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  • ‘High Flying Bird’ review — The politics of basketball

    ‘High Flying Bird’ review — The politics of basketball

    High Flying Bird is a masterfully constructed drama that tackles the professional sports business with as much intrigue as a heist movie. 

    30-second review: High Flying Bird doesn’t clue you into its real intentions until the very end, that doesn’t make the journey to get there any less compelling. Steven Soderbergh is a master of storytelling and with this film he’s given an incredible story and screenplay to work with from Moonlight‘s Oscar-winning screenwriter Tarrell Alvin McCraney.

    While the movie takes place in the world of basketball, it’s not really about basketball. Instead, it’s a commentary on professional sports, how the players are treated and our political moment. McCraney’s script is a structural marvel as it moves players (pun intended) into place without tipping you off to its endgame.

    Where to watch High Flying Bird: Now streaming on Netflix.

    Swish. Full review below ?

    High Flying Bird isn’t about basketball, but rather the business of basketball — in fact, a game of basketball never actually happens in the movie. Director Steven Soderbergh — who has spent his retirement from movies making movies — filmed the film on an iPhone — for the second time in his career after Unsane. There’s something so hyperrealistic about the imperfect crispness of the picture. It’s perfect for this narrative written by Moonlight’s Oscar-winning screenwriter Tarell Alvin McCraney.

    Soderbergh has always been interested in analyzing people in incredibly specific and strained circumstances. That’s why he’s always been attracted to stories involving crimes — Out of Sight, Ocean’s Eleven, The Informant!, Logan Lucky. High Flying Bird is no exception.

    High Flying Bird
    Bill Duke as Spence and André Holland as Ray Burke in High Flying Bird, directed by Steven Soderbergh. Photo by Peter Andrews

    Taking place 25-weeks into an NBA lockout, High Flying Bird follows agent Ray Burke (Andre Holland) as he navigates the tricky world of negotiations between the team owners, players union repped by Myra (the great Sonja Sohn), and the networks carrying the games. He has his own self-interests in the lockout ending. He represents first-round draft pick Erick Scott (Melvin Gregg) who is struggling as his contract to the New York team — actually team names are never said — is in purgatory during the lockout.

    McCraney’s screenplay gives away that he began as a playwright as most scenes play out as long conversations or speeches that seem meaningless — until they’re not. Truly, this is a masterful screenplay that’s already in the running for one of the best of the year. He weaves multiple ideas and actions and motivations together seamlessly without giving anything indication of where it’s all doing until he wants you to know.

    Ray is always thinking. Holland’s portrayal of the smart and calculating sports agent is as slick as George Clooney’s Danny Ocean. It’s important because Ray is just as sneaky. Even though it doesn’t look like it on the surface, High Flying Bird is a heist movie just like the Ocean’s Trilogy or Logan Lucky. But instead a heist of money, this movie follows the heist of an idea. Or, should I say, a heist and a reverse heist.

    High Flying Bird
    Melvin Gregg as Erick Scott and Zazie Beetz as Sam in High Flying Bird, directed by Steven Soderbergh. Image by Steven Soderbergh/Netflix

    The thought that the NBA — or any professional sports league — takes advantage of its largely black players isn’t new. “They invented a game on top of a game,” as Ray’s mentor Spencer (Bill Duke) says referring to basketball turning from a game to a business. However, Ray is playing the game on top of the game on top of the game. Another person who is playing the system for their own game is Ray headstrong assistant Sam (Zazie Beetz giving a movie star performance).

    The brilliance of High Flying Bird is that all the pieces on the board and their roles — that also include Erick’s rival Jamero Umber (Justin Hurtt-Dunkley), his mom/manager Emera Umber (Jeryl Prescott), New York team owner David Seton (Kyle MacLachlan), and Ray’s boss (Zachary Quinto) — aren’t revealed until the final act where the mastermind reveals that everything that happened was in his plan all along.

    Thanks to the screenplay — a structural and thematic marvel — High Flying Bird manages to be a timely exploration of our political moment without straying too far from its main plot. Not only that, it’s as entertaining to watch as a stylish heist thriller. Soderbergh does his usual strong work, but if Tarell Alvin McCraney wasn’t already on your radar he should be now. He’s the real star.

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  • ‘Unicorn Store’ review — Brie Larson’s directorial debut isn’t weird enough

    ‘Unicorn Store’ review — Brie Larson’s directorial debut isn’t weird enough

    Unicorn Store marks the directorial debut of Oscar-winner Brie Larson, who also stars in the Netflix Original.

    30-second review: Unicorn Store has so much going for it — an original premise, terrific cast, directorial debut of one of the best actors working today — but the magic falls flat. That’s no fault of Brie Larson, whose endearing performance and uneven yet promising direction keep the movie afloat. The screenplay just fails to capitalize on the quirkiness of the premise which leaves much to be sought after. 

    Where to watch Unicorn Store: Available to stream on Netflix.

    I can see what Brie Larson saw in Samantha McIntyre‘s screenplay that made her want it to be her directorial debut. The story is a celebration of creativity and weirdness and self-expression. However, not to the fault of Larson’s direction, the screenplay doesn’t offer enough of any of those things to earn its touching ending. Not in its characters or its story. For a movie called Unicorn Store, it wasn’t quite weird enough.

    Kit (Larson) is a failed artist who is forced to move back in with her parents (Joan Cusack and Bradley Whitford) after flunking out of art school. Her colorful works featuring rainbows and unicorns are lost on her fellow artists and professors. After toiling her days away on the couch being bombarded with ads that seem targeted at her failure, she decides to get a temp job at an ad agency. 

