So after the incredible success of Bohemian Rhapsody, are we in for a wave of musical biopics about 70’s rock stars? The next one up is Rocketman, which looks like it’s pretty much following the Bohemian formula (it’s also from director Dexter Fletcher, the guy who finished up the movie after Bryan Singer was fired). But apparently this one will have big fantasy musical numbers in it, and I do appreciate that Taron Egerton does his own singing (he sounds good!). It’s coming out May 31st.
2019 Oscar Predictions, Part 4: Acting
Onto the acting categories. I basically feel that there are two locks here, one frontrunner and one wild card. Read on for my predictions.
BEST ACTOR
Can’t help but think people are voting more for Freddie Mercury than Rami Malek
Christian Bale, Vice
Bradley Cooper, A Star is Born
Willem Dafoe, At Eternity’s Gate
Rami Malek, Bohemian Rhapsody
Viggo Mortensen, Green Book
So, there’s really no point in predicting anyone other than Rami Malek. The most important precursors were all won by him, from the Golden Globe to the SAG and BAFTA awards. Christian Bale won the Critics Choice award, but the industry groups of SAG and BAFTA are far more important. I happen to not be a big fan of this performance (Cooper is probably my favorite of this bunch actually), but I can’t argue with the precursors. It’s his. I also just want to note that this will be the 16th time in the last 20 years that Best Actor went to the lead role in a biopic. Yeah. Looks like the key to winning awards is playing a real life person- after all, if there’s no actual person to compare it to, how do you know it’s good acting, right?
Winner: Rami Malek
Alternate: Christian Bale
BEST ACTRESS
Hopefully, 7th time’s the charm for Glenn Close
Yalitza Aparicio, Roma
Glenn Close, The Wife
Olivia Colman, The Favourite
Lady Gaga, A Star is Born
Melissa McCarthy, Can You Ever Forgive Me?
Okay, so this win I’m pretty sure is Glenn Close’s, but unlike in Best Actor, there is some chance for an upset. Olivia Colman won the BAFTA, which has occasionally prefaced an Oscar win in the past in this category. British voters love that performance (even though it’s a supporting role, at least based on screen time). But I’m going to say that the SAG win weighs things more in Glenn’s favor this year, mostly as a career award (although she was very good in The Wife). As for anyone else, it’s not likely.
Winner: Glenn Close
Alternate: Olivia Colman
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Mahershala Ali will win his 2nd Oscar in just 3 years
Mahershala Ali, Green Book
Adam Driver, BlacKkKlansman
Sam Elliott, A Star is Born
Richard E. Grant, Can You Ever Forgive Me?
Sam Rockwell, Vice
This is like the Best Actor race, except even more locked. Ali has won virtually everything, the BFCA, Golden Globe, SAG and BAFTA. He will win this award- the only possible reason he wouldn’t is if anyone thought it was too soon after his first Oscar win (for Moonlight two years ago). But they won’t- Green Book is still popular and well liked, despite the various controversies surrounding it, and none of that falls on the actors. It’s hard to even make a case for anyone else here, because it’s so unlikely.
Winner: Mahershala Ali
Alternate: Sam Elliott (I pick him mostly due to his veteran status as a character actor for over 50 years, and if anyone wants to give A Star is Born recognition in a major category, this could be the place)
Dark Horse: Richard E. Grant (also a working actor who’s been around since the 1980s- he’s also been campaigning pretty heavily this season, so it’s a possibility)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Rachel Weisz is really the lead of this movie, which could work to her advantage, and her last Oscar win in this category was almost 15 years ago
Amy Adams, Vice
Marina de Tavira, Roma
Regina King, If Beale Street Could Talk
Emma Stone, The Favourite
Rachel Weisz, The Favourite
Okay, now this is the one I’m actually really shaky on. This category in particular is often ripe for upsets, if they happen in the acting races. Regina King was the critics favorite and early frontrunner- she won the BFCA and Golden Globe award. BUT…she was then not even nominated at the actual industry awards- SAG and BAFTA. That alone shows weakness, at least on the part of her film- are enough people watching Beale Street? The SAG award went to a non-nominee, so that’s irrelevant this year. Then the BAFTA went to a previous winner in this category, Rachel Weisz, and that gives me pause. The Favourite IS being seen, it has 10 nominations to Beale Street’s three, and British voters will vote for that film somewhere. Rachel Weisz is really a lead role in the film too, being frauded into supporting here. There’s a real chance she takes it. And if vote splitting occurs between her and co-star Emma Stone, there’s also a chance for a stunner in Roma’s Marina de Tavira coming out of nowhere and winning, since Roma also has 10 nominations and is a heavy frontrunner for Best Picture, which often takes an acting award in a supporting category. The only real argument for King after those industry snubs is that people in Hollywood like her so much they’re just checking off her name, but if she wins she’ll be only the second person to ever win after being snubbed by SAG and BAFTA (the first was Marcia Gay Harden for Pollock, way back in 2000, almost twenty years ago). I’m torn.
