Weekend Watch - October 2024 Recap

                Welcome back to the Weekend Watch where each week we take a look at a new piece of film or television media and give it a rating, review, and recommendation. This week, we’re taking a look back at the most acclaimed films released in the month of October. As always, we’ll be categorizing them by how likely they are to make this year’s list of the best films of the year – Long Shots, Possible Things, and Sure Things. This year, October gave us an early look at some of the top awards contenders ahead of November’s stacked slate, but there’s no reason to ignore the films of October, which contain Best Picture frontrunners, indie darlings, horror sleeper hits, and even a couple of solid documentaries. Let’s get into it.

Long Shots:

Piece by Piece: The Pharrell Williams biography documentary in LEGO animation dropped at the beginning of the month to decent returns from audiences and critics. It comes across as more of a puff-piece than comprehensive bio, though, so it’ll have to rely on its unique animation choices to get into the awards conversations when the year ends.

Saturday Night: The dramatization of the hour and a half leading up to the first episode of Saturday Night Live is a solid, if imperfect film. Audiences and critics are decently high on it, but it’s not changing the game of cinema as much as its subject changed the state of late-night television. Screenplay love could warrant it some staying power among the ranks of all-time films.

We Live in Time: While the Andrew Garfield/Florence Pugh romantic drama hasn’t pleased critics with its fairly formulaic approach to the nonlinear romance, audiences still resonate heavily with the excellent performances and grounded realism. It’s definitely one worth seeing even if it doesn't get quite as brave as it thinks it does.

The Apprentice: The Donald Trump biopic about the early days of his career in real estate and his introduction to Roy Cohn has gotten lots of love for the performances by Sebastian Stan and Jeremy Strong, but its lack of new insight into the deplorable character of the former president has held it back from reaching all-time heights.

The Last of the Sea Women: Apple’s documentary about South Korean female divers is one of the films that’s been mentioned as an outside contender for the year’s top documentary awards. Unfortunately, those who have seen it so far haven’t rated it quite as high as awards experts predicted, so it’ll stay here on the outside looking in until further notice.

Smile 2: The sequel to the horror hit of 2022 has seen even more success than its acclaimed predecessor. Audiences and critics both agree that it’s an improvement on the first film in almost every way. The only thing holding it back is its genre and nature as a sequel within that genre.

Woman of the Hour: Anna Kendrick’s directorial debut about a woman who accidentally chooses a serial killer on a dating game show (based on actual events by the way) has hit the right notes on Netflix. I’ve even seen reactions calling it one of the best films of the year so far. Unfortunately, audiences haven’t come down quite as collectively agreed on the film, so it’s on the outside.

Fanatical: The Catfishing of Tegan and Sara: Hulu’s documentary about the catfishing of fans of the indie rock group Tegan and Sara released on the streaming platform this month to solid critical responses. Audiences have been slightly less receptive to the critique of fandom that the film offers, and it’s not one of the highest films on most people’s list of great documentaries this year, but those interested in the story will probably find something to love.

Your Monster: Melissa Barrera might have been dropped from the Scream franchise, but that hasn’t kept her from continuing to prove herself as one of the biggest scream queens of the last 10 years, this time with a romantic comedy twist on the horror genre. The film about an aspiring Broadway actress who falls in love with the monster in her closet was one of the sleeper hits at Sundance this year.

Possible Things:

A Different Man: Sebastian Stan had a big month this October with a second award-worthy performance in this comedy thriller about a man who decides to change his facial features. It’s a fairly underground film, but the right campaign in the back end of the year could put it on enough people’s radars to make it one of the best of all time.

The Outrun: The Saoirse Ronan led film about a Scottish woman who returns home to rediscover herself has been on most awards people’s radar since it opened at Sundance this year. Ronan’s performance has been the primary focus of its celebration, though, as the pacing and story feel fairly familiar to those familiar with the subgenre. It’s solid, but I’m not sure if it’s got enough to have real staying power.

Blink: National Geographic’s documentary about a family taking a worldwide trip before their children lose their vision due to a rare genetic disorder can be found in theaters now ahead of a release on Disney+. Its emotional and scientific crossover feels oddly similar to NatGeo’s last successful documentary, Fire of Love, so don’t be surprised to see this one sticking around.

Exhibiting Forgiveness: Another under the radar gem from this month is Titus Kaphar’s film about a black artist reconnecting with his estranged, ex-addict father. The cast, led by André Holland, Andra Day, Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, and John Earl Jelks should give this film more legs than it currently has. I wouldn’t necessarily expect to hear about it at any awards this year because of how undersold it’s been, but I do expect that you’ll enjoy it if you go to see it.

Conclave: One of this month’s two best picture contenders is Edward Berger’s film adaptation of Robert Harris’s fictional book about the election of a new pope. It’s unique blend of religion and political thriller has made it a huge success with audiences and critics. Ralph Fiennes’s lead performance and the supporting turns from Stanley Tucci, Isabella Rossellini, and John Lithgow also look to potentially land well at the big awards this season.

Memoir of a Snail: A highly limited release for one of the frontrunners for Best Animated Feature rolled out in the U.S. this month. The stop motion animated film about a hoarder reminiscing on her life does seem to be a solid addition to this year’s animated slate for those who have been lucky enough to see it. You’ll have to see it if you can find it near you and let me know.

Sure Thing:

Anora: The current Best Picture, Best Actress, Best Director, and Best Original Screenplay frontrunner started its slow rollout this month. Sean Baker’s heart pounding romantic dramedy about a sex worker who marries the son of a Russian oligarch has already been acclaimed by many as the best film of the year, and as it continues to broaden its net of theaters, it doesn’t seem to be losing any steam.

