Oscars 2025 Best Picture Reviews: Part Five

Jon The BlogcentricLeave a comment

I didn’t think I could do it but I did it. And this soon! All ten Best Picture nominees reviewed. And these are the last two. One just set an Oscars record for the most nominations (16) and the other was the big winner at the Independent Spirit Awards:

Sinners

The most unique thing about this film is that it goes on a common theme of how past generations of peoples would see music as a way to heal but also some music that is evil and is able to unleash demons. This story helps imagine of such a type of music or such musicians that can unleash a type of evil spirits or in this case, create a set of vampires. The setting appears to be right. Two African American twins, the Smokestack Twins, rent out a sawmill for a night of entertainment for their people. They do the dealing and inviting and even bring their younger cousin Sammie to play, despite his minister father’s religious objections. Meanwhile an Irish vampire is sheltered by a couple who belong to the KKK. The vampire infects them and they come to the event just as everyone’s partying. Despite their initial rejection, they find a way to infect those from the party and turn them into vampires themselves.

It’s the story of mixing the theme of music as something wicked and playing on that theme as white musical vampires use it to lure people to their spell and become vampires themselves where they become enslaved by the leader. It’s also the theme of music as something good as it helps connect with both generations past that adds to the theme of the overall story. Outside of music, it’s also the theme of racism in the film. Whites who are part of the KKK own this Mississippi land. The twins learned a thing or two about money and they try to prove they’re not inferior by proving their purchasing power to the white men. A group of singing white vampires, including two KKK members, who find a way to infect some attendees and turn them under their spell. This can definitely stimulate a lot of talk about racism and Jim Crow laws. And all this in a story about a young musician who gets his first break in a gig that will haunt him for the rest of his life, and have him decide his future.

Now this film became the surprise hit film of the summer. Normally horror films and films of the supernatural are good at winning crowds and stimulating intrigue, but most film critics look down upon the genre. These past ten years has helped in giving this genre its long overdue respect. This film helps add to the respect of the genre of various music styles. Mind you this is not your typical horror film. The twins thought their only problems they had to deal with was Jim Crow racism, but a bigger more supernatural threat was coming their way. Being a story about music bringing demons out, both in the spirit world and down to Earth, this horror story goes above and beyond what one would expect for a horror story. With music being a central theme, the film delivers on a lot of excellent songs that can make you appreciate the genre it represents. Easy to see why this film that was quietly released in the summer became one of the biggest hits.

Biggest acclaim has to go to writer/director Ryan Coogler. His illustrious career took off with 2013’s Fruitvale Station, which was also the breakthrough film for Michael B. Jordan. Further success would come with 2015’s Creed, 2018’s Black Panther and its 2022 sequel Wakanda Forever. This film is his masterpiece. It’s a film no one expected to be a hit and comes across as a difficult story to write and a difficult film to direct, but Coogler masters it. In the end comes the film of 2025 I can most label a masterpiece! Definitely a classic for the future.

One of the biggest strengths of the film is its acting. Top accolades should go to Michael B. Jordan. He’s worked with Coogler before with Fruitvale Station, Creed and the two Black Panther films. Here, he does the remarkable job of two twin brothers. He’s able to know the characterizations well and portrays Smoke as the serious one and Stack as the more playful one very well. Then to have Stack become a vampire and Smoke to fight the vampire spirits. To do the two roles and know what to play when is a job and a half. Especially for a film like this.

The supporting acting of the film really stands out. The top standout has to be Miles Caton as Sammie Moore. For a debut role as a young musician looking for his big moment and being horrified with all that happened, that is no easy task. Miles masters it like nobody’s business. Miles is also great at singing the blues. In fact, some of the best acting of this film comes from the performances that include singing. Delroy Lindo is very believable as Delta Slim. His delivery of the performance gets you believing he really is a blues legend. Wunmi Musaku gave an excellent performance as Smoke’s estranged wife and she can sing very well too. Other standout performances in the film include Hailee Steinfeld as Stack’s former girlfriend, Jayme Lawson as a singer who seduces Sammie, Jack O’Connell as the leader of the vampires, Li Jun LI as the shopkeeper’s wife, and the legendary Buddy Guy portraying the older Sammie at the end! Kudos to casting director Francine Maisler for making the right choices!

Just as equally deserved as praise and the reason for this film’s record-setting sixteen Oscar nominations are the technical efforts. If you take away the three Oscar categories for small films as well as the categories for Animated, Documentary and International Film, you’d see Sinners has a nomination in all those categories! The sound technicalities and the visual effects stand out. Hannah Beachler and Monique Champagne did a great job in the set designs and succeeded in turning back time. Also turning back time is Ruth E. Carter in costuming. Autumn Durald Arkapaw did a great job in cinematography.

The standout technical effort in this film has to be the music. Swedish composer Ludwig Goransson did a great job in delivering a score that respects the African American music styles and succeeds in creating the right mood for the film. Of the songs in the film “I Lied To You” which was written by Goransson and Raphael Saadiq stood out as it succeeds in making us believe it’s an old-time blues song. The whole film plays a wide variety of songs whether it’s sung by the actors or played as background music. When you watch the film and listen to the songs, it’s almost like the film is saluting music itself. The film magnifies the charm of the music styles. Even styles of music we come to dismiss as hokey, the film highlights the charming part of the style we didn’t bother to see the whole time. Music is the central theme of the film so it makes sense to have top-notch music.

Sinners is a film that’s indescribable. You could describe it as a horror movie or a drama set in the past or a musical. You can be both wrong and right. The film defies convention and delivers a masterpiece that’s unforgettable!

Train Dreams

A lot has changed in the film world over the last 25 years. The types of films that would find its way in film festivals and would find itself getting a chance at the box office would now find themselves on Netflix if they’re lucky. That doesn’t mean such films won’t be seen by the public or are out of chances for the Oscars. That was the case of Train Dreams as it made its debut at Sundance 2025, was shown in select theatres for Oscar eligibility and would become a Netflix film. A film about an 80 year-old hermit living in the forests of the Rocky Mountains a century ago doesn’t make for an attention-grabber of a film. How it attracts intrigue is it’s a story about one simple man and how he encompasses our own human feelings. Robert Grainier goes through the happiest of moments when he falls in love, marries and has a daughter. He goes through the hardest of heartbreaks when he loses them seemingly forever in a fire. He has feelings of hope as he hopes they may have survived and just moved off. Even feelings of hope as he meets Claire and the chance to start a new life for himself. He has feelings of hopelessness as his ageing no longer makes him physically able to do forestry work. He has images that haunt him like the Chinese worker who was killed, those in the forestry work who were killed on the job, or his wife Gladys and daughter Kate who give him haunting messages. He connects with all sorts of people from co-workers to people in town to people doing other work close by, even if it only appears to be a temporary connection with them. That seems to be it about the story of Robert Grainier. He’s a man whom people come and go in his life — even those closest to him — but he seems to find a purpose to his life. Having lost so many people, some tragically, he could do himself in and end it all, but he continues to live. And it’s all the better for him.

The unique thing about the film is not just about Robert Grainier and how he seems to be an ‘everyman’ character, but also happening in a time in the United States in the past. It’s a rare time to be in the forests of the American Northwest in the 1920’s. The film shows of a United States that used to be. A United States that was on the growth and Grainier was a part of it. It shows a nature of the United States that would soon fall prey to urbanisation. Grainier is part of both what nature gives to him generously and what nature takes form him cruelly. Even with urbanisation, Grainier doesn’t take himself away from the nature until his visit to Spokane in the 1960’s. The nature of the forests and the mountains Grainier is a part of is just as fascinating as the simple life of Grainier himself.

This film is another achievement for director Clint Bentley. He has only had four years of film work but he has created achievements like 2021’s Jockey and co-writing the script with Greg Kwedar for 2024’s Sing Sing. For this he directs, he collaborates again with Kwedar to adapt the 2011 novella form the late Denis Johnson. The novella received praise for its work and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. Here, Bentley brings it to life and creates a story about the man and the time he lives in. He makes it a story that’s also about the people that come and go in his life and make it a story in which we the audience can find enriching. It’s an excellent achievement.

The film single-handedly belongs to Joel Edgerton. The whole story revolves around the life of Robert Grainier: a fictional man living in the forests of the American Northwest. Joel not only acts the role of Grainier out well but he also tells his story well. He tells his story and helps connect the characters of the story. The film is also as much about the people in Robert’s life as it is about him. Being the centrepiece, Edgerton makes the story of Grainier come alive.

Although the film is mostly Edgerton playing Grainier, the actors playing the supporting roles also add to the film very well. Felicity Jones did a great job of playing his wife Gladys who is able to win his heart. William H. Macy is also great as the explosives worker Arn Peeples who considers trees to be spirits. For a short period of time, Macy is able to steal the attention away. Kerry Condon is also great as Claire who is able to connect with him and share her loss with his. The film also features a lot of great technical achievements like the cinematography of Adolpho Veloso. His images really captured the region and helped to make the story. Malgosia Turganska made excellent decisions in the choice of costumes for the film’s costuming, fitting the eras well. The score from Bryce Dessner does a great job in capturing the atmosphere and drama of the film.

Train Dreams may come across as a slow film of boring subject matter but if you give it a fair chance, you will come to like the story it tells. It’s a story where one man can reflect our own feelings in his lifetime. It also feels like a piece of Americana.

And that does it. I am now complete in my reviews of the Best Picture contenders of 2025. It’s up for the winners to all be decided on Sunday March 15th.

Oscars 2025 Best Picture Reviews: Part Four

Jon The BlogcentricLeave a comment

It seems like this decade, there always seems to be at least one foreign language film that gets a Best Picture nomination. This year, there are two films. Both are nominated for Best Picture and Best International Feature Film. Their shared nominations should make for an interesting rivalry.

Both films are different in both the language, genre and theme of the story. Both films are also excellent in getting their story to connect with the audience. Here is my look at the Brazilian film The Secret Agent and the Norwegian film Sentimental Value.