    One day, she receives a mysterious letter from a man called The Salesman (Samuel L. Jackson who reunites with Larson after Captain Marvel) who invites her to The Store where he gives her an offer she can’t refuse. If she proves herself worthy by completing a number of tasks, Kit will be gifted a real-live Unicorn — something she’s wanted since childhood. 

    So, with the help of her newly found friend Virgil (Mamoudou Athie) she sets out on her tasks including building a stable fit for a Unicorn and bringing happiness into her home by repairing her relationship with her parents.

    Samuel L. Jackson and Brie Larson in UNICORN STORE

    Larson is great, as usual. She fills Kit out with a childlike wonder that’s endearing while not ignoring the challenges she faces and how they affect her. However, all the other characters around her don’t have the same depth, which is deeply missed. It’s a shame considering great character actors like Cusack, Whitford, and Jackson are in the cast.

    While the premise of Unicorn Store has plenty to offer, it never goes far enough. For a brief moment, Kit questions whether or not The Store and The Salesman are actually real, which would make a compelling plot thread had it been explored for more than a scene. The same can be said for Kit’s childhood, which was clearly not the smoothest. It’s alluded to, but never dug into. 

    There are moments where you can see how this film could work. Particularly in the scene between Jackson and Larson — their chemistry is palpable — and at Kit’s temp job where she has been tasked by the company’s VP (Hamish Linklater) to come up with a vacuum ad. But the movie needed to be weirder or less fanciful. The middle lane it takes wants us to believe magic is real, yet it all feels commonplace. 

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  • 2020 Oscars — Predictions in every category

    2020 Oscars — Predictions in every category

    Who will be nominated at the 2020 Oscars? Here are our predictions for Best Picture and every category.

    The 2020 Oscars are certain to be one of the most unpredictable yet after an off year. In addition to the most diverse voting body ever, the 2020 Oscars will be held on February 9th, which makes it the earliest Academy Awards ceremony in history.

    Below are my predictions in all 24 categories — as I get to them ?. Come back to this page for updates. I’m going to try to update it once a month until December. Then, I’ll start updating weekly.

    ?
    Best Picture
    ?
    Best Actor (coming soon)
    ?
    Best Director (coming soon)
    ?
    Best
    Supporting
    Actress (coming soon)
    ?
    Best Actress (coming soon)
    ?
    Best
    Supporting
    Actor (coming soon)

    More categories coming soon!

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  • ‘Little Woods’ review — Tessa Thompson goes against the system

    ‘Little Woods’ review — Tessa Thompson goes against the system

    Little Woods, Nia DaCosta’s directorial debut, finds two sisters going up against a system that doesn’t want them to succeed in

    One sentence review: Little Woods is a quiet, well-directed character-driven drama that features a powerhouse emotional performance by Tessa Thompson.

    One paragraph review: Though it may be on the nose at times, Little Woods is a tense and emotional look at the political issues we’re arguing about today are that affecting people’s lives — from the opioid crisis to access to healthcare. However, much of its success lies in a quiet, but powerful performance by Tessa Thompson.

    Where to watch Little Woods: Available to buy on Amazon.

    Take a trip to Little Woods. Full review after the jump ?

    Little Woods follows in the vein of Hell or High Water as it follows sisters Ollie (Tessa Thompson off of her banner year last year) and Deb (Lily James) as they struggle against the institutions in the US that force them to turn to compromise their morals to survive.

    Ollie is ten days away from the end of her probation for peddling drugs from Canada across the border into Little Woods, North Dakota in an ironic twist on the narrative the president is trying to drive. It’s not like she didn’t have a reason. Her mom was sick and suffering like most people in the cold rural oil town. She convinces herself of her actions because she is doing good for the people of the town.

    However, she’s not only moving prescription medications. She’s also bringing opioids over the border fueling the crisis that is sweeping the country — to her credit, she leaves the actual dealing of the drugs to local Bill (Luke Kirby). But she’s on the track to rehabilitation. Her probation officer Carter (Lance Reddick) even recommended her for a job that would take her out of the oil town.

    On the other hand, Deb is living in a van parked in a store parking lot with her son Johnny (Charlie Ray Reid) who she had with her estranged boyfriend Ian (James Badge Dale). And even though she’s barely making enough money to support her and her son, she discovers she’s pregnant.

    Ollie, the consummate problem solver, makes a deal with a bank to prevent foreclosure. Unfortunately, that plan involves the sisters coming up with $3,000 in just one week. With their backs against a wall, Ollie risks her bright new future to step back into the drug game and sell to injured oil workers in the town who don’t have enough money to have their injuries looked at in a hospital.

    little woods
    James Badge Dale and Lily James in LITTLE WOODS.

    Little Woods is colored — perhaps too broadly — with themes around the US government’s failure of working-class citizens. Particularly around healthcare and the economic depression of blue-collar workers. And the movie is effective in delivering an impactful story around those themes. If anything, the biggest criticism is that the script is a bit too polished and on the nose — Deb at one point even says, “being pregnant costs $8,000?”

    The movie is a slow burn character drama until the last 30 minutes where DaCosta proves why she will be directing the Jordan Peele-produced Candyman remake. Her grasp of suspense and tension is impressive as Ollie and Deb’s plan sets into motion. Brian McOmber’s droning score adds to the overwhelming sense of dread — he scored Krisha and It Comes at Night to similar effect — and cinematographer Matt Mitchell captures the vast emptiness of the plains to mirror the bleakness of the story.

