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Gotta start with Pennebaker’s Don’t Look Back. But No Direction Home is more exhaustive. And Rolling Thunder is great too.
I really liked him in "Primal Fear". Creepy good.
Oscar Best Picture Nominee #7 - "I'm Still Here"
My grade: A
Alongside "Conclave", "I'm Still Here" was the best nominee I've seen so far. It was terrific. And with apologies to Demi Moore and duluoz, Fernanda Torres gave THE performance of this year (and most others to boot). My God, the range. From happy and supportive homemaker and socialite to concerned wife and mother to falsely accused and tortured dissident to fighter for justice, Torres' part had it all and she delivered on every scene with a spellbinding performance. She was awesome.
This Brazilian story was a cautionary tale given what's currently going on in our country. Let us hope that we can pull back from the brink before we have to face what the Paiva family endured.
In a just world, "I'm Still Here" should win Best International Feature and Best Actress.
Oscar Best Picture Nominee #8 - "Nickel Boys"
My grade: A-
At last a movie that even breepf could love! "Nickel Boys" is the least conventional movie yet of the nominees - a kaleidoscope of directorial choices regarding time and place perspectives and narrative points of view. This jigsaw of a film pieced together a mystery but still left on the table a couple of pieces that didn't really fit ... the donkey in the hallway and the alligator in the classroom ... anyone?
Some would hate this movie for its seeming desire to play mind games with the viewer. But, I absolutely LOVED it. More than any of the other nominated movies, this was a director's baby. The acting was workmanlike but not showy. Maybe Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor deserved some Supporting Actress love but the star of the show was director RaMell Ross with a supporting nod to his adapted screenplay.
Like a couple of other nominees this awards season, "Nickel Boys" is disturbing in the here and now and serves as a stark reminder of when America was "Great". My hope is that we won't soon live in a time of source material for a movie like this made years from now.
Oscar Best Picture Nominee #9 - "Anora"
My grade: B
"Anora" is now the frontrunner for the Best Picture Oscar after winning at the Director's and Producer's Guilds. Why? I have no earthly or other-worldly idea. This was the most light and fluffy nominee so far, despite plenty of expositionary nudity. It was sort of like a reverse "Pretty Woman" where Julia Roberts doesn't win the rich guy in the end and gets humiliated in the process. The first act set up the seedy world of the private room strip club; the second revealed a whirlwind Cinderella romance; and the third veered into a mad-cap caper romp to a somewhat discordant ending.
For those looking for another Trump-inspired movie, this might be it. The rich here eat and spit out the poor with great relish and no consequences. For those looking for a revelatory movie, this isn't it. It wasn't a "brush your teeth for 2 1/4 hours" flick but it was so ephemeral that I'm unlikely to remember it next week.
Next up is the last nominee of the ten: "Wicked".
Couldn’t disagree more, and I’d say you missed the boat on this one. The brilliance is the ride from a romp and light fare, to something much more than that by the end. Yura Borisov’s role is the key to what you seem to have missed.
Nothing discordant or ephemeral about it, it’s one of the ones this year that’s still percolating in my mind months after having seen it. Overall I’d call it a decent (not great) year for movies, but this is one that really stands out.
I think Sing Sing is still my favorite so far (and wasn’t even nominated), but Anora would be a worthy winner.
I really liked Nickel Boys and had no problem rolling with the style and directorial choices. But I can see it being distracting for some, and especially making it more difficult to attach to the characters than with a conventional approach.
Some of the acting was a little iffy too, but overall really enjoyed it.
Agree to disagree ... you're sort of the Siskel to my Ebert (or the other way around). "Anora" may very well win but I think it won't age well and will be viewed as one of the lesser Best Picture winners ("Shakespeare in Love" anyone?). But what do I know, I preferred "Crash" over "Brokeback Mountain" and "Chariots of Fire" over all the other nominees that year.
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This is a great thread and I wish I had time to read all the poasts and dive into the complexity, but that’s not happening.
Just a couple things: Dune the movies are far superior to the book. Herbert is fascinating on power and politics but is a truly terrible prose stylist. Villeneuve is one of the greatest living filmmakers and the movies are dazzling as pure cinema, and engaging to me on the points of power and religious manipulation. Dune Pt 1 was excellent imo, building the world and setting the mood.
Dune Pt 2 just couldn’t make it all work exactly, and I thought it exposed Chalamet as a lightweight. That was a little surprising because I liked him a lot in Call Me By Your Name. People like him as Dylan but I’m not sure what credit to give on that and don’t plan to see it because I am utterly indifferent to Bob Dylan apart from the Basement Tapes.
