The Oscar Project Reviews
Films that redefine a genre usually come along once a generation, and I would consider 1917 the defining war film of today, as Saving Private Ryan was over two decades ago. Even though it is told on a grand scale at time, the story here is very personal. British commanders in World War I find out that another battalion is walking into a trap in the attack they are set to carry out the following morning. The brother of one of the men is sent to carry the message of the trap, along with one other soldier. The only path they can take to get there in time goes directly through enemy held territory. Much has been made about 1917 and it's intensity as a film designed to look like one single shot and in that respect it doesn't disappoint. The lengths that the filmmakers went to achieve this effect cannot be understated, and it creates an amazing feeling throughout the film. While there are a few instances where cuts and breaks are clear when characters pass through a doorway or behind a rock, most of the cuts are seamless. Initially I thought this effect would make the entire film feel restless, being in constant motion. But the effect is subtle when it needs to be and frenetic when the action calls for it. About a third of the way into the film, there is an incredibly personal moment between the two soldiers. The camera continues to move around them as the scene plays out, but it does so in a way that is reminiscent of how you would frame a basic two shot, just without the standard cutting you might find in that type of scene. A similar scene appears closer to the end of the film between one of the soldiers and a French woman. Her terror is palpable and again the scene is presented in a constantly moving camera, but at a very slow rate that allows the viewer to take in the entire scene, and understand the depths of her fear beyond just her words and gestures. In short, this film is a masterpiece and deserves every accolade it received, and probably many that it didn't. You can trace a line from All Quiet on the Western Front (1930) through The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957), The Dirty Dozen (1967), Patton (1970), Apocalypse Now (1979), Platoon (1986), and Saving Private Ryan (1998) and all the way to 1917. It's almost fitting that 90 years later, we have cycled through every major conflict of the 20th Century and returned to the war that filled the screen in All Quiet on the Western Front. Even with the benefit of nearly a century of hindsight, that conflict is still just as brutal as it was then, and the haunting images in 1917 capture that brutality in a beautiful and thought provoking way. 1917 is available on Bluray, DVD, and on demand. 10 out of 10
0 Comments
A fresh take on the murder mystery, Knives Out brings an all-star cast together in one of the most dysfunctional family comedy dramas in years. The centerpiece of the story is the death of famous murder mystery author Harlan Thrombey (Christopher Plummer) in his remote country estate while most of his family sleep in the house below. With his throat slit and blood all over the study where he is found, suicide it the most logical cause of death, however Daniel Craig's mysterious investigator Benoit Blanc is brought in by an anonymous party to investigate further, under the assumption that Thrombey was murdered. We meet a colorful cast of characters including Thromby's daughter Linda (Jamie Lee Curtis), her husband Richard (Don Johnson) and their son Ransom (Chris Evans). Michael Shannon plays Thromby's son Walt who is in charge of the extensive publishing empire while Toni Collette is the wife of Thromby's other son, tagging along with the family even after her husbands death. Director Rian Johnson does a masterful job early in the film of painting the picture that just about anyone in the family might have a reason to off their father/grandfather. Interviews in the lounge at Thromby's home provide an opportunity to cut from one family member to the next when they get asked the same questions by investigators. The last key player in the story is Thromby's nurse Marta Cabrera (Ana de Armas), daughter of a woman who immigrated to the United States illegally and worries what will happen now that the man she was caring for has passed. Multiple family members insist they will continue to help her all while Blanc enlists Marta as the Watson to his Holmes. I won't reveal the killer (or if there even is one) so you can see for yourself, but this one should keep you guessing right up to the end. Knives Out is available streaming now on Amazon Prime. 8 out of 10 The Marvel Cinematic Universe gets back on track with the second installment in the trilogy of Iron Man films. Despite the bad guys feeling like alter egos of characters from the first film, the second Iron Man continues to provide intense action, a few doses of comedy, and budding relationships (romantic and professional) that will last through the rest of the MCU films. We are introduced to several new characters throughout this film, from the vicious Ivan Vanko (Mickey Rourke) and the conniving Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell) to the Tony Stark's sultry new secretary Natalie Rushman (Scarlett Johansson) who turns out to be none other than Black Widow, a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent assigned by Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) to work undercover within Stark Enterprises. It may be the first time we are meeting these individuals, but they all have a realness about them allowing us to easily accept who they are and what motivates them. The plot here is simple, and a bit derivative of the first film. Tony is dying because of the arc reactor he build into his chest in the first film. He is back to being the flashy billionaire, only made