Tomorrow marks the start of the 78th Annual Venice Film Festival, which will be the unofficial start of fall film festival season! Before we finally hear what some of the big-name awards contenders are like, I wanted to give my (still way too early) thoughts on what the 94th Academy Awards will look like next March! Here are my official predictions in the eight above-the-line categories as of August 2021.
Continue reading “2022 Oscar Predictions (Pre-Festival Edition)”
This past week I spent some time catching up on a mix of old and new releases. I didn’t have time to write individual reviews on each, but I still wanted to share my thoughts in a more condensed form. So please enjoy my mini-reviews of Annette, Stillwater, Reminiscence and Summer of Soul!
The sci-fi drama television series Dark (2017-2020) was groundbreaking for many reasons. Not only was it Netflix’s first German-language original TV series, it also had unparalleled ambition and scope for such a contained story. The plot is dizzying and endlessly-complex, while the character work is sublime, as the world is populated by living, breathing people with their own nuanced motives, strengths and weaknesses. It’s a masterclass in worldbuilding and character design, and today I’m going to attempt to peel back the layers and explain what makes this show such a resounding success.
**Major spoilers ahead!!**
Continue reading “‘Dark’ Netflix Series Analysis: Crafting Linear Circularity”
Next month brings us the 2021 Venice, Telluride and Toronto International Film Festivals, which will give us our clearest picture yet of what the Oscar race will look like for the upcoming season. Normally I wait until October to begin predicting what will make the final Oscar line-up, but I figured there’s no harm in starting early to see just how much the fall festivals affect the race! Let’s take our first monthly snapshot of the race and see what films are looking like contenders at this early stage, so that we can look back and see just how wrong (or right) we were!
Continue reading “Best Picture Power Rankings: August 2021 Edition”
CODA (2021) is a drama film from writer-director Sian Heder and a remake of the 2014 French film La Famille Bélier. It stars Emilia Jones as Ruby Rossi, the lone hearing member of her family who wishes to leave the family business and pursue a career in music. The film has been drawing praise and awards buzz, particularly for Marlee Matlin – the first and only deaf actress to win an Oscar in Academy history. Can she repeat gold, and can the film find success elsewhere?
The Suicide Squad (2021) is a superhero action film from the DC Comics Universe and the sequel to David Ayer’s 2016 Suicide Squad. It stars an ensemble cast including Margot Robbie, Idris Elba, John Cena, Viola Davis and more in the story of a group of supervillains banding together to fight a greater evil. The film was written and directed by James Gunn, who was infamously let go by Marvel a few years ago due to colorful tweets and now makes his triumphant return to the superhero genre. Why has this been praised so heavily?
Continue reading “‘The Suicide Squad’ Film Review: Carnage, Colonialism and Colorful Characters”
Every year at the six-month mark I like to take a look at the films that have released or debuted already and weigh their Oscar merits. And because of last year’s late cut-off, the midpoint for 2021’s Oscar window falls at the end of July! Often these early-in-the-year films are passed over for later juggernaut contenders, but it’s always fun to pretend what the ceremony would look like if the eligibility period ended today. So let’s take a look at the best of what the first half of 2021 had to offer!
The Green Knight (2021) is a medieval fantasy-epic from writer-director David Lowery, based on the Arthurian poem of the same name. It stars Dev Patel as a young sire who accepts the challenge of a travelling knight and must travel the landscape to face his destiny. The film was delayed multiple times due to COVID-19 and finally released in theaters this weekend. Does the adaptation live up to the legend?
**Heavy spoilers ahead!**
Continue reading “‘The Green Knight’ Film Review & Analysis: The Road to Glory (and Ruin)”
Scriptophile 