Author: LaurenDolceVita

A 2021 Film Journey: Day 92

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For today’s films I’m closing a cultural blind-spot that I never really had much interest in closing and It’s Oscar nominated sequel. I’m not going to lie I’ve been secretly dreading this viewing experience. I know that the Borat films have a lot of critical acclaim, but they heavily utilize a type of humor that makes me extremely uncomfortable watching. Regardless I’ll consider this me attempting to broaden my horizons.

Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan (2006, Dir. Larry Charles)

Borat 2'—Everything We Know About Sacha Baron Cohen's Secret Sequel

The first Borat film was about why I expected. While I’d never watched it before, much of the punchlines have been circulating for a decade and a half now so those bits offered none of the punch they may have back then, and I found the undercover set pieces just as comfortable as I thought I would. While I may have had to pause at various moments from discomfort, I do think that I understand the film. It does what all great comedy does and that’s punch up and thereby uncovers the seedy underbelly of the jingoist American culture. While the comedy works, despite my discomfort, I think the film lacks the heart to make it a really successful film. Thankfully, that shortfall was answered by its sequel.

Borat Subsequent Moviefilm (2020, Dir. Jason Woliner)

An Oral History of the Giuliani Scene in 'Borat 2' | IndieWire

The introduction of Maria Bakalova as Borat’s daughter Tutar elevates Borat Subsequent Moviefilm from a comedic novelty to a fully realized film with a character arc. The film is still as biting as ever in its unmasking of the US’s racist culture. It’s arguable that the commentary hits even harder in 2020 when America’s racist nature is more front and center than ever. Yet even with the unending commentary potential, the film focuses more on its personal story which allows the film to stand alone as cohesive story rather than only a collection of cringe inducing vignettes.

It makes sense that Borat Subsequent Moviefilm received one additional Oscar nomination over its predecessor for the supporting performance by Maria Bakalova. Her arc from gaslit teen to someone making decisions on her own brings a level of humanity that the first film was missing. Her presence even causes Sacha Baron Cohen’s Borat to undergo a transformation, something lacking from the first movie. These cinematic breaks from the schtick helped make the film a less uncomfortable experience for me to watch too, but it’s the heart they provide the film that makes the sequel the superior film.

A 2021 Film Journey: Day 91

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Welcome to month four. Starting today this project becomes even more difficult for me to maintain as I need to balance my movie watching with baseball season. For opening day, work may have suffered some as it occupied most of my attention, but tonight I was able to fully dedicate my time to watching one of the few remaining Oscar nominated films this year. Though given the film I watched tonight, a distraction may have been welcome.

Hillbilly Elegy (2020, Dir. Ron Howard)

Review: A 'Hillbilly Elegy' adaptation, hold the politics

Hillbilly Elegy is the exact sort of film that I pretend no longer exists. The extremely heavy-handed family drama reminds me of films from 30 years ago, but that saccharine schmaltz sticks out like a sore thumb in today’s movie landscape. The motifs are too well trodden and the style too familiar to justify its existence in the current film landscape. As the state of cinema has evolved, I feel like Ron Howard hasn’t, and his direction which has always been unobjectionable appears tired offensively naïve in this film.

If I’m going to say something positive about the film, Glenn Close and Amy Adams are amazing as always. Their over-the-top characters and are enigmatic and fun to watch. Close’s Mamaw in particular is the most empathy inducing person in the entire film. Unfortunately, these two characters are in support of the protagonist J.D. who is played flatly by his two actors Owen Asztalos as a teenager and Gabriel Basso as a mid-20s law student. These uninspiring performances dampen the effectiveness of either actresses’ more endearing ones.

I do worry that I’m being a little too negative in this review. There’s nothing outwardly offensive about the film, but there’s also no reason for the film to exist in such a milquetoast form. As cinema evolves, a quaint throwback without a hint of irony is more grating than enjoyable.

A 2021 Film Journey: Day 90

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Three months into this project and I’m feeling pretty confident that I’ll be able to continue this process through the end of the year. This past week has been the most trying, but that’s been primarily due to my back issues and not something that should impact my ability to do this long term. Anyway, I’m closing out the third month of the year with the last best picture nomination for the year.