Weekend Watch - September 2024 Recap

                Welcome back to the Weekend Watch where each week we take a look at a new piece of film or television media and give it a rating, review, and recommendation. This week, we’re looking back at the films released in the month of September, highlighting the best films and rating them by their likelihood of being considered among the best films of the year and possibly even all time. As always, they’re categorized into Long Shots, Possible Things, and Sure Things. September has often been viewed as the soft kick-off of awards season with many films fresh off of runs at TIFF and Venice dipping their toes into the water. While the past few Septembers have felt more like false starts than true soft launches, September 2024 has given us a really solid slate of films that belong firmly in the conversation, even if they’ll inevitably be on the outside looking in, in addition to a strong slate of crowd-pleasers as well. Let’s get into it.

Long Shots:

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice: Already one of the highest grossing films of the year, Tim Burton’s legacy sequel has pleased audiences and critics without fully blowing them away. Strong production design might give this film the lift that its vaguely positive scores need to make it as a great.

Rebel Ridge: A refreshingly fresh take on the action/revenge genre from a streamer was this Aaron Pierre and Don Johnson led film from Netflix. While the story doesn’t necessarily stick the landing, it’s a solid action thriller that has outperformed expectations from both audiences and critics.

Transformers One: One of the worst ad campaigns I’ve seen in recent years for an animated film has delivered an underperforming box office for what is otherwise one of the best Transformers films since the first Michael Bay film. A great voice cast might not be enough to get this film into the all-time conversation as it faces off against a broad slate of great animated films, but it’s definitely worth checking out.

Speak No Evil: The mainstream remake of the recent international horror film has been a sensation in theaters, carried by another great performance from James McAvoy. It’s a horror film that doesn’t really seek to elevate anything about the genre, so don’t expect to hear its name among the awards films, but it still bears watching.

Rez Ball: Netflix has yet another sleeper hit basketball film on its hands with the Lebron James-produced film about a reservation basketball team from New Mexico banding together to overcome the loss of their star player to compete for a state championship. Anyone looking for a decent feel-good sports film will be pleased with this one.

Will & Harper: The timely documentary following Will Ferrell’s road trip across the U.S. with his friend Harper Steele and engaging in conversations with each other and the public about trans people. It’s a timely and emotionally engaging film whose reviews have inevitably faced the adversity of conservative review-bombing that it’ll have to overcome with some wins in the coming season to make the score.

Possible Things:

His Three Daughters: Netflix’s first true awards-bait film of the year is Azazel Jacobs’s film about three daughters dealing with the imminent death of their father. All three actresses – Carrie Coon, Natasha Lyonne, and Elizabeth Olson – give phenomenal performances that could warrant awards love in a less stacked year, but it’s a really excellent film regardless of its official recognition.

My Old Ass: The Aubrey Plaza and Maisy Stella starring film about a girl whose mushroom trip gives her the opportunity to meet her 39-year-old self. It has been heralded as one of the best comedies of the year that also carries some solid emotional weight as well and is definitely one to watch.

How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies: This dramedy from Thailand about a young man scheming on his grandmother’s fortune should be the country’s submission for Best International Feature this year, as many are calling it one of the year’s best, carrying emotional weight and telling an original story. If you can find it showing near you, you should check it out.

The Substance: Coralie Fargeat’s body horror commentary on media’s perception of female body image starring Demi Moore, Margaret Qualley, and Dennis Quaid has been one of the most unpleasant pleasant surprises of the year. The comedy, social commentary, and visceral images have all hit the right notes along with the performances from the leading ladies and their terrifying supporting man. It might be the film to overcome the genre bias at awards shows as well. We’ll see.

Sure Thing:

The Wild Robot: Pixar once again has a run for its money for the best animated film of the year in DreamWorks Animation’s adaptation of the children’s book. The animation, story, and characters all hit the perfect notes of a great film, and it’s earned this blog’s fourth “Sure Thing” certification of the year. Go see it if you haven’t already.

Weekend Watch - June 2024 Recap

                Welcome back to the Weekend Watch where each week we take a look at a new piece of film or television media and give it a rating, review, and recommendation. This week, we’re looking back at the films released in the U.S. throughout the month of June, highlighting those most acclaimed by critics and audiences, putting them in a position to possibly make this blog’s list of the Greatest Films of All Time. You could also take these recaps as a way to find new films that you should check out that you may or may not have known about. As always, the films will be categorized based on their likelihood of making the blog’s list – Long Shots, Possible Things, and Sure Things – and we actually do have the year’s second Sure Thing that came out this month. June gave us one of the more promising slates of summer blockbusters in a while, delivering solid box office performances, strong reviews from critics and fans, and even a few indie releases that are also worth checking out, instigating what could be a cinematic resurgence for the back half of the year. Let’s get into it.

Long Shots:

Bad Boys: Ride or Die: The Bad Boys fourquel opened the month with a bang of a blockbuster, giving audiences what they’ve always loved about the previous films, and performing solidly at the box office for an R-rated film. Critics’ hesitancy to celebrate pure action comedy will undoubtedly continue to hold it back from actually making the all-time great list, but that shouldn’t stop you from seeing it.

I Used to Be Funny: After a limited festival run last year, the Rachel Sennott-led dramedy about a comedian suffering from PTSD is now widely available in the US, and it’s struck a solid chord with critics and even a generally favorable take from audiences. It will probably not be everyone’s cup of tea, but fans of the actress should have their craving for a new project sated.

Queendom: This SXSW documentary about a queer artist doing performance art in Moscow in defiance of Russia’s anti-LGBTQ laws is a full-on critical success, but a slew of what I can only assume to be Russian bots and homophobes review bombing it have left this film with dismal audience reviews (an increasing flaw in this blog’s system that I’m not really sure how to counteract). Awards love would go a long way in countering that narrative for this film, though.

