The Oscar Project Reviews
Why would anyone be interested in an hour and a half long film about dairy cows with no narration, no plot to speak of, and forces us to look at our treatment of animals for our own gain?
The simple answer is that it’s an incredibly engaging film. It tracks the life cycle of the dairy cows, starting with the birth of one calf and ending with the death of the mother who gave birth. That’s a severe oversimplification of the film. Through the film, the viewer begins to understand what the cow is thinking, existing on her level. When the newly born calf is taken from her after only a few minutes where she is allowed to clean it, one shot lingers on the mother for at least a minute or two, simply watching her bleat in frustration at losing her baby. However, she doesn’t get much time to grieve, as she is sent off to get milked before long, both literally and metaphorically going in circles throughout the course of her life.
The presentation of the film is that of cinema verité, showing us how things are with no comment. Many people will say that this is an anti-dairy farming film, or a pro-vegan/vegetarian film, but I don’t think it is meant as such. It is meant as a look into the world that all of us are connected to, but most will never see or even think of. We go to the grocery store and milk is there in a jug for us, so we don’t have to worry about the process it took to make that happen. I know I thought a bit more about where my food comes from after watching this film, and while I haven’t consciously changed any of my eating habits, I have given more thought to what is required to bring certain items to my plate.
Cow (affiliate link) is a film I would urge anyone to give a chance. It truly is a unique experience for each viewer and the story changes based on your own preconceptions about the topic. 7 out of 10
0 Comments
It’s not surprising that just a few years after the excellent documentary The Last Dance (affiliate link), about the rise of Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls in the 1990s, that we get another excellent basketball documentary.
The Redeem Team (Netflix link) is a deep dive into the story of the 2008 Men’s US Olympic Basketball Team. While not as detailed as The Last Dance (affiliate link), it provides plenty of backstory to the events that led up to those Olympic Games in Beijing. We got to see the rise of the original Dream Team in The Last Dance (affiliate link), and this is the next logical chapter, looking at basketball when the world had caught up with the United States, and even our top talent wasn’t guaranteed a win on the world stage.
The film provides plenty of typical documentary fare with talking head interviews from the likes of LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, and Dwayne Wade, players on the team that had fallen short in 2004 and wanted to come back to the Olympics and regain the former glory. In addition to this, however, is going further back, not only to the original dream team, but even back to a controversial Olympic gold medal game where the Soviet Union beat the United States. This historical context serves to elevate the story of US Olympic Basketball and shows that it hasn’t all been sunshine and roses.
I would be remiss if I failed to mention the inclusion of Kobe Bryant in the film. He was an integral part of the 2008 team and was able to put his Lakers loyalties aside, facing down NBA teammate Pao Gasol in their very first game. One of the most touching scenes comes near the end of the film with the team celebrating Kobe’s birthday while at the Olympics. He can be seen with his daughters, including Gianna who was only two at the time. It was sobering to see that footage and hear the interviews with him at the time and only reminded me that he was gone too soon. This documentary is essential viewing for any true sports fan, and should be included on the watchlist of anyone interested in great comeback stories. It is a great retelling of a relatively recent time in our sports history, and one that some people may not remember exactly the way it happened. 8 out of 10
A tour-de-force of visual stylings, The Daniels (Scheinert and Kwan) deliver the best multiversal story of the year in Everything Everywhere All at Once (affiliate link).
By now, you’ve likely heard someone raving about this film and it’s definitely one I think everyone should experience. It is just that, an experience, and you need to be open to thinking about film in new ways, something that doesn’t happen that often in film. Everything Everywhere All at Once (affiliate link) is many things, and that’s what gives it broad appeal. It is an immigrant story, a family drama, a science fiction dimension travelling epic, and a kung fu action film all rolled into one. Michelle Yeoh as Evelyn Wang is the heart and soul of the film. She is not only the glue holding the film together, but similarly strives to hold together her family across time and space. Ke Huy Quan is similarly wonderful as Evelyn’s husband Waymond Wang. It was great to see him in a role completely different from his most famous roles as Short Round in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (affiliate link) and Data in Goonies (affiliate link) even if Waymond retains some of the goofiness of those characters from Quan’s youth. Stephanie Hsu looks to be a star on the rise and her portrayal of Joy, Evelyn and Waymond’s 20-something daughter is spot on. The other star of the film is Jamie Lee Curtis as the IRS inspector auditing the Wang’s finances. She feels deliberately out of place in the film and is so much fun to watch as she changes characters based on which universe we see her in.
