Ok, it feels good to be watching these even if the ceremony just happened. Hear about them ad nauseum and finally get to watch them. Conan was a great host and very happy he's coming back next year again. Was kinda surprised that Anora did so well, so I'm looking forward to watching it to see why it was so loved. Another nice, diverse group of films let's get to it and hopefully don't take until next year to finish this again (aw shit, I did take until next year. Literally like 2 weeks before the 2025 ceremony, ah well.).
2024 Best Picture
This film, and Sean Baker, dominated out of nowhere. I don't think anyone was expecting this film to do as well as it did come Oscar night. I mean, Baker was the first person ever and 4th nominated, to win BP, Best Directing, Best Original Screenplay and Best Editing for the same film. That's an insane haul, though it makes sense because Baker does everything on his films. He was even credited, with his wife, for Casting. If that was an award this year, which they have been trying hard to get into the Awards Ceremony (the Casting guild, I mean. update: it's now a nominated category), I'm sure he would have won that, too. Everything seemed to come together for Baker on this film. His previous film, The Florida Project, was nominated for Supporting Actor for Willem Dafoe, which was good and he had buzz for Tangerine (shot entirely on an iPhone which is why I watched it), I know I need to watch his other films to see how they add to his story. But Anora feels like a departure and feels like more of the same in a good way. He's touched on sex workers before in Tangerine and Red Rocket, but this feels way more focused and deliberate. This film focuses on Ani, a stripper who meets a rich Russian guy who is young and the son of an Oligarch, who loves to party hard. Ani starts hooking up with the dude for money and becomes enamored with the lifestyle he lives and the son starts falling for her and eventually proposes to her because he doesn't want to go back to Russia to work for his father and then flies to Vegas to marry her. This gets the attention of his family's handlers who are Armenian and tasked with annulling the marriage and getting the son away from Ani and back to Russia. This is the part of the film that is interesting to me. I'm no prude, but the first 30 minutes or so of Madison being naked a ton just felt gross and exploitive, though I understand it is establishing who Ani is. When the Armenians show up, we get Yuri Borisov who helps make this film so much more interesting and just the whole wild antics they perform to try to control Ani and find the son who has left in a rage to avoid going back to Russia. It's almost like a road trip movie at this point where the group goes to all these different locations looking for the son all while Ani says she isn't going to annul and loves the son and is acting like a tough New York stripper. I liked how Ani seemed to fight for a guy she barely knew because she wanted the lifestyle and also because she didn't want to go back to the club with her tail tucked between her legs. And it felt like she may have had some genuine feelings for the son. Eventually they find the son and his parents arrive from Russia to take him back and we see that the son really didn't care about Ani and was just having fun before he had to go work. Ani stands up for herself but accepts her fate and has to figure out what to do next. All of that part of the film is great and was completely compelling as I wanted to know what was going to happen next. I was hooked and feeling for Ani as all of her new world crumbled around her. I think this is where the film wins Best Picture, though I'm sure the nudity sucked a lot of people in. It's a great film and is something that should make people want to dive deep into Baker's output before this film, me included.
I will be completely honest before I start this review. I do not like Bob Dylan's music like at all, so I'm wondering if this film can open me up to his stuff or if it will be more personal than music related. Well, having seen it just now, I can confidently say I still don't like his music, though I can definitely appreciate his style a bit more. Also, I guess I forgot or didn't really know just how many famous songs he has but there's a bunch that even the most casual listener like me will recognize. But how is the film, since I ain't here to critique Dylan's music? Honestly, I think it's a very well made film and right in director James Mangold's wheelhouse, since he did make Walk the Line (I almost typed Walk Hard, which is the superior musical biopic film) the Johnny Cash film with Joaquin Phoenix. And I can see a lot of that film in this one, since this film kinda treats Dylan as this enigmatic, mysterious folk music wunderkind. Both lead by star performances from their musical icons, Timothee is fantastic and most of the acting from the other known and notable musical figures are great, as well. The acting is why we watch this, the story not so much. I didn't feel like I really learned much about Bob Dylan at all, which I think should be the main thing besides getting the songs right. I don't really know where he came from or who he was, just that he inserted himself into the folk scene with ease and seemed to write hit songs quickly and everything just fell into place and happened so easily for him. I didn't really see much struggle or any obstacles he had to overcome. Some people didn't like him moving to electric guitar, I guess and he had a tumultuous love life because Dylan was portrayed as a fuck boy rather than a sensitive lover boy, which is what it felt like they wanted him to come across as. I love that all the singing and guitar playing is done by the actors themselves, because I think it really makes the film better overall instead of lip synching and taking us out of the illusion. The main draw is just hearing and seeing the songs get played and this film succeeds at doing that. The rest of the film is mostly nothing and entirely forgettable, though it could have been so much better than what we got.
