A fun fact for this year, among the top 6 categories (including Best Director) there are only 13 films nominated for 35 total spots. I feel like that may be some kind of record. Seems wild to watch so few films for that many nominations. Once the awards season really settled in, this was Oppenheimer's win all the way. The only suspense was Al Pacino just coming out on stage, opening the envelope, and mumbling myeyessee...Oppenheimer, and then looking around confused. It took a second to realize it had won but that was really the only issue of an otherwise great ceremony. It was mostly to the point and I think a lot of people enjoyed the five past winners talking about the five nominees in each acting category. Though I hope they don't do that every year or else it will lose its luster. I was really hoping to watch everything before the ceremony but could not finish the previous year in time because I got lazy and because I took forever to finally watch Avatar 2. So I blame James Cameron. My goal for next year is to try and do the Oscar death race, which is watch absolutely everything nominated before the ceremony, including all the shorts. That means I have to at least finish this year on time, but with 13 films, I don't think it will be much of an issue. So let's go!
2023 Best Picture
Hey, Christopher Nolan finally breaks through with a film about nuclear physics and the atom bomb?! I guess that makes more sense than Tenet did. Ayyyy. Anyway, this was the backend of the two-headed behemoth with Barbie we know as Barbenheimer which is so damn clever! I like that a pair of movies get branded together because it's so fun and just speaks to how all of this isn't that serious when you really boil it all down. They tried it this year with Wicked and Gladiator II by calling it Glicked and it just didn't work and was kinda lame, but this film associating with Barbie was pure genius. They tapped into an audience that would probably never had gone to see this film even with it being a Nolan film, which is not the big draw that it used to be. It's a three hour film about nuclear physics and the man that created the atomic bomb and that feels like it shouldn't be so compelling but that's what Nolan can bring. My big takeaway was that this was a long film, but it flew by because the story was so compelling and engaging that you forget it was so long. But also, that third act with the trial stuff was so boring and really killed the vibe of the film. It should have ended with the bomb going off because that felt like the crescendo of the film and story, yet it insisted on keeping going. I know there is payoff in that third act, but it doesn't really matter because I didn't find the RDJ stuff interesting at all, though I got its purpose. I just feel like the film could have been much tighter and wrapped up better than extending it with the boring part of the film. The visuals were great, but I actually anticipated more explosions and whatnot. It really was a look at the gradual ramp up of the creation of the atomic bomb and it felt like we were privy to the goings on of those involved. This is a solid Best Picture winner that I am happy to watch again if it comes on TV, which is wild to say about a 3 hour film.
American Fiction
I watched this film twice, mostly because after the first time I just couldn't quite articulate my thoughts even though I enjoyed it a lot. There was a very long time between viewings and I think the second watch helped me understand the film a bit better. The story is about an author, a Jeffrey Wright at his best, who has been having a hard time getting his new book published and sees a young, educated black woman being celebrated for writing a stereotypical "black" book that is hugely popular. So Wright, uh, writes his own book in the same vein under a pen name and it becomes hugely popular and held up as a modern classic with everyone wanting to know who the author is. Obviously, this kind of satires the black experience as entertainment where some white lady wants to be the first to call it a masterpiece to seem hip and some white executive tries to relate to it so he can make it into a movie. We see the absurdity through Wright's eyes (again an incredible performance from him) and also experience the absurdity of sorts of his family life, as we see throughout the film. Cord Jefferson, who directed, wrote, and produced this as his first film ever, won Best Adapted Screenplay for his work. And honestly, the acting is top notch all around, but is clearly led by the stellar writing that is so funny, slick, emotional, powerful, and just perfect at times for the film. Jefferson had previously won an Emmy for writing an episode of Watchmen and it stands to reason that he is someone to watch in the future if this is the kind of output he can deliver. But back to the acting, it's all so good. Wright finally gets a well deserved Best Actor nomination and Sterling K. Brown, playing Wright's brother, finally gets his due from the film world with a Supporting Actor nomination. But the rest of the cast including Issa Rae, Tracee Ellis Ross, Keith David, Adam Brody, among others, are great additions to the film. The story has so many funny moments that it can be easy to miss just how scathing the deeper meaning of the black experience can be. The major draw of the film is absolutely the story and acting and the Oscars making Best Picture a firm 10 nomination category is a reason people will revisit this film in the future and hopefully enjoy it as much as I did. I especially liked the scenes where Wright is coming up with the novel and the scenes play out in real time and the characters look to Wright for better lines or characterizations. It's a thoughtful, captivating, and entertaining film about a world many of us could do more to understand.
