Come See Me In The Good Light

Movie: Come See Me In The Good Light

Running Time: 1:44

Nominated for: Documentary Feature

How I watched: Apple TV

When it had me: Broken Mailboxes

When it lost me: I tapped out to deal with emotions a couple of times

What systems does it challenge: Death

Poet Andrea Gibson faces a terminal cancer diagnosis with grace, honesty, love and creative self expression.

It is heart-breaking, life affirming, thoughtful and exquisitely painful. I think I learned some things about humanity. Or maybe I just needed a reminder.

It felt so sacred that I have very little to say about it. It's a tough but beautiful watch.

Zootopia 2

Why do I feel like I should like this world more than I do?

Movie: Zootopia 2

Running Time: 1:50

Nominated for: Animated Feature

How I watched: AMC

When it had me: Fortune Feimster!

When it lost me: Nah

What systems does it challenge: Colonialism

Disney's two favorite cops are back to teach us about the evil, ugliness and lies of colonialism and genocide!

I can't even get away from this when I watch an animated kids movie? Ok, fine. It's a good thing. I mean, it's super-relevant and it's the right message, so let's go.

All our favorite characters are back and some new ones are added in. Most notable is Fortune Feimster who is an eager beaver that talks about threesomes and four-ways. (I can't make this up, you guys.) She is a shot of adrenaline to the movie and so much fun. This movie also introduces reptiles via a snake played by Ke Huy Quan. This led me to questions about how all the animals of Zootopia source their food, but let's not linger on that too much.

Despite the comedy and cute animals, I had a tough time with the messaging. Nick Wild, the fox, makes the point that a cause is not worth dying for but no one else in the movie seems to agree with him. I spend every day worrying about who (else) is going to have to die to get our country back on track so I'd like a better answer than, "You, Autumn, if you ever really cared about anything." But that's just too much of a look into my own mind at the moment.

Conversely, there is a message that no one person should shoulder the burden of a cause alone so you simply have to pick up the baton for a while and have faith that someday we'll all get there. It just might take generations. I guess that makes me feel better?

Overall, this was a good time and they are already hinting at number 3!

Arco

So colorful!

Movie: Arco

Running Time: 1:29

Nominated for: Animated Feature

How I watched: AMC

When it had me: Gorgeous Vision of the Future

When it lost me: Almost lost me to fire

What systems does it challenge: Neglecting children, Irresponsible time travel

Arco is a delightful, adventurous journey for a couple of ten year old characters. One is from the regular future (2075) and one from the super future (date not disclosed) and he needs to get back home. The animation depicts a lot of beautiful nature scenes and so many rainbows that you really expect it to be more gay than it is.

There are a trio of wacky characters that pop up and seem like they are straight out of a Scooby Doo episode. They are voiced by Will Ferrel, Andy Samburg and Flea; hilarious weirdos that add a fun storyline.

There is a massive forest fire that starts to overtake a town in the movie and that caused me to cry for a little while. Fire trauma is real and you can't just get past it, you gotta go through it one little trigger at a time. (I am NOT looking forward to watching The Lost Bus!)

The film is chock full lessons. The importance of listening to your kids, supporting those you care about, creative expression, memory, kindness to animals. There's a ton in there but it all feels organic and not forced. I credit good writing to pull that off. Arco was a very enjoyable afternoon at the movies!

Sirat

These two don't belong here!

Movie: Sirat

Running Time: 1:55

Nominated for: International Feature

How I watched: AMC

When it had me: Uncool dad looking for cool daughter

When it lost me: Too much explosiveness

What systems does it challenge: War 

This is a hard movie to review! I'm already intimidated. How do I tell you things and not give too much away?

Okay. Deep breath.

Sirat is about a middle aged dad and his tween son who go looking for an adult daughter that hasn't been responding. She's maybe kind of a wild child so they are looking among counter culture rave-goers in Morocco. 

They circulate through the crowds of dancers, hippies and drug users with photos of the missing woman. They are completely out of place but still essentially welcome. The thinnest of leads is offered to them; no one has seen her but perhaps she will go to the next rave.

After an army arrives, they face a split second decision to follow the army's orders or flee into the desert with rave goers. They choose to follow these random people into the desert in order to hopefully find the next rave and the daughter. I've explained all of this to say, this moment of choice was done so well. You feel the urgency, the weight and the woeful lack of time to really think through your actions. And this choice dictates everything that comes after.

The sense of danger and tension and dread in this film builds with a ferocious intensity. The acting is strong from all parties. The cinematography is both beautiful and disorienting. The sound is oppressive at times and always feeding into your anxiety about what's to come. 

The movie masters dread, terror, shock and despair throughout its second and third acts. It's really impressively handled. 