Kinds of Kindness: Yorgos Lanthimos’s follow-up to his major critical success in last year's Poor Things does not carry quite the same weight with audiences or critics, proving much weirder and more divisive (I didn’t realize that was possible for Yorgos) now that it has a wide release. Fans of Yorgos and fans of Jesse Plemons have been enjoying certain aspects of it, but it’s not the universal hit that the director had last year.

Janet Planet: Annie Baker’s coming-of-age drama about a girl and her single mother in rural Massachusetts was made widely available in the U.S. this month, and critics seem to love it. Audiences have been more mixed, as is often the case with woman-led films (again, a flaw in the system), but it’s still generally positive, and if these types of stories are your thing, this’ll probably be right up your alley.

Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person: This French-Canadian dark comedy about exactly what its title implies became more widely available in the US this month, and looks to be one worth checking out, as both audiences and critics have been generally high on it. Expect this to end up more in the cult classic space than the all-time great space, but if it sounds like your brand, definitely check it out.

A Quiet Place: Day One: While it continues the downward trend of critical and audience responses that happened from the first to second film in its series, the positives in this film have garnered it a decent following with slightly above average reviews that keep it noteworthy. It’s certainly solid but doesn’t necessarily do anything new with its world or genre, so take it how you will.

Daddio: This hidden gem from last year’s TIFF is out now in theaters in the U.S., following Dakota Johnson as a woman taking a cab from JFK and conversing with her driver (Sean Penn) about their lives. It’s a fairly simple premise that probably won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, but it sounds like a film that’s been solidly executed if it is something that you’re looking for.

Possible Things:

Hit Man: Richard Linklater’s crime/romantic comedy starring Glen Powell and Adria Arjona landed on Netflix and continues its run of solid critical reception even as the audience reviews have become more mixed (apparently, some people still think that killing cops is a bad thing and can’t suspend disbelief for a film). Powell’s star-power and Linklater’s prestige give this film an outside chance to get the awards love it deserves that’ll elevate it to an all-time status.

Robot Dreams: Last year’s surprise Best Animated Feature nominee actually can finally be watched by everyone not in the Academy in the U.S. now. Now that its watch numbers are increasing, it does look like it’ll maintain its stellar reviews, but I want to hold off on giving it the full Sure Thing treatment in case the wider audience doesn’t love it as much.

The Bikeriders: One of the more highly anticipated films of last year and now this year finally made its way to theaters (and soon now to streaming apparently) with Austin Butler, Tom Hardy, and Jodie Comer portraying a semi-true story of a Midwest motorcycle gang. It sounds like the hype oversold the film with most reviews being just slightly above average for the most part, but it’s still better than a lot of films from this year.

Fancy Dance: Apple TV+’s latest partnership with Lily Gladstone again follows a Native American woman fighting to keep her family together when things start unraveling, and again, critics seem to really like this one. The audience scores haven’t been as high with no Scorsese attached to the director’s chair, but her name recognition might give this film the lift it needs come awards season.

Copa 71: The documentary about one of the first women’s world cups that seeks to legitimize the tournament and establish its place in history is now widely available in the U.S. Its subject matter and nature as a sports documentary have made it popular and give it a shot at making the all-time greats list.

I Am: Celine Dion: The Amazon documentary about Celine Dion and her struggles with Stiff Person Syndrome has landed successfully with both audiences and critics. Dion’s worldwide fame and acclaim certainly also help this film, and a small push from the Oscars could land this film among the all-time greats.

Thelma: One of the biggest surprises of the month is the action comedy starring June Squibb about a nonagenarian seeking revenge on a phone scammer. Overwhelmingly positive reviews from both audiences and critics make this one a film that everyone should see, especially with Squibb’s long-overdue leading performance getting the celebration it deserves.

Sure Thing:

Inside Out 2: The year’s first billion-dollar film has also struck the right chords with critics and audiences like its predecessor, earning stellar reviews for its animation, voice cast, and relatable themes. It’s not quite the tear-jerker that the first Inside Out was, but plenty of audiences have celebrated the film’s emotional connection, making it worth seeing.

Weekend Watch - March 2024 Recap

                Welcome back to the Weekend Watch where each week we take a look at a new piece of film or television media and give it a rating, review, and recommendation. This week, we’ve reached the end of another month of films, and it’s time to look back at the month’s most acclaimed releases. As always, they’ll be categorized by likelihood of making the blog’s list of films – Long Shots, Possible Things, and Sure Things. March certainly wrapped the first quarter of 2024 up on a higher note than it started on, but the slate of films still doesn’t hold a candle to last year’s films and sorely missed the two films that were postponed from the last week of releases – Bong Joon Ho’s Mickey 17 and Beyond the Spider-Verse. Regardless, there were still some solid films worth checking out, so let’s get into it.

Long Shots:

Cabrini: A surprise biopic hit about a nun who worked to improve the lives of people living in poverty in New York City in the late 19th century has seen lots of success with audiences since its release. It’s from the screenwriter of last year’s Sound of Freedom, so take that how you will, but audiences seem to have enjoyed it so far.

Arthur the King: The fact that this film has anything near positive reviews comes as a huge surprise to me, personally, considering the double negative of Mark Wahlberg and a dog movie, but it’s overcome the odds to please audiences fairly consistently. Critics haven’t been quite as on board, but it still bears mentioning.

Snack Shack: From the director of 2020’s cult classic Dinner in America comes a summer coming-of-age film, set at a pool snack shack in the summer of 1991. Co-leads Conor Sherry and Gabriel LaBelle have been on quite a few rising star lists, and the film has gotten better than average reviews from both audiences and critics, so keep an eye out for it if you can find it.

One Life: This Holocaust film starring Anthony Hopkins definitely flew under the radar with the massive success of The Zone of Interest, but it tells yet another story that has yet to be seen and bears checking out. Between Hopkins’s leading role and the generally positive reviews from critics and audiences, it should be one worth watching.