Anatomy of a Fall
I am watching this as the second of the two foreign films nominated for Best Picture, the first time that's ever happened in Oscar history. And both of the films star Sandra Huller, which is pretty neat. I am so happy that with the more diverse and inclusive Academy, we are starting to see some films and performances get recognition and nominations that probably wouldn't have even just a few years ago. This film is a great representative of that point since it is a French film, starring the German Huller, that has a lot of English spoken throughout the film. I know I say this a lot, but it is better to go into films blind, I think, because you don't have any expectations or preconceived notions of what it might be about. I only vaguely knew this was about a death and thought it may be a whodunit, but it actually is a very well made courtroom drama. I think what sets this apart from other films of the same genre is that we have no idea if Huller's character is innocent or not. I read that Huller was told by Justine Triet, the director and writer (for which she was nominated for both and won the Oscar for Original Screenplay), to play the character as if she were innocent without telling her whether she actually was or not. And the editor (who was also nominated in Best Editing) said that the main challenge for them was to edit Huller's character in an ambiguous way because leaning too far one way or another made the film less interesting and I agree with that completely. The power of the film is all of these elements combining; the directing, writing, editing, and acting to give us this thought provoking look into a family drama of did she kill her husband or did he kill himself or what exactly happened? It's a raw and honest look at a relationship and how tough it can be especially after an accident blinds their son. We are riveted by the will she or won't she be convicted as well as the inner lookings of her marriage and family life that are laid bare for the court to see in all its ugly glory. I like that the tense feel of the film isn't just because we are waiting to see if she did it or not and I think that's part of why the film is so successful. The other main reason is because Huller gives an enthralling performance and is at the top of her game. The other surprise was that the child actor was very good in this, and if you've seen some of my reviews on them before, you know I am not kind to them. But he was perfect in the role and that is one of the things that makes for a great film is when everything comes together. A great year for foreign films and I really hope this isn't an outlier of a year because we have seen some great foreign films recently.
Barbie
The other part of the Barbenheimer cultural phenomenon. It was truly a joy to watch as people flooded theaters again to watch a double billing of the two most completely opposite films ever. And the fact that the directors and actors all responded by supporting each other and doing press work later was the icing on the cake. People were dressing up in all pink to see this film and then going to Oppenheimer right after is a testament to their unity and appeal. This film feels like it shouldn't exist. Why would Mattel allow this film to be made that basically calls out their leadership? I don't know, but I'm glad they did. I think they recognized that this wasn't going to be a box office bomb and were right when it made over a billion dollars. The aesthetic is amazing. When you are doing Barbie, you have to go all out with referencing all different iterations of Barbie and Ken. It looks vibrant and alive and just looks how a Barbie move should. It's exactly like people playing with like a Barbie neighborhood and bought Dreamhouses and cars and all that. It's got to have a beautiful lead as the Barbie herself and Margot Robbie fits that. Ryan Gosling is the perfect Ken. Getting those right is key to making the whole film believable. There are a ton of articles that dissect what the film means about patriarchy and feminism and capitalism and being yourself. I tried reading some and felt they were so convoluted and lost in themselves that they stopped being about the film and started being more about political and social agendas. Just watch the film and see what you think it means. To me, it's not that Barbie should rule or that Ken should rule, but that we need to come together and try to be the best versions of ourselves. I don't even think that the film really goes too deep into any real discussion on this and is legit just a film about Barbie and Ken. The humor is terrific, the songs are so good and deservedly won a Best Song award and had the best moment of the Oscar ceremony with the I'm Just Ken song. You've got an iconic monologue from America Ferrera that will probably be remembered for decades and shown over and over again. It's an incredible directing effort that somehow didn't get Greta Gerwig a Best Director nom, but admittedly this year was pretty tough. Margot Robbie also didn't get an acting nomination though I feel she should have on top of her producing nom. Michael Cera's Allan may have been my favorite part of the whole film because he's just so out of place but is an actual produced friend of Ken by Mattel. There's so much to find and love about this film that I can see why it made a billion dollars and sparked a cultural phenomenon.
The Holdovers
I'm not going to hide my affection for this film - this is absolutely a new Christmas favorite. And the director, Alexandor Payne, absolutely hates that characterization. He said that he thinks the cozy feeling attributed to the film is wrong and wants it to be known as just a good film and not a Christmas film. Motherfucker, you set this film during a Christmas break, so no, you don't get to tell us that you would rather it be just a normal film. You knew what you were doing so just go with it, man. Because this is a fantastic film that evokes the 70s with its aesthetic, its vibe, its characters, and its story. I love the scene transitions because they steal from the 70s with them dissolving into each other and making you feel a certain way. This is the second collaboration between Payne and Paul Giamatti and I wasn't kind to the first iteration, Sideways. I hated Giamatti's character and really didn't like his acting and just didn't give that film much of a chance though I did love The Descendants and Nebraska. I may have to visit that film again to give Giamatti a fair shake, but this is true for now. And I adore Giamatti here. I think this is the perfect character for him. From now until forever, this is the film and character I will forever associate with Giamatti because he makes it his own. And for those that have no idea, Giamatti is a professor at a boys boarding house who has to babysit the holdovers. Dominic Sessa, who deserved a Supporting Actor nomination, is the lone boy who Giamatti has to look after eventually. It's as you'd expect when hijinks, though I'd rather call it necessary plot points, get moved forward. Eventually Giamatti and Sessa settle their differences and come to an appreciation of each other. I never quite knew where the film and story would end up and I felt sad when it did end up at the point it did. I actually kinda love that the film didn't end up on some saccharine ending where everything is perfect. The ending is heartfelt but also true to life and speaks to Giamatti's character's sacrifice. The characters are fantastic, the story is compelling, and the lessons are more of a suggestion. Love this film a ton and enjoy that it's given us a new Christmas favorite, Alexander Payne's opinion be damned.
Killers of the Flower Moon
Hey look, another 3 and a half hour Scorsese film gets nominated in Best Picture. I joke, but this one didn't feel as long as it was to me, which is always a huge plus. It helps to have a story that you've never heard about with some great acting and of course great directing from Marty. The story was the highlight because we have so few stories about American Indians that aren't told through a white lens. And that's one of the interesting things about this film is that the Osage Indians, who the story is about, had a lot of say in the script and story and had things changed and rewritten to better reflect their people and beliefs and that is seen in the film because the book is told from the FBI perspective and the Osage convinced Scorsese it would be better to tell it from the point of view of the Osage - and the fact that Marty listened and changed it to that is great credit to him, because I'd imagine most other directors would have told them to fuck off. And I think it makes it a better and more unique film honoring that tribe and community. The story is that in early 1900s Oklahoma, oil is found on native lands and makes the Osage very wealthy because they control the rights to the land and oil money and members of the tribe start being murdered in great numbers to where the tribe goes to D.C. to ask the government to intervene and eventually the FBI shows up in one of their first cases ever. It focuses on Robert De Niro as the defacto king of the area and his nephew, Leo DiCaprio, who marries one of the Osage women, played by Lily Gladstone. The men scheme a way to get Gladstone's rights so they get her family's money. These three give incredible performances and I wish Gladstone had won Best Actress, because she was phenomenal. It's also one of the first films in a long time for Scorsese where a woman has a vital, important part in the story, which has been a big criticism of his films for awhile, so it was good to see him actually give us a strong female lead film. The main issue is the length of the film. It could have easily been edited down a bit and still been as strong in my opinion and length is a huge reason why people don't watch certain films like this. Marty not shying away from showing how poorly the Osage were treated by the white folks who wanted their money was nice to see this story not get whitewashed, not that Marty would ever do that, but it's nice to see a film shine a light and turn a mirror around to show us how awful we have been in the past. If you can get past the length, the film offers up a rich, indelible look at a moment in our history that we would be better off not forgetting.
