I’m skipping ahead to 2022 because I haven’t seen all of the 2021 nominees yet. This is not a great crop. Some watchable movies, but only one I’d really recommend. Worst to first:
West Side Story – I couldn’t make it through 30 minutes. Grade: Incomplete (or F)
Drive My Car – I’m sure plenty gets lost in translation when trying to convey sparse emotional dialogue through subtitles, but that didn’t make this any less boring. And not only was it boring, but it clocked in at a lean three hours. Grade: C-
Dune – Are we supposed to have some background knowledge going in? This wasn’t bad, probably had a big budget, but I wasn’t quite motivated to dive into this world and I’m sure I’ll have forgotten everything eight years from now when the sequel comes out. Grade: B-
The Power of the Dog – Not exactly enjoyable, borderline uncomfortable, but memorable in a searing sort of way. Grade: B-
Licorice Pizza – I struggled to believe the male lead was 15. The sideplots/characters/scenes were more interesting than the plot itself (which isn’t necessarily a bad thing.) Grade: B
Belfast – The opening shot of idyllic, dense, city life was right up my alley. Filming in black and white is a cop-out, but I appreciated the rare peek at relationships during The Troubles. Grade: B
Nightmare Alley – A bit disturbing, but different. Grade: B
Don’t Look Up – Speaking of disturbing, but at least this was funny. And a rare nominated film that takes place in the present day. Grade: B+
King Richard – If you only knew Richard Williams from Will Smith’s portrayal, you’d think this movie should have focused more on how he discovered a time machine and travelled forward from eighteenth century Louisiana territory to 1990’s California. But despite the overdone accent and other embellishments, the Williams’s sisters’ story is so inspirational that you could film me sitting in a chair for a half-hour explaining what I know about them and I think it would get a B-, so, Grade: B+
CODA – This is actually CODA’s second best picture nomination. Its first was in 1997 when it starred Matt Damon and was called Good Will Hunting. Ok, they’re different. Grade: A
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