At Eternity's Gate - 1 nomination

Actor - Willem Dafoe

At Eternity's Gate follows Vincent Van Gogh during his time in Arles.  I'm no art historian, but it seems that this is place where Van Gogh painted some of his most famous paintings including the iconic sunflowers and others.  Vincent's mental state is on the decline and his close relationship with his brother seems to be one of the only things that give him life and connection.  One of the remarkable pieces of the film is that it is shot so that we can see through the painter's eyes, which apparently suffered from degeneration.  There were times that only the top half of the screen was clear and the bottom half was fuzzy.  There were times that the camera movements were so bumpy that it felt like the world was spinning a bit out of control.  It becomes clear how Van Gogh conceived of some of the tremendous strokes and movements in his painting - it may be that those were reflective of how he was actually seeing the world.  

The movie was good but difficult to watch.  It's depressing.  It's hard to watch someone slip into madness.  But watching iconic paintings come alive in scenes that depict the real people and the real places... that was thrilling.  Willem Dafoe might be the reincarnation of the painter himself.  There is a moment in the film when Van Gogh's famous self portrait is hanging on a wall, and it looks like it might be a picture of Willem Dafoe.  They have the same bone structure in their faces!  That was truly impressive.  Dafoe deserves this nomination without a doubt.

The film is worth seeing, but be prepared, it doesn't look like other movies look and you have to be able to accept the confusion that happens on the screen.  If the Blair Witch Project made you nauseous, this one is a definite skip.  Still, I was moved and think the performance alone is important enough to see the movie.

Vice - 8 nominations

Best Picture - Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Adam McKay and Kevin Messick

Actor in a Leading Role, Christian Bale
Actor in a Supporting Role, Sam Rockwell
Actress in a Supporting Role, Amy Adams
Directing, Adam McKay
Film Editing, Hank Corwin
Makeup and Hairstyling, Greg Cannom, Kate Biscoe and Patricia DeHaney
Writing (Original Screenplay), Written by Adam McKay

"I can handle the more mundane... jobs. Overseeing bureaucracy... military... energy... and, uh... foreign policy."  (yeah, that's basically everything)

There is so much to know about how Dick Cheney rose to the Vice Presidency.  At the time, it seemed that he was the erstwhile President behind the scenes, while George W Bush was the front man.  How did this happen?  The answer according to this film is Ann Cheney, Dick's wife, of whom it has been said that no matter who she married, he would end up in a place of serious power.  Cheney's younger years captured by heavy drinking and hard work, he slowly rose to power when Ann put her foot down and demanded more of him.  He finds a mentor in Donald Rumsfeld, and together they work for every modern Republican President in one or another capacities, including Cheney serving as the youngest chief of staff of all time for President Ford at the age of 34.

What is so cool about this film is that it's extremely weird.  It's not just regular storytelling - there is fantasy and humor and some things I don't even know how to describe.  There is a scene where the Cheneys are suddenly saying lines from MacBeth, but as themselves.  There is a scene in the middle of the movie where there is pronounced a happily ever after when the Cheneys slide off into happy obscurity, never to have engaged in politics again (well before becoming VP, just a funny, random, non-sequitur).  Not to mention the incredible number of heart attacks and how Cheney just takes them in stride as he is having them.  (A dozen doughnuts per day will do that to you.)  And these bizarre moments peppered throughout make the movie interesting and so much more than just a biopic.

The acting in the film is just superb.  Somehow Christian Bale is able to completely remake himself into Cheney, even achieving that strange side of the mouth talking from the real person.  It is well known that he gained over 40 pounds for the role, and the makeup and hairstyling do transform him into the man.  But it is the acting that brings it all the way home for Bale to truly embody the former VP.  This performance could dwarf both Adams and Rockwell, but doesn't.  They both also transform themselves into credible facsimiles of the real people, and same goes for Steve Carrell as Donald Rumsfeld, who did not receive a nomination but easily could have.

