READY PLAYER ONE Review

First and foremost, let me just say that the amount of pre-release cycle of hatred for this picture has been absolutely ludicrous. The amount of snark and contempt tossed at this whole production is something I've found puzzling, headache-inducing and ultimately tiring. Seriously, has the world deteriorated to a point where we're all so jaded towards to pretty much anything (even something that's an obvious shoo-in such as a new Spielberg joint)? I understand why people are cynical towards the original source material. Even though I can't say it doesn't have its fair share of problems, I can say the novel by Ernest Cline (AKA the literary world's answer to JJ Abrams) is a fun read and had plenty of awesome potential for cinematic spectacle. Plus, this wouldn't be the first time the Wizard of Whimsy made a movie that vastly improved on what its based on. Need I remind you all of how Jaws and Jurassic Park were novels of questionable quality before they became icons of cinema?

Now, with all that complaining and preamble out of the way, comes the question of whether or not the film in question is deserving of hatred. Well, the answer is....not at all. Ready Player One is a ridiculously entertaining ride that immensely improves on the novel and may end up being a sci-fi classic one day. It has a lot of fantastic action scenes, the visual design is absolutely splendid and the references don't feel like they're getting in the way of telling a good story with good characters. Zak Penn and Ernest Cline's witty screenplay serves as a sturdy foundation for the fantastical theatrics (even if a few lines here and there sound a bit cringeworthy).

Tye Sheridan brings a certain sense of likability to Parzival that was sorely lacking in the original novel. Yeah, he's a fairly standard, wide-eyed Spielberg protagonist; but, he's decently written and charming enough to where that doesn't really matter. Olivia Cooke's Art3mis subverts expectations by being a female character with a palpable sense of urgency while having a sweet personality to boot. Ben Mendelsohn is marvelous as the film's dastardly CEO antagonist (even I'd say his character isn't nearly as interesting as the company he runs). I was pleasantly surprised by how effective IOI is as a looming threat. Simon Pegg sadly gets little to do in the film; but, he's still Simon Pegg in a nerdy adventure such as this. That's always a bonus in my book. Ultimately, Mark Rylance ends up giving the best performance in the picture as OASIS co-creator James Halliday. Far from the tech wizard the masses hype him up to be, Rylance portrays the character as a sort-of rockstar reinvention of Elon Musk with subtle gracenotes suggesting he falls on the high-functioning end of the spectrum. Where they take his character struck a personal chord with me that I found quite poignant (seeing how I may be too into the novelties this film wears like badges of honor).

Alan Silvestri's score is an emotional roller coaster, appropriately accompanying the film's dramatic peaks and valleys with seasoned precision. It's easily some of his best work since the first Avengers film back in 2012. Every action sequence is packed to the gills with top-notch thrills. Sure, it's chaotic; but, Spielberg is a filmmaker with a level of maturity to keep said havoc easy to follow and fluid. Much like how I'm keeping my mouth shut on all the pop-culture cameos that run rampant through the film's background, I find that I'd fail my readership if I were to spoil what the film has to say. Suffice it say, I highly recommend that you all go see this on the biggest screen possible because this is pure spectacle in the truest meaning of the word. Fitting for a film mostly set in a nearly infinite virtual void, Ready Player One feels massive and sprawling in the Oasis and cold yet familiar in futuristic Columbus, Ohio.



Lately, critics have been praising Spielberg's more grounded and realistic films moreso than what made him a household name. While I agree that he's been on a winning streak for adult dramas, let's not forget how this and The Adventures of Tintin are near-perfect reminders of how he's the best in the entire business at delivering top-of-the-line popcorn entertainment. He's essentially treating this film as his personal sandbox and I sure like the way he plays. Not only does it supply a good time at the cinema, it celebrates how awesome geek culture is while acknowledging that it has a place in life that shouldn't extend to consuming your life. I absolutely dug it and I'm sure you all will too, even if you haven't the foggiest idea what Buckaroo Banzai is.

READY PLAYER ONE gets an...
AWESOME EXPLOSIVE BLAST out of TEN

State of Matinee Everyday and Other Affairs

Ladies and gentlemen, there are a few announcements I have to make. Nothing Earth-shattering; but, notable enough to warrant a whole blog post. The most prescient of these would be that this site will no longer be the sole source of my content. I've recently become a contributor at Comic Fade. If you're interested, my first article can be found here: https://comicfade.com/2018/03/26/80s-week-the-5-best-80s-horror-films/

Granted, you'll still see reviews, and trailer discussions up on this blog. I promise you that this doesn't spell doomsday for Matinee Everyday. Moving on, future reposts of my Letterboxd reviews will go under the title of "Review Round-Up" instead of "It Came From Letterboxd". I've found that this title conveys what's inside more effectively and more newcomer friendly so to speak. Short, sweet and to the point! Speaking of which, I've got a new post coming up after the Ready Player One review is published on Friday. Yes, you heard that right. Seeing how I had some spare time on my hands, I decided to attend an early screening of the film in order to have my review up as soon as possible. Per tradition, there won't be any spoilers.

Finally, I'll be starting up a podcast with a few friends called Can You Dig It? once summertime rolls around. It'll involve discussions about pop culture among other topics. Get hyped or be afraid. The choice is yours when all is said and done.

That's all for now. Fly casual, dear readers!

THE NEW MUTANTS Gets Delayed...Again

It seems like Josh Boone's horror superhero picture can't catch a break. A film that was originally supposed come out less than a few weeks from today is now being released on August 22nd of next year. Naturally, this doesn't bode well for many people (including myself). The strangest thing about this whole situation is that the film has had a couple fairly successful test screenings. Originally, this was delayed until next February to make it more of a standard horror film. Fox was apparently motivated by the success other studios had with recent hits such as It and Get Out.

Now, apparently half of the movie is being reshot to incorporate a new character (source: http://variety.com/2018/film/news/fox-moves-bohemian-rhapsody-delays-x-men-spinoffs-1202737117/). Who that new character will be is anyone's guess. Considering this film is taking a significant amount of inspiration from Bill Sienkiewicz's in the comics, I'd bet there's a decent chance that we may end up seeing Warlock show up. The short version of the story is that he's a robot from space who gradually become a friend of the team throughout various storylines.

With all of that being said, I don't think this production is going to go the way of Fant4stic (I know that's not technically the actual title; but, it's stupid and plastered all over the posters, so that's what I'm going to call it). Heck, just look at some of this artwork from the specific source material this movie is apparently pulling from.

Pretty psychotic, isn't it? So, the leanings towards more of the creepy stuff doesn't seem as inappropriate for an adaptation as it did with that grim trainwreck of a film. Plus, we still have some talented people working on this and the idea at play here is too good to waste. Troubled productions have been able to result in good films. I'm just hoping Fox does everything in its power to keep me onboard with this.

Trailers! Trailers! Trailers! #6

Well then. Seeing how we've got a plethora of new trailers coming out this week and I haven't done one of these in about eight months, I figured it was high time I did another piece where I talk about a whole bunch of new trailers.

SORRY TO BOTHER YOU

I'm getting distinct vibes of both Adult Swim and Terry Gilliam (shades of Brazil, his crowning achievement of sorts, are all over this). Honestly, it looks cool and has a remarkably talented cast. A lot of the visuals seem to complement the satire. Plus, the reactions this thing has garnered from it's premiere at this year's Sundance film festival are extremely positive. I'm pretty confident we're in for a real treat with this one. Oh yeah and Armie Hammer's character seems deranged. Can't wait to see this!

TAG

Not sure if I'm feeling this one. It's a fun premise and it doesn't look awful. But, there isn't a moment that really made me laugh. Maybe, it's just a mediocre trailer; but, I have very little interest in finding out whether this is actually any good. Might make a good Redbox rental, though.

ACTION POINT

Jackass has always been a guilty pleasure of mine and I still a chuckle out of seeing how these guys are still. Likewise, I'm fairly curious about the latest project from Johnny Knoxville and company (especially considering how insane the stories that inspired this are). This trailer is reminding of stuff like Meatballs and I'm okay with that. Not much else to say. Looks charming enough. Moving on...

FANTASTIC BEASTS: THE CRIMES OF GRINDLEWALD

....what exactly do I have to say about this? First off, it's just a teaser. So, we only get a tiny glimpse of what's in for us come this November. Second, I haven't cared about the whole Harry Potter phenomenon since I was eleven years old. However, I did rent the first Fantastic Beasts not too long ago (it was perfectly fine, I guess). My only major complaint is switching from Colin Farrell to Johnny Depp for your film's antagonist is one of the biggest cinematic downgrades I've seen in quite a while. If you're into this sort of thing, get hyped...I think.

THE HOUSE WITH A CLOCK IN ITS WALLS

Love him or hate him (I'm more ambivalent to the man, myself), Eli Roth is a fairly unpredictable filmmaker. Sure, I'm just as tired of stuff like Hostel and Cabin Fever as a lot of others in online film discussions; but, who in a million years would've predicted that he'd have a role in a Tarantino film or direct a remake of Death Wish. But, now, a man who's primarily known for doing brutal splatter flicks is doing a kid-friendly horror picture. That's pretty interesting. The real kicker is that it doesn't look half bad. Jack Black and Cate Blanchett seem charming, there's some atmospheric moments/creative visuals and I am 100% supportive of more gateway horror films to get kids into the genre. Also, the 80s Universal logo in the opening is a nice touch.

And, that's all I got for now. Tune in later this week for when Matinee Everyday reviews Ready Player One.

This DEADPOOL 2 Trailer Should Brighten Your Day

Good morning everyone! Here's the actual factual trailer for Deadpool 2!

Oh yeah! That'll do nicely. Very nicely indeed.

Anyway, I qualify this as this as the "real" trailer because everything else we've gotten as of late has basically been pretty vague (what with the Bob Ross parody and that other one where Deadpool resorted to reenacting scenes with action figures until the effects were finished). This isn't to isn't to say it looks bad (quite the opposite, this looks terrific); however, this is the only trailer that I think properly gives us a sense of what the movie's going to be like in terms of story beats* and new characters.

Speaking of which, it looks like the stuff that worked in the first film will still work here and the new stuff being brought to the table is also pretty wizard. The dynamics between Ryan Reynolds and the first film's returning players looks as fun as ever. I'm warming up to Zazie Beets as Domino more than I expected to; so, that's pretty nifty. Josh Brolin as Cable looks pretty awesome (although, I'm more excited to think of all the poor people who get headaches after seeing this flick and searching up his cartoonishly convoluted backstory from the various comics). Plus, the action looks dope and all the jokes about the X-Force are bulls-eyes. My only nitpick is that's not called The Untitled Deadpool Sequel because come on. That would've been perfect! Still, I'm happy with what we're seeing here and I can't wait until the actual movie drops on May 18th.

*For context, here's what is currently being touted as the film's official synopsis:
After surviving a near fatal bovine attack, a disfigured cafeteria chef Wade Wilson struggles to fulfill his dream of becoming Mayberry’s hottest bartender while also learning to cope with his lost sense of taste. Searching to regain his spice for life, as well as a flux capacitor, Wade must battle ninjas, the yakuza, and a pack of aggressive canines, as he journeys around the world to discover the importance of family, friendship, and flavor – finding a new taste for adventure and earning the coveted coffee mug title of World’s Best Lover.

A24's UNDER THE SILVER LAKE Gets An Interesting Trailer

Well, then. One of my most anticipated movies of the year finally has a trailer. Some of you may be asking why I'm devoting an entire article to this movie instead of just making it segment on another Trailers! Trailers! Trailers! piece. Well, I have two responses to that: A) This is my blog, not yours. & B) I like to shine a spotlight on smaller, independent films whenever they peak my interest.

First off, the main reasons I'm excited for this flick have to do with the cast and crew involved. It stars Andrew Garfield, Riley Keough, and Topher Grace (among a few other notable names). That alone is enough to lure me in; however, that's not all. It's being directed David Robert Mitchell. In case you don't know who he is, he directed It Follows (AKA one of the single best horror films of the past decade). He's also bringing back his DP and composer from that film over to this. So, not only is it going to look pretty. It's also going to sound incredible. I'm really curious to see what Disasterpeace brings to the table on this flick because his chiptune-infused, John Carpenter-esque score for It Follows was amazing and it'll be interesting to see how he follows that up. To quote Calvin Candie, "Gentlemen, you had my curiosity--but, now you've got my attention."

Now, as for the actual trailer itself, it looks pretty good. I was a little taken aback by the tone. It's by no means comedic; but, it's lighter than I expected it to be (especially considering the plot). There's plenty of weird imagery and the cast seems nifty. Not much I have to say other than it seems pretty neat and it should definitely be on your radar. In the meantime, we'll just have to wait until June 22nd to see what sort of sun-drenched noir tale director David Robert Mitchell and company have in store for us.

SIDE NOTE: Out of all the recent movies to do a needle drop of The Association's "Never My Love", I expected it to pop up in something like a Wes Anderson picture. Either way, I'm not complaining. That's a great tune.

TOMB RAIDER Review

To say video game movies have a rather rancid reputation would be stating the obvious and putting things generously. Let me put it this way: it's a bad sign when pretty much every movie in this genre has been reviled by pretty much everyone. Critics rag on them and audiences would rather watch anything else. Can I say that Tomb Raider is a good movie on its own merits? Totally. While I can't say this film will break the Video Game Movie curse so to speak, it's probably the closest we've gotten to a cinematic video game adaptation that's even remotely good.

Special praise should be given to the technical stuff. The whole production looks handsome (in part due to the locations and inspired yet familiar production design). All of the action is tense and engaging. Somehow, it manages to feel tactile and occasionally brutal despite it being a relatively soft PG-13. Near the end of the second act, there's a setpiece that feels like the right way to go when translating game mechanics to the silver screen in a way that's inventive and fun. I won't go into much detail because I don't like spoiling even minor details such as that in my reviews. Suffice it to say, I thought it was pretty cool.

Outside of the leads, the acting is fine even if it's not worth writing home about. Nevertheless, I will say that Alicia Vikander makes for a pretty terrific Lara Croft. Sure, the screenplay leaves a bit to be desired in regards to characters; but, she does have a commanding screen presence and is even able to sneak in a couple one-liners every now and then. Oh wait, almost forgot that Nick Frost has a fun little cameo. He's always fun when he pops up in movies.

A lot of my nitpicks are pretty minor. Walton Goggins turns in some serviceable work as the film's antagonist; but, come on. You've got Walton Goggins in your movie and you don't have a single moment where he's even remotely over-the-top? Now, that's a waste of a perfectly good Goggins right there, my friends. Again, there's definitely room for more character development and proper emotional moments in between all the action. There's even a routine franchise-starter ending with a twist that feels far too out of the blue to have any dramatic impact. To put it in a less pragmatic fashion, it was pretty stupid and kind of pointless. Plus, this film has already shown to have an okay command of using narrative foreshadowing and callbacks. So, I can't see how this turned out weaker than those instances.



Tomb Raider may just be a shot in the dark for this kind of movie (I hope to God it isn't). For now, I'll say that it's a perfectly serviceable adventure flick with some nifty action sequences and a solid lead. Fans of the newer games will probably get a kick out of this. As a film fan and a casual gamer, I sure did. Really, there isn't much more to say about it than that. If you're interested it or have a fondness for pulpy adventure escapism, you could do a lot worse than this.

TOMB RAIDER gets a...

SATISFACTORY out of TEN

ANNIHILATION: Terror Of The Familiar Becoming Unknown

WARNING: The following analysis contains numerous spoilers for Annihilation. If you want to avoid knowing anything ahead of time, I'd recommend going out to see the film 
before reading my expanded thoughts on it. It should also be noted that this was originally an English paper that I thought turned out well enough to warrant a full-on blog post.



In my experience, there are two primary ways of articulating themes of exploring the unknown in cinematic language. On one hand, you can go for the lighthearted/optimistic approach like what Steven Spielberg did with Close Encounters Of The Third Kind and Denis Villeneuve did with Arrival. On the other hand, you can go with the nihilistic/pessimistic like what Ridley Scott did with Alien, John Carpenter did with The Thing, and now what Alex Garland has done with Annihilation. Loosely based on the 2014 novel of the same name by Jeff VanDerMeer, the basic premise of Annihilation involves a small group of female scientists who investigate the unnatural events going on within an area overtaken by extraterrestrial vegetation that the government has dubbed “The Shimmer”.

Perhaps the most obvious example of this idea is seen in the biology of the various wildlife contained within The Shimmer. Early in the film, the protagonists encounter a whole dockyard engulfed in flowers (only to discover that these flowers are hybrids of entirely different species attached to one continuously growing vine); but, it doesn’t end there. Not too long after that, they encounter a seemingly normal looking alligator attacks the group. Once it’s slain and the scientists begin an autopsy, it’s revealed that the extent of the area’s mutations aren’t just limited to plants. There’s also a bear with a human skull and an uncanny ability to perfectly mimic the of its victims. To list the full extent of these alterations would be far too time-consuming; but, suffice it to say, even background details such as white deer with plants growing out of their antlers add to the film’s interesting persona of strange beauty, existential horror and elegiac atmospherics.

Near the end of the film’s first act, Lena (Natalie Portman) is informed on background information about the other scientists joining her on this expedition (Gina Rodriguez’s Anya is revealed to be a recovering alcoholic, Tessa Thompson’s Josie has a history of cutting herself to “feel alive”, Jennifer Jason Leigh’s Dr. Ventress has an icy cold persona with no personal life outside of the expedition, etc). With that in mind, there seems to be a sense of dark irony to the deaths of each character. Remember that bear I mentioned in the previous paragraph? Not only does it kill off Sheppard (arguably the most empathetic character in the film) by tearing her to pieces and returning to the other protagonists with her screams of terror still remaining as a haunting reminder of who they just lost, it gruesomely rips out Anya’s throat and lower jaw (taking away the body parts needed to aide such a vice such as alcoholism). Josie meets an end that brings to mind Cronenberg-esque body horror where leaves sprout out of the scars on her forearms, eventually disappearing into one of the many skeletal tree structures the team encountered mere moments ago (creating life from attempts at causing death). As for Ventress, I’ll get to her in the concluding paragraph. For now, I’ll say that her fate is about as inscrutable and puzzling as her own identity.

Critical reception for the film has been quite positive, with a lot of the praise naturally going towards the unique visuals and thought-provoking concepts. I’d even go as far to as to say that there’s a pretty good chance it’s going to make a lot of “Best of the Year” lists once 2018 has come to a close. As for its box office intake, that’s been less than stellar as mainstream audiences seem to be more or less apathetic to the whole production (with the film earning a C grade from CinemaScore and only taking in around $20 million on an estimated production budget of $55 million). Now, granted, a lot of this could be blamed on a couple producers who opted to dump this masterpiece on Netflix in territories outside the US and Canada out of fear for the movie being “too intellectual” for foreign audiences. Bear in mind, this came from the same producer who financed the bastion of stupidity that was Geostorm; so, make of that what you will. Then again, a wider theatrical release almost led to studio-mandated changes (the most notable of which was a less ambiguous ending) that might’ve killed the movie. So, it’s still disappointing that foreign audiences won’t get the chance to see this in it’s best state. Regardless, at least this is a rare instance of creative vision coming out on top against studio executive groupthink.

As for its relation to the era it was made in, that’s where things get tricky. Sometimes, there are instances where a film’s context in the world it was made in doesn’t become clear until enough time passes and this is no exception. Are there movies where socio-political implications are tangible from the get-go? Definitely. The Purge franchise has a clear stance on America’s class divide and Get Out handles racial themes in ways that couldn’t be done before the 2010s; but, Annihilation is a very different creature from those productions in this way and many others. What I can say is that themes of mistrust, changing societal norms and potential obsolescence of the military are certainly there; however, they either aren’t explored to where I could properly talk about them or won’t be readily apparent in terms of subtextual depth until more time passes from the film’s initial release.

Near the end of the film, Lena reaches the coastal lighthouse where the Shimmer was first spawned and after some really weird stuff happens (short version: Jennifer Jason Leigh’s Dr. Ventress turns into a whole stream of trippy lights and, through a bit of Lena’s blood being combined with said lights, produces a creature that’s unrecognizably alien while simultaneously being distinctly human). For a while, it copies her exact movements beat-for-beat before transforming into an exact replica of herself. Such a contained yet impactful moment pretty much encapsulates the whole film in a nutshell. Over the course 115 minutes, we see reflections of familiar things such as nature and our own human flaws twisted into forms that become disturbingly distorted. Or, to quote one of Lena’s monologues during the closing minutes, “It wasn’t destroying anything. It was creating something new.” Sure, there are small echoes of films such as Arrival and John Carpenter’s The Thing (even the basic premise of exploring an unknown territory brings to mind Andrei Tarkovsky’s Stalker); yet, it’s able to skillfully weave those influences into a film that looks and feels utterly original. It’s certainly a film from this decade (what with its strong female leads and top-of-the-line visual effects); but, when it comes to almost every other aspect, it feels like it would fit snuggly alongside sci-fi pictures from the 1970s. The psychedelically esoteric visuals combined with Ben Salisbury & Geoff Barrow’s score (which often ranges from gentle guitar cues to droning synth melodies to create a palpable sense of impending doom and experiential dread) and cinematography that’s able to frame scenes in broad daylight while still establishing a sense of unease coalesce into a directorial vision that shares some common ground with other modern speculative science fiction films while taking a significantly different path than those flicks. Even the lighting plays a massive part in the movie. It feels naturalistic and recognizable during most of the film and devolves into something more striking and minimalist. A shot that always sticks out to me is Natalie Portman’s silhouette juxtaposed against the Shimmer’s destruction surrounding her. Her previous perceptions of the world she inhabits forever shattered and expanded. So much to be taken away from in a single image. What Alex Garland has crafted along with his cast and crew is a film open to countless interpretations that can be taken from it. Implicit or otherwise, there are so many themes outside of what’s been discussed in this essay worthy of discussion. Despite its apathetic response from common moviegoers, I’m getting a good feeling we’re going to be talking about this picture years after it initially hit the multiplexes.

AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR Gets a Brand-New Trailer & Poster

At the time of writing, we are officially 42 days and counting away from witnessing the payoff to a decade worth of Marvel movies with Avengers: Infinity War. First off, let me just say it's nice to see that whoever's in charge of marketing these movies has finally learned how to be creative with their poster design. Sure, it's not the best movie poster of this year (chances are, that distinction is going to go to Paul Shipper's fantastic official contribution to Steven Speilberg's Ready Player One: http://paulshipperstudio.com/ready-player-one/ ); but, it's colorful, stylish, and healthy and has an interesting compositional structure. All in all, a nice bit of graphic design for what's going to be this year's cinematic main event so to speak.

Now, let's talk about that trailer.

Oh yeah, that's definitely an improvement over the last trailer. I'm happy to see that this finally looks appropriately epic. I mean, we get looks at different locations, different character interactions and that cool armor that I'm betting Thanos will probably wear in the film's final battle. Who's going to die? I don't think any of us can say for certain; but, I'm willing to bet that out of the major players, Captain America is going to die. Black Panther, Spider-Man, and Doctor Strange are probably safe. Also, my favorite bit is when Star-Lord is egging on Iron Man. I can't wait to see how the rest of that plays out.

AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR hits theaters on April 27, 2018. Here's hoping it tops the last two Avengers movies (which, considering how meh those are, shouldn't be that hard of a task.

Here's The 2018 Oscar Winners and What I Make Of Them.

In case you've been living in some sort of doomsday bunker, you'd be aware that the 90th annual Academy Awards happened just a few days ago and people are rambling on about it . Now, we'll get to my thoughts on this year's results in a moment; but, let's take a look at what won, shall we?

BEST PICTURE: The Shape Of Water

BEST ACTOR: Gary Oldman, Darkest Hour

BEST ACTRESS: Frances McDormand, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

BEST DIRECTOR: Guillermo del Toro, The Shape of Water

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY: Jordan Peele, Get Out

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY: James Ivory, Call Me By Your Name

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Sam Rockwell, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Allison Janney, I, Tonya

BEST ANIMATED FILM: Coco

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM: A Fantastic Woman

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS:  John Nelson, Gerd Nefzer, Paul Lambert & Richard R. Hoover, Blade Runner 2049

BEST FILM EDITING: Lee Smith, Dunkirk

BEST SCORE: Alexandre Desplat, The Shape of Water

BEST LIVE-ACTION SHORT: The Silent Child

BEST ANIMATED SHORT: Dear Basketball

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT: Heaven Is a Traffic Jam on the 405

BEST ORIGINAL SONG: "Remember Me" from Coco

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN: Paul Denham Austerberry, Shane Vieau & Jeff Melvin, The Shape of Water

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY: Roger Deakins, Blade Runner 2049

BEST COSTUME DESIGN: Mark Bridges, Phantom Thread

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE: Bryan Fogel and Dan Cogan, Icarus

BEST SOUND EDITING: Richard King and Alex Gibson, Dunkirk

BEST SOUND MIXING: Mark Weingarten, Gregg Landaker, & Gary A. Rizzo, Dunkirk

BEST MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING: Kazuhiro Tsuji, David Malinowski & Lucy Sibbick, Darkest Hour

To be quite honest, this is the most content I've been with the Oscars in eons. First off, what other year has a genre flick (especially a full blown monster movie) won Best Picture? The last time that I recall that happening was with Lord of the Rings: Return of the King and that was fifteen years ago. I'm hoping the acclaim for this and Get Out* (as overrated as I think the latter is) is signaling a possible newfound sense of respecting for science fiction, fantasy, horror and action films for the normally stuffy and pretentious Academy voter set. Plus, it was nice to see talents like Guillermo del Toro, Sam Rockwell and Roger Deakins get their due. Congratulations, guys, you've earned this big time! Aside from that, there weren't really any major upsets. Gary Oldman winning Best Actor was probably the least shocking win of the entire night, considering how much Darkest Hour ticks all the usual Oscar voter boxes and how long Oldman himself has been clamoring for one of these coveted gold statues. Still, I'm not complaining. My only major complaints are Logan losing for Best Adapted Screenplay and Baby Driver losing for literally everything (seriously, that picture was robbed. Robbed, I tell you!). Other than that, the rest of the issues are standard operating procedure. Overlong padding to stretch the ceremony to three hours in length? Check! Awkward attempts at comedy from a host who couldn't look more uncomfortable if he tried?* Check! Forced insertion of political stances that are inevitably going to feel tone deaf? You better bet your bottom dollar that's a big fat check! Anyway, I still came away from this year with an overall positive outlook. Let's just hope next year will bring more of that.

*Seriously, Jimmy Kimmel blows! He sucks as a talk show host and he really sucks as an Oscar host. That and he & his cohorts have slowly hijacked YouTube. That is an especially deplorable vice in my book.

It Came From Letterboxd (3/3/2018)

Here's some mini-reviews of a few films from the recent past and I'm trying out a new rating system for these posts just for kicks. Enjoy!

GAME NIGHT

Well then, that was quite a pleasant surprise. Game Night is easily one of the most original, clever and downright hilarious comedies I’ve seen in years. Within the first ten minutes, it has more inspired filmmaking chops that most other comedies of the past 15 years. The cast is great (Rachel McAdams and Jesse Plemons are the standouts), it never outstays it’s welcome, the jokes are mostly bulls-eyes and Cliff Martinez delivers a pulse-pounding score that juxtaposes tension on top of sheer lunacy. So, yeah, you bet I had a blast with this!  I can’t wait to see what the guys behind this do with that Flash movie.

[RATING: 4 Corvette Stingrays out of 5]

CALL ME BY YOUR NAME

You ever have one of those movies that you think is good yet it just isn’t for you? That’s basically my experience with Luca Guadagnino’s Call Me By Your Name. It’s a handsome looking production with good performances, interesting writing, excellent music and lush cinematography that creates a laid-back atmosphere that’s both welcoming and kind of maddening in how meandering it can be. It’s definitely not the most overrated Best Picture nominee this year, I’ll give it that. Well, one of the Sufjan Stevens songs is quite nice (the other one’s just....ehhhhhhhhh) and Michael Stuhlbarg’s speech at the end is quite thought provoking. Again, this movie really isn’t for me; but, I completely understand why others are enraptured by it.

[RATING: 3 Awkward Armie Hammer Dance Moves out of 5]

WHIPLASH

Egos clash like the cymbals on the protagonist’s drum set. Simmons deserved the Oscar he got for this and Teller shows that he may one day earn one himself. The way pursuing greatness completely and utterly takes hold of consumes both men is as maddening as it is compelling. Damian Chazelle pulls it off like a magic trick and, for lack of a better word, makes the whole production sing like crazy. After watching this and La La Land, I’m tempted to say he’ll end up having a place alongside gentlemen like Alan Parker when all is said and done. Whiplash is a breathless accomplishment whose sound is as bold as its vision.

[RATING: 4.5 Blood-covered Drumsticks out of 5]

MUTE

Did I watch something completely different from the flick people are currently trashing? Because, quite frankly, this is not a bad movie. At least, it’s nowhere near the unwatchable disaster that I’ve been hearing it is. Mute is pretty well directed, Clint Mansell does a nice job on the music, it has a fairly distinct visual style for the cyberpunk genre, and the acting’s rather solid (Paul Rudd and his amazing mustache are the MVPs). Granted, it does feel a bit overlong and, at times, there are moments where it feels there are two different movies at play here. Regardless, I thoroughly enjoyed this picture and I’d love to see Duncan Jones make a truly great film again.

[RATING: 3.5 Creepy Mustached Paul Rudds out of 5]

LOST RIVER

Lost River feels like a cryptic experiment more than a fully fleshed out narrative (albeit an interesting one). For someone with pretty much no experience behind the camera, Ryan Gosling assures himself as quite a decent director (even if his influences are a bit too obvious at times). Nic Refn, Andrei Tarkovsky, Terence Malick and David Lynch are the first ones that come to mind; yet, there are plenty of others I’m sure. Some of the acting choices don’t really gel, which is weird seeing how much talent he scored for this little picture. Admittingly, it does end up feeling a bit too ponderous and hollow in spots; but, it’s striking cinematography, production value and music (that Love Theme is a wonderfully abstract and hypnotic composition that almost justifies this film’s existence in my book). Not exactly a great or
possibly even good film; but, it’s an interesting journey nevertheless.

[RATING: 3 Booming Synthwave Soundtracks out of 5]