Oscars Wrap Up

 

Let's start here - I'm not going to talk about it.  I think the issue is complicated, though I am certain that no person should ever put their hands on another person.  Ever.  Like never ever ever.  It's not a damn playground with 5 year olds, it's the Oscars.  The rest I will leave the involved parties to talk it out and make peace and have the rest of the world butt out.

Beyonce opened the show dressed as a tennis ball, and that's how you start a show.  Incredible.

I was thrilled to see how many African American artists were hired to make the show - music director, producer, director, performers, and behind the camera.  I like this way of starting a show with one of the nominated songs - we haven't seen that done since Justin Timberlake and I loved it then too.

My yearly rant - there are 5 nominees in all but one of the categories and if you're one of them, practice your speech.  Write it down.  As anyone who has ever been in an overwhelming moment can tell you, extemporaneous speeches don't go well when your heart is beating out of your chest.  Not only that, but every winner (individual or team) gets 45 seconds.  When there are 5 team members who win and one person takes up 44 seconds and leaves the other 4 one second to split, it really aggravates me.  KUDOS to the Encanto team who prepared, who divided up the time, and who delivered a perfect combination of thank you's to fellow professionals and their families.

Here's my other rant and it's about the In Memoriam segment.  I didn't have any issue with the uplifting nature of the music.  In many cultures, celebration is wholly appropriate when it comes to honoring those who have died (try a funeral in New Orleans or Ireland).  But the GODDAMN FLYING CAMERA SHOTS meant that we missed about half the names and titles of those who died, which is the real disgrace and misses the whole point of the segment. (which incidentally my dad calls, "the necrology report.") Unless they were actors, the majority of the people in the slide show are people to whom movie lovers owe a debt of gratitude for their work, and we'll never know who they are thanks to a Director who loves to mess around with the camera angles while the slides are progressing.  NOT OK.  The point is honoring people who have passed, let's do that by being able to see them.  Do a split screen top to bottom if you really insist on showing what is happening on stage.

I thought the co-hosts were terrific - all three funny and charming.  But, if an Oscars hosts were to feel up a couple of women on stage as a "COVID test," that would never fly.  I appreciated the humor (who doesn't want to grab Jason Momoa's calf?) but not the execution.

A final note about my darling Lady Gaga who is always a queen, but who handled an aging Liza Minnelli with such incredible grace.  I'd love a little more "I got you" energy and a little less "GI Jane/Keep my wife's name..." energy, please.

This show was my best prediction payoff rate ever.  21 out of 23 categories correct, and in the two I got wrong, blog readers will note that I said if I was wrong, the winner would be the winner.  I'm mostly mad at myself for picking Power of the Dog for Cinematography - I KNEW it would be Dune.  Why did I do that???  Well, I guess not getting 23 right always lets me strive for better in coming years.  Thanks for being on this journey with me for another year, and I'll see you next year for the Oscars!

Who Will Win? Who Should Win?

We have arrived at the big day! What a year of outstanding movies, incredible performances, and so many historic firsts I've lost count.  Now, I'm not a great prognosticator but I do a lot of research on what some of my favorite ones think, and I try to put those into an aggregate and make my best guesses.  If you win your pool thanks to my picks, don't forget to send me a 10% fee.  Here we go!

Best Picture:
Should Win: Belfast
When the film was over, I immediately said "that's Best Picture."

Will Win: CODA
This is a tough year to predict, but given some of the earlier wins in other awards shows, I think it is going to be CODA.  If I'm wrong, the experts are equally split with The Power of the Dog.  This is one close race!

Director:

Should Win: Jane Campion, The Power of the Dog

Will Win: Jane Campion, The Power of the Dog

Jane reinvented what a cowboy movie looks like and the intensity of this film spoke to me.  Even if you are completely out on Power of the Dog, you have to admit that this is gold standard directing.

Lead Actress:

Should Win: Jessica Chastain, The Eyes of Tammy Faye

Will Win: Jessica Chastain, The Eyes of Tammy Faye

Look for an upset in this category!  Penelope Cruz (Parallel Mothers) and Kristen Stewart (Spencer) are not to be counted out.  I loved The Eyes of Tammy Faye and it's incredible how Chastain just embodied this well known figure.

