|
|
Post by Tommen_Saperstein on Feb 21, 2022 2:31:12 GMT
alrighty, so I just have two more movies to rewatch but I've pretty much put a bow on 2021, and despite all this talk I've been hearing on the boards about it being a bad year... well I know how that feels and it sucks. 2020 was a bad year, 2019 was kind of a bad year. But I can't relate to the naysayers this time because I adored 2021. From gay cowboys to one of the best movie musicals I've ever seen. Writerly chamber pieces, epic sci-fi adventures, whatever Titane was supposed to be. Princess Diana having a bad vacation, bourgeois families having a bad Thanksgiving, a green knight having a bad quest, Jewish bisexuals having a bad shiva. Medieval fashion, 70s punk live action Disney fashion, space desert fashion, Gucci fashion. Great year for costumes, great year for sets, great year for music. Pretty much a great year for everything. There will be many painful omissions and that's how you know it was a good year. full list of the 136 films I'm working with (up 10 from last year's 126 heeeyo) After Love Annette Antlers Apples Army of the Dead Army of Thieves Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn Bad Trip Barb & Star Go to Vista Del Mar Beast Beast Beckett Being the Ricardos Belfast Benedetta Bergman Island Black Widow Boiling Point Candyman The Card Counter Censor Cliff Walkers C'mon C'mon CODA The Courier Cruella Cyrano The Dig The Disciple Don't Breathe 2 Don’t Look Up Drive My Car Dune East of the Mountains Encanto Eternals The Eyes of Tammy Faye Fatherhood Free Guy The French Dispatch Godzilla vs. Kong The Green Knight The Guilty Halloween Kills The Hand of God The Harder They Fall Holler House of Gucci The Humans I Care a Lot I'm Your Man In the Heights Judas and the Black Messiah The Killing of Kenneth Chamberlain King Richard Lamb The Last Duel The Last Letter From Your Lover Last Night in Soho Licorice Pizza Little Fish The Little Things The Lost Daughter Luca Mass The Matrix Resurrections The Mauritanian The Mitchells vs. The Machines Mortal Kombat My First Summer The Night House Nightmare Alley Nine Days Nitram No Time to Die Nobody The Novice Old Henry Parallel Mothers Paranormal Activity: Next of Kin Passing Petite Maman Pig Pleasure The Power The Power of the Dog Prayers for the Stolen Prisoners of the Ghostland A Quiet Place Part II Raya and the Last Dragon Red Rocket Respect Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings Shiva Baby Spencer The Spine of Night Stillwater The Suicide Squad Summertime The Summit of the Gods Supernova The Tender Bar Test Pattern Those Who Wish Me Dead Tick Tick Boom Till Death Titane The Tragedy of Macbeth The United States vs. Billie Holiday West Side Story Willy's Wonderland Without Remorse The White Tiger Wild Indian The Woman in the Window The World to Come The Worst Person in the World Worth Zola DocsAdrienne All Light, Everywhere Attica Billie Eilish: The World's a Little Blurry Derek DelGaudio’s In & of Itself The First Wave Flee Framing Britney Spears Jacinta Rebel Hearts The Rescue Rise Again: Tulsa and the Red Summer The Sparks Brothers Summer of Soul Tina The Truffle Hunters Val The Velvet Underground Blindspots: a handful of non-English films as always, all of which have been released in their own countries. The Great Indian Kitchen, ONODA: 10,000 Nights in the Jungle, Unclenching the Fists, Compartment No. 6, Great Freedom, The Restless, Happening, Limbo, Leave No Traces, Playground. These might become available to me next month of three years from now so I'm not worried about it. Also didn't watch A Hero (this one is available, I just didn't watch it  ), Jockey, Spider-Man: No Way Home, Silent Night, Electrical Life of Louis Wain, etc. there will be lots of snubs and surprises. I've made no secret from love of some of these picks but others might be shocking and controversial. Hold onto your seats, it's going to be a wild ride. Nominees to be announced tomorrow night (Monday 21st) |
|
|
|
Post by Ryan_MYeah on Feb 22, 2022 2:43:31 GMT
|
|
|
|