This was the last film I watched for this year, for a couple reasons. It is the 5th longest BP nominated film ever at over 3 and a half hours. It had a 15 minute intermission which was the first intermission for a film in theaters in literal years. So it's long and I had heard various folks say boring, long, and gets good in the second half, which isn't exactly a ringing endorsement. It's about Adrien Brody escaping Europe after being imprisoned by the Nazis and coming to America where he starts building a big project for Guy Pearce's character. That's the simplified version obviously but there is a lot more depth to this film overall. It has a couple of the greatest film shots of the year and probably ever with upside down Statue of Liberty and Brody with sparks in front of him. Both are so iconic and got me so hyped for this film. I don't know exactly what I was expecting of this film, perhaps a meditation on architecture that tied into a character study of the architect and his experiences. I guess, in a way, that's kinda what the film is about. But I did think the architecture would play a more prominent and important role and be featured earlier. I do see that someone who survived the Holocaust could and would come up with brutal looking architecture to mirror their experience. Obviously a lot more to parse out from this film than just architecture. It's an incredibly well made film with the Vista Vision cinematography, excellent acting, great direction. A solid, cohesive film that feels like it will be on lists of greatest ever films that we get from time to time, though this would not be my choice for something like that. But it feels like a filmmaker's type of film, you know? And I haven't even mentioned the AI controversy that popped up because they used an AI language something or other to make the Hungarian (I think) that Brody and Jones speak sound more convincing. Which I think is fascinating and honestly helps the film so we don't get the actors tripping over words they don't know or sounding ridiculous speaking a language they don't actually speak. To me, a non issue. I found parts of this film boring, I found parts of this exciting, and I found parts of this perplexing as to why they decided to take the film in that direction. If you've seen it, you know what I'm talking about. Also, didn't really like the 1980s epilogue part as it kinda broke the immersion with this different looking period to a film that didn't really need it. It felt like they didn't know how to end it and decided to film something that looked like it would be just white words on a black screen or something. I dunno, watch it for yourself and see if this is the genius I hoped it would be or the disappointment it actually was to me.
Oh my goodness, this might be my favorite film of the year! I still have most of the category to go through, but it is so thrilling to watch. I watched this literally a week before the Conclave to choose Pope Francis' successor started, so it gave so much insight into what will actually be happening, outside of all the twists and turns of the political intrigue (how cool we got an American Pope!). So it was a truly fascinating watch that was extremely timely for me. I was so excited to watch this the first time I saw commercials on TV for it, because it was not even on my radar even though it should have been seeing as it was Edward Berger's newest film (having just done All Quiet on the Western Front). I know it's based off a book that did well, and it feels like almost a pulpy thriller where there is so much political intrigue and secrets coming to light where you just can't put the book down, well I just couldn't look away from this film. I love when films are tight and move their story along at a brisk pace. It becomes way more thrilling as I was wondering what was going to happen next and wanted to know who would be elected Pope. Although, I think most people can figure out very early on just who exactly is going to be Pope like I did, the ride to get there was still fantastic. Though, I did not expect the 'twist' which I think gives us a lot to think about with this film. Berger can really craft a film, as it just looks great with soooo many beautiful scenes that you could pull out and point to as the best individual scene or shot of the year. Just so many shots that were exquisite like the one with all the Cardinals outside in a piazza with white umbrellas moving around like ants. The writing won an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay and the film had a total of 8 nominations, including a great score and the beautiful Costume and Production designs. All of which was well deserved and it's crazy that the film only won a single Oscar. In some other years, this may have swept the ceremony and I would have been here for it. Great acting from everyone involved from a great script and a brilliant director makes for an incredible BP nominated film. My only issue is that I wanted the film to go on for another hour or so to see what happens and just to see the pomp and circumstance of it all (which was a conscious decision by the director to not show any of the crowds or aftermath, to keep everything focused singularly on the Conclave itself), but I'll guess we'll get that in real life here very soon.