Maestro
I was very intrigued about this film because I'm a big fan of Bradley Cooper's other directorial work A Star is Born. Not only a talented actor, he's becoming a really great director, too, and it's cool to see that happening almost in real time with each new project. This film is about the American composer Leonard Bernstein and his wife Felicia and their career and relationship. It's definitely a very niche subject matter because I imagine most people aren't aware of who he is. I know about him because his only film score was for On the Waterfront, which I adore. Interestingly, before Cooper did this film Steven Spielberg was in talks to possibly work on it and after he passed, he suggested Cooper do it after seeing a scene from ASIB and helped him whenever Cooper had questions or needed advice on things. I love that because Cooper is learning from the best including Marty Scorsese who was the first director attached to this project and stayed on as a producer. Cooper had some big directing brains to pick at and it shows in the final film because Cooper has a lot of great visual moments and shot compositions and the choice to film a lot of it in black and white is inspired. There's just so much directing talent on display in this film that I could watch this on repeat and find new things to appreciate. I am so surprised Cooper wasn't nominated for Directing because the Academy has loved nominating actors who turn into directors a ton in the long history of this award. But also, I must mention that the acting throughout is phenomenal especially from Cooper as the main lead. A lot of folks seemed to not like the story and felt it was mostly Oscar bait or that the subject was boring, which blows my mind. It touches on Bernstein's homosexual tendencies and Cooper doesn't shy away from showing that and how it effects his relationship with his wife and kids and that's some interesting, heavy subject matter. Also, a lot of the music is very good, but it helps to be into operas, choral arrangements, and classical to really get the full effect. The conducting scenes are typically pretty good to watch but some are so affected from Cooper that you get why some say it's baity. The music itself is almost like a character in the film and I love how it's ever present and driving the film along to its ending. I really enjoyed this film and how passionate Cooper was in his directing and acing because it made it a very rewarding watch for me. No idea why this didn't seem to connect more with the Oscar fans online, but I am super excited to see what Cooper does for his next directing effort.
Past Lives
One of the things about writing these reviews that I often think about is should I start writing immediately after watching a film or should I let some time develop between watching and writing so I can maybe be less emotional. Because I loved this film and feel like I need to let this wave of emotions wash over me to write something coherent. It's an emotionally resonant and devastating look at what could have been between two former childhood crushes. Greta Lee and Teo Yoo play the two former crushes and grew up in South Korea before Lee's family immigrated to Canada. Even in those early scenes (obviously played by child actors) you can see the bond they have and the sweetness with how they interact with each other. That sets up the premise of the film when twelve years later they reconnect online with Lee now living in NYC and Yoo still in Seoul. This is a brisk film at an hour and forty-five minutes because the chemistry between Lee and Yoo is so transfixing and utterly palpable. They start talking over Skype a lot and just watching these interactions is surreal because you can see the nervousness and awkwardness and the attraction and that bond they still have over a decade later. The film breezes by because you are so caught up in their relationship and want to see them succeed even though you know they don't. Which is what happens when neither can really schedule a time to actually visit the other because of their job/school commitments. And it feels too real because I think a lot of us have had either that long distance relationship or a flirtation or crush that went unrequited because of things out of your control. Yoo then eventually visits NYC after twelve more years where they didn't talk and Lee is now married to an American man. Their meeting together and then with the husband is so touching and visceral, it's like I'm standing in the room with them as all of this goes on. It's emotionally affecting without being manipulative for the audience because this is a universal theme everyone can feel and is not strictly Korean. Celine Song wrote and directed this, her debut, and her choices to keep Yoo and the husband separate on set until they actually film their first scene together shows how in command she was of this story. She did the same with Lee and Yoo, also, and it just makes their story that much more compelling because it feels so real and authentic. How Lee and Yoo weren't nominated for their performances is baffling to me. They are so full of this subtle, understated work where mere glances tell a thousand stories. I really hope this film launches them into more work and that we see more from Song, too. She is only the second Asian woman to direct a Best Picture nominated film which is highly impressive and speaks to how important the changes to the Academy have been in recent years. This is an incredible film that will make you shed some tears and think about your own what might have been moments.