Winner: Rachel Weisz (I’m going for it on an upset winner)
Alternate: Regina King
Dark Horse: Marina de Tavira
Tilda Swinton and Honor Swinton Byrne Star in Sundance Hit 'The Souvenir'
This was one of the movies that made a critical splash at Sundance last month, and it’s coming out in May. It’s a bit of a family affair, with Tilda Swinton co-starring alongside her daughter, Honor Swinton Byrne in what looks like a lush romantic drama. The critics really went nuts for it and it won the Grand Jury Prize of the festival, so keep an eye out for it.
2019 Oscar Predictions, Part 3: Screenplays, Costumes, Sets & Music
Today we’re doing the screenplays, costumes, production design and music categories.
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
The Favourite’s screenplay is definitely the most original
The Favourite
First Reformed
Green Book
Roma
Vice
Oh boy, the writing awards are a crapshoot this year. The precursors split all over the place. Green Book won the Golden Globe, First Reformed won the Critics Choice, The Favourite won at BAFTA and a non-nominee, Eighth Grade, won the WGA. Of those, the BAFTA and WGA are the actual industry voters, so they’re more important, but what does that tell us? Well, I think it says that Green Book is not a sure thing, or it would have beaten a non-nominee at WGA. But honestly, any one of these could probably win. I think The Favourite might have the edge, as its screenplay is considered very witty and literate, so I’m going with that.
Winner: The Favourite
Alternate: Green Book
Dark Horse: First Reformed (this could happen- Paul Schrader, the writer of Taxi Driver and Raging Bull, is revered and has never won, or even been nominated for an Oscar, but this is the only nomination the movie got, so it’s a long shot against four Best Picture nominees)
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Rooting for Spike Lee to get his first Oscar as co-writer of BlacKkKlansman
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
BlacKkKlansman
Can You Ever Forgive Me?
If Beale Street Could Talk
A Star is Born
Again, a shot in the dark. The Critics Choice went to Beale Street, the Scripter prize went to the non-nominated Leave No Trace, BAFTA went to BlacKkKlansman and WGA went to Can You Ever Forgive Me?… so what should we pick? I’m sticking with BlacKkKlansman- I’m assuming that voters know that Spike Lee has never won an Oscar and this is his big chance. It also has more top nominations than those other films (except A Star is Born, but that’s won nothing and is a third remake).
Winner: BlacKkKlansman
Alternate: Can You Ever Forgive Me? (gotta go with the WGA winner I guess)
Dark Horse: The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (hey, it’s the Coen Brothers- always possible)
PRODUCTION DESIGN
Wakanda’s sets were pretty impressive, don’t you think?
Back Panther
First Man
The Favourite
Mary Poppins Returns
Roma
Costumes and production design are kind of killing me, because I really think it’s between Black Panther and The Favourite, and it’s like a 50/50 shot for either of them. BAFTA really liked The Favourite, which won both, and that’s the period piece look that’s traditionally favored in these categories throughout all of Oscar history, really. But then again, Mad Max did win these techs for its sci-fi inspired stuff, so are the Oscars changing a little? And the Academy liked Black Panther a lot more than BAFTA did (only one nomination there) and they’re going to give it something. But is it this one or costumes? Or both? Or am I wrong and it’s The Favourite for both? Agggh. The guilds are no help, because they both won there in separate categories (fantasy and period piece). Gonna have to guess.
Winner: Black Panther
Alternate: The Favourite
COSTUME DESIGN
Betting on the colorful costumes of Black Panther to prevail over the more traditional Favourite garb
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
Black Panther
The Favourite
Mary Poppins Returns
Mary, Queen of Scots
This is the exact same situation as Production Design. BAFTA went for The Favourite, and the Costume guild split between that and Black Panther in separate genre categories. I’m going to go with Panther for both of these on a gut feeling.
