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Showing posts from December, 2020

FOUR FAVORITE MOVIES WITH...: Gwyneth Paltrow

Joaquin Phoenix acted alongside Gwyneth Paltrow in the underrated/underseen Two Lovers back in 2008, but the actress' most memorable works remain some late 90's / early 2000's pictures.  Here are my 4 favorite movies with Gwyneth Paltrow: The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)   /    Emma (1996)   /   Se7en (1995)   /    The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999)

FLASH REVIEWS: "Mank", "Sound of Metal" and "Wonder Woman 1984"

MANK David Fincher's latest sure is stylish and beautiful to look at: the cinemtography, the production design work, the costumes, the editing, the cast... everything! The original score by Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross transports you for another era and you almost feel every sound you hear thanks to outstanding sound editing and sound mixing work. BUT Mank feels sterile to me and I believe it's because of the way it is written. Everything seems to keep the distance here, like a painting in a museum, and Mank never feels like a story you want to know. Fine performances from Gary Oldman and Amanda Seyfried try to bring some energy, joy and sass to the screen, but their efforts aren't enough against a scrip, but this duo is what makes Mank afloat to me (with a little help from Charles Dance, who's great in the few scenes he has). Here, you can see Fincher in command of his craft, but he seems to have gone style over substance here - still, Mank is a notorious directi...

Academy Awards 2021 nominees predictions: Above the line Oscar charts (Best Picture, Director, Acting and Screenplays) - 2nd ROUND

The last few months kept me busy both at work and trying to keep up with all the Oscar game news...! New category placements, some unexpected contenders emerging thanks to the critics' push or some delayed projects that won't be released in time for the Oscars 2021 game! Titles like Dune , The French Dispatch , Black Widow , West Side Story , In the Heights or No Time To Die are just some of the bigger titles that won't see the light of the day in order to compete for the major cinematic award. Addictionaly, some new titles took the lead after Venice Film Festival and TIFF ( Nomadland 's case), with some more being "revived" thanks to critics prizes - in the case of First Cow and Never Rarely Sometimes Always  - while others are getting a qualifying release and a major campaign as its studio's major push - Minari and Promising Young Woman. Other big buzzy titles like Judas and the Black Messiah and The United States Vs. Billie Holiday are waiting unti...

SHOT OF THE WEEK: "If Beale Street Could Talk" (2018)

 

NYFCC 2020 Awards - "First Cow" takes the top prize home

It might well be the biggest US film critics association and they're announcing their winners. Ready? BEST FILM: First Cow BEST DIRECTOR: Chloé Zhao , Nomadland BEST FIRST FILM: The 40-Year-Old Version BEST ACTOR: Delroy Lindo , Da 5 Bloods BEST ACTRESS: Sidney Flanigan , Never Rarely Sometimes Always BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Chadwick Boseman , Da 5 Bloods BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Maria Bakalova , Borat Subsequent Moviefilm BEST SCREENPLAY: Eliza Hittman , Never Rarely Sometimes Always BEST FOREIGN-LANGUAGE FILM: Bacurau BEST NON-FICTION FILM: Time BEST ANIMATED FILM: Wolfwalkers BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY: Small Axe [all films] SPECIAL AWARD: Kino Lorber , for their creation of Kino Marquee , a virtual cinema distribution service that was designed to help support movie theaters, not destroy them. SPECIAL AWARD: Spike Lee for inspiring the New York community with his short film New York New York and for advocating for a better society through cinema

Boston Society of Film Critics names "Nomadland" Best Picture - 2020

Boston Society of Film Critics kicks off the critics awards season. It's one of the major critics associations in USA and they often pick very interesting winners. And the big winners are: Nomadland and The Father , with Minari as a solid #3 favorite! Have a look: BEST PICTURE: Nomadland Runner up : First Cow BEST DIRECTOR: Chloé Zhao ( Nomadland ) Runner-up : Kelly Reichardt ( First Cow ) BEST NON-ENGLISH LANGUAGE FILM: La Llorona BEST ENSEMBLE CAST: Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom Runner-up : Minari BEST ACTOR:  Anthony Hopkins ( The Father ) Runner-up : Riz Amed ( Sound of Metal ) BEST ACTRESS: Sidney Flanigan  ( Never Rarely Sometimes Always ) Runner-up : Julia Garner ( The Assistant ) BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Paul Raci ( Sound of Metal ) Runner-up : Brian Dennehy ( Driveways ) BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Youn Yuh-jung ( Minari ) Runner-up : Amanda Seyfried ( Mank ) BEST SCREENPLAY: I’m Thinking of Ending Things , Charlie Kaufman Runner-up : First Cow , Kelly Reichardt and ...

Four favorite movies with...: Joaquin Phoenix

Our last actor - Scarlett Johansson - starred Spike Jonze's masterpiece Her (2013) alongside Joaquin Phoenix . He has been working since 1985, but he managed to build an amazing career! So, here they are - my 4 favorite movies with Joaquin Phoenix (Her is not included since I  can't include the movie that brought him here): Gladiator (2000) / Two Lovers (2008) / The Master (2012) / You Were Never Really Here (2017/18)