Rate the Last Film you Watched

[Fido_le_muet 5,197]

This was on TV tonight. Saw it when it was released. Huge hit here in France. And it is damn well deserved. 

Based on a true story, it tells the story of a wealthy paraplegic man (Cluzet) who hires an ex-con (Sy) as his caregiver. They couldn't be more different but eventually they become friends. 

Despite his criminal background and lack of experience as a caregiver, Driss (Sy) does a wonderful job, even if his methods are... unconventionnal. 

Sounds cheesy but it is wonderfully made. It's a comedy and a very good one at that. But the movie also carries a lot of emotions and shows how much each of them evolve while their friendship grows bigger and bigger. I love how Driss never treats Philippe with pity. He's a man and despite his handicap, he's the same as every other man and Driss knows how to help him and adapts it to his handicap. He's naturally good and nice to him and it's a delight to see him put his own touch in this strict, polished world. He shares his joints with Philippe and take him on rides in his Maserati again (Philippe was using a wheelchair friendly vehicle since his accident). And Philippe is better for it, it's like he's reborn. He smiles again and has fun. He's happy. Driss helps him with his teenage daughter (being stricter with her) and with his love life. Afraid of revealing his disability, Philippe only has a 'thing' through letters with a woman. Driss convinces him to see her but Philippe refuses to meet her at the last moment, seeing himself only as a crippled man. Meanwhile, Driss discovers classical music and becomes educated in art. He even takes up painting himself and discovers he's quite talented. 

SPOILERS:

The ending is wonderful. Driss takes Philippe to the sea. They go to a fancy restaurant overlooking the beach and Driss leaves, wishing him luck on his date. His date from before arrives and Philippe is stuck. He looks at Driss, now outside and they both smile. He's happy. Cornered but happy. This is what he needed. Cluzet is amazing in this scene (and in the whole film by the way). How he shows all these emotions only with his eyes and his face. Incredible acting. Omar Sy is also at his best in this role that revealed him as an actor. 

It's a very fun movie, lots of laugh but lots of emotions at the same time. Great acting from both leads, the ending will bring a tear to your eye. Wonderful story about friendship and it a real reflexion about people with disabilities and how to treat them as people, just people. 

9.5/10

Edited October 7, 2019 by Con

[Con 5,703]

@Fido_le_muet Oh hell yeah, the Intouchables is great. One of my Top Ten (go look at my list!) I watched this in the local independent cinema only knowing that it was a foreign film about inner city man and rich man that need each other, whatever the other film playing was must have sounded more cliched so i went to this instead and just enjoyed every minute of it. And that ending....fucking hell, gets me everytime. From that first scene where we learn about you know what, I had no idea he was you know, cause he seemed to be enjoying the chase at the start. From that moment of the reveal, I was like, oh fuck this isn't going to be some cheesy shit, this is deep. I guess I really loved it because three years previously, my father in law had passed away and the last two years of his life, I hung out with him a lot and ended up taking care of his needs, so that was fresh in my head when I watched this so I was instantly emotionally invested through that element. Some people just refer to it as a funny warm buddy comedy but for me it had a farther reaching message in many ways. I have no plans on watching the remake with Hart and Cranston and it might be okay, but I just dont need to as I rather watch the original again instead. I forgot to mention that as I watched the opening credit names, I only recognized one, the genius composer, Ludovico Einaudi, I had heard some of his other piano works and when his name come on the screen I remember saying to myself, "Well i know one thing, the music will be amazing." and he sure did not let me down as that ending doesn't need the music but the music absolutely cements that moment. Of course at the end they show us the real humans it is based on and that just added more value to what I had just seen. 

Edited October 8, 2019 by Con

[Spinnaker1981 974]

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7458762/

Now, once again we have a movie about submarines... I love these kind of movies, but this one is actually very special.

The sounds are amazing, the idea is pretty good, even if the plot is somewhat close to another submarine movie from the 90´s (Crimson Tide). 

I would recommend watching this.

"The human beings come in three kinds: the living, the dead and those who go to sea"

8/10

 

Edited October 9, 2019 by Spinnaker1981

[Spinnaker1981 974]

ANNA

And Luc Besson does it again. A very good spy movie, with the usual twists and loops and all those shenanigans. 

Anna is a very entertaining movie that takes you into the realms of the KGB and the CIA in those last moments were it makes sense (90s), taking you back and forward in a quest for freedom... Anna is very likable and all the movie revolves around her. Some very funny moments in there. Very well made and very intelligent. 

5/5 for me, one of the best movies from 2019.

[Spinnaker1981 974]

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9598172/

In this one I am not going to say much, but this is without a doubt, the best movie from 2019 (from the one I have seen, of course).