Until the end. Some may find it was compelling all the way through but for me they tried to hit the same note a few too many times and it took on a note of absurdity that overshadowed the drama. It's a shame to end that way after so much really great work. Still it's a compelling and astounding film.

The Voice of Hind Rajab

May there be a beautiful afterlife for this soul.

Movie: The Voice of Hind Rajab

Running Time: 1:29

Nominated for: Best International Feature

How I watched: Landmark Cinemas

When it had me: A six year old needs help!

When it lost me: It didn't

What systems does it challenge: Genocide, Extremist Zionism

I left the theatre grappling with the cruelty of the moment. How are we as humans so unforgivably cruel? How can the government of Israel all agree that it is worth it to use a tank to kill a six year old girl who loves the beach? How can the American right stand by and cheer while a five year old in a bunny hat is abducted, transported and detained for being from another area on a map? How can allegiance to one group, one ideal, one fantasy, fill you with enough hate to want children to suffer? How did Nazis round up children and send them to be shot, gassed, starved, stacked like cord wood? How did border patrol steal babies from their parents, lock them up and then essentially auction them off? How do pedophiles and their traffickers even exist?

sigh. 

I'm having a REALLY hard time with all of this.

This movie was interesting because it felt like a documentary. It uses the actual audio files of the child, Hind, as she called for help while being attacked by the Israeli army. Actors are reenacting the real life call center workers who talked to her and tried to coordinate her rescue. Whether it is a doc with dramatizations or a drama with documentary aspects, it is a powerful choice to blur these lines.

The story is gut wrenching but I didn't feel like they were trying to make it sad for me. They didn't have to. They only have to tell it exactly as it happened. I'm glad they understood that.

This was a hard one that I assume most people will want to skip but I think sitting with this child's story for 89 minutes will help me to remember the very real lives that are lost when nations and ideologies become more centered than they should be.

If I Had Legs I'd Kick You

Rose Byrne at her most disheveled and what I look like (or hope to?) everyday.

Movie: If I Had Legs I'd Kick You

Running Time: 1:53

Nominated for: Lead Actress

How I watched: Prime

When it had me: Ominous stakes in first scene

When it lost me: I stayed confused but not lost

What systems does it challenge: Modern Motherhood aka Parenting Without A Village

First off, they did it to me again. For a Comedy/Drama, I definitely expected more laughs than I got. This movie is a fever dream of mother panic. I watched it with another mom and when we did find laughs they were the uneasy chuckles you get from recognition of really hard times.

This movie nails the isolation that moms feel when times are tough, the self doubt, the exhaustion, desperation and disassociation. I read the whole thing as a very exaggerated depiction of what it feels like in those moments where you are another and you have to be a mother but you literally feel like you CAN'T do the job.

There is a medical affliction impacting the child in the movie. As much as I could see my own parental challenges magnified in the movie, I feel for moms of high needs children or kids with grave illnesses who sit down to this movie. The triggers are everywhere and Mary Bronstein*, the writer and director, does not hold back. 

It is tense and uncomfortable throughout. The stakes are high and only seem to get more impossible. Rose Byrne is incredible, wrenching sympathy and solidarity from you even as she repeatedly demonstrates that she may not be worthy of it. Conan O'Brien and ASAP Rocky are both unexpected and great in their own non-supporting roles. 

I spent the whole time wondering what on earth was happening but heavily invested in the journey nonetheless.

*Mary Bronstein is married to Ronald Bronstein a writer, director, producer who produced Marty Supreme this year. They have worked with both Safdie brothers and apparently all four of them make films that feel like panic attacks.

Blue Moon

Also, Lorenz Hart was short!

Movie: Blue Moon

Running Time: 1:40

Nominated for: Leading Actor

How I watched: Prime

When it had me: How did he die at 48?

When it lost me: It's presented as a stage play

What systems does it challenge: Conformity

Ethan Hawke plays Lorenz Hart, seen here as a tragic creative who can't find acceptance because he can't practice conformity. He is bisexual (actually omnisexual, as he asserts all writers must be) refusing to conform to either acceptable heterosexuality or artistic homosexuality. He wants to write about deep, complex topics that challenge an audience and can't be seduced into the more comforting, mindless entertainment that audiences are craving, (like Oklahoma!). He's too bawdy, too needy, too satirical, too much in seemingly so many ways. I liked his character.

The whole movie was presented like it was a play. One set, minimal setups, a handful of characters and a very small feel overall. In addition to the somewhat claustrophobic feel, the acting style felt a bit affected. The actors were ready to perform on a big stage instead of a studio set. I understood the choice but I don't think I preferred the outcome.