This whole film was Adam McKay's baby (which is why he is nominated in three categories).  He did years of research, he conducted interviews with the people who knew the Cheneys and who surrounded them.  As always, my very sincere admonition not to assume that everything you see in a movie is historical fact.  A quick search on Amazon reveals a number of books about the Cheney Vice Presidency (and even then, everyone has a point of view), but my sense is that the broad strokes of this film get it right.  

Cheney is possibly one of the most reviled figures in American politics (his approval rating when leaving office was 13%).  This film does nothing to assuage that impression.  I was angry during this movie, and so were the people I watched it with, Republicans and Democrats alike.  So perhaps that is the greatest value of Vice - it unites both sides of the aisle with a certain amount of shared disgust.  Isn't that a beautiful thing?

Roma - 10 nominations

Best Picture - Gabriela Rodríguez and Alfonso Cuarón

Actress in a Leading Role, Yalitza Aparicio

Actress in a Supporting Role, Marina de Tavira

Cinematography, Alfonso Cuarón

Directing, Alfonso Cuarón

Foreign Language Film, Mexico; Alfonso Cuarón

Production Design, Eugenio Caballero (Production Design); Bárbara Enríquez (Set Decoration)

Sound Editing, Sergio Díaz and Skip Lievsay

Sound Mixing, Skip Lievsay, Craig Henighan and José Antonio García

Writing (Original Screenplay), Written by Alfonso Cuarón

Roma follows the life of a domestic worker, Cleo, in the household of a middle class doctor in Mexico in the early 70's.  The family has four kids and a handful of staff working for them.  When the doctor leaves his wife, the family carries on with the occasional getaway, and they bring Cleo along.  It is clear that the family has great affection for her, and she loves them too as she cares for the children as her own.  When she becomes pregnant as a single person, they promise to keep her on, and they take care of her throughout.  There are moments of activity or outings, but the best description of this film is perhaps, "slice of life."  Almost everything that happens is really nothing happening, with the exception of some depictions of political upheaval at the time.

I felt a little bit insecure in my lack of appreciation of this film, so I started looking around not for reviews, but for synopses of the film.  Even The Academy couldn't squeak out more than two lines, and IMDB got as far as one.  That's it.  There's not much to describe.  So, you either love a movie where not much happens and there's a small window into one young woman's life, or you don't.  This film is a love letter to Alfonso Cuaron's childhood maid, the film is dedicated to her.  The movie ends (this is not a spoiler, I promise) with Cleo heading up the stairs to do laundry.  Just another day in her life, even following a difficult time for her personally.  There isn't a lot of emotion or gravitas to the film, so I can't quite figure out what all the hype is about.

I will give credit where it's due, the cinematography is absolutely beautiful, and it's worth noting that Cuaron has had other successes (see Gravity's cinematography win, and Children of Men's cinematography nomination - this guys knows how to shoot a film, and/or how to hire people who do.)  

I would so like to say that Roma was wonderful and worth all of these nominations, but even the acting categories - the Supporting Actress barely made my radar and the lead actress has such a flat affect for most of the film that it was hard to connect with her character.  I'm sorry Roma lovers.  It just wasn't for me.

A Star Is Born - 8 nominations

Best Picture - Bill Gerber, Bradley Cooper and Lynette Howell Taylor

Actor in a Leading Role, Bradley Cooper

Actress in a Leading Role, Lady Gaga

Actor in a Supporting Role, Sam Elliott

Cinematography, Matthew Libatique

Music (Original Song), “Shallow” Music and Lyric by Lady Gaga, Mark Ronson, Anthony Rossomando and Andrew Wyatt

Sound Mixing, Tom Ozanich, Dean Zupancic, Jason Ruder and Steve Morrow

Writing (Adapted Screenplay), Written by Eric Roth, Bradley Cooper and Will Fetters

It's a tale as old as... 1937.  There have now been four versions of A Star is Born, and I have to admit that when I saw the preview for this film I was skeptical that we needed yet another retelling of "aging, bitter, alcoholic singer meets and launches talented ingenue, they fall in love, he is jealous of her success, story ensues."  But when I saw this version, I concluded that we did need another version, we just needed a slightly better version.