Winner: Black Panther
Alternate: The Favourite
ORGINAL SCORE
This category is totally up in the air, so I’m betting on Panther once more
Black Panther
BlacKkKlansman
If Beale Street Could Talk
Isle of Dogs
Mary Poppins Returns
I’m still angry that the year’s best score, First Man, was horrifyingly snubbed here. How could they? What were they thinking? Without that score nominated, the second best is the music from If Beale Street Could Talk, but I really do wonder how many voters are actually watching that movie. It only got three nominations. The BAFTA winner does not help at all, since that went to A Star is Born. I don’t know, I’m honestly thinking Black Panther for this. The movie could win several techs, and this may be one of them.
Winner: Black Panther
Alternate: If Beale Street Could Talk
Dark Horse: BlacKkKlansman (the jazzy 70’s inspired score was memorable in this one)
ORIGINAL SONG
Likely to be A Star is Born’s only award of the night
“All the Stars,” Black Panther
“I’ll Fight,” RBG
“The Place Where Lost Things Go,” Mary Poppins Returns
“Shallow,” A Star is Born
“When a Cowboy Trades His Spurs for Wings,” The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
So this has to be Shallow. It won a couple Grammys, it was a massive hit, it’s Lady Gaga. It’s also A Star is Born’s only real shot at winning anything, which is a far cry from when it was labeled an early frontrunner back in the fall. It’s got this.
Winner: “Shallow”
Alternate: “All the Stars”
Costumes is between Black Panther and The Favourite
Costume Designers Guild Awards 'Black Panther' and 'The Favourite'
Costumes is between Black Panther and The Favourite
So there you have it. The last guild, the CDG, has split the costume awards between Oscar nominees Black Panther and The Favourite as expected, leaving us no hint as to where that category goes on Oscar night. Your guess is as good as mine between those two.
CDG WINNERS
Period Film: The Favourite
Fantasy/Sci-Fi Film: Black Panther
Contemporary Film: Crazy Rich Asians
2019 Oscar Predictions, Part 2: Foreign, Animated, Documentary Films, plus Makeup, Editing & Cinematography
Today it’s the documentary, foreign and animated film categories, along with editing, cinematography and makeup.
DOCUMENTARY
Could be RBG, but I think Free Solo has the edge
Free Solo
Hale County This Morning, This Evening
Minding the Gap
Of Fathers and Sons
RBG
I think this award will go to Free Solo, the thrilling and very accessible feat of human daring captured on film. Ever since the Mr. Rogers doc Won’t You Be My Neighbor was snubbed for a nomination, I thought RBG was the sentimental favorite, but now I’m not so sure. It used to be that only members of the documentary branch could vote for this category, but with the whole Academy now voting, it always goes to the most accessible and popular of the nominees. That would support RBG winning, but also Free Solo, and since Free Solo just won the BAFTA award (and some other guild awards in documentary), I’m going with that.
Winner: Free Solo
Alternate: RBG
Dark Horse: Minding the Gap (it probably doesn’t have a chance, but I love this movie and it was my favorite of the nominees)
FOREIGN-LANGUAGE FILM
This one should be a lock for the Best Picture nominee
Capernaum (Lebanon)
Cold War (Poland)
Never Look Away (Germany)
Roma (Mexico)
Shoplifters (Japan)
Well, it has to be Roma, right? The Best Picture nominee that has 10 nominations overall, why wouldn’t it win here? Well, the counterargument is that they might give this award to a movie that won’t possibly be winning Best Picture as well, like Cold War, which also got nominated in Director and Cinematography (or Shoplifters, the actual best nominee here next to Roma). I suppose that’s a possibility but it’s hard for me to see how people don’t check off the most revered foreign film of the year, just because it might also win Best Picture. I think it wins.
Winner: Roma
Alternate: Cold War
ANIMATED FILM
Spider-Man has swept the season- will the Academy follow suit?
Incredibles 2
Isle of Dogs
Mirai
Ralph Breaks the Internet
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
I have to go with Spider-Man. It won the Golden Globe, BFCA, Annie and BAFTA awards. There’s always a chance the Academy screws this up and goes with the Disney/Pixar hit like they always do (it’s been many years since they haven’t, and when they don’t it’s usually because the Disney movie either isn’t nominated or got weak reviews- Incredibles 2 did not). But I think Spider-Verse should have this.
