The morning after this most recent Oscars, I was chatting with a friend who is not a big movie watcher and, to her perpetual credit, does not follow awards season buzz at all. Knowing that I am the kind of nitwit who follows awards season pretty nearly, she asked how the Oscars went, mentioned that… Read More Nomadland and the New Chum of Oscarbait
I have been vocally against the extended Oscar season timeline from the first, but if there is one good thing about it from my perspective, it’s that this is the first time in my life that I’ve ever seen all of the Best Picture nominees before the ceremony. Almost by accident, I’ve also written about… Read More 93rd Academy Awards Best Picture Nominees – Hub
Dir. Florian Zeller. Starring Anthony Hopkins, Olivia Colman, Olivia Williams A recent release which I think relies a little bit too much on surprise reveals for effect, as you’ll see when you read this, but if you’re looking to see this and you want to avoid spoilers, come back to this post later on. There’s… Read More The Father (2020)
Dir. Lee Isaac Chung. Starring Yeri Han, Steven Yeun, Alan Kim With this movie still wearing that “early access” badge on Amazon, I feel duty bound to mention that spoilers are below. The shot of the year in American popular cinema is in Minari. The Yis are all at the hospital, that one that has… Read More Minari (2020)
Because the mill of content constantly requires grist, I’ve made a number of meta-analyses on a number of topics: the MCU, Pixar movies, the oeuvres of several directors. No Google search has been as forthcoming or complete as “tarantino movies ranked.” For one thing, there are fewer Tarantino movies than MCU or Spielberg movies, so… Read More Quentin Tarantino Meta-Analysis
Dir. Elizabeth Banks. Starring Kristen Stewart, Naomi Scott, Ella Balinska The Angels (angels? It somehow feels weirder not to capitalize it) are betrayed. Sabina (Stewart) has a moment not unlike that one that David Niven’s character has in The Guns of Navarone, where she says something along the lines of “Boy, it sure seems like… Read More Charlie’s Angels (2019)
Dir. George Seaton. Starring Burt Lancaster, Helen Hayes, Dean Martin Dir. George Seaton. Starring Burt Lancaster, Helen Hayes, Dean Martin There’s one really good moment in this movie, and I think it’s sort of ironic that it’s such a good moment because in a better movie I don’t think it would have worked nearly as… Read More Airport (1970)
Dir. Darius Marder. Starring Riz Ahmed, Paul Raci, Olivia Cooke If you know the basic premise of Sound of Metal going into the film, even if it’s as simple as “rock drummer starts going deaf,” then you know what’s going to happen in this movie. The scenes fall into place in logical ways. If you… Read More Sound of Metal (2020)
Several years ago I made a list in tiers of American directors. I will not share that list, because it is quite dumb, but I think my first three tiers still make sense as concepts. In the first tier went directors who could combine peak with longevity, who made brilliant movies consistently throughout a career… Read More Steven Spielberg Meta-Analysis
Dir. Emerald Fennell. Starring Carey Mulligan, Bo Burnham, Laverne Cox Rape, not seen despite the fact that multiple characters see and hear the video evidence. Suicide, not seen. Unwanted vaginal penetration, not seen because the shot cuts off the actors below the waist. Murder, seen without having to watch the light go out of anyone’s… Read More Promising Young Woman (2020)
Seeing Things Secondhand 