Here's what I mean.  First, Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga were astonishingly good in the film.  Cooper changes everything about himself to become this character including his voice and mannerisms, and is a surprisingly terrific country/rock singer.  I heard in an interview with Cooper that he fashioned his voice after actor Sam Elliot, and when he needed to cast the lead's brother, it was clear who was the right choice (lucky Sam Elliot, who earned his first Oscar nomination with this film!)  This is the role that Gaga was born to play.  Though she is not a "rising" singer, she is an actress on the rise (having already won acting awards for her role in American Horror Story and this film), and in her totally stripped down performance (no Gaga monsters here), she introduces herself to us in a whole different way.  The energy between the two is electric.

I was entertained the entire movie, and the song Shallow which is nominated this year, is the song that this movie deserves.  It is powerful and takes advantage of the full range of Gaga's voice, and creates a duet that I want to listen to all the time.  Bradley Cooper performs songs that are entertaining and really feel like songs that would be hits outside of the film.  The same cannot be said for the rest of songs performed by Lady Gaga.  Even the "eleven o'clock number" - the big finale song she sings at the end of the film after tragedy strikes is just a little too nine o'clock.  This song should have been her "And I'm telling you" that won Jennifer Hudson the Oscar in Dreamgirls or the "I dreamed a dream" that won Anne Hathaway her Oscar in Les Miserables.  The songs just come up a little too short in what should be Gaga's gut punch in the film.  Don't get me wrong, Gaga performs the heck out of what she had, but what she had was just not enough.

I know a lot of people who were just crazy about this film, and I really wanted to be one of them.  If there is a choice between seeing it and not seeing, it is worth it just for the performances.  (Speaking of which, major props to Andrew Dice Clay who played the most charming version of Gaga's dad.)  But Best Picture?  I don't think so.

Hear the nominated song:

Green Book - 5 nominations

Best Picture - Jim Burke, Charles B. Wessler, Brian Currie, Peter Farrelly and Nick Vallelonga

Actor in a Leading Role, Viggo Mortensen
Actor in a Supporting Role, Mahershala Ali
Film Editing, Patrick J. Don Vito
Writing (Original Screenplay), Written by Nick Vallelonga, Brian Currie, Peter Farrelly

Green Book is based on the true story of Dr. Donald Shirley, renowned concert pianist and his musical tour of the south with his trio.  As he prepares for the tour, he engages Tony "Lip" Vallelonga to serve as his driver and personal security staff.  In the film, Tony Lip comes from a tough Italian neighborhood and holds prejudicial views about a number of different people with diverse backgrounds.  Dr. Shirley is a highly educated, refined, intellectual elitist who insists on doing the right thing at all times, but has a lonely existence without close relationships with family or friends.  Over the course of the film, a friendship grows between the two men as their differences fade and they each get glimpses into each other's worlds.

Taken on its own, the film celebrates what it means to see the humanity of the other and how that creates change in people who are racist.  The evolution of racism to humanity and connection is one that makes us feel good, which I think is the reason that people like this film so much.  There is another side to this movie, however, in which Dr. Shirley's family disputes the film's narrative vehemently (who remembers my admonition that "based on a true story" does not mean "IS the true story?"), and I read that Mahershala Ali called Shirley's family to apologize for the film.  Hard to know what to make of that.

I don't know what is true, but the bottom line is that watching the film feels good and heartwarming and uplifting.  The screenplay as written is beautiful.  Given all I have learned about the reality of the story, it's hard to support the Best Picture nomination, but, if this were written as purely invented story, I think I would have loved it.  Given that, I have no choice but to embrace the film as it is and hope that it continues to teach important lessons to those who still somehow need to learn that we are all people and that relationships are about who we are, not what we are.  

The Favourite - 10 nominations

Best Picture, Ceci Dempsey, Ed Guiney, Lee Magiday and Yorgos Lanthimos

Actress in a Leading Role, Olivia Colman
Actress in a Supporting Role, Emma Stone
Actress in a Supporting Role, Rachel Weisz
Cinematography, Robbie Ryan
Costume Design, Sandy Powell
Directing, Yorgos Lanthimos
Film Editing, Yorgos Mavropsaridis
Production Design, Fiona Crombie (Production Design); Alice Felton (Set Decoration)
Writing (Original Screenplay), Written by Deborah Davis and Tony McNamara

GIRRRRRLLLLLLL FIIIIIIIIIIGGGGHHHHHHTTTTTT!

