moviefan617
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January 18, 2020 at 7:40 am #1203290562
How exactly does Joker have the wrong social message. The film is all about a mentally ill man who is beaten down by Reagan-era society, loses his medication because of government funding cuts, and only gets shown kindness by black people. It’s actually very liberal in it’s politics.
He literally gets beat up by a group of black kids and chastised by a black woman on the bus in the first five minutes of the film. This movie does not necessarily have a race problem, but it does not try to posture that “only black people” treat him with kindness.
ReplyJanuary 12, 2020 at 12:53 pm #1203277145FINAL PREDICTIONS:
Laura Dern for “Marriage Story”
Jennifer Lopez for “Hustlers”
Florence Pugh for “Little Women”
Margot Robbie for “Bombshell”
Zhao Shuzhen for “The Farewell”I have 100/1 odds on Pugh, Robbie and Shuzhen so I’m probably just being stubborn because I want to keep my good odds on them. Robbie and – to a lesser extent – Pugh are in a good position, but Shuzhen needs to ride a wave a passion and I’m just gonna go ahead and say she does, personal bias possibly fogging up my perception here. I could see Lopez missing, but I just don’t think it’ll happen as the narrative of this race has been shaped around here and that’s too strong to push her out of a nomination. But it’s possible. Scarlett Johansson getting a nomination here (and the potential double nomination) is a big possibility, and Nicole Kidman could show up too if actors go for “Bombshell” in a big way again.
January 12, 2020 at 12:50 pm #1203277136FINAL PREDICTIONS:
Scarlett Johansson for “Marriage Story”
Lupita Nyong’o for “Us”
Saoirse Ronan for “Little Women”
Charlize Theron for “Bombshell”
Renee Zellweger for “Judy”I ended up sticking with Nyong’o over Awkwafina and Cynthia Erivo. If the voting window had ended a week later, I’d be more inclined to vote for Awkwafina, but I think the earlier window helps a critics favorite like Nyong’o (in the same way I’m predicting Antonio Banderas for Best Actor). Johansson honestly feels the most secure here to me, as I could see Zellweger, Theron or Ronan surprisingly missing.
January 12, 2020 at 12:47 pm #1203277122FINAL PREDICTIONS:
Song Kang Ho for “Parasite”
Anthony Hopkins for “The Two Popes”
Al Pacino for “The Irishman”
Joe Pesci for “The Irishman”
Brad Pitt for “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”I’m predicting the Kang Ho nomination as many others seem to be now, and maybe that is out of desperation for breaking up the consensus five that formed over the course of the season. I have Tom Hanks missing, but that could just as easily be Hopkins or even Pacino. The problem is that I don’t know who, outside of Kang Ho, that would be in favor of because the only other person who has gotten some major traction this year is Jamie Foxx, and I’m just not seeing that happen either.
ReplyJanuary 12, 2020 at 12:46 pm #1203277116FINAL PREDICTIONS:
Antonio Banderas for “Pain & Glory”
Leonardo DiCaprio for “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”
Adam Driver for “Marriage Story”
Taron Egerton for “Rocketman”
Joaquin Phoenix for “Joker”I think we could very likely see a surprise nominee here and there are certainly many options as for who it could be. In this order, I could see: Christian Bale, Robert DeNiro, George MacKay, Adam Sandler, Jonathan Pryce, Eddie Murphy. Driver and Phoenix feel secure, but it is anyone’s guess after that. Egerton had the heat down the stretch, DiCaprio will benefit from “OUATIH” being one of the top contenders this year, and Banderas feels like the passion pick that’ll go the distance.
ReplyJanuary 12, 2020 at 12:29 pm #1203277076This is a dumpster fire of an awards show, but I ended up hate-watching last year. Might do the same this year if I can find literally nothing better to do with my time. Otherwise, I’ll check Twitter in case, by some act of God, the “critics” go their own way.
ReplyJanuary 11, 2020 at 5:47 am #1203275242You could make a strong argument for “Knives Out” and “The Farewell” on any given day, which is why I have them as my #9 and #10, but I flip flop on who is likelier to make it. “Knives Out” is a crowdpleasing box office hit that struck at the right time and is really well-liked (at the very least) by everyone. “The Farewell” is a small, quiet indie that was still very successful and has garnered some awards traction, though not enough to really solidify its position in the race. If we’re talking about passion being the thing that gets a film past that nomination threshold, I kind of think “The Farewell” has the better chance just because it is a much more personal and emotional film that is likely to pull in voters’ #1 votes. That being said, I think it’ll be the consensus eight and maybe one of these extra films if we’re lucky. “Ford v Ferrari” could have a chance, but “The Two Popes” isn’t happening.
ReplyJanuary 7, 2020 at 8:25 pm #1203269763I just watched the whole season over the past four days, and while my feelings about the show as a whole are sort of all over the place considering how different a program it is from episode 1 to episode 10, the one thing I am certain of is that this is a stellar, astonishing performance from Jennifer Aniston. If the show around her was on her level, this would be a different conversation and maybe it is because of the weaker elements of the show that she shines so brightly, but my God was I gobsmacked by her work here.
As for the show itself, it was finally a bit of a mess. It never knew if it wanted to be entertaining, campy or deadly serious, the writing was extremely on the nose and predictable, the look of some episodes did not seem to meet the reported budget, and (as stated here by others) two of the three “leads” were delivering merely okay performances with characters that were sometimes wildly unrealistic and hard to identify. But despite all of that, I blew through this season and was pretty entertained. The end of that finale was stunning and gripping, and I’d like more of that show, please! The final shot of the season seems to indicate we are done with that story, so I’m curious where this show goes in season two, especially considering there are bound to be repercussions for the actions of many of these characters.