I liked the Brutalist up to a point, but I am highly disposed to it as a Modernist born 30-40 years too late, and having spent a lot of time on understanding the post-WW2 Jewish diaspora. I think they didn’t know how to land the plane and the epilogue is totally unearned. Frustrating final third. But up to that point I really enjoyed it.
More frivolously, I recommend the new French version of The Count of Monte Cristo. Just a swashbuckling old school entertainment, beautiful and fun.
Just a couple things: Dune the movies are far superior to the book. Herbert is fascinating on power and politics but is a truly terrible prose stylist. Villeneuve is one of the greatest living filmmakers and the movies are dazzling as pure cinema, and engaging to me on the points of power and religious manipulation. Dune Pt 1 was excellent imo, building the world and setting the mood.
Dune Pt 2 just couldn’t make it all work exactly, and I thought it exposed Chalamet as a lightweight. That was a little surprising because I liked him a lot in Call Me By Your Name. People like him as Dylan but I’m not sure what credit to give on that and don’t plan to see it because I am utterly indifferent to Bob Dylan apart from the Basement Tapes.
I liked the Brutalist up to a point, but I am highly disposed to it as a Modernist born 30-40 years too late, and having spent a lot of time on understanding the post-WW2 Jewish diaspora. I think they didn’t know how to land the plane and the epilogue is totally unearned. Frustrating final third. But up to that point I really enjoyed it.
More frivolously, I recommend the new French version of The Count of Monte Cristo. Just a swashbuckling old school entertainment, beautiful and fun.
Oscar Best Picture Nominee #10 - "Wicked"
My grade: B+
Last but not least, I saw the musical, "Wicked". Full disclosure, I did see the Broadway play years ago, though I don't remember much about it. Let's see, I recall that: 1) it was a spin on "The Wizard of Oz"; 2) The Good Witch wasn't so good and the Wicked Witch was good; and 3) I enjoyed the songs "Popular" and "Defying Gravity". Even though Kristin Chenoweth wasn't still playing the Glinda character, her replacement certainly carried over Ms. Chenoweth's bright yet menacing vibe.
So, I went in with apprehension about Ariana Grande playing Glinda. Grande was fine and so was Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba. The costumes and set design were spectacular. The special effects and soundtrack were nice. I liked that Elphaba was cast with a black woman. At its core, "Wicked" is a story of racism, intolerance, and manipulated hatred. It represents yet another artistic metaphor in the time of Trump.
So, why the B+? I generally don't like movies intentionally broken into parts. "Wicked, Part 1" had a beginning and the first part of the middle. This Fall's installment is supposed to provide the second part of the middle and the end. I HATE that. The viewer is left feeling kind of ripped off at the end. "Oh crap, I just spent nearly three hours for HALF of a movie?"
My second problem with this half-movie is its length and focus. It suffers from "Bowen Yang syndrome" - too much attention given to an unimportant extra. Instead of developing characters whose stories will factor into "Part II" (the prince and the sister), Bowen Yang and other nobodies get screen time. WTF? This fixation on meaningless trivialities slows the plot to a halt at times (and NOT because a good song was inserted into the void). Too bad, this movie could have been an "A" with better direction and editing.
So, there you have it - all 10 Best Picture nominees. 2024 wasn't a bad year. Though most of the movies were over two hours, only a couple were slogs to get through. None were completely devoid of something worth watching. Here is my ranking from first to worst (with review grade):
1) "Conclave" (A)
2) "I'm Still Here" (A)
3) "Nickel Boys" (A-)
4) "Wicked" (B+)
5) "A Complete Unknown" (B+)
6) "Anora" (B)
7) "Emilia Perez" (B)
8) "The Substance" (B-)
9) "Dune: Part Two" (C)
10) "The Brutalist" (C-)
MOUNTAINH33L
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I watched "We Beat the Dream Team" last night. I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was great to see Montross out there with the select team. Coach Roy was out there coaching his ass off. Great interviews. Highly recommend.
This was an AWESOME doc. Super fun. Worth watching for the Larry Bird stories alone. Mashburn and Webber told some great stories.
And Roy rightly comes out looking like a hero for coaching them to the win, and K comes out looking like a total douche (shocker) for being petty and dismissive of their win.
Well worth a watch for any sports fan, but especially Heels fans.
I’m going to see A Complete Unknown tomorrow night finally. After that, I’ll only have I’m Still Here among the Best Picture noms (I won’t be seeing Wicked), and a few others from Doc and International too.