Post by Tommen_Saperstein on Feb 22, 2022 3:08:49 GMT
let's kick things off with... THE BIG NINEBEST MOTION PICTURE OF THE YEARDune (Warner Bros. Pictures) Mass (Bleecker Street) The Power of the Dog (Netflix) Spencer (Neon) West Side Story (20th Century Studios)  BEST DIRECTORJane Campion, The Power of the DogJulia Ducournau, TitanePablo Larraín, SpencerSteven Spielberg, West Side StoryDenis Villeneuve, Dune BEST ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLEJessica Chastain, The Eyes of Tammy FayeMartha Plimpton, MassRenate Reinsve, The Worst Person in the WorldKristen Stewart, SpencerTessa Thompson, Passing BEST ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLENicolas Cage, PigBenedict Cumberbatch, The Power of the DogLeonardo DiCaprio, Don't Look UpVincent Lindon, TitaneSimon Rex, Red Rocket BEST ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLECaitríona Balfe, BelfastAriana DeBose, West Side StoryAnn Dowd, MassJayne Houdyshell, The HumansRuth Negga, Passing BEST ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLEAnders Danielsen Lie, The Worst Person in the WorldTroy Kotsur, CODAJesse Plemons, The Power of the DogKodi Smit-McPhee, The Power of the DogJeffrey Wright, The French Dispatch BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAYBelfast — Kenneth Branagh Mass — Fran Kranz Pig — Michael Sarnoski & Vanessa Block Red Rocket — Sean Baker & Chris Bergoch The Worst Person in the World — Eskil Vogt & Joachim Trier  BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAYThe Harder They Fall — Jeymes Samuel & Boaz Yakin The Humans — Stephen Karam The Green Knight — David Lowery Little Fish — Mattson Tomlin The Power of the Dog — Jane Campion  BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ENSEMBLE CASTThe Hand of GodThe Harder They FallRed RocketThe Suicide SquadWest Side Story TECHS / MISCBEST CINEMATOGRAPHYDune — Greig Fraser The Power of the Dog — Ari Wegner Spencer — Claire Mathon The Tragedy of Macbeth — Bruno Delbonnel West Side Story — Janusz Kamiński BEST ORIGINAL SCORECruella — Nicholas Britell Dune - Hans Zimmer The Green Knight — Daniel Hart The Power of the Dog — Jonny Greenwood Spencer - Jonny Greenwood BEST FILM EDITINGDune — Joe Walker The Green Knight — David Lowery The Harder They Fall — Tom Eagles Spencer — Sebastián Sepúlveda Zola — Joi McMillon BEST PRODUCTION DESIGNCruella — Fiona Crombie Dune — Patrice Vermette Nightmare Alley — Tamara Deverell Spencer — Guy Hendrix Dyas West Side Story — Adam Stockhausen BEST COSTUME DESIGNCruella — Jenny Beavan Dune — Jacqueline West & Robert Morgan The Green Knight — Malgosia Turzanska The Last Duel — Janty Yates Spencer — Jacqueline Durran BEST MAKEUP & HAIRSTYLINGCruellaDuneThe Eyes of Tammy FayeThe Green KnightNightmare AlleyBEST CHOREOGRAPHYBlack WidowThe Last DuelNobodyShang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten RingsWest Side StoryBEST SOUND EDITINGDuneThe Harder They FallThe Last DuelNo Time to DieA Quiet Place Part IIBEST SOUND MIXINGDuneNo Time to DieThe NoviceA Quiet Place Part IIWest Side StoryBEST VISUAL EFFECTSDuneThe Green KnightThe Matrix ResurrectionsA Quiet Place Part IIShang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten RingsBEST ORIGINAL SONG"Columbia, Mi Encanto" — Encanto"Dos Oruguitas" — Encanto"Just Look Up" — Don't Look Up"La Musique du Futur" — Petite Maman"We Don't Talk About Bruno" — EncantoBEST DOCUMENTARY FILMAttica — Stanley Nelson Billie Eilish: The World's a Little Blurry — R. J. Cutler Flee — Jonas Poher Rasmussen Jacinta — Jessica Earnshaw Tina — Daniel Lindsay & T. J. Martin BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE FILMThe Disciple — Chaitanya Tamhane The Hand of God — Paolo Sorrentino Petite Maman — Céline Sciamma Titane — Julia Ducournau The Worst Person in the World — Joachim Trier BEST DEBUT FEATUREThe Harder They Fall — Jeymes Samuel The Humans — Stephen Karam Mass — Fran Kranz Pig — Michael Sarnoski Shiva Baby — Emma Seligman ____________________________________________________ statistics-- Dune leads the pack with 11 nominations, with