The Father (2021, Dir. Florian Zeller)

The 50 best films of 2020 in the US: No 5 – The Father | Anthony Hopkins | The Guardian

The Father was the last best picture film I watched because I didn’t have much hope for it. I knew absolutely nothing about the film, but I had prematurely pegged the film as the overly sentimental Oscar bait film that frequently fills out the back half of the best picture ballot. And while the topic of an aging parent dealing with dementia is prime for that overly blunt type of film, director Florian Zeller elevates the common trope to make a wonderful, best picture nominee deserving film.

The way that Zeller choses to elevate his film is by embracing the confusion of Anthony Hopkins character. Time becomes a blur in the film as moments from a single day are repeated ad nauseum with subtle changes to reframe the events. These changes are further enhanced by recasting the other character in the film from time to time. By playing with the reality of the film, the audience is forced to grapple with Anthony’s confusion as their own. Moments in the film feel like a horror movie as our protagonist is lost and confronted with people who he doesn’t recognize as family. This blend of genre works wonders for a film about one of the scariest things that can happen to someone as they age. An innovative framing improves upon a standard Oscar bait formula.

A 2021 Film Journey: Day 89

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Today was another rough one. My back remains in debilitating pain which has made even watching movies difficult, but I’m doing the best I can. Regardless, today’s entry is once again going to be on the short end as I try to write through the pain and the painkillers.

Pinocchio (2020, Dir. Matteo Garrone)

Review: Grim, beautiful 'Pinocchio' is less Disney and more Del Toro | Datebook

No film had me scratching my head more when watching the Oscar nominations this year than Pinocchio. I immediately double checked to make sure that I hadn’t missed the new Guillermo del Toro film, and I hadn’t. Instead, there was a live action Italian version that came out this year. Surprise at its existence aside, I really enjoyed this version of the classic story.  This version leaned heavily into the episodic nature of the story to deliver numerous darkly twisted set pieces.

The film’s Oscar nominated categories are costuming and makeup, and they are more than deserving. Pinocchio’s wooden face is wonderfully done, and as the film becomes more and more fantastical, the animal faces are all wonderfully done. If I had any complaints about these aspects of the film, it’s that the colors are so muted in the film, that it’s difficult to fully appreciate it’s majesty. Still the film stands out as a hidden gem from this year’s Oscar films.

A 2021 Film Journey: Day 88

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Another day, and while I didn’t need to go to the ER today, my back feels just as bad. So while I was in bed for most of the day, pain killers kept my movie viewing to a minimum. In between hydrocodone naps, I managed to sneak in another Oscar nominated film. Looking at timing moving forward, I believe I should be able to finish my Oscar viewing by the time SIFF starts late next week, so look forward to that in the upcoming days.

Love and Monsters (2020, Dir. Michael Matthews)

Love and Monsters (2020) - IMDb

I’m just going to get this out of the up front, Love and Monsters is almost exactly Zombieland (2009, Dir. Ruben Fleischer). Dylan O’Brien play Joel the Jesse Eisenberg equivalent, a bit of a bumbling naïve protagonist. This archetype works perfectly for an apocalyptic comedy as it is primed for easy character growth and allows for a mentor figure to heavily influence the scope of the film. This gives the film a pulpy quality following a well-trodden formula.

The film’s Oscar nomination confuses me some as well. Zombieland was never in any serious consideration for an Oscar, but most of that I’m willing to chock up to Covid shrinking the pool. What really confuses me is that the visual effects themselves are somewhat lackluster. I thought the designs of the monsters themselves were noisy making it difficult to know what exactly was going on, and the CGI falls into the standard trappings of looking like CG. The actors never appear to share the screen with the monsters they are fighting. All of this adds up to a fine action comedy streaming offering, but not a film I’d peg for Oscar consideration.

A 2021 Film Journey: Day 86 and 87

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Sorry about the lack of a post yesterday. I’ve had a back spasm for a handful of days now, and yesterday while attempting to pick up my mail I collapsed and ended up spending most of the day in the ER via an ambulance. By the time I finally made it home it was around midnight and all I could do was pass out. To make up for the missed day, I made it through three features today as my Oscar viewing inches ever closer to its conclusion.