Winner: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
Alternate: Incredibles 2
CINEMATOGRAPHY
The sweeping cinematography of Roma would make Alfonso Cuaron the first director to win this award
Cold War
The Favourite
Never Look Away
Roma
A Star is Born
Roma has this one, I think. Cold War won the guild (ASC), so that’s possible, but Roma won the BAFTA, which is like the Academy in that a wider pool of voters was choosing, not just cinematographers.
Winner: Roma
Alternate: Cold War
EDITING
I’m guessing that the recreation of the Live Aid concert will win this category for Bohemian
BlacKkKlansman
Bohemian Rhapsody
The Favourite
Green Book
Vice
Ehhh. This one’s tough actually. Bohemian Rhapsody took the guild award (the ACE Eddie) and that’s usually a pretty big deal. But Vice took the BAFTA, which again, is a wider pool of voters like AMPAS will be, and not just editors. I think a big group of people look at a movie and tend to think that most editing means best editing…then again, the editing in that Live Aid concert recreation at the end of Bohemian Rhapsody is the most memorable part of the movie, which people undoubtedly love. I’m iffy on predicting that movie to win 4 Oscars, but I guess it’s possible.
Winner: Bohemian Rhapsody
Alternate: Vice
MAKEUP & HAIRSTYLING
The makeup in Vice is likely to prevail
Border
Mary, Queen of Scots
Vice
First of all, I don’t understand why this is the only category with three nominees- other movies have plenty of makeup every year, and yet for some reason this always happens at the Oscars. But I’m pretty sure Vice will win- old age makeup and fat suits are always big with Academy voters. Plus more of them have probably seen Vice over the other two (shout out to the nomination for Border though- that troll makeup on those people looked real).
Winner: Vice
Alternate: Mary, Queen of Scots
Seth Rogen and Charlize Theron Hook Up in 'The Long Shot'
Seth Rogen seems to have a long running fantasy of charming a woman who appears lightyears out of his league- in this case, not only is she Charlize Theron, but also the US Secretary of State running for president who used to babysit him. Couldn’t possible aim any higher, could he? The joke is that the premise is unrealistic, but it also seems to be that Theron really does just want to be charmed by the stoner guy that Rogen plays in most of his movies. Don’t know if I’d buy it in this one.
2019 Oscar Predictions, Part 1: Sound, Shorts and Visual Effects
The first part of my official Oscar predictions for 2019 are as usual, the sound, effects and short awards. Let’s get straight into it, shall we?
VISUAL EFFECTS
Tough category, but the actual visual effects were most memorable in this Spielberg movie
Avengers: Infinity War
Christopher Robin
First Man
Ready Player One
Solo: A Star Wars Story
Unfortunately, the precursor awards did not help us out much on this one. The VES Society is notoriously unreliable here and they went for Avengers, while BAFTA chose Black Panther, which wasn’t even nominated for the Oscar. So I’m kind of at a loss. My gut tells me it could be Avengers, First Man or Ready Player One- the latter is probably the most deserving based on the effects themselves, but with the whole Academy voting, will it just be the most widely seen movie? That would default to Avengers, I assume. But Marvel movies don’t tend to win this category, so I’m honestly not sure. I should probably go with my instinct and base it on the effects alone.
Winner: Ready Player One
Alternate: Avengers: Infinity War
Dark Horse: First Man
SOUND MIXING
Musicals tend to win sound
Black Panther
Bohemian Rhapsody
First Man
Roma
A Star is Born
Every year I get more and more frustrated that they still haven’t combined the two sound categories into one award and just called it Best Sound. I promise you the majority of the voters have no idea what the difference is between mixing and editing, and even though I’ve looked it up myself, I constantly forget it. So there’s only the hint that the winner of the sound awards is usually the same movie, and usually either the action or musical nominee of the bunch. In this case, I think that points to Bohemian Rhapsody (it won BAFTA and CAS, the sound guild). So I’m choosing it for both.
