Awards

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 BlogcentricLeave a 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.

My Predictions For The 2024 Academy Awards

Jon The BlogcentricLeave a comment

The 97th Academy Awards will be taking place on Sunday, March 2nd, as it was originally set. With the wildfires that happened in the Los Angeles area at the beginning of January, it was decided to scale the show back a bit. The information about how scaled back the show will be is not complete. The two things you will notice are the earlier start time of 16:00 PST and also only a half-hour Red Carpet show on ABC. One thing that has been recently made public is that there will not be performances of the nominated songs. Conan O’Brien has been hired to host the ceremonies but he said the focus of the show is to ‘be humble’ and not focus on all the glitz and glamor of Hollywood at a time like this. Additionally, the firefighters and those that made the efforts to fight the fires will be honored.

The show must go on. And with that come my predictions. This year, I saw enough films to make up 99 of this year’s nominations. Again, better than most actual Academy members. So without further ado, here are my predictions to win and even some Should Win picks:

BEST PICTURE

Once again, I’d like to thank Olly Gibbs for doing yet another great poster for the Best Picture nominees. This year’s Best Picture nominees make up a total of 70 of the 120 nominations this year. I won’t get too much into the nitty gritty of the nominations. A lot of films that you didn’t think would be contenders for Best Picture have ended up nominees and one or two movies that were heavy favorites to win Best Picture have seen their buzz fade over time. A very interesting Oscar year indeed! Without further ado, here is my look at this year’s Best Picture contenders.

Anora– If you told me a movie about a stripper would be one of the best films of 2024, I would have never believed you. The thing is it’s more about the story. It’s a story of a stripper who craves love deep down inside and thinks she has it, until she learns who she really married. It’s a mix of comedy and drama. It’s a mix of bizarre situations, ironies and heartbreak. It’s also of a surprise ending that will leave one asking questions. It’s because of this that I label this film my Will Win pick.

The Brutalist– One thing about many of this year’s nominees is about many of the shocking moments in the story. This is a story of chasing the American Dream that is more harrowing and way uglier than your typical story. It’s also an excellently crafted film as the first film goes into Laszlo’s pursuit of success before his wife Erzsebet arrives, the 30-minute intermission, and then the second half that feels like a different movie. In terms of a film put together with all factors — acting, directing, writing and additional factors like set design, music and cinematography — I feel this is the best of them all and I give this my Should Win pick as well as the pick for the Most Likely Upsetter.

A Complete Unknown– A lot of us like musicographies. The Oscars have loved musicographies too from Coal Miner’s Daughter to Ray to Walk The Line to Bohemian Rhapsody. To make the musicography, the film not only has to have a dead-on portrayal of the musician but also must be full of their music. This film succeeds in doing that. With Timothee Chalamet, we don’t get a cartoonish imitation of Bob Dylan. We get one that’s three dimensional and shows us aspects of Bob Dylan we never knew. It’s worthy of a Best Picture win but can’t compete with the more favored contenders.

Conclave– I know that when I did my review, I mentioned I was unhappy with the way cardinals were depicted and how the election of a pope was depicted. And this is coming as rumors that the current pope is dying after each update on his health. Despite that, I feel it is a story that is well pieced together and told well. The acting has a lot of standout performances. Although there are two other films that I feel have better chances for Best Picture, don’t rule out the possibility of Conclave pulling an upset.

Dune: Part Two– Of all the science-fiction films of 2024, it’s Dune: Part Two that’s the best of the year. This is the film that best delivers in drama, adventure and special effects. And to think it came out in March instead of the summer! Despite that, I am not optimistic of its chances of winning Best Picture. All of the other nominations for this film are in the technical categories and it will hurt its chances of winning Best Picture.

Emilia Perez– This film started out with the biggest Oscar buzz. Thirteen nominations. Leader of the year. Since then, this film has had the biggest backlash of all films. First came from critics and audiences saying this is not all that great of a film. Second is the trans community complaining of how it gives a negative depiction of them. Third is people from Mexico who are unhappy how Mexico is depicted as a paradise for crime. Fourth came from social media posts from star Karla Sofia Gascon from as far back as five years ago which are racist and Islamophobic. I have never seen a film loaded with this much Oscar buzz take that big of a nosedive. As for my opinion, it’s not terrible. It’s just different, experimental and it’s something most people won’t understand.

I’m Still Here– When the Oscar nominations were announced, it looked like Emilia Perez was the foreign film of the year. Over time, I’m Still Here became the foreign film of the year, and rightly so. It has an important story of a Brazilian woman who should be regarded as an international symbol of strength. The thing about the film is that it’s not just a biographical film of Eunice Paivas. It also shows her as a mother who was still determined to keep her family together despite the difficulties. It also makes for a deserving Best Picture winner, but there are meatier films with better chances this year.

Nickel Boys– For those who are familiar with the stories about the Dozier School For Boys, this is a story that needs to be told. The film succeeds in making a story about a school that was abusive to boys watchable and even being a story of hope. The unfortunate thing for this film is the screenplay is the only other nomination for this film. A lack of nominations in other categories will hurt its chances of winning.

The Substance– I’m sure most of us want to see a horror film get nominated for Best Picture. It’s very rare that one does. Some people say The Silence Of The Lambs is the first and only to win Best Picture but I consider Silence to be more of a drama or a thriller than horror. The Substance is definitely a horror movie and very different from your common horror movie, but it does deliver in scares, blood and gore. As good of a horror movie it is, I think the Academy will be too stuck up to make a horror film a winner.

Wicked– Definitely the musical of the year. It entertained big crowds and also delivered some of the best film moments of the year. A lot of great acting from Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande and Jonathan Bailey. It succeeds in being entertaining and delivering in the mesmerizing magic. Despite that, I feel that other films have better chances of winning the Best Picture Oscar. Also many times, musicals may get Best Picture nominations and acting nominations, but they often get denied directing and writing nominations, and this film is no exception.

BEST DIRECTOR

Should Win and Will Win: Brady Corbet – The Brutalist

Most of the main categories for the Oscars are harder to predict than usual. Same in the Best Director category. At the beginning of the year, Brady Corbet for The Brutalist looked to be the best bet but recently Sean Baker from Anora has won some major directing awards. The two movies are complete polar opposites so it’s hard to compare the two. I think Brady Corbet will hang on and win.

BEST ACTOR

Should Win and Will Win: Adrien Brody – The Brutalist

Usually this category is one of the most decisive. Often there is one performance you know will take it. This year, it’s been a big question if it will be Timothee Chalamet in A Complete Unknown or Adrien Brody in The Brutalist. Both are set in the past. One is of a popular figure while another is of a fictional person. For those that saw The Brutalist, Laszlo Toth never existed but he is based upon two great Hungarian pioneer architects: Marcel Breuer and Emo Goldfinger. It’s Brody’s intense portrayal of a troubled man chasing the American Dream and getting greatly hurt in the process that’s why I feel he should win.