Lead Actor:

Should Win: Andrew Garfield, tick, tick... Boom!

Will Win: Will Smith, King Richard

I don't think there's much chance of upset in this category, but for the record, Andrew Garfield learned how to sing for that movie.  Will Smith is a Hollywood darling and here's his first chance to take the prize.

Supporting Actress:

Should Win: Ariana DeBose, West Side Story

Will Win: Ariana DeBose, West Side Story

Supporting Actor:

Should Win: Troy Kotsur, CODA

Will Win: Troy Kotsur, CODA

And will mark the first deaf man to win an Oscar in history.

Adapted Screenplay:

Should Win: GRRRR, don't make me choose! Ok, The Lost Daughter

Will Win: CODA (I hope, I'm loving all of the recognition CODA is getting)

Original Screenplay:

Should Win: Belfast

Will Win: Belfast (but maybe Licorice Pizza)

This category is often won by a film that should win a Best Picture award but doesn't.  I'm going with Belfast and praying that Licorice Pizza is not awarded that prize.

Cinematography:

Should Win: The Tragedy of Macbeth

Will Win: The Power of the Dog

Or maybe Dune, but cinematographers do love a good countryside and expansive views.  Dune had this as well and frankly is predicted to win a lot of the technical categories. Hard to know, but I'm slightly giving the edge to Power of the Dog which got so much more attention than Dune did, despite being tied for numbers of nominations.

Costume Design:

Should Win: Cruella with an honorable mention to West Side Story

Will Win: Cruella

Boy oh boy, were those costumes incredible!

Film Editing:

Should Win: tick, tick... Boom!

Will Win: Dune

Here's where you're going to start seeing a slew of Dune predictions.  But truly, the film was edited magnificently.

Makeup and Hair:

Should Win: The Eyes of Tammy Faye

Will Win: The Eyes of Tammy Faye

Production Design:

Should Win: Nightmare Alley

Will Win: Dune

Original Score:

Should Win: Encanto

Will Win: Dune

Original Song:

Should Win: "Somehow You Do" Four Good Days

Will Win: "No Time to Die" No Time to Die

Sound:

Should Win: West Side Story

Will Win: Dune

Visual Effects:

Should Win: Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings

Will Win: Dune

Animated Feature:

Should Win: Flee

Will Win: Encanto

I'd even love to see the Mitchells vs the Machines, and sometimes the academy does snub Disney films,  Flee was the most important and powerful of the nominees, and deserves to win.

Documentary:

Should Win: Writing with Fire (but also Summer of Soul as a tie, please)

Will Win: Summer of Soul (... or, When the Revolution Could Not be Televised)

International Feature:

Should Win: The Worst Person in the World

Will Win: Drive My Car

Critics have said that Drive My Car was the best film of the year and should win Best Picture, as well.  I disagree.

Animated Short:

Should Win: None of them.  Robin Robin was the least annoying.

Will Win: Robin Robin, I guess.  Windshield Wiper could upset.

Documentary Short:

Should Win: Lead Me Home

Will Win: The Queen of Basketball

The films were excellent in this category this year, but I think the attraction of a woman athlete who was almost recruited to the NBA will win hearts.  But Lead Me Home is the most important and gut wrenching of the nominees.

Live Action Short:

Should Win: All of them, but especially Please Hold

Will Win: The Long Goodbye

This is also a tough category because of how great all (but maybe 1) were.

Ok, those are my picks!  Would love to hear yours...

Writing With Fire - 1 nomination

 

Best Documentary Feature
Rintu Thomas
Sushmit Ghosh

Well, this was an incredible film and I've saved one of the best for last! A documentary about women citizen-journalists from the lowest caste in India, the Dalits, the most unlikely of folks to be making such a difference in the world.  These are women who grew up believing that their only option for their futures was a life of poverty and marriage and children.  Watching these women with their incredible determination, as they learn to grow their technical skills (in a time when they perhaps have never held a phone in their hands) and their confidence, is beyond inspiring.  Watching them take on large groups of men trying to intimidate them, taking on corrupt politicians and members of law enforcement, and especially watching them push those with power to do the right thing - it truly reminds you the power of the fourth estate.  This was one of my absolutely favorite movies from this year's Oscars crop.  It's an absolute must-see.

Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) - 1 nomination

 

Best Documentary Feature
Questlove
Joseph Patel
Robert Fyvolent
David Dinerstein

Summer of Soul is Questlove's incredible directorial debut. It takes never before seen footage of the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival and mixes it with interviews from those who attended and those who performed.  The music is incredible, of course.  B.B. King, Stevie Wonder, Nina Simone, Gladys Knight and the Pips, The Fifth Dimension, Mahalia Jackson - all of these and more were on the bill.  While Woodstock was getting all the attention not far away in New York State, the most significant festival in the African American community was attracting tens of thousands.  Yet, somehow the footage of the festival sat in a basement for over 50 years collecting dust, and this is the first time I've even ever heard of the celebration.

The festival was about more than music.  It was about civil rights, income inequality, and injustice of all kinds.  During the festival, NASA landed astronauts on the moon and when concert-goers were asked about it, they reflected that the money could have been better spent helping poor people in Harlem and throughout the country.  Nina Simone sings Young, Gifted and Black and your heart shatters.

This film, surely to be the winner of the documentary category, was a soul shaker.  I cried, I danced, I enjoyed every second.

Attica - 1 nomination

 

Best Documentary Feature
Stanley Nelson
Traci Curry

Attica is the incredibly powerful story of the 1971 inmate uprising at Attica prison.  The conditions in the prison were both environmentally and physically brutal, and the inmates just couldn't take it anymore.  In this brilliant film, those interviewed included former inmates, negotiators, politicians, and family members of guards who were taken hostage.  No feeling person could argue that what the inmates lived through represents anything representing humane and I think it would be harder to argue that the uprising was anything but inevitable.  The involvement of politicians who care more about optics than effectiveness is haunting - in fact, this film reminds us that blowhards who say things like, "just punch that guy in the face" didn't crop up recently.  If this film reminds us anything, it's that when you deprive people of liberty, it must be for a good reason and can't constitute government overreach, and that when you do, you become responsible for the living conditions of the prisoner.  There is much to learn from this incredible documentary.

We're getting close to the big day!  If you want to hear a great podcast episode about the nominees, check out my podcast, 2 Movie Jews.

Ascension - 1 nomination

 

Best Documentary Feature
Jessica Kingdon
Kira Simon-Kennedy
Nathan Truesdell

Now this was a truly fascinating film.  It's starts are the bottom - if China had a caste system, this is what it would look like.  The mass numbers of people making stuff, stuff, and more stuff.  As the movie goes on, we rise in class to fancier and better paying jobs, all the way to the top rung of the ladder.  There is very little explanation in the film so we are drawn to our own conclusions - how does one achieve "the Chinese dream?" How does one rise from the underclass, is there ever a path out of one's predetermined place in society?

At first, I thought this might be a kind of "slice of life" film, and those are generally not my cup of tea.  This is because the filmmakers have chosen to let us, the viewers, draw our own conclusions about the data they are presenting.  There is no companion data analysis, and we are left make our own observations and maybe even our own comparisons to the worlds in which we live.  It's a heck of fascinating movie, but don't expect a guide to join you on the path.

The Hand of God - 1 nomination

 

Best International Feature Film

Italy

Italy's entry for international feature film is Paulo Sorrentino's most personal, semi-autobiographical film where he revisits his family and his hometown with its cast of oddball characters.  His aunt who is just a little off who loves naked sunbathing in front of her entire familly, his loudly bickering parents, and the whole village of folks who helped shape his character.  Tragedy strikes and both of his parents are killed in a freak carbon monoxide poisoning incident, and he must figure out how to go on.

The film will surely make you good or better about your own family!  As always with Sorrentino films, the setting is magnificent. I am definitely ready to take a trip to Naples!  While this is surely not Sorrentino's best film, I enjoyed it.

Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom - 1 nomination

 

Best International Feature Film

Bhutan

And now.... the winner of the Hidden Gem award!  Each year, I grant this award to a film that I hadn't really heard of before it was nominated for an Oscar, and then it quickly became one of my favorite movies of the year.  Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom represents the first ever Oscars nomination for the tiny country of Bhutan.

A teacher in Bhutan is assigned to teach in the most remote school in the country.  Total population of the village is about 50, and the school is located in Lunana, which is an 8 day hike on foot.  In Lunana, there is no electricity, no wifi, not even a blackboard, but there is a batch of unbelievably eager students with a real thirst to learn, and a village of very grateful and welcoming farmers who want to treat this teacher like royalty.  Though the teacher is grumpy at first, the people and especially the children of the village so endear themselves to him that he can't resist falling in love with the community, and perhaps the more stereotypical trope of "I learned more from them than they learned from me" is present in this film.

Is the movie the most original and unique plot ever? No, we've seen versions of this film before.  But I shed few tears at how touching this movie was, and it really got me.  The actual non-actor villagers starred in this film, and you can't help but falling in love with them, and even with the teacher.  I'm an evangelist for this movie because it was such a lovely delight.  I can't recommend it enough and though the movie has no chance of winning the Oscar in this category, I'm so grateful to the Academy for amplifying it with  a nomination.  Truly a heartwarming and wonderful film.

Free Guy, Shang-Chi, Spider-Man: No Way Home

 Visual effects categories can be hit or miss, but each one of these films were a pleasure to watch!

FREE GUY

Swen Gillberg, Bryan Grill, Nikos Kalaitzidis and Dan Sudick

Free Guy is one fun and innovative film.  Guy lives in the (SPOILER ALERT) world of a video game, just dreaming of buying a pair of fancy shoes, and connecting with a woman who he can never quite meet.  He has a best friend, and is generally contented, even unbothered by the random acts of violence and crime which seem to constantly happen around him.  Meanwhile in the real world, a greedy video game empire owner has stolen the tech of the woman and her ex-boyfriend, and Guy becomes the hero that millions of players can love and support.  I loved this film, I found it very funny and entertaining, and would love to watch it again!

SHANG-CHI AND THE LEGEND OF THE TEN RINGS

Christopher Townsend, Joe Farrell, Sean Noel Walker and Dan Oliver

Shang-Chi has leapt into second place for me when it comes to favorite Marvel Comics Universe films.  The visual effects were stunning, the supporting cast was remarkable, and like most films from the MCU, it had the right balance of funny and action-packed.  Shang-Chi is struggling in New York City when his past comes back to haunt him.  His father seeks out world domination and opening a kind of hell mouth to gain control of the world.  Shang-Chi will be damned if he lets that happen, and especially won't allow his father to tarnish the memory of his beloved mother.  I'm rarely a fan of the fight scenes in any of these films, but this was the rare exception to that rule.  More choreography than fighting, the film is stunning.

SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME

Kelly Port, Chris Waegner, Scott Edelstein and Dan Sudick

Everyone has discovered Spiderman's identity and he can't get away from the attacks.  He goes to Dr. Strange and asks the doctor to erase this information from the minds of everyone in the world, but as Strange conducts the spell, the universe goes horribly wrong.  Suddenly, the multiverse has opened and (SPOILER ALERT) every bad guy from prior films and prior Spidermen have appeared in Parker's world all ready to fight.  The twists and turns and surprises in this film were especially delightful to me, as I had not heard any of the big reveals prior to seeing the movie (and there are others which I have still not mentioned), but suffice it to say that during the movie I yelled out loud (uncontrollably, please don't talk during the movie), "NO FUCKING WAY."  It was my absolute favorite of all the Spiderman films.

Animated Shorts

Just a word about all of the animated shorts this year.  I didn't really love any of them!  While the Live Action shorts were universally great, I thought these were universally mediocre. 

 

AFFAIRS OF THE ART

Joanna Quinn and Les Mills

Beryl is totally obsessed with art and drawing.  She traps her husband into her crazy ideas and schemes to make more art.  That's it, that's the film.