Winner: Bohemian Rhapsody
Alternate: A Star is Born
SOUND EDITING
There’s a chance for A Quiet Place on this one, but I’m sticking with the musical
Black Panther
Bohemian Rhapsody
First Man
A Quiet Place
Roma
Sticking with my usual prediction of one movie for both of these, I have to go with Bohemian Rhapsody. I do feel like there’s a chance for A Quiet Place here (it won one of the top two prizes for this at the guild awards for sound editing- the other was Bohemian), but I’m just sticking to my rule.
Winner: Bohemian Rhapsody
Alternate: A Quiet Place
ANIMATED SHORT
Pixar’s Bao seems to be the frontrunner
Animal Behaviour
Bao
Late Afternoon
One Small Step
Weekends
So I did my homework and actually watched all of these (they’re available on youtube), and I really think One Small Step is the most obvious, heart tugging, Disney-like short of the bunch, even though it’s not actually Disney. But most people seem to think the quirky Pixar one, Bao, is the frontrunner. Pixar almost never wins this category though, so I’m not sure where that’s coming from. I don’t think Bao is so much better than their past shorts that they’ve lost with. The people who vote on these tend to be the animators who’ve actually seen them all…then again Bao is likely to be the most widely seen of the bunch, so it could get more votes from non-animators. Pixar is the safe bet.
Winner: Bao
Alternate: One Small Step
Dark Horse: Weekends (won the Annie award, but not against this competition)
LIVE ACTION SHORT
This is a total wild guess on my part
Detainment
Fauve
Marguerite
Mother
Skin
I have not seen any of these, so I’m gonna have to guess. All I know is that Detainment is being protested by the real life person whose child it was based on, so that one’s out. All of these are apparently about children in jeopardy of some sort, so that’s not a clue either. I’m going with Marguerite, because I heard that’s it’s the only one with a semi-happy ending, which makes it stand out from the bunch.
Winner: Marguerite
Alternate: Fauve
DOCUMENTARY SHORT
Currently playing on Netflix if you want to check it out
Black Sheep
End Game
Lifeboat
A Night at the Garden
Period. End of Sentence.
I watched A Night at the Garden on youtube and it’s creepy yet very effective. But it’s the shortest one (seven minutes) and made up of archival footage entirely, so I don’t know if it will win. However, it does leave a big impact in its short running time, a reminder of Fascist sentiment in America in 1939, and Fox News wouldn’t let an ad run for it on their network, which kinda says it all. Could it pull it off? Still not sure. Period. End of Sentence. is currently on Netflix and has a strong pro-feminist message, so that could be the winner too.
Winner: Period. End of Sentence.
Alternate: A Night at the Garden
Dark Horse: Black Sheep
Surprise winners at the WGA Awards tonight
WGA Offers Up Surprise Winners in 'Eighth Grade' and 'Can You Ever Forgive Me?'
Surprise winners at the WGA Awards tonight
Whoa! Eleventh hour plot twist! The Writers Guild veered away from the supposed Oscar frontrunners in Green Book and BlacKkKlansman to go instead with Bo Burnham’s film Eighth Grade (not even an Oscar nominee) for original screenplay and Can You Ever Forgive Me? in adapted. This is a huge deal, because it’s extremely rare for a non-Oscar nominee to win the WGA at all, and I’m not sure what that means for BlacKkKlansman’s chances on Oscar night, since all it has going in now is the BAFTA award. In fact, as far as precursors go, the writing awards are all over the place: Green Book won the Golden Globe, If Beale Street Could Talk won the Critics Choice, Leave No Trace (not Oscar-nominated) won the Scripter prize, BlacKkKlansman and The Favourite (not eligible for WGA) won at BAFTA, and now this result. We’re shooting in the dark on Oscar night for both screenplay awards.
WGA Winners
Adapted Screenplay: Can You Ever Forgive Me?
Original Screenplay: Eighth Grade
MPSE Golden Reel Winners
A Quiet Place was unsurprisingly lauded for its sound
In other news, the guild awards for sound editing came in tonight, and Bohemian Rhapsody and A Quiet Place took the top two, with Spider-Man winning a couple as well. I’d probably stick with Bohemian for both sound Oscars, just to be safe.