    But so much of the movie rides on the back of Tessa Thompson’s rich performance. Ollie is an enigma of a character. She feels both broken down and empowered by her circumstances. Broken down because there are institutions set in place that oppress people like her’s ability to live and empowered because she’s resentful enough to do something about it. Thompson has proved herself in genre fare like Annihilation and Sorry to Bother You, this movie gives her the chance to flex her dramatic chops to great success.

    Little Woods isn’t the best version of the “people on the margins” story that has been told in movies like The Florida Project and last year’s criminally overlooked Leave No Trace. Still, it’s a solid debut by a filmmaker with a great future and another step in the ascendance of Tessa Thompson.

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  • ‘The Shallows’ movie review — Blake Lively and a seagull fight a shark

    ‘The Shallows’ movie review — Blake Lively and a seagull fight a shark

    The Shallows follows a young med student as she becomes harpooned on a tiny island in the middle of the ocean surrounded by a Great White Shark

    One sentence review: The Shallows makes the most of its familiar premise to deliver a thrilling and tense tale of survival grounded by a great lead performance by Blake Lively. 

    One paragraph review: Movies with essentially just one character are extremely hard to pull off, but thanks to a physically and emotionally taxing performance by Blake Lively, The Shallows works. It also helps that the movie is lean, character-driven and has moments of action that are so tense you’ll find yourself gripping your seat in terror. It’ll make you afraid of the beach (again).

    Where to watch The Shallows: Available to buy or rent on Amazon.

    Cuddle up to your closest seagull friend. Full review below ?

    When watching The Shallows the first thing you notice is what is clearly one of the best performances of the year. It will make you laugh, cry, and cheer. Never did I think that a bird named Steven Seagull would capture the hearts and minds of the American movie audience. But he did. Oh, and the movie was good too.

    All joking aside (even though I’m not kidding that the seagull is fantastic), The Shallows is probably the best shark movie since Jaws — though the competition is scarce. Shark movies since Jaws have been turned into camp-fests that demand increasingly complex permutations of the words “shark,” “mega” and “tornado.” But what The Shallows does is return to the thriller formula that made Spielberg’s magnum opus so successful.

    Blake Lively — in what is probably her best performance to date — plays Nancy, a med student who’s having an identity crisis in the face of her mother’s passing. In an effort to feel more connected to her she seeks out a secluded Mexican beach that her mother once surfed at. However, after a gratuitous surfing montage that looked more like a music video, her trip to paradise takes a turn for horror.

    Nancy stumbled upon the rotting corpse of a whale that a great white shark has been feasting on. Eventually, it sets its sights on her which begins a harrowing tale of survival that feels a lot like 2013’s Gravity. Over two grueling Mexican summer days, Nancy fights for her life.

    The shallows
    Blake Lively in The Shallows. Credit: Columbia Pictures.

    With a mix of ingenuity and smarts, she is able to do battle with the predator. Jaume Collet-Serra, who also directed the underrated thriller The Orphan, constructed some strong action sequences. And most importantly, they’re clear and narrative-driven sequences. Collet-Serra’s style — quick cuts, extreme close-ups, slow motion — is in your face as both an asset and hindrance to the end product of the film. He gives you a lens into Nancy’s physical struggle to the point where you cringe at every hit she takes. However, in the film’s less intense moments, that style becomes more camp.

    But at the center of all the chaos is a Blke Lively with an emotionally and physically taxing performance. She makes you feel every bite, scratch and hit that Nancy takes. In a one-person film, it’s sometimes hard to get the audience to like your character without them feeling obligated. Lively makes you want to root for her (and the seagull) by getting you invested in her story and character and making you feel the innate human desire to survive.

    The movie is intimate with her character physically, rarely straying far from her gaze or her face. It’s an important decision to take the wide open space of this beautiful beach and constrict our view of it to the tiny island that Nancy makes as her refuge — though it’s slowly being chipped away at by the tide — to make the film more claustrophobic than it may initially seem.

    My one complaint about The Shallows is in the narrative shift from this tale of survival to its campy action finale. The majority of the movie borders on realistic with a look into the strength of the human spirit. While the screenplay may not be up to the direction or Lively’s performance, it feels urgent. But by the final act, the film all of a sudden turns into a Sharknado ridiculous “final fight” with CGI — the effects were quite strong in the first two acts — that flirts with B-movie status.

    Even then, the in-your-face style and Lively’s committed performance are enough to make you cheer during the final showdown between Nancy and the shark. The Shallows doesn’t reinvent the wheel. It doesn’t even really add any new features. However, it’s an entertaining, well-made thriller that will satisfy you for its short runtime. And, refreshingly, it lacks the word “mega” in the title. Just for that, it deserves praise.

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  • ‘Captain Marvel’ movie review — A 90s origin story throwback

    ‘Captain Marvel’ movie review — A 90s origin story throwback

    Captain Marvel features Brie Larson as the first lead female superhero in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as she a young Nick Fury solve the mystery of her identity.

    One sentence review: Captain Marvel is a fun, corny, and empowering origin story that feels like a bridge between the past and the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

    One paragraph review: Captain Marvel harkens back to the MCU origin stories that kicked off this wave of superhero movies — and that’s a good thing. It’s smaller, tighter, and more character driven than the other movies in the franchise, even if it feels non-essential. It also helps that Brie Larson and Samuel L. Jackson have firecracker chemistry and are supported by a stellar cast — Ben Mendelsohn and Lashana Lynch are standouts.

    Where to watch Captain Marvel: Available to buy or rent on Amazon. 

    Grab your leather jacket and sunglasses. Full review after the jump ?