The Secret Agent (O Agente Secreto)

It’s interesting how Brazil won the Best International Feature Oscar last year for I’m Still Here and it looks heavily poised to do it again this year. It’s also interesting that just like I’m Still Here, it has the subject of the dictatorship Brazil was under from 1964 to 1985. It was a military dictatorship that formed after a coup d’etat and it committed its biggest power and intimidation during the 1970’s. There were kidnappings and murders of many people who ranged from political rivals to intellects to dissidents. While I’m Still Here is based on a true story, this film tells of a fictional story. This story is of a former college professor named Armando who goes into hiding in his hometown of Recife in 1977 during Carnival. He had already lost his wife who was also an intellect, his 7 year-old son has to be raised by his in-laws, and his hiding place where he gets his refuge has other dissidents including Angolan War refugees. He has to adopt a new name, Marcelo, and hold a behind-the-scenes government job to avoid being killed by a hitman. The whole time, he senses a hitman is after him and he finds the frustration of it hard to deal with. To add to it, his city records job allows him to find out information about his own mother, whom he remembers very faintly.

It’s not just hiding out from assassination but as corrupt leaders are in Recife. They’re first called to the city as a human leg was found in the carcass of a shark. One of the leaders has a chance meeting with Armando at the city’s records office he works at. He tries to offer him friendship and protection, but Armando is turned off his arrogance. Especially after he calls his friend a Nazi. During that time, word does hit an executive in Sao Paulo whom had an altercation with Armando years ago and has a vendetta against him. Armando feels his days are numbered and feels he has to make his testimony recorded by a close friend, Elza, who runs a resistance network and owns a movie theatre. It’s after the recording is made that the friend reveals he has a contract killing against him. Just as an assassin has been hired in Sao Paulo to go to Recife and kill him. This is all flashed back as a history student in the present comes across news stories and recordings of Elza and her network and compiles it for Armando’s son who works at the blood clinic that now takes up the former location of the movie theatre.

The film also mixes a lot of ironies and connections to others with the film. There’s the leg in the shark around the time of Jaws being in cinemas. That leg and Jaws in theatres promotes a lot of ridiculous ‘Hairy Leg’ stories published in the newspapers. There’s the civic records job Armando has while he’s in hiding and he can take advantage of job to access records of the information of his mother whom he faintly remembers. There’s a cinema showing Jaws run by Elza of the resistance network who takes the time to record Armando’s account of why he’s being hunted down. There’s Flavia accessing the mp3 of that recording and putting it on the USB which she gives to his son Fernando who now works at the blood clinic where that cinema used to be, and where Fernando even saw Jaws with his grandfather. Like Armando with his mother, Fernando has faint memories of his father. Flavia helps his to understand him better.

This is a unique story. The story of a man in a corrupt country who knows he’s being hunted down is full of omens of a possible death. It starts as when he first arrives in Recife and sees the body of a would-be robber at the gas station. It continues as he sees suspicious costumes in preparation for Carnival. Even of other incidents of death and nightmares got him fearing the worst. The story also adds in some humor with the leg found in the shark and while Jaws is in theatres adding humor of ridiculous news stories about ‘Hairy Leg.’ Even the leg thrown back into the ocean and it being rediscovered by a gay couple adds to the humor. There are times when the story gets confusing as we see the film often go to scenes in the present of student Flavia researching all this information about Armando and you often wonder what it’s about. It’s at the end after we see the past played out and Flavia discovering all the information that it’s to be on a USB as a gift to his son Fernando who’s now a blood clinic worker. It’s almost like the story is making peace with the past as an average college student helps Fernando get to know the father the father he never knew. Even how we see other men gunned down by the hired assassin but only learn of Armando’s assassination days after through a newspaper research from Flavia leaves us thinking maybe those scenes played out in the film for the better.

This film is an accomplishment for writer/director Kleber Mendonca Filho. Although it’s hard to understand why a story about a man being pursued by assassins in Brazil during a dictatorship would add in some bizarre humor and a subplot of a severed leg, Filho succeeds in making this story work. In an interview, Filho intended for this story not just to be about a man on the run but also about life in Brazil. He wanted to capture both the positive and the negative sides of living in Brazil during a time of a staunch dictatorship. He presents what is a fictional story of a man on the run from a possible political assassination, but it’s presented like a story that mirrors what it was like at that time. Armando could represent so many real-life people who were victims of this tyranny. The film also reminds us even as people were limited in their opportunities and no one was immune to being killed, people still swam in beaches, people still celebrated Carnival, couple still had sex in the parks at night. I feel he does a good job of making the film as much about life in Brazil as it is a story of a man knowing he will be killed soon. Even as it goes to the present with Flavia and Fernando showing the democratized Brazil and their lives, Filho does capture the times as well as he tells the story.

This film is also the breakthrough for actor Wagner Moura. Wagner has had an extensive career in Brazil but he’s also been seen in popular fare like 2014’s Rio, I Love You, 2022’s The Grey Man and 2024’s Civil War. In this film, he not only plays Armando in 1977 but also Fernando in 2025. Playing both the father who fears for his life and the son who’s able to live a life without fear is an excellent performance. His acting is less about being showy and about telling the story. Even in his moments of silence, you can sense his feelings. It’s no wonder it’s received a lot of acclaim. The film doesn’t develop too well on the performances of the supporting actors but if there is one supporting performance that stands out, it’s Tania Maria as Dona Sebastiana: the landlady who works to hide other people hiding out from other possible political killings. At first, she comes off as a colorful simple character but it’s when Armando leaves that she really shines in the monolog of how life is difficult but there is still hope for the better. Carlos Francisco is also good as the grandfather who is unhappy with the death of his daughter and fears for both the lives of Armando and Fernando.

This film first caught attention when it achieved a huge amount of buzz after the Cannes Film Festival. Moura won Best Actor, Filho won Best Director, the FIPRESCI Prize and the Prix des Cinemas Art et Essai and was nominated for the Palme d’Or. The film has also won major prizes like the Best International Film awards with the National Board of Review, Golden Globes and the Critics Choice awards.

The Secret Agent is as much an intriguing look at Brazil back in the 70’s as it is an intriguing story of a man who’s the target of a political regime. It mixes drama with dark humor and tells of a story that appears to be about making resolve with the past. A past Brazil is struggling to heal from.

Sentimental Value (Affeksjonsverdi)

If there’s any film that threatens to beat out The Secret Agent for the Best International Feature film Oscar, it’s this film. This film is a complete polar opposite of the former. This Norwegian film tells a story of a family of wounds reopening and of issues unresolved. It’s not just an issue of torn family ties but also conflicts of the arts. It all starts with the Borg sisters’ death of their mother and their estranged father Gustav, a film director who owns the house, possibly being resold. As the sisters are going through grief, they have the added difficulty of the father returning and the hard feelings they feel towards him. Nora continues to harbor bitterness while Agnes tries to get a better understanding of him. Nora’s bitterness is so bad, she refused a role in his latest film work months earlier which goes to an American actress named Rachel Kemp. The film is an attempt from Gustav to revive his fading career and is now shooting while Nora and Agnes are trying to sort out things after their mother’s death. You can understand why this would be the source of a lot of family friction.

The film isn’t just about an estranged father re-entering his daughter’s lives at the most inconvenient time. The issue of how a daughter who grew up to be a theatre actress senses she’s shunned by her filmmaking father. He never once saw her act on stage. That adds to the friction and also has a lot to do with why Nora has more animosity than Agnes towards the father and may explain why she rejected the role. His revelation of how he rejects theatre even adds to the friction of the hard feelings. It takes the other two to help Nora achieve her resolve. First, it’s Agnes who does research on her father and his family background which includes revelations of his mother dealing with the torture of Nazi soldiers as a member of the resistance during World War II. Since the lead role is the same first name as her grandmother, it’s as she studies the torture her grandmother endured and how she passed her trauma onto her father is how she understands the film is a telling of the past he and his family went through. It’s as Rachel continuously goes through the role with great difficulty and has a conversation with Nora that she feels the role is more suited for Nora and for her. It’s there Rachel sends the message to Gustav that Nora was meant for the role. Even her struggles with trying to speak her lines in the Norwegian language in the role sends that message. It’s through art that family friction happens and it’s through art that healing is achieved. The theme of art as both a divider and reuniter is as much a theme of the story as World War II causing wounds that hurt long after the war has ended and even wounds that hurt loved ones even after the death of those who were hurt. Those themes are a unique way of telling this story of hurt and healing.

This film is an excellent work from director Joachim Trier. In Norway, he made a name for himself for directing three films that were part of the ‘Oslo trilogy’ which focused on the periods of life of certain people in Oslo. The only one of which I saw was The Worst Person In The World. For those who have seen all three films of the Oslo Trilogy, it will tempt some to think Trier added in a fourth film. Most notably since it’s set in Oslo, it’s another story he co-wrote with his collaborator Eskil Vogt and it features many of the actors he commonly collaborates with. This however is different. Firstly, Anders Danielsen Lie, who had leading roles in the trilogy film, has a supporting role in this film. He’s more in the background as Nora’s romantic interest. Secondly, this is a story where the arts are a theme to the film and are as a source of both friction and healing. It took a death and a film role of the father’s mother to help his daughter heal the wounds caused by a past separation. This is a great form of storytelling and it plays out very well in the film.

This film is also known for its standout acting. The biggest standout is lead actress Renate Reinsve as Nora. Already, Reinsve is being hailed as the greatest Norwegian actress since Liv Ullmann. Her performance as an actress daughter who’s thrown into family friction and how it affects her acting has a lot of dimension and we’re able to feel Nora’s feelings of anger and hurt. Also excellent is Stellan Skarsgard as Gustav. His portrayal of the father who knows he hurt his daughters and seeks to make resolve after their mother’s death is another excellent performance and it’s through the silent moments you can sense his thoughts. Inge Ibsdotter Lilleaas is also great in her supporting role as the more forgiving Agnes. It’s her performance as the one who’s trying to help solve the mystery who helps to add to the theme of resolve and forgiveness. Also great is Elle Fanning. Although she’s the one who speaks the least Norwegian, it’s her performance as the American actress Rachel who is able to also help Nora heal and eventually accept the role.

This film has received a lot of awards acclaim before this year’s awards season. Back during the Cannes Film Festival, it was nominated for the Palme d’Or and Joachim Trier win the Grand Prix award. The film was also nominated for eight European Film Awards and won six.

Sentimental Value is a deep film of trying to mend family ties and generational trauma. Even though it’s in Norwegian, many people can relate to the messages and emotions conveyed in the film. That’s what most makes this film worth watching.

That completes my fourth review of the Best Picture nominees. All that’s remaining are the last two nominees to review.