It is just fantastic.

11/10

[DavidCore89 7,402]

BlacKkKlansman.

Finally got around to watching this after someone mentioned it to me a while ago.

A very powerful portrayal of a sad reality.

Excellent narrative, great performances, good visuals and soundtrack. The added wit/humour seems a bit exaggerated at times, but I guess it helps to balance emotions.

I'm not too familiar with politics on the other side of the pond, although some of the racial stuff has made it's way to UK news (more-so in the last few years or so). I also didn't know about the particular story on which this is based, therefore I've no idea how accurate it is. So I just took the film for what it was and the little info I already had about racial tension and those kinda groups. However, it was still very eye-opening and it hammers home the fact that these problems (and very similar ones) haven't really improved globally.

9/10.

Edited October 14, 2019 by DavidCore89

[Con 5,703]

46 minutes ago, DavidCore89 said:

BlacKkKlansman.

Finally got around to watching this after someone mentioned it to me a while ago.

A very powerful portrayal of a sad reality.

Agree. I watched it during my 2018 best picture nominees marathon and felt it deserved Best Pic over Green Book.

Both were very good but Blakkk handles the subject more realistically and being based on a true story made it even more impactful. I appreciated the profundity that matched the one in the film, American History X.

Edited October 15, 2019 by Con

[Fido_le_muet 5,197]

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

Best Spider-Man movie of all times !

 

Seriously that was amazing ! The visuals O-M-G ! Stunning piece of art. Yes this is art ! I mean this is a must watch ! It's exhilarating just to look at. An explosion of colors and wonders. Art is the centerpiece of this film. It's all about art and creativity. It's even mirrored by the personnality of the main character, Miles Morales aka Spider-Man. The kid is a talented graffer, that's his thing. And throughout the movie, we are constantly reminded of that through the plot but especially through the incredible visuals. Visually, it's mind blowing. I had never experienced that before. 

The story is also very very good. It's comic-booky as F*** ! And it's perfect ! Hands down the best plot of any Spider-Man movie ever released. 

We follow young Miles Morales, kid from Brooklyn who attends an elitist school but doesn't really want to be there. He's smart, his parents know it and they want to give him the best shot at life by having him sent to this great school. I loved how Miles is from a normal family. He doesn't have drama like the usual Peter Parker. No dead uncle, just his mom and dad, a nurse and a beat cop. Normal people living in a normal apartment in normal Brooklyn. Loved that. The theme of the movie is that anyone can wear the mask and be Spider-Man and that's what happens. Miles is anyone. He's all of us. He meets a cute girl at school, goes to visit his cool uncle who also loves to spray paint when he can. One night cool uncle Aaron takes Miles to a secret spot so he can express his talent. There, like any other Spider-Man before him, he is bitten by a radioactive spider and soon finds out he is changing and has powers. 

Now I loved this part when he figures out his powers because for the first time in a Spider-Man movie, the film takes all the time it needs to show us how Miles handles his newfound abilities. He struggles for a long time but slowly, and with the help of his friends, the other Spider-Men from alternate dimensions, he becomes Spider-Man. But it takes time ! A Good chunk of the movie and it is perfect. Exactly what we need to see. In previous movies, Peter Parker figures out his abilities all by himself. Through trial and error yes but all by himself, in a matter of minutes and off he goes chasing villains. Here, we're slowly introduced to Peter Parker, who is KILLED by Wilson Fisk/Kingpin after a fight with Green Goblin in an awesome fight sequence with the best Spider-Man action ever. During the fight, Kingpin opens up a portal to alternate dimensions and a few alternate Spider-People arrive in the prime universe. But we don't know that at first and are slowly introduced to them. So Peter Parker is dead and asked Miles to carry on his mission to stop Kingpin. But Miles is just a young boy, lost with his new powers. He wants to help but he can't. He's not strong enough like Peter was. That's when he meets Peter again. But a different one from a different dimension. This Spider-Man is tired, he's been fighting villains for 20 years, married and divorced MJ and he just wants to get back to his world. Miles needs him to carry on his missionand over the course of the film, a great bond forms between the two. Eventually, Peter realises he needs Miles as much as Miles needs him. He mentors Miles into becoming the new Spider-Man of this prime world. Other Spider-Men appear and they push Miles to become like them. Great selection of characters by the way. Loved Spider-Man Noir and Spider-Ham ^^ Spider-Gwen is also awesome ! I had no idea Spider-Man Noir and Spider-Man manga girl-piloted robot from 3000 something even existed ! Cool selection of villains as well. Kingpin is a classic Spider-Man villain and it is good to finally see him against Spidey in a movie. I loved him in Daredevil but it was about time he fought Spider-Man. Cool to finally see a real Green Goblin and not a James Franco Goblin wanabee. Reimagined Doc Ock was great as well and it was nice to see less well-known spidey villains like Prowler and Scorpion. Great ensemble but, and that's why I give this movie 9.5/10 and not 10/10, I would have loved the movie to go one step further and add characters from previous live action Spider-Man movies. I felt we needed at least a quick cameo by Tobey Maguire or Andrew Garfield. I think Tom Holland was off limits because his part Marvel Studios but the others are 100% Sony so they should have been included ! I feel it would have added an extra layer to the movie and to this new wonderfully rich Spider-verse. -0.5 pts because of it. 