We need to talk about the rock scene. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a more deep and emotional heart to heart talk between a mother and a daughter than when they are simply rocks on the edge of a cliff. Everything leading up to that moment has made the audience invested in the characters, that we absolutely believe that these two random rocks are the characters we have seen over an hour and a half. I also love the fact that the Daniels included actual footage of Michelle Yeoh as an actor on red carpets and such for the universe where Evelyn is a movie star.
Not to spoil too much, but I understand the “happy” ending that the film provides. Personally, I almost wish it would have concluded on a more somber note, but understand the decision to end it the way it did. I hope that the buzz about this film continues strongly enough as we head into Oscar season and it gets the recognition it deserves in categories like Best Cinematography, Best Visual Effects, and Best Original Screenplay. I doubt that any of the acting will be recognized, but think it could be a long shot for a Best Director nomination and even perhaps Best Picture. 9 out of 10
It feels like the Despicable Me franchise has run its course, yet we continue to get new entries in the series over a decade after we first met Gru and his lovable yellow minions.
However, despite my initial apprehensions, I was pleased with this continuation of the saga. Set after the events of 2015’s Minions (affiliate link) and before Despicable Me (affiliate link), Rise of Gru (affiliate link) chronicles some of the events that led to Gru becoming one of the world’s greatest villains at the beginning of the first movie. The plot revolves around Gru (Steve Carrell) trying to join a supervillain team called the Vicious Six led by Belle Bottom (Tarji P. Henson) after their previous leader Wild Knuckles (Alan Arkin) is presumed dead. Gru is denied entry into the team since he is just a kid, but he steals something called the Zodiac Stone during his interview, leading to a chase around the world.
Julie Andrews returns as Gru’s mother in a few scenes, but the returning role that was much more central to the plot is that of Russell Brand’s Dr. Nefario. We meet him as an amateur inventor working at a record store, that just happens to be involved in some nefarious underground dealings…literally. There are also some fun cameos from the first film with the banker (working as a teller here) who also mentions his young son Vector.
Despite the title, I didn’t feel like we really got the “rise” of Gru in this film. Instead, we get a fun adventure film that ends up with Gru gaining a father figure in Knuckles, something that has been lacking throughout the rest of the series. True, Dr. Nefario could be seen as something of a father figure as the only older adult male in his life, but Knuckles fills that role much better here and I will be interested to see if we get another prequel at some point in the future. Gru himself does rise to the occasion of the film, but really comes across as more of a hero than a villain, regardless of his intentions. As with any modern entry into a film series like there, there is plenty of expected fan service. Several minions can be seen eating out of a Scarlett Overkill lunchbox at one point and Gru uses a “cheese ray” to shoot melted cheese in a coffee shop, a call back to his freeze ray in the first film. We learn where Gru got his giant alligator couches seen throughout the series and toward the end of the film, Knuckles tells Gru to “shoot for the moon,” an obvious reference to the central heist of the first film. None of these references are overly engineered and I’m sure there are plenty more I missed. Fans of the series will enjoy digging up all the Easter Eggs. Like most sequels these days, this film wasn’t entirely necessary, but I found it enjoyable and fun for the whole family. I can definitely see one more film fitting in between this and the original Despicable Me with more films continuing the series into the future. 7 out of 10
A fun stylized look into a lesser-known corner of the Marvel world, Werewolf by Night delivers action, new friendships, and plenty of creepy monsters, just in time for Halloween.