For reference purposes, go read my review for the first film back in 2021 because it sums up why I love the source material so much. In that review I said that I could see this film winning BP, which may have happened if it hadn't been pushed a year out instead of releasing closer to the first one. The buzz and excitement had died down and we got a pretty great group of nominees, so this was going to have to be perfect to win. So was it? Honestly, no, for a number of reasons. Mostly I think because the first film gets to introduce us to this world and all the fun characters and the sand worms and the fremen and the ornithopters, which is all very exciting to see on the screen. And in this film, we are used to that stuff, so the action needs to be there to take over and bring it all home. There's a stretch in the beginning to middle of the film where we are with Paul and the fremen that is a bit dull to me even though it is driving the plot forward. There's some important stuff going on with Paul's mother and Paul himself becoming more of a leader, but the setting with the fremen in the desert is kinda boring and I wish for more time with the Harkonnen's or just somewhere different. I started feeling stifled by the heat and desert. But the film picks back up when it turns its gaze to Austin Butler's character, Feyd-Rautha, who looks so badass and is the heir to Baron Harkonnen and a sadistic, cruel being. Butler totally owns the role, too. The visuals once he is introduced just become mesmerizing. I love the whole black and white look and what Villeneuve is able to do with it to make it look interesting and more than just a stylistic choice. And the film just gets better from here on out because things start to happen and we become invested in the story again. I don't mean that to sound so awful, because the film until this point is far from bad. I'm just happy to be getting the Dune experience a second time. Because it is riveting entertainment and shows us how amazing this story can be and gets me hyped that there will be a third film for Messiah, which I admittedly don't know anything about, but if it's Villeneuve, then I am onboard. I just hope it doesn't take 4 more years or more to get to us.
Emilia Perez
Oh boy, where do I even start with this one? I'll start by saying this was the lone movie of the year that I dreaded having to watch. All of the bad reviews and word of mouth in the Oscar sphere and negative vibe the cast and crew had really made me want to skip this. And y'all know I don't skip a thing. Before getting to the review and movie itself, there is a lot wrong with this movie. Made by a Frenchman who doesn't know English or Spanish, the movie gets a lot wrong with being set in Mexico. The movie starts with a jury trial, which Mexico doesn't have jury trials, and just gets a lot of the cultural essence of Mexico completely wrong. It's as if the film is written and made by a guy who knows nothing of Mexico other than cartels. Jacques Audiard admitted he didn't know much about Mexico and after going there to scout locations and not finding the Mexico he assumed, they decided to shoot the movie in freaking France. Never mind the language issues the movie faced with Selena Gomez being criticized for barely being comprehensible to Spanish speakers even though she was raised to speak Spanish. Zoe Saldana's accent is apparently all over the place and not Mexican sounding which her character is supposed to be (she is of Dominican descent). These are the little things in the movie that are not done right or well and shows how little care for its subject there is from the cast and crew and shows that the movie could have been set in Kenya as the setting didn't seem to matter except for plot points. Then there is the use of AI to alter the voices of the women during some songs. Obviously, artificial intelligence is a hot button issue these days when it changes the work of actors or takes the job of crew and just adds to the list of why this is such an insincere piece of work. And then the movie is pretty reductive and some say transphobic when it comes to the portrayal of trans actress Karla Sofia Gascon, who is trans in real life. It certainly feels dated and almost as an afterthought. Audiard initially wanted to use the transition as a comedic element to the story before being talked out of it by Gascon, which shows just how shitty and out of touch Audiard is. But of course Gascon is even shittier as a person, which shows that trans folks aren't above reproach and can be awful people too with her behavior and tweets that surfaced during the awards season run up. This is all a disastrous set up, so how is the movie itself? Well, it's not great, but when it's just the story, it's not bad. Saldana is a Mexican lawyer who is contacted by Gascon's cartel boss (I think?) who wants her to find a doctor so he can transition to being a woman. He successfully becomes she and eventually reunites with Saldana and gets her to get his children back to Mexico from Switzerland. Gascon's Emilia Perez then has a change of heart about her actions as a boss and founds an NGO that helps find bodies of the disappeared through her connections to the cartel business. She keeps her former wife close but loses it when she says she's gonna get married and move the children with her. Some violence happens and both Gascon and Gomez die. It's kind of interesting for a bit, but it takes too much time for something that is ultimately not that interesting because it's super predictable. I actually enjoyed the first song or two that happened as they gave off a different vibe. I know the movie is deemed a musical, but the director kept calling it an opera or operatic, which I totally get. The initial songs are good and interesting but then we get the vaginoplasty song and it's truly awful. Like boggles the mind how bad it is and that it was included and someone spent time putting it together. I don't like Mi Camino either, way to waste Gomez's talent, and the song El Mal from Saldana is not that great either, though I do kinda like her choreography in it. Honestly, I think there is a good to great film here if some of this is tweaked. A better director could do wonders for it and probably elevate it to something beyond camp. Audiard is garbage and the movie suffers because of him. I know some folks love that it was bold and brash and took a big swing and did things differently, but the movie is so problematic, that it's hard to see the positives. I say watch it yourself and figure out if you like it or not, because I sure don't. Yuck.