worse as he faces his mortality and feels powerless to change it. The two villains feel familiar and basically come across as two sides of the main villain from the first film. Hammer is the billionaire side that really wants to make money selling weapons and will go to just about any length to do so. Vanko on the other hand is the scientist side, dedicated to bringing down Stark by using the technology that their fathers worked on a generation earlier. In Vanko we see what Stark could have become, had he fallen to the "dark side," to mix film metaphors. We are also introduced to the fact that there is a much larger story at work for the first time in this film. Agent Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg) is assigned by Fury to keep Stark under house arrest until such time as he can find a non-lethal compound to power the reactor in his chest. However, once Stark returns from breaking house arrest, Coulson announces that he's being reassigned and heading out to New Mexico, a comment that is explained in the post-credits scene. These scenes have become something of a cult favorite, but they really started hitting their stride with this scene. Iron Man 2 received one nomination from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, for Best Visual Effects, but was beaten out by Inception. In the final analysis, Iron Man 2 is a tremendous film and helped propel the MCU forward. I couldn't quite give it a full 10 out of 10 since some of the material felt a bit recycled from the first film, but applaud what it accomplished in setting the tone for the next several films in the series. 9 out of 10 Previous: The Incredible Hulk | Next: Thor Get Ready for Endgame The first of (currently) twenty one films that make up the Marvel Cinematic Universe kicked off a grand story arc that has taken over ten years to tell. It spans films, television series, and comic books and a cast of thousands both in front of and behind the camera. Iron Man was our introduction to Robert Downey, Jr. as Tony Stark, the fast-talking, womanizing businessman who is kidnapped by Middle Eastern terrorists that want him to build them a new weapon to use against their Western foes. Stark uses the materials they provide him to build his first Iron Man suit and lead an escape from captivity. We get to see the progression of the Iron Man suit throughout the film from a crude first model developed in a Syrian cave to the version we know from the trailers and posters we've seen over the last decade. The film also presents the early hints at a developing, yet complex, relationship between Tony and his assistant, Pepper Potts. As an introduction to a central character in the entire series of films, this works very well, giving us a look into Tony as the playboy (including greeting the Stan Lee cameo by calling him "Hef") but also showing that while he can be a loose cannon at times, he ultimately wants to do the right thing. We will continue to see this conflict through many more films, but this first installment serves to set up that story line. The film was nominated for two Academy Awards in 2009 (Best Sound Editing and Best Visual Effects) but failed to win in either category. 8 out of 10 Next: The Incredible Hulk Get Ready for Endgame If you want more Iron Man discussion, check out my Iron Man Minute Podcast. While I have never been a die hard Queen fan, I have always appreciated their music and enjoyed the partial look behind the curtain provided by this film. I did a little research on Queen performances after watching this film and can't believe how well the musicians were portrayed on the screen, with the obvious focus being on Rami Malek's Freddie Mercury. There are definitely parts throughout the film where Malek completely disappears and all you see on screen is Mercury. The same can be said for Gwilym Lee's portrayal of guitarist Brian May and Joseph Mazzello as bassist John Deacon. Overall, the casting of the film was spectacular and the roles seemed genuine throughout. From various information I read at the time of the release, this film doesn't delve as deeply as it could have into the causes of Mercury's downfall before rising again for the LiveAid performance in 1985. I know some have quibbled with this fact, but I didn't mind it. There was enough to give the general idea of what was going on with the superstar, while not becoming an R (or X) rated film intended to get reactions from the public. I appreciated the focus on family throughout the film, be it biological family or family created by the coming together of people from different backgrounds. The message there was strong, even if it may not have been 100% true to the details of reality. In the final verdict, if you're a Queen fanatic, you've probably already seen the film, but go watch it again. And if you've ever wondered just how they put all those odd pieces together for the song "Bohemian Rhapsody," you'll love the montage that shows the making of that track. Again, not necessarily how it actually happened, but a fun look behind the curtain no less. 8 out of 10 Spike Lee won the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay this year, and while this is a great adaptation of Ron Stallworth's autobiographical book by the same name, I felt a little put off by some of the decisions the director made in translating the story to the screen. Overall, the film is great. It tells an incredible story of the black man who infiltrated the Colorado Springs chapter of the Ku Klux Klan, "The Organization" as those involved call it. As expected, the film has plenty of thoughts on the topic of race and what it means to be fighting for your own race, regardless of what side you come down on. John David Washington is perfect as Stallworth, Adam Driver shines as his white alter ego, and Topher Grace puts in a good