Power of the Dog, Spencer, and West Side Story trailing behind with 8 each -- with 6 noms, The Green Knight is the most-nominated film not in the BP race. -- A total of 42 films are nominated across 23 categories, and I'm not counting that again but if that's right, that number is down from last year's 51 and waaay down from 2019's total of 58. That means only a little over 30% of the movies I watched received nominations. That's... a lot of movies I didn't need to watch -- We've FINALLY broken the curse of Best Pictures with three or less nominations! The least-nominated BP contender tonight is Mass with a very respectable 5 nods. -- The Close But No Cigar Award for most painful omission of the night is a three-way tie between David Lowery for directing, Suzanna Son for supporting actress and Nightmare Alley for cinematography. I agonized over those ones. --My lowest-ranked film to receive a nomination is A Quiet Place Part II at #109. Highest-ranked film not to receive any nominations is Boiling Point at #29. Vinette Robinson was the one most in play for that one. -- Three films in the Academy's BP lineup were completely shut-out tonight, and two of them people seem to really like. I told you these would be controversial... -- putting together those collages takes forever but is strangely therapeutic. And I'm probably never going to put these in video form so collages are the next best thing I guess. Surely there's a better way to do them without having horrible picture quality. That's one reason it takes forever, I have to put them together w/ BeFunky and then resize them to see if the individual images still look marginally identifiable, and if they don't I have to remove the offending pic and find a new one. There must be a better way. But it always feels great when I'm done.  -- that's all for now! winners will be announced next week on Sunday the 27th |
|
|
|
Post by stephen on Feb 22, 2022 3:36:44 GMT
Justice for Vinette Robinson.
Pretty good nominations (save for DiCaprio), but man, I'll never get how anyone could have Plimpton lead and Dowd supporting.
|
|
|
|
Post by Ryan_MYeah on Feb 22, 2022 4:00:12 GMT
I don’t get the Mass love (I think it was too stagey for my taste), but all sorts of really inspired nominations here. Digging the West Side love
|
|
|
|
Post by Tommen_Saperstein on Feb 23, 2022 4:01:09 GMT
Pretty good nominations (save for DiCaprio), but man, I'll never get how anyone could have Plimpton lead and Dowd supporting.I'm sure I'll get into it in the LvS thread. Lots of tiny reasons but mostly I just had to get them both in there  |
|
|
|
Post by Ryan_MYeah on Feb 23, 2022 4:05:32 GMT
Pretty good nominations (save for DiCaprio), but man, I'll never get how anyone could have Plimpton lead and Dowd supporting.I'm sure I'll get into it in the LvS thread. Lots of tiny reasons but mostly I just had to get them both in there  It’s thoughtful, but I’ll be making the argument none of them are really leading. It’s another one of those true ensemble pieces, where they’re more valuable playing to each other’s strengths and aiding their limits, rather than standing apart as their own central lead. |
|
|
|
Post by Tommen_Saperstein on Feb 23, 2022 4:08:08 GMT
I don’t get the Mass love ( I think it was too stagey for my taste), but all sorts of really inspired nominations here. Digging the West Side love I hear ya, I'm just really partial to those kinds of movies (thus me also liking The Humans a lot more than most). If you can lock into the emotional conflict in Mass it's just very, very intense, but you have to be able to lock in. I adored West Side Story! Already loved the original but Spielberg just knocked it out of the park. Improved on it in practically every way while retaining the spirit of the original. It's amazing  |
|
|
|
Post by Tommen_Saperstein on Feb 28, 2022 1:25:37 GMT