I'm Still Here
Man, this film just feels like a Best Picture nominee. I loved it and am so glad we are at 10 nominees, because a foreign film like this might never have been nominated in previous years. I will admit my Brazilian history knowledge is pretty nil, but I do know they've had a military dictatorship somewhat recently. So seeing a film that shows what it was like to live under that regime and hope for the safe return of their father/husband, hits even harder when the American political landscape is starting to look the same. We've got troops being sent into cities, with the courts kowtowing to whatever whim Trump's dumb ass wants, and a federal government who doesn't give a shit about rounding up folks anywhere, anytime to send them to awful prisons. It's wholly relevant and scary and made me feel so much more in tune with what the film and story is saying. I think it was very well directed by Walter Salles, as it has a sense of urgency in the background that finally comes to the forefront as the father is taken away to be tortured and killed. It has great acting from Fernanda Torres, who was nominated in Best Actress, but the kids do a great job, as does the father/husband who is taken away. Really, it's the impact of the film that really does it for me here. So vital to what's going on today and done in such an engrossing way with a riveting story that made me feel sad. It's really terrific and I'm so glad it was nominated because people should see this film, no matter that it's a Brazilian film. This one just felt like an Oscar film and I'm happy it was.
Nickel Boys
This is probably the tenth film of this group of ten to get in the category and probably the least known of all of the films nominated here. The main draw of this film is that the majority of the film is shot in the first person perspective. Now, some people and some current filmmakers heavily praised this film for being innovative and pushing the medium forward, though this has been done previously in other films. But my reaction was that for the first part of the film, it didn't work for me at all. It was like the field of view was zoomed in or you're looking through binoculars or something and aren't seeing a real first person perspective. I feel like some folks may get a little sick or nauseous from how the camera is placed at times and I feel it's a bit distracting from the actual story. Which is about a young black man who is very smart and gets accepted to a tuition free HBCU in Florida and while seemingly hitch hiking and getting picked up by a black dude, they get pulled over because the guy stole the car and the kid gets caught up with him and is sent to a boys home that turns out to be abusive and exploitative and possibly where kids are murdered. The initial kid escapes with a friend but are caught and the kid is shot and killed, but the friend makes it back to the kid's grandma to tell her what happened. It's a sad story based on a real boys home in Florida that was notoriously abusive and they dug up tons of graves of kids who were murdered there. Meanwhile, the first person thing gets better as they start flipping between the two kids and have some shots that are normal, so that weird perspective doesn't stay and the film gets more enjoyable to watch. There are some weird shots of space and war and different things that I didn't quite understand. I think maybe it was just framing what was going on in the world at the same time, I dunno, it was certainly an interesting choice that did nothing for me. This really wasn't a film I enjoyed watching much at all, but it is nice to see a film trying something different and get rewarded with a BP nom for it, as that may allow other weird films get some recognition for being different narratively and stylistically. They aren't always going to succeed, however, but I appreciate the attempt, and hey, you may just love it more than I did. I'm not sure if this is one of those films that will get more respect and love as the years go by and we applaud the Academy for their choice or not. Guess we will have to wait and see.