Don't really know what else to say except you all need to watch this movie. Did I tell you about the incredible visuals ? The animation is perfect. The visual style, part CGI, part comic book is out of this world. Definitely the most beautiful animation movie I've seen. And the soundtrack ! It is awesome. Fits the story and the setting perfectly. 

Just watch it. You won't regret it. That was the best 2-hours of films I've watched in a long time. 

 

[zztop911 1,609]

Just watched this last night on a whim. It's just a cute plain little feel good movie that should make you smile and some parts should resonate with everyone. It just depends on how you grew up whether that resonation is good or bad.

It's a Netflix movie: Tall Girl.

[Con 5,703]

Child's Play (2019) - 3/5 - First let me say I absolutely rejected the notion of a CP remake when I first heard about it. I felt that there was no need to retell that story, what else could you add to a 2019 "remake" besides more expensive CGI? so it clearly is just a licensing cash grab and will probably be garbage. So I steered clear but last night the film I wanted to watch wasnt available to me so I watched this instead and will say I enjoyed the new interpretation and while I really loved the original's manifestation of the evil, this one felt more grounded on reality and more likely to occur than the original's serial killer's soul transfer elements. I thought the acting was real good by the kid playing Andy and I love Aubrey Plaza in anything and although here she seemed more like a caricature than a real mom, I thought she had strong acting moments. The film has so many metaphors that can be applied to our daily lives,  most of us can control our pet cams, garage door, tv, lights, and even thermostats right from our phones. That is a lot of power left to our apps. Also enjoyed how they showed Chucky being confused by the kids laughing at the carnage while they watch Texas Chainsaw Massacre Part 2 and how that is used as a metaphor as to how we condition children to accept, tolerate and even ENJOY violence. I enjoyed the first half of the film and then it begins to suffer what the original does and that is no matter how menacing you make the doll, it still looks silly as hell when a doll jumps up to attack an adult. Why should you watch it? Because it's an interesting take on the original and while I personally find the serial killer soul concept of the original more frightening, this was more realistic in a sense, but will add that it does take away some of the menace and motivation Chucky had in the original film. I did appreciate the delicate balance of having a boy on the verge of becoming a teen embrace a doll and that credit goes to the kid playing Andy, I thought he did a great job 99% of the time, the mom, more like 60% as I found her more of a caricature. Lack of carnage in the third act really let me down.  It was better than I thought it would be and while you can poke plenty of holes in it, the first half of the film was a fun ride and while we are already suspending disbelief, the second half makes you question the film's own logic. 

[Fido_le_muet 5,197]

The Big Lebowski

I had never seen it so we watched it yesterday with the Mrs. I knew beforehand that it was a cult classic so I wanted to see why. And I did see why. 

It was a lot of fun ! The writing is definitely the best part. Hilarious dialogue at times ! Acting is also amazing. The way these guys are with one another and the way they deliver these sentences ! Tons of fun ! 

The lead characters are awesome. The Dude obviously is cool. He's so perfect as a lazy do nothing guy. His clothes !  Always with his long bathrobe in his PJs or underwear  And his shoes ! Freaking water plastic shoes ! LMFAO ! That was just the best ! But to me the best character was his pal Walter. Seriously John Goodman is awesome. The more I see of him, the more I love him. One of my favorite actors. His contant rant about the Vietnam and how he had to see his buddies die in the mud. He is hilarious. And the way he tell his friend Donny to just 'shut the fuck up Donny' everytime Donny says something  I'm laughing my ass off just rethinking about it  

The plot is perfect because there isn't one ! It's just a succession of hilarious WTF moments somewhat related by a lingering intrigue but honestly we don't care about it. It's just too fun to see these guys interact without really knowing what they are doing. First there is something about a rug, then a case of mistaken identity, then a kidnapping, then there are german techno artists coming in, then a ransom, porn, a crazy sex addicted painter who is the daughter of the millionaire, everyone takes a shot at the Dude's car until it's finally destroyed, there's bowling, lots of bowling, an insane bowling competitor and at the end Donny dies for no reason and of course Walter's fucks up when he scatters the ashes onto the Dude because he misjudged the wind  

It was great ! 