    Captain Marvel had one of the hardest time slots on the Marvel Cinematic Universe calendar. If the forthcoming Avengers: Endgame is the series finale, then Captain Marvel is the penultimate episode. However, like many penultimate episodes, it feels like any typical entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe — for both better and worse.

    Like last year’s Bumblebee — the out of sequence 80s dripped entry in the Transformers franchise — Captain Marvel is a prequel to almost all of the MCU — except Captain America: The First Avenger. Taking place in the 90s and following a Kree soldier called Vers (Brie Larson), Captain Marvel is less about forwarding the overall storyline of the MCU — though it certainly connects some dots — and more about giving Captain Marvel a warm welcome to the MCU with her own origin story.

    And while the movie hits a lot of the same beats as a typical superhero origin story, it presents them in an interesting way. That’s because Vers spends most of the running time of the movie trying to make sense of these dreams of a life on Earth that feel like memories.

    Along with her crew of Kree warriors — Vers’ mentor and commander Yon-Rogg (Jude Law), Minn-Erva (a criminally underused Gemma Chan), Korath (Djimon Hounsou reprising his Guardians of the Galaxy role, among others — Vers continues the long-running war with a shape-shifting species called Skrulls. However, after being captured in a battle, Vers escapes only to crash land on Earth.

    There, she catches the attention of S.H.I.E.L.D operative Nick Fury (a de-aged Samuel L. Jackson — the CGI is phenomenal) who helps her on her quest to find out who she is and defeat the Skrulls.

    The movie balances funny fish-out-of-water moments as Vers marvels at the 90s culture and technology — she literally crash-lands into a blockbuster — with a charming buddy comedy between Fury and Vers. And while it’s all fun and entertaining, the movie does get at something deeper.

    So much of what works in Captain Marvel comes from directors Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck (best known for Half Nelson, which scored Ryan Gosling his first Oscar nomination). MCU mastermind Kevin Feige choosing the duo to tackle the introduction of what is most likely going to be their most important hero to date was surprising. They’ve directed quiet character-centric indies for most of their careers. But it’s that indie intimacy that drives the movie’s best moments.

    Vers finally tracks down some answers in the form of her former best friend on Earth Maria (a terrific Lashana Lynch). And instead of it being this huge melodramatic moment where the hero reunites with their best friend or finally learns their identity, the movie slows down and gives a genuinely emotional moment between these two women. Lynch nails the scene. She’s a standout.

    To both its benefit and detriment, Captain Marvel is essentially inconsequential in the MCU timeline. We could have jumped into Endgame without this story. It pulls some of the tension and stakes out of it — even the villain of the piece Talos (Ben Mendohlson — truly great) is mostly benign. However, it also allows the movie to be that corny, fun, and uplifting origin story that we’ve seen, but still eat up.

    It helps that Brie Larson is magnetic as Captain Marvel. She’s not your typical superhero. There’s something genuine about her. Even when she truly harnesses the extent of her powers, it feels like a real person experiencing something extraordinary. Speaking of the extent of her powers, Thanos better beware.

    At just two hours, Captain Marvel is really just a blast to watch. It’s a movie that I think will replay a lot better than in this current moment when we can separate it from the conclusion of the franchise. It doesn’t bring much new to the table other than the fact that the hero is a woman. But with that, it inherently has these touching moments of empowerment that make this an important entry in the MCU.

    Also, did I mention there’s an adorable cat named Goose and Annette Bening?

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  • ‘Our Time Machine’ Tribeca review — Life, love, and puppets

    ‘Our Time Machine’ Tribeca review — Life, love, and puppets

    Our Time Machine is a funny and moving documentary about an artist’s attempt to cope with his father’s illness by literally and metaphorically creating a time machine. 

    Directed by Yang Sun & S. Leo Chiang

    Written by S. Leo Chiang & Bob Lee

    Synopsis When artist Maleonn realizes that his father suffers from Alzheimer’s disease, he creates “Papa’s Time Machine,” a magical, autobiographical stage performance featuring life-size mechanical puppets. Through the production of this play, the two men confront their mortality before time runs out and memories are lost forever.

    Where to watch Our Time Machine: Premiering at the Tribeca Film Festival

    This post is sponsored by American Gods. Now streaming exclusively on STARZ. Try it for free.

    Our Time Machine — a documentary premiering at the Tribeca Film Festival — begins with a quote by H.G. Wells: “We all have our time machines, don’t we. Those that take us back are memories…And those that carry us forward, are dreams.” For artist turned playwright and director Maleonn, those are one and the same.

    Over budget and behind schedule, Maleonn, attempts to finish his play called “Papa’s Time Machine.” Through lifesize steampunk puppets carefully constructed with springs and gears and scraps of metal — reminiscent of Mad Max: Fury Road — the play tells the story of a son trying to retrieve memories for his father by building a time machine.

    The play is semi-autobiographical and constructed from memories Maleonn had with his father Ma Ke, who was a director for the Shanghai Chinese Opera Theater and directed over 80 operas. It’s that artistry that Maleonn has always been chasing and has dreamt of working with his father on a project — “Papa’s Time Machine” is that chance.

    Maleonn working on a bird sculpture in OUR TIME MACHINE. Credit: Maleonn Studio

    However, his plan is complicated by the fact that his father has Alzheimer’s and his health is deteriorating quickly. The movie is framed by the production struggling both financially and creatively while scenes of the family’s time together are cut in.

