Cinema and Popcorn

Genre: Drama Director: Ridley Scott Writers: Becky Johnston  ( screenplay by ) & Roberto Bentivegna ( screenplay by ) / Sara Gay Forden ( based on the book by ) Starring: Lady Gaga, Adam Driver, Al Pacino, Jared Leto, Salma Hayek, Jeremy Irons and Jack Huston Ridley Scott's House of Gucci movie trailer sold me some kind of "movie madness", but the real movie feels tepid overall, warm at sometimes, when it could be some kind of hot or explosive.   Not great, not bad, not that good... House of Gucci is "just" decent when it could have been great. Still, it has some aspects that make it totally worth a watch, with Lady Gaga's dynamite performance as Patrizia Reggiani being the movie's secret ingredient. The movie follows Patrizia Reggiani (Gaga), who meets (and then marries) Maurizio Gucci (Adam Driver), a member of the wealthy Gucci family that holds a fashion empire and then (basically) Patrizia's ambitions start a family war that leads to...

  1. In the Heights An explosion of cinematic style, cinematic spectacle and narrative substance, In the Heights might have underperformed at the box-office, but it is the best film of the year so far! Led by a winning performance by Anthony Ramos and some heart-wreching moments starred by Olga Merediz (her "Paciencia y Fé" scene is simply moving), In the Height delights the eyes, the ears and the heart. Great sound work, dynamic editing and eye-popping choreographies, it is everything and more we could ask for a movie musical. RATING: 5 / 5 2. CODA Full of heart! As some might remember from my review of Sound of Metal , living as a deaf person is something very personal (both my uncles, my mom's brothers, were deaf) and CODA is able to translate the complexity of the daily deaf life beautifully. Emilia Jones is one to watch and she carries the screen beautifully, with a very sensitive presence. The rest of the cast is terrific as well, but it is Jones' show and Sia...

Now that the 2021's editions of Venice Film Festival and TIFF have announced their winners and there are the first reviews of NY Film Festival's major award hopefuls releases, I believe it's safe to start predicting which titles will compete for some major Oscar gold. A note about The Power of the Dog and Belfast which got the audiences' recognition at TIFF (with the later taking the People's Choice and The Power of the Dog received the Silver Lion at Venice). King Richard also got a lot of love at Telluride Film Festival and The Tragedy of Macbeth is getting rave reviews at New York Film Festival the moment we talk. A note to Sundance hit Sian Heder's CODA - which took home the Grand Jury Prize - Dramatic - and Asghar Farhadi's A Hero , which got lots of love during Cannes Film Festival and won the film festival's Grand Prix (but since it is a foreign language film, will it get stuck in Best International Film category? I believe and I hope not). D...

  Kenneth Branagh's cinematic charm Belfast has taken home TIFF's top honor - the People Choice's Award. It's great news for Belfast 's growing Oscar buzz. Since 2008 every TIFF People's Choice Award winner got nominated for Best Picture (with the only exception being Nadine Labaki's Where Do We Go Now? , a foreign language film), with 5 of them taking home the Oscar for Best Picture. Runners up are Scarborough and Jane Campion's The Power of the Dog , with the late also being listed as a major awards player this season. Things are shaping up in the awards season, don't you think?

Hey, everyone! I've been absent from film world due to job and academic issues. As some already know, I am a nurse and these COVID times haven't been easy. PLUS, I was under extreme pressure due to my nursing specialization internships and my other personal obligations. Now, I am free from my academic life and I'm back from vacation... I guess it's time for some movie talk! Soon, Academy Awards 2022 nominations predictions , movie reviews and other posts. For those who kept following the blog (I mean, old posts), a sincere "Thank you!". Let's go back to work now!    

March 15, 2021 - The AMPAS announces its nominees for its annual Academy Awards AKA The Oscars. The nominees? Surprising! I was not expecting the AMPAS to embrace diversity this openly. And what a beautiful thing to do. From the love across the board for Minari , to the feminist Promising Young Woman , Asian actors, 2 Black actresses competing for Best Actress and 3 (!!!) Black actors competing in Best Supporting Actor... And a shocking Lakeith Stanfield nomination for Judas and the Black Messiah (so, who's the lead?). Mank is the most nominated movie of this year's edition, but I believe it won't be able to suprass Nomadland , The Trial of the Chicago 7 , Judas and the Black Messiah or Promising Young Woman . Most nominations doesn't always translate to "most wins"... you know... last year's The Irishman ! Sad for a Mads Mikkelsen ( Another Round ) snub in Best Actor in a Leading Role, since he would be a worthier nominee than Gary Oldman ( Mank ). ...

Final countdown to the 93rd Academy Awards nominations' announcement and I couldn't be more excited about it. I know it has been a way (too) long awards season, but it also allowed a big couple of contenders to have its own momentum. Right now, there are categories I feel there's no clear frontrunner (Best Supporting Actress), a lot of spots to fill (Best Supporting Actor) or too many great contenders with a fair shot at a nom (Best Director, Best Original Screenplay or Best Original Score, for example). The clear frontrunners seem to be Nomadland and The Trial of the Chicago 7 , with Minari , Judas and the Black Messiah and Sound of Metal getting some last minute extra buzz (and I love it!). So let's have a look at my predictions: BEST PICTURE Chloé Zhao's Nomadland has been sweeping the awards season - after a Golden Lion win at Venice, a People's Choice Award at TIFF and multiple critics prizes, the movie still managed to go beyond the "critics darling...