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1.36.2.22
10 Academy Award-nominated films this year ranked from worst to best. A pretty weak group all things considered. Out of 5.
10)Dune *1/2
9) The Power of the Dog **
8) Don't Look Up **1/2
7) West Side Story ***
6) Belfast ***
5) Licorice Pizza ***
4) Nightmare Alley ***
3) King Richard ***1/2
2) CODA ****
1) Drive My Car *****
Edits: 03/20/22 03/20/22Follow Ups:
Nt
So every year I look at critic's lists from place like Sight and Sound, New York Times, the New Yorker. Looking for things that might be interesting. And I look at Oscar nominations, but with less interest. Since the Oscars always trend toward big commercially successful movies, they generally leave out much that is of interest to me.
But just today, I read that CODA had some big momentum, and I thought somewhat reluctantly that I should see it. The only thing I knew was that it was about a hearing kid in a deaf family that wanted to sing, and that sounded pretty dull to me.
I was surprised to really enjoy it. It is, to be sure, a very common and familiar movie story, a family drama. But like any formula genre, it can be done well, and in this case, the parts click together in a most satisfying experience. The deafness does add novelty to the family relationships, but the easy profane banter would have been fun in any language. And the family is brought to life by 4 brilliant performances.
Really liked it a lot. As far as winning, I'd personally go for Drive My Car or Power of the Dog, but if momentum pushes CODA to the top, I'd be happy for them.
I finally got to see CODA. A excellent feel good film. I was pleasantly surprised how well the film/actors were able to successfully convey the discussions between the deaf members.
A worthy choice for best picture.
Nt
I agree -
The scope of the film is formulaic but if you do the formula exceedingly well then that counts for something. And the actors were actually deaf and I enjoyed the aspect of the daughter singing and the parents kind of looking around at other people's reactions for their cues. I bought into the family dynamic and enjoyed it - if it wins the best picture award I would be quite happy.
Actually, I am happy if they just pick a quality movie - I had no problem with most of the films they picked over the last 2 decades but none of them matched my top pick.
I think the Academy has improved though - I mean Birdman was a rather artsy endeavour and not the standard flick nor was Moonlight and even The Shape of Water was out of the norm - they may not have been my first choice but you can't really say they're standard Hollywood fare.
I would be stunned to see Drive My Car win after Parasite won in 2020.
People were so idiotically outraged that they chose a foreign film for best picture. How dare they have subtitles! LOL.
But you never know - it was nominated after all so it has a chance.
Very good, fun, interesting, wackyish.
NOT one of Anderson's best nor Best Film
material in the bid scheme of things,
but we take what they give us, eh?
POTD is a superior film.
Everyone moaning about the "gay" aspect of it has missed the wagon train.
Movies about a kid taking care of his own.
"Once this was all Black Plasma and Imagination" -Michael McClure
PoTD wasn't the least entertaining nor enjoyable. Without out Campion and Cumberbatch's name where would it be?
The film can have lots of points - be well-acted, have good cinematography and a great score and can even be well directed. And it can be all of those things and be as you say "[not] the least entertaining nor enjoyable."Indeed, it's a reason I am not a big fan of Citizen Kane which is often regarded as THE greatest film of all time and I can't really fault any of the individual pieces - but in the end, the sum of the parts don't add up for me.
And it's not the run time. Drive My Car is 3 hours long and nothing actually happens - no car chase or shootouts - it's 3 hours of talking and watching a Saab driving on highways - I found it riveting.
I have read about a dozen people's takes so far on their rankings and what I find interesting this year is there is little consensus - WSS is chosen as best on some and dead last on some as is Power of the Dog.
It kind of reminds me of The English Patient. Everyone I know hated it - boring long melodramatic - I liked it the most but I had read the novel and enjoyed the film's take. Not best picture worthy but Hollywood likes the cinematography (pretty videos of nice locations).
At the end of the day movies like music are gut reactions - you watch/listen and the artist grabs you or he/she doesn't. You can't "explain" something to get them to like it any more than you can convince me to eat Brussels Sprouts by pointing out the vitamins and minerals in it - thanks I'll take water and a vitamin pill instead.
Most people seem to love it - and it is the heavy favourite to win the best picture award. There are some rumblings of a CODA upset but I think they put that crap out there to generate some interest that it's worth tuning in to see the "upset" but it only has 3 award nominations and not for the director so that is highly HIGHLY unlikely.