Oscars 2025 Best Picture Reviews: Part Three

Jon The BlogcentricLeave a comment

My next pair of Best Picture reviews is for two films that have two nominations in common: Best Actor and Best Director. They’re also both comedies. Usually the Academy isn’t too fond of comedies but these two films are among the most heralded and have a lot of buzz for big Oscar wins. One film is directed by one of the business’ top directors and features one of the biggest leading men in the past two decades. The other is by an emerging director featuring a young actor whom many tout to be the next great one. One is set in the present and features a very political topic. The other is less about politics and more about a person seen as a joke trying to shed his skin. Here’s my look at them.

Marty Supreme

It’s interesting how this film doesn’t simply focus on a table tennis player but also the times he was in. We should keep in mind that table tennis didn’t become an Olympic sport until 1988. The International Table Tennis Foundation was founded in 1926 and in the time set in the film, the early 1950’s, it was fine for a player to be paid in their sport, unlike those in Olympic sports at the time. Despite that, we should also know that table tennis players were not paid very much for their wins back then. You could understand how the federations were hoping to use many methods to try to popularise the sport at that time. So it should not be a surprise to see Marty try to use the money from his shoe salesman job to pay for his entries, trips, and equipment, and it still wouldn’t be enough. A New York table tennis player like Marty, he would have to hustle or swindle or even use his playing skills to win gambling money to get the money he needs. That’s how it was for Marty Reisman: the table tennis player Marty Mauser is loosely based on. In his 1974 memoir The Money Player, Reisman said top table tennis players back in the day had to be ‘gamblers and smugglers.’

I’m sure at first, you’ll wonder who would watch a film about a table tennis player from the 50’s, even with Timothee Chalamet starring in it? This story is not just about a table tennis player, but a player who had a bizarre year between a key tournament and the World Championships. Basically, Marty would be regarded commonly as a loser. He lost the British Open to a Japanese player and wants to be the World Champion. His only options to help pay for his training, equipment and tournament trips is selling shoes, making a novelty act of himself touring with the Harlem Globetrotters, have his gambling matches at the bowling alley or a lot of illegal hustling. Other options come along the way with a businessman striking a deal with ping pong balls in his name and having an affair with his movie star wife to get help. Very risky indeed. Adding to the risky moves of he reunites with an already-married childhood friend, having an affair with her and making her pregnant. Then damaging a mobster’s suite and he gives him a dog to look after, which eventually becomes the property of a trigger-happy farmer. You can see how this would catch the attention of many people. All the messes Marty gets in and he has a World Championship to compete in. A loser of a person who wants to be a winner in what he lives for, a woman he loves and a baby to be. That can make for a thrill ride of a story.

The story is a unique timepiece that it takes Marty Mauser from one situation or another. It takes him into his sports world, it takes him into his world at home, it takes him into his world of opportunities made and opportunities lost, and it takes him into his world of constant troubles. The story is more about Marty trying to win for once instead of constantly being seen as a loser. It’s about a man trying to get his way out of troubles that he constantly gets himself into. It’s about the women in his life and how being the man they have an affair with will cause a lot of problems. Especially the businessman Rockwell who knows of the affair and loves seeing him humiliated publicly. The story also provides a unique filmmaking element where it’s set in a specific time period but often features music from another time period. I did not expect a film set in the 1950’s have songs from the 1980’s included in many of the scenes. That is something that is becoming more common in films. It works in this film as well.

This film is an achievement for director Josh Safdie. Almost ten years ago, the Safdie brothers, Josh and Benny, were seen as rising talents in film making with films like Good Time, Uncut Gems andFunny Pages. Back in 2024, the two brothers split to pursue their own film making directions. This film is Josh’s first film as a solo director. The story he directs and co-wrote with Ronald Bronstein takes the audience back to a time when things were both glamorous and shady and a man who can be both a hero and an anti-hero. He succeeds not only in presenting the story in a creative way, but also in an entertaining way. He succeeds in making a ping pong hustler fascinate the audience and his misdoings and potential troubles keep us intrigued. It’s an excellent accomplishment.

Making the film most come alive is actor Timothee Chalamet. Ten years ago, he was seen as yet another young rising face in the film world. The last few years, we’ve seen Chalamet become a top box office draw and deliver in challenging acting roles. This film is the latest film where he shows his acting maturity. He does a great job of making a troubled young man look comical and at the same time, get us to see him as a 3D person who just wants to be taken seriously and try to get his dignity back. Chalamet does a great job in making us root for Marty.

Of the supporting performances, Odessa A’Zion stands out as the girlfriend who is just as troubling as Marty. She will make you hate Rachel but also hope for the best for her. Also great is Kevin O’Leary as Rockwell. We may remember him from the television show Shark Tank. This is his first film role and he succeeds in making his character both likeable and hateable. You could easily see why Marty would want to get even with him. Gwyneth Paltrow is also great as the movie star Kay Stone. She succeeds in replicating the charm of a movie star of the time. Tyler Okonma, most commonly known as Tyler The Creator, does a great job in playing Wally the cab driver. With Marty having so many people he shouldn’t trust, Tyler succeeds in making Wally look like a person Marty can trust.

This film also has a lot of great technical achievements as well. Safdie and Bronstein also did the editing for the film and they deliver the right moves. Cinematographer Darius Khondji delivers a lot of great scene shots. The costuming from Miyako Bellizzi and the set designers succeed very well in physically setting the film back to the past. Composer Daniel Lopatin delivers a fitting score for the film that blends in with the songs used in the film.

Marty Supreme succeeds in being a film about a ping pong player that makes you want to see it. It also succeeds in making a hero out of a man whom you wouldn’t want to make a hero of any kind. It will make you like it.

One Battle After Another

Usually around Oscar time, one can expect to have a film that’s very political as one of the top contenders. This year, there aren’t as many political films among the Best Picture contenders and those that are aren’t that heavy into the politics. This film is not only very political but it seems to come out at the right time. We see all that’s going on right now in the United States. We have a right-wing government whom many fear will threaten people’s civil liberties and their democratic system. We have the anti-immigration force ICE brutally abducting people and treating both the people they arrest and bystanders like garbage. With all this, it’s easy to understand why a film like this would come out.

In this film, it starts out as a left-wing militia rivalling the powers that be at the time and a right-wing militia. In the middle of it is a player in the left-wing group who uses sex to entice and manipulate her enemies. She bares the daughter of the white supremacist and her husband agrees to take care of her as she flees for refuge. Sixteen years later, secrets unravel, the daughter is grown, the father needs to sober up and join his group again to protect his wife’s child and the white supremacist father is trying to hunt the daughter down. When you watch all that unfolds and you learn of the scenarios, you can sense that this film has a lot to tell. Some say one can see far-left militias like the French 75 happening. We know of far-right militias. It should come as no surprise if one on the far-left arises with what’s going on now. And to have a child who’s the daughter of the racist colonel and the black revolutionary getting exposed to what happened around the time of her birth and learning she’s a target, it’s possible something like that could happen in real life. It’s a possibility Americans can’t avoid.

This film is based on a book from 1990 called Vineland where radicals from the 1960’s deal with the complexities in Ronald Reagan’s 1980’s. This film modernises the story and makes it more reflective of what is happening in our contemporary political landscape. The film will remind us of how many feared of what would happen during the Reagan Era was nothing compared to what is happening during the Trump Era. The film is also a mirror to our current society as we have all learned about extremist militias and about governments stimulating hate and racism. We’ve all seen in the recent ten years how racist groups have become more emboldened. The film creates the scenario of what would happen if a militant racist had a mixed-race child with ‘the enemy?’ How will it end up? The film makes for a drama that will have you at the edge of your seat as one hopes for the safety of Willa. The film also delivers comedy as we see Ghetto Pat become a fail of a person and try to get his life together and the racist Lockjaw face the music of what he did in surprising ways. To make such a film that’s both a drama and a comedy, that is no easy task, but it succeeds in doing it.

This film is another achievement for director/writer Paul Thomas Anderson. Hard to believe it was almost thirty years ago when he first made a name for himself with 1997’s Boogie Nights. He’s had many an acclaimed film since and this film gives him his fourth Best Director nomination. Anderson succeeds in modernising the story and making it reflective of what could happen in present-day United States. He also succeeds in making what should be an intense drama a comedy with shocker after shocker happening. It would be very difficult to make an intense story like this to be a comedy, but Anderson succeeds in achieving it.

Leading the film is Leonardo di Caprio. Delivering a character like Ghetto Pat who’s become an irresponsible father but the best father for Willa was no easy achievement. He succeeds in delivering the dramatic parts and the comedic parts in a good balance. Creating good chemistry with di Caprio is Chase Infiniti as Willa. This being her film debut performance, she shines greatly and makes the film as much a story about Willa, if not more, as it is about Ghetto Pat. Of the supporting performances, Teyana Taylor shines most as Perfidia Beverly Hills. Her performance as a modern-day Mata Hari-like soldier who knows how to take command of men steals the show and makes her character still felt long after she’s gone. Benicio del Toro is also great as Sergio in his duty to protect both Pat and Willa. Sean Penn is also great as a corrupt racist who faces a shocking truth and feels his only solution is killing Willa.

The film also features a lot of great technical achievements. Michael Bauman pulls the right moves in cinematography to deliver the best shots for telling the story. The film editing of Andy Jurgensen and the sound editing from the sound team give the right mix and the right placings to make it all work for the story for it to deliver well. The production design team does a great job in creating places like the militia hideouts and plotting scenes such as the convents. Composer Jonny Greenwood meets again for another Anderson film and delivers a score that’s fitting mixed in with popular songs from decades back.

One Battle After Another is a film that’s both a mirror to our society and an ironic comedy. It’s a story we can see happening, now but also be shocked with all that happens in the story. Not everyone will like it but it will please its crowd.

And that completes my third pair of reviews of the Best Picture nominees. Glad to see many of them are still in theatres and many of them are doing quite well this year.

Oscars 2025 Best Picture Reviews: Part Two

Jon The BlogcentricLeave a comment

It’s interesting for my next blog of Best Picture nominees. One film is a remake of one of the most captivating monster stories ever and the other film tells the story of the tragedy that produced one of the most legendary plays ever. They’re both unique in their own way.