The Beautiful Game: Netflix released a film about the “homeless world cup” this month, starring Micheal Ward and Bill Nighy, which piques my interest enough to check it out. Average audience and critic reviews have me thinking that it won’t do too much beyond this month, but it might surprise and become a sleeper like Nyad.

Possible Things:

Problemista: I feel like I’ve been seeing trailers for Julio Torres’s A24 film about an immigrant seeking a renewal on his work visa while working as an artist in NYC for almost a year now. The film that stars Torres and Tilda Swinton finally got a wide release in theaters this month to solid reviews from critics and audiences. With A24’s ever-widening slate of releases, I don’t know that it’ll be able to churn up the love necessary to pull the awards love it’ll need to stand the test of time, but I’m sure you’ll still find plenty to love about it.

Love Lies Bleeding: The lesbian crime thriller with Kristen Stewart and Katy O’Brian has mostly lived up to the hype by offering a strong crime film that tells a unique story that has pleased those who have gone to see it so far. It’s still an indie film, so making it “big” might or might not be in the cards, but it’s certainly worth checking out.

Frida: Animated documentaries have been becoming more and more the norm in the past couple of decades, and one from Amazon about the iconic artist Frida Kahlo feels like an inevitability now that it’s come out. Those who have seen it seem positive on it and its treatment of Kahlo and her work, so I can certainly recommend it if you’d like to check it out.

La Chimera: Quietly a festival darling across most of last year, this film failed to get any kind of wide release in the U.S. until just this weekend, but the Josh O’Connor-led film about archaeologists and the black market of historical artifacts still seems to be hitting the right notes with those who have seen it. If it’s showing in your area, give it some love because it certainly deserves its day in the sun.

Late Night with the Devil: I have mixed feelings about this one. On the one hand, we’re getting a lot of love for David Dastmalchian as a leading man and a cool indie horror film, both of which are good things. On the other hand, the filmmakers used AI art in their production design, which steals both the work of actual online artists and jobs from potential production artists as well, which is a bad thing and something we can’t excuse at any level of filmmaking. Still, it has gotten solid reviews, so maybe it’s worth checking out for free at some point.

Sure Thing:

Dune: Part Two: As the best film of the year so far and one of the best sequels of all time, there’s no real question that this film will be sticking around ‘til the end of the year. Between the Stilgar memes, Denis interviews, and rave reviews from Steven Spielberg, it’s hard to deny what this film has already accomplished and most likely will continue to do. If you haven’t seen it yet, there’s a guy on Twitter who’s watched it twenty times already to make up for that, but you probably should check it out.

Weekend Watch - January/February 2024 Recap

                Welcome back to the Weekend Watch where each week we take a look at a new piece of film or television media and give it a rating, review, and recommendation. This week, we’re looking back at the first two months of film releases in 2024, highlighting those that have a shot at making it on this blog’s list of Greatest Films of All Time. As always, they’ll be categorized into Long Shots, Possible Things, and Sure Things (spoiler alert: there’s no sure things so far this year). These first couple of months have been perhaps the most dismal in recent history in terms of putting out anything that lives up to its hype or even that overperforms against expectations. The best films of January and February were the wide releases of films from the 2023 slate, and so far, there’s only three films legitimately worth mentioning with actual 2024 release dates. Everything else has either underperformed, divided audiences, or just been legitimately bad. Hopefully the rest of the year gets better. Let’s get into it.

Long Shots:

The Greatest Night in Pop: Netflix’s documentary about the making of the iconic song “We Are the World” gets the year’s slate of music documentaries kicked off with a solid start, hitting the right notes with audiences and receiving positive, if strained, reviews from critics. If you like the music from that era or just music history in general, this’ll be up your alley.

Scrambled: The year’s first legitimate sleeper hit is a comedy about a woman who decides to freeze her eggs as she continuously finds herself as the bridesmaid and never the bride. Written by, directed by, and starring Leah McKendrick, the film has been a solid hit among critics and its target audience and has now become a topical film as well, so don’t count it out.

Orion and the Dark: The first film from Netflix’s animation department boasts the writing of Oscar winner Charlie Kaufman, and that’s been reflected in the response. The more mature themes have made it hit or miss with audiences expecting an easygoing kids’ movie based on the art and promotion, but critics have been fairly positive on it. Director Sean Charmatz has so far done Netflix’s animated specials, but this puts him solidly in the right direction for future animated endeavors.

Possible Things:

Society of the Snow: J.A. Bayona’s adaptation of the true story about the survivors of a plane crash in the Andes in the 1970s released on Netflix ahead of awards season. Critical and audience acclaim combined with a few awards nominations make this the best film of the year so far, but it’ll need to pull a serious upset to cement itself as a film with true staying power.

Origin: Director Ava DuVernay consistently tackles topical and challenging subjects, and her adaptation of Isabel Wilkerson’s book Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents is no different. Since its wide release this year, its ratings have continued to climb among its audience. Quiet press tours and the late release have unfortunately left it out of awards conversations, but if it continues to improve its ratings, it’s not all the way out.

Oscar Predictions 2024

                Welcome to a special edition of the Weekend Watch – the Oscars 2024 predictions. This past week (on Tuesday), Oscar nominations were released, ushering in the peak of film awards season. Oppenheimer led the nominees with thirteen nominations, becoming just the fourteenth film to reach that number or more, followed by eleven for Poor Things and ten for Killers of the Flower Moon. Barbie and Maestro were the other two films receiving more than five nominations. For the first time ever, three films directed by women have been nominated for Best Picture, seven LGBTQ+ characters are included in the acting nominees, and two LGBTQ+ actors are nominated for portraying said characters (all firsts). Lily Gladstone became the first Indigenous American actress to be nominated for an Academy Award, and nine other actors received their first nominations. Let’s get into my predictions!

