I make no secret that I am not a fan of what I refer to as "Best Actor/Actress Showcase" films, movies that only exist to spotlight a particular performer, usually one who has been celebrated but never given any hardware during their career, and use it as a vehicle to get an Oscar nomination or … Continue reading Back Row Thoughts – Please Give Me an Oscar I Don’t Deserve
We're less than two weeks from Oscar nominations, and I'm doing my level best to clear out as many possible contenders as I can. I'm more than halfway through the Documentary Feature shortlist, and I only have one more International Feature semifinalist that I can watch before the nods are announced (Norway's Armand is gambling … Continue reading Back Row Thoughts – Animation Circulation
The films of Pedro Almodóvar have a few tried and true trademarks. They're often fascinating character studies, deal with complex emotions often without overly expressing them, tend to be darkly humorous, and can have odd sexual dynamics. He's an absolute master of Spanish cinema, and his knack for telling deeply human stories without resorting to … Continue reading Tilda’s Death Do Us Part – The Room Next Door
With two weeks left to go until the Oscar Blitz begins, a good chunk of time will be spent doing my utmost to cram in as much cinematic content as possible. Just like last year, Netflix has pulled out all the proverbial stops in order to bribe Academy voters into giving the streamer as much … Continue reading DownStream – TUDUM! Part One: Documentary
One of the sadder aspects of Awards Season is when it becomes increasingly clear that one or more categories at the Oscars will not be a contest at all, the winner all but predetermined due to the marketing campaigns from the films and studios involved. One would hope that in a year as relatively mediocre … Continue reading No Longer Daddy’s Girls – The Seed of the Sacred Fig
I've had a very hard time compartmentalizing my thoughts on Wicked Part One, which is the actual title of the film despite the endless dishonest marketing that just called it Wicked as if it was the whole story (including using the line, "Let me tell you the whole story" in the finished movie and trailer), … Continue reading Defying Brevity – Wicked Part One
We come to it at last. After several delays, it's finally time to tackle the disgustingly cynical double feature that studios and influencers tried to dub "Glicked" as a manufactured means to recreate the critical and box office magic that was last summer's "Barbenheimer" battle, but I have taken to calling "GladiWicketor" because a marketing … Continue reading I WAS NOT ENTERTAINED! – Gladiator II
The first Moana film was an undeniable triumph for Disney back in 2016. It featured a cool new heroine, had dazzling animation, featured a ton of great songs from Lin-Manuel Miranda, and gave audiences that alchemical blend of heart and humor that Walt Disney Animation Studios used to churn out with almost effortless regularity. The … Continue reading On the Row Again – Moana 2
Believe it or not, I'm almost all caught up on my review backlog. After this one, which is admittedly six weeks late (I know, I know, I suck), all that remain are the three November tentpole releases and I'm basically current. This is largely because everything I've seen in December up until the last 48 … Continue reading The Pie is a Lie – Heretic
It's that time again, folks. The pre-Blitz is on! This morning, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences revealed their shortlists in 10 of the 23 categories for next year's Oscars. As always, I'll provide links to any relevant reviews I've done on these semifinalist selections, as well as any top line reactions I … Continue reading One Long and 10 Shorts of It – 97th Academy Awards Shortlists Announced
I Actually Paid To See This 