But honestly, the story here is Jennifer Aniston. It’s like she showed up to work every day knowing she had to carry the launch of this cursed service on her back. The whole show is worth it just for her performance.
ReplyJanuary 7, 2020 at 10:10 am #1203268689Where is Olivia Wilde?
Taika over Todd Phillips…we love to see it.
ReplyJanuary 4, 2020 at 11:40 am #1203259878I finally saw this earlier this week, and it is absolutely wonderful. “Lady Bird” is my favorite film of the 2010s, and now with this, Greta Gerwig has a lifelong pass in my book. This film grows upon the directorial promise shown in “Lady Bird” and improves in almost every single aspect. With a full budget and a sweeping story, Gerwig shows she is more than capable (rather, quite masterful) of handling a project of this scope. She sets the stage early on and the movie never stops moving, but the tone is so warm and inviting that you devour every second of this film. Her screenplay is equally excellent, and although I have not read “Little Women,” I Understand why Gerwig chose to chop up the story the way she did for narrative moments that carry much more weight in this order. Her meta commentary about her own career and the legacy of this story is masterful. Production design, costumes, score and editing are all top of the line.
I think this is Saoirse Ronan’s best performance ever. She is absolutely pitch perfect in this role and communicates so much with just a look. Many of her best moments are conveyed through her face alone, and she knocks it out of the park. She runs the gamut in this film and grounds this story in a way that I really don’t know any other actress her age could. Florence Pugh is likewise fantastic, and she imbues the character of Amy with so much personality and drive that you can see the groundwork she lays when she plays Amy as a teenager and how that informs her performance of Amy as a young adult. Eliza Scanlen and Emma Watson were both really great and it felt like their screentime was never wasted to tell us their stories and motivations. Timothee Chalamet really had the right charm for this role and comes across as a boy trying to fit in as a man and falling just short, which is exactly right for this role. His chemistry with Ronan is god-tier (which we’d already seen in “Lady Bird”) but his work with Pugh is equally captivating. Laura Dern, dare I say it, is better in this film than “Marriage Story,” and she gives off a warmth and maternal presence that just proves her range as an actress. Meryl Streep knew exactly what was needed of her in this role and she delivered without going overboard, as could be the risk with a “comic relief” character like Aunt March. The men in this film are all very good, especially Chris Cooper (a very good year for him in supporting roles with this and “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood”).
Overall, I just adored the film and found its message to be extremely powerful. It is tightly told so that the 2+ hours never feel slow and you crave even more time by the end of the film. Gerwig has a lifelong pass from me now and I’ll be watching every single thing she does for as long as she does it. The film’s financial success is incredibly satisfying and I hope Oscar voters make up for the short-changed results of the awards season so far.
ReplyJanuary 4, 2020 at 7:44 am #1203259459I saw this last night and was absolutely gobsmacked. This is a fantastic piece of filmmaking, one of the greatest technical achievements I’ve ever seen, and perhaps the best war film I’ve ever watched (not saying much on the latter as this isn’t a genre I particularly follow closely). Sam Mendes is really going balls to the wall with this one and every little detail is fascinating. I genuinely don’t know how they shot this film, and Roger Deakins solidifies his legend status and should easily be taking that second Oscar this year. Every other technical element from the production design, sound and (yes, I’ll say it) editing was fantastic. The two hours really fly by and this story does not feel like a gimmicky use of the “one-take” method. There’s a purpose to it, which is very exciting and makes the payoff of the film that much better. It’s a very good script, but that’s not necessarily the point here. George MacKay and Dean-Charles Chapman are quite good as well, and when you see what their characters go through, it is astonishing they made it out of this film in one piece, so cheers to them. This demands to be seen in a theater for the full experience, and I hope the buzz continues to grow. I can see this being a huge hit.
ReplyDecember 28, 2019 at 8:23 am #1203252387The decision to bring back Palpatine and introduce the concluding conflict of the entire “Star Wars” saga…in the first two sentences of the scrawl of the final film…and make the Big Bad of the 2010s trilogy a character who was never even mentioned in the first two films of said trilogy…
…thanks, I hate it.
Adam Driver is such a great actor and the Ben Solo storyline was good, although it could’ve been much better. The editing and pacing of this film was just wild. The disservice to so many important characters from “TFA” and “TLJ” was really disappointing. This was just really disappointing. Entertaining as a film, but disappointing as a story and a conclusion to this saga.
ReplyDecember 22, 2019 at 6:51 am #1203246857If Eddie Murphy doesn’t win an Emmy for this, I will be absolutely bamboozled. Best episode in a long time. I even said out loud “This is how it should be every week.” Alas, at least we have this one.
ReplyDecember 18, 2019 at 5:00 pm #1203243220I think it’ll hurt her that she’s eventually playing Barbie doll. She’s not what wins supporting actress either (Mothers, Wives, Lawyers). But I agree that she has a heartbreaking scene that can help her win.
I have no clue what her being in the upcoming Barbie movie (being co-written by two likely Oscar nominees this year) has anything to do with this, but okay. And there hasn’t been a lawyer character that has won this category since Tilda Swinton, which makes me believe you only included that as “proof” that Laura Dern is winning.
I don’t argue that “mothers” and “wives” characters tend to win in this category, so it is at least refreshing that Dern, Lopez and Robbie don’t fit that characterization (at least not primarily).
December 18, 2019 at 3:50 pm #1203243141Having now seen “Bombshell,” I really wouldn’t be surprised if Margot Robbie takes SAG and becomes a big threat for the Oscar. First of all, she has the performance to back up a win. It’s a heartbreaking performance and she just really nails every moment she’s given. Beyond that, if SAG really loves “Bombshell” as evidenced by its overperformance with nominations, she may be the film’s best chance at a win. I’m not predicting it right now, but it is definitely a possibility.