I went into this fairly blind, not knowing any of the backstory to these characters from the comics and without even seeing any trailers or imagery aside from the poster and splash page in Disney+. I’m sure there were some subtle details that I missed, but having the Marvel name on it and the logo at the beginning, I expected a bit more in the way of defined connection to the MCU. Now, I understand that not everything with the Marvel name on it is required to connect to the MCU, but based on the release strategy of the last decade and a half, this felt like an outlier. Perhaps we will see more connections later on, especially with films like Blade coming into the MCU. The film was short at only 52 minutes and actually listed as a TV special on sites like IMDb. Gael García Bernal takes the lead as Jack Russell, a monster hunter who ultimately transitions into a werewolf himself. Laura Donnelly plays opposite as Elsa Bloodstone, a fellow monster hunter and daughter of the late Ulysses Bloodstone. I was a bit underwhelmed by Jack’s role, but thought Elsa stole much of the show. For their small parts, Harriet Sansom Harris’s Verussa Bloodstone (Ulysses wife) was splendid as was Kirk R. Thatcher as the Scottish monster hunter Jovan.
I mentioned earlier that there wasn’t much connection to the greater Marvel universe at the moment, but I did make one connection of the visual style to that of the Disney+ series WandaVision. The entire film is done in black and white, with the exception of the bloodstone itself which appears red. This is also a callback to Schindler’s List (affiliate link) which used a similar black and white technique with the only color element being the red coat of a young girl. WandaVision and Werewolf by Night both also use a transitional technique where the film resolves to color at a certain point when the actions allows for it.
The additional visual elements in the film are likely ripe for data mining by YouTubers and fans in the vast Marvel online community. There are plenty of monsters created for the film along with murals and carvings in the Bloodstone mansion, many of which probably have a connection to things I’m not familiar with yet. I will be interested to see what connections come from these elements in the background that most people will miss. In the final assessment, I was a bit disappointed with this initial Marvel Studios Special Presentation. I think the format has potential but needs to be better marketed. It also needs to decide if it will be an offshoot of the MCU, or if it will be something that runs alongside the MCU but doesn’t necessarily make those official connections. 6 out of 10
Hocus Pocus 2 is not the original, and that’s just fine. It doesn’t have to be in order to be a fun movie that families can enjoy during the Halloween season.
Nothing will ever come close to capturing the magic of the Halloween classic that is Hocus Pocus (affiliate link), originally released in 1993. Still, there is plenty here to find fun in. The film opens with a look back at the days of early Salem, much like the first time, but this time the Sanderson Sisters are children. The three young girls that play them at this age are spot on and do a good job of showing which is which, without falling into parody. The only complaint about the opening of the film was that it went a bit long. When it comes to the actresses we know as the Sanderson Sisters, Bette Midler is still the best of the three. Her performance felt the most akin to what it was the first time around, while Kathy Najimy and Sarah Jessica Parker’s performances both felt a bit forced. On the other hand, the trio of girls playing the high school friends Becca (Whitney Peak), Izzy (Belissa Escobedo), and Cassie (Lilia Buckingham) were excellent. Their performances felt effortless and they played the dynamics of the friendship well through good times and bad.
The creators placed plenty of Easter Eggs throughout, beyond the obvious. Several flashbacks included footage from the original film, edited to create backstories for characters we meet for the first time here. We see a black cat in the Sanderson House museum and in my favorite bit, we get to see Billy Butcherson yet again, still played by Doug Jones. The fan service is tactful and not overdone to the point of detracting from the story.
The ending of the film didn’t feel overly engineered and did lead to a satisfying redemption for the Sanderson Sisters, even if it did leave things open for more sequels down the road. I’m not sure it was entirely necessary, but it still felt like Hocus Pocus (affiliate link) and didn’t destroy the charm of the original. For a generation that has grown up with the first film and watched it every Halloween, they now have one to show their kids. 6 out of 10
Deadpool 2 brings the return of Wade Wilson and all his wisecracks, this time teaming up with a group of mutants he calls X-Force to help save a young mutant named Russell who is being chased by the time traveling Cable.