Edits: 03/26/22
We agree on POTD -- I watched Citizen Kane and thought it was also pointless, as I didn't understand the politics at the time. I picked it up at the lcoal Library and it also cam with a DVD explaining the movie.
After watching the DVD and Understanding that the whole movie was a Parody of William Randolph Hearst. Hearst has such Power at the time that he got the movie banned for over 10 years. And you do know what Rosebud was?
After watching the DVD, I thought the movie was hilarious and it all made sense... And realized that it is ranked in the top 3 movies of all time.
I actually knew this the first time I watched Citizen Kane. It's somewhat the same reason I prefer Shakespeare's comedies to his Tragedies because my worldview doesn't associate greatness with a person's wealth or power. In the UK that is tied to royalty and in the US it is tied to wealthy business people - they are seen as "superior humans" and "chosen by God" to be more successful.
The idea of the tragedy is that we are supposed to feel especially saddened when someone "great" (king or wealthy businessman) has a falls from their high born position. Kane suffers the desire of power through corruption and vanity and long for his childhood innocence which is what Rosebud (his sled) represents.
My favourite play, which is also a sad commentary on the American Dream, is Death of a Salesman which is about a regular Joe six-pack hopelessly trying to achieve the American Dream in a career is hopelessly no good at and will never achieve.
Kane achieves the American Dream but it ultimately didn't make him happy. I see far more happiness and smiles and joy when I go to the Philippines with people living in shacks than I ever witness from Rich Americans - Donald Trump only smiles when he is doing something nasty to someone. Otherwise, he looks miserable - and of course he does - he has to buy his women.
Thematically, Kane should be up my ally - what is important is not found in "The American Dream" and chasing that wealth and power at the expense of your soul will leave you an empty vessel. But it just doesn't work for me - I like the film but I don't "love" the film.
I find it more tragic that the Willy Lomans of the world (middle-class Americans) strive for this American Dream and 99.9% of them will never attain it and they are missing out on life as a result. They're duped. To me that is tragic. Kane's lot was his own doing. It's his sort of media empire that convinces the Willy Loman of the world to keep up with the Joneses. Ultimately, I prefer to watch Dustin Hoffman and John Malkovich's version of "Death of a Salesman" over Citizen Kane.
Hey, it's free on youtube too.
is key; also, the conceit that strengthens the emotional hit is that if someone so powerful is brought low by his or her own all-but-inescapable flaws, what awaits us?
Welles masterwork is about the journey of a passionate young man from wide-eyed optimism and fraternity to an an elderly figure, withdrawn, alone, failed. The poignancy of the fall is made clear only at the very end.
Edits: 04/03/22
I didn't love citizen Kane, but did think it was very clever and funny. And I believe that if you were alive at the time of the movie and paying attention to the politics of that time, there were probably a lot more nuances than you and I caught...."I find it more tragic that the Willy Lomans of the world (middle-class Americans) strive for this American Dream and 99.9% of them will never attain it and they are missing out on life as a result. They're duped. To me that is tragic."
They're all probably saving up to buy Audio Note Speakers :-)
Edits: 03/30/22
"And I believe that if you were alive at the time of the movie and paying attention to the politics of that time, there were probably a lot more nuances than you and I caught...."
Absolutely. I think the films you grow up with have far more impact fo you than future generations will view them.
When I was a kid and saw Dawn of the Dead - it was the goriest film made and well-reviewed - and I still enjoy it.
But if you show this to a Walking Dead fan who is 25 - they'll laugh at Dawn of the Dead. Sure some will look to the ideas/themes but it just doesn't hold up with modern eyes.
Don't even start on audio - the prices just keep going up and up. More than my salary - I've been on a 2 year wage freeze - a pandemic - but without a cost of living increase you effectively get a pay cut.
May as well ask where Raging Bull would be minus Scorsese and DeNiro.
Etc.
POTD was not pointless just because you don't get the point.
The cinematography is quite enjoyable, as are the settings and
there's no bad or mediocre acting.
"Once this was all Black Plasma and Imagination" -Michael McClure
You guys take being self-righteous too seriously.
current catch words/phrases used in place of actual thoughts on certain subjects.
Throw it in the "woke" bin!
Toss it in the "virtue signalling" pile!
"Once this was all Black Plasma and Imagination" -Michael McClure
----------------------
"E Burres Stigano?"
We fell asleep.
The music remains stellar, the rest was BLASE.
#8 doesn't belong there. Period.
Dune is Done, move #9 up, to #4.
Do want to see the rest.