    Documentaries are often as good as its subjects, and Our Time Machine has a wealth of delightfully authentic and often hilarious characters. Ma Ke is so full of life and regret. His wife Ma Duo is a one-liner machine and an almost stereotypical sassy old woman — constantly on her phone and with a quip always ready. And then there’s Maleonn, struggling between pursuing his art as a means to grappling with his father’s illness and being a good son and taking care of his parents.

    It’s difficult to communicate the complexity of real human emotion through the documentary form. You need subjects ready and willing to bare it all. And Our Time Machine achieves that transparency without feeling exploitative or overwrought. For the subjects, particularly Maleonn and Ma Duo, talking to the filmmakers is cathartic.

    Maleonn (right) with his father, Ma Ke (left) in OUR TIME MACHINE. Credit: Maleonn Studio

    The documentary is formless and relatively plotless. Not many “events” happen. We watch Maleonn’s struggle to finish his play, Ma Ke’s frustration with his illness as it intensifies, and see tidbits of memories that Maleonn is trying to retrieve. But all these vignettes come together to create a moving experience filled with some sadness, but also so much life.

    Directors Yang Sun and S. Leo Chiang have so much empathy for their subjects and that comes through in the filmmaking. The same could be said for last year’s Oscar winner for Best Documentary Free Solo. But whereas Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin portrayed emotions they have both felt from experience and relationship with their subjects, Our Time Machine taps into a universal human experience.


  • 2020 Oscars Update #1: Are ‘Us’ or ‘Captain Marvel’ contenders?

    2020 Oscars Update #1: Are ‘Us’ or ‘Captain Marvel’ contenders?

    This is the state of the 2020 Oscars race. At the end of every month, I’m going to take a look at the state of the Oscars race — breaking down the contenders that made a splash, those that fizzled out, and the ones to come.

    317 days until the 2020 Oscars

    Oscar contenders that were released this month

    By this time last year, three Oscar-nominated films had premiered — Best Picture nominee Black Panther, Best Animated Feature nominee Isle of Dogs, and Best Visual Effects nominee Ready Player One.

    Most notably, it was the second year in a row that a best picture nominee was released in the first quarter of the year — Get Out was released in February 2017. And what do Get Out and Black Panther have in common? They were both massive hits at the box office. It makes sense considering it takes a lot for a voter to remember your film almost a year later.

    2019 has been notably slow at the box office, but there have been two massive hits that could be in the Oscar conversation. Funny enough, they both have connections to past early Oscar contenders:

    (more…)
  • Comedic Performances that Deserved Oscar Nominations

    Comedic Performances that Deserved Oscar Nominations

    The Oscars are notorious for ignoring comedies, so we took to Twitter to find the comedic performances that were worthy of nominations.

    Dying is easy, comedy is hard. However, in the eyes of the Oscars, comedy isn’t equal. Comedies are rarely taken seriously and when they are they are rarely broad comedies.

    With Olivia Colman taking home the Oscar for Best Actress for her performance in comedy The Favourite, I took to #FilmTwitter to find other comedic performances that should have been nominated for Oscars. Here are some of those answers.

    (more…)
  • 2019 Oscars Wrap-Up: The Oscars are changing and resistant to change

    2019 Oscars Wrap-Up: The Oscars are changing and resistant to change

    The 2019 Oscars feel like a step back after so much progress in the last couple years, but there are glimmers of hope.

    The 2018-2019 awards season has finally come to a close and like every other season, it feels like looking at an empty room after a party. It’s still and lifeless with reminders of what came before — all the decorations and glamour are now worn down, tattered, and strewn on the floor. And all you can do is ask yourself, was it worth it? But in an odd way, this season has felt like an even bigger let down than before.

    After two consecutive years of some of the greatest Best Picture fields in recent memories, The Academy backslid to one that still had great progressive picks — Black Panther, BlacKkKlansman, The Favourite, Roma — mixed with complete regressions — Bohemian Rhapsody, Green Book. It seems that unless one of the movies in the former group won that the season would be a letdown.

    And we thought it could happen. After one of the most inspired picks in their history with Moonlight, the Oscars went the still unique, but more consensus choice of The Shape of Water — had Get Out and Lady Bird not been in the field this win would have gone over a lot better. There was hope that Roma would finally break the barrier and be the first Foreign Language movie to win Best Picture — and the first released by a streaming platform.

    But the majority male and white Academy went with the choice we should have seen all along: Green Book. It is a movie for them, by them, and meant to ease their conscience. Truly, I don’t think Green Book is a cinematic disaster on the level of Bohemian Rhapsody, another Oscar-friendly choice. But it winning 30 years after Driving Miss Daisy won speaks volumes as both movies have a fatal misunderstanding of the themes it’s playing with.

    Let’s go back and start with the good.

    Diversity wins

    Regina King won Best Supporting Actress for Barry Jenkins’ adaptation of James Baldwin’s novel of the same name. Not only was she deserving, If Beale Street Could Talk is a movie that breaks every convention we know about the Academy.

    Even though I have large issues with the movie, I do believe Mahershala Ali deserved to win the Best Supporting Actor Oscar from that lineup. His performance is the movie’s saving grace and I’m happy that he, of all people, has two Oscars. He’s also only the second black actor to win more than one competitive Oscar.

    While the Oscars love veterans, Olivia Colman — a relative unknown in the US — won for a comedic performance as a queer Queen Ann in Yorgos Lanthimos’ offbeat The Favourite upsetting Glenn Close who extends her record for the most Oscar nominations without a win for any living actor or actress.

    Black Panther become the first Marvel movie to win an Oscar — picking up three for Costume Design, Production Design, and Original Score. The winners of those first two categories were the first black women to win non-acting Oscars in 30 years.