England is at war and Queen Anne is ill with spiraling mental health.  Her childhood friend and lady lover Lady Sarah has positioned herself as the Queen's bestie, her spokesperson, and the de facto head of government.  They are as close as two women could be, and Lady Sarah is the sole person in Anne's life who speaks truth to power.  Sarah's cousin Abigail arrives on scene in search of employment having lived through severe abuse and loss of status and wealth.  Sarah takes pity on Abigail and finds for her a place in court, but not a great place.  Abigail is no dummy, and her manipulative ways get her in good with the Queen, at her service in - ahem - every way.  The two women vie for Anne's affections and for the power that comes with being the Queen's favorite.

The performances in this film are so good, but Olivia Colman is an incredible standout.  Without a word, she goes from elation to exasperation to sadness to despair.  She is easily manipulated and insightful and wise.  To see Colman win this nomination as a long working but rarely leading actor, it reflects the best of what The Academy can do with a truly exceptional performance.  Her always good peers in Emma Stone and Rachel Weisz are very nearly dwarfed by Colman's Anne.

Of course with period pieces, well done costumes and production design are almost destined for nomination, but I highly recommend paying attention to both when watching the film.  The designs are gorgeous but also intricate and clever.  So much so that you leave the film with a premonition of Oscars noms.

I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that Yorgos Lanthimos movies are not for everyone.  They are always a little bit twisted and sometimes very weird.  I discovered Lanthimos with his first Oscar nomination with the Greek film Dogtooth.  (SEE IT.)  I continued my devotion with The Lobster, and this film completes the perfect trifecta.  The Favourite is the most mainstream of his narrative films, but his signature strange peeks through.  If you're a Lanthimos person, you'll love this film.  I sure did.

Bohemian Rhapsody - 5 nominations

Best Picture - Graham King
Actor in a Leading Role - Rami Malek
Film Editing - John Ottman
Sound Editing - John Warhurst and Nina Hartstone
Sound Mixing - Paul Massey, Tim Cavagin and John Casali

"Don't stop me now, I'm having such a good time, I'm having a ball
Don't stop me now, if you wanna have a good time, just give me a call!
Don't stop me now....
Don't stop me cause I'm havin' a good time, havin' a good time..."
- Don't Stop Me Now, Queen

It is the 70's and the young Freddie (soon-to-be) Mercury hooks up with the band to form what was to become a legendary group with songs that came to be known world wide.  Mercury had a voice that could do what most could not, his range was ridiculous and even today, accomplished singers struggle with some of the songs with the very high highs and the very low lows.  Queen's journey from nothing to stardom is a sight to behold, and the film peppered with their truly greatest hits is one of the most fun movie experiences I had this year.  (Full disclosure, I'm a big time Queen fan, having discovered them in college thanks to my friend Craig Stender, who painstakingly sorted through his records to make me an epic mix tape which I still have to this day.)

The movie captures the visionary development of some of our most well known hits - Brian May composing We Will Rock You, Freddie Mercury tinkering with Bohemian Rhapsody and watching the group play with sounds, ideas simple and outrageous play out on screen.  Rami Malek falls deep into the character matching movement to movement with what Freddie Mercury did on stage.  (For about half the movie, you sense that Malek is still getting used to the iconic teeth prosthetic toward the beginning of the film, but he settles into them as the plot progresses.)  Though Malek is getting all the very well deserved attention, worth noting that Gwilym Lee is the reincarnation of Queen guitarist and composer Brian May.  Given that May is still alive, I can only imagine how cool/creepy watching another person inhabit your body must be.

Sound Mixing and Sound Editing categories are generally reserved for (say it with me) war movies, musicals, and movies heavy on visual effects.  But when you layer dialogue, screaming crowds, weather, and lip syncing well, these categories are sure to land on your nominations list.