Mostly though, who cares about ranking and awards?
Like in C'mon, C'mon (which does belong there given the list)...
"Blah, blah, blahblahblah blah blah"...
Maybe it's me, but the days of awards ceremonies
(THAT right there is a problem. Ceremony.) possibly
meaning anything are well over.
"Once this was all Black Plasma and Imagination" -Michael McClure
I have only seen #9, 8, 5, and 4. My pick for best of that group is Nightmare Alley.
Hard for me to believe ...Dog is getting a lot of reviewer picks for best picture.
for the second year in a row, an Asian film scores, "Best Picture."
That would be, "Drive My Car."
Hollywood, it would seem, has lost all serious writers, directors, and talent.
Either that or it's getting more politically correct out there.
d
Nt
d
Nt
d
When a black man slaps another black man that's politically correct. But when a white man slaps a black man that's politically incorrect. Follow?
equality or anything remotely so in reference to white and black folks. Equality equates to power and power positions are still white dominant, though some gains are being made for minorities.
Nt
But Penn ("Milk"-and the 6 people that saw it!) over Rourke for "The Wrestler" was just a plain Travesty
or whatever one would call it
Meh!
D
The academy now has a more diverse voting membership.
"Who votes for the Oscars, and who are the Academy's members? The answer, historically, has been almost exclusively white men. According to a 2014 survey conducted by The Los Angeles Times, Oscar voters were on average 63 years old. 76% of them were men, and 94% of them were white."
The voting is like Stereophile though - the voters choose their favourites in order so 1,2,3.
The problem with that is that points are awarded for 2nd and 3rd votes so it is possible that nobody chose the best picture winner as the best picture but everyone chose it as the third-best movie. Meanwhile, 1/2 the academy voters could choose a movie as the best film but maybe 1/4 chose it last (because they found it too violent or had foul language (lots of old geezers are religious nuts and have old-fashioned views of the world).
So polarizing original films are likely not going to win.
Anyway - The films I like almost never win as a result so to me it's just some entertainment - And sometimes they'll choose something I like even if it's not my first choice - I'd be happy if CODA snuck in for the win.
CODA is not particularly ambitious in scope (coming of age story of trying to get away from the small town to make something of yourself) - it's been done a million times but CODA at least does it very well and better than most and has a terrific supporting actor performance. It could win if it is chosen in 2nd or 3rd on most lists.
Drive My car probably has no chance since they recently chose Parasite and Drive My car may lose votes for editing - at 3 hours will members have the patience - on the other hand, it is about actors, the theatre and is quite literary - reading up on Chekhov, and Beckett is helpful and most actors are literature types. The film itself is like bringing the audience inside Waiting for Godot and that duality is impressive - and has big emotional payoffs.
To me, it's clearly the best film but it's also an "art-house" film where "art-house" films rarely win.
Drive My Car won with the critics - Best film from
New York Film Critics Circle
Boston Film Critics Society
Los Angeles Film Critics
National Society of Film Critics
Toronto Film Critics
Seattle Film Critics
CODA is more of a Hollywood entertainment but IMO one of the better Hollywood entertainments. Even King Richard was well done with Will Smith - I am not the least bit of a tennis fan either but I found it a charmer about Venus and Serena Williams.
But it's likely going to be Power of the Dog. *SPOILER* It too is an "art-house" movie but I also found it lightweight and the "gay" payoff just isn't that relevant today - like so what. And other than that payoff there is little here. A mean cowboy being mean to a gay farmhand who all the while is gay just isn't enough to base an entire movie around. And NOTHING else happens - It's not like the dialogue is interesting in the way to Drive My Car is. Jane Campion is well-liked and they may be trying to give her this award for The Piano.
I was hoping for a female director but I would have given it to Julia Ducournau for Titane which is better than 9 of the 10 Academy-nominated films IMO.
It's not the irrelevant "gay payoff" story you describe. The gay cowboy thing is a red herring plot device. The real story is about relationship disruptions and resolution. Phil's life is upset when Rose and Peter enter it. Phil torments Rose and Peter to the point of breaking. Peter is portrayed as effeminate but not necessarily gay. Peter proclaims that a real man protects his mother and the challenge is set. Peter discovers Phil's secret and feigns (gay) interest in Phil to gain Phil's trust while developing a cunning, ruthless plan to get rid of him. Peter's medical studies provide him the knowledge necessary to infect Phil with anthrax in a seemingly innocent and untraceable manner so it appears to be an accident with no involvement by Peter or anyone else. Phil dies, the torment ends and there is no suspicion of murder as Peter reads from Psalm 22 (a passage from which the film's title is derived) and everybody lives happily ever after.
