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Mine is “Chicago 7,” which knocked me out when I saw it and the memory of it still rattles me. Perhaps that’s because I grew up in that era. I’m so old today that I actually had draft card number during the late years of the Vietnam war when I was a college kid at Notre Dame. Sorkin’s film masterfully reflects all that social tension, distrust, desperation and the horror we all felt when, bit by bit, we came to the shocking realization that America was not always perfect, heroic, a Norman Rockwell painting of a blessedly happy family carving up the Thanksgiving turkey. Never before in American history had its citizens been permitted to speak out so harshly about our nation and its corrupt leaders during wartime. Meantime, the sexual revolution was romping, our cities were burning amidst race riots, inspirational leaders like MLK and Bobby Kennedy were assassinated, women demanded equal pay, respect or at least just to get a credit card in their own name (not their husband’s). Bravo to Aaron Sorkin for such a powerful retelling of those times. Yes, he’s got that Oscar for Original Screenplay in the bag, but it’d be nice to see “Chicago 7” to take Best Picture, too — or a win for Sacha Baron Cohen, etc.
ReplyI think Promising Young Woman has a real shot at a BP nom. I like stories that surprise me and that is the only movie in 2021 that kept me guessing all the way to the end.
If that doesn’t count, then One Night in Miami. It was an engaging film even if it was basically just four people having a convo in a hotel room. I thought I’d hate it because it was a play adaptation but once again… it surprised me.
ReplyCopy URLI just love movies. And awards.
I guess Mank, but it’ll probably be Judas once I see it.
ReplyCopy URLJohn's Best of 2020
Best Picture: Soul
Best Direction: The Midnight Sky
Best Actor: Chadwick Boseman
Best Actress: Viola Davis
Best Supporting Actor: Delroy Lindo
Best Supporting Actress: Amanda Seyfried
Best Screenplay: SoulJohn's Best of 2021
Best Picture: Nomadland
Best Direction: Nomadland
Best Actor: Lakeith Stanfield
Best Actress: Frances McDormand
Best Supporting Actor: Daniel Kaluuya
Best Supporting Actress: Dominique Fishback
Best Screenplay: Judas and the Black MessiahPromising Young Woman. A movie that could superficially be considered a tale or revenge or a feminist fantasy became something more than that. The sheer pain caused in the lives of so many people (parents, friends and of course the victims themselves) when sexual assault occurs affects all aspects of life, from the prospects you have for your future to the way you feel unabashedly ignored by a system that gives a pass to wealthy men who belong behind bars to a numbing alienating depression. The way in which the ending was the most honest way to comment on the current status of society and sexual violence has made this little gem my favorite movie in the English language of the season.
ReplyCopy URLI am also super excited to finally see Nomadland on the 12th. i bought the Disney Plsu/Hulu/ESPN Plus bundle just for Nomadland but now I’m keeping it for Attack on Titan.
ReplyCopy URLJohn's Best of 2020
Best Picture: Soul
Best Direction: The Midnight Sky
Best Actor: Chadwick Boseman
Best Actress: Viola Davis
Best Supporting Actor: Delroy Lindo
Best Supporting Actress: Amanda Seyfried
Best Screenplay: SoulJohn's Best of 2021
Best Picture: Nomadland
Best Direction: Nomadland
Best Actor: Lakeith Stanfield
Best Actress: Frances McDormand
Best Supporting Actor: Daniel Kaluuya
Best Supporting Actress: Dominique Fishback
Best Screenplay: Judas and the Black MessiahMine is “Chicago 7,” which knocked me out when I saw it and the memory of it still rattles me. Perhaps that’s because I grew up in that era. I’m so old today that I actually had draft card number during the late years of the Vietnam war when I was a college kid at Notre Dame. Sorkin’s film masterfully reflects all that social tension, distrust, desperation and the horror we all felt when, bit by bit, we came to the shocking realization that America was not always perfect, heroic, a Norman Rockwell painting of a blessedly happy family carving up the Thanksgiving turkey. Never before in American history had its citizens been permitted to speak out so harshly about our nation and its corrupt leaders during wartime. Meantime, the sexual revolution was romping, our cities were burning amidst race riots, inspirational leaders like MLK and Bobby Kennedy were assassinated, women demanded equal pay, respect or at least just to get a credit card in their own name (not their husband’s). Bravo to Aaron Sorkin for such a powerful retelling of those times. Yes, he’s got that Oscar for Original Screenplay in the bag, but it’d be nice to see “Chicago 7” to take Best Picture, too — or a win for Sacha Baron Cohen, etc.