    Finally, Spike Lee won his first competitive Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay for BlacKkKlansman. Not only that, he received it from Samuel L. Jackson.

    The Oscars are making good and interesting choices. But with that, messy traditional biopic Bohemian Rhapsody led the night in wins and overly simplified take on race Green Book won Best Picture.

    The dichotomy is apparent.

    The Academy is changing, but reminders of its past are still there

    It was apparent when last year two of the four acting Oscars went to a film with a similarly shaky take on race and the other two won for playing real-life characters in biopics, but Get Out and Call Me By Your Name won the screenplay categories and The Shape of Water won Best Picture.

    The efforts to diversify the Academy by former president Cheryl Boone Isaacs have had a noticeable effect on the nominees and winners. But the old guard of the Academy still has a great effect. This year, however, their effect was seen in the biggest category of the night. That’s why it was so much more visible.

    I’m hopeful for the Oscars. So many barriers were broken. A superhero movie — one led by a black cast — was finally nominated for Best Picture. A black-and-white Mexican Netflix movie was nominated for — and nearly won — Best Picture. Three of the four acting winners were people of color and three of the four acting winners played queer characters.

    But there is still a long way to go.

    And if the Academy (and ABC) could stop obsessing over ratings, which will continue to fall as live tv continues to fall, there are sensible changes they can make to get there. My suggestions:

    • Continue to diversify the voting body: Strides have been made to diversify the voting body, but it’s slow going. The Academy has to add more women and people of color to specific branches — directing, producing, and below-the-line, in particular.
    • Expand Best Picture to ten nominees (again): More nominees means more chances that big-budget tentpoles, smaller indie movies, and more diverse movie are nominated.
    • Shorten the season: Awards season lasts too long. If the Oscars were made earlier, there would be less time for campaigning and glad-handling and more chances for surprises that aren’t just following earlier award bodies.

    I love the Oscars because I love film. The way to fix the Oscars is for the Academy to begin loving film again, as well. You do that by adding fresh new voices and giving them more chances to have their work recognized. Let’s relish in the positive, but know that there’s work to be done. If this year has shown us anything, it’s that we, the film lovers, have a voice to change things.

  • 2019 Oscars Final Predictions

    2019 Oscars Final Predictions

    Despite the mess that is the 2019 Oscars, it is refreshing to have a season that feels unpredictable. Best Picture is still up in the air as is Best Supporting Actress while there is room for upsets in nearly every category. As a lifelong Oscar fan, it’s always more excited to not know who’s going to win come Sunday night. 

    Here are my predictions in ever category:

    Best Picture

    Will Win: BlacKkKlansman
    Could Win: Roma or Green Book
    Should Win: Roma or Black Panther

    I’m taking a big swing in this category. While BlacKkKlansman hasn’t won a major prize, it was nominated every where it needed to be. People love and respect Spike Lee. I think this is going to do really well on the preferential ballot. As long as Roma or Green Book don’t win on a first round then I think this is your Best Picture winner. 

    Best Actress

    Olivia Coleman as Queen Anne in THE FAVOURITE

    The nominees:

    • Glenn Close, The Wife
    • Olivia Coleman, The Favourite
    • Lady Gaga, A Star is Born
    • Melissa McCarthy, Can You Ever Forgive Me?
    • Yalitza Aparicio, Roma

    Will Win: Glenn Close, The Wife
    Could Win: Olivia Coleman, The Favourite
    Should Win: Olivia Coleman, The Favourite

    Glenn Close will finally end her 37-year losing streak when she wins her first Oscar for The Wife. There is the *tiniest* chance that BAFTA winner Olivia Coleman wins for her performance Queen Ann in The Favourite. 

    Best Actor

    Rami Malek in BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY

    The nominees:

    • Christian Bale, Vice
    • Rami Malek, Bohemian Rhapsody
    • Bradley Cooper, A Star is Born
    • Willem Dafoe, At Eternity’s Gate
    • Viggo Mortensen, Green Book

    Will win: Rami Malek, Bohemian Rhapsody
    Could win: Christian Bale, Vice
    Should win: Bradley Cooper, A Star is Born

    Although Christian Bale won the Golden Globe and Critics Choice awards for his performance as Dick Cheney in Vice, I think the real challenger to clear frontrunner Rami Malek is Bradley Cooper. For better or worse, he’s been in the news a lot and if voters want to award A Star is Born outside of Best Original Song, this would be the place to do it. 

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  • ‘The Changeover’ review — A well-made gothic YA fantasy

    ‘The Changeover’ review — A well-made gothic YA fantasy

    The Changeover is a well-made fantasy YA movie that features a terrifying villainous turn by Timothy Spall.

    The Changeover — based on Margaret Mahy’s 1984 novel of the same — is refreshingly a young adult adaptation that doesn’t have aspirations for a franchise. In the vein of Twilight, the movie tells the story of Laura (Erana James), a teen who seems to know when something bad is going to happen before it does. She doesn’t realize it, but this is because she’s a witch.

    Portrayed as a low fantasy — meaning that magical events intrude on an otherwise normal world — The Changeover takes place in New Zealand following an earthquake. Laura and her younger brother Jacko (Benji Purchase) are often left to their own devices following the suicide of their father and their mother Kate’s (Melaine Lynskey) rigorous work schedule to support the trio.

    One day, walking home from school, Laura loses Jacko just to find him with a creepy man named Braque (Harry Potter’s Timothy Spall). The chance encounter triggers extrasensory perception for danger, but before she can get Jacko out of the shipping crate that Braque uses as an antique shop he places a stamp on the young boy.