I liked PotD as I liked "Parasite" but I don't think either is "Best Picture" material. I was wrong about "Parasite" last year. . .
You are right. Saw it last night and it was much more than a "gay-themed" film. It was quite cleverly done. RGB's comments here lead me to expect things that never happened. Was it slow? No, I think the story unfolded at the appropriate speed. The prevailing sense of anxiety all around and the score added to the tension. I enjoyed it and thought it was cleverly done.
d
As far as I could discern, everyone was portrayed as cis-gender. Gender preference applied to sexual partnering both real and feigned was used to distract viewers from what was really occurring plot-wise. This is obvious by film's end. "Toxic masculinity" aspects are present and have been discussed to death elsewhere. This too was a plot device used to set the stage for what developed later in the film.
While I get this - I was not terribly convinced by Phil as being a bad enough guy to have killed. But I could give that Peter felt that Phil was enough of a threat or blamed, in large part, for Rose's descent into alcoholism. It just felt more or less flat to me and overlong with few payoffs.I think Kareem Abdul Jabbar hit the nail on the head for me
The 3 Most Disappointing Movies of 2021 Are Best Picture Nominees!
"Nominating this movie as Best Picture seems more like the Academy virtue signalling than sticking to their mandate to reward exceptional and innovative films."
For me that is the crux - there was nothing new - not thematically, nor visually, nor was it exceptional in any way.
Edits: 03/23/22
It's all so personal and even political these days. One of my favorites this year was "Red Rocket". The whole thing was a hoot. Manipulation upon manipulation. Not a word about it here or most places.Edit: Surprised you reference Kareem's review of PotD. Not exactly insightful. Clearly, his movie reviewing expertise is limited.
Edits: 03/24/22
Kareem writes more eloquently on other topics. More detail would help.I agree with you on Red Rocket - it's a cut above most of the films nominated but the subject matter usually kills films like this.
It's funny but when I moved into my flat here in Hong Kong - my neighbour was much like this talking about moving to HK because a gang was after him back in Australia and that he used to be a cop - well my friend is from Australia and was listening to this guy and told me his facts were all wrong that one gang wasn't even in that area of the country.
It's so odd to meet people who are perpetual liars who pump themselves up in odd ways to make themselves sound dangerous or interesting. He was a bit shakey too and a rather heavy drinker - glad he moved away.
Red Rocket isn't a great advertisement for Texas - LOL.
But I enjoyed the movie - if it were nominated I'd probably rank it at least 3rd. Moreover, one could definitely make the case for Simon Rex being nominated for best actor.
These awards, to be fair, are so tough too because how do you compare a film with the subject matter of a Red Rocket or Titane with the subject matter of a CODA or Drive My Car? Some movies have likeable characters and families like CODA and others are complete and utter trainwrecks like Red Rocket.
I just hate it when they nominate crap like Dune where the best character in the film is the giant worm and you want it to eat the writer.
Edits: 03/24/22
too many have misconstrued that red herring.
Agree about the Best Picture thing too, but the nominations are rather dismal.
So far POTD is the best film we've yet seen of the nominated films, most of which
tinear would refer to as movies...
"Once this was all Black Plasma and Imagination" -Michael McClure
entertainment wouldn't be mixed in with more serious fare. Pop, country, jazz, classical: what if one had to award a "best" that would encompass all those? Good luck!
Mostly, methinks, for folk like you that cling to distinctions
that need to separate the silver plated from the sterling.
Fine for jewelry, less important with art.
Multi theaters, Repertory theaters, Arthouse theaters.
All are worthy in the long run.
I suspect if this were the Movie Forum you wouldn't post here.
"Once this was all Black Plasma and Imagination" -Michael McClure
I didn't see many of this year's nominees but would put Westside Story right up there too . . . probably out of nostalgia. My parents were big into musicals when I was a kid and the WSS "soundtrack" was constantly in the air back then. I'm still amazed that Bernstein did the music. What an amazing and wide ranging talent he was!
Really fine acting (beats even POTD), the B&W is refreshing though the story is rather formulaic.
That The Belfast Cowboy serves as the soundtrack is a delight.
The best thing about WSS is STILL the music, the new versions are sharp and
(honestly) swinging. The rest of it we found humdrum and we actually fell
asleep after an hour.
