Cinema and Popcorn

Genre: Comedy; Action; Romance. Director: Richard Linklater Writers: Richard Linklater & Glen Powell Starring: Glen Powell, Adria Arjona, Austin Amelio & Retta Audiences who go watch it expecting a grand cinematic experience might feel it as a bit of a letdown, but if they're open to embrace Hit Man 's small scaled filmmaking with a spicy (and quite funny) touch, then they will have one of the most rewarding time at the movies of the last couple of years. Hit Man is a delicious film, not perfect, but quite audience-friendly. It's pretty mainstream, but it's pretty good also! Richard Linklater is better known for audience-friendly movies like Dazed and Confused (1993) or School of Rock (2003), but also for some quite prestigious titles like the Before trilogy, Tape (2001) or Boyhood (2014). With Hit Man , Linklater seems to find the perfect combo between his two "categories" of works of his filmography. His latest title might draw some similarities...

Genre: Drama; Comedy Director: Todd Haynes Writer: Samy Burch Starring: Natalie Portman, Julianne Moore and Charles Melton Todd Haynes has already presented the world some of the most exquisite pieces of cinema in recent history from cult films like Velvet Goldmine or I'm Not There to brilliant gems like Far From Heaven and Carol , but these great films might be difficult to appeal general audiences... With May December , Haynes not only offers one of the most disturbing narratives of his career but also the most acessible one. Led by a wonderful trio of performances, May December is the rare melodrama done right without falling into the soap opera realm. It's a movie full of metaphors and symbolisms: from Joe's (Charles Melton) character arc being linked to a butterfly's cycle to the cunning nature of Gracie (Julianne Moore) being represented by a fox she refuses to shoot somewhere in the film, while Elizabeth (Natalie Portman) is often mirroring Gracie and playing...

The  Best Supporting Actor race seems strangely predictable at this point, which makes me doubt my own predictions. It's seems like a category made for estabilished white actors who feel overdue for a (first) win, with the exception of maybe Robert De Niro ( Killers of the Flower Moon ). Robert Downey Jr. feels like the frontrunner to me thanks to Oppenheimer 's global success both critically and the fact he's a hugely popular actor going back to great movies now that his MCU duties are done. The performance sure is showy enough and the fact he plays a charismatic political shark gives him a hand full of "Oscar clips", perfect for campaigning purposes. Next, I think Downey Jr.'s MCU scene partner Mark Ruffalo has estabilished himself as one of the early frontrunners for his performance in the Golden Lion-winning Poor Things - it's said to be a high wire comedic performance and let's not forget Ruffalo has already been nominated three times in this cat...

Genre: Drama; Action. Director: Edward Berger Writers:   Ian Stokell,  Lesley Paterson &  Edward Berger , b ased on All Quiet on the Western Front   by Erich Maria Remarque Starring:  Felix Kammerer,  Albrecht Schuch,  Daniel Brühl &  Sebastian Hülk  All Quiet on the Western Front may draw instant comparisons to the Sam Mendes’ 2019’s title 1917 (which was a great box-office success and it received 10 Academy Awards nominations, including Best Picture), but Edward Berger’s movie feels like a far more grounded tribute to the lives changed (and lost) because of WWI. In fact, All Quiet on the Western Front is no “one mission movie” - there’s no message to deliver, no one to rescue – it is a far more complex take, a piece of anti-war manifesto, a critic to nationalism, a lullaby to an entire generation of young men who “didn’t come back” from the trenches. Based on the 1929 novel of the same name by Erich Maria Remarque, this source...

BEST ACTRESS "The bloodbath". Best Actress 2022 race is simply a warzone for predictions folks. I believe there are 5 spots for 10 legit contenders plus Jennifer Hudson ( Respect ), who didn't make my shortlist. The safer player here is Kristen Stewart , who portrays Princess Diana in Pablo Larraín's Spencer - her performance was met with universal critical acclaim and she's having a killer early awards season, with tribute prizes, critics groups nominations and tons of Oscar buzz as the only "serious" candidate for a win (since Venice Film Festival, actually). But what about general audiences aren't embracing the movie as critics? Still, a nomination seems locked for her (and she's in the right moment of her career after raved turns in small indies post- Twilight career phase). Next, it comes Nicole Kidman who plays Lucille Ball in Aaron Sorkin's Being the Ricardos ... and while the movie is not being received with rave reviews from crit...

Genre: Drama Directed by: Aaron Sorkin Written by: Aaron Sorkin Starring: Eddie Redmayne, Sacha Baron Cohen, Mark Rylance, Jeremy Strong, Frank Langella, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and Michael Keaton In theaters: September 25, 2020 (USA, limited); October 16, 2020 (Portugal) When I first watched Aaron Sorkin's The Trial of the Chicago 7 , there was a huge hype surrounding the movie and I loved the movie. But I felt there was too much internet enthusiasm by the time, so I decided I would write my review after a second view after a couple of weeks. After almost 3 weeks between my first and last watch, I can write The Trial of the Chicago 7 is the best movie of the year, so far! It's a superb movie in terms of execution and an important movie in terms of its subject relevance. It's a movie that excels at making the audiences think. What's the truth? Is what we consider "the truth" what bigger entities made us believe to be "the truth...

 Ron Howard's Hillbilly Elegy 's reviews are out! And I think the internet is on fire. They are not catastrophic, but they aren't good either! It seems people praise Adams and, mostly Close, for their performances, but the movie itself lacks depht. The movie was considered a major Netflix's awards contender before its release and an awards vehicle for both Glenn Close and Amy Adams, but I doubt it will score more than a Best Supporting Actress (Close) and a Best Makeup & Hair nominations at the Academy Awards. Even Close, who was considered the frontrunner given how meaty her role is and how overdue for a win she is, might be at risk of not winning (or not being nominated at all). A note to Gabriel Basso, who seems to be received really fine reviews for his performance as the older J.D. Vance. No matter how polarizing the reviews are, the critics seem to agree he's good as the movie's leading man. And while I must wait until Hillbilly Elegy 's available ...

The Academy’s Visual Effects Branch Executive Committee determined the preliminary list of films eligible for further awards consideration - from this 20 titles, the branch will select 10 that will advance to final nominations voting. And the contenders are:  1917 Ad Astra The Aeronauts Aladdin Alita: Battle Angel Avengers: Endgame Captain Marvel Cats Dumbo Fast and Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw Ford v Ferrari Gemini Man The Irishman Jumanji: The Next Level The Lion King Men in Black: International Midway Spider-Man: Far from Home Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Terminator: Dark Fate The 10 I'm predicting to move on the next voting phase are: 1917 Ad Astra The Aeronauts Aladdin Avengers: Endgame Ford v. Ferrari The Irishman The Lion King Midway Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Might surprise - Alita: Battle Angel

The National Board of Review has just announced their picks for 2019... and Martin Scorsese's The Irishman was named the Best Film of 2019! It's a major win for the mob epic, a movie that was absent from the early awards list since it doesn't qualify as an independent production (Gotham Awards and Independent Spirit Awards are just for indies) - but it has just started the awards season with a big stan!  Are Renee Zellweger ( Judy ) and Brad Pitt ( Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood ) going to sweep all the awards? Both are considered to be the clear frontrunners in their respective categories, but NBR Awards aren't a trustful predictor of the Oscar wins (or even the nods in some years). Let's have a look at the Best Actress category: from the 9 NBR winners since 2010 (Zelweger is excluded of course), 4 missed a Best Actress nom, 3 got nominations and 2 won the Oscar. If go back to the 2000's, every NBR Best Actress winner landed an Oscar nomination, with...