I'll be curious to read your takes on "A Complete Unknown" and "I'm Still Here". The latter still resonates with me nearly two weeks later. I think it's got an excellent chance to win the International film Oscar. I've gotten busy but if I had the time, I'd love to take in all the shorts, documentaries, and international films. Enjoy your film slate, my friend.
I have a very low bar for Complete Unknown, because I’m a big Dylan fan and Chalamet doesn’t excite me in the role no matter how well he mimics and plays. Biopics are tough for me unless I have no real attachment to the subject. I’m hoping he’ll win me over but I’m expecting something underwhelming.
Several theaters run the shorts — live, animated, and docs… but I haven’t made it to any of those this year.
Several theaters run the shorts — live, animated, and docs… but I haven’t made it to any of those this year.
I watched this one tonight. It’s up there with No Other Land as my favorite doc of the year.
All the docs are pretty disturbing and moving as usual. I still need to see Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat.
an0maly
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My best films of 2024 (this list goes to 11), rank order:
Dune, Part Two – The best way to take the measure of a film is what it attempts to accomplish compared to the success doing so, then is it truthful and important in dealing with the human condition or great ideas. In all those this is one of the great films of the century, and will take its rightful place on all those measures in time. One of the on-target reviews:
www.theatlantic.com
Conclave – Another huge accomplishment, and one that could have easily gone wrong in various ways with touchy subjects, but didn't. Like Dune Part Two, a sensational ensemble of performances and a great story to tell.
All That We Imagine as Light –Unusual film about the lives of three ordinary women in India.
Civil War – This was a devastating film prior the election and it's worse than that now of course. A vision of where we are headed if you take a glass half full mindset.A very courageous statement about our time and where we are immediately headed.
Last Stop in Yuma Country – Lessons from the great Coen Brothers have been learned by new many filmmakers, and the black comedy and convoluted trouble humans can make for themselves are brilliantly Coen-esque in this constantly amazing “modern Western.”
A Real Pain – This is not great cinema visually, but has some of the best writing of the year, and likely the best performance by Culkin. He may not get enough attention for it because the character is annoying. This is a very talky, chatty film in the style of the best Woody Allen stuff, but seems more realistic, and holds a final emotional punch.
The Heretic – A thriller with very clever writing and a wicked performance by Hugh Grant. Like all of these, a second viewing improves it even more.
Strange Darling – A true pull the rug out from under you thriller.
Lake George - Under the radar film I wrote about above. My underrated film of the year.
Nickel Boys – Rather brave cinematic approach of only first person viewpoints, not always an ideal method,but this is an important and devastating story very well told.
Hard Truths – Mike Leigh is still making great films, with brilliant performances, this one about trying to care for a person who is impossible to care about.
Others:
The Brutalist - Wrote about above. Visually impressive; not one of the top films in terms of narrative.
A Complete Unknown - Very good performances, good sense of the times, above average to average biopic to me.
A film I liked but is far overrated, like an overhyped Shakespeare in Love type thing of 2024, is Anora. The whole first half of this film is just teenager and hooker stuff but erotic, then the second half retreads things we have seen so very many times before, and is the kind of short story 1/3rd of an episode of The Sopranos delivered, and with much better acting and better black comedic realism.
LaRoy Texas – Almost no critics rank this as high as I do, but there has been virtually no black comedy this good in years. Also a modern Western, in some ways like Coen stuff but with more David Lynch added to the mix. I bet the reputation of this film is going to grow.
Dune, Part Two – The best way to take the measure of a film is what it attempts to accomplish compared to the success doing so, then is it truthful and important in dealing with the human condition or great ideas. In all those this is one of the great films of the century, and will take its rightful place on all those measures in time. One of the on-target reviews:
A Colossal Blockbuster That Justifies Its Scale
Denis Villeneuve’s "Dune: Part Two" is a triumphant—and tragic—look at the cost of power.
Conclave – Another huge accomplishment, and one that could have easily gone wrong in various ways with touchy subjects, but didn't. Like Dune Part Two, a sensational ensemble of performances and a great story to tell.
All That We Imagine as Light –Unusual film about the lives of three ordinary women in India.
Civil War – This was a devastating film prior the election and it's worse than that now of course. A vision of where we are headed if you take a glass half full mindset.A very courageous statement about our time and where we are immediately headed.
Last Stop in Yuma Country – Lessons from the great Coen Brothers have been learned by new many filmmakers, and the black comedy and convoluted trouble humans can make for themselves are brilliantly Coen-esque in this constantly amazing “modern Western.”
A Real Pain – This is not great cinema visually, but has some of the best writing of the year, and likely the best performance by Culkin. He may not get enough attention for it because the character is annoying. This is a very talky, chatty film in the style of the best Woody Allen stuff, but seems more realistic, and holds a final emotional punch.