ok, we're starting with debut, doc and IFF. And to be extra mean to myself I'm doing writeups this year  BEST DEBUT FEATUREThe Harder They Fall — Jeymes Samuel The Humans — Stephen Karam Mass — Fran Kranz Pig — Michael Sarnoski Shiva Baby — Emma Seligman AND THE WINNER ISMASS - Directed by Fran Kranz I'm sure this was no surprise given it was nominated for BP too. Kranz's film belongs in the pantheon of great single-location chamber pieces alongside 12 Angry Men and Dinner with Andre. Wrecked by tragedy, four parents gather in a room to try to make sense of the unthinkable and Kranz invites the viewer on this journey as his characters lay bare their souls and grapple with their grief. This film was probably my most emotionally overwhelming cinematic experience of 2021. The journey, while painful, is above all cathartic and healing, and I'm glad I took it.  BEST DOCUMENTARYAttica
Billie Eilish: The World's a Little Blurry
Flee
Jacinta
TinaAND THE WINNER ISBILLIE EILISH: THE WORLD'S A LITTLE BLURRY - Directed by R.J. Cutler If you ask me why watching Billie Eilish sob in the arms of Justin Bieber for 5 minutes made me really emotional, I will not have good answer for you. I've been grappling with why I found this documentary so moving because on the surface it'd be easy to write off as fan-service capitalizing on Eilish's stardom, but I think in addition to being an profile of an ordinary teenager in an extraordinary position (which it is), there's more on Cutler's mind than meets the eye. I think in capturing the last couple years of Eilish's life and rise to superstardom, he captured something about the broader experiences and anxieties of contemporary American girlhood and about how fan culture typifies the uniquely human need to be seen and heard. Eilish's situation of trying to find solid ground and follow authentic artistic outlets while experiencing mind-boggling fame is compellingly explored, but the greatest irony Cutler demonstrates is how everyone in the world knows Eilish's name while she's still in the process of figuring out who she is.  BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE FILMThe Disciple
The Hand of God
Petite Maman
Titane
The Worst Person in the WorldAND THE WINNER ISTITANE - Directed by Julia Ducournau  oops wrong image Petite Maman and Worst Person were right on its heels but Titane was too much deranged fun to ignore. Car sex, murder sprees, mysterious disappearances, firefighters, and the Macarena all tied up in a wildly entertaining, wildly grotesque, and surprisingly sweet cinematic experience. At once a transgressive fable of gender fluidity and a loving ode to the bond between fathers and sons, Titane slaps.  |
|
|
|
Post by Tommen_Saperstein on Feb 28, 2022 1:55:47 GMT
next up, some techs ACHIEVEMENT IN CHOREOGRAPHYBlack Widow
The Last Duel
Nobody
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
West Side StoryAND THE WINNER ISWEST SIDE STORY - Justin Peck (and I'm sure lots of other people) What's remarkable about Peck's choreography is how it tributes the original numbers while taking them in exciting new (and more thrillingly cinematic) directions, like how "I Feel Pretty" takes Maria out of her apartment and shows us her workplace, or how "America" escapes its one-setting choreo from the original and explodes uncontainable onto the streets of New York. But it goes beyond the big musical numbers because music and rhythm weaves intrinsically into the very fibers of Spielberg's vision. Every moment feels tightly constructed and choreographed. Even when not in the throes of the big passionate numbers, the actors are always dancing.  ACHIEVEMENT IN FILM EDITINGDune
The Green Knight
The Harder They Fall
Spencer
ZolaAND THE WINNER ISDUNE - Joe Walker How Joe Walker wrangles Villneuve's gargantuan vision down into an easy and fairly comprehensive 156-minute viewing experience is a marvel until itself, but where Walker shines brightest is in crafting of Paul's dream sequences which cerebrally tie the whole experience together and strike the essential balance between intimate character study and colossal sci-fi epic. Paul's dreams are the heart of the story, and so arrestingly designed.  ACHIEVEMENT IN VISUAL EFFECTSDune
The Green Knight
The Matrix Resurrections