This is the rare sequel that lives up to the original while at the same time furthering the story of the central character. Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds) is up to his old tricks, fighting crime and living his best life with his now fiancé Vanessa (Morena Baccarin). When Vanessa is killed by a baddie that Wade didn’t do away with, he falls into despair and tries to end things in a fiery gasoline-fueled explosion in his apartment. Of course, his healing abilities allow him to come back even from that, and team up yet again with Colossus Stefan Kapičić), and Negasonic Teenage Warhead (Brianna Hildebrand), both returning from the first film. After an abject failure in their first team-up, Wilson is thrown in a mutant prison with Russell/Firefist (Julian Dennison), a young mutant who had been abused at the hands of the staff of the “Mutant Re-education Center” where he lived. The prison facility is attacked by Josh Brolin’s Cable, taking a break from playing his better-known Marvel villain, Thanos. As Deadpool enters the MCU arena, it will be interesting to see how this is reconciled over the coming years.
What works for the first film, continues to work here. But while the first film is a true origin story, this sequel takes Deadpool in a different direction, shifting from trying to save his damsel in distress by himself, to working with others to save someone not so much unlike himself. I hope that the third film is allowed to work in this same way and not hamstrung by Disney and Marvel executives trying to fit it into the more traditional MCU mold.
7 out of 10
With the announcement recently that Deadpool 3 is in the works and includes a final(?) appearance by Hugh Jackman as Wolverine, I felt it was time to revisit the first two Deadpool films and deliver some official reviews. So, without further ado, my Deadpool review.
This was such a nice pallet cleanser after the Venom films I reviewed the last two weeks. Looking back, it almost feels like both Venom and Venom: Let There Be Carnage were trying to have the humor and wit of Deadpool, but couldn’t take the leap, stumbling in the process. That said, Ryan Reynolds is the straw that stirs the drink in this film. It doesn’t work with anyone else playing Wade Wilson/Deadpool, but you can probably put just about anyone around him, and it will work. That’s not to say that the supporting cast is bad. Just the opposite. T. J. Miller is great in a limited role as Wade Wilson’s best friend and Morena Baccarin’s Vanessa goes toe to toe with Wilson as their relationship grows through the film. Ed Skrein’s portrayal of Ajax is not as memorable, but sufficient as the lead villain. Further down the supporting cast list, Gina Carano as Ajax’s sidekick Angel Dust feels very one dimensional, and a bit of a wasted opportunity. On the other hand, Negasonic Teenage Warhead (Brianna Hildebrand) and Colossus (Stefan Kapičić) provide a lovely connection to the world of the X-Men, and feel like fuller characters than either of the villains.
If yours is a family that likes watching Marvel movies together, make sure to put the kids to bed before putting this one on. It earns the R-rating, but everything that contributes to that rating feels relevant. Some of the blood and gore could be a bit excessive, but it still serves to drive home the point of Deadpool’s physical resilience, even if he is a bit weaker emotionally. A well put together film and worthy of a place in the MCU once that connection is made.
7 out of 10
Last week I posted my review of the first Venom film from 2018 and made it a point to follow it with the sequel, Venom: Let There Be Carnage, this week, hoping the series would improve. Sadly, I was disappointed, despite the best efforts of cast and crew.
The sequel was set up very obviously at the end of the first film with a credits scene, something Marvel is so well known for. However, in this instance, it didn’t connect to some other character or series, but rather simply foreshadowed the obligatory sequel for films like this, regardless of the quality of the original. Did we need another Venom movie? Probably not. Are we going to get even more after this one? Probably. When it comes to the character, I echo what I said for the first film that I prefer Hardy’s version of Eddie Brock/Venom to Topher Grace’s. I also appreciated the fact that Venom and Eddie became a bit more distinct in this film, with a few characters in the know addressing Venom directly, regardless of whose body he was in at the time. Michelle Williams ups her game in this film from the first despite her limited screen time. As far as the villains, I believed less in Woody Harrelson’s Cletus Kasady/Carnage and Naomie Harris’s Shriek than I did in the first film’s version of Riot. Don’t get me wrong, I love both Harrelson and Harris as actors, but this material didn’t quite suit them, and it never seemed like they really inhabited the roles.
|
Archives
October 2023
Categories
All
|