I was particularly moved by the final scenes of the movie.  Queen's acclaimed and magnificent performance at Live Aid - long after Freddie had been diagnosed with AIDS and they were unclear if his voice would even be able to achieve a shadow of its former glory -  is completely remastered.  I suspect if one were to go on YouTube and put side by side the live performance and the film homage to it, Malek's every gesture would be identical in the split screen.  Though Rami Malek certainly transformed himself throughout the film, it was in this final sequence that I thought, "this guy could win an Oscar."

The movie was good.  It wasn't AMAZING unless you are a die hard Queen fan.  I loved it.  

"I'm a rocket ship on my way to Mars
I am a satellite, I'm out of control.
I'm a sex machine ready to reload
Like an atom bomb, I'm gonna go go go go go explode!
I'm burning through the sky, yeah
200 degrees that's why they call me Mr. Farenheit
I'm traveling at the speed of light, I wanna make a super sonic man out of you..."

BlacKkKlansman - 6 nominations

Best Picture - Sean McKittrick, Jason Blum, Raymond Mansfield, Jordan Peele and Spike Lee
Actor in a Supporting Role - Adam Driver
Director - Spike Lee
Film Editing - Barry Alexander Brown
Original Score - Terence Blanchard
Adapted Screenplay - Written by Charlie Wachtel & David Rabinowitz and Kevin Willmott & Spike Lee

"Based on a crazy, outrageous, incredible true story" is the most accurate statement made about this film - no wonder it's right there on the movie poster.  It's the 60's and somehow, African American officer Ron Stallworth has built a phone relationship with David Duke and the KKK, posing as a white man and fellow racist.  This isn't the heart of the south, this is Colorado Springs, Colorado and with racial tensions at an all time high, Stallworth knows instinctively that the place law enforcement should be focusing is on this relatively small hateful group, rather than worrying about the civil rights movement.  When he is invited to become a member of the klan, he realizes he needs a white counterpart to be his proxy in person.  He enlists fellow cop Flip Zimmerman to pose as him noting that as a Jew, Zimmerman can't pretend that the hatred from the klan doesn't affect him, whether he owns his Judaism or not.

This is truly Spike Lee's finest film, and it is his first Oscar nomination for his directing.  (In fact, he has never been nominated for directing for any award in his entire career until now.  Take that in.)  In some ways this film represents the finest of "intersectionality," the notion that oppression of any is oppression of all, and that we all must fight hatred in any form.  For my part, John David Washington is much more deserving of the Actor nomination (which he did not receive) than Adam Driver is of the Supporting Actor nomination (which he did).  While it won't win Best Picture, I think it has a good chance at Adapted Screenplay (which mostly goes to the great film that won't win Best Picture), and is absolutely worth watching.  It's funny, touching, scary, infuriating, and absolutely important.

As a caution, I always like to remind blog readers that "based on a true story" requires no obligation from the filmmaker to the actual events.  If you loved the movie (and I know you did or will), I highly recommend reading Ron Stallworth's book, Race, Hate, and the Undercover Investigation of a Lifetime.  As I have said in blog posts past, movies that are based on true stories should inspire further investigation, and this one is no exception.

This film is a MUST SEE.

Black Panther - 7 nominations

Best Picture - Kevin Feige
Costume Design - Ruth Carter
Original Score - Ludwig Goransson
Original Song "All the Stars" - Music by Mark Spears, Kendrick Lamar Duckworth and Anthony Tiffith; Lyric by Kendrick Lamar Duckworth, Anthony Tiffith and Solana Rowe
Production Design - Hannah Beachler (Production Design); Jay Hart (Set Decoration)
Sound Editing - Benjamin A. Burtt and Steve Boeddeker
Sound Mixing - Steve Boeddeker, Brandon Proctor and Peter Devlin  

After the death of his father, Prince T'challa assumes the throne while fending off would-be usurpers from surrounding tribes.  Wakanda is the home of technological advances and wealth unknown to the rest of the world.  It is a land where women warriors protect the kingdom.   