Ethan Hawke does a good job delivering wit and moroseness in equal turns. Margaret Qualley brings charm and false modesty and a piano player treats us to more Rodgers and Hart music than we realized we knew.

The movie left me with questions about Lorenz Hart and I appreciate being left with more curiosity than boredom.

Song Sung Blue

Low cut man blouses and hair that waves in the wind! Look out!

Movie: Song Sung Blue

Running Time: 2:13

Nominated for: Best Leading Actress

How I watched: AMC

When it had me: Unexpected Story Turn

When it lost me: Neil Diamond Songs!

What systems does it challenge: Unsure, it really just tells a story

Instead of talking about Song Sung Blue, I want to reflect on my category above, listed as "What systems does it challenge?"

I added that category a couple of years ago because it felt like a topic that was coming up in every review. At first I thought it really wasn't going to work as a general question for every movie. Not every movie sets out to be a work of activism or make a lofty statement. But as time went on, I found it more applicable than not. In fact, in cases where I was struggling with how to review a film, it is this question that often brings clarity where before I was feeling uncertain. 

All of that being said, I can't think of an answer for that question for Song Sung Blue and I think that explains why I feel so tepid about this film.

This film is upbeat and charming. Kate Hudson and Hugh Jackman play real life tribute performers that amass a pretty good following. They sing Neil Diamond songs. (I am NOT a Neil Diamond fan so I'm already needing to be won over.)

There is a big left turn in their lives and careers after an accident. I didn't see it coming and it definitely reinvigorated my interest in the film. At its heart, it's essentially a family drama. They face challenges with midwestern fortitude and cute accents and for the most part I'd say it's a feel good flick. Why is it so long if it's a feel good flick? Good question. As always, I object to it.

This movie just rolled off of me, like proverbially water off a duck. It was completely inoffensive and well made but nothing sunk in or stuck in any noteworthy way. Kate Hudson was good in this role but I don't think the odds are with her in this race at all. She does her own singing in the film, which honestly she made look so easy that I don't think I'm giving her enough credit for the feat.

If you ignore the real life son of the main character and his complaints, there is nothing wrong with this movie. I just think I'm conditioned to watch movies that are taking some kind of stand, especially at this time of year. 

If you like singing and charm and movies that aren't too heavy, go check this out!

Weapons

Run, kids, run!

Movie: Weapons

Running Time: 2:09

Nominated for: Best Supporting Actress

How I watched: AMC x 2

When it had me: Initial Mystery

When it lost me: It did not

What systems does it challenge: Lack of community

Weapons is about a town where a whole classroom full of children go missing overnight. They simply get up and run outside and vanish. There is grief and searching and blaming and raging but no one gets any closer to the truth for the first month.

Amy Madigan plays Aunt Gladys in Weapons and became a cultural icon doing so. She could be the merciless mastermind behind a town's suffering but also a sweet befuddled old lady who I swear will remind you of at least one relative you knew as a kid. She was so great she got nominated for a horror film! That is usually a rare occurrence for the Oscars but as the nation slips further into fascism, it seems that horror has found a more prominent place in our collective hearts.

What's really great in this movie is the story telling style. We follow one character at time and learn their piece of the puzzle. I think there are five perspectives that we follow and slowly each of the stories begins to interconnect with the other characters and a broader picture begins to form.

They took that trope in horror films where everyone is so scared but if they just talked to each other and shared what they knew they might be able to work together to get out alive, and expanded it to be the whole movie and it works beautifully. I was so engaged in the mystery I forgot to be frightened. (I told my kid it wasn't that scary so they watched it and disagreed with me whole-heartedly!)

The depiction of the supernatural is so mysterious and specific and diabolical. I love how creepy the vibes are throughout. The ending is too gruesome for most viewers I know but it is a very satisfying watch for me from start to finish.

Train Dreams

It's a pretty movie!

Movie: Train Dreams

Running Time: 1:42 (Is there an award for being under two hours?)

Nominated for: Best Picture, Cinematography, Original Song, Adapted Screenplay

How I watched: Netflix

When it had me: Golden Hour!

When it lost me: Lack of trains?

What systems does it challenge: Hustle Culture. Maybe.

This movie was heavy on the dreams but light on the trains. I think I expected it to be about the railroad and it really isn't at all. 

The first thing I noticed was that most of the first half of the film is shot at magic hour. That is both gorgeous and quite a feat. The affect of all these many colored skies and golden light filtering through trees is a very romantic one. It serves the story of Joel Edgerton's character building a life with Felicity Jones and it also serves a larger theme.

Overall there is a quiet and contemplative feel to the film. It's a kind of meditation on a time when life had less noise and bustle and perhaps more freedom to forge your own path. Edgerton works as a logger and once as a railroad worker (there's the train!) and builds a homestead with his wife. While the work appears difficult there is also a sense that you a shape your life however you want. You can build or maintain, you can lounge among the trees and exist with nature. There are fewer templates and expectations in place.