BEST ACTRESS

Should Win and Will Win: Mikey Madison – Anora

Another category that’s harder to decide this year. So far this year, the biggest talk has been Demi Moore in The Substance. She’s won a lot of awards. Lately Mikey Madison in her performance in Anora has been catching a lot of attention. The crazy thing is that both performances are in films that would not normally be considered Oscar bait! One is the story of a New York stripper who falls for an immature son of a billionaire. The other is a horror movie about an actress willing to use an insane substance to create a new self to get her life back. I think Mikey Madison will pull an upset here.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Should Win and Will Win: Kieran Culkin – A Real Pain

Now this year is unique that both of the most favored performances in the supporting acting categories have enough screen time to be considered a lead performance. If you’ve seen A Real Pain, you will notice Kieran Culkin was in just about every scene with lead Jesse Eisenberg. Nevertheless it is a performance worthy of winning as his character Benji Kaplan stole the movie. And for an actor that’s been acting since he was eight; back in 1990’s Home Alone as Fuller McAllister. Finally it’s his time.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Should Win and Will Win: Zoe Saldana – Emilia Perez

Another supporting performance that has as much screen time as the lead, Zoe is deserving of the win. Playing the role of the lawyer caught in the middle of the drama is what does it for her. And this is far from an ordinary story so for her to maintain the level of sanity in this story and to also have her own singing and dancing numbers in the film adds to how complex this role is. For a long time, Zoe has been a major force in Hollywood and now’s her chance to win the Oscar.

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

Should Win: Clint Bentley and Greg Kwedar – Sing Sing
Will Win: Peter Straughan – Conclave

I was impressed with Sing Sing when I saw it in August. Despite that, I feel that the script for Conclave will take it. It looks more like the type of Oscar-friendly script.

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

Should Win: Jesse Eisenberg – A Real Pain
Will Win: Sean Baker – Anora

This year, I feel like some of the best scripts are those that are off the common path. Both Anora and A Real Pain are great stories. I was most impressed with Jesse Eisenberg taking his chance at writing and directing. Nevertheless Sean Baker’s script for Anora was excellent because of how it made the story unpredictable. So it’s understandable why it’s the favorite to win.

ADDITIONAL CATEGORIES:

Usually it’s the technical categories that are the ones that are the hardest to predict the winners. This time, the major categories appear to be the ones that could deliver the biggest surprises and shockers. Nevertheless they’re still worth predicting. Once again, there will be only a few categories where you’ll see a Should Win prediction from me. Only if I feel confident enough.

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE

Should Win: Flow
Will Win: The Wild Robot

Last year, I saw all five nominees. This year. I only had the drive to see two. For those that have read my blogs, you may remember how I became all excited after I saw Flow. It is quite something of a film. My excitement grew with each awards win it received, and I was very happy when it won the Golden Globe. Recently The Wild Robot has been gaining ground and winning award shows. In the battle of robot vs. cat, I think the robot will take it.

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

Will Win: Lol Crawley – The Brutalist

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

Will Win: Paul Tazewell – Wicked

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

Will Win: No Other Land

BEST FILM EDITING

Will Win: Nick Emerson – Conclave

BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE FILM

Will Win: I’m Still Here (Brazil)

BEST MAKEUP and HAIRSTYLING

Will Win: The Substance

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

Should Win: Kris Bowers – The Wild Robot
Will Win: Daniel Blumberg – The Brutalist

BEST ORIGINAL SONG

Will Win: “El Mal” – Emilia Perez

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN

Will Win: Judy Becker – The Brutalist

BEST SOUND

Will Win: Dune: Part Two

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

Will Win: Dune: Part Two

BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM

Click here for reviews and predictions in this category.

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT

Click here for reviews and predictions in this category.

BEST LIVE-ACTION SHORT FILM

Click here for reviews and predictions in this category.

JUST ONE MORE – MOST LIKELY OSCAR UPSETTERS

This year looks like there will be a lot of shockers and possibly most likely the closest decisions in years. Especially among the major categories. Nevertheless for this section, I will only limit myself to seven potential shockers for Sunday night:

  • Sean Baker winning Best Director for Anora.
  • Timothee Chalamet winning Best Actor for A Complete Unknown.
  • Demi Moore winning Best Actress for The Substance.
  • RaMell Ross and Joslyn Barnes winning Best Adapted Screenplay for Nickel Boys.
  • Jarin Blaschke winning Best Cinematography for Nosferatu.
  • Sean Baker winning Best Film Editing for Anora.
  • Emilia Perez winning Best International Feature Film.

And there you have it! Those are my predictions for the 97th Academy Awards. Some may think an awards like these aren’t to be held at a time like this, but film unites us and reminds us to keep being strong.

Movie Review: The Wild Robot

Jon The Blogcentric1 Comment

This year is one Oscar year where predicting the Best Animated Feature winner will be difficult. One of the favorites is The Wild Robot. Does it have what it takes to win?

The film begins in a remote forest land on an uninhabited island unblemished by human intervention. The coast soon becomes an unintentional wash-up ground for Universal Dynamic’s ROZZUM robots coming from a capsized ship. Only one robot, Unit 7134, survives and running wildlife activate it. It’s obvious the robot has no place on the island as it can’t interact properly with animals. The robot is intended to be a customer service robot with a female voice. Nothing the robot does helps any of the animals and the animals respond in a hostile manner, chasing 7134. Upon falling from running away, 7134 crushed a mother goose to death and all but one of the nest eggs on its landing. The lone egg that was unharmed hatches the baby gosling. 7134 takes a fascination in it. Plus 7134 is programmed to continue with whatever mission she’s given until completion. She puts the egg inside her chest.

7134 finds a memory card in herself to make her communicate with animals better and inserts it. Soon after, she encounters Fink: a sly hungry fox who knows of the egg and wants to eat it. 7134 is able to prevent the theft. Soon the egg hatches and a male gosling is born and imprints himself on 7134. 7134 now has a mission to raise the gosling to adulthood, but how? 7134 first finds guidance from a mother opossum who’s currently mothering six babies. Fink returns but instead of eating the gosling, he makes a deal with 7134 to help raise the feller for a shelter in return. 7134 agrees and creates a hut for them all to live. In the naming of the gosling, 7134 gives the gosling number-names which annoys Fink. Fink gives 7134 naming tutelage and the gosling is given the name ‘Brightbill.’ 7134 even gets a new name of her own: Roz.

Over the months, Brightbill grows, albeit awkwardly. While the other goslings are goose-like and grow as naturally as geese do, Brightbill acts more like Roz than a goose. The other teen goslings taunt him for his awkwardness. Then one day, another flop day of goose training for Brightbill, one of the peers tells Brightbill that Roz killed his mother. It’s there Brightbill turns against Roz.  Even though Roz still wants to mother Brightbill, a ROZZUM unit she reconstructs tells her to return to Universal Dynamics. Roz is determined to reconcile with Brightbill and raise him. That sends a signal back to Universal Dynamics. Meanwhile Roz finds the right bird to teach Brightbill how to fly: a falcon named Thunderbolt. With help from goose master Longneck, Thuynderbolt succeeds in making Brightbill able to fly in time for migration.