Prince T'challa's genius scientist sister is developing inventions in every realm including impressive medical procedures and tools, life saving technology, and mind blowing weaponry.  Complicating matters, the prince's cousin Killmonger has come to take over Wakanda with a challenge to the throne and family and friends divide their loyalties between the two opposing leaders.  A central question dividing the realm - should Wakanda share its vast resources with the world, or should they maintain a policy of "Wakanda First?"  One thing is clear, even with all of his super powers, the Prince can't succeed without some very powerful friends (spoiler alert: it's the Avengers).  

For those following the blog over the years, you already know that I'm a sucker for all things Marvel.  But this film WAS as special as everyone says.  It was exciting, it was engaging, it was an edge of the seat thrill ride.  But it was also visually magnificent both in production design and particularly with the costumes.  And, if you've been reading the blog, you know that the sound categories often go to three kinds of genres: war films, musicals, and high intensity visual effects movies.  Given that this film is both a war and visual effects film, both categories were sure to pop up.

The original song wasn't my favorite of the category, but you can listen to it below.  (If you are reading this because you've subscribed, I've included a link as videos won't embed in the email version of the blog.)

It is rare for a popular film, and a superhero film at that, to achieve the artistry required for Oscar noms in major categories.  Movies like Black Panther mostly land in the technical categories (and you will see that to be true in future blogs, particularly once we hit the visual effects category.)  To be nominated for Best Picture - I just can't recall another of its kind to have achieved what Black Panther did this year.  Is it worthy of Best Picture?  Maybe, maybe not.  Is it worthy of a watch?  Wakanda forever, baby.

Link to the song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQbjS0_ZfJ0

Sample of the incredible costumes: 

Jodi's Oscars Blog - Year 5!

Welcome back to Year 5 of Jodi's Oscars Blog!

Today is always the first day, and yes, I have woken up at 5 a.m. to watch the announcements live at 5:20.  To quote Kumail Nanjiani, "I asked why we don't start at 5:15 and they say, no, that would be way too early."  (Way to go Kumail and Tracee Ellis Ross for a great job hosting this morning.) Thank you to all of you who have reached out to express excitement for another year of reviews.  It truly makes me so happy when someone says, "I wait all year for your reviews," or "I went to see this film on your recommendation, and I loved it."  Who knew that my lifelong obsession with the Oscars would bring so many friends together. 

Big news! This year, I'll be adding a Facebook Live component in which I will talk about one category at a time.  I hope you'll watch (and be kind, I'm no "on camera talent!")

Some quick thoughts about the nominees in general.

For those of you shouting, "Gaga, go get your Oscar," I hasten to remind you that Glenn Close is now the most nominated actor ever without having actually won an Oscar.  Seriously, Glenn Close has never won an Oscar.  Never mind that The Wife was a badass performance, the Academy doesn't like to let aging pros go into that good night without a win (not that Close is even close to dying nor would it be a pity Oscar!).  I know most people haven't seen that film, but you should if you want a Master Class in acting.  Having said all that, A Star is Born is now 4 for 4 on getting Oscars nominations for the actress playing the ingenue.  (and yes, I'll never get the time back on the rabbit hole that took me down - so I'll share my question with you... how many actors have been nominated for the same role for the same basic film/remake?  Off you go, fellow nerds.)

It's exciting to see Spike Lee nominated for what I think is his best film (yes, I liked most of his others).  I would like to see him take this category, though I suspect stopping the Roma train would be a lot like trying to stop a, well, train.  I'm a little shocked that Bradley Cooper wasn't nominated for Director, but when you look at the films in the category, he got shut out by some pretty impressive candidates.

This is the year of the Foreign Films!  Roma, Cold War, Never Look Away, and Border all busted through other categories usually restricted to North American films.  (Though Sweden has been on a tear with Makeup and Hairstyling, this year is no exception.) 

The final interesting thing about the nominees this year is that there is a lot of love spread throughout a number of films.  There are only 52 films nominated (sometimes goes as high as 60ish), and 8 of these films have 5 or more nominations.  That should make whittling down your list much easier this year, with The Favourite and Roma leading the pack at 10 each.  No spoilers, but there were an awful lot of terrific movies to see this year, so look for me to be a very positive reviewer in the next few weeks.

Welcome back to the blog, and thank you again for tuning in and let's get to it, movie lovers!