A Quiet Place Part II
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten RingsAND THE WINNER ISDUNE - Paul Lambert, Tristan Myles, Brian Connor, Gerd Nefzer There simply was no other choice. Dune's visual effects are some of the most beautiful and impressive this movie-buff has seen. Everything looks so sharp and realistic. I can't imagine the amount of work that went into crafting the world of Dune, especially everything on Arrakis and the sandworms and that stunning invasion sequence, but the effort speaks for itself. Flawless.  ACHIEVEMENT IN CINEMATOGRAPHYDune
The Power of the Dog
Spencer
The Tragedy of Macbeth
West Side StoryAND THE WINNER ISTHE TRAGEDY OF MACBETH - Bruno Delbonnel The cinematography in this movie deserves its own coffee table book. Dragging German Expressionism kicking and screaming into the 21st century for a Shakespeare adaptation was a cinematic experiment with mixed results in my opinion but you can't say "they don't movies like that anymore" because Coen just did. Rendered in crisp, evocative B&W, Delbonnel's shot compositions emphasizing light and darkness and the rigid geometry of Dechant's sets take center stage, eclipsing even the actors themselves. I may not have liked it as much as most but the cinematography is indelibly printed on my brain.  |
|
|
|
Post by Tommen_Saperstein on Feb 28, 2022 2:47:18 GMT
and now the sound categories! ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUND EDITINGDune
The Harder They Fall
The Last Duel
No Time to Die
A Quiet Place Part IIAND THE WINNER ISDUNE - Mark A. Mangini & Theo Green
No shortage of good options here, from the horrifying screeches and clicks of the Quiet Place monsters, to the muscular weapon sounds of No Time to Die and Hader They Fall to the overbearing metallic clashing in Last Duel, but the soundscape of Dune was both the most subtle in this field and the most comprehensive. The task of the sound editors and foley team was monumental--to create the sounds of Frank Herbert's Dune. Speaking strictly of effects, the ones that stand out are the vibrating sands, the guttural sandworms, the static-y shields, the buzzy ornithopters, and that dope-ass Sardaukar throat singing!
ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUND MIXINGDune
No Time to Die
The Novice
A Quiet Place Part II
West Side StoryAND THE WINNER ISDUNE - Mac Ruth, Doug Hemphill, Ron Bartlett This was an even easier choice. The sound mixing is commendable for how it seamlessly blends Zimmer's percussive score into the ambient sounds on Arrakis and the effects-driven soundscape, but I knew this was going to be my choice the second I heard "The Voice", an eardrum-melting multi-tonal, multi-layered hypnotic sound mix that would've also been at home in a horror film. It's dizzying and expressive work that conveys the intended world-altering significance of Paul and Lady Jessica's power. (and yes I'm re-posting the same video - it is worth watching twice ) ACHIEVEMENT IN ORIGINAL SCORECruella — Nicholas Britell Dune - Hans Zimmer The Green Knight — Daniel Hart The Power of the Dog — Jonny Greenwood Spencer - Jonny Greenwood AND THE WINNER ISTHE POWER OF THE DOG - Music composed by Jonny Greenwood
A three-way horserace between Zimmer's immersive percussion, Greenwood's anxious strings, and Greenwood's electrifying cross between jazz and baroque, but the sad violins won out in the end. Watch Power of the Dog with subtitles and every other minute you'll see that "tense" or "anxious" music is playing, and those descriptions are accurate. A lot of tracks off the soundtrack sound like existential nightmares building up to a heart attack (he clearly got the memo that this was a horror movie) but there's also the mournful piano on "West Alone" the key change in "Figured It Out" that opens up the track into something contemplative and maybe regretful, the fervent strings on "Viola Quartet" that recall James Newtown Howard's score for The Village. This soundtrack has it all, and it was the perfect accompaniment to Savage's psychosexual tragedy.