BESTIA

Hugo Covarrubias and Tevo Díaz

Bestia follows the lead character who is part of the Chilean military/police during the period of their history where they would capture suspects and torture and kill them.  It captures what someone in this role might do during the day, during the times when she is not engaged in human rights violations, and I gotta tell ya, it's super creepy.

BOXBALLET

Anton Dyakov

Boxballet follows a ballerina and a boxer who develop a sweet relationship and ultimately affect how the other views the world.

ROBIN ROBIN

Dan Ojari and Mikey Please

A baby robin is discovered by a family of mice who adopt her.  They spend their time pilfering food from unsuspecting home (as you would imagine a family of mice might), and they try to teach the little robin how to behave like a mouse.  She becomes obsessed with stealing a star off of a high Christmas tree in a home.  This was the most delightful of the films, and was a fun little bit of whimsy.

THE WINDSHIELD WIPER

Alberto Mielgo and Leo Sanchez

This short film uses a montage of people, scenes, and scenarios to answer the philosophical question, "What is love?' and I don't know, it was moderately innovative and interesting, I guess.

Just not a big fan of this year's Animated short films.  Nothing from Disney nor Pixar... does that sort of capture the quirkiness of the nominees?

Four Good Days - 1 nomination

 

Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures (Original Song)
Diane Warren (music and lyric by)
For song "Somehow You Do"

Four Good Days is a harrowing story of Molly, a drug addict for 10 years, who has been promised a light of hope at the end of the tunnel.  Her doctor has told her that if she can stay clean for just four full days, she will be eligible for a monthly shot that prevents drugs from taking any effect in her body, a drug that prevents toxic substances from binding to the central nervous system rendering them so ineffective that the addict will resist their pull.  Molly's mother Deb has been through the wringer with her and her decade long addiction, and the vicious cycle of ineffective rehabs, and all of the things that those failures have wrought.  A tense relationship with a history of lies, theft, abuse, worry, and the torture of loving someone but knowing that there's nothing you can do to help her.  So now Deb decides to help (once again) and clings to the hope that a mere four days will get her daughter to the promised land.

It's a difficult film but this is Mila Kunis at her absolute best.  Partnered with Glenn Close the film goes from tropey rehab film to engaging movie.  Have we seen much of this before? Sure. But with these powerhouse actresses at the center, it was worth the time.  I truly enjoyed it (as much as you can say that with such a difficult story.)

Now, sad to say, Dianne Warren - with her 13th Oscars nomination for Original Song is still not going to win.  (Don't get me started on 'Til It Happens to You, which should have won... but I digress.). Her day is coming, but this talented songwriter just can't catch a break.  Listen to the song, it's beautiful.

No Time To Die - 3 nominations

 

Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures (Original Song) Billie Eilish (music and lyric by) Finneas O'Connell (music and lyric by) For song "No Time to Die"

Best Achievement in Visual Effects Charlie Noble Joel Green Jonathan Fawkner Chris Corbould

Best Sound Simon Hayes Oliver Tarney James Harrison Paul Massey Mark Taylor

James Bond has retired from her Majesty's service, but every time he gets out, they pull him back in.  Not just any they from MI6, but the newly dubbed 007 finds him and begs him to return to help with their latest case, sure to end the world.  It is the latest bioweapon which targets an individual's DNA (and that of the person's family) but is harmless to those standing nearby.  As Bond is hunting down his prey, he finds refuge with his former lover and discovers that she also has a child (spoiler alert... the child is Bond's), and he becomes entangled with this family.  As you'd expect, there is a grand confrontation with the big baddie, and while the attack goes as any Bond fan would expect, there is also one final twist that nobody will see coming.

No Time to Die is truly one of the best Bond films I've seen, and Daniel Craig's run as the character ends spectacularly.  Billie Eilish will continue a grand tradition of Bond songs that win the Oscar, 7 so far by my calculation, and the song is pretty great.  In fact, as it opened the film, I turned to the friend I was with and said, "well, that's the Original Song Oscar right there..." (see below to see a video and hear the song). I loved the film, and that's coming from a person who was getting a little bit tired of Bond films.  It helps if you've seen the other Daniel Craig films, but is not terribly necessary.  Totally worth your time.