The migration is not what it seems. The birds encounter a thunderstorm as they fly in San Francisco. They hope the greenhouse from Universal Dynamics they spot in San Francisco is the temporary shelter they need, but the Universal Dynamics technology detects the birds as contaminant and a multitude of reconnaissance, or RECO, robots that look exactly like Roz go shooting at the birds. The island which has the hibernating animals goes through a severe snowstorm and they fear they will freeze to death. Roz and Fink build a shelter for all animals but demand a truce of all of them not to harm each other.

As spring returns, Brightbill and the geese return, Roz repowers herself and the animals are free to roam the island. Unfortunately, Universal Dynamics has sent a robot to retrieve Roz named VONTRA and she’s troublesome, reckless and remorseless. VONTRA is not even afraid to start a forest fire on the island to get Roz. It’s then the animals group together to rescue Roz and battle VONTRA as their land is burning in a bright red fire. I won’t spoil the ending but the film then ends not with the battle but the aftermath, reminding us of the bond between Roz, Brightbill and all the animals.

This film is based upon the 2016 children’s novel The Wild Robot by Peter Brown. The story itself is a story about togetherness. In many ways, children who watch this film can learn about the importance of getting along and actually coming as one. If animals who attack eat other or treat each other as prey can get along, so can other kids. Same way as a robot, who has no qualities to bond with animals, learns to have those qualities and does bond. Even raise a baby gosling to goose. The film also has other themes too of the environment and how development threatens animal’s habitats. Even the threat of having technology run things and make decisions with no human feelings is another thematic element of the story. At the beginning, I didn’t think Roz would be of any help to the animals of the island. Just an interference that acts on her own programmed logic to do only the things she’s programmed to do. A change of things changes everything and Roz becomes an unlikely hero.

The film’s quality is in its story. It plays the story well. The animals act like animals and Roz acts with her programmed logic. Over time we see the story develop. Roz goes from being an interference on the island to becoming a big help. Fink goes from a sly conniver to being a big help to the animals too. Brightbill also goes from being a robot-like gosling to the goose he was meant to be. It succeeds in making moments you think won’t develop properly develop into the way it was meant to be. At the same time, the film also adds in the other threats like how robots are sent to the island as Roz is not doing her commanded duties and VONTRA threatens to get her even at the cost of the island’s destruction. Unexpected moments like these and the film ending in the manner you didn’t expect add to the story. Also since this film is an adaptation of the first book of a Wild Robot trilogy of books, it also sets up well for the sequel that will be adapted from The Wild Robot Escapes novel. The box office results of this film have opened the door for the development of a sequel, but filming details and release date have not yet been confirmed.

The biggest credit should go to director/writer Chris Sanders. Sanders has over 40 years of experience in animation having first worked as a scriptwriter for the Muppet Babies cartoons and then becoming story writer for five of Disney’s films in the 1990’s during the ‘Disney Renaissance.’ He then broke out into directing with 2002’s Lilo and Stitch which is the first film he directed, co-directing with Dean De Blois. Since then, he moved onto Dreamworks Animation and has co-directed How To Train Your Dragon with de Blois, The Croods with Kirk DeMicco and his first solo project The Call Of The Wild. In this film, he succeeds in delivering an excellent story mixed with dazzling effects. He does a great job in making a film that can easily make Disney and even Pixar jealous!

Also great voice acting from Lupita Nyong’o. She knows how to make Roz the unfeeling robot at times she needs to be and help her develop into having feelings. Kit Connor also does a great job in playing Brightbill from his awkwardness to his anger. Pedro Pascal is excellent as the sly Fink. Stephanie Hsu is also great as the villainous VONTRA. Actually the mix of vocal talent is great throughout the film. Adding to the film is the musical score by Kris Bowers and the work from the film’s sound team and the visual effects team.

In the Oscar category of Best Animated Feature, this film has been in a tight battle against Flow. To think, its biggest rival is an independent film from Latvia! In this category, Flow has won the National Board of Review award, the Golden Globe, and the Online Film Critics Society Award. The Wild Robot has won the Critics Choice Award and the Producers Guild Award in this category. At the Annie Awards for animated films, it achieved ten nominations in nine categories including Best Animated Feature and it won in all nine!

The Wild Robot delivers in what one would commonly expect in an animated film. Although it’s more oriented for children than it is for adults, the parents will have no problem being entertained by the story. Don’t be surprised if it wins the Oscar on Sunday!

Oscars 2024 Short Films Review: Documentary

Jon The Blogcentric1 Comment

You’re not done with watching the short films until you’ve seen the documentaries. Many of this year’s mix of nominees are of dark subject matter and are bound to spark discussion. There are two lighter documentaries based on the theme of music. Anyways, here are my thoughts on the nominees for Best Documentary Short Film:

Death By Numbers (dir. Kim A. Snyder) -The film focuses on Samantha Fuentes: poet, writer, school shooting survivor. She was a student at Parkland High School when on February 14, 2018, she was shot by shooter Nikolas Cruz. She was lucky to not be one of the 17 killed but she was among the 17 injured. Through her writings and her conversations with people, we hear her express her fears and her feelings as events involving this happen in 2022. There’s the trial for the sentencing, there’s the day of the verdict and there’s the day of the victim’s testimonies. As each event is approaching and each event passes, we see and hear Sam express her many feelings.

This is something you don’t often hear. This is the story of a person injured in school shooting, survived it, and has to face her attacker in court. The Parkland High School shooting has the highest fatality rate of all school shootings in the United States. The film shows the audience Samantha’s style of writing as she goes through her feelings before the testimony. They’re feelings of hurt, anger, sorrow, frustration, hatred for the shooter and her fears of the future. Her memories are haunting as she goes back to the day when she expected it to be another Valentine’s Day to seeing her attacker in the face before she was shot to remembering seeing two dead classmates. Then the moment where she finally breaks her silence. The film keeps you in the intensity of it all. That’s why I make this my Should Win pick.

I Am Ready, Warden (dir. Smriti Mundhra) – This is a chronological film focusing on the looming execution of John Henry Ramirez for the 2004 murder of Corpus Christi gas station attendant Pablo Castro. The film begins six days before the execution. John knows he’s about to die, but is relaxed about it. Also part of the film is Adam Castro, the son of the man John murdered in 2004, Jan Trujillo, a church leader who dealt with John during the last few years, Seth Kreutzer, the lawyer who’s trying to make a last-minute attempt to stop his execution, and 16 year-old son Israel Ramirez.