performance as Klan Grand Wizard David Duke. The portrayal of Stallworth as a man stuck between two worlds is hammered home throughout the film when he participates in an undercover investigation as a black power rally, and then ultimately lands his place in the local Klan. Where I felt the film lacking was in the actual adaptation of the book. I listened to the book on CD, read by the author, immediately prior to watching the film and didn't like some of the plot choices Lee made in translating it to film. While we don't know for sure if the Klan members Stallworth interacted with during his investigation ever suspected his true identity, the film portrays several of them doing just that. The character selected for this suspicion also doesn't come across as the brightest bulb, but somehow puts together the rouse that is being played on him and his pals. In the end, the film accomplishes the goal of covering race relations from various angles. The closing segment with footage from the vehicle incident in Charlottesville, Virginia from August 2017 is jarring, but a reminder that the world portrayed throughout the film has more in common with today than it has differences. Despite some claiming that we have moved on, there is still plenty of hate in this country, regardless of your political beliefs. 7 out of 10 If you don't at least get a tear in your eye watching this film, chances are you are not really human. This is the second short documentary on the subject of end of life care released by Netflix to be nominated for an Oscar in the last three years. I remember watching "Extremis" two years ago, and appreciating its impact, but this one stuck with me a bit more. Perhaps it's the inclusion of a story about a woman nearing the end of her life and seeing her young son facing a future life without his mother. Maybe it was the variety of stories and types of end of life care displayed in this film. Whatever it was, I've been thinking on this film more than previous encounters with this subject. Clocking in at just under the Academy's short film limit of 40 minutes, you can easily take in this film in an evening, but be warned, it is not for the faint of heart. You will be forced to deal with the subject of death when watching this film. But the important message here is that we are all faced with these decisions at some point, yet so few of us are prepared to deal with them. Take the time and discuss your wishes with your family today. 7 out of 10 For anyone who grew up reading the classic Winnie the Pooh books by A. A. Milne and enjoying the animated cartoons of the 1970s, this film is ripe with nostalgia and laughs for young and old alike. It should come as no surprise that the title character is all grown up for most of this film. It is a treat to see McGregor take on yet another beloved classic character (see Obi-Wan Kenobi) and take him in a new direction with ease. McGregor's Christopher Robin is a grown man working for a luxury luggage company in London and his department has come on hard times. Faced with the prospect of losing his entire department, he plans to spend the weekend working on the figures (instead of vacationing with his wife and young daughter) in order to find a solution and save the jobs of those working for him. When he runs into his old friend Winnie the Pooh, whom he last saw when he was a young boy in the Hundred Acre Wood, he scrambles to get the lovable bear back home and still have time to get his work done before Monday morning. Things go sideways when Pooh begs him to help find the friends that he's lost. Robin and Pooh make a mad dash across London to find the old entrance to the Hundred Acre Wood at the Robin family cottage in the country, picking up balloons and avoiding odd stares when people hear the talking teddy bear. Overall the film felt familiar to fans of the source material. The music we know and love from the original cartoon plays subtly under the action in many places, underlining the fact that like Robin, we may not think about those things from our childhood that often, but when we see or hear a reminder of them, the thoughts can come flooding back. Ultimately the film feels a little heavy handed in terms of the primary message of finding the balance between work and family. As someone who watched the film with two of my kids on either side of me, I was personally forced to reevaluate my own balance in this area and found it a bit distracting from total enjoyment of the film. That said, the visual effects are tremendous and the animated characters blend seamlessly into the environments from woodlands to cities. Take time out of your busy work schedule to check this film out with your kids and do a little nothing for a while. You never know what something might come out of nothing. 7 out of 10 Focusing on a little known rally of American Nazi's in the run up to the Second World War, this film uses archival footage set to music to showcase what some might consider the dark underbelly of American history. Clocking in at just under 7 minutes, there is a lot of punch packed into this film. Curry puts the visual pomp and circumstance of the Nazi rally on display and asks the viewer to think and make their own decisions about what this means and how it informs the world we live in today. Looking at the world around us, it's easy to say we are nothing like the society portrayed in this film. But at the same time, there are rallies that look very much like the one we see here, complete with people being escorted out by security forces while the assembled masses laugh at them. This film should be required viewing for anyone living in our country right now. It speaks directly to the lengths to which some people will go to silence those with beliefs different from their own. 9 out of 10 |
Archives
October 2023
Categories
All
|