BEST ORIGINAL SONG"Columbia, Mi Encanto" — Encanto"Dos Oruguitas" — Encanto"Just Look Up" — Don't Look Up"La Musique du Futur" — Petite Maman"We Don't Talk About Bruno" — Encanto AND THE WINNER IS"DOS ORUGUITAS" — ENCANTO; Music and lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda I'm a simple man with pedestrian tastes. I hear a Disney song, I'm probably going to like it. There were a number of impressive songs this year, including the uplifiting electronic of "La Musique Du Futur" and the anthemic satire of "Just Look Up", but this category ended up being dominated by Lin-Manuel's Encanto bops. If "Columbia, Mi Encanto" was the catchiest and "Bruno" the most popular, it's the flashback sequence of "Dos Oruguitas" that hits the hardest. I was not prepared (  ), and having seen the film the song takes on a whole new significance.  |
|
|
|
Post by Tommen_Saperstein on Feb 28, 2022 3:26:52 GMT
and now the "craft techs", some of my fav categories ACHIEVEMENT IN MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLINGCruella
Dune
The Eyes of Tammy Faye
The Green Knight
Nightmare AlleyAND THE WINNER ISCRUELLA - Nadia Stacey, Naomi Donne, Julia Vernon If it can be said that the costumes are an iconic and intrinsic expression of Cruella's style, that's every bit as true for her makeup and wigs. All of Stone's different looks are riffs on the same heavy eye-makeup and wigs (both the two-tone and the red) but all distinctive and instantly memorable. There's also the hairstyling work on Emma Thompson -- more conservative and befitting her character as the ruthless old guard of London fashion, and the Bowie-inspired glam of John McCrea's Artie. The makeup & hairstyling of Cruella is the most recognizable of the year and the one I'll remember the most.  ACHIEVEMENT IN COSTUME DESIGNCruella — Jenny Beavan Dune — Jacqueline West & Robert Morgan The Green Knight — Malgosia Turzanska The Last Duel — Janty Yates Spencer — Jacqueline Durran AND THE WINNER ISCRUELLA - Jenny Beavan You knew where this was headed. I love a fashion movie and Cruella has it ALL. Beaven's outfits range from McQueen-inspired high fashion to 70s punk couture and Stone and Thompson wear them like a dream. I didn't want to post a Gif because every single outfit in this film is iconic, from the garbage couture, to that feisty Dalmatian jacket, the Dominatrix-leather of that biker ensemble, the fiery red gown, the show-stopping imperial gown, and those are just Stone's outfits. At 71 and with a long and brilliant career behind her, Beaven is still outdoing herself.  ACHIEVEMENT IN PRODUCTION DESIGNCruella — Fiona Crombie Dune — Patrice Vermette Nightmare Alley — Tamara Deverell Spencer — Guy Hendrix Dyas West Side Story — Adam Stockhausen AND THE WINNER ISDUNE (Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Brutalism) - Patrice Vermette Initially a hard-sell, Vermette's harshly geometric, colossal, darkly-lit sets are a far cry from Dennis Gassner's more visually appealing interiors on BR2049. But pretty isn't the point, and after a while you just have to surrender to Vermette's sweeping world-building. While the sets for the three main planets have their own character and detail, what connects them is how they all make the characters look small, towering over and dwarfing them in these huge imposing spaces that drive home the epic scope of Villenueve's vision.  |
|
|
|
Post by Tommen_Saperstein on Feb 28, 2022 3:58:29 GMT
on to the above-the-line categories! BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAYBelfast
Mass
Pig
Red Rocket
The Worst Person in the WorldAND THE WINNER ISMASS - Screenplay by Fran Kranz With four characters in one room for two hours, the success of Mass hinged largely on the strength of Kranz's dialogue-heavy screenplay. Unfolding like a stage play but with closeups, the action is contained exclusively to the ebbs and flows of conversation. The conflicts resides in misinterpretations and misunderstandings, in desperate attempts to put feelings into words and explosive outbursts of rage and confusion. Kranz's film is testament to the fact that all you need to make a great film is a simple idea and a good screenplay.  BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAYThe Harder They Fall
The Humans
The Green Knight
Little Fish