Effects/Foley: A Quiet Place
Dialogue/ADR: Bohemian Rhapsody
Musical: Bohemian Rhapsody
Music Score: Spider-Man: into the Spider-Verse
Foreign Language Feature: Roma
Feature Animation: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
Bohemian Rhapsody wins another Sound award
'Vice' Wins Makeup Guild Awards & 'Bohemian Rhapsody' Takes Top Cinema Audio Society Honors
Bohemian Rhapsody wins another Sound award
The final guilds are weighing in this weekend, and Vice solidifies its Oscar frontrunner status in the makeup & hairstyling category with wins tonight from the Makeup Guild:
Vice is recognized for its makeup & hairstyling
Best Contemporary Makeup: A Star is Born
Best Contemporary Hairstyling: Crazy Rich Asians
Best Period and/or Character Makeup: Vice
Best Period and/or Character Hairstyling: Mary Queen of Scots
Best Special Makeup Effects: Vice
Meanwhile, the Cinema Audio Society (the guild for sound mixing) gave their top award for sound mixing in a live action feature film to Bohemian Rhapsody, which should wrap up the Sound Mixing Oscar for that movie after winning BAFTA last week. I would probably bet on it for Sound Editing too, but that guild will announce its winners tomorrow, so we’ll see if it differs.
Live Action Feature Film: Bohemian Rhapsody
Animated Feature Film: Isle of Dogs
Documentary Feature Film: Free Solo
Shoplifters is undoubtedly the one to see here
Lightning Round Reviews 2018: February, Part 3
Shoplifters is undoubtedly the one to see here
Getting closer and closer to the end! It was a pack of some really good ones this week, which shows why I really can’t make my top ten without seeing as much as possible from the whole year. Missing out on Shoplifters (and Free Solo, to an extent) would have been a crime. Next week should be my last reviews for 2018 (or at least enough to finally make my ten best- there may be some stragglers included in the first batch of 2019 next month). Enjoy!
HALE COUNTY THIS MORNING, THIS EVENING * * * (Dir. RaMell Ross)
A new kind of look at the South
An entirely different kind of documentary, a near experimental film that challenges an audience to appreciate the brief glimpses into the lives of black people in Hale County, Alabama, along with some striking imagery, fashioned together in a way that doesn’t necessarily tell a story but provides you with intimate moments nonetheless. RaMell Ross makes his first foray into documentaries, as a prologue tells you that he took his camera out when he moved to Alabama to coach basketball and teach photography in 2009. From there, the camera does the work for us, as we are treated to the barest moments in the lives of several people just briefly introduced with names that flash by on the screen (toddler Kyrie steals the show) as Ross catches them playing basketball, giving birth, moving, driving, being pulled over and simply living life in a mostly impoverished rural area. These moments capture joy, grief, boredom, hopefulness, disdain, and show the beauty and ugliness of the every day, but the most striking images are of a bonfire blowing smoke through the trees, a half moon lit up in a phosphorescent glow, and a brief look at an old plantation home juxtaposed with black and white minstrel footage. There’s a kind of poetic realism in Ross’s look at the Black Belt in the South, an abstract yet intimate vision of a part of America rarely seen in films or television. It’s worth seeing for these cherished snapshots of real life happening outside your typical vantage point.
THE OLD MAN AND THE GUN * * * (Dir. David Lowery)
Two acting icons find an easy chemistry together
Is it possible for a movie to exist solely as a paean to the everlasting cool of Robert Redford? David Lowery certainly gives it a shot with this laconic, laidback, smooth tribute to the man, the legend, the icon. And why not? Certainly his very presence alone is enough to carry a movie, no plot necessary. He does get the barest threadbones of a story, that of a career criminal named Forrest Tucker who just loves robbing banks, and now at the ripe old age of 74, wants to continue doing just that. Of course he’s not a violent criminal or anything. He’s a “gentleman” bank robber, who flashes his never used gun and smilingly asks for the money, a scenario in which everyone always obligingly offers it. Wouldn’t you? Senior citizen or not, if Robert Redford, still smooth and charming as ever, politely asks you to hand over the loot, you’d do it. Sure you would. Set in 1981 (purposely as a throwback to the height of Redford’s own career I think), Tucker and his occasional partners in crime (Danny Glover and Tom Waits) are pursued by a not exactly dogged, but interested and half admiring detective (Casey Affleck) across several states, while Tucker pursues a romance with Sissy Spacek, a local widow who seems to have no problem with his occupation. She won’t commit any crimes herself, but she’s lived a life and is charmed by him too. Their budding romance is the sweetest and most natural part of the movie, as the cop’s pursuit is a bit halfhearted. Casey Affleck looks on the verge of falling asleep in every scene and only comes alive when he and Redford come face to face- you can practically feel his giddiness at just sharing the screen with him. But that’s how we all feel, isn’t it? Redford’s star presence and near seven decade career is one to be revered, and if the reports are true that this will be his final film role, he could not have gone out with any more fitting a salutation. The movie is as cool and unbothered as he is, and will ever be.