    In the next days, Jacko begins to develop strange behaviors — speaking in a voice that isn’t his, purposefully burning his hand on the stove — before falling ill and ending up in the hospital. Doctors think they pinpoint the illness, which would require a blood transfusion if either Laura or her mother is a suitable donor.

    However, Laura knows something more supernatural is afoot. So, she turns to the mysterious school hunk Sorensen Carlisle (Nicholas Galitzine) — your Edward Cullen-esque lover interest — for help. He reveals that he is part of a coven of witches and that Braque is a magical parasite that is feeding on Jacko’s lifeforce through the stamp to obtain eternal life. He knows how to save Jacko, but it would require Laura to undergo the dangerous process of “The Changeover,” which is a ritual that gives her her full powers as a witch.

    Erana James and Timothy Spall in THE CHANGEOVER

    The Changeover is coming late in the lifespan of teen fantasy romances that saw commercial successes like Twilight and Warm Bodies and flops like Beastly and Red Riding Hood. However, it still is a refreshing exercise in the genre. Not only is it well-directed by Miranda Harcourt and Stuart McKenzie, but it also features great atmospheric sound design and cinematography.

    However, so much of the success has to be credited to Timothy Spall’s skin-crawling performance as the villain of the piece. There is real horror in the movie. Something that Twilight never achieved — despite being about vampires and werewolves — because it was too involved in the central relationship. Where those movies were 75/25 on romance to story, The Changeover is more like 25/75. The biggest issue is that when the relationship is muscled in it feels out of place and awkward.

    The movie soars when it is a gothic horror fantasy filled with tension and dread. Thankfully it’s that for most of the running time. Sometimes it takes a detour through teen fantasy soap territory — music montages and declarations of love and all — but not enough to derail the movie.

    At a lean 92 minutes, it’s hard not to recommend giving The Changeover a watch. It doesn’t always work, but when it does it’s magical.

    The Changeover will be in theaters and on demand on February 22nd.

  • 2019 Oscar Predictions: Best Supporting Actor

    2019 Oscar Predictions: Best Supporting Actor

    Best Supporting Actor at the 2019 Oscars is stacked with industry veterans and newcomers looking for their shot at Oscar glory.

    Best Supporting Actor seems to be the most locked acting categories as Mahershala Ali has swept every televised acting prize including the Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild, and Critics Choice. However, I think there is room for an upset.

    Here are my current rankings:

    1. Mahershala Ali, Green Book
    2. Richard E. Grant, Can You Ever Forgive Me?
    3. Sam Elliott, A Star is Born
    4. Adam Driver, BlacKkKlansman
    5. Sam Rockwell, Vice

    Check out all our 2019 Oscar Predictions: Best Picture | Best Actor | Best Actress | Best Supporting Actor | Best Supporting Actress

    Even though Green Book has been marred by controversy, the one person involved with the film that seems to have gotten out unscathed is Ali. After waltzing through the precursors, he is the clear favorite to win even though he won just two years ago for Moonlight in this category. Plus, it’s a place where voters who liked Green Book can honor it without any of the people involved in the controversies.

    However, I think Ali winning so recently is going to hurt his chances more than people think. Whether people   don’t vote for him because of it or they vote for someone else thinking he has this on lock, there might be a block of voters who go elsewhere.

    Best Supporting Actor
    Legendary veteran actor Sam Elliott got his first acting nomination in Best Supporting Actor for A Star is Born.

    The smart money would be on Sam Elliott for his small, but impactful performance in A Star is Born. After snubs in Best Director and Best Film Editing, the film has been on the ropes for its Best Picture chances — it could go home with just one award for Best Original Song. Voters looking for an above-the-line place to honor could easily go to Elliott. He’s an industry legend on his first nomination and a win could be seen as a lifetime achievement award.

    Sam Rockwell’s performance as George W. Bush is an impressive imitation in Viceand Adam Driver is BlacKkKlansman’s sole acting nomination. However, my money for an upset is on Richard E. Grant for Can You Every Forgive Me?.

    He swept the critics awards and has launched a homegrown social media campaign that will charm the socks off just about anyone. Although his movie only received two other nominations — Best Actress for Melissa McCarthy and Best Adapted Screenplay — I could see there being passionate support for his performance.

    He has the same industry veteran narrative as Elliott and has a good chance at upsetting Ali at the BAFTAs. If he does, the Oscar could be next.

  • ‘The Kid Who Would Be King’ review — Brexit via King Arthur

    ‘The Kid Who Would Be King’ review — Brexit via King Arthur

    The Kid Who Would Be King delivers as a family-friendly fantasy-adventure based on the King Arthur legend and an allegory for Brexit. 

    The Kid Who Would Be King tells the classic story of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table via Brexit era Britain. As Morgana (Rebecca Ferguson truly chewing the scenery) — the villain of both the myth and the movie — says, “the land is divided — lost and leaderless.” It’s an on-the-nose reference to Brexit, but also the reason the movie works so well.

    Director Joe Cornish — who made waves with his debut Attack the Block — mines the tale for everything it’s got and everything you’d expect out of a kid’s adventure movie. As the story goes, we meet young tween Alex Elliot (Louis Ashbourne Serkis — yes, he’s Andy Serkis’ son) as he defends his best friend Bedders (Dean Chaumoo) from two bullies — Lance (Tom Taylor) and Kaye (Rhianna Doris). Those names should all sound familiar.

    From there, the movie closely follows the legend of King Arthur — which is also a book that Alex’s father used to read with him before he disappeared. After being chased by Lance and Kaye to a construction site, Alex discovers a sword in a stone — the sword in the stone, also known as Excalibur. He easily pulls it out, which means that he is the chosen one and the rightful king.