The Power of the DogAND THE WINNER ISTHE POWER OF THE DOG - Screenplay by Jane Campion The Power of the Dog is just as notable for what's not said as for what is, and how effectively and how much Jane Campion communicates in subtle moments, like that scene of Rose and George dancing on a hill and he tears up -- "I wanted to say how nice it is not to be alone". So much of the film comes down to that line about the devastating cruelty of loneliness, how loneliness is a state to escape from before it consumes you, and it's at the heart of Phil's bitterness that he can't have what George has. All of that from one line, haltingly delivered by Jesse Plemons. How nice it is not to be alone.  BEST ENSEMBLE CASTThe Hand of God
The Harder They Fall
Red Rocket
The Suicide Squad
West Side StoryAND THE WINNER ISTHE HARDER THEY FALL - Jonathan Majors, Idris Elba, Zazie Beetz, Regina King, Delroy Lindo, Lakeith Stanfield, RJ Cyler, Danielle Deadwyler, Edi Gathegi, Deon Cole, Damon Wayans Jr., DeWanda Wise, Julio Cesar Cedillo No ensemble in 2021 looked like they were having as much fun as this crew, filming Jeymes Samuel's sensational Tarantino-esque revisionist Black Western, and that fun is utterly contagious. So many talented actors in one cast -- Majors as a western action hero with a very capable Beetz at his side, Elba and King hamming it up as ruthless outlaws, Lakeith Stanfield as a stylish cold-blooded killer, Delroy Lindo's patriarchal old deputy with plenty of fire left in his belly, and the rest of the supporting cast all fitting Samuel's vision like a glove.  |
|
|
|
Post by Tommen_Saperstein on Feb 28, 2022 4:54:02 GMT
whew, almost done ACHIEVEMENT BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLEAnders Danielsen Lie, The Worst Person in the WorldTroy Kotsur, CODAJesse Plemons, The Power of the DogKodi Smit-McPhee, The Power of the DogJeffrey Wright, The French DispatchAND THE WINNER ISKODI SMIT-MCPHEE as Peter Gordon in The Power of the DogWith his lisping voice, effeminate mannerisms, absurd ten-gallon hat, and eerily casual ruthlessness, Smit-McPhee's Peter is the most singular and most "complete" supporting character of 2021. There's a lot to dissect here and Smit-McPhee is making a lot of wonderful and deliberate choices with the characterization. One scene stands out: how Peter strolls casually through a gauntlet of verbal abuse and slurs and it's like he doesn't hear them. And that moment where the hands are taunting him on horseback while he tries to run away -- that's all these men are to him, just annoyances and obstacles and not worth noticing unless they get in your way. There's something beautiful about how unfazed he is, but then it's also indicative of his cold-bloodedness.  ACHIEVEMENT BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLECaitríona Balfe, BelfastAriana DeBose, West Side StoryAnn Dowd, MassJayne Houdyshell, The HumansRuth Negga, PassingAND THE WINNER ISANN DOWD as Linda in MassAnn Dowd is good in whatever she's in, always. But rarely does she get a chance to show off her talents in a significant film role and that's a damn shame. She always does this great thing with her eyes when she glances around and squints, as if processing (or judging), and sometimes it's almost imperceptible but the camera always seems to catch it. She does that a lot in this film especially at the beginning, eyes moving from the parents across the table to her husband who seems to say all the wrong things and on her face you can always see her visibly thinking and feeling. When she talks she's a fountain of earnest raw emotion and wears this expression of melancholy on her face when she leaves the church, shaken but unburdened.  ACHIEVEMENT BY AN ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLENicolas Cage, PigBenedict Cumberbatch, The Power of the DogLeonardo DiCaprio, Don't Look UpVincent Lindon, TitaneSimon Rex, Red RocketAND THE WINNER ISSIMON REX as Mikey Saber in Red RocketThe most exhausting performance of the year and one of the best. Rex brings brazen charm and unrelenting energy to Mikey Saber, ironically a comeback role for Rex (and he's already landed more projects as a result of this, how fucking great is that), he's playing a man constantly in search of a comeback that will never come. A perpetual loser always getting knocked down and always trying to get back up, even if that means running naked to his drug dealer's house. The only question is who he's going to bring down with him but that's the subversive greatness of Baker's film and Rex's performance. You can't help but be entertained by his antics against your own better judgment, so it's not hard to see how this predator con-man ex-pornstar suitcase pimp has a habit of destroying everyone around him.  