The film goes through the various feelings of the people involved. Six days before the execution is expected, Adam wants his death sentence carried out, Jan wants his to be spared and Israel wants him to live. Three days before the execution, Jan has her petition to Governor Abbott ready and Seth has his case ready to submit while Adam is still insistent on the death penalty. Then the day of the execution. John gives Israel one last phone call. Israel is in tears. Jan and her group show up along with Seth at the chamber. Adam listens into the broadcast. He’s waited for this day but when he hears John is dead, he doesn’t know if he should be happy or not. He’s in tears. The funeral for John happens. Then in an epilogue, we see Adam listen to the recorded apology from John made the day he was executed. Adam is left with mixed feelings but in the end, he accepts his apology.

It is a story of an upcoming execution. One of eighteen executions that occurred in the United States in 2022. This film could start a discussion about capital punishment. Beyond that, this film is a unique story because it starts with six days before the scheduled date. We learn of the crime John committed, how he fled to Mexico immediately, his eventual capture, trial and sentence. We see opinions from the sides of many people: the son of the man killed, the minister of the church John was counseled through while in prison, and the lawyer and advocates aiming for one last chance to stop his execution. We then see them again with three days to go and hear their feelings. Then the day of the execution. We learn John had a son. The son Izzy is introduced into the story. And then feelings after the execution. It’s unique not just for the very many angles of opinion we see and hear about John, but we learn of John himself and how he doesn’t fit the common terrible image of a death row inmate. In many ways the film could be seen as the redemption of Ramirez. It’s for you to decide. That’s why I decide this film is my WILL WIN pick.

Incident (dir. Bill Morrison) – The film starts with images of a zoom from Google maps to a street corner of Chicago on July 14, 2018. Soon, we see a police shooting happening. The man shot is Harith ‘Snoop’ Augustus who works at a nearby barbershop. The film then shows various angles of the aftermath from various police body cameras to surveillance footage. The film then goes back fifteen minutes earlier. It was a calm street corner, but there’s a high police presence as a heated trial involving a police brutality incident is awaiting its verdict. The film tells about Illinois’ various laws involving concealed carry and points out the five officers at the corner at the time. Two were probationary. Then we see the altercation that occurred and the actions of the officers. It’s filled with footage from both the ambulances, the angry onlookers and the officers who took the shooters away. The film ends with one more angle to view the shooting and if Snoop did attempt to pull a gun, as the two officers claimed he did.

Without a doubt, the story is about the corruption of the police force. The film does show the hidden racism of the officers as they think an African-American man is about to pull a gun on them. Snoop had a valid card to conceal. The film also shows their impulsiveness and incompetence as the two officers closest to snoop failed to turn their body cameras on. It also shows their irresponsibility as they try and make up excuses and defend what they did. As we learn the officers only got a slap on the wrist as punishment, the film also focuses on the problem of the protectiveness of the police: the ‘Blue Shield’ as it’s commonly called. It appears the point of the while film is to expose the truth and the problem. Watching the footage, you can form your own opinion about the incident with Snoop. Whatever opinion it is, you can agree Snoop did not deserve to die.

Instruments Of A Beating Heart (dir. Ema Ryan Yamazaki) – The film focuses on Ayame. She is a six year-old girl about to move on to the second grade. As part of the welcoming of the new first graders, there’s an opportunity to give them a musical greeting. The students greet them by playing Ode To Joy. Ayame wants to be part of it. She loses out on playing the drum but she wins playing the cymbals. Over the days, they have the rehearsal. Ayame is the one musician who is the most off. The music teacher verbally scolds her for not practicing. Ayame cried and loses confidence that she can have it right in time. Her teacher believes in her and the classmates are willing to help. In the end, all the students including Ayame deliver a great performance.

The film tells the uninterrupted, unnarrated story of a young six year-old girl simply trying to play the cymbal for the upcoming show. As we see the story, we learn a lot more. We also see schooling in Japan. We see it’s not just about teaching the children reading and math and, in this case, music. We also see them teach a set of values. We see them teach competition, but still befriend your rivals. We see them teach the importance of one learning what they need, but of others teaming up to help the other. We see a teacher shame Ayame for not practicing but also reminding her that she is able to do it. Even with the lunch break, we see the school placing importance on nutrition. As you watch the film, you’ll see it’s more than just a little girl playing the cymbal. It’s about moulding the young into being people for others as much as promoting achieving for one’s self.

The Only Girl In The Orchestra (dir. Molly O’Brien) -This film is a look at Orin O’Brien as she is approaching her retirement from the New York Philharmonic Orchestra for 55 years. A double bass player, Orin is a history maker. She is the first female musician with the New York Philharmonic. Most of the men did not like the idea of a female musician but conductor Leonard Bernstein loved her playing. The film goes through her childhood being the daughter of Hollywood actors, her pursuit of the double bass in her younger years, her joining the orchestra and years of performing, her teaching career, and her retirement from the orchestra. The film goes shows a lot like her teaching other students, her appearance at various events, the living conditions that cause her to move and the difficulties of having to give away her older basses.

After you see many a short documentary with a heavy topic, you will find this film a welcome relief. Finally something that’s not heavy and is a nice introspective. This film is actually directed by her niece Molly. The film takes into the out-of-the-ordinary life of Orin from the daughter of Hollywood actors to holding her own as a musician and conquering the sexism of the time. The film shows her career and her teaching with younger students as she passes on her knowledge to the next generation. The film shows as she retires from the New York Philharmonic and has difficulty deciding what to do after that. In some ways, the film is not just an intimate autobiography, but it’s also a portrait of a musician and their love for music. It’s possible this film could be the Most Likely Upsetter receiving votes from voters that prefer lighter fare.

And there you have it. That’s my review of the films in the category of Best Documentary Short Subject. That completes my reviewing of the short films nominated for the Oscars. If you want to check them out yourself, just go to shorts.tv .

Oscars 2024 Short Films Review: Animation

Jon The Blogcentric1 Comment

Normally each year when they show the reel of the nominated films for Best Animated Short Film, there’s normally enough time in the reel to include one or two films that made the shortlist. This year’s crop of nominees are so long, their combined time length is enough to make for the whole reel! Makes sense. Each film does tell an awful lot in their time. It may be humorous or it may be serious. They all do a great job. Here’s my look at this year’s nominees for Best Animated Short Film:

Beautiful Men (dir. Nicolas Keppens) – Three brothers from Belgium are in a trip to Turkey where all go to get hair transplant operations. One brother Steven finds out at the office only one operation is booked as he forgot to book for all three. He doesn’t know how to tell his other brothers. As time passes, Steven’s insecurities are present and Bart is concerned about a lump in his testicles. The secret does unfold as Steven admits to brother Koen that he only booked one appointment and offers him to be the one since he has lost the most hair. Bart hears it from a sauna and angrily demands that he be the one. A stroke of misfortune, a hotel fire the night before the operation, ends up being the good luck they needed as two men in the hotel that were hospitalized for burns were to have the surgery and leaves open two spots for the other two brothers to take.