The Heretic – A thriller with very clever writing and a wicked performance by Hugh Grant. Like all of these, a second viewing improves it even more.
Strange Darling – A true pull the rug out from under you thriller.
Lake George - Under the radar film I wrote about above. My underrated film of the year.
Nickel Boys – Rather brave cinematic approach of only first person viewpoints, not always an ideal method,but this is an important and devastating story very well told.
Hard Truths – Mike Leigh is still making great films, with brilliant performances, this one about trying to care for a person who is impossible to care about.
Others:
The Brutalist - Wrote about above. Visually impressive; not one of the top films in terms of narrative.
A Complete Unknown - Very good performances, good sense of the times, above average to average biopic to me.
A film I liked but is far overrated, like an overhyped Shakespeare in Love type thing of 2024, is Anora. The whole first half of this film is just teenager and hooker stuff but erotic, then the second half retreads things we have seen so very many times before, and is the kind of short story 1/3rd of an episode of The Sopranos delivered, and with much better acting and better black comedic realism.
LaRoy Texas – Almost no critics rank this as high as I do, but there has been virtually no black comedy this good in years. Also a modern Western, in some ways like Coen stuff but with more David Lynch added to the mix. I bet the reputation of this film is going to grow.
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You don’t even mention Sing Sing. Whaaaaat.My best films of 2024 (this list goes to 11), rank order:
Dune, Part Two – The best way to take the measure of a film is what it attempts to accomplish compared to the success doing so, then is it truthful and important in dealing with the human condition or great ideas. In all those this is one of the great films of the century, and will take its rightful place on all those measures in time. One of the on-target reviews:
A Colossal Blockbuster That Justifies Its Scale
Denis Villeneuve’s "Dune: Part Two" is a triumphant—and tragic—look at the cost of power.
Conclave – Another huge accomplishment, and one that could have easily gone wrong in various ways with touchy subjects, but didn't. Like Dune Part Two, a sensational ensemble of performances and a great story to tell.
All That We Imagine as Light –Unusual film about the lives of three ordinary women in India.
Civil War – This was a devastating film prior the election and it's worse than that now of course. A vision of where we are headed if you take a glass half full mindset.A very courageous statement about our time and where we are immediately headed.
Last Stop in Yuma Country – Lessons from the great Coen Brothers have been learned by new many filmmakers, and the black comedy and convoluted trouble humans can make for themselves are brilliantly Coen-esque in this constantly amazing “modern Western.”
A Real Pain – This is not great cinema visually, but has some of the best writing of the year, and likely the best performance by Culkin. He may not get enough attention for it because the character is annoying. This is a very talky, chatty film in the style of the best Woody Allen stuff, but seems more realistic, and holds a final emotional punch.
The Heretic – A thriller with very clever writing and a wicked performance by Hugh Grant. Like all of these, a second viewing improves it even more.
Darling Strange – A true pull the rug out from under you thriller.
Lake George - Under the radar film I wrote about above. My underrated film of the year.
Nickel Boys – Rather brave cinematic approach of only first person viewpoints, not always an ideal method,but this is an important and devastating story very well told.
Hard Truths – Mike Leigh is still making great films, with brilliant performances, this one about trying to care for a person who is impossible to care about.
Others:
The Brutalist - Wrote about above. Visually impressive; not one of the top films in terms of narrative.
A Complete Unknown - Very good performances, good sense of the times, above average to average biopic to me.
A film I liked but is far overrated, like an overhyped Shakespeare in Love type thing of 2024, is Anora. The whole first half of this film is just teenager and hooker stuff but erotic, then the second have retreads things we have seen so very many times before, and is the kind of thing 1/3rd of an episode of The Sopranos delivered, and with much better acting and better black comedic realism.
LaRoy Texas – Almost no critics rank this as high as I do, but there has been virtually no black comedy this good in years. Also a modern Western, in some ways like Coen stuff but with more David Lynch added to the mix. I bet the reputation of this film is going to grow.
Saw A Complete Unknown tonight. I’d say it surpassed my very low expectations by a bit, and was pretty enjoyable overall. But it was not totally up to the task of a biopic of that significance. It still fell into melodramatic traps and felt very trite at times.
But, overall I really got caught up in its spirit at times and enjoyed it, which is more than I expected. Knowing a lot of the history and those filming locations maybe helped. The history does add another layer.
But, overall I really got caught up in its spirit at times and enjoyed it, which is more than I expected. Knowing a lot of the history and those filming locations maybe helped. The history does add another layer.
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