Frankenstein

Ever since Mary Shelley has published her book titled Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus back in 1818, the story and the monster have captured the imagination of the world. The monster definitely more often than the story. The Frankenstein monster has been featured and parodied frequently to the point people have created their own versions of Frankenstein on both the character and the physical appearance. People on Halloween especially have a field day with Frankenstein costumes and their own Frankenstein stories. Crazy thing is most of these stories stray greatly away from the original story of Mary Shelley. They may get the basics like a mad scientist creates a living person from the body parts of deceased people but they are too loosely based. The very first Frankenstein film, a silent film from Edison Studios released in 1910, was a film the director intended to be ‘broadly based’ on Shelley’s story or call itself a ‘liberal adaptation.’ The most famous film adaptation has to be the 1931 film which was an adaptation of a stage play. Frankenstein’s monster in that film, played by Boris Karloff, has the most iconic image of the Frankenstein monster with the rectangular forehead and green skin. That film also includes the memorable line: “It’s alive! It’s alive!”

This film is Guillermo del Toro’s adaptation of the story that is still off the original in some amount but is closer to Shelley’s story. The film is set in 1857 and a Danish ship of the Royal Navy is stuck in ice. The ship becomes like a hospice for a gravely injured Victor Frankenstein who was hurt from the wave of an explosion. The ship is then attacked by a fur-laden humanoid creature that appears indestructible. As Victor notices that’s the creature he created, he tells his story, which becomes Part I: Victor’s Tale. After Victor tells his story, the creature tells his story in Part II: The Creature’s Tale. This layout of the story sets up for the finale where the creature finally makes peace with Victor and Victor apologises for being too cruel to the creature. It’s after Victor’s death that the creature departs, but not until he frees the ship from being stuck in the ice.

Some of the most noticeable differences are in the novel, Victor’s mother dies of scarlet fever. In this film, she dies of childbirth giving birth to William. While the novel shows Victor discovering the possibility of creating new life through his studies, the film shows him actually conducting his proven findings in front of professors and being expelled. In the novel, Victor is shocked and repelled by the creature he created and abandons it in the cold snows. In the film, he’s proud of his creation but enslaves him. In the film, Victor wins the love of a woman named Elizabeth. In the film, it’s William who courts Elizabeth and Victor tries to win her, but his mad science and arrogance prevent her. Victor even kills Elizabeth and William. Also in the film, Elizabeth embraces the creature when he rushes back to Victor to demand a female creation for him. It turns out Elizabeth has more feelings for the creature than for Victor. The creature in the novel becomes lost in the wilderness and has both seen the best and ugliest of humanity. In the film, he is given refuge to a farming family whom the blind man treats him well. The other family think he killed the blind man when they return and try to shoot him. There is the reconciling of the two on the ship but the creature remains on the ship at the end of the novel while the creature leaves the ship but is powerful enough to push the ship free of the ice.

This adaptation that is both written and directed by Guillermo del Toro is a story that is more faithful to the book than most stories. Del Toro already knows how to do an excellent job of stories involving monsters like Pan’s Labyrinth and The Shape Of Water. Here, he shows off his expertise again with an excellent adaptation of the story. Making it two stories, of Victor’s story and The Creature’s story, is done quite well without deviating too much from the original. The two stories do a good job of playing themselves out leading to its eventual connection in the end. The result is not only an adaptation well done but an adaptation that will capture your attention and get you caught up in the story and the drama as it unfolds. The story will also get you feeling for The Creature as well as it showcases he’s not only a human in flesh but he’s a human in feeling. If you see the story, you will agree that the creature has more heart than Victor. Del Toro masters the story and the drama.

Oscar Isaac does a great job in making Victor Frankenstein into a doctor that isn’t completely heartless but full of personal flaws. His eccentricities interfere with his ability to relate with others, have any kind of heart to his creation or even love Elizabeth enough to win her love. Surprisingly, Isaac does succeed in making you feel sympathy to Victor and even forgive him for all he’s done. The dimension Isaac bring is excellent to the role. Jacob Elordi steals the film as the creature. Creating a character of a created human with the common sensitivities of people, even having feelings of love and heartbreak, gives the film its heart and soul within the spectacular drama. Many times, you’re tempted to think Elordi is the lead. Mia Goth is also very good in her role as Elizabeth, but the role could have been given more dimension in the story. Other good supporting acting performances come from Christian Convery as the young Victor, Felix Kammerer as William Frankenstein, and Lars Mikkelsen as the Captain Andersen.

For a film like this, you can bet this has a lot of excellent technical achievements. The cinematography from Dan Lautsen captures the story very well. The costuming from Kate Hawley, the production design from Tamara Deverell, and the hair and makeup team do a great job in taking the audience back to the past and recreating scenes of the times. Alexandre Desplat knows how to deliver a score for a film and he does it again here with a score that fits the drama of the story very well. The sound team and the visual effects team all deliver the right stuff to deliver the excitement of the film.

Frankenstein is not just another adaptation of the story. It’s one Guillermo del Toro does his own telling of the story mixing his own take and trying to stay faithful to the story. It succeeds in a very thrilling way!

Hamnet

There have been many semiautobiographical films of William Shakespeare many times before but you hardly see any films, plays or literature about his children. Among possibly the least known is his only son Hamnet Shakespeare. Little is known or documented about him or what he was like. It was known that he died at the age of 11. The play Hamlet premiered three or four years after his death and scholars have frequently debated Hamnet’s young death and how much inspiration it bored on Hamlet. It is known that before Hamnet’s death, Shakespeare mostly wrote comedies and Hamlet was a significant turning point. The film makes the case in point that it was very inspirational to the creation of Hamlet. You could tell in rehearsals Shakespeare was a perfectionist and was very demanding on his lead actor. It’s possible he wanted the actor to create the spirit of Hamnet in Hamlet.

There are two things that stand out the most from this film. The first is that it is based on a novel that is historical fiction. There are many details in the film that are fact with Shakespeare’s life, but there are also a lot of myths and imagined fiction. Very little is documented about Hamnet so in her novel Hamnet, Maggie O’Donnell gave him a personality and in writing of Hamnet’s death, O’Donnell used some of her own experience when her daughter was suffering from a potentially fatal illness. The second thing that stands out is that the film is mostly focused on Shakespeare’s wife: Agnes Shakespeare. The film is more Agnes’s story as it shows her an herbalist who’s a lover of nature. She finds herself attracted to this playwright whom her family does not approve of. They fall in love, develop a family and marry. William frequently makes trips to London for his plays while Agnes does mostly motherly duties. Agnes is the one who has to deal with her twin children, their teachings and eventually their illnesses. She is the one who has to witness Hamnet’s death. No doubt she’s angry with William being away in London during that time. Years later, she learns of his plays Hamlet. She’s there at the opening. She fears the play could upset her. Instead she is touched by the play, by the actor, and by the character. It gives one the sense in seeing Hamlet played on stage, she senses Hamnet’s spirit living in him and shared with all.

The film itself doesn’t try to be a historical docudrama. It does keep many actual facts of history but it does its own storytelling. It does maintain situations that many would commonly relate to. It reminds people that Shakespeare’s choice to pursue arts or teaching was not well-regarded in his working class family. It shows William and Agnes married because she was pregnant and she didn’t want her daughter Susanna to be born a ‘bastard.’ It’s known that in between the death of Hamnet and the premiere of Hamlet, there was a period for Shakespeare known as the ‘lost years.’ What it does is it tells its story. As I mentioned earlier, the film is based on a book that is loosely based on the lives of the Shakespeares. It’s a story that connects with common situations in ones life like not being accepted into a family, loving someone their family doesn’t approve of, the loss of a child, trying to live life again and of how art connects with the human spirit. The latter, I think that’s the theme of the film. How art reflects humanity and can even be a method of healing. The film does an excellent job in having its story connect with the viewer while also maintaining intrigue towards the family of a legend. That’s its biggest quality.

This film is another excellent accomplishment for Chloe Zhao. When she agreed to do the story, she also hired Maggie O’Donnell, the author of the novel Hamnet, to help with the scriptwriting. Human connection is a common theme of Zhao’s films and Chloe does an excellent job in directing a story of an artist’s method of healing and how he shares it with the world. There have often been films that show how art connects with the human spirit. This film also succeeds in displaying that theme and Zhao creates an excellent work in delivering that message.

The performance of the film definitely belongs to Jessie Buckley. The film is mostly about Agnes and Jessie does an excellent job of taking charge of her role and owning the movie. She shows many dimensions of Agnes Shakespeare: falconer, herbalist, teacher, daughter, wife, mother and griever. She showcases both the triumphs and the struggles Agnes goes through and delivers a performance that’s an achievement in itself. Paul Mescal is also great as William Shakespeare but he does not deliver the performance of Shakespeare one would expect. Here, he’s seen as a son with a stormy relationship with his father, husband of Agnes, a playwright who’s away from the family for a long period of time and one who grieves the loss of his son. His performance in making William Shakespeare a three-dimensional common person instead of the icon we all know makes for the excellence of the film.

The film also has a lot of good supporting performances. The one that most stands out is Jacobi Jupe as Hamnet Shakespeare. While O’Donnell creates a character in the son of Shakespeare we never knew, Jupe adds an appeal to him and portrays Hamnet to be just as much of a dreamer as his father. Jupe is also good at portraying Hamnet as a twin brother willing to give his life for his ailing twin sister. Jupe really catches the spirit in both senses. Also good is Noah Jupe, Jacobi’s older brother. I think there was a sense of purpose in the film of having Jacobi cast as Hamnet and Noah cast as the actor who plays Hamlet. Noah is great in having the actor capture the spirit of Hamnet in his acting and be able to connect with Agnes. Other good supporting performances in the film are Emily Watson as Shakespeare’s mother and David Wilmot as John Shakespeare who was frequently at odds with his son.

The film also has a lot of excellent technical aspects. The cinematography from Lukasz Zal fits the film excellently. The set design by Fiona Crombie and Alice Felton excellently takes the film back to the past and the costuming by Malgosia Turganska fits the times perfectly. The score from Max Richter does an excellent job in capturing the drama of the story and the artistic triumph at the end.

Hamnet is more than just another Shakespeare story. It’s a story that connects with people and it shows how the arts are the way to the soul. It’s a story of joy, of love, of tragedy and of the eventual triumph.

That completes my second look at the Best Picture contenders for this year. Six more films left to review.