Chicago7 is not my fav, but I’m glad you chose it because there’s too much hate toward this film. Chicago 7 is overall a 6-7/10 kind of film, but film Twitter trashed it like a bad movie, just like what they did to Green Book. It’s at least better than D5B, Mank, Ma Rainey and ONIM among the top contenders.
My favorite so far is Soul, but it won’t even get nominated. Poor Soul
ReplyCopy URLCoen-Lynch-Fellini
FYC: Soul & Judas and the Black MessiahJudas and the Black Messiah! It has everything you want in a movie – it’s tense, dynamic, engaging, moving, thought-provoking. It’s got a sharp screenplay, masterful cinematography, exquisite needle drops, and pitch-perfect performances. Everything about this movie is skillfully and confidently crafted, which is evident in every frame. What I love about it is that it’s not afraid to “go there” with how radical Hampton and his followers were, which is appreciated in a studio film, especially when other movies choose to sanitize history that’s upsetting to think about. A sobering look at a dark period that we in 2021 urgently need to reflect on. In many ways, it’s the movie we need for this moment. Above all, it’s an entertaining and thrilling movie that will keep you on the edge of your seat for the entire duration of its runtime.
ReplyCopy URLMy favorite movie I’ve seen so far this year is Sound of Metal, but I doubt that will get nominated for Picture. All the possible nominees I’ve seen so far (News of the World, Chicago 7, Soul, and Mank) I liked but didn’t love. I’m very much looking forward to watching Judas, Minari, and Nomadland when I can, however.
ReplyCopy URLNomadland
There’s a reason why it’s considered by many as the Best Film of the Year. It’s simultaneous nostalgic and of-the-moment, as well as intimate and universal. There’s a deep sense of sadness that pervades the film, astutely captured in the landscapes and wide plains in which these travelers trek. Voluntarily or not, these are uprooted lives. Not necessarily lost, but also not attached the way society expects them to. It’s a depiction of the freedom and thrill of independence, as well as the loneliness that comes with it. It’s not a film of a giant cathartic ending, or some gaudy epiphany, but a thoughtful journey constructed from the people’s stories and as witnessed through France McDormand’s marvelous performance as Fren. Pieces fit to paint this picture of the manifest destiny to perhaps nowhere; this is the actual American dream. In the best of documentarian spirit, Chloe Zhao invites you to really listen to the whys and hows of these lives. I’ve been a fan of Chloe Zhao’s work since The Rider, and no doubt, she was able to mine as much empathy and depth, even more than she did in The Rider. The tension and the drama of this film come from watching these people survive on the roads, taking odd jobs here and there, learning the tricks of the trade, revisiting ghosts of the past. It asks the viewer to consider, what if we really did let everything that holds us down go? Would it be so bad? The juxtaposition between the harshness and the beauty of the landscape within which these travelers to nowhere trek allows the viewer to really feel for them and with them emotionally and physically. The empathy is infectious.
This will be remembered as one of the best American films of this decade and perhaps of all time.
ReplyCopy URLtop 10
Nomadland
First Cow
The Forty-Year-Old Version
Martin Eden
Never Rarely Sometimes Always
Sorry We Missed You
I'm Thinking of Ending Things
The Assistant
His House
Possessor: UncutPicture: Nomadland
Director: Kelly Reichardt, First Cow
Actor: Luca Martinelli, Martin Eden
Actress: Frances McDormand, Nomadland
Supp. Actor: Bill Burr, King of Staten Island
Supp. Actress: Essie Davis, True History of the Kelly GangJudas and the Black Messiah! It has everything you want in a movie – it’s tense, dynamic, engaging, moving, thought-provoking. It’s got a sharp screenplay, masterful cinematography, exquisite needle drops, and pitch-perfect performances. Everything about this movie is skillfully and confidently crafted, which is evident in every frame. What I love about it is that it’s not afraid to “go there” with how radical Hampton and his followers were, which is appreciated in a studio film, especially when other movies choose to sanitize history that’s upsetting to think about. A sobering look at a dark period that we in 2021 urgently need to reflect on. In many ways, it’s the movie we need for this moment. Above all, it’s an entertaining and thrilling movie that will keep you on the edge of your seat for the entire duration of its runtime.
I genuinely want to ask you, someone who has watched it, why it’s underperforming at GG and BAFTA.
ReplyCopy URLCoen-Lynch-Fellini
FYC: Soul & Judas and the Black Messiah
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