So for me the movie really asks, what defines a life or a person without the more rigid expectations that we live with today? Is it your work? Is it your family? Is it what you are proud of or the moments that haunt you? Or is it some deeper connection to everything around you that you might discover when you have the time to do so?

It's dreamy and languid at times, dark and lonely at other times but it feels like a worthwhile thought exercise. It's a unique and lovely little movie. And it happened in under two hours! You KNOW how highly I approve of this!

P.S. I called this film a meditation and then found out that the calm app made a meditative sleepstory based on this movie! Have you heard of this? It's a 22 minute retelling of the film with nature sounds and soft music. Check it out here.

Sentimental Value

*she is formerly known as the Worst Person in the World

Movie: Sentimental Value

Running Time: 2:13

Nominated for: Best Picture, Directing, Leading Actress, Supporting Actor, Supporting Actress Twice, Editing, International Feature, Original Screenplay

How I watched: Prime

When it had me: Renate Reinsve

When it lost me: I got sleepy briefly in the middle

What systems does it challenge: The only thing it might challenge is avoidance of therapy?

Sentimental Value is a family drama of both tiny moments and epic emotions. This is such a unique piece of writing. The way the story bounces around from character to character and from era to era is organic and unpredictable. It's like a piece of music, changing tempo and rhythm as it goes.

My only quibble with the editing is repeated cuts to black between scenes, even very short vignettes sometimes. It felt a little choppy to me but I tried to embrace each one as a breath.

The acting is terrific. With four acting nominations from one film, it makes me wonder how it didn't get nominated for casting. It seems like they did something right! 

Sadness becomes its own character and we follow it on its wavering path through generations of this family. The question becomes how can a father and daughter who are so far apart and need so much from each other bridge the gap? It seems so real; a divide that maybe we have all seen in our own families. Something so simple and yet seemingly impossible to solve.

Beautiful film making!

The Secret Agent

This guy is just immediately trustworthy and sympathetic!

Movie: The Secret Agent

Running Time: 2:40

Nominated for: Best Picture, Leading Actor, Casting, International Feature

How I watched: AMC

When it had me: Immediately

When it lost me: The very end, unfortunately

What systems does it challenge: Dictatorship, Corruption

This movie was engaging. 

Did you know that Netflix has asked all of its directors to dumb down their movies? They want more exposition and they want the filmmakers to tell and not show because they know that most of us are on our phones while we sit at home and watch shows so they want it easier for us to follow along. Frankly, I'd rather you make something so good that I want to put my phone down to focus on it.

That's what The Secret Agent is. It is complex and they throw you right in the middle of intrigue, only scattering clues along the path as you go. The lead actor, Wagner Moura possesses a combo of charm, warmth and mystery in Pedro Pascal proportions and I was completely drawn in.

The setting is (mostly) 1977 and the vibe is spot on. The colors, music, fashion, even the soft focus of the camera completely evoke the era in a very immersive way. 

Get ready for what I'm about to say next: this movie is 2 hours and 40 minutes and I find the running time completely justified! I know. It's shocking for me to say so. There were so many characters and intertwining storylines that they actually used the time in a constructive and non-repetitive way. In fact, they left me wanting more. I still had questions at the end.

The main thrust is that the main character is on the outs with his dictatorial government (as well as some others) and is in hiding until he can get new paperwork that allows him to leave the country with his young son. You know, the kind of story they will be telling about Americans in five to eight years. There is a mix of realism, surrealism and absurdism in the filmmaking styles but it always stay grounded on the main goal.

Ok, the end is where they lost me a little. It was so engaging and immersive that when they made a choice to pull back on the story telling style for the ending it felt anti-climactic. I have read up on reasons for the way they told the story and these ideas may work on an intellectual level but in reality it was a small let down. If they had nailed the end, this would have been in my top five movies of the year. It isn't but its still really great film making.

Bugonia

What's going on here?

Movie: Bugonia

Running Time: 1:59

Nominated for: Best Picture, Leading Actress, Original Score, Adapted Screenplay

How I watched: AMC

When it had me: The Trailer

When it lost me: Abuse of the vulnerable

What systems does it challenge: Conspiracies, Revenge

I have not been looking forward to reviewing this movie.

Emma Stone, Jesse Plemmons and Aidan Delbis put in fantastic performances in this very wild movie. The latter two believe that Emma is an alien and must be stopped at all costs. So there is an attack and kidnapping and a whole lot of crazy in service of that goal.