I love these movies where you're like 'WTF?' all the time. Reminded me of Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. 

It's a 9/10 for me ! 

[LimeGreenLegend 4,175]

55 minutes ago, Fido_le_muet said:

 

The Big Lebowski

 

Nobody fucks with the Jesus

[Con 5,703]

Hail Satan? (2019) ....4/5.... Really good documentary that follows the rise and growth of the Satanic Temple. These aren't your grandpa's satanists, these satanists hand out socks and tampons. Just a great exploration in the absurdity of religious inequality in the United States and how the Christians have convinced themselves that their religion is the one the nation was founded upon----except just doing some light research, you'd learn that the founding fathers did everything to emphasize that not one single religion represents or SHOULD represent the nation. The documentary focuses on the widely reported debate of whether government buildings should erect Ten Commandment monuments on their property and how other religions (including Satanists) should have the same right to erect monuments that honor their God(s) and is why we have a separation of State and Church for good reason, and the Satanic Temple is using the same language in legislation that protects the Christian believer to protect their own beliefs as instructed by the Constitution. Whether you believe in God or not, everyone should have their God represented. The documentary also shows how ill-informed the Christian is about how far their religion is adopted by the USA as most don't realize or care that "In God We Trust" and God being mentioned in the pledge of allegiance were both the results of Americans designating the Russians and communists as non-Christians during the Cold War, basically telling the low IQ Americans that Communists worship Satan while we love the Jesus, that  is the only reason in 1956 the USA began printing the word 'GOD" all over the  currency. The Satanic Temple has a mission to educate the public regarding that and the dangers of one single religion encroaching on legislation. After all, the biggest commandment, "Thou Shall Not Kill", is cherry picked daily by the most 'blessed' nation on the planet. One of the most shocking moments was learning that some of the actual Ten Commandment monuments found around the country, including the first one they had at the state capital in Arkansas, all come from get this......THE TEN COMMANDMENT’S MOVIE PROMOTION MATERIALS!!! Yes...the monuments were left over from the Paramount pictures promotion of the Charlton Heston Ten Commandment movie. You see, when the film was being promoted, a bunch of those monuments were sent to be placed outside theaters, but once the film was out of them, the studio had all these Ten Commandment monuments and they decided to donate them to churches and some of them found their way into the hands of Senators and Governors. Interesting stuff. 

Best Moment: When they revisit the Satanic Panic of the 80's fueled by Jesus followers where they reported to the media that child sexual abuse was running rampant amongst the Satanists....but turns out when you look at the same criminal activity and pedophilia cases of that same period, guess which group was ACTUALLY SEXUALLY ABUSING CHILDREN???? Yes, if you guessed the Christian religious group then you would be correct, turns out the church was the one group protecting and covering up for their disgusting priests....TALK ABOUT PROJECTING!!! They pointed fingers and told the world the Satanists were molesting children and it was actually them that were the child sexual abusers!!! Wow!!! That hit me like a ton of bricks. 

Edited December 4, 2019 by Con

[Beez 5,091]

Midway (2019)

Saw this in the theater yesterday. It was everything I wanted it to be, an action packed WW2 movie where the characters are portrayed as heroes. This version of Midway hits on a lot of the events that led up to the battle like Pearl Harbor, the Dolittle raid and, the battle of Coral Sea. Lots of good airplane and ship action which is all (I assume) CGI but some is a little too Michael Bay-ish. I saw the original Midway in the theater and multiple time since then and it is a bit different as no CGI but a lot of the footage is actual combat footage from the war. Haven’t seen it in many years but want to see it again soon. I loved this new version and look forward to watching it several times too.

4 out 5

[Con 5,703]

The Pyramid (2014)...2/5...Sure it had some terrible CGI, especially in the main monster and that was a real fucking shame since he happens to be one of my favorite Egyptian Gods. That being said, I was so fucking pumped when they reveal him cause I had never seen him in a film before, I was giddy as fuck, honestly and only wish they would have spent more love on his CGI face cause the zoom out shots of his body were terrific. One of the most strange things about this film is that it was marketed as a "found footage" film but I guess the filmmakers forgot about that and completely take us away from the immersion with countless and what would be unexplained cameras taking in the footage. The sets were kind of lame because almost every room was the same scale and felt like a set most of the time and less like a pyramid chamber or room. I thought the story was a good effort and might have used the "oh shit we awoke something trope" instead of the "it never went away" trope. I really want to give this a 3/5...but can't because nothing was spectacular enough to overlook the glaring negatives. I wish they would have made it so that the father knew about everything to sort of hint that he had heard of rumors of what still lives in pyramids. Best moment: Seeing the main villain for the first time 

 

Annubis!!! Yes, a resurrected Annubis is the monster!!! Him and Baast just fascinate me to no end when it comes to Egyptian mythology and wish they had Baast in the film too!

