Cinema and Popcorn

TALK TO ME I followed a tip: don’t watch the trailer and just go watch the movie. I did it. And I liked it a lot. While it doesn’t offer the same level of satire as Jordan Peele’s Get Out , Talk to Me is a commentary about Gen Z’s TikTok and social media culture and how things derailed because of the need of being cool, the need of being seen and universally accepted. Sophie Wilde delivers an outstanding breakthrough performance here with an unsympathetic character she approaches with sensibility – even for those who never felt any warm towards Mia, there’s no way to deny her ability to carry the whole movie – and the young Joe Bird excels in some of the most terrifying scenes. As an horror piece, Talk to Me is never too scary, but it is chilling and it features some very graphic visual horror elements that can make you look away for some bits. It is never surprising, but it can cause nail bites. The makeup team’s work should be highlighted and so does the sound department. Consideri...

Genre: Comedy; Drama Director: Damien Chazelle Writers: Damien Chazelle Starring: Diego Calva, Margot Robbie, Brad Pitt, Jean Smart, Jovan Adepo, Flea, Olivia Wilde, Li Jun Li, Max Minghella &  Tobey Maguire It took me a while to understand my own opinion about Damien Chazelle's Babylon and I still can't figure out if I like it more than I hate it. To be clear: Babylon is able to reach brilliance sometimes, but it also can go low, very low. An exciting first act with a chaotic energy and a beautiful last act full of heart and nostalgia aren't really matched by what goes in between. It's a mess, but it is a visually stunning mess with what might well be the richest score I've ever heard since La La Land - Justin Hurwitz did it again! Babylon is composed by four parts: a 30 min prologue that gives you a boost of energy right before the title card pops on-screen and then three acts: the discovery and rise to stardom of Nellie LaRoy & Manny's entrance i...

BEST ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE One of the greatest working actresses these days, Cate Blanchett 's performance in Tár met some of the "best of her career" kind of reviews and it has already earned the Volpi Cup for Best Actress of Venice International Film Festival and a couple of other film festival prizes - some people are already talking about a possible Oscar win since the movie is also Focus Features' top priority this awards season, so an Academy Award nomination seems locked. Next in line, there's Michelle Yeoh , the star of Everything Everywhere All at Once , who delivers her best performance since Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000). Yeoh is not the greatest actress in the world, but her character Evelyn is simply tailor-made for her acting talent, providing her some juicy scenes while it also pays homage to her career in wuxia films. It makes audiences feel a "it's her time" when we talk about Oscar nominations. Plus: Everything Everywh...

Last month, I named the TOP 5 actors and actresses born in the 2000's - only 5, because most young actors younger than 22 had little opportunities to show-up.  Today, I'm naming the TOP 10 actors and actresses born in the 90's! I must admit I had a lot of fun selecting these "crop" of young talent - so young, yet so talented (and a big couple of them have achieved a lot already). For my consideration: the awards recognition, distinguished performances and successful movies, and box-office numbers. I still include distinguished TV works and performnaces on Broadway.  From Timothée Chalamet to Zendaya, have a look (listed alphabetically): 

I'm still having a look back at the past decade of movies, which means... more lists! It's not always about delivering the best performance in order to be considered one of the greatest actors of a decade - it also takes the ability to open a big production movie, to turn a small indie into a box-office hit or work with some of the most prestigious directors/auteurs these days. That's how I made this list: performances + prestige movies + box-office numbers! And we've got our last decade's biggest female movie stars:

1. Scarlett Johansson Johansson is the biggest female star of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and she had a pivotal starring role in the highest-grossing movie in history - Avengers: Endgame - where she also delivers her most soulful turn as Natasha Romanoff AKA Black Widow. It's a very fine performance and she got critical praise for her work, but Endgame 's major contribution for her career was having her starring a $2 Billion grossing movie! Money and Johansson-the-star aside, it was also an amazing her for Johansson-the-actress! She starred in two Best Picture nominated films: Jojo Rabbit and Marriage Story . Her performance as Rosie in the later was considered the movie's highlight by many critics and she got an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress, a BAFTA Award nod for Best Actress in a Supporting Role, two SAG Award nominations (Best Supporting Actress and Best Ensemble) and a Critics' Choice Award nom for Best Supporting Actress. As for h...

The Best Supporting Actress feels a little volatile this year: the only sure thing seems to be Laura Dern for Marriage Story , with all the other spots with no rock solid contenders besides Margot Robbie for Bombshell (maybe!). But why is Laura Dern such a solid contender? Well: first, Marriage Story is a Best Picture contender and it has the giant Netflix backing its award campaign... and since Best Supporting Actress (and Best Supporting Actor) are closely related with Best Picture, things sound good for her; second, she has the rave reviews, the Golden Globe win and the critics prizes, for a truly supporting review (not my favorite performance from her, but predicting it's not only about "me"); third and last, she's a member of the Board of Governors in the Actors Branch, which means she's part of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (really, she's a Governor!). Plus, she's living a sweet moment in her career and there's a lot of good...