This movie is classified as a comedy/sci-fi. The trailer looked like events would be absurd and silly and very funny but that was not my experience of the movie. I read one review that stated it was listed as a thriller at their theatre. Which has got me curious again, who makes the official call? What did Lanthimos want us to see it as? 

There is a vulnerable character who suffers manipulation, abuse and ultimately harm and it shook me. I couldn't square that with the idea of this being a comedy. I'm trying to figure out if I went in thinking it was a horror film if I would have been able to withstand the brutality of the film. But specifically envisioning the director laughing about certain events made me feel really uncomfortable; like when a party gets too raucous or a boss starts telling racist jokes. I was no longer in a safe space and I just wanted out.

All of the elements are top notch. It's shot beautifully, it's paced well, it sounds and looks like the work of a director at the top of his game. I have no complaints with the film making in that sense.

The movie is so completely out of pocket that it should have been fun for me. I can't exactly pin down what I think the message is here. We're definitely getting a warning about conspiracy theories but it also feels like there is more to it. The genius is lost on me but it certainly has gotten through to most viewers better than it did for me. I'm glad it's been an enjoyable experience for so many.

Hamnet

Me when my kids perform at Shakespeare Camp

Movie: Hamnet

Running Time: 2:05

Nominated for: Best Picture, Director, Leading Actress, Casting, Costumes, Original Score, Production Design, Adapted Screenplay

How I watched: AMC

When it had me: Shakespeare

When it lost me: The Title, almost?

What systems does it challenge: I'm not sure this one fits in that mold?

I don't know why the title of this film annoys me so much. It's from the book of the same name, by Maggie O'Farrell and immediately the movie explains that this name is interchangeable with Hamlet. So why interchange them? I don't know; I just had to get over it.

The film imagines the behind the scene story of why Shakespeare wrote Hamlet. I want to ask why we need to make guesses about this but the movie is too good for me to worry about it.

First, let's talk about witchcraft! In this imagining, William unapologetically marries a witch of the wood. She communes with the forest, has ancestral knowledge of herbs, healing and spell-casting. She is prophetic and feral and powerful. Jesse Buckley really deeply embodies this role and delivers something above and beyond. I can't imagine her not winning.

Paul Mescal is equally incredible as the bard himself. As a self-professed Shakespeare nerd, I wanted to spend a little more time with this character and the words of Hamlet, my very favorite play ever. It took some time to get there but when we did, it was so worthwhile.

Ultimately, the movie is an exploration about grief and what we do with it. As a viewer, I sat a long time in some very uncomfortable emotional landscapes but it never felt cheap. The acting was too damn good. It always felt truthful rather than manipulative.

This was a beautiful, troubling, and ultimately hopeful space to inhabit for a couple of hours. It made me feel like there is truly magic in nature, love and creativity and through those practices we can not only survive but thrive.

F1

Brad Pitt go fast!

Movie: F1

Running Time: 2:35

Nominated for: Best Picture, Editing, Sound, Visual Effects

How I watched: Apple TV

When it had me: The First Race

When it lost me: Racing!

What systems does it challenge: Participation Trophies

Congratulations F1 for having the shortest title of all! I was not at all looking forward to a movie about cars racing because I know that kind of movie is not for me. Putting that aside, let's take a look.

This is probably a favorite for sound and editing. Both categories were well done here except that I don't think this movie needed to be this long. At all. I just keep repeating myself, but I must call out the need to shorten these films. However, this is a movie where you can really see the editing, which people like to vote for.

There was a grumpy "kids these days" theme to the first act, with Brad Pitt being all gruff and too blonde and wanting everything to be the way it used to be which I found trite. There was a lot of trite, actually. In the first ten minutes my teenager guessed that the plot was basically the same as Cars 3 and was essentially correct. The exception being that Lightning McQueen has a character arc in Cars 3 and the entire arc for Brad Pitt was that he learned a new slang term. A twist or a surprise or some growth wouldn't have hurt.

Acting across the board was very solid from a really great cast. The first few races were pretty exciting and then I got numb to it. The final race ended up being the least engaging for me. It was the only time they just jumped in and didn't explain strategy first and it went on for a very long time. I wanted to be more in it than I was.

F1 is a movie, competently made, but not a special watch for someone not into the subject matter.

Frankenstein

This dress was worth the cost to see it on the big screen.

Movie: Frankenstein

Running Time: 2:30

Nominated for: Best Picture, Supporting Actor, Cinematography, Costumes, Make Up & Hair, Original Score, Production Design, Sound, Adapted Screenplay

How I watched: Landmark Theatre

When it had me: Costumes!

When it lost me: Story framing

What systems does it challenge: Unchecked ego disguised as progress and strict societal norms

With Guillermo del Toro directing, it is no surprise for me to tell you Frankenstein is visually stunning. I made sure to see it on a big screen even though it was already streaming. The costumes, in particular are breath taking.