Best Live Action Short:

                The nominees for this category are: The After, Invincible, Knight of Fortune, Red, White, and Blue, and The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar. I caught three of these films this week, after nominations came out and have watched the trailers for the other two, so here’s my thoughts.

Should Win: Knight of Fortune. Of the three that I watched, this one blew me away the most. It plays in that very real area that combines grief with absurdity and really hits the right notes throughout. Unfortunately, it’s in a category with another film about processing grief, a film about abortion rights, a film about the juvenile detention system, and a film by Wes Anderson, so I’m not overly optimistic.

Will Win: The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar. It’s a Wes Anderson film that happens to come in under the forty-minute mark, and it’s the lightest of the five nominees, and it’s available to stream on Netflix. Across the board, this is the most accessible, but I won’t be particularly upset if it doesn't win.

Best Documentary Short:

                The nominees for this category are: The ABCs of Book Banning, The Barber of Little Rock, Island in Between, The Last Repair Shop, and Năi Nai and Wài Pó. Again, I was able to catch a couple of these this week after nominations dropped, and I’ve read about the rest, so here we go.

Should Win: The Barber of Little Rock. As someone originally from Little Rock, I’ll admit to a very strong bias here, but I will say that this film also speaks to relevant issues of systemic racism, wealth inequality, and the inherent problems with the modern system of capital, so it’s not just sentiment that has me put it here.

Will Win: The ABCs of Book Banning. This might be the most topical film in the mix, and MTV documentaries always does a good job. I do think that it’s probably also very deserving, so I won’t be that disappointed if it wins.

Best Animated Short:

                The nominees for this category are: Letter to a Pig, Ninety-Five Senses, Our Uniform, Pachyderme, and War Is Over! Inspired by the Music of John and Yoko. Like many, I was surprised to see Disney left out of this category yet again, but it seems that the animation branch of the Academy is just generally moving in that direction. Let’s talk about it.

Should Win: Ninety-Five Senses. I’m really just saying this because I think it’d be cool for the people who made Napoleon Dynamite and Nacho Libre win an Oscar – and also Tim Blake Nelson is great.

Will Win: War Is Over! Inspired by the Music of John and Yoko. The Academy rarely misses on a chance to give a potentially less-than-deserving award to films about and/or inspired by musicians of the 60s, 70s, and 80s, so I expect it to go this way again.

Best International Film:

                The nominees for this category are: Io Capitano, Perfect Days, Society of the Snow, The Teachers’ Lounge, and The Zone of Interest. The Japan nomination for Perfect Days saved this from being an entirely European category, but even it was directed by European director Wim Wenders, so I don’t know how much of a step this really is for the Academy. Nothing overly surprising here besides France (rightfully) being left out because they submitted The Taste of Things instead of Anatomy of a Fall for political reasons – play stupid games, win stupid prizes.

Should Win: Perfect Days. It’s too simple of a film to actually win, but Wenders is great at making films with meaning about the mundane, and I’d like to see him finally get some awards recognition for it. He won’t, but still.

Will Win: The Zone of Interest. Only one of these nominees is nominated in multiple other categories, including above-the-line categories like Best Picture, Director, and Adapted Screenplay. It’d be a crazy upset if this doesn’t win.

Best Documentary Feature:

                The nominees for this category are: Bobi Wine: The People’s President, The Eternal Memory, Four Daughters, To Kill a Tiger, and 20 Days in Mariupol. I don’t have a lot to say about this category besides pointing out the snub of Jon Batiste’s American Symphony here.

Should Win: Bobi Wine: The People’s President. If they were consistent, they’d give the award again to the film about an opposition party leader in a historically authoritarian nation.

Will Win: 20 Days in Mariupol. They’re going to be consistent in a different direction and keep giving awards to movies about violence in Eastern Europe because they’d rather talk about that than violence anywhere else in the world.

Best Animated Feature:

                The nominees for this category are: The Boy and the Heron, Elemental, Nimona, Robot Dreams, and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. Robot Dreams better be one of the best animated films ever made because nominating a film that isn’t even widely available over Ninja Turtles, Suzume, The First Slam Dunk, and The Super Mario Bros. Movie feels crazy to me. Everything else is an excellent choice, though.

Should Win: Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. Not only is this film one of the best animated films ever, but it’s also simply one of the best films ever. It accomplishes so much with animation that you just don’t see in the mainstream and does it in entertaining fashion. Is The Boy and the Heron also really good? Yes, but love for Miyazaki shouldn’t trump the all-time marvel that is Across the Spider-Verse.

Will Win: Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. I won’t be surprised to see The Boy and the Heron here because the narrative seems to be sticking that it’s Miyazaki’s “last” movie (I’ll believe that when I see an obituary for the man and not a second earlier). Realistically, though, it still looks like the anime’s Globes win was a flash in the pan and the Spider-Verse trilogy is about to go two-for-two in this category.

Best Visual Effects:

                The nominees in this category are: The Creator, Godzilla Minus One, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One, and Napoleon. This is one of the weirdest categories of the year, and the inexplicable Oppenheimer snub from the shortlist is only the tip of that weirdness iceberg. Here we go.

Should Win: Godzilla Minus One. In actuality, this should be Oppenheimer or Spider-Verse, but we’re stuck with these nominees, so I’m giving it to the most exciting of the nominees, and not the exceedingly overrated Mission: Impossible film or the pity nominations for the Rogue One guy and Ridley Scott.

Will Win: The Creator. A mid-budget (for the U.S.) film with these visuals probably is the most deserving in the category and probably will pull it off.

Best Sound:

                The nominees in this category are: The Creator, Maestro, Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One, Oppenheimer, and The Zone of Interest. A few surprises here and there in this category, but the favorite is still here, and none of them feel overly undeserving (except maybe Dead Reckoning, which I’ll campaign against forever as one of the most disappointing films of the year).

Should Win: Maestro. The sound and cinematography in this film are really what make it worth watching above and beyond the acting performances, and I think it’d be cool to award that.