This stop-motion animated film deals with the dark them of male insecurities as the three brothers getting the operations are also approaching middle-age. It’s mid-life crisis mixed with the feeling of trying to live up to a masculine standard that set the theme for the story of the brothers and the wait for the surgery. It is true that women face more social pressure, but men aren’t immune either. This is a surprising deep story as the images tell a lot of the moods of depression and tension. That’s why I pick this film as the Most Likely Upsetter for the Oscar.

In The Shadow Of The Cypress (dirs. Shirin Sohani and Hossein Molayemi) – In Iran, a father who is going through PTSD decides to leave the house in a rage. His teenage daughter confronts him, but he hits her. They are unable to reconcile until they notice a whale has beached up and someone has to lead it back to the sea. Each effort they try fails. As the father returns to use his old dilapidated ship, images bring back the painful memories. It reminds him of the night of the storm and the bombing of the ship by the enemy air force that night that killed his wife. It’s then that the father attempts to use his ship to get the whale back to the ocean. It’s in the end result that the two are able to reconcile.

Of the three stories, this is the one with the saddest subject matter. Nevertheless this is a very good story. It uses colors and images to tell a story of heartbreak, of loss and eventual healing. With no dailogue, it sends a message anyone can understand and it tells it well of feelings of failure, hurt and anger. The father’s worst enemy is himself and in the end, it is the daughter and that whale who are the ones who can heal him and make amends.

Magic Candies (dir. Daisuke Nishio) – A lonely boy named Dong Dong goes to a store to get candies. what he gets are some odd-shaped candies the seller calls ‘magic candies.’ The boy first shrugs it off but as he eats the first at home, he notices the couch speaking to him and telling him things. The couch stops talking as the candy melts away. The second candy has his dog talking to him, who stopped playing with Dong Dong as he grew over the years, but still loves him. The third candy gets Dong Dong’s strict father to pay attention to him and get him to understand him better, especially since his mother’s passing. The fourth piece is bubblegum as it helps Dong Dong communicate with his late grandmother and she reassures him she’s happy in the afterlife. The fifth piece allows Ding Dong to communicate with the fallen leaves on the street. The last piece is flavorless and allows him to make a new friend.

This is another charming stop-motion story. There are three stop-motion films nominated in this category this year. This is a charming story of a child whose odd-looking candies are just what he needs to help overcome his shyness and loneliness. By looking at the shapes of the candies, it’s a clue that they’re out to help resolve issues and help Dong Dong overcome his difficulties. It’s a nice story as it is fun to watch. It has a nice mix of comedy and drama. It’s both humorous and touching at the same time.

Wander To Wonder (dir. Nina Gantz) – The story begins with the opening of a 1980’s children’s show called Wander To Wonder which is hosted by creator Uncle Gilly and consists of tiny characters named Mary, Billybud and Fumbleton. Fast forward to the present and we see that Uncle Gilly has died suddenly in his home. The three characters struggle to survive and seek a new normalcy. Mary wants to think the show is still happening and carries on as if she thinks it is, Fumbleton uses his spare time reciting Shakespeare monologues and Billybud plays around with the props. Within time, they run out of food and don’t know what to do, then a fire happens and burns everything, then a potential bird attack. It’s after Fumbleton saves them that they decide to venture out to a life outside the former home.

The third of the three stop-motion films nominated, this is a funny charming story. It’s a story that will surprise you on how something like this can get dark and serious with the creator dead and the little ones trying to save their lives. It makes for an unexpected story and an unexpected drama but in the end, it lead to a happy ending, but not without a disturbing climax. It’s funny and poignant too. This film won the BAFTA for the best British animated short film and the Annie award in the short film category. That’s why I make it my WILL WIN pick.

Yuck! (dir. Loic Espuche) – It’s summertime in France. Leo is out camping with his two siblings and good friend Lucie. They go spying in on all the people at the campground and as they watch any two kiss, they are all disgusted. You can tell by the desire to kiss as their lips glow. They go from place to place seeing the kissing, or attempts to kiss, and they’re disgusted by it all, but Leo takes a fascination with it. One day, he and his friend Lucie are all alone. It’s evident Leo and Lucie have feelings for each other and want to kiss. They go to a place where they hope to be alone. As they’re about to kiss, two friends barge in. They’re disgusted. They start taunting Leo and Lucie. Even calling Leo a pervert. However one night, it’s clear that Leo and Lucie don’t have to let it bother them and…

This is a cute two-dimensional story that will bring anyone back to the days of childhood innocence. We’ve all had that situation of a child’s first feelings of love. We also remember how we were disgusted with kissing when we were kids. This story captures that essence and makes us laugh at those days again. Also, the use of the color pink to symbolize feelings of love, especially in the lips, and the musical score of the film both add to the charm of the story. I can’t help but call it a guilt-free guilty pleasure. That’s why I give this film my Should Win pick.

And there you have it. That’s my look at the five films nominated in the Best Animated Short Film category. Interesting how none of the nominated films for this year are in the 3D computer animation format. Must be the first year in a long time. Better luck next year.

Oscars 2024 Short Films Review: Live-Action

Jon The Blogcentric1 Comment

With the Oscar nominations come the annual showing of the nominated short films. Once again, I had the luck of seeing the short films nominated for this year’s Academy Awards. Only one is an American-made film. The rest are from multiple countries. Here’s my review of the films nominated for Best Live-Action Short Film for 2024:

A Lien (dirs. Davit Cutler-Kreutz and Sam Cutler-Kreutz) – The story begins with a family, Oscar, Sophia and their daughter Nina, arriving early for an overseas trip. The trip is for all of them to get their passports. Since there are separate interviews per adult, Nina is with Oscar. Sophia has no problem getting her passport but problems are with Oscar. Turns out his appointment is a set-up with an ICE agent. They know Oscar is illegal and is getting ready to deport Oscar and possibly Nina. Things become of huge concern to Sophia as she doesn’t know why Oscar’s passport is taking so long until she finds out what’s happening.

The story is definitely on the topic of illegal immigrants and ICE cracking down. It’s a big topic as the Trump administration returns to the White House and promises the biggest deportations in US history. The focus here is on the tactic of set-up appointments where they are able to trick the alleged illegal into their trap. Even with the topic, this story presents itself in a heat-of-the-moment crisis situation where the audience fears for the worst as Sophie fears for the worst. Also seeing how Nina could be deported along with Oscar, it will make one think about what’s happening. It makes one think more harm will come from this than good. That’s why I pick this film as my Should Win pick and my WILL WIN pick.

Anuja (dir. Adam J. Graves) – Anuja is a nine year-old girl in Delhi who is a victim of child labor. She and her older sister Palak are both orphaned and they work as sewers at a garment factory to pay their rent. One day, their boss Mr. Verma calls Anuja to the office as a local schoolteacher, Mr. Mishra, has been impressed with Anuja. Mr. Mishra offers her to take an entrance exam to attend a boarding school with paid scholarship, but Mr. Verma wants to keep her for his labor. Palak lets Anuja in on a secret. Palak has made bags out of scraps to see so she can get married but she’s willing to sell them for Anuja for the *400 fee for the exam. Palak wants Anuja to seize this way out. There comes a problem. The morning of the exam will happen soon and Mr. Verma is so impressed with Anuja’s math skills, he wants her there every morning or else she or Palak will be fired. In the end, Anuja makes a crucial decision the day of the exam.