The movie begins with Dr. Frankenstein telling his story to a ship captain and it returns to this story framing device throughout the movie. While I enjoy hearing the lessons he has learned along the way, this framing device added a lot of time to the film. I was not feeling engaged by the interludes aboard the ship and the long speeches of telling we had to endure before we could return to showing.

I particularly enjoyed the section where the Creature goes out on his own and forges relationships in the world and discovers that the world exists to hunt you for who you are. It was heartbreaking and beautiful story telling. 

Oscar Isaac and Jacob Elordi were both great in their roles and brought a lot of life (ha! get it?) to the screen. I did not connect as much with Mia Goth's character as the film went on and ultimately was confused by what her goals were. But she looked fabulous!

I know this is probably going to win for make up for the Creature Design and strangely, I did not care for it. It reminded me of Nebula in Guardians of the galaxy and I didn't feel like it looked like it was made from humans. Too alien for me.

Overall it is a beautiful film about trying to exist in the world when you fall too outside the norm. Del Toro loves his monsters and I do too.

Marty Supreme

I've got Marty's balls! 

Movie: Marty Supreme

Running Time: 2:29

Nominated for: Best Picture, Director, Leading Actor, Cinematography, Casting, Editing, Costumes, Production Design, Original Screenplay

How I watched: AMC

When it had me: Timotheè, I guess?

When it lost me: So much chatter!

What systems does it challenge: Table Tennis Elitism!

I got to see this movie at 9am! I could really use more of these early morning screenings. There were many options between Christmas and the New Year. It's the best because you're fully awake and you finish the movie while it's still early enough in your day. It won't work with Avatar; that thing is going to waste a day no matter what. But let's get back to the movie we came here for which got nine nominations.

Marty Supreme takes you on a wild sort of ride through the desperation of the under-privileged trying to follow a dream. Some of the stops along the way are funny, others sad and many outright frustrating. 

Safdie does a great job of setting up these tense, highly charged moments. It's noisy, chaotic, frantic in dialog, action, camera movement. I would say it is too good of a job because the constant cacophony wears on me. After the first hour or so, I just felt over-stimulated and over it. 

His characters live in the underbelly; which also means that they are not perfect angels. The main character, Marty, is selfish, irritating, rude and destructive. It gets hard to stay on his side through the whole thing. He is offered some minimal redemption but it comes so late in a very long movie. I can watch flawed characters if they have some redeeming value. I can watch irredeemable characters if the joy is in watching them fail and get their just desserts. But I don't know what to do with this in-between place where I just don't care if you succeed or not.

I've never seen shark tank. I literally just found out as I was prepping this for posting that Mr. Wonderful played Mr. Rockwell. I don't even know what to take from that. But this is nominated for casting so someone thought it was an artistic decision I guess. It could be a comment on how ruthlessness is praised in successful people but not in those scrambling to become successful? 

The overall effect of Marty Supreme was one or two scenes that kind of wowed (I'm thinking of a bath tub) in the midst of a very average movie-going experience. This is probably not a movie made for me.

It didn't need to be this long! There was a repetition of failure going on and in my opinion not every step in the chain was necessary. I was getting real fidgety in the third act and just wanted to be done. Why is no one advocating for better editing? I'm screaming into the void over here.

Post script: There were suddenly a lot of articles in my feed about the "alternate vampire ending" for this film. Are they for real? In what world would that have made any sense? Everyone says it's real but I'm going to keep believing it's a joke because that makes me feel better. You probably don't believe me so you can see for yourself here.

Post post script: Who comes up with the official genre of a film? This one is considered a Sport/Drama. But I saw Timmy playing ping pong on a teeny tiny table (and other seemingly deliberately funny moments) so I thought it was a comedy. There are lot of movies this year that make me question their assigned genre. 

One Battle After Another

Sometimes the best we can do is raise kids to be ready for the revolution.

Movie: One Battle After Another

Running Time: 2:42

Nominated for: Best Picture, Directing, Lead Actor, 2 Supporting Actors, One Supporting Actress, Casting, Cinematography, Editing, Original Score, Production Design, Sound, Adapted Screenplay

How I watched: AMC

When it had me: Pacing

When it lost me: On my second viewing, it lost me in he first ten minutes

What systems does it challenge: Authoritarianism

Reiew Number 1: I was dreading this film because it's so. Damn. Long. But it really kind of cooks! The pacing is strong and the plot has enough driving action that you don't have much time to accidentally fall asleep.

Leonardo DiCaprio is very enjoyable as a completely inept, divorced dad. And Chase Infiniti is great as an annoyed teenager who is not annoying to watch (a rarity). 