Will Win: Oppenheimer. I also think this should win, but I wanted to give Maestro its due. This film is big in every aspect of the word, and its sound only helps to contribute to that sense of scale. It’s excellent.

Best Song:

                The nominees in this category are: “The Fire Inside” from Flamin’ Hot, “I’m Just Ken” from Barbie, “It Never Went Away” from American Symphony, “Wahzhazhe” from Killers of the Flower Moon, and “What Was I Made For?” from Barbie. Should “Dance the Night” be here over either “What Was I Made For?”, “Wahzhazhe”, or “The Fire Inside”? Absolutely, but them’s the brakes.

Should Win: “I’m Just Ken”. Of the five nominees, this provides the most exciting addition to the film that it’s part of, and it has some relistenability as opposed to the Billie Eilish track, which should have been left out in favor of Dua Lipa’s “Dance the Night” anyway.

Will Win: “What Was I Made For?”. Billie Eilish is coming for her second Oscar this year and has been campaigning for it since her acceptance speech at the Golden Globes. This song is mid, but it’ll win anyway. That’s all.

Best Score:

                The nominees in this category are: Laura Karpman for American Fiction, John Williams for Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, Robbie Robertson for Killers of the Flower Moon, Ludwig Göransson for Oppenheimer, and Jerskin Fendrix for Poor Things. Seeing John Williams in here feels like seeing Diane Warren in for Original Song – they’ve gotta do it, but it leaves out much more deserving nominees every time, this time in the form of Daniel Pemberton for Across the Spider-Verse.

Should Win: Laura Karpman for American Fiction or Jerskin Fendrix for Poor Things. Both of these scores feel the most unique of the crew, but they’re not crazy big or over-the-top, so they won’t actually pull it off.

Will Win: Ludwig Göransson for Oppenheimer. It’s an excellent score too that is by no means undeserving, and it will probably become the most iconic of this year’s scores anyway, so I’m not that disappointed that it’s headed in this direction.

Best Production Design:

                The nominees in this category are: Barbie, Killers of the Flower Moon, Napoleon, Oppenheimer, and Poor Things. Nothing feels overly surprising here, but I will say that it feels weird to keep nominating Napoleon for being such an underachieving film in its other aspects when The Color Purple is right there on the outside looking in in most of these categories.

Should Win: Barbie. The creation of Barbieland, the construction of the Barbie Dream House, the layout of the Mattel office. Everything in the film feels intentionally crafted to be itself and also an homage to other great films of bygone eras. It’s a great technical achievement.

Will Win: Barbie. The only other legitimate contender here is Poor Things, but I don’t see it passing the iconic design of Barbie.

Best Makeup and Hairstyling:

                The nominees in this category are: Golda, Maestro, Oppenheimer, Poor Things, and Society of the Snow. Again, we see this category skewed heavily in favor of the makeup with hairstyling coming as a distant afterthought.

Should Win: Poor Things. They do some really fun and creative things here with both the makeup and the hair for all of the characters, so it’d be fun to see that rewarded.

Will Win: Maestro. The age makeup is really pretty excellent here, so I get why it’s going to win, but I also know that everyone’s going to make a big deal about the whole nose fiasco, so… It’s whatever.

Best Film Editing:

                The nominees in this category are: Anatomy of a Fall, The Holdovers, Killers of the Flower Moon, Oppenheimer, and Poor Things. I don’t feel overly qualified to make judgements about film editing, but this feels like a pretty stacked category this year.

Should Win: The Holdovers. They made this film look like a 1970s school drama, and that’s all I really have to say in favor of it, but I feel like that’s all I have to say. It’s great.

Will Win: Oppenheimer. They do some fun things with the different eras here, and it feels like a film destined to win most of its below-the-line nominations, so I’m fine with it.

Best Costume Design:

                The nominees in this category are: Barbie, Killers of the Flower Moon, Napoleon, Oppenheimer, and Poor Things. Again, it’s weird to see Napoleon over The Color Purple or even Wonka, but otherwise, it’s a pretty vanilla category.

Should Win: Barbie. They recreated so many iconic Barbie sets that I can’t see how you could ignore the excellence in costume design here.

Will Win: Barbie. Last year, the film that recreated seemingly hundreds of iconic looks missed out on the win, but I don’t expect that to be the case this time around.

Best Cinematography:

                The nominees for this category are: El Conde, Killers of the Flower Moon, Maestro, Oppenheimer, and Poor Things. Only one of these films doesn’t have a black and white sequence, so I feel like that’s going to become a pretty clear indicator for this category going forward.

Should Win: Poor Things. Robbie Ryan is a fantastic cinematographer, and his collaborations with Yorgos Lanthimos have been nothing short of gorgeous. There are shots in this film that you just don’t see anywhere else, so he’s more than deserving of the win.

Will Win: Oppenheimer. This film also has excellent visuals, so it won’t at all be a snub or anything for it to win. It looks great and utilizes camerawork well, and I’ll be glad to see it win.

Best Original Screenplay:

                The nominees in this category are: Anatomy of a Fall, The Holdovers, Maestro, May December, and Past Lives. This is a stacked category with four incredibly deserving nominees and a biopic. I won’t be that upset about anything, but here are my official opinions.

Should Win: Past Lives. One of the singular most moving romantic dramas that has ever been made. It’s brilliant, and the writing hooks you from the jump. Celine Song deserves everything.

Will Win: The Holdovers. In order to keep its long-shot hopes alive for a Best Picture upset, it needs to beat out Anatomy of a Fall here, and I think it will, especially with Payne snubbed for the directing Oscar.

Best Adapted Screenplay:

                The nominees in this category are: American Fiction, Barbie, Oppenheimer, Poor Things, and The Zone of Interest. We can keep going around and around about Barbie being an original screenplay (it is even if its production design is otherwise inspired), or we could just laugh at the message being sent already that Killers is this year’s Irishman by keeping it out of this category entirely.