ACHIEVEMENT BY AN ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLEJessica Chastain, The Eyes of Tammy FayeMartha Plimpton, MassRenate Reinsve, The Worst Person in the WorldKristen Stewart, SpencerTessa Thompson, PassingAND THE WINNER ISKRISTEN STEWART as Diana, Princess of Wales in SpencerI've probably telegraphed this one a few times. I'm obsessed with this performance and I've rambled about it incoherently more than enough already, but I'll just say one more time that Stewart was the perfect woman to play this role in a psychological thriller-meets-empowerment fantasy take on Princess Diana, and her performance was perfect for what Larraín was trying to accomplish. An embodiment of Diana mythos more than precisely character study, Stewart imposes an earthy universality and desperation to a woman who lived under a microscope. With precise accent and voicework confirmed by those who knew Diana closely, Larraín's film and Stewart's performance feels like the last word on Lady Diana Spencer.  |
|
|
|
Post by Tommen_Saperstein on Feb 28, 2022 5:24:46 GMT
JUST TWO MORE ACHIEVEMENT IN DIRECTINGJane Campion, The Power of the DogJulia Ducournau, TitanePablo Larraín, SpencerSteven Spielberg, West Side StoryDenis Villeneuve, DuneAND THE WINNER ISJANE CAMPION - The Power of the DogWas tempted for a minute to go with Villeneuve's huge technical ambition but I think the movie that made me think the most and will have me coming back the most is Power of the Dog, and so much of that comes down to how Campion manages the material and renders it down to its deepest, darkest essence. How she uses cinematography to create a world as beautiful as it is isolating and perpetually under an overcast sky, how she uses blaring score to pound the viewer into submission, and most of all how she explores this world of one malignant man hardening his edges in isolation, both the horror and tragedy of Phil's situation as a closeted man on the edge.  BEST MOTION PICTURE OF THE YEARDune
Mass
The Power of the Dog
Spencer
West Side StoryAND THE WINNER ISTHE POWER OF THE DOG - produced by Jane Campion, Tanya Seghatchian, Emile Sherman, Iain Canning, Roger Frappier West Side Story was very close to being a two-win Best Picture. I've been shouting that film's praises from the rooftops since seeing it back in December. But if that was the most entertaining and emotionally rewarding experiences of 2021, The Power of the Dog is the most thematically rewarding. That Campion uses this material to probe and pick at the the psychosexual dynamics of queer men in a rugged macho setting makes it my type of film, and so gorgeously-shot and scored. Stylistically all its own, a towering technical and narrative achievement for Campion and all the cast and crew that worked on it, Power of the Dog will go down in the books as one of the best films of 2021. And in my book, the very best.  |
|
|
|
Post by Tommen_Saperstein on Feb 28, 2022 5:47:55 GMT
full list of winners PICTURE — The Power of the DogDIRECTING — Jane Campion, The Power of the DogLEAD ACTRESS — Kristen Stewart, SpencerLEAD ACTOR — Simon Rex, Red RocketSUPPORTING ACTRESS — Ann Dowd, MassSUPPORTING ACTOR — Kodi Smit-McPhee, The Power of the DogORIGINAL SCREENPLAY — MassADAPTED SCREENPLAY — The Power of the DogENSEMBLE CAST — The Harder they Fall____________________________________________________ CINEMATOGRAPHY — Bruno Delbonnel, The Tragedy of MacbethORIGINAL SCORE — Jonny Greenwood, The Power of the DogFILM EDITING — Joe Walker, DunePRODUCTION DESIGN — Patrice Vermette, DuneCOSTUME DESIGN — Jenny Beavan, CruellaMAKEUP & HAIRSTYLING — CruellaCHOREOGRAPHY — West Side StorySOUND EDITING — DuneSOUND MIXING — DuneVISUAL EFFECTS — DuneORIGINAL SONG — "Dos Oruguitas" DOCUMENTARY — Billie Eilish: The World's a Little BlurryINTERNATIONAL FEATURE FILM — TitaneDEBUT FEATURE — MassSTATS / Misc- The Power of the Dog and Dune lead wins with 5 each. Next in line was Mass with 3. - Of the 42 films (again, not counting that again) nominated across 23 categories, 12 took home wins, down 1 from last year. - Most-nominated film to not score any wins was The Green Knight with 6 nods. Gawain still can't catch a break. - All the BP nominees nabbed at least one win but Spencer and West Side nabbed *only* one - For the second year in a row, my cinematography winner won for its film's only nomination. - My full Top 20 of 2021 on Letterboxdok, that's more than enough for tonight. See you all next year  |
|
), Jockey, Spider-Man: No Way Home, Silent Night, Electrical Life of Louis Wain, etc.
), and having seen the film the song takes on a whole new significance.