For a better overall found footage experience watch the film "As Above, So Below" which is fantastic. Why should you watch this: If you LOVE Egyptian mythology and it's a rainy day.

-----------------

Aquarela (2018)...5/5...Wow! I watched 90 minutes of just water in all shapes and sizes and I fucking loved every second of it. We start with these shots of men on some type of frozen lake setting up what I thought was going to be ice fishing....and yes half of that was correct, they do go fishing, but for cars that have fallen through the ice!! When you see the car immerse from the icy depths, I had to ask myself, why are people driving on that ice?? And then I learned that they are on Lake Baikal, Siberia and just last week I watched a VR video on Lake Baikal and how people travel there when it freezes and play on the ice. So when I watched that VR video, I kept saying, those folks are crazy, what if they fell through the ice....well this documentary answered that for me.  I absolutely loved the cinematography throughout but the way the glaciers and huge walls of solid ice are framed all alone at first and I knew what I was seeing was breathtaking but I didn't get a grasp of scope of the objects until a 100-foot schooner boat comes into the shot and my jaw just dropped to my ankles at how colossal those chunks of ice are  . I mean, we are but mere speckles of flesh compared to those massive cliffs and icebergs. Then we are taken to swim around and under the icebergs and under the ice and let me say this, only the camera men from those mountain climbing documentaries have bigger fucking balls and nerves. I mean, I was laying safely in bed and felt that I could get trapped under that ice, so imagine the actual camera people! They risked their lives. They really did. We get these shots of massive chunks of ice cliffs falling into the ocean and when they start to swim around the icebergs, the camera operators had to know that at any moment a chunk of ice the size of city blocks could fall and crush them or cause them to drown by the newly formed violent waves. We then get to the icy deltas where the melted water enters the ocean. We leave the dangerous ice to sail with a man and woman, and these folks have a death wish, they are sailing in this angry ocean and we get more great shots, the above shots that drones have made so commonplace really look amazing here, i could not help but feel like a GOD! We spend a day and night with the sail boat and I was just glad I was home and never want to do what those people do for fun. Then we are taken to a hurricane and flood disaster and it broke my heart, looking at all the animals left behind. Dogs, pigs, cats, goats...the humans leave and leave these beautiful animals behind. The shot of the abandoned pigs was too much for me and I had to fast forward, then we get to the amazing waterfalls around the world, Angel Falls being the last thing we see and it was amazing because I again, last week I watched a VR video of Angel Falls, Venezuela and recognized it instantly and eventually I will share both the VR videos of Lake Baikal and Angel Falls for anyone with VR. This documentary is water porn and i should mention there is NO NARRATION. NOTHING but the occasional human whimper and just the water. I found the entire thing therapeutic and terrifyingly astonishing all at the same time. Why should you watch it: Being hoisted onto a 98-feet mast and looking down while a sailboat sails through rough seas is heart-stopping and unless you had to go up 98 feet to wipe the camera lens, you will never see that POV ever in your life. 

Edited December 12, 2019 by Con

[Con 5,703]

For those of you like me that care about the Academy Award Short-list nominees...here they are... I will try and watch as many of the documentaries as i can get my hands on.

 

92ND OSCARS SHORTLISTS

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has announced shortlists in consideration for the 92nd Academy Awards in nine categories: Documentary Feature, Documentary Short Subject, International Feature Film, Makeup and Hairstyling, Music (Original Score), Music (Original Song), Animated Short Film, Live Action Short Film and Visual Effects.

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

Fifteen films will advance in the Documentary Feature category for the 92nd Academy Awards.  One hundred fifty-nine films were submitted in the category.  Members of the Documentary Branch vote to determine the shortlist and the nominees.

The films, listed in alphabetical order by title, are:

“Advocate”
“American Factory”
“The Apollo”
“Apollo 11”
“Aquarela”
“The Biggest Little Farm”
“The Cave”
“The Edge of Democracy”
“For Sama”
“The Great Hack”
“Honeyland”
“Knock Down the House”
“Maiden”
“Midnight Family”
“One Child Nation”

------------------------------------------------------------

DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT

Ten films will advance in the Documentary Short Subject category for the 92nd Academy Awards.  Ninety-six films qualified in the category.  Members of the Documentary Branch vote to determine the shortlist and the nominees.

