Good morning!
I finally buckled down and watched the last four Best Picture nominees, and I'm all set to watch (and yell at) the Oscar broadcast on Sunday night. Here are my reviews for the last four of the nominees.
7) Hamnet
Jessie Buckley carries this film. Yes, Paul Mescal is wonderful, and the surrounding cast is top shelf. But this is Jessie Buckley's film from start to finish. Her character, Agnes, is a bit of a witchy woman who marries a talented playwright (William Shakespeare, although his name is mentioned one time in the whole film). A family tragedy drives a wedge between Agnes and her beloved, who lives in the London area instead of in their tiny village because he needs to write and produce plays. This doesn't sound like a heart breaking, tear jerking, emotionally destroyer of a film, but it is. The story of love, loss, and recovery is so well, so delicately, so powerfully told that if you're not in tears at the end...well, you're not dead inside, but you definitely should make an appointment to double check. 5 out of 5 stars. This is Hubby's pick for best picture. And the last time he picked a Best Picture was in 1997 with a little film called Titanic.
8) One Battle After Another.
This one has Oscar written all over it. Oscar winners litter the cast list like confetti at a New Year's Party in the 90's. The story is compelling, generation crossing, and emotional. There's no end to the action and the final chapter is actually pretty great.
I kind of hated this film.
Here's the thing: I know Leo can do a movie without 11 million F bombs. I've seen him do it. (Again, Titantic?) Lately, it seems like that's all he does. And I'm no prude when it comes to language in films. I got a serious case of F bomb exhaustion in this film however, and that totally detracted from any positive thoughts I may have had. The movie is GRAPHIC, especially in the beginning. Again, I'm no prude when it comes to sex and nudity, but the opening fifteen minutes of this movie was dumb and pointless. If I wrote that first scene with Sean Penn and Teyana Taylor, even if I explained to readers that there's a purpose in the end, my readers would reject it as stupid. The end does not justify the means.
The subject matter doesn't bother me. I was intrigued by the plot. But much of what makes the plot work so lost in the vulgarity of the language, primarily the overuse of one single word.
Not everything is terrible: Benicio del Toro, the one and only good human in the movie, is a bright light in an otherwise dark film. He's not on the screen much, but when he is, you remember why you rented the movie. It's also great to see my beloved Kevin Tighe on the big screen again in a small, but fun part. Also, that whole Christmas Klan thing is hilarious. Still, not enough to save this film from being pointlessly offensive. The revolution may not be televised (IYKYK) but this one's complete loss at the Oscars will be. (Side note to my critique partner: Sean Penn should NOT win best supporting actor. He could have done this brainless, ultra macho part in his sleep.) 2.5 out of 5 stars.
9) The Secret Agent
1977: Brazil. A technology expert flees from a mysterious past and returns to his hometown in search of peace. He soon realizes that the city is far from being the refuge he seeks.
Yeah...I did not get this movie.
I had high hopes. I'm not put off by foreign language films. I believe "Parasite" to be one of the best films ever made. "Life is Beautiful" and "Like Water for Chocolate" are among my favorite views. So, language, country, race, not a problem.
Maybe I just don't get Brazilian film.
Set in the 70's, the film gets off to a strong start. Sure, I don't know Brazilian politics and history in the 70's. But I do know a good movie when I see it, and I was getting into the movie. And then...
And then the disembodied leg showed up. I thought that would be written into the story of a man clearly running from something (not really cleared up why he was being hunted or by whom...it was a a little lost) but then there's this disembodied leg that shows up in a shark's stomach (cool) that's then stolen from the medical examiners' office (cool, but mystifying) and then the leg starts attacking people in parks. And then the leg goes away and never shows up in the movie again.
What now?
Added to that are the random, unexplained, jarring time jumps to present day where two girls are listening to tapes of this whole story. We aren't exactly told why...(and why would anyone explain any kind of motivation for any of this)...or what, exactly they're listening to.
These cut aways from the primary plot are too much. Plus, this movie is almost 3 hours long. They could have cut out the attacking leg nonsense and the present day pointlessness and had a proper caper movie that I would have enjoyed, I think. But wow. Just...yikes. 1 star out of 5. I don't give out one stars very often. So, you know, ponder that.
10) Sentimental Value
After the debacle that was "The Secret Agent" I was actually scared to watch the second foreign language nominee. But my critique partner assured me it wasn't as bad as all that, so, with that ringing endorsement, I sat down for this final film.
Skellen Skaarsgard anchors this family drama about a script writer's crappy relationship with his actress daughter. He's actually got two daughters, but the younger one (who was the one I related to the most) was a "get along, take what life gives you, do your best" kind of girl. (Hence, I related to her. And the actress got a best supporting nomination, which is great!) Elle Fanning gives a deeper performance than I've seen from her as the actress Skellen casts in his movie about his family when his own daughter, Nora, refuses to play the part.
Mostly, other than Elle Fanning, and Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas, these are terrible, whiny people doing whiny things. "Oh no, I'm a successful stage actress, but I have to be beaten into submission to get me onto the stage." "Oh no, I'm a successful screen writer, and I've got a brilliant idea for a film, but my old team is all old guys and that bums me out!"
I don't know why I expected joy and light from a Scandanavian film. I should know better.
This movie is not without high points. The jokes about IKEA are great. And the performances are deep and heartfelt. Ultimately, the ending was not unexpected, although it was very, very European in nature. I didn't hate the movie. Likely, it will win best foreign film and if Elle or Inga get best supporting, I won't be mad. But this isn't the best picture of this year. 3 out of 5 stars.
So there it is. My thoughts on the Best Pictures. Who should win? How would I rank them?
From worst to best, in my opinion:
10) The Secret Agent
9) One Battle After Another
8) Sentimental Value
7) Marty Supreme
6) Train Dreams
5) Bugonia
4) Frankenstein
3) F1
2) Hamnet
1) Sinners
Which picture do I think will win?
Sinners.
There's just nothing as original, as put together, or as entertaining on that list. Sinners is the whole package. Michael B. Jordan should win Best Actor.
Let's all watch on Sunday night (ABC) and see if we're right!