Oscars 2025 Best Picture Reviews: Part One

Jon The BlogcentricLeave a comment

The 2025 Academy Awards have announced the ten films worthy of being nominees for the Best Picture award. All ten are different in their own ways and their own styles. All of them are good at showing why they are being considered for the Best Picture award. Even in the first of my five reviews of the Best Picture nominees, we have two films that are polar opposites. One of the nominees in my review is an arthouse film by a Greek director who has become a big name in the arthouse film scene. The other film is one of the biggest summer blockbusters of the year done by a rising name in Hollywood. Both films are great in their own ways.

Bugonia

This film has two themes that are common in our modern world. The first theme that stands out is the power balance of those in control and those below that they command. That’s something of common discussion in our modern world that really gets a lot of conversation and a lot of angry responses. Especially as we see the wealth gap consistently widen in our society. I’m sure there is frequent talk on social media of revenge plots and revenge wishes that somewhat resemble Teddy’s and Don’s on Michelle. The second theme reflecting what stands out in our modern world is that of conspiracy theories. Thanks to social media, they’re all over the place. They range from government conspiracies to aliens living among us and there’s no limit to what they can be. The film is also very reflective of the type of person who believes their conspiracy theory to be true. Sammy completely believes his belief in aliens from the planet Andromeda to be the truth. Everything he read from the book fits the narrative of Michelle. The only person he will befriend is his autistic cousin Don. When he hears opposition from anyone, he becomes hostile or even violent.

The film appears to play around with a far-fetched conspiracy theory and tries to create a scenario of what if such a certain conspiracy theory turns out to be true? Sammy’s plot of revenge appears ridiculous but it’s also personal. Michelle is CEO of a pharmaceutical company that used his mother to test out a medicine that left her comatose. Teddy is convinced she is an alien and not only does he and Don commit their revenge on her, they plan it days before a lunar eclipse so they can get what they want before the mothership they anticipate will take her away. At first, this appears ridiculous as Michelle is still rational in thought while Teddy is belligerent. She knows how to use the power of the word to expose Teddy’s weakness and is very good at resisting whatever torture methods Teddy and Don inflict on her. As the eclipse looms, Michelle appears to play around with Teddy’s alleged charade but after she finds a dirty secret behind Teddy, she confronts him to give him an alternative theory to his conspiracy. A theory he can’t handle. The ending will not only leave you thinking the conspiracy is true but give you a shock ending. One that’s semi-apocalyptic!

Once again, Yorgos Lanthomos delivers a great film. This film is actually based on a 2003 film from South Korea called Save The Green Planet. Here, he teams up with Will Tracy, a former writer for The Onion, to adapt the story into an American scenario and relating to the present. Now a film set in the present is not something I would expect from Lanthimos. All the films I’ve seen from him are either set in the past or exist in another universe altogether. Those who’ve seen Poor Things know that Lanthonos can do science fiction, but a film about aliens living in human form is something many of us would not expect. Once again, he takes on a story that one would expect to make for a dreadful film and makes it work. It could be Tracy’s writing, could be Lanthimos’ directing, or it could be the acting from the actors, but they make it work. Lanthomos again does the impossible by making something that has a big risk of failing succeed with flying colors!

Excellent acting again from Emma Stone. She’s been seen in big-name films for almost 20 years and she still knows how to work the role well. She is acted in the last four Lanthimos films. Again she works the role well and takes command of the picture. She makes what could be a ridiculous character work like magic! Also worthy of praise is Jesse Plemons. He does an excellent job of playing a conspiracy-obsessed man. He does a great job of capturing the common mind of such a person on how they live a world of their own and are hostile to opposition. He really convinced me. Aidan Delbis is great in his film debut. He’s autistic in real life and he captures the chemistry between him and Sammy very well.

The film also has a lot of standout technical work such as the set design from James Peice, the makeup and hair by Torsten Witte and the original score from Jerskin Fendrix.

Bugonia is a shocker of a film. It’s a shocker in the style of film and as a film with a twist of an ending. This is one film to expect the unexpected!

F1: The Movie

A movie about fast facing cars makes for an attention-grabber for the hypercompetitive summer movie season. A pure sports film about auto racing isn’t as much of an attention-grabber like the mix of fast auto driving and action as in the Fast And The Furious films. Having Brad Pitt in the film does help but there has to be more to it. Scenes of fast racing always make for a thrill ride but there will still have to be a good story to go with it. The film does provide it with the story of a racing team that struggles to survive, an older racer who wants to prove he’s not washed up and a younger racer who has in a lot of potential and is hungry to win. There’s the clash of racer’s egos and a technical director who’s trying moves and methods that are unorthodox and even risky. Add in the fierce rivalry between the two, illegal moves and a romance in the way, and you have a good story. With many actual Formula One racers added into the film, you can tell this is a film that means serious business. It even goes into family relations of how Joshua and his mother have conflicting opinions of Joshua pursuing a Formula One race career and even the mother’s reactions after her son’s near-fatal crash. It’s not the Oscar fare type of story but it does make for a film that’s more than just the effects.

As for the effects, the film delivers on this. When you have a film about Formula One auto racing, the crowds are naturally going to expect a film that delivers the experience of race car driving. Most of us will never live that thrill and a movie is the closest we’ll ever get outside of a video game. The film does capture the high-speed moments a racer commonly experiences as well as the crashes and the intensity of the races. Outside of the effects, it also captures a lot of top training moments and the tension of the Formula One season and the difficulties of being a racer on the circuit as well as the challenges in making it for both the racer and the team. The film goes all over the spectrum in delivering a story about Formula One racing that captures the overall essence and challenges of being part of the Formula One circuit.

This film is another accomplishment for director Joseph Kosinski. It seems unnoticed, but Kosinski appears to be a rising name for blockbuster films. His success started with 2010’s Tron: Legacy and continued with Oblivion and Only The Brave, but he finally achieved Oscar acclaim with Top Gun: Maverick. Here, Kosinski works to make a fresh story about Formula One racing work with the story he co-wrote with Ehren Kruger. This story is not as deep as most of the films nominated for this year’s Oscars but the story delivers a lot more than the stories of common blockbuster fare. The story takes the audience beyond the Formula One racetrack and shows the common difficulties a Formula One racer has to face along with giving the racers Sonny and Joshua more personality and more depth than you’d see in roles of common summer blockbusters. It’s a story that goes beyond what one expects.

Brad Pitt is great as racer Sonny Hayes. A racer who never had his chance but sees a chance during a time he’s not fit to race again, that could be played off in simple manner. Brad gives the role of Sonny some depth and makes Sonny relatable as well as keeping the story from going cardboard. Damson Idris does a great job of playing rising racer Joshua Pearce. He does a very good job of playing a racer that is hungry but arrogant and has a lot to learn, His rivalry with Sonny while also being a student adds to the story. Javier Bardem is also great as the team owner Ruben Cervantes. He does a great job in showing Ruben anticipating good results but nervous because of what he fears could happen to his team. Kerry Condon does a great job in her role as a technical director who dares to pull risky moves and even challenge the rules. Sarah Niles is also very good in playing the mother who’s supportive of her son’s career but also fearful.

The technical aspects of the film area especially great. Claudio Miranda delivers winning cinematography for this story delivering the right shots to capture the excitement of racing. Stephen Mirrione delivers top editing in piecing together a story that works. Hans Zimmer adds in a score that fits the film excellently. The film’s visual effects team delivers excellent effects to give the audience the thrill ride of racing they expect to get out of a racing story.

F1: The Movie is a racing movie that goes beyond being a simple racing story. It delivers in a story with intensity and gives characters with a lot of dimension. It also doesn’t compromise in the action moments and the effects that the movie crowds expect it to deliver.

And there you go. This is my first pair of reviews of this year’s Best Picture nominees. I’m planning to have it two films per blog so you can expect to see four more blogs to come.

Movie Review: KPop Demon Hunters

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KPop Demon Hunters is about a girl group who are more than just entertainers. They have demons to fight.

I admit I’m one of those late to the ball when it came to watching KPop Demon Hunters. I have not been too excited to see the latest animated films in recent years. What got me to see it is the big awards show buzz and how this film made some hit records chart well in the last few months. I knew I had to see it and I’m glad!

Huntrix is a girl group of three girls named Rumi, Mira and Zoey. They are the top music phenomenon in all of Korea but unknown to their fans is they are demon hunters. This goes back to the ancient past where demons led by the evil ruler Gwi-Ma used to prey on souls of humans. Back then, three women would use their singing voices to create a magical barrier on the demons called the Honmoon. Generation after generation would have their own threesome of singing hunters in hopes of strengthening it to a Golden Honmoon that would banish the demons forever. And now, it’s bestowed on the three girls of Huntrix who are trained by former hunter Celine. Their first test comes when their concert’s helicopter is discovered to have demons on board. They succeed in defeating them and make it to what they hope will be their last concert of their tour on time. To the annoyance of the others, Rumi pushes their upcoming release ‘Golden’ out sooner than they wanted and it tops the charts. That means the girls will have to go back to touring instead of having the relaxing time in the bathhouse at the end of the tour they were hoping for.

Back to the demon world, Gwi-Ma is angered for his latest plot being foiled by Huntrix. Gwi-Ma discovers Jinu: a human-turned-demon. With four other demons, he groups them with Jinu in a promise to erase his human memories and turns them into a boyband Saja Boys, whom he hopes will rival Huntrix and destroy their chances of creating the golden Honmoon. It’s also revealed Rumi of Huntrix is half-hunter, half-demon. Only Celine knows this as she found Rumi orphaned and raised her to be a hunter. The skin pattern on Rumi is the same skin pattern of demons, which explains why she won’t go with Mira and Zoey to the bathhouse. Rumi can’t do away with the memory and it starts affecting her voice as she can’t sing a certain note in ‘Golden.’

One day, the girls of Huntrix see the Saja Boys waking down the street. They think they’re hot until one of them bumps Zoey and instead of picking her up, he says ‘Watch it.” Minutes later, Huntrix see the Saja Boys, those arrogant boys, dazzle the crowd on the street with their song ‘Soda Pop.’ Huntrix are furious that they are trying to steal their #1 spot but they notice the demon skin of all five members. In a location not seen by the public, Huntrix and the Saja Boys get into a battle. Huntrix succeed, but Jinu notices Rumi’s demon pattern. Jinu feels he has to tell his own secret to Rumi privately. In their private meeting, Jinu tells Rumi that 400 years ago, Gwi-Ma promised him fame and recognition and to take his family out of poverty if he just gave himself over to the demon world. He agreed. It made him famous, but it led to his family’s downfall. It’s a feeling of guilt he still holds.