The White Tiger (2021, Dir. Ramin Bahrani)

The White Tiger trailer: Priyanka-starrer explores India's class struggle | Entertainment News,The Indian Express

I have to admit, The White Tiger’s presence among the Oscar nominations perplexes me some. It’s by no means a bad choice, in fact I think the adaptation is one of the better parts of the film. What specifically perplexes me is that as an Indian film it’s quite a bit removed from the Hollywood system, but also not really an arthouse film like what frequently becomes popular from abroad. Instead, director Ramin Bahrani delivers a captivating rags to riches story told from the prospective of a country with a caste system dedicated to making those stories even more unlikely than a capitalist society alone. An interesting story that while I may not go out of my way to suggest, I’m also wouldn’t tell anyone to avoid it.

Tenet (2020, Dir. Christopher Nolan)

Tenet' Release Date Moved Again - Variety

I don’t hate Christopher Nolan. I really don’t, but he does frequently frustrate me. Tenet fits comfortably into the frustrating part of his filmography. In particular, I think that Inception (2010) in particular taught Nolan that his audience loves convoluted screenplays rather than innovative direction, and that misunderstanding has colored his work for the following decade. Tenet is a perfectly fine action film, but Nolan’s head scratching time travel logic is a hindrance rather than a selling point. The film does nothing to engage me enough to care about the intricate logic, and without caring about that all that’s left is some mind-numbing action.

The One and Only Ivan (2020, Thea Sharrock)

The One and Only Ivan' Review: A Gorilla With Heart - The New York Times

And this makes three 2.5-star films in a row for the day. I’m glad I watched so many because I have very little to say about any of these. The One and Only Ivan feels entirely like streaming fodder. The story of a mall circus gorilla voiced by Sam Rockwell is clearly marketed for adults to turn on as unobjectionable viewing content to keep the kids busy. The visual effects of the animals look fine enough, but not especially Oscar nomination worthy. It’s not a bad movie, but there’s just very little of it. You could definitely do worse in putting on noise for your children though.

A 2021 Film Journey: Day 85

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The week is over, and after multiple consecutive days of films that weren’t quite my cup of tea, so today I chose a film that I hope would be a better fit for me. There are only a handful of films left for me to watch that are Oscar nominated this year and then I’ll be able to move on to more films that are more reliably my speed.

Pieces of a Woman (2020, Dir. Kornél Mundruczó)

Pieces of a Woman' review: Vanessa Kirby and Shia LaBeouf star in a drama that presents a home birth gone wrong in grueling detail - CNN

For the second night in a row, my film included the song ‘Untitled 3’ by Sigur Rós; thankfully, that was the only thing the two films had in common. Pieces of a Woman existed to make its viewers miserable, and that, but in a way that’s purposeful and more productive than Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga unfunny attempts at comedy. It’s arguable that Pieces of a Woman actually wades into the genre of misery-porn, but that genre tends to be a guilty pleasure of mine, so no complaints here on the face of it.

The highlight of the films is undoubtedly the labor scene in the first act. The 24-minute single shot is textbook in creating tension. As the camera moves throughout the house without cutting the ensuing tragedy becomes all but guaranteed. While the film dabbles into melodrama with a bit too heavy a hand at times in this moment the film is unimpeachable. The nominated Vanessa Kirby and her costar Sia LaBeouf play off each other wonderfully in this devastating scene. while LaBeouf’s performance devolved into a bit of showy mess after these moments, Kirby proved her nomination was well deserved.

A 2021 Film Journey: Day 84

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There comes an unfortunate time in each year’s Oscar watching at which point I have to watch the films nominated exclusively for best song. While I’ve been unimpressed by quite a few of the films that I’ve watched in the past few days, these films aren’t meant to have any cinematic value, rather just an impressive song. One of these years I’m just going to give up on this category, but it’s not going to be this year.

Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga (2020, Dir. David Dobkin)

Song From Eurovision Film in iTunes' Top Ten

Why was this movie two hours long? While yesterday I mentioned that I’ve become less cynical when it comes to child centric entertainment, I still have little patience for Will Ferrell and his overly broad comedies. Watching this movie was a trying experience. Will Ferrell is 53 years old and his manchild persona has only gotten more cringeworthy with age. He’s always loud and awkward and prone to misunderstandings, and that’s the joke. It attempts to approximate a fish out of water style of humor, but there’s no reason for a Will Ferrell character to be a fish out of water. It’s just grating and comes across as a little mean.