Poor Things
I'm sorry to say, but I had absolutely zero interest in this film for no real reason. I have enjoyed Yorgos Lanthimos' films before this, love Willem Dafoe, and know this had the Best Actress winning performance in it, but I still was not at all interested. But of course, I ended up enjoying it, which is a lesson for those (Academy voters included) that don't watch or give up on films after a few minutes. Actually watch the films and you never know what may actually end up being something you like. This film is inventive and stylish and pretty unique story wise. It's about Bella Baxter played by Emma Stone, who is reanimated from a pregnant woman who killed herself by Willem Dafoe's character who took her baby's brain and inserted it for the adult brain. Crazy stuff indeed, the story shows us Bella basically growing up and discovering herself sexually and philosophically as odd as that combo sounds. Yorgos does a great job with the directing, I liked how he started the film in black and white to mirror Bella acting like a baby since babies can't see color and then adding color until it was completely realistic looking at the very end. Just like how Bella goes from minimal vocabulary to talking normally, it's those small details that make the film so much more interesting, though it is plenty interesting from the jump. The film just is a great amalgamation of amazing acting, inventive production design, wonderful direction, and a great score. I wish I could be a bit more academic in my review, but this is one where I say I simply loved it more than I thought I would and think everyone should see this one. It had buzz to win, though it was minimal, but I get why people would champion this to win. This is filmmaking!
The Zone of Interest
I didn't know a whole lot about this film going into it, which is honestly how I kinda like to watch these nominated films now. Give myself as much of an unbiased view as possible, though invariably I will know a lot about some of these as they get talked about so much. This one is a film from Jonathan Glazer, his first in ten years since Under the Skin and who also made the Supporting Actor nominated film, Sexy Beast back in 2000. I loved both of those films a lot, so I was very intrigued to see what this one had in store knowing that it dealt with a Nazi family living outside a concentration camp. Well, that family was the Commandant of Auschwitz who indeed lived literally a wall away from the camp. That's essentially what the film is about as we see this family go about their daily lives swimming, fishing, gardening, having meals outside, just being a normal family. Another review mentioned the mundanity of their lives and I loved that word because it is in stark contrast to the screams, gunshots, trains, smoke from the crematoriums that we constantly hear and see in the background. It's the banality of evil as we see this family go about its life as if the Holocaust just beyond the wall is a normal, everyday going on. Glazer uses a lot of wide angle shots to give the camera a detached feeling and also to better show the little bit of camp we can see behind the wall. Glazer also set up a bunch of cameras in the house they used to capture the actors without any crew present and to get authentic shots of them as they went about daily life as the actors never knew if they were in wide or closeup shots. All of this really helps to drive the point of the film home and it makes for such an interesting experience. Couple that with the scenes of a local Polish girl going around at night leaving apples at the worksites of the prisoners (which apparently was based on a real story) that were shot with a thermal camera so that she is in stark, bright white contrast to the darkness around her, it really plays off the main story very well. The story itself isn't a whole lot, but it's compelling because we know what is going on and know how callous the wife (played by Sandra Huller) is being as she threatens her help or gloats about all the amenities she has to her mother. We see that the evil is not just a raving, fascist lunatic with a little mustache, but a mundane family accepting and helping to commit the atrocities we see as if it's another normal day. I thought this film was very engaging and thought provoking while just genuinely being a pretty great film itself. Happy with this choice from the Academy.
The change to 10 nominees flat has been for the better and this year shows how necessary that change was. We essentially get 2 foreign films in this category and both felt deserving and not ham-fisted in here to show how diverse and woke and all that that the Academy likes to do. Oppenheimer is a good winner that I think will start to rank up there when doing all time BP lists. Got to add Barbie next to complete the Barbenheimer marriage, but it also is a great film that is going to be very easy to rewatch any time its on TV. Past Lives blew me away and was the highlight of this category for me. Just some very subtle and nuanced work that was so compelling. I just saw the trailer for Celine Song's next film and it was an underwhelming rom-com, so I hope she can be back here again. The Holdovers is a new Christmas classic, no matter what the director wants. It's got a great vibe and is just a great overall film. Then I've got the two foreign films up next with Anatomy of a Fall and The Zone of Interest. The death (murder?) of a man and the subsequent trial were riveting with great acting from Huller. And seeing the other side of the coin for a Holocaust film was really interesting and scary how evil can truly look. Killers of the Flower Moon is good Scorsese that will be up there with his classics, though not quite near the top. Maestro I enjoyed but understand why others had issues with it. Poor Things was much better than I thought it would be, but the subject can be problematic despite the great acting. American Fiction brings up the rear, even though I liked it, it feels like the one people will forget about the most, unfortunately. Alright, good group, but let's get to the most recent one so I can get back to the old films again.
Oscar Winner: Oppenheimer
My Winner: Oppenheimer
Barbie
Past Lives
The Holdovers
Anatomy of a Fall
The Zone of Interest
Killers of the Flower Moon
Maestro
Poor Things
American Fiction
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