You're not going to want to miss our Oscars reactions episode on 2 Movie Jews.  Here's that link!

Coming 2 America - 1 nomination

 

Best Achievement in Makeup and Hairstyling
Michael Marino
Stacey Morris
Carla Farmer

Prince Akeem has become King after the sad and untimely death of his father.  He and his wife have resettled in the kingdom of Zamunda, and they have three wonderful and fierce daughters.  When a nearby despot threatens to upend his kingdom, Akeem must go back to America to find the son he never knew he had so that he has and heir who can succeed Akeem.  But with three powerful daughters who have grown up in Zamunda, Akeem also begins to question the rules around royal inheritance.

If, like me, you grew up in the 80s and 90s and you loved Coming To America, you'll love this one too.  It has all the nostalgic references including a reprise of the beloved band, Sexual Chocolate.  The costumes are over the top and probably worthy of a nomination in their own rights.  Of course, the film is nominated for the makeup and hairstyling artists' abilities to transform Eddie Murphy and Arsenio Hall into multiple characters, as they did in the first film.  It's a silly, fun, comedic romp.  (and my husband appreciates that - he is always bummed that the Oscars honor so few comedies!)

Cyrano - 1 nomination

 

Best Achievement in Costume Design
Massimo Cantini Parrini
Jacqueline Durran

Cyrano is the well known classic tale of unrequited love by Cyrano, the master of language who is in love with Roxanne.  He believes Roxanne could never love him (classically) because of a nose deformity, and (presently) because he is a dwarf.  There have been many film adaptations (my favorite being the one starring Steve Martin) and this one is even a musical.  If Peter Dinklage could sing (better, to be fair, he is not terrible but he is also not great), it might have worked better because the rest of the supporting cast is quite talented.  The costume design is beautiful and certainly worthy of a nomination, and often is the kind of period piece that wins Oscars.  The songs are also very well crafted but the movie dragged in a way that it shouldn't have.

If I were someone who rated films, I'd call this one 3 stars (out of 5).  Not the best, but perfectly fine.

Cruella - 2 nominations

 

Best Achievement in Costume Design Jenny Beavan

Best Achievement in Makeup and Hairstyling Nadia Stacey Naomi Donne Julia Vernon

I love a good prequel and this is a great one.  Cruella de Vil, notorious dalmation hunter, has an origin story and her name is Estela.  Estela is a talented, aspiring, and naive fashion designer.  Having been orphaned and left on the streets as a child, she's had to claw her way to a choice position with her idol, The Baroness, having raised herself with her trusty pals and fellow petty criminals, Horace and Jasper.

But the Baroness steals her designs and emotionally abuses Estela, and not only that, Estela figures out that the Baroness has had a hand in her own mother's death, and not only that, has stolen Estela's only connection to her mother, a precious necklace.  Estela becomes singularly focused on retrieving the necklace and it wouldn't hurt if in doing so, she can exact her own revenge.

I'm generally not a huge fan of "I was hurt so that explains how I became a villain" stories, but this one is absolutely delicious and it generally works for Disney.  The costumes are MAGNIFICENT and by all rights deserves to win this category (even if we won't see it televised).  Even if you don't see the film, I encourage you to search for the Cruella costumes on the internet, and I dare you not to be blown away.  While I didn't expect to even like this one, I loved it!

Want more movie talk? Subscribe to my podcast, 2 Movie Jews.  

Here's a link to our Oscars reactions episode! 

https://www.buzzsprout.com/1749819/10110400-oscar-2022-nominations-reactions.mp3?download=true

Live Action Shorts

The Live Action shorts are consistently good when it comes to Oscar nominees.  Most years there is one that I don't love, but as a category represents the best of filmmaking.  This year is an exception - every single short this year was very good, well crafted, gut wrenching, and utterly important.  Let's walk through each.