I don’t have much to say about the film in general. I know that some people like movies like this, but I can’t find any entertainment in it. Even the song for which the film received it’s nomination frustrated me. Molly Sandén who sang for Rachel McAdams has a genuinely great voice, but I was a little isillusioned to learn she’s Swedish. The film couldn’t cast Icelandic actors or singers. Even more frustrating than that, was Will Ferrell’s unimpressive singing voice featured prominently in the song. Nothing worked for me. If I can say one good thing about the film, at least the film about a fictional Icelandic band had the decency to include ample Sigur Rós music.

A 2021 Film Journey: Day 83

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Today followed in yesterday’s footsteps. I’m feeling much better than I did over the weekend, and today I managed to watch a short in addition to today’s feature and finish off two Oscar categories in the meantime. Additionally, the film list for SIFF came out today and I’m getting excited. I’m going to spend some time figuring out what my writing will look like that week. I’ll likely be pausing this series to focus entirely on that.

A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon (2020, Dir. Will Becher and Richard Phelan)

A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon' Review: A Wild and Woolly Caper - Variety

When I watched the first Shaun the Sheep Movie (2015, Dir. Mark Burton and Richard Starzak) I remember being rather ambivalent towards the film. The film wasn’t created for me, but 5 years ago I tended towards being a curmudgeon. With more accepting eyes I feel more positive about the sequel, though I admit it still isn’t for me.

The stop motion in the film was wonderful and the dialogue free action works well for the slapstick comedy. The entire package was reminiscent to comedy staples from the silent era. All that said, the very young target audience left the film with little complexity or depth to hold my undivided attention. While better than the sinical cash grabs of many child focused media, the simplicity was still undeniable and a bit of a hinderance. A good film but not one that serves much of a purpose outside of its intended audience.

Hunger Ward (2020, Dir. Skye Fitzgerald)

HUNGER WARD - DOC NYC

I don’t have a ton to say about this short. If there were any doubt that constant war in the Middle East has led to countless humanitarian crises, one would only need to watch the films in this Oscar category over the past few decades. I feel like each year there’s at least one of these, and while the message is always important, they tend to be so stylistically similar that they blend together almost immediately after watching them. They feel more like an extended news story than a piece of art; they are useful at telling depressing facts, but only the fact is remembered not the film.

A 2021 Film Journey: Day 82

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Today was a slightly better day for me than the prior two. I’m still feeling largely run down by everything but sitting down to watch a movie felt much less arduous today, so I’ll take my win. While I may be feeling a bit better, time still eluded me, so in the service of getting to bed at a reasonable time, it will be another short entry about an Oscar nominated film for me today.

My Octopus Teacher (2020, Dir. Pippa Ehrlich and James Reed)

Jackson Wild Talk - Jackson Wild: Nature. Media. Impact.

After multiple days of running into films the followed the traditional Oscar bait formula to a T, it was nice to watch a film that was at the very least unique. I also have a personal penchant for stories of people taking to nature as a means of self-reflection having done so myself, so My Octopus Teacher should be right up my alley. However, while I didn’t dislike the film, there are a couple of things keeping me from endorsing the film outright.

Escaping to nature in the midst of an internal crisis is a well tried trop for a reason. A combination of an escape from obligations with peace, quiet, and solidarity is a perfect mixture for a self-reassessment. In this way, nature acts as a catalyst rather than the literal solution. And there in lies what doesn’t quite sit with me in My Octopus Teacher. Craig Foster mentions his struggles with fatherhood, but the film let’s his struggles with reality take a back seat to his relationship with the octopus. This flipped perspective on the formula leads to some awkward conclusions. By choosing to exist in natures literal healing properties rather than implying metaphor, the extreme personification of the mollusk comes across as Craig imposing himself on the wild creature rather than a meditative experience. I was frequently taken aback form the film as Craig appeared to be terrorizing his supposed teacher. While I commend the film for trying a new framing of their documentary, this deviation away from symbolism distorted the message in an unproductive way.