Should Win: Oppenheimer. He wrote this screenplay in first person. That’s egregious, but it’s also really impressive, so give it to Nolan.

Will Win: American Fiction. This is the only other film that should have a shot in this category, and I think it pulls out the win over Barbie and Oppenheimer. I also won’t be surprised if it misses, though. It’s a really tough call.

Best Supporting Actor:

                The nominees in this category are: Sterling K. Brown for American Fiction, Robert De Niro for Killers of the Flower Moon, Robert Downey Jr. for Oppenheimer, Ryan Gosling for Barbie, and Mark Ruffalo for Poor Things. This is a stacked category with snubs also abounding – justice for Charles Melton, Dominic Sessa, and Willem Dafoe – but you just can’t fit everyone in with only five nominees, so, while I might’ve preferred Melton over Ruffalo, I don’t think anyone’s undeserving in this crew.

Should Win: Sterling K. Brown for American Fiction. With all the love that Jeffrey Wright has been getting for this film, I was so surprised to see Brown as the more dominant performance in the film, and I loved every second of it. He won me over in this one, and I hope he pulls the upset.

Will Win: Robert Downey Jr. for Oppenheimer. If it’s anyone else, I’d be greatly shocked, and I won’t be at all disappointed to see Downey’s Strauss go down as one of the classic political villains in cinematic history.

Best Supporting Actress:

                The nominees in this category are: Emily Blunt for Oppenheimer, Danielle Brooks for The Color Purple, America Ferrara for Barbie, Jodie Foster for Nyad, and Da’Vine Joy Randolph for The Holdovers. With the surprise of America Ferrara getting into that toss-up of a fifth spot, nothing is that crazy in this category.

Should Win: Da’Vine Joy Randolph for The Holdovers. She gives the best performance out of these five, and if she doesn’t win, we riot.

Will Win: Da’Vine Joy Randolph for The Holdovers. Ditto to what I said above.

Best Actor:

                The nominees in this category are: Bradley Cooper for Maestro, Colman Domingo for Rustin, Paul Giamatti for The Holdovers, Cillian Murphy for Oppenheimer, and Jeffrey Wright for American Fiction. As much as people are decrying Bradley Cooper for “overacting” in Maestro, their favorite “snubbed” actor was doing much worse in Killers of the Flower Moon. I’m totally fine that Leo telling us ten different times about how much he loves money missed out on the nom here in favor of Domingo’s film-carrying performance in Rustin.

Should Win: Paul Giamatti for The Holdovers. Oh man, what a fun performance to pull off what will also end up being a “legacy” Oscar if it happens. He’s great in this film and more than deserving of a win.

Will Win: Cillian Murphy for Oppenheimer. I’m still not ready to fully commit to Giamatti winning over Cillian, so that’s why this is here. I also won’t be that upset with anyone winning in this category, so that definitely helps. I think Cillian does give one of the best performances of his career and definitely deserves the consideration he’s gotten so far.

Best Actress:

                The nominees in this category are: Annette Bening for Nyad, Lily Gladstone for Killers of the Flower Moon, Sandra Hüller for Anatomy of a Fall, Carey Mulligan for Maestro, and Emma Stone for Poor Things. Talk about a stacked category with four amazing performances and a biopic! Was Margot Robbie probably better than Annette Bening? Sure, but that’s said and done and there’s nothing that whining about it online will do to change that.

Should Win: Emma Stone for Poor Things. Great as all the women in this category are in their respective films, Stone gives the singular most original performance possibly of anyone ever in the history of cinema. Every scene of the film, I was amazed at the new physical, expressive, and verbal tricks that she was able to put on display, and when she loses, I’m going to be quite disappointed.

Will Win: Lily Gladstone for Killers of the Flower Moon. If this win was coming for Supporting Actress, I’d say that it would be the most deserving win in years in that category. As it stands, this is going to feel a bit questionable because of how limited her screentime is. For everyone saying, “Oh, but you can feel her absence and presence even when she’s not there,” I think actually what you’re getting at is the way that Scorsese made you feel the presence and absence of the Osage as a whole, and it feels weird giving a single performance credit for an entire people group, especially a minority – it feels too close to monolithing for my taste. She is great, but I’m just not fully comfortable with calling it the best leading performance of the year when Emma Stone is right there. Also, all that high school stuff and comparing Poor Things to Frankenhooker is just campaigning, so y’all are suckers idk.

Best Director:

                The nominees in this category are: Justine Triet for Anatomy of a Fall, Martin Scorsese for Killers of the Flower Moon, Christopher Nolan for Oppenheimer, Yorgos Lanthimos for Poor Things, and Jonathan Glazer for The Zone of Interest. I get the frustration over leaving Greta Gerwig and/or Celine Song out here. Unfortunately, the directing branch of the Academy is dominated by old white men who think that comedies have to be weird, dark, tragic, or made by Adam McKay to be considered well-directed, so here we are. It’s not even that any of these are necessarily undeserving directors either, though I would argue that throwing a red screen in the middle of a film with weird noises played over it doesn’t suddenly make it great, but I’m just a blogger, so what do I know?

Should Win: Christopher Nolan for Oppenheimer. He has made one of the best films of his career, and it’s finally getting recognized for it. Good for him!

Will Win: Christopher Nolan for Oppenheimer. He’s really one of the best directors in the modern age at getting his vision fully on the screen in a way that massive moviegoing audiences also love (Tenet notwithstanding), and he’ll finally get that win here.

Best Picture:

                The nominees for the top prize at the Oscars are: American Fiction, Anatomy of a Fall, Barbie, The Holdovers, Killers of the Flower Moon, Maestro, Oppenheimer, Past Lives, Poor Things, and The Zone of Interest. Any year where most people can say that they’ve seen multiple nominees on the list and liked them is a good year for Best Picture, and this is one of the best in a long time. No real misses even if I was less than whelmed by Zone and Poor Things, they’re still well-made films. Let’s take a look.