The problem with the Saja Boys’ popularity growing isn’t just how it threatens the #1 status of Huntrix. It also weakens the Honmoon and it allows more demon attacks to occur. The other two girls of Huntrix thinks the way to expose the Saja Boys’ demon identity is by releasing a song titled ‘Takedown.’ The song’s demon-hating lyrics shocks Rumi and it leads to a strain in her relationship with the other two members. Rumi also has to work out a solution for Jinu. She suggests to him if he helps Huntrix win the upcoming Idol Award and strengthen the Honmoon, he can freely live in the human world. Rumi revealing her secret to Jinu helped her get her singing voice back. Jinu tells Rumi that through her, he no longer hears demon voices and agrees to his deal with her to sabotage the Saja Boys. Infuriated, Gwi-Ma reminds Jinu in the demon world that he abandoned his family for a life of fame and privilege and will increase the voices of torture if he follows through on his deal with Rumi.

The Idol Awards happen and because of the fiasco involving ‘Takedown,’ Huntrix has to sing their hit ‘Golden.’ On stage, Rumi is singing solo on stage because Zoey and Mira were lured away by imposter demons sent by Jinu. In the middle of her performance, the song ‘Golden’ is stopped and two other demons sent by Jinu trick Rumi into singing ‘Takedown’ and expose Rumi’s demon pattern to the whole crowd. Rumi is embarrassed by it all and runs off stage. Zoey and Mira are mad for Mira hiding her demon patterns and her meetings with Jinu. All this friction causes further weakening to the Honmoon and more consumed souls which allows Gwi-Ma to enter the human world and put a trance on the public, including Mira and Zoey, and allows them to be consumed by the Zoey. Such an incident causes Rumi to confront Celine over never truly loving her as the Honmoon has been destroyed. It is up to Rumi to solve this.

How does Rumi solve this? With the Saja Boys now on top, Rumi delivers an improvised song to interrupt the Saja’s performance of ‘Your Idol’ and to break Mira and Zoey out of Gwi-Ma’s trance. This helps the three reunite and fight back to free the crowd. That fuels Gwi-Ma’s desire to attack Rumi. Jinu, repentant from all he caused, sacrifices himself by giving Rumi his restored soul. This allows Rumi to get a new source of strength to defeat Gwi-Ma and the other Saja Boys whole creating a new Honmoon. The ending gives the three girls time to finally relax in the bathhouse and Rumi’s hidden truth about her ‘demon skin’ no longer a dark secret: Rumi’s first bath with the other girls! Huntrix is back on top and their fans are all free!

It does seem awfully unusual to do an animated film about the K-Pop phenomenon. It seems especially bizarre that the film be made into an action film about fighting demons. That was the idea of Korean-Canadian director/ Maggie Kang. Kang has fifteen years of scriptwriting experience with many big-name animated films. Kang intended to create a film that paid homage to Korean mythology and shamanism to deliver something unique to animated film. Her intention of this film was to be a ‘love letter to K-pop’ and to her Korean background. The use of Korean singers as fighters of demons is not intended to be a novelty. Kang would describe that song and dance was common in the rituals of Korean shaman women. To take this mythology and to make it into something modern and in the present takes a lot of effort and a careful usage of the culture. Kang and her co-director Chris Applehans succeed with flying colors, both literally and figuratively. To have a film like this win crowds in big numbers both at the box office and Netflix hits, it’s an accomplishment worth big acclaim. Netflix teaming up with Sony Pictures Animation sure delivers a real winner here! Also the film delivers a hint that there’s a sequel coming. In 2029!

As an animated film, it’s not the common cute animated film that are mostly in the big theatres. Actually an animated film of KPop stars who are secret warriors, that looks like something more for older children or even teenagers. Especially with KPop being so popular since the early 2010’s and still continues to do very well on the charts. Outside of the age demographic it’s most suitable for, the film is a dazzler. It is very colorful, loaded with action and drama, does a great job of mixing traditional Korean mythology with modern Korean pop culture, and has a lot of dazzling effects. The music from this film also knows how to catch on in mainstream music markets and on radio. ‘Golden’ hit #1 in many a country and has become one of the most played songs of 2025. The film has kicked of many other hit songs like ‘Soda Pop’ hitting #3 in the US, ‘Your Idol’ hitting #4, ‘How It’s Done’ peaking at #8 and ‘Takedown’ peaking at #21. I think it has been years since a film has unleashed this many hit singles. For many decades, it seemed like hit songs from movies were less common than ever. This film sure changed that!

One thing to notice is that the girls of Huntrix have different voices for their acting and singing voices. Arden Cho does a great job in the acting voice of Rumi. She captures it very well. For Rumi’s singing voice, South Korean singer Ejae who’s had a lot of experience with various KPop acts, delivers excellent singing. That it something how she hits the high note on ‘Golden!’ May Hong is great as the fierce Mira and Ji-young Yoo is excellent in giving Zoey the most comic relief of the film. Ken Jeong is great as the excited manager Bobby. I knew with a film like this, they had to have Ken Jeong! Lee Byung-hun, who also starred in this year’s live-action Korean film No Other Choice, is great in providing the drama of Gwi-Ma. Ahn Hyo-seop, who himself has experience in being with a K-pop boy band named One O One, does a great performance as the troubled Jinu.

KPop Demon Hunters is one animated film more suitable for older children and teenagers. Adults will like it for the culture in its story, its  drama and the special effects. This year’s surprise delight! It even tempted me to think this could be adapted into a stage musical in the future. Do you agree?

My Predictions For The 2025 Academy Award Nominations

Jon The BlogcentricLeave a comment

Most years, I publish my predictions for the Oscar nominations the day before. This year, I’m able to publish two days before. I’ve been better this year than in previous years in being up to date on who received what accolades. The Golden Globes, Critics Choice, the various film critics circles and the respective Guild awards have been giving their nominees and some have even decided winners. Very good timing especially since the nominations are coming later in the year than expected.

Again this year, I will decide ten predictions for Best Picture nominees, five predictions for the other categories and possible upsetters that I sense could be surprise nominees. Interesting that there is a new category added this year, bringing the total back to twenty-four. The category is Best Casting. For that category, it makes you wonder who the nominees will be ? The top cast? Or the casting director?

So here are my predictions:

BEST PICTURE

  • Bugonia
  • Frankenstein
  • Hamnet
  • Jay Kelly
  • Marty Supreme
  • One Battle After Another
  • The Secret Agent
  • Sentimental Value
  • Sinners
  • Train Dreams

BEST DIRECTOR

  • Paul Thomas Anderson – One Battle After Another
  • Ryan Coogler – Sinners
  • Guillermo del Toro – Frankenstein
  • Josh Safdie – Marty Supreme
  • Chloe Zhao – Hamnet

BEST ACTOR

  • Timothee Chalamet – Marty Supreme
  • Leonardo di Caprio – One Battle After Another
  • Michael B. Jordan – Sinners
  • Wagner Moura – The Secret Agent
  • Jesse Plemons – Bugonia

BEST ACTRESS

  • Jessie Buckley – Hamnet
  • Rose Byrne – If I Had Legs I’d Kick You
  • Chase Infiniti – One Battle After Another
  • Renate Reinsve – Sentimental Value
  • Emma Stone – Bugonia

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

  • Benicio del Toro – One Battle After Another
  • Jacob Elordi – Frankenstein
  • Delroy Lindo – Sinners
  • Paul Mescal – Hamnet
  • Stellan Skarsgard – Sentimental Value

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

  • Ariana Grande – Wicked: For Good
  • Inga Ibsdotter Lilleas – Sentimental Value
  • Amy Madigan – Weapons
  • Wunmi Mosaku – Sinners
  • Teyana Taylor – One Battle After Another

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

  • Ronald Bronstein & Josh Safdie – Marty Supreme
  • Ryan Coogler – Sinners
  • Kleber Mendonca Filho – The Secret Agent
  • Eva Victor – Sorry, Baby
  • Eskil Vogt and Joachim Trier – Sentimental Value

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

  • Paul Thomas Anderson – One Battle After Another
  • Clint Bentley and Greg Kwedar – Train Dreams
  • Guillermo del Toro – Frankenstein
  • Will Tracy – Bugonia
  • Chloe Zhao and Maggie O’Farrell – Hamnet

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE

  • Arco
  • The Bad Guys 2
  • Kpop Demon Hunters
  • Little Amelie Or The Character Of Rain
  • Zootopia 2

BEST CASTING

  • Hamnet
  • Marty Supreme
  • One Battle After Another
  • Sinners
  • Wicked: For Good

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

  • Autumn Durald Arkapaw – Sinners
  • Michael Bauman – One Battle After Another
  • Darius Khondji – Marty Supreme
  • Claudio Miranda – F1: The Movie
  • Adolpho Veloso – Train Dreams

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

  • Miyako Bellizzi – Marty Supreme
  • Ruth E. Carter – Sinners
  • Kate Hawley – Frankenstein
  • Paul Tazewell – Wicked: For Good
  • Malgosia Turganska – Hamnet

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

  • 2000 Metres To Andriivka
  • Cover-Up
  • Mr. Nobody Against Putin
  • My Undesirable Friends: Part 1
  • The Perfect Neighbor

BEST FILM EDITING

  • Ronald Bronstein and Josh Safdie – Marty Supreme
  • Affonso Goncalves and Chloe Zhao – Hamnet
  • Andy Jurgenson – One Battle After Another
  • Stephen Mirrione – F1: The Movie
  • Michael P. Shawver – Sinners

BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE FILM

  • Belen – Argentina
  • It Was Just An Accident – France
  • The Secret Agent – Brazil
  • Sentimental Value – Norway
  • Sirat – Spain

BEST MAKEUP and HAIRSTYLING

  • Frankenstein
  • Marty Supreme
  • Sinners
  • The Smashing Machine
  • Wicked: For Good

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

  • Alexandre Desplat – Frankenstein
  • Ludwig Goransson – Sinners
  • Jonny Greenwood – One Battle After Another
  • Kangding Ray – Sirat
  • Max Richter – Hamnet

BEST ORIGINAL SONG

  • “Dream As One” – Avatar: Fire and Ash
  • “The Girl In The Bubble” – Wicked: For Good
  • “Golden” – KPop Demon Hunters
  • “I Lied To You” – Sinners
  • “No Place Like Home” – Wicked: For Good