The films, listed in alphabetical order by title, are:

“After Maria”
“Fire in Paradise”
“Ghosts of Sugar Land”
“In the Absence”
“Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone (If You’re a Girl)”
“Life Overtakes Me”
“The Nightcrawlers”
“St. Louis Superman”
“Stay Close”
“Walk Run Cha-Cha”

-----------------------------------------------------------

INTERNATIONAL FEATURE FILM

Ten films will advance to the next round of voting in the International Feature Film category (formerly known as Foreign Language Film) for the 92nd Academy Awards.  Ninety-one films were eligible in the category.

Academy members from all branches were invited to participate in the preliminary round.  They must have viewed the submitted films theatrically and met a minimum viewing requirement to be eligible to vote in the category.  Their seven choices, augmented by three additional selections voted by the Academy’s International Feature Film Award Executive Committee, constitute the shortlist.

In the nominations round, Academy members from all branches are invited to opt-in to participate and must view all 10 shortlisted films in order to cast a ballot.

The films, listed in alphabetical order by country, are:

Czech Republic, “The Painted Bird”
Estonia, “Truth and Justice”
France, “Les Misérables”
Hungary, “Those Who Remained”
North Macedonia, “Honeyland”
Poland, “Corpus Christi”
Russia, “Beanpole”
Senegal, “Atlantics”
South Korea, “Parasite”
Spain, “Pain and Glory”

----------------------------------------------------------

MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING

Ten films will advance in the Makeup and Hairstyling category for the 92nd Academy Awards.  All members of the Academy’s Makeup Artists and Hairstylists Branch will be invited to view seven-minute excerpts from each of the 10 shortlisted films on Saturday, January 4, 2020.  Members will vote to nominate five films for final Oscar consideration.

The films, listed in alphabetical order by title, are:

“Bombshell”
“Dolemite Is My Name”
“Downton Abbey”
“Joker”
“Judy”
“Little Women”
“Maleficent: Mistress of Evil”
“1917”
“Once upon a Time…in Hollywood”
“Rocketman”

----------------------------------------------------------------

MUSIC (ORIGINAL SCORE)

Fifteen scores will advance in the Original Score category for the 92nd Academy Awards.  One hundred seventy scores were eligible in the category.  Members of the Music Branch vote to determine the shortlist and the nominees.

The scores, listed in alphabetical order by film title, are:

“Avengers: Endgame”
“Bombshell”
“The Farewell”
“Ford v Ferrari”
“Frozen II”
“Jojo Rabbit”
“Joker”
“The King”
“Little Women”
“Marriage Story”
“Motherless Brooklyn”
“1917”
“Pain and Glory”
“Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker”
“Us”

------------------------------------------------------------

MUSIC (ORIGINAL SONG)

Fifteen songs will advance in the Original Song category for the 92nd Academy Awards.  Seventy-five songs were eligible in the category.  Members of the Music Branch vote to determine the shortlist and the nominees.

The original songs, along with the motion picture in which each song is featured, are listed below in alphabetical order by film title and song title:

“Speechless” from “Aladdin”
“Letter To My Godfather” from “The Black Godfather”
“I’m Standing With You” from “Breakthrough”
“Da Bronx” from “The Bronx USA”
“Into The Unknown” from “Frozen II”
“Stand Up” from “Harriet”
“Catchy Song” from “The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part”
“Never Too Late” from “The Lion King”
“Spirit” from “The Lion King”
“Daily Battles” from “Motherless Brooklyn”
“A Glass of Soju” from “Parasite”
“(I’m Gonna) Love Me Again” from “Rocketman”
“High Above The Water” from “Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am”
“I Can’t Let You Throw Yourself Away” from “Toy Story 4”
“Glasgow” from “Wild Rose”

------------------------------------------------------------

ANIMATED SHORT FILM

Ten films will advance in the Animated Short Film category for the 92nd Academy Awards.  Ninety-two films qualified in the category.  Members of the Short Films and Feature Animation Branch vote to determine the shortlist and the nominees.

The films, listed in alphabetical order by title, are:

“Dcera (Daughter)”
“Hair Love”
“He Can’t Live without Cosmos”
“Hors Piste”
“Kitbull”
“Memorable”
“Mind My Mind”
“The Physics of Sorrow”
“Sister”
“Uncle Thomas: Accounting for the Days”

------------------------------------------------------------

LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM

Ten films will advance in the Live Action Short Film category for the 92nd Academy Awards.  One hundred ninety-one films qualified in the category.  Members of the Short Films and Feature Animation Branch vote to determine the shortlist and the nominees.