ALA KACHUU - TAKE AND RUN

Maria Brendle and Nadine Lüchinger

The setting is Kyrgyzstan, a country not particularly known for valuing its women and girls.  Sezim dreams of studying at the University but while she is in the city taking the exam for a scholarship, she is kidnapped by rural townspeople who force her immediately into marriage.  The women of the family have experienced the same thing, and they provide her no sympathy.  Even when her family eventually discovers her dilemma, they refuse to help her escape.  Here is a woman with no recourse, no ability to escape, and no choices.  But Sezim is strong of mind and will, and she is not quite ready to give up yet.

Ala Kachuu is not yet available on any streaming platforms.

THE DRESS

Tadeusz Łysiak and Maciej Ślesicki

Julka is a hotel cleaner with dwarfism who has few to no prospects for changing her life.  She smokes hour after hour, day after day, and dreams of a loving relationship.  She seems to have a little flirtation going with one of the truckers who comes through her town and hotel, and when he asks her out on a date the next time he rolls through, her heart soars.  She finds some hope that her life can be different, and she pins those hopes squarely on this one potentially life changing event.  

You can watch The Dress on Vimeo.

THE LONG GOODBYE

Aneil Karia and Riz Ahmed

With fascist, far right extremists marching and gaining traction all over the world, The Long Goodbye envisions a potential future where non-white British citizens are rounded up, killed, carted away while their neighbors stand idly by looking through the windows of their homes, watching it all happen.  That could never happen in our town, right?  This film is horrifying and absolutely possible.

You can watch The Long Goodbye on Amazon Prime.

ON MY MIND

Martin Strange-Hansen and Kim Magnusson

This beautiful little film features Henrik, a loving and devastated husband whose wife is about to come off of life support.  As a final gesture, he goes to a karaoke bar in the middle of the morning and begs the proprietor to allow him to sing his wife's favorite Elvis (and Willie Nelson) song, Always on My Mind.  The grumpy bar owner is the key obstacle, but Henrik isn't leaving without a video of him singing her song.

You can watch On My Mind on Amazon Prime.

PLEASE HOLD

K.D. Dávila and Levin Menekse

It's a dystopian future and Mateo has been arrested by a drone officer on his way to work.  As he is ushered into the prison facility without talking to a single person, he is unable to ascertain what exactly he is being arrested for, and moreover, if he wants to make a call, he must pay for it.  In fact, he must pay for every tiny thing in this for profit prison including meals, blankets, calls, and without even knowing what he is being charged with, he must decide whether to take a plea deal (for 5-7 years in prison) or to plead not guilty with a potential 47 years in prison.  The sense of injustice has the viewer screaming and squirming and should scare the crap out of everyone who supports a privatized justice system.

Please Hold is not yet available on streaming platforms, but please see it the moment it is.

House of Gucci - 1 nomination

 

Best Achievement in Makeup and Hairstyling
Göran Lundström
AnnaCarin Lock
Frederic Aspiras

House of Gucci was one of my most anticipated films of the year.  I love Lady Gaga as an actress, even when I saw the previews, I thought "here's Gaga's acting Oscar" all served up and ready to go.  This film had all the apparent bones of a multi-category Academy Awards nominee - a power cast, an intriguing plot including murder, and amazing vistas for the likes of some of the technical awards like production design and costuming.

House of Gucci follows Patrizia Reggiani who makes it her mission to marry into the Gucci family.  She does marry Maurizio Gucci, and then begins her ambitious campaign to put herself and her husband deep into the company's affairs.  She endears herself to the rest of the family but over time, these relationships crack as she maneuvers and betrays anyone she needs to for the sake of power and controlling the company.  Eventually, her marriage completely disintegrates, as well, and Maurizio pushes her out without a thought.

Sadly, it wasn't a great film.  The performances were mediocre and no two people had the same Italian accent.  Sometimes the same person didn't have the same Italian accent throughout the movie.  Of course, the fashion in the film is magnificent and that is the most fun part.  The story dragged, the characters weren't compelling (Adam Driver always is a bit dead eyed to me, and Jared Leto was just a clown but his makeup completely transformed him beyond recognition, and is likely responsible for the nomination).  You can give this one a pass.