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN

  • Frankenstein
  • Hamnet
  • Marty Supreme
  • Sinners
  • Wicked: For Good

BEST SOUND

  • Avatar: Fire and Ash
  • F1: The Movie
  • Frankenstein
  • One Battle After Another
  • Sinners

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

  • Avatar: Fire and Ash
  • F1: The Movie
  • Frankenstein
  • Jurassic World Rebirth
  • The Lost Bus

BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM

  • Autokar
  • Butterfly (Papillon)
  • Eiru
  • The Girl Who Cried Pearls
  • Snow Bear

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT

  • All The Empty Rooms
  • Armed Only with a Camera
  • Classroom 4
  • The Devil Is Busy
  • We Were The Scenery

BEST LIVE-ACTION SHORT

  • Ado
  • Beyond Silence
  • The Boy with White Skin
  • Extremist
  • A Friend of Dorothy

Once again, I’ll be giving my predictions for the most likely upsetters. Sometimes these award shows and their nominees will hint as to who will upset the favorites and some may come out of nowhere. So here’s my take:

BEST PICTURE

  • F1: The Movie
  • It Was Just An Accident
  • Wicked: For Good

BEST DIRECTOR

  • Jafar Panahi – It Was Just An Accident
  • Joachim Trier – Sentimental Value

BEST ACTOR

  • Joel Edgerton – Train Dreams
  • Ethan Hawke – Blue Moon

BEST ACTRESS

  • Kate Hudson – Song Sung Blue
  • Tessa Thompson – Hedda

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

  • Sean Penn – One Battle After Another
  • Adam Sandler – Jay Kelly

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

  • Odessa A’Zion – Marty Supreme
  • Elle Fanning – Sentimental Value

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

  • Zach Cregger – Weapons
  • Jafar Panahi – It Was Just An Accident

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

  • Park Chan-Wook, Lee Kyoung-Mi, Don McKellar and Lee Ja-Hye – No Other Choice
  • James Vanderbilt and Jack El-Hai – Nuremberg

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE

  • Demon Slayer: The Movie
  • Elio

BEST CASTING

  • Frankenstein
  • Sentimental Value

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

  • Dan Lautsen – Frankenstein
  • Lukasz Zal – Hamnet

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

  • Jennifer Johnson – Bugonia
  • Lindsay Hugh – Hedda

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

  • Apocalypse In The Tropics
  • Seeds

BEST FILM EDITING

  • Kirk Baxter – A House Of Dynamite
  • Evan Schiff – Frankenstein

BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE FILM

  • Left-Handed Girl – Taiwan
  • No Other Choice – South Korea

BEST MAKEUP and HAIRSTYLING

  • One Battle After Another

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

  • Daniel Lopatin – Marty Supreme
  • Hans Zimmer – F1: The Movie

BEST ORIGINAL SONG

  • “Drive” – F1: The Movie
  • “Train Dreams” – Train Dreams

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN

  • Avatar: Fire and Ash
  • The Fantastic Four: First Steps

BEST SOUND

  • Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning
  • Wicked: For Good

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

  • Sinners
  • Superman

And there you go. Those are my predictions for the nominees for the 98th Academy Awards and the possible upsetters to my main predictions. It should make for an interesting morning on Thursday the 22nd. Even with Oscar nominations, nothing is sacred.

My Predictions For The 2025 Golden Globes

Jon The Blogcentric1 Comment

Has it been five years since I last did a prediction blog of the Golden Globes? I don’t know what it was. Lack of drive? Controversy it endured at the time? Too soon in the year to publish? Whatever the situation, I got the drive back in making a prediction blog this year!

The 83rd Golden Globes are happening this Sunday at the Beverly Hilton. Nikki Glaser did such a good job of hosting last year, they brought her back this year. Understandably so as she really brought back the enjoyment after Jo Koy made a big mess of things the year before. Fifteen categories are up for grabs for film and twelve are up for television. The recent addition of the Cinematic and Box Office Achievement award two years ago really makes for something different in the film awards categories. Especially since it’s not an Oscar category.

So without further ado, here are my predictions for this year’s Golden Globe Awards:

FILM:

Best Motion Picture, Drama
Winner: Sinners
Most Likely Upsetter: Hamnet

Best Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy
Winner: One Battle After Another
Most Likely Upsetter: Marty Supreme

Best Actor in a Motion Picture, Drama
Winner: Michael B. Jordan, Sinners
Most Likely Upsetter: Wagner Moura, The Secret Agent

Best Actor in a Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy
Winner: Timothee Chalamet, Marty Supreme
Most Likely Upsetter: Leonardo DiCaprio, One Battle After Another

Best Actress in a Motion Picture, Drama
Winner: Jessie Buckley, Hamnet
Most Likely Upsetter: Renate Reinsve, Sentimental Value

Best Actress in a Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy
Winner: Rose Byrne, If I Had Legs, I’d Kick You
Most Likely Upsetter: Emma Stone, Bugonia

Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture
Winner: Benicio del Toro, One Battle After Another
Most Likely Upsetter: Jacob Elordi, Frankenstein

Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture
Winner: Amy Madigan, Weapons
Most Likely Upsetter: Teyana Taylor, One Battle After Another

Best Director
Winner: Paul Thomas Anderson, One Battle After Another
Most Likely Upsetter: Ryan Coogler, Sinners

Best Screenplay, Motion Picture
Winner: Paul Thomas Anderson, One Battle After Another
Most Likely Upsetter: Ryan Coogler, Sinners

Best Motion Picture – Non-English Language
Winner: The Secret Agent (Brazil)
Most Likely Upsetter: It was Just An Accident (France)

Best Animated Feature Film
Winner: KPop Demon Hunters
Most Likely Upsetter: Zootopia 2

Best Original Song, Motion Picture
Winner: “Golden”, KPop Demon Hunters
Most Likely Upsetter: “I Lied To You”, Sinners

Best Original Score, Motion Picture
Winner: Ludwig Goransson, Sinners
Most Likely Upsetter: Jonny Greenwood, One Battle After Another

Cinematic And Box Office Achievement
Winner: Sinners
Most Likely Upsetter: Wicked: For Good

Those who know me well enough know I will predict the winners for the television categories but not predict the most likely upsetters. So my predictions for the winners:

TELEVISION:

Best TV Movie or Miniseries: Adolescence

Best TV Series, Drama: The Pitt

Best TV Series, Comedy: The Studio

Best Performance In Stand-Up Comedy In Television: Ricky Gervais, Ricky Gervais: Mortality

Best Actor in a TV Series, Drama: Noah Wyle, The Pitt

Best Actor in a TV Series, Comedy: Seth Rogen, The Studio

Best Actress in a TV Series, Drama: Britt Lower, Severance

Best Actress in a TV Series, Comedy: Jean Smart, Hacks

Best Actor in a Miniseries or TV Movie: Stephen Graham, Adolescence

Best Actress in a Miniseries or TV Movie: Rashida Jones, Black Mirror

Best Supporting Actor on Television: Owen Cooper, Adolescence

Best Supporting Actress on Television: Hannah Einbinder, Hacks

And there you have it. Those are my predictions for the 83rd Golden Globe Awards. Sunday night should make for an entertaining start to the film awards season.

Wrap-Up Of VIFF 2025

Jon The BlogcentricLeave a comment

The 44th annual Vancouver International Film Festival concluded on Sunday, October 12th. The day before Canadian Thanksgiving. There were more facilities and with that, more films. It’s a case where the VIFF is trying to revive itself to its post-COVID state, like most major events. This year’s VIFF was very impressive in making that effort.

This year’s VIFF does not yet have their attendance figures published but you can bet with more films, attendance was up. There were huge crowds for a lot of films and galas were sold out. Films in the Showcase series also received excellent attendance and many did sell out. Films with a lot of Oscar buzz or award winners from Cannes or Venice were also big hits. One of the most noticeable details was that there were sell-outs for many Canadian films. Especially for some films made by local artist. That is another goal of VIFF to promote the films made from local filmmakers.

Set-Up and Strike Adventures

For volunteer work, this was the first year I did the Set-Up And Strike work. It was quite the experience and it could get crazy at times. My first such shift was two days before the start. It involved bringing in supplies to the Granville Island theatre and then to the theatres of the International Village. The activity wasn’t too hard of impact but the International Village had the most supplies to load in.

My second shift took place the day before opening. This involved loading a truck full of items from the VanCity theatre and taking them to both the Alliance Francaise theatre and the SFU theatre. The Alliance Francaise wasn’t too much to load out, but it was a half-hour wait to start moving again. The SFU theatre was more complicated because the garage was secured, cellphone access wasn’t around in the garage and taking things out also meant assembling tents. Assembling tents outdoors in a limited area was a headache!

My third shift took place on the final day, Sunday the 12th. It started at 9pm and it involved taking supplies from theatres we brought in. First was the Rio, then SFU and then International Village. All had complications. For the Rio, we learned the truck we were given by the rental company had a lock from the last customer and we could not get it off! We had to wait for a new truck. After we finished at the Rio, we go to SFU and find the garage door locked just after we finished loading. It was a wait to get moving again! Then the traffic and crowd of people from the Shawn Mendes concert added time for us! Then we see the garage at International Village all locked up! That was another delay in loading stuff. Unloading at the end at VanCity was the easier part and we all left in good time: quarter to midnight!

My fourth and last shift had to be the easiest. It started at noon the day after the Festival ended and it involved returning rented festival supplies to film rental companies. The first trip unloading things from the supply trucks was for Sunbelt Rentals in Burnaby. That move wasn’t too hard as VIFF has a space for their rentals. It took only 40 minutes to unload and pack it all in. Even the big tents didn’t end up as complicated as we feared. The next trip was to Sparky’s Rentals in Vancouver. Finding it was harder than unloading things as Google maps didn’t do things right. The unloading didn’t take as much time as we thought and we ended at 1:40pm; twenty minutes ahead of time!

My Film Watching

With my first two volunteer shifts completed and the last two to take place on the final day and the day after, I used my free time to see as many films as I could. I saw two on opening Thursday (the 2nd) and both were Spanish-language. Actually the very first five days, I saw two films a day and it was quite tiring. Especially since I saw them at various cinemas. I saw most at the International Village, but I also saw some in that time at the Rio, the Playhouse, the Granville Island Stage and the SFU theatre. I like doing different theatres and trying to do it all is tiring. So tiring, I decided to skip film-watching for Tuesday the 7th. Besides I had already completed my yearly major VIFF goals.