The films, listed in alphabetical order by title, are:

“Brotherhood”
“The Christmas Gift”
“Little Hands”
“Miller & Son”
“Nefta Football Club”
“The Neighbors’ Window”
“Refugee”
“Saria”
“A Sister”
“Sometimes, I Think about Dying”

----------------------------------------------------------------

VISUAL EFFECTS

Ten films remain in the running in the Visual Effects category for the 92nd Academy Awards.  The Visual Effects Branch Executive Committee determined the shortlist.  All members of the Visual Effects Branch will be invited to view 10-minute excerpts from each of the shortlisted films online or attend satellite bake-off screenings in January 2020.  Following the screenings, members will vote to nominate five films for final Oscar consideration.

The films, listed in alphabetical order by title, are:

“Alita: Battle Angel”
“Avengers: Endgame”
“Captain Marvel”
“Cats”
“Gemini Man”
“The Irishman”
“The Lion King”
“1917”
“Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker”
“Terminator: Dark Fate”

[Fido_le_muet 5,197]

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

Review later when it's out in the US on friday. 

I'll just say that it is a cool Star Wars movie that falls a little short. 

[LimeGreenLegend 4,175]

Just been reading some spoiler reviews for The Rise of Skywalker.

It sounds really bad.  I’m actually looking forward to seeing how bad it is.  

Hopefully there’ll be a decent copy to borrow from the internet soon.

Anyways, the last film I saw was Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, the latest from Tarantino, and I thought it was excellent.

I thought it was going to be more about the Manson family and the murders, but I was pleasantly surprised.  The last 25 minutes had me saying “holy fuck” out loud a few times, especially at what Brad Pitt does with a can of dog food.

Not Tarantino’s best film, but still better than most other movies out this year.

8/10

[Con 5,703]

Maradonna (2019)...5/5...Awesome documentary about a controversial athlete that would have had one hell of a Twitter account.  Why should you watch it? You are a huge soccer personality fan and want to learn more about this legend and what happened in his life.

Ad Astra (2019) ...3/5...Family space drama that let me down because of all things....the science. How do you park at the edge of Neptune and expect to find life in the galaxy without exploring further? While the main message was pretty awesome, we as a species will forget the meaning by next week. Why should you watch it? Beautiful space imagery including flying through the rings of Neptune!!!! 

Attack the Block (2011)...3/5...Interesting sci-fi story that ruins our connection to the characters early on and made it hard to care about them when they get their arcs. Think Nazis being attacked by aliens, who would you cheer for to be killed? I think had they committed a different crime when we first meet them, I might have been more invested. I did love that it was British and enjoyed looking up the street slang. Why should you watch it? You wanna see street kids die or redeem themselves in an alien invasion scenario. 

Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark (2019)...4/5...I don't remember reading the book as a kid so I wasnt bothered by the film not following the book page for page but really enjoyed the way the stories are written as the kids have to wait to see what the "final destination" story was going to be. I felt the film was clever and the setups added tension that elevated the repetitive formula. I wish I was a 9 year-old and was watching this for the first time as it would have been spookier and stayed with me longer. Why should you watch it? It's a well directed safe PG-13 scary movie that you can share with your kids and enjoy yourself at the same time. 

Joker (2019)...5/5...I will save my thoughts for my full review. 

Edited December 31, 2019 by Con

[LimeGreenLegend 4,175]

@Con I loved Attack the Block, but I get your point about feeling disconnected from the main characters after the mugging.  However, I think that it ultimately adds to their arc, having to become heroes.  I also love the image of you pausing the film the Google all the slang  

Can't wait for your Joker review, I have a lot of thoughts about that too.

[Con 5,703]

Just now, LimeGreenLegend said:

@Con I loved Attack the Block, but I get your point about feeling disconnected from the main characters after the mugging.  However, I think that it ultimately adds to their arc, having to become heroes.  I also love the image of you pausing the film the Google all the slang  

Yeah, I wish they would have perhaps sold the female character some fake drugs....you know, make her flawed too. And she is trying to get her money back cause they sold her fake drugs and is why she is following them around instead of the conveniences of them running into her. I loved the concept because. well, I was one of those kids growing up in the projects and imagined the scenario in my life and no doubt, the block would not have waited for government forces to arrive. I was a little let down by the Hollywood influence and seeing another Bennetton Diversity Gang...lol...why do they do this in film? It's like, oh lets make a gang or criminal organization and someone says, well we better make sure everyone is represented. lmao. Yes, different gang members hang out with each other but rarely is a gang racially diverse as we see in film. I find it funny cause its almost every time. 

[LimeGreenLegend 4,175]

Got myself a years membership to my local arthouse cinema and just made use of one of the free tickets by seeing Little Women.  Written and directed by Greta Gerwig (Ladybird), Little Women stars Saoirse Ronan, Emma Watson, Florence Pugh and Eliza Scanlen as the March sisters, the little women of the title.  The film is about their growth into womanhood, pursuit of their ambitions, relationships, and all of the pressures that contains. 