FREE SOLO * * * 1/2 (Dir. Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin)
Facing death on the cliff- this one deserves its IMAX treatment
If part of the purpose of documentary filmmaking is to capture real events as they occur, then the last act of Free Solo is a miracle in and of itself, having been caught on film at all. One of the most dangerous activities known to man is free soloing- the act of mountain climbing without a rope. One of the most successful athletes in this field is Alex Honnold, a 33-year-old climber who agreed to have a film crew follow him as he trained to make the climb up El Capitan, a rock formation in Yosemite National Valley, and become the first human to free solo it successfully. The film gets some pretty stunning footage of the mountains and cliffs alone, but does not shy away from the ethics of even making a movie about this activity- as co-director Jimmy Chin says on camera, this is a massive risk, as there’s a better than even shot they will capture the death of their subject, which they and he know well before going into this. But the movie is also a character study of the kind of person who would want to partake in these death-defying climbs, and Alex himself provides an eccentric oddball portraiture of what we suppose it must take to be a successful climber. He’s rigid and unemotional, robotically focused and mostly fearless. He acknowledges that El Capitan is scary but he doesn’t seem to feel fear of anything and attempts only minimally to imitate the human emotions of people he sees around him. His girlfriend Sanni tries to be supportive in the face of his void, emotionless state of being, but you can’t help but wonder how much more she can put up with. All of this makes for fascinating viewing for the first two thirds, but the real achievement of the movie is the gripping final act, as you watch a miraculous feat of human daring captured on film. Anyone will feel the heart pounding anxiety and unbearable suspense, despite knowing that this film would probably not have been released in the event of a tragic ending, like most free soloers eventually experience. The fact that it didn’t leaves you feeling in awe of what you’ve witnessed, like the filmmakers themselves, and thankful that they (and Alex’s) luck held out in reaching and preserving the glory for all to see.
SHOPLIFTERS * * * * (Dir. Hirokazu Kore-eda)
Secrets and lies abound in this unconventional family drama
At its core, Shoplifters is a movie about empathy. It asks you to empathize with a family of six- a mom and dad, two kids, an aunt and a grandma, all living together in a house barely big enough for one, all struggling to survive in the kind of abject poverty we all recognize and wish we didn’t. This family does whatever it takes to make it, and holds each other together through the rough patches (which are daily), and even if the dad teaches the kids his only skill, shoplifting, as a survival tool, can you blame him when you look at what they’re up against? Family stays together, takes care of each other, helps each other. But what constitutes the meaning of the word family? To the outside it looks like a unit, exactly how I described it. But as this extraordinary film progresses, various layers unfold that reveal piece by piece exactly what sort of “family” this really is and challenges you to ask yourself if the assumptions you held about families still hold in the face of an upside down reality. Writer-director Hirokazu Kore-eda has made a humanist masterpiece in Shoplifters, the kind of film that will grab anyone by telling a universal story with empathy for each fully realized character. The performances given by this ensemble cast are natural and so authentic you feel yourself becoming absorbed in the lives of these people and believing in the lies they tell themselves to strengthen the bond between them, even as it flies in the face of the moral clarity we pretend to hold dear. Is it right to do what’s wrong for who you love? Is it wrong to create your own universe of rules and morals that apply to a select few and then abide by them as long as the rest of the world doesn’t see you doing it? These questions sneak up on you in a film that settles deep in your bones with the kind of impact rarely achieved and reserved for that of a master storyteller. It’s by far one of the best films of the year.
Elsa and Anna Are Back in 'Frozen 2'
I was never the biggest fan of Frozen, so I’ll just let others be psyched for this teaser. I thought it was alright, but no more than that. Be honest, the songs do not compare to anything that came out of the Ashman/Menken renaissance canon. They just don’t. Objectively. Anyway, why is Elsa having trouble getting over a wave of water? I will assume her powers are debilitated somehow. I’m sure November can’t come fast enough for a lot of people (but not me- I like Zootopia much better and would prefer a sequel to that).