This story is a good story about child labor. The topic of child labor is an uncomfortable one since they’re too young, overworked, underpaid and they miss out on benefits like a good education. This story is one that shows of the hope of a way out, but not without the menacing boss threatening her. Even you yourself will be concerned of what Anuja’s next move will be. The story ends in an ambiguous way as it lets the audience decide for themselves what Anuja’s choice is. It takes you to the heat of that moment in both the classroom, the sweatshop’s office and where Anuja is. A smart way of ending the film.

I’m Not A Robot (dis. Victoria Warmerdam) – The film begins at a music office. One of the workers, a producer named Lara, receives an alert to restart her laptop. The update gives her CAPTCHA code after CAPTCHA code to verify her authenticity. Frustrated how the CAPTCHAs are never ending, she calls tech support, but they give her the news it’s confirmed she’s a robot. A different test consisting of many personal questions confirms she’s 87% likely to be a robot. She consults her boyfriend Daniel about this. The talk between her and Daniel is interfering with an important meeting at her record label since even he can’t confirm she’s not a robot. Even a new worker at work named Pam, but she makes things worse by telling her she’s a robot created by Daniel five years ago to be his girlfriend. It gets to the point there’s only one last thing to do. Even as she meets up with Daniel on the top level of a parkade, she’s told she’s unable to end her life. Will a suicide jump from that parkade confirm if she’s human or a bot?

Of all the nominated films in this category, this is the only comedy. This takes us into a scenario of “What if?” What if there really was a living breathing bot of a human being and they didn’t know it? What if they learned they were a bot even from their loved one? It plays around with that idea. It takes us into the moment and it gets us laughing as each situation gets weirder and weirder. It’s a good laugh break and a good film in itself too.

The Last Ranger (dir. Cindy Lee) – Khuselwa is a ranger at a game reserve in South Africa. She works alongside her fellow ranger Robert to preserve the wildlife and protect from poachers. It is during the COVID pandemic and Robert tells her they’re running out of funds and may have to cease operations, but Khuselwa refuses to stop as her job is her passion.

One day, she sees her young friend Litha walking as she is to sell her father’s carvings. She offers her a ride in the humvee and shows her the animals, including the two rhinos she adores. Both of them notice poachers attempting to go after their horns for sale on the black market. Khuselwa goes to arrest while Litha videotapes. After one of the poachers saws of the horn of a rhino, It becomes a shootout between Khuselwa and the poachers that leave her mortally wounded. After the battle, Litha learns that one of the poachers is her father. Litha is infuriated but her father begs forgiveness. As years pass, Litha is now a ranger with Robert.

This is a story worth telling as it’s of an illegal operation that is still happening now. Poaching of endangered wild animals in Africa as riches for their bodies, hides and body parts are offered. This tells of the story of a common poaching incident but it also tells of bonds between friends, father and daughter and a bond of ranger to animals. There are some rangers who are willing to give their lives for the well-being of animals. Khuselwa was one of those and she’s passed on her values and passion to Litha as she died that day. This makes for an informative story about animal protection as it’s also a good coming of age story of the girl.

The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent (dir. Nebojsa Slijepcevic) – The film begins on a train trip from Belgrade, Serbia to Bar, Montenegro in 1993 in what is still Yugoslavia and during some of the most intense days of the Balkan Wars. A man named Dragan is with four other people of various ages in the same train car. The train trip is stopped suddenly as the White Eagles army have come to inspect the train and will drag out any ‘suspicious’ passengers. One person in the car, the teenager Milan, tells Dragan he has no documentation. Dragan assures him no one in the car will hurt him. As a commander enters the car, Dragan unsuccessfully tries to rebuff him and has to watch as all passengers are inspected. With no papers, Milan is ordered out of the car until Tomo, a Croat army veteran, stops the commander and questions his authority. In turn, it’s Tomo taken off the train to be questioned while Milan is able to return to his seat. Dragan watches as Tomo is led off.

This is a story that reminds us of the Balkan war, a war that deserves not to be forgotten. The story is an example of the brutality and of the ethnic cleaning attempts that happened in the various areas. It’s also a story of goodwill as a Croat army veteran is willing to allow himself to be sacrificed so that the teenager without documents is allowed to live. All through the witnessing of one man who was just simply a passenger. It’s a story that tells a lot. This film won the short film Palme d’Or at Cannes and is the film I feel will be the Most Likely Upsetter.

And there you go. That’s my look at the films nominated in the category of Best Live-Action Short Film. I will be having one blog per category for the short films reviews so animation will be next.

Oscars 2024 Best Picture Reviews: Part Five

Jon The Blogcentric1 Comment

All this writing does get tiring after awhile. Despite it, I have no problem blogging my thoughts on the Best Picture nominees. So here’s my fifth and last blog on the nominees:

The Substance

If you were to have a debate on the one genre of film that the Oscars seems to neglect the most, I’ll bet horror will come out on top. Only seven horror films have been good enough to get nominated for Best Picture. The Substance becomes the latest. Actually it was also a nominee for the Palme d’Or at Cannes. It tells the story of movie star Elisabeth Sparkle whose career has ended and feels a certain substance recommended from a doctor can do that very trick. It gives her another person coming out of her: Sue. The other person is half her age and the two are to switch lives every seven days. Problem is the other person is getting all the benefits her life used to have, like her old job back and attracting rich men. Sue also starts violating the directions of the medicines and using Elisabeth more and more. As New Year’s is coming and Sue is expected to be the star of the New Year’s Eve special, mayhem erupts. I can’t describe any more of the bizarreness without delivering a spoiler or two.

What makes this horror film better than most horror films is that it has a common theme. The theme is of the ageism and sexism women face in showbusiness from managers dealing with show’s ratings to stakeholders who expect to win to crowds who expect a picture-perfect princess and will throw her away when they get bored  with her, replacing her with a new next big thing. That is very evident throughout the film as we hear what her boss Harvey says, of what casting directors say and of what the crowd expects. The thing is Elisabeth takes her rejection badly because we soon learn her stardom is the only thing in her life. She has nothing else. She feels if she takes this substance, she can get her life back. Problem is she gets another life. Instead of it being a case like the two are one, as instructed from that substance, one vies for control of the other and it’s reduced to hate between the two. I gotta say carrying on a habit of one is active one week while the other is active the next week, that would be something hard to keep up without error. There’s bound to be a slip-up and boy will it be messy.