On Wednesday the 8th, I saw a shorts segment at the International Village with a friend I had not seen in a long time just for the sake of meeting up. We had a lot of catching up! The next day, I wanted to see a Canadian film at the Cinematheque but it was all sold out! With a free day on Friday the 10th, I saw one film in the morning at the IV, returned to the Cinematheque and got in this time, and ended at the Playhouse. Saturday the 11th was a case I saw my first film at the Alliance Francaise theatre and ended at the Rio. The last film I saw was in the early evening of Sunday the 12th at the Granville Island Stage. In time to do the takedown at the various theatres!

Isn’t it something how I completed all my film reviews and my wrap-up blog all before the end of October? What can I say? While I was waiting for my new job to start in the middle of the month, I used my free time to do whatever blog typing that I could. Boy did it help me get my blogs all completed faster than I expected. Anyways it makes me relax for the rest of 2025. So for those that want me to list all the films I saw during VIFF 2025, here’s my list and the links to my reviews for you listed in the order I saw them and with the film’s nation(s):

2025 VIFF Award Winners

So you’re all now wondering who the Award Winners are? All six juried award categories from last year returned. Two categories for Canadian films expanded to include Indigenous filmmakers from all over. For Audience Awards, the number of awarded categories expanded from nine to eleven. I find it something I saw four feature-length films and one short film that won awards. Here are the award winners for VIFF 2025:

JURIED AWARD WINNERS

SUMMIT Award
for outstanding narrative feature by an established Canadian or Indigenous filmmaker:
-The Things You Kill (dir. Alireza Khatami)

HORIZON Award
for outstanding first or second feature by a Canadian filmmaker:
-Blue Heron (dir. Sophy Romvari)

TIDES Award
for outstanding documentary feature by a Canadian or Indigenous filmmaker:
–The Track (dir. Ryan Sidhoo)

ARBUTUS Award
for outstanding feature film production in BC:
–Blue Heron (dir. Sophy Romvari)

SHORT FORUM Award
open to all short films in the Short Forums
-No Skate (dir. Guil Sela)

VANGUARD Award
open to all feature films in VIFF’s Vanguard section
–Wind, Talk To Me (dir. Stefan Djordjevic)

AUDIENCE AWARDS

Special Presentations
-Kokuho (dir. Sang Il-lee)

Showcase
-In The Room (dir. Brishkay Ahmed)

Panorama
-Meadowlarks (dir. Tasha Hubbard)

Vanguard
-Gazelle (dirs. Nadir Saribacak and Samy Pioneer [Selman])

Northern Lights
-Akashi (dir. Mayumi Yoshida)

Insights
-Free Leonard Peltier (dirs. Jesse Short Bull and David France)

Spectrum
-Khartoum (dirs. Anas Saeed, Rawia Alhag, Ibrahim Snoopy, Timmea Mohamed Ahmed and Phil Cox)

Portraits
-The Essence Of Eva (dirs. Alex Fegan and Malcolm Willis)

Altered States
-****toys (dir. Annapurna Sriram)

Spotlight On Korea
-3670 (dir. Park Joon-ho)

Focus
-Bad Girl (dir. Varsha Bharath)

And that does it for another year at the Vancouver Film Festival. It offered a lot more this year and I enjoyed as much as I could. We’ll see what 2026 has to offer next October.

VIFF 2025 Review: The Last One for the Road (Le città di pianura)

Jon The Blogcentric1 Comment
The Last One for the Road is a charming film of a road trip of two middle-aged friends and a young student they take along the way.

There is never a next time.

I find it quite intriguing that a film titled The Last One for the Road ended up being MY last film for my VIFF! Although I would rather have ended my VIFF with a film of a different genre in mind, I’m glad I ended with this one.

The film begins in the early-2000’s. A CEO of some company flies into a construction site. One of their veteran workers is retiring. He gives him a gold Rolex watch as a gift. Flash forward to the present. There are two fifty-something men at a bar in Veneto taking in what should be their last drink. The waitress tells them the bar is closing and they’re drinking non-alcoholic beer. Talk about a disappointment for a last drink! The two men, lifelong friends Doriano and Carlobianchi, decide to go on a trip to Venice and to a bar that serves a real beer!

They make a trip to the nearest town that will serve alcohol. They go over to a night club. It’s a country-western club. They have no problem taking in a real beer. They also notice something. There is a young male who looks unhappy. His name is Giulio, an architecture student. He has an exam on his mind and he is unhappy with how things are going for him right now. Especially after a woman he took interest in turned him down. Doriano and Carlobianchi talk to him and even offer to take him along for the ride for their ‘last drink.’ Giulio reluctantly accepts and is uncomfortable being part of this trip. Especially since he wants to return home to Mestre.

Now Doriano and Carlobianchi are a colorful bunch. Carlobianchi told Giulio the night before he holds the secret to the world. He also talks of always having one last drink because ‘it’s still yesterday for us.’ The two of them have drink after drink wherever they go. The two of them also talk about how the were construction workers who used to work on a highway in the to connect Lisbon through Treviso ending in Budapest. The two also talk about how they’re waiting for a friend named Genio whom they claim has money buried somewhere to fly in. At first, Giulio is uncomfortable with the two and can’t wait to take the train home.

Over time, Doriano and Carlobianchi are able to find temporary overnight shelters for themselves and for Giulio. They know how to create tabs and do clever talk to get it. As they go through various places, they talk about the glory times they used to have as partying young adults in the 1990’s and of their success in construction work before the 2008 financial crisis. The work they’re proudest of is the highway that links Lisbon through Treviso to Budapest. Since then, they had to swindle and scam their way into getting money whichever way they can. One job including stealing boxes of sunglasses and selling them. They even visit the house where they used to live in and come across one of the big boxes of unsold glasses. Giulio soon reluctantly warms up to the two men and starts liking them more.

Soon it becomes obvious to Giulio that this trip to anywhere will soon become a trip to somewhere. Within their talk of their ‘glory days,’ they also talk of Genio: a friend who helped them along with their scams. They mention that Genio was the lucky one as he managed to flee to Argentina before he could get caught. Genio is expected to fly in that day: the first-ever time since his ‘escape.’ Maybe Genio can give them some money. During the wait, they again make it to site after site where they either enjoy it or try to swindle something out of someone. Even a place the two used to stay at and there are still photos of them during their young days of the early 1990’s. Of course there are trips to bars for one last drink after last drink. At one bar, Doriano finds the retiree that received the watch that day. He’s at the slot machines hoping to get rich. Then they do meet up with Genio right at the airport. They pick him up and talk to him.

It’s not clear if they were able to get money out of Genio or not but it is made obvious that they now have the money. They are now able to pay some things off. Finally Giulio has his ticket for Verona. The two men help him along and see him off to his departure. Giulio tries to get a message the two men are trying to tell him but the train windows block all sound. As Giulio relaxes on the train, the two follow his train by car and give him well-wishes. Back to the regular daily life for Doriano and Carlobianchi, but just after having a cone of lemon gelato.

There have been numerous road trips films before. This is a unique story of two close broke friends who do a road trip just for the sake of taking in a drink and having a good time. When they meet a young adult who is bogged down with his cares, then it becomes a case of the trip being an actual destination and things to do. Over time, they reminisce over past memories: both good and bad. They expose secrets only they themselves know. While the young man doesn’t welcome this traveling around at first, he learns to relax and enjoy it. When he finally does board the train for Verona, it’s possible the two men left something behind with him. We hear near the beginning that Carlobianchi believes he holds the secret to the world. We never hear him tell the secret but I guess it may be in this story, Giulio’s time with these two men help him witness this secret for himself. That could be it that Giulio just sees or experiences the secret instead of hears it.

I don’t know if it’s been done before but it makes for a good story that feels more like an experience than a story. What also makes this story is that Doriano and Carlobianchi are not your typical pathetic slobbering drunks They’re drunks that are charming and they know how to get the best of life, no matter how dour it is for them. The likeability of the two is what makes this story not only watchable, but enjoyable as well. They also hint to things that are not made clear. Like is it possible the two are also secret boyfriends? Hey, a bit of mystery is an added perk to the story.

One thing you’ll notice as you watch is that the set places and towns they visit add to the atmosphere of the story. This being a road trip story, the film does a great job in telling its story around the locations and scenery of the region. The area of Northern Italy is on display from its old buildings to the Venetian coast to the landscape. The addition of the geography is another addition to the atmosphere of the film. Places that are part of the moments of the past that are significant to the two protagonists’ lives add to the story. Even some of the more run-down buildings look add to the story being played out.

If there’s one flaw about this film, it’s that you’re often left wondering what the point of the story is. You have two men who go from town after town for last drink after last drink, bring a young student along for the ride, pick up a colleague at an airport and go from place to place reminiscing of old times. The story can get confusing but it does reach an understandable ending as the two men see Guilio off at the train station and even follow his train. The middle may be disjointed but the beginning and end made the point of the film better to understand.

This is a great film for writer/director Francesco Sossai. Four years ago at VIFF 2021, he won the Vanguard Jury prize for his film Other Cannibals (Altri Cannibali). That film helped pave the way for Sossai to become assistant director for Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning. This film is different than his other major films. The trip of two men wanting last drink after last drink and bring a young stranger along the way makes for a warm charming story. This film also gives a certain feel that will remind you of many of the more beloved Italian films of the past. I noticed that as I was watching and I sensed that’s what Sossai was aiming for. This film has been nominated for Un Certain Regard at Cannes and for the CineCoPro award at the Munich Film Festival.

The two leads, Sergio Romano and Pierpaolo Capovilla, have a great chemistry as two lifelong friends whom you will sense are lovers. The two of them and their ability to see the ability to celebrate the joys of life and laugh off the negative as they have drink after drink made the movie a joy to watch. They will succeed in making you like them. Filippo Scotti is also great as young Giulio. His performance was very believable as the young shy student who’s cynical of the zest for life of the two, but warms up later on. He made a great addition to the story. The cinematography of Massimiliano Kuveiller is another standout achievement. Showing off the places of the visit with great angles adds to the atmosphere of the film.

The Last One for the Road is more than just a road trip film. It’s about two men going through the good times and the bad times and the young stranger half their age they befriend. Although it may get confusing at times, it makes for a charming relaxing story.

And there you have it! That’s the last of the films of the Vancouver International Film Festival I have to review. My wrap-up blog is coming soon.