Should Win: Past Lives. It’s my favorite film of the year, but it has no real chance of winning after missing on basically every big category besides Original Screenplay. It’d be great to see it win, but that’s asking way too much.

Will Win: Oppenheimer. The film has dominated the discourse since its release, and none of the other films seem to have much of a shot at toppling this film from the top. It’s more than deserving of this top spot, though.

Weekend Watch - December 2023 Recap

                Welcome back to the Weekend Watch where each week we take a look at a new piece of film or television media and give it a rating, review, or recommendation. This week, we are putting the final bow on 2023 in film by recapping the best releases of the month of December. These films are the ones with the highest likelihood of making this blog’s list of Greatest Films of All Time, categorized into Long Shots, Possible Things, and Sure Things. December really wrapped 2023 up with a bang, giving us some truly great films across many categories, living up to the hype for its blockbusters, indie films, and awards-bait alike. What a way to wrap up arguably the best year in film this decade! Let’s get into it.

Long Shots:

Maestro: Bradley Cooper’s Leonard Bernstein biopic hit wide release on Netflix this month, and now that everyone’s seen it, the director’s style hasn’t quite hit everyone’s sensibilities the same way. It continues to receive recognition in the form of award nominations, but wins and high ratings are few and far between for the stuffed, frenetic, auteur-esque film.

Eileen: The Anne Hathaway, Thomasin McKenzie vehicle about the relationship between co-workers at a prison facility from NEON hasn’t quite had the universal acclaim that it would have needed to launch itself into the awards races. Critics seem fairly positive on the film, particularly the performances of the two actresses, but fans are deeply divided with most that I’ve seen complaining about the inconsistent pacing and middling writing of the film’s back half.

Wonka: All Paul King does is make wholesome hits, and this is yet another. Its box office success has already surpassed both Paddington films even if its critical success hasn’t (most likely a result of comparison to the existing IP). Its technical prowess and continued run in theaters might just be enough to elevate it to greatness, but don’t necessarily hold your breath. It’s still a really good film, though.

Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget: This is one of those films that begs the question of “Why?”, and I don’t necessarily have an answer. Netflix has this one on its slate of possible Best Animated Picture nominees that inevitably lose to either Spider-Verse or The Boy and the Heron, and its middling reviews with both critics and fans don’t have me optimistic about its chances. It’s still here because of that outside shot, though.

Ferrari: Michael Mann had a run of three films in the 1990s that made it as both “dad hits” and “critical successes”, and everyone’s been waiting for his next hit since then. By the look of things, Ferrari is no Heat or even Last of the Mohicans, but its high-octane race sequences and the performance of Penelope Cruz might be enough to elevate him back to greatness here.

Possible Things:

May December: Todd Haynes is back with another unsung hit in the Natalie Portman, Julianne Moore, and Charles Melton film loosely based on the predatory relationship between Mary Kay Schmitz Letourneau and Vili Fualaau. Its topical nature, excellent performances, and unique Todd Haynes style all make it prime for all-time greatness, but not everyone agrees fully with me on that, so it sits needing some awards love to get there.

American Fiction: The winner of TIFF’s Audience Award has been rolling out its release for a few weeks now, and the more people see it, the more its potential as a Best Picture, Best Actor, and Best Screenplay spoiler becomes more cemented. Cord Jefferson has turned satire into something that is easily consumable with the help of Jeffrey Wright and the rest of his stellar cast. Assuming it keeps getting the love it has so far, this is one of the more solid Possible Things from December.

The Iron Claw: A24 goofed dropping this one as late in the year as they did. If this film came out three months earlier, it’s sitting as a sure thing, in contention in multiple categories above and below the line. As it stands, it’s still one of the highest rated films of the year by fans and has solid reviews from critics as well. Some surprise love from BAFTAs or Oscars would certainly cement this one in place, but I currently expect it to be just below the cusp when new films get entered in.

The Color Purple: Blitz Bazawule’s remake of the classic musical has hit the notes that it needs to be in contention for a spot among the greats. Unfortunately, some of the creative choices seem to have held the film back from being universally acclaimed, and it looks like it might even be slipping out of Best Picture contention. Even so, the acting and technical love that the film is receiving might still be enough to put it over.

Sure Things:

Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé: 2023 was the year of the concert film, and Beyoncé brought it all home with her documentary about the Renaissance tour. Fans, critics, and box offices have loved the superstar’s film, and it brings the year home in style.

Godzilla Minus One: Japan’s latest Godzilla film continues to show how much better the country’s filmmakers are at making kaiju films with some actual substance. Its box office success and success with critics are just the icing on the cake for this film, which might now have a shot at an Oscar nomination for its visual effects as well.

The Boy and the Heron: Miyazaki’s “final” (it sounds like he’s making another one, but you won’t hear that in the news again until after awards season) film opened in the U.S. in December and has scratched the itch for so many of his fans. Its win at the Golden Globes might be a portent of even more love to come, and it really is nice to have the filmmaker back in the saddle.

Poor Things: While its controversial subject matter has brought out some very strong opinions from quite a few on Filmstagram and Film Twitter, overall, the film has been a hit with audiences and critics. From Emma Stone’s leading performance to the creative costume and production design to the direction of Yorgos Lanthimos, this film remains the most unique offering from the year’s Best Picture contenders.

All of Us Strangers: While it’s not out in every theater, the British drama about memory, love, and grief continues to hit highs with everyone who sees it. Andrew Scott gives what is reportedly one of the best performances of the year, and the film looks to contend for Best Picture at the BAFTAs and maybe even pull some upsets at the Oscars if it’s lucky.