Now I know most of you will say you’ve seen all sorts of horror movies and that you’ve been shocked by this stuff before. I guarantee you that you will be either shocked or surprised. You have a feeling that this switching of bodies will have a ness-up sooner or later but I’m sure the mess-up you thought would happen didn’t or went a different way. Even that New Year’s Eve show, you probably expected it to wreak some sort of havoc, but I’ll bet it’s not the havoc you expected to happen. It also seems the New Year’s Eve show incident with all its goriness is a case of Elisabeth getting revenge with those who threw her away. The story has a lot of common elements you have seen in past horror movies but it succeeds in having many an unpredictable or unexpected moment. That’s what makes this horror film special. The shocks and gory scenes you anticipated but didn’t expect it to play out the way you thought it would. Even the ending, which I will not spoil at all, plays itself out in unexpected fashion.

Top accolades have to go to director/writer Coralie Fargeat. Upon Fargeat’s nomination, the 2020’s five female nominations in the Best Director category equal the total of all previous years combined. This is actually the second feature-length film Fargeat has directed. Here, Fargeat succeeds in delivering a thriller of a horror film that says a lot about its theme and has many of the silent scenes do a lot of talking of the story. Fargeat proves that women can do horror films! And a gory bloodbath of one to boot!

Making the film work is Demi Moore. She does an excellent job of playing an insecure movie star whose career is her life and takes a medicine that could end up being the death of her. Her character switch to the tormented monster of herself was also incredible. It would not surprise me if she wins the Oscar. Also great is Margaret Qualley for playing Sue who’s supposed to be one with Elisabeth but her new-found fame prevents her and starts using Elisabeth, only to pay in the end. Also great is Dennis Quaid. His performance as Harvey the manager is cartoonish, but Fargeat wants it that way for the vibe of the movie. He did a great job in being both comical and hateable at the same time. For the technical achievements, there’s Benjamin Kracun and his cinematography which adds to the storytelling, make-up artist Pierre-Olivier Persin delivering the right makeup for the right gory scenes, the visual effects team for the insane special effects and Raffertie for the perfect techno score for the film.

The Substance is just the horror film you need. It’s a way better story than most horror films you’ve seen and it will deliver the unexpected. I guarantee you.

Wicked: Part One

This movie is bound to attract two standout audiences: those that liked the musical in its theatrical run and those Wizard Of Oz fans that are intrigued of a prequel. It’s interesting how The Wizard Of Oz story has enchanted people for over a century. To have a prequel-like story of how the witch and Glinda met in school is bound to catch people’s intrigue. Even ask questions. Like was the witch’s name really Elphaba? Even the character who would become the wicked witch of the east would have a name: Nessarose. Was high school just as bad in Oz as it is in real life? You mean the witch didn’t really start as evil? You mean Glinda’s real name is Galinda? How was Glinda able to befriend the witch? It really has you thinking. It will even have you thinking about the Wizard Of Oz too. Since the musical has been popular for twenty years, I feel the film adaptation came out at the right time. It does make one wonder why the film is billed as Wicked: Part One and if a Part Two is needed instead of the whole musical in one film.

In watching part one, it begins with the people of Oz celebrating the witch’s death and Glinda given a hero’s welcome. Then the revelation of the secret that Glinda knew the witch in high school. That’s where Glinda tells her story. Throughout the story, we learn how the witch was born the black sheep, or in this case green sheep, of the family while her younger sister was seen as a princess. Even the wheelchair didn’t harm Nessarose’s princess image. When high school begins, Elphaba gets singled out and nobody wants to befriend. As Glinda unintentionally becomes Elphaba’s roommate, Glinda becomes a positive influence on Elphaba and helps her find her true self, use her intelligence to be a force for good, and ultimately bring down the corruption happening in Oz. The film ends with Elphaba singing about her turn to fly and it sets up for a ‘To Be Continued’ ending.

Although this film is just a part one of a musical, the film itself is a good story of the popular girl befriending the misfit girl and bringing out the best in her. It’s also a good nerd-to-queen story for Elphaba. Even having the ability popular boy Fiyero. Near the end where we learn of how Oz is imprisoning animals and Elphaba learns of the corruption going on from the Wizard, it’s there where she learns to take a stand for what she believes in and her rebellious side comes out of her shell. It’s right at the end she flies off and celebrates her personal identity and her new-found confidence in herself as Glinda supports her on. As a film itself instead of a Part One, it works as a story about finding one’s confidence, learning to embrace being different and make your best qualities winning qualities. As a musical, it’s entertaining and colorful from start to finish. It may not have the same vibe as the classic Wizard Of Oz but it will entertain you.

And there’s the film as the Wizard Of Oz prequel. Many of us who have seen or read The Wizard Of Oz but never seen Wicked onstage, like myself, will know how it all turned out. The sister is killed by Dorothy’s house, Glinda makes Dorothy a hero, the witch (who doesn’t have the name Elphaba) wants revenge on Dorothy and to get her sister’s ruby slippers, chases Dorothy down her trip to Oz and threatens her and her friends along the way, and is killed by a splash of water. If you have not seen the musical like I have, the film will get you thinking how did Elphaba become evil? Did Nessarose also become evil? If Elphaba and Glinda befriended each other in high school, how did they have their eventual falling out? This film succeeds in getting us to anticipate it all in the ‘prequel sequel’ which is expected in Winter 2025 and will be titled Wicked: For Good.

This is a great accomplishment for director Jon M. Chu. In the last fifteen years, the films he has directed have been a wide range like dance films like the two Step Up sequels, action film G.I. Joe: Retaliation, music film Jem And The Holograms and romantic comedy Crazy Rich Asians. Here he tries his luck with a Broadway musical with the screenplay adapted by Winnie Holzman and Dana Fox. He succeeds greatly in making it entertaining for audiences to watch and for making for a dazzling story. It’s not an easy task to adapt a musical to the screen but he does it very well.

Top credit goes to Cynthia Erivo for playing Elphaba. Cynthia has established herself as a triple-threat in entertainment and one of the biggest rising talents around. Here, she does it again as she not only captures the role well but is also able to play young convincingly and sing excellently. This should add to her achievements. Also great is Ariana Grande. Although I’m not a fan of her or her music, she appeared to be the best choice to play Glinda in this movie adaptation. She is very good at capturing Glinda’s princess side, sings the songs very well, and plays the part excellently as well. Also great is newcomer Jonathan Bailey. Although he doesn’t stand out as much as Elphaba or Glinda, he does a great job of playing popular rebel Fiyero and makes his singing and dancing look effortless. The supporting performances of Michelle Yeoh as Madame Morrible and Jeff Goldblum as the Wizard, added to the film despite the small amount of screen time.

You can’t give accolades to Wicked if you don’t include the top technical qualities. There’s the editing work of Myron Kerstein which makes the film work right. There’s the costuming from Paul Tazewell which goes beyond what one would expect to being costumes and outfits you’d see in Oz. There’s also the makeup and hairstyling team that makes for the dazzling hairstyles, the original score from John Powell and Stephen Schwartz that blends in excellently with the songs and the visual effects team that does a great job in bringing back the magic of Oz, and then some.

