will he stay true to his principles in the difficult times he’s going through? That's kind of the challenge of life, isn't it? Jessica Chastain plays his street wise wife, who apparently comes from a dirty family. I am a big fan of hers, and she’s the main reason I watched. She doesn’t disappoint, although the story is so simple, with no nuance, that it falls into boredom at some point. The ending is pretty good, and I was glad when it arrived.


Documentary Corner


Collective – 10 (Hulu)

Collective is a documentary based in Bulgaria. A horrible nightclub fire kills 27, but the tragedy inexplicably continues when 37 more die in local hospitals while being treated. How is this possible? Leave it to a daily sports journal to begin digging into the corruption that is the answer to that question. This is a great journalism story as the writers begin to peel back how corrupt the hospital system has become. This is a horror movie of epic proportions and it’s all true. This movie is up for a best foreign film Oscar and certainly deserves it.

Allen v Farrow – 10 (HBO)

As a a long-time fan of Woody Allen's movies, this was a hard pill to swallow, but much like “Leaving Neverland” left little doubt about Michael Jackson’s guilt, this 4 part HBO Documentary series left little doubt about Woody’s molestation of his adopted daughter Dylan Farrow. While this is all told from the Farrow company line, it sure is convincing. The fourth episode, which takes on the question of “what do we do when we hate the artist, but love the art,” citing people like Woody, Michael Jackson, Bill Cosby, and others throughout history, elevates the documentary. It’s a great discussion and ties a bow on the whole series.


The Keeping Room – 8 (Pluto TV)

Sherman’s path through Georgia is the back drop for this melancholy 2017 film of sisters Augusta and Louis and their remaining slave, (Muna Otaru) trying to hold onto the family homestead during the Civil War. Brit Marley and Hailee Seinfeld are both riveting as the sisters as they are threatened by two advance scouts of Sherman who are drinking, killing, and raping their way through Georgia. I’d never even heard of this movie, but I find Marling riveting. I think I’ve seen all her work now and I’m hoping she gets that breakout role soon. This is far from a great movie, but it’s gritty and It’s haunting and a reminder that war is hell, and war is hell in many different ways.



Tina – 10 (HBO)

Wow, what a life Tina Turner has lived. Abandoned by her mother, and abused by her husband Ike Turner, she has tasted success just enough to overcome obstacles and to reclaim fame and fortune. I thought her biography, “What’s Love Got to Do with it” had adequately covered her life, but I was dead wrong. This is enthralling, devastating and tremendously entertaining. She’s easy to root for and this is another great HBO documentary.

Binge Report

Ted Lasso – 10 (Apple+)

one I wouldn’t watch a 5-hour movie except under the most extreme circumstances, but we watched all 5 hours/10 episodes straight through in one night of this little sports gem. Jason Sudekis won a well-deserved Emmy for his portrayal of Ted Lasso, a transplanted football coach from the US who goes across the pond to coach a professional soccer team. The plot is a copy of “Major League” in that everyone expects Ted to fail, including the owner of the team. But Ted is positive to the point of corniness, and he begins to get into the heads of his team and they start to “believe.” This series is not just a throwback to the soft-hearted series of the past, but it is one of the best sports series this century I can’t imagine anyone not liking this.


Broadchurch: 3rd season – 10 (Netflix)

I must confess I strolled through the den picking up bits and pieces of the first 2 seasons of this before I just gave in and watched the last season. This is a dynamite British Series whose 24 episodes that aired from 2013 - 2017 featured future Oscar winner Olivia Coleman and David Tennant as detectives trying to solve first a murder, then a rape. While I can’t imagine any police force investigating and pursuing crimes with the singular focus of these two, their intensity sure is entertaining. I hated the film that Coleman won her Oscar for, but her performance was phenomenal, and you can see her brilliance in develpment in this series. Broadchurch is a community with more secrets than Peyton Place and they have to unravel all of them. Among a lot of great British series, this is one of the best.

Classics Corner

The General – 10 (HBO Max)
#34 on the Sight and Sound Poll of the 250 Greates Movies

A truly wonderful silent comedy starring Buster Keaton. I could easily see this story of railroad intrigue during the civil war being remade with Brad Pitt as the Confederate train engineer played by Keaton here, and maybe Anne Hathaway as the damsel in distress. Probably still wouldn’t compare to this slapstick masterpiece.

Sherlock, Jr. – 8 (HBO Max)
#59 on the Sight and Sound Poll

Buster Keaton in a 1924 film that only goes 60 minutes. It’s good, but not up to The General standards. Its plot is obviously the inspiration for Woody Allen’s 1985 movie The Purple Rose of Cairo in which Jeff Daniels jumps off the movie screen. In Sherlock, Jr Keaton is a movie projectionist and amateur detective who jumps on the screen. Funny with some nice sight gags, it’s a nice portrait of where the movies were in the silent era.


Rio Bravo – 9
#68 on the Sight and Sound Poll

Director Howard Hawks tries his hand at the John Wayne western. This one has Wayne as John T Chance, who has arrested a murderer and now must wait a week for the Federal Marshall to show up and take the prisoner off his hands before the brother and his gang extricate him from the jail cell. On hand to assist and sing are Dean Martin and Ricky Nelson, as well as Walter Brennan. A young and magnetic Angie Dickenson provides a great distraction. May have been the last great western before Tombstone. Straightforward, predictable, and utterly compelling.


Brief Encounter – 7 (HBO Max)
#161 on the Sight and Sound poll

Two married strangers meet once a week in a train station and a flirtation turns into a passionate affair. Overly dramatic for my tastes, but many movies from the forties are.


Late Spring – 8 (PPV)
#15 on the Sight and Sound poll

This is another Japanese film by the revered director Yasujiro Ozu, who would later do the famed Tokyo Story. Late Spring is the story of young adult daughter of a widower who does not want to leave her father. Everyone is trying to get her to marry including her father. She is not sure that her father can survive without her. It is modestly interesting, but I don’t see why it is ranked so highly.


The Seven Samurai - 10 (HBO Max)
#17 on the Sight and Sound poll

The Seven Samurai, running 3 ½ hours, has to be in the running for greatest epic of all time. A small farmer’s village is threatened by a group of bandits who promise to return at harvest and clean them out of their crop and destroy the village. The Villagers go to recruit samurai to protect them. The Samurai know they can’t defeat 40 bandits so they train the villagers to fight and begin preparing the village for the invasion. Later remade in English as The Magnificent Seven, this is terrific story telling and not only is the action beautifully photographed, but every frame of the film is gorgeous, as if it were painted on a black and white canvas. This one is well worth its stellar reputation.