    The Kid Who Would Be King
    Louis Ashbourne Serkis stars in Twentieth Century Fox’s THE KID WHO WOULD BE KING. Photo Credit: Kerry Brown.

    He doesn’t know this yet, but he will soon find out. He brings the sword home and like any good friend call Bedders over to joke about the possibility that it’s really Excalibur. The relationship between the two kids is one of the main reason for the movie’s success. It drives much of the development and emotional storyline.

    The next day at school, an odd new student shows up named “Mertin.” It doesn’t take a lot of critical thinking to learn this is actually Merlin (Angus Imrie), who is sent to help Alex on his quest. Many of the comedic moments — particularly ones that will appeal to kids — come from Merlin’s silly hand gestures when performing spells, his attempt to blend in as a normal student, and his always hilarious tranformations into an owl and an older version of himself played by Patrick Stewart clad in an oversized Led Zepplin shirt.

    After being attacked by a fiery demonic skeleton sent by Morgana, who is gaining strength for her return to Earth to enslave all the inhabitants, Alex and Merlin recruit Bedder, Lance, and Kaye to be his Kights of the Round Table. Their quest is to find the door to the underworld and defeat Morgana before she returns to Earth in four days during a total solar eclipse.

    Along the way, they train to be proper knights, are attacked by more of Morgana’s minions, and fight each other before finally uniting and bonding as a team. Cornish hits all the expected points but hits them a grounding in character and a strong anti-Brexit point-of-view. Don’t get it wrong. This is a fantasy-adventure kids movie. But a kids movie with very real implications in the real world.

    The Kid Who Would Be King
    Rebecca Ferguson in Twentieth Century Fox’s THE KID WHO WOULD BE KING. Photo Credit: Kerry Brown.

    As with Attack the Block, The Kid Who Would Be King is a good story told in a great way with playful visuals and a strong young cast. It’s a blast to watch this group of seemingly mismatched kids “on a quest to save Britain,” as Alex rights on a note he leaves for his Mom.

    And as a Brexit allegory, it’s heavy-handed but clear on its message: we’ve lost our way by focusing on our differences and it’s only by teaching this new generation about acceptance and unity that we’ll get through this mess. What makes Cornish an exciting director is he can balance that while delivering a light, fun, and funny fantasy-adventure with dragons, sword-fights, and a mega Home Alone style final staff between an army of school kids and an army of demonic skeletons.

    The Kid Who Would Be King is the first of many great Brexit-era movies that I’m sure are to come. And overall, Cornish’s attempt at merging a classic legend with our modern day issues is successful. It’s yet another feather in the cap of the young director. Nothing but respect for our king.

    The Kid Who Would Be King is in theaters now.  

  • 2019 Oscar Predictions: Best Supporting Actress

    2019 Oscar Predictions: Best Supporting Actress

    Best Supporting Actress has a frontrunner in Regina King, but there’s a good chance she is upset by Rachel Weisz or even Marina de Tavira.

    Best Supporting Actress is possibly the trickiest category to predict at the Oscars this year.

    Here are my current rankings:

    1. Regina King (If Beale Street Could Talk) — Golden Globe, Critics Choice
    2. Amy Adams (Vice)
    3. Rachel Weisz (The Favourite)
    4. Marina de Tavira (Roma)
    5. Emma Stone (The Favourite)

    Check out all our 2019 Oscar Predictions: Best Picture | Best Actor | Best Actress | Best Supporting Actor | Best Supporting Actress

    Despite winning nearly every critics’ group prize — including the OFCS, the group I’m a part of — Regina King isn’t the surefire frontrunner she should be for her warm and emotional performance in If Beale Street Could Talk.

    That’s because she missed a nomination at the BAFTAs and the Screen Actors Guild Awards. For context, that last winner of Best Supporting Actress that didn’t at least get a nomination at the SAG Awards was 2000 when Marcia Gay Harden won the Oscar for Pollack.

    You have to go back to 2007 for the last time the winner of this category didn’t also win the Oscar — that year, Ruby Dee won the SAG for American Gangster and Tilda Swinton won the Oscar for Michael Clayton.

    King has to worry about that first statistic more than the second since this year’s winner of the SAG Award was Emily Blunt for A Quiet Place, who wasn’t even nominated at the Oscars.

    best supporting actress
    Regina King is the frontrunner for Best Supporting Actress for IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK

    The fact that one of her fellow Oscar nominees didn’t win will help her. Especially, Amy Adams for her performance as Lynne Cheney in Vice and Rachel Weiss for her performance in The Favourite — both of whom are her biggest competition.

    Adams, with her six nominations, could become the living actor with the most Oscar nominations without a win if Glenn Close finally wins on her seventh nomination in Best Actress, as expected. Her overdue narrative can push her to a win. The problem, though, is that her performance isn’t nearly as well received as her other nominations and ultimately takes a backseat to Christian Bale’s transformative performance as Dick Cheney.

    Who might really be the favorite is Rachel Weisz. This year has eerily followed the 2015 Best Supporting Actor race where Sylvester Stallone was the frontrunner — winning the Golden Globe and being snubbed by SAG (which is won by non-Oscar nominee Idris Elba) and BAFTA just like King — to lose the Oscar to the BAFTA winner, Mark Rylance.

    Whoever wins the BAFTA could be the actual frontrunner for Best Supporting Actress. However, watchout for an outside chance that Marina de Tavira turns her surprise nomination into a surprise win if Roma ends up sweeping on Oscar Sunday.