Might try and finish it but we know how it ends...
"Once this was all Black Plasma and Imagination" -Michael McClure
5 stars!
"Titane:" after your previous film is about teen girls who like to eat human flesh, what can you do to attract attention? I'll say this: she's a good manipulator. If I want this kind of thing, I turn to Miike. Far more clever is, "Ichi, the Killer."
I decided to watch RAW after it got a 93% fresh rating on rotten tomatoes and after Ducournau won the Citizen Kane Award for best up and coming director.
I found it to be a rather terrific coming-of-age horror film. It somewhat reminded me of another fine horror film called Ginger Snaps.
" The camera instead lingers on moments that ground the viewer in Justine's body—her fits of scratching, kissing and sex scenes, Justine watching herself dancing in front of a mirror—to unfold her metamorphosis. "For me, the link with the teen movie or the coming-of-age story is that I am very, very interested in bodies. I really like to film them, and I like to use the bodies of my characters in order to talk about their psyche," .../...Justine's sexual awakening is inextricably linked to her new appetites, and when she eyes the shirtless bodies of young men playing soccer like a predator, we don't know if she's fantasizing about taking them to the sheets or the dinner table. A shot of Justine at a party, her legs spread and her hands at her crotch, licking her lips while watching her peers dancing is similarly ambiguous and thrilling.
Justine's awakening is both scary and exciting to behold. Though she tries to deny herself it, the pleasure Justine experiences while indulging her appetite is palpable, sometimes funny, other times erotic. Like so many recent excellent horror films (The Witch, The Babadook), Raw ends just as another story is beginning. Justine knows her true self—with both its delicacies and costs—and negotiating her desires will be her life's work. The girl has become a monster, and it becomes her."
Umm yes - I quite liked it. But I have always been okay with Horror films.
5 stars!
"Titane:" after your previous film is about teen girls who like to eat human flesh, what can you do to attract attention? I'll say this: she's a good manipulator. If I want this kind of thing, I turn to Miike. Far more clever is, "Ichi, the Killer."
Well, the majority of Palm d'Or voters chose Titane over Drive My Car.
I think people don't look past the violence and look at the deeper text of this film. They can't get past the shock value to see the underlying thematic value.
"For all its horror and human perspective, Ducournau argues that people prove far more complicated than any traditional uses and descriptions of the human body allow—especially those determined by the male gaze or patriarchal ideology. There's indescribable and sublime beauty in how the body can deviate from its prescribed definitions, and there's a profound emotional possibility when someone breaks from tradition to embrace what might be called transgressions or taboos. Improbably but wonderfully hopeful in the end, Titane celebrates the messy, ugly, and disruptive ways that people can connect when they embrace deviation." https://deepfocusreview.com/reviews/titane/
"Ducournau has a singularly driving yet tender cinematic voice. Titane is a film about trauma, anger, human bonds, gender identity, and the ability for even the most troubled among us to tap into their humanity. It's a work of art in its assaultive, unforgettable, confrontational way." https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/titane
"Strip away the body horror, feverish set-pieces, and fun with oil leaking from places where oil ought not to be, and there's a touching family drama. In common with Raw, the outsized genre gestures articulate the outsized dramas and tensions that can define family life. The weird, wacky woman-machine mechanics equally parallel the splatter that characterises women's bodies generally and childbirth in particular." *****/*****
https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/film/titane-a-wild-and-crazy-trip-1.4755052
Titane has been a critics darling as well edged out by Drive My Car.
Titane won best film at
Cannes
Toronto International Film Festival (People's choice)
National Board of Review (Best Foreign Language film)
It was nominated best film by a slew of others and won Best actor and cinematography among others by those circles including the London Film Critics Circle and British Academy Awards.
So it's not like I'm the only one.
So perhaps it is you who missed the point.
I find it funny that this film forum has so many squeamish guys who can't see a bit of blood or language. Meanwhile, it's a female director and many of the female film critics who loved it.
Bunch of girly-men on this board LOL.
Oh No, there's some blood - OMG it's all just too much for me to take. C'Mon. Oh No, there's a naked girl - OMG I can't stand it.
What are you American?
trying to shock. I also found the film not only visually ugly, I didn't see a lot of humanity through all the violence. Sick film for sick times.
Yes Ichi was disturbingly Cool!--maybe up notch say -"Gun Woman"?
D
was a fun ride. Miike isn't a polemicist, unlike the Titane bludgeoner.
NT
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