Watching America depicted as a police state with small enclaves of struggling revolutionaries was a rather sickening feeling. How far are we from this, Paul Thomas Anderson? And how long ago did you come up with this idea? (I researched the answer to that one. He'd been writing it for 20 years based on a book from the 60s about revolutionaries. What goes around, comes around.) And whether the message is coming from the 60s or today, white people really are the worst at joining the revolution.

Entangling many story lines, this movie keeps them all afloat deftly and satisfies with an action packed third act. One of my favorite Paul Thomas Anderson movies ever. It is probably going to get much more love than Sinners, which will bum me out.

Happy for Teyana Taylor's nomination but really feel like Chase Infiniti deserved the nod.

Review Number 2: I watched it a second time, mainly because we were late for the movie the first time. I wasn't sure how much we had missed so we caught it again on streaming. Interestingly, seeing the extra ten minutes at the beginning kind of changed my whole interpretation. In my above review I talk about how the movie cooks, which it does from the inciting incident; the "uh oh, we have to run" moment. But the full beginning felt really long and delayed getting to that starting block. 

I also felt uncomfortable with the characterization of Perfidia Beverly Hills with her very hypersexualized nature and confusing relationship with Sean Penn's character. Why is PTA writing this particular character this way? He either didn't have a point to make with it and just thought this was a believable character or he did have a point to make but failed to make that point clear. That extra ten minutes kind of changed my feelings about both the pacing and the overall message.

Sinners

Movie: Sinners

Running Time: 2:17

Nominated for: Best Picture, Director, Leading Actor, Supporting Actor, Supporting Actress, Original Screenplay, Cinematography, Editing, Production Design, Costume Design, Original Score, Original Song, Sound, Visual Effects, Casting, Make Up & Hairstyling

How I watched: AMC x 3, HBO Max x 2

When it had me: Beautiful Cinematography

When it lost me: Still Hasn't

What systems does it challenge: Colonialism, vampirism

Sometimes a movie comes around that surprises you by being so much more than you were expecting.  I thought Sinners was a vampire flick, which, of course I was down for. And then this magnificent movie began to unfold before me and took me places I had not known I needed to go.

While we are concerned with monsters throughout the movie, as it progresses, we are also witnessing the effects of colonialism. The illusion of choice for people who are oppressed within the system, the elusive promise of freedom and the feeling of being constantly preyed upon. We see that those starved for culture and community are drawn to this group and are ready to steal all that they can.

This film is nominated for a record breaking 16 awards, including Delroy Lindo for Supporting Actor. That one was such a surprise and it's so great to see a talented actor who has been around forever get his first nomination.

The acting throughout is top notch by such a great ensemble cast led by Michael B. Jordan who is playing anywhere between 2 and 6 roles depending on who you listen to on the subject. And the music is sooooo good! Never before have I found a movie, its messages and its emotional journey to be so intricately tied up with its music. It absolutely must win for this; anything else is unacceptable to me.

Let's talk about magic and witchcraft! These are my favorite topics these days anyway. But Sinners stitches together beliefs of the Choctaw, the Irish and the people of West Africa to look at our relationship to music, expression and ancestry. The character of Annie played by Wunmi Mosaku is my favorite. She is a rootworker in the movie, using herbs and ritual to administer healing to her community and provide protection for her loved ones. (They consulted real rootworkers in creating this character! I love that.) She has deep and mystical knowledge about many things and also is unashamed to admit the mysteries she cannot explain. She is so believable and grounded and really is the heart of the film. And they listen to her! Which is refreshing.

But maybe my favorite thing of all is that the tone of the film is also played like its own virtuoso instrument. This movie is transcendent and cheeky in equal measure. I laugh and I cry every time I watch it. It's a cliche of movie reviews but the sweetness of the relationships between vulnerable characters yields easily to the visceral fear of the threat they all face and is constantly interlaced with such divine humor. To be able to wield them in such quick succession and sometimes simultaneously is a wonder to me and a delight to view.

Sadly, I feel it's not landing well with a lot of audiences. Some people wish it would have just stayed in its lane as a vampire flick and not had so much to say about underrepresented groups in a colonial system. Others would prefer the opposite. And I think some people just can't see themselves in the tension of the South and feel disinterested. It's unfortunate to me because I think it is such special film making and I wish everyone could love it.

I cannot imagine another movie topping Sinners as it is one of the best I have seen in years! Here's hoping it gets a healthy amount of love.

Welcome, Guests!

My cat wondering why I am up at 5:30am. She didn't mind eating early though. It was way darker in the house than my phone shows here too.

The nominations have arrived, like guests who will move in to my house and monopolize my time, energy and resources for the next seven weeks. You can see the complete list here. 

