Cinema and Popcorn

" It is not the honor you take with you, but the heritage you leave behind. " - Branch Rickey

Few actresses can bring the authenticity of inner strenght to a performance so beautifully as Viola Davis - and she achieves her best performance (yet) at the hands of Denzel Washington's direction and August Wilson's words. Davis has one of the best written characters of the last decade and she makes the most of it with two key scenes for me: the "18 years of my life" argument scene and the scene where she holds the baby in her arms. In those scenes, we see a broken woman who tries to keep her whole dignity when she's hurt and bleeding inside. Yet, in those scenes she frees herself, she finally raises her voice and she finally raises herself. It's a powerful performance and Davis is able to outshine Denzel Washington wheter when they're sharing a scene or simply when she isn't on-screen but you wish she was. It's a role that seems meant for her and she delivers a performance that makes you feel that no one could top her work. It's an ac...

Some new early reactions, new trailers and even some releases... I had to revise my Best Picture nominees predictions (1st ROUND), since these cinematic news changed my predictions in other categories and it wouldn't make sense with my previous Best Picture predicted nominees. So, let's get started: BEST PICTURE Just like I said in a previous post: movies who need Fall film festivals to get major buzz and get picked by a distributor are in trouble this year! That's why my picks lean toward productions that come from bigger studios, with top contender Minari being the exception. At this point, I think Netflix movies are a step ahead: Spike Lee's Da 5 Bloods is an urgent movie for the #AllLivesMatter (and #BlackLivesMatter) times and it delivers a big emotional punch and social critique that feel more relevant than ever (and it got universal critical acclaim!); and David Fincher is back to Oscar race with a movie about the legal battle for Citizen Kane ... Ma...

Genre: Drama; Sci-fi; Action; Thriller Directed by: Christopher Nolan Written by: Christopher Nolan Starring: John David Washington , Robert Pattinson , Elizabeth Debicki , Kenneth Branagh , Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Michael Caine In theaters: August 26, 2020 (UK, Portugal, others) I'm going to start this review by saying Tenet is not Christopher Nolan's best work, but it still is poised to be one of the best (and most memorable) movies of the year. It's a cerebral sci-fi thriller, fueled with eye-popping action scenes, a commanding John David Washington's performance and great turns from Robert Pattinson and Elizabeth Debicki. At some point of the movie, you feel like you're lost - but then Nolan gives you a key piece of his puzzle and you start putting things together!   No, Tenet is not a movie to walk-in hoping for a relaxed view! You must focus, you must think about the plot and you must solve the puzzle. It's the smartest movie I...

Must say: it looks better than I was expecting!

Getting closer to TOP 10, I feel I was unfair to some actors/performances I put below the TOP 10 line, but I'm very confident about my TOP 10 at the same time, so... Well, here it goes from #50 to #11:

Sofia Coppola & Bill Murray are back again (together)! And it seems Coppola has given Murray another great role. Nothing will be able to match the greatness of Lost In Translation , but it seems Coppola wants to present us with something very special and very personal. As for Rashida Jones , it seems like the juiciest role she has gotten in a movie, so... I guess I've high hopes on this one!

As we get closer to the very best acting turns of the century (so far), I must confess it started getting harder and harder to order the performances. It's not easy to say which one is better than the other when you are entering a realm full of terrific acting work from terrific actors. Here's the PART 4, from #90 to #51: