Sunday, February 14, 2021

2020 Oscar Nominees

No complete duds this year. 

Jojo Rabbit – Tricky to judge. It was laugh-out-loud funny at times, but holocaust-era comedies probably require some balancing that one this didn’t quite pull off. Grade: B-

1917 – Amazing filmmaking. Pretty good score too. But Birdman pulled some of the same tricks a few years ago (without the scale, but with a much better story and acting) which shouldn’t take away from this, but does. Grade: B 

Marriage Story – Solid if you’re in the mood for this sort of thing. Opened with some well thought out writing, but turned a lot of improvisational acting, which, for the most part, seemed to work. Adam Driver is fun to watch in anything. Grade: B+ 

Ford v Ferrari – My main gripe was that we were forced to endure a bit too much of the invented-Ford-boardroom-villain. An entertaining film, and Miles was an interesting character. Grade: B+ 

Joker – I wasn’t expecting to like this, but Joaquin Phoenix was great. Grade: B+ 

Parasite – Back-to-back wealth inequality films. Humor can get a tad diminished in subtitles, but still good. Grade: B+ 

The Irishman – We watched it in three sittings, could have done it in two. I’m curious what percentage watched it in one. And it never felt dull. There’s a reason these actors are famous, and it’s on display here. Grade: A- 

Uncut Gems – This should have been nominated. Unique story, and Adam Sandler was great. Grade: A- 

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood – Great acting, plus that Tarantino way of being slow but gripping the entire way through. (I'll leave out my lone gripe.) Grade: A- 

Little Women – I haven’t read the book or seen any of the film versions, and wasn’t expecting to like this, but I thought it was great. Grade: A 

American Factory – As good a take as I’ve seen on globalism and trade. (It won best documentary.) Grade: A+

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