The Substance
This film is why I will forever be a fan of the Academy going to a flat 10 film category here. If we were back on the 5 films or the 5-10 films trajectory, I am not sure this one gets in. I think this might be the first body horror film nominated for Best Picture, though I have to check the 30s in case I forgot something. But that's so impressive! It's a legit genre that has given us great films in the past like The Fly and The Thing. This film is cloaked in sex appeal as it features a naked Demi Moore (almost 60 and still smoking hot!) and Margaret Qualley (Andie Macdowell's nepo baby and Jack Antonoff's wife) as they are two sides of the same coin essentially. Moore is a decorated actress who has been relegated to aerobics video vixen (a la Jane Fonda) and gets cancelled by the nasty, predatory studio head (Dennis Quaid, named after Harvey Weinstein in the film). She then seeks out the Substance which was sent to her and she followed up with. She took this substance and transformed into Qualley and they were supposed to switch off every week, but Qualley got greedy and it became a horror show from there. It obviously says a ton about ageism and beauty standards and the entertainment business as a whole and can kinda mirrors Moore's journey as an actress. Just look to this ceremony as the hot young thing wins over the veteran older actress. The colors in the film are so welcomed, because I feel like a lot the films in this year are so muted or dark, that it's nice to see pops of color. The actual body horror parts are well done and believable with how they are combined and they look horrific and awful and it's so interesting that it comes from such a simple premise. The film is so sexual, too, which I honestly didn't expect, since I went into this blind. I didn't know we'd get full nudity from Moore and Qualley, so props to them especially Moore. I imagine that was part of the reason she was a frontrunner, but also because she is terrific in the role. This is a great BP pick, but also an unusual pick which is why I love the Oscars and how this category is chosen now. Can't see anyone watching this disliking it, as it is well made and why Coralie Fargeat became one of the few female directors nominated. Absolutely worth checking out.
Wicked
I have had the pleasure of seeing Wicked on the stage twice now. Once with an ex in Nashville which helped get me into musicals and opened me up to theatre as a whole. The second time with my parents where I live and it blew them away which was pretty cool to see and hear. So I was very excited to see this film adaptation and felt it was way overdue, but my excitement was tempered seeing Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande get the main parts. No hate on Erivo, I just didn't know her pedigree on stage and wasn't amazed by her previous nomination. And Grande being a pop star made me wonder if she had it in her to be a film star that this film would demand, ya know, acting (forgetting she was a Nickelodeon star before that, oops). But of course Erivo has the chops and Grande has the voice and has been acting as different versions of herself throughout her career (black, Asian, whatever her Pete Davidson era was). So the acting was fine and the visuals were what you would expect from a blockbuster film where even the stage versions had insane visuals. The film has the exact feeling you want from this story. It's magical in a way and makes you feel like a kid imagining a fantastical world. The songs are as amazing as advertised and Defying Gravity is a showstopper for sure. It was cool to see Kristen Chenoweth and Idina Menzel have a nice little part including Idina vocalizing some Defying Gravity ending in her cameo. Man, I was just in awe watching this film actually happen and seeing all the beats from the stage get transferred to film was awesome. I can't wait to see the second part, because I can't even remember what happens in it or what possible songs there could be. It's also good to see Michelle Yeoh find something great like this so soon after her Oscar win. A good role for her and a great film for us.
I said it last year, too, but still loving that we keep getting very diverse nominees in this category. A film about a trans person, no matter if its one of the worst BP noms of all time, is pretty wild (Emilia Perez, as if I had to actually tell you what I was referring to). Nickel Boys offers up a different point of view, literally, and may be remember in the future for that, though I did not really enjoy the gimmick. I'm Still Here, one of the few Brazilian films to hit with the Academy, not a big hit with me, sorry Brazil. A Complete Unknown is just your standard biopic/singing Oscar fare. Anora, as the winner is interesting that the Academy would go for this. Is it because of the nudity and sex? I've liked other Sean Baker films more. The Substance is the first body horror film nominated that I can see, which is also wild. Fun film, with lots of nudity as well, which the Academy has shown they love recently. I'm putting The Brutalist here because I feel it's one of those films that will be loved by filmmakers increasingly in the future and it's a super well made film. Wicked was just fun to see a big, fun musical come to life and make that transition from the stage. I will always put Dune high because Villeneuve never disappoints and it's a great world to watch. Conclave blew me away. Best film of the year for me. Just a thrill ride all the way through and so compelling. Loved it. Very good group of nominees and I hope this continues as we barrel ahead.
Oscar Winner: Anora
My Winner: Conclave
Dune: Part Two
Wicked
The Brutalist
The Substance
Anora
A Complete Unknown
I'm Still Here
Nickel Boys
Emilia Perez
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