I have to say, I'm pretty pleased with the group I'll be hanging out with. I've gotten to know a lot of them already so this should be pretty comfortable. (If you're new here, every year I watch every film nominated for an Oscar in any category and review them all.) There are 22 strangers in the mix; 22 films I need to see in the time afforded. Hopefully they won't be too hard to find on streaming or in theaters. I've got to get to know my new guests.

My most honored guest is Sinners with 16 nominations! Which is a record, by the way! I'm so happy as this is by far my favorite movie of the year. I hope it wins a healthy amount rather than receive all this love just to get shut out by One Battle After Another. I'm also super happy for Delroy Lindo's nomination for this film. What a nice surprise.

I'm super excited to hang out with some amazing witches from 2025. The past year has been so incredibly great for witch representation in film! The traditional backstory of any witch is that they signed their name in a book to pledge fealty to the devil and receive their powers. That's just not the reality of our...uh, I mean, THEIR practice. Writers seem to assume that just because they have magic they have to be evil. Well not any more! 

I have Agnes Shakespeare from Hamnet (played by Jesse Buckley) as a guest and I don't think I've seen a more beautiful depiction of a witch of the wood before. She works with herbs, has a kind of precognition, is just as comfortable sleeping in tree roots as a bed and is feral as hell! Her character is everything I aspire to be.

Annie from Sinners (played by Wunmi Mosaku) is another out of this world depiction of a magical woman grounded in her practice as a rootworker. She has a powerful skill for protection and reading the future as well as a wealth of knowledge for all things supernatural. And best of all, when she speaks in her community, people listen. Her value is respected deeply and I love to see it.

Gladys Lilly (played by Amy Madigan) from Weapons is also here! Now it's true she controls and murders people, but hear me out. She isn't doing it for any man or evil god; she's just looking out for number one. She has many different ways that she shows up in the world from terrifying to silly and light and she is extremely powerful. I'm happy to have her as a guest.

Hopefully I'll meet another witch as I learn more about my new guests! Speaking of new guests, I'm not looking forward to getting to know Avatar: Fire and Ash. There could be a witch in there but I hear this one is long winded and repetitive. Wish me luck.

There are a few guests that were not invited by the Academy and I'll sorely miss them. Paul Mescal was somehow left out for Hamnet and that's unfortunate. Also Teyana Taylor was nominated for One Battle After Another but not Chase Infiniti? I don't understand that at all. I'm disappointed that All the Walls Came Down wasn't nominated. It's a short doc about my town burning so I felt pretty invested.

But most glaring is No Other Choice receiving NO nominations whatsoever. Many people, including me, thought it was one of the best films of the year and it's crazy that it got completely shut out. Did Park Chan-wook do something to make everyone mad? He and his movie will be sorely missed at my house.

I've got to go get everyone settled in. I'll start reviews later today. After all, it's not just a welcome to the nominees today. It's also a welcome to you, my good readers. Let's have a great season of Gluttony together!

Official Oscar Gluttony 2026 Commences

This is my neighborhood post-fire. Absolutely gorgeous except seven of my neighbors homes used to be right there in that shot. 

Welcome Back, Film Buffs and Movie Dabblers!

Oscar nominations will be announced tomorrow (January 22nd) but I'm not waiting around when there's so many movies to dig into already! First, let's get caught up on the past year.

There was a fire in my town, just over a year ago, described by our local weather expert as a "catastrophe of biblical proportions." Only 30% of the homes on my street survived the blaze and I'm happy to report, after 10 months of displacement, I am back in my home. At night it's a deserted landscape of coyotes and ghosts and during the day, it's a construction zone, but don't worry! None of that keeps me from streaming all the movies that I need to watch. And all of my theaters are outside of the "burn zone." (I don't mean to brag, no offense if your neighborhood is lacking a burn zone. It's not for everyone.)

Let's see, what else? ICE raids have impacted my neighborhood and our school community. Each day the reports get more grim and violent. Our country is attacking Venezuela, stealing oil and sliding (rapidly, mind you) into fascism. 

So how are you all doing? I'm guessing pretty much the same. Maybe you lack a "biblical proportion" disaster but hang on, they are no longer in short supply. I'm sure one will reach you shortly. (Though, my hope for you is to remain miraculously unscathed.)

What fun it is to get caught up with friends these days, eh? All this cheerful discourse has got me famished. I could really go for a bright colorful musical, a sport movie about a game that might not really be a sport, an exploration of colonialism and appropriation disguised as a Vampire tale or maybe a yummy fantasy about a well known playwright of old! 

I'm hungrily counting down the hours to the announcements! Let's get to devouring some celluloid!