I loved this film.  I haven't read the book on which it's based but I was invested in the story from the first scene where Jo March (Ronan) is trying to sell a story she wrote to a magazine, only to be told "if the main character is a woman she has to be married by the end. Or dead".  The performances of all the March sisters, and the support from Laura Dern, Timothee Chalamet and the legendary Meryl Streep, are flawless from start to end.  I really believed in the relationships between the sisters, it felt real and I really cared about these characters.  Saoirse Ronan is a stand out here, and will get her third best actress nomination easily.  Laura Dern was also brilliant as her mother, and I can easily see her getting a supporting nomination.  

The costumes, set design, and hair and makeup are all fantastic and really put you in the post civil war era without it feeling like a period drama.  The direction is great, and Gerwig made a great choice to not have the story play out in a linear way.  We see events from their youth, then how that affects their lives in the future, then we go back to their youth again.  The film does this constantly, but never gets confusing.  It was also funny.  Really funny.  Much funnier than I was expecting.

If you're on the fence about seeing this, or just didn't even think about seeing it because it's a period drama with an entirely female led cast, then give yourself a slap and go and see it.  Have you seen this yet @djw180?  I know this genre is right up your alley, and this is one of the best films I've seen this year.

9/10

I also saw Star Wars: Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker.

If you're a Star Wars fan you might like it.  I thought it was a mess.

3/10

Edited December 31, 2019 by LimeGreenLegend

[djw180 6,836]

@LimeGreenLegend No not seen it but certainly want to. We meant to see at least one film over the holidays but bad colds and visting relatives got in the way.

[djw180 6,836]

While I'm here.

I watched Flags of our Fathers the other day, Clint Eastwood's film about the WWII Battle for Iwo Jima told from the point of view of some of the US service men involved (he made another one, Letters from Iwa Jima from the Japanese perspective). Although it's a war film the actual military operation is kind of the back story. This is about the iconic image of raising the Stars and Stripes on Iwa Jima. It tells how this image and some of the men involved were use to raise money for the war effort. Three of those involved, two marines and one navy medic, go on a publicity tour with mothers of the others who did not survive the battle. The photo was taken relatively early on in the battle after the US forces captured one of two heavily fortified mountains and the battle went on for week's after that. However the iconic image was of a second flag being raised, the first had been taken down so that a senior officer who wanted it as a souvenir did not get the original, and one of the dead men it was being claimed was in the photo was not actually in it. The service men are not that enthusiastic about the publicity tour believing that it ought to the men who raised the first flag, but they recognise the tour needs to go ahead to raise much needed money and certainly don't want to tell one the mothers that her son wasn't actually in the photo. So as well as telling the story of the battle it's also about war-time propaganda and, arguably, the things that have to be done even if they not based on the truth.

I don't know how accurate it is, but I am not aware of any great untruths in it. So assuming this is true, for me the most surprising thing I learned is that apparently the US was dangerously close to running out of money to continue the war in early1945 and had the publicity tour not been successful they may have been forced to negotiate a peace deal with Japan.

It's a good film, not an all action-war film, but at times quite harrowing story of the men who fought and died and their families.

I'd give it 7/10.

 

[LimeGreenLegend 4,175]

I got the book 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die over the holidays and was dismayed to find out that I had only seen 196 of them, less than 20%!  I plan on rectifying this, and will post all my short reviews here.  The book covers the best and most important/influential films from around the world and in every genre, from 1902 to 2019.

I thought the best place to start was at the beginning.

A Trip to the Moon (1902)

dir. Georges Melies

At a time when films were no more than two minutes long, and mostly depicted everyday life, Le Voyage Dans La Lune must have been a real trip.  Melies, the director, writer, producer, set and costume designer was also a magician, and used those skills to create the at the time revolutionary special effects.  Even in 2020 they are still effective, and really helps convey the mysterious other world of the moon.  I really enjoyed watching this for the first time, the set designs are intricate and a joy to look at, and I love how animated everyone is, it just makes every scene seem exciting, even when they're just stood in a room talking, as in the first scene.  

Even if you've never seen this film, you will have seen all of the legendary iconography, most noticeably the big moon face with a rocket in his eye, and as the first sci-fi film it really set out a lot of the standard story beats and conventions that are still used today.  Take 15 minutes out of your day and watch it, it's right below this sentence.

Totally worthy of its legendary status in film history - 9/10

I must admit, as a huge fan of The Smashing Pumpkins, I had this in my head the entire time I was watching this