Wicked is a great adaptation of a musical that will dazzle many a crowd. Whether you’re a fan of musicals, or a fan of Wicked, a fan of The Wizard Of Oz or even a fan of the stars, you will enjoy it.

And there you have it! This is my last blog of reviews of the Best Picture contenders for the 2024 Academy Awards. My blogs where I review the nominated short films are coming soon.

Oscars 2024 Best Picture Reviews: Part Four

Jon The Blogcentric1 Comment

The thing about the Oscars is that each year, there are Best Picture nominees for films of subject matter that most people would normally not want to see. In some cases, films of unwatchable subject matter end up Best Picture nominees. A lot of these unwatchable things are based on people or events that actually happened, like these two films. For these next two films, I wouldn’t say they’re unwatchable but they do treat on dark subject matter. They’re far from the topics or themes that would draw crowds. Some scenes many would find too disturbing to watch. All I can say is you be your own judge:

I’m Still Here (Ainda Estou Aqui )

When one thinks of a Brazilian film, one would think of a film that may have scenes of the carnival, the festivities or the beaches. I’m Still Here is a very different film as it presents a dark side of Brazil’s history that they’re still troubled by today. Even the angle from which the film tells its story is unique. We have heard of people kidnapped during political regimes but we rarely hear about how it affects families. It’s through Eunice Paiva that we see how sometimes being married to an enemy to a regime could lead one to being imprisoned. Through Paiva we also see her as she struggles to keep her family together, struggles hiding the truth from her youngest children, struggles with her relationship with her youngest daughter and struggle to get the answers she needs of what happened to her husband. Eunice’s story of being the wife of a kidnapped man really tells a lot. It also shows how it would shape her to be the social justice warrior she became.

The film begins with a beach trip with the Paiva family. Everyone has fun, they all pose together for a photo and Marcelo found a stray dog they can make their own. It’s after that when everything changes. Soon the interrogation of Rubens, Eunice and their daughter, Eunice’s days of imprisonment and the years of aftermath not knowing whether her husband will return alive or if she will be kidnapped again. Then the long wait hoping Reubens will return and the fear of spies outside her door hoping to get her and imprison her again. It’s after the dog Pimpao is run over by the spies’ car that she lashes out at them and she’s had enough. Soon, her desire to leave Rio and start a new life for her and her family in Sao Paulo. The film moves forward to 1996 where Eunice has become a social justice advocate in Brazil, which had returned to democracy in 1989. She shows the death certificate of her husband she achieved. Her family has changed. Especially son Marcelo who became a successful author, despite being confined to a wheelchair. The film ends in 2014, years before Eunice would die of symptoms of Alzheimers. She is connected to a news story about the abductions and the continued pursuit of justice before a family photo.

Looking at it, the film is as much about family unity as it is about injustice in Brazil. Eunice had the nice orderly happy family life before the political abductions happened but that all changed after the imprisonment of the three. Trying to hide the truth of what happened to her father and deal with her older daughters’ knowledge of what happened is not an easy task. Trying to get the answers to what happened to her husband during a political regime that refuses to do so and trying to raise a family is a hard task. That’s one thing we rarely think about. We hear of political abductions in the news but we hardly ever hear of how families cope and try to keep themselves together. It’s through Eunice we see a personal strength we often ignore. You can understand why the family photo at the end of the film was so important. She succeeded in keeping the family ties together as much as she succeeded in achieving justice. The effect on children is also noticed in the film as her daughters fear the worst and are frequently arguing with Eunice. They’re the children with the most truth of what happened. Also the scene in 1996 when Marcelo and Maria, the two youngest, ask each other when they knew their father died, even as Eunice tried to hide the truth.

This is an excellent work from director Walter Salles. He’s one of the most acclaimed Brazilian directors with films like Central Station, The Motorcycle Diaries, Paris je t’aime and the adaptation of On The Road. This film is an excellent accomplishment of telling a dark story and making it a personal story. Even having it end on a positive note is an achievement. With the script written by Murilo Hauser and Heitor Lorega adapted from the novel written by Eunice’s son Marcelo, he takes the story and makes it relatable even though most of us will never experience something this terrible. He makes us connect with Eunice Paiva’s story and tells it so most of us who don’t know Brazil’s history know of the amazing woman Eunice Paiva was.

Making the film work is actress Fernanda Torres. She succeeds in telling Eunice’s story and makes us feel for Eunice and hope for the best. She did a great job, as did her mother Fernanda Montenegro who plays the dying Eunice at the end. Selton Mello was also great as the husband who still tries to live his life daily knowing he could be a political target any minute and eventually becomes one. The cinematography by Adrian Teijido added to the telling of Eunice’s story.

I’m Still Here is both the retelling of a dark era of Brazil’s history and the personal strength that came out of a kidnapped politician’s wife. It’s a sad story, but positive and hopeful.

Nickel Boys

Let’s face it. A film about a reform school that is infamous for its racism, physical and sexual abuse, and even murder of minors will not make one want to watch it. In fact, Nickel Academy is the pseudonym for the now-closed Dozier School For Boys in Florida where graves of those killed were discovered and survivors are now receiving their justice. Those that have learned of the ugly news of Dozier of recent years will want to avoid seeing Nickel Boys, but it does give people reason to see it.

When it comes down to it, what happened at Dozier School should serve as something that should never happen again. What happened there needs to be told, but how? How can you make a place of abuse and murder watchable? RaMell Ross succeeds in doing it with the character of Elwood Curtis. The film flashes frequently in between Elwood’s time at the school to the adult Elwood who just learns of the truths unraveled in 2003 as he’s a successful businessman with a stable relationship. The film tells Elwood’s story as it starts before Martin Luther King’s civil rights movement and Florida still having Jim Crow laws. The film shows how as we fast forward 40 years later, Elwood is overcome with hurt and trauma as the secrets are unraveled with the finding of mass graves. In the flashback, we see Elwood bond with one of the boys named Turner he’s with and the two plan an escape while Elwood documents all that has happened in a diary. The escape fails for Elwood as he’s shot dead while Turner succeeds in escaping around the time of the Civil Rights Movement. In the flash forward, Turner adopted Elwood’s name to thank him for all he taught him.

Elwood and Turner are fictional characters, but they could be representative of any of the boys at Dozier School. It’s through Elwood’s and Turner’s friendship at Nickel that we’re shown of the corruption, abuse of various kinds and the murders that happened there. Through Nickel Academy, Dozier School was as much about racism as it was about abuse. White students got better facilities and a better education while the black students got bad facilities, a bad education, the most hazardous jobs, and even harmful punishments like the sweatbox. African American students got it harder and their death rate at the school was way bigger than that of white students. Even black students who didn’t do what the white superintendent says, like fix a boxing match, could be executed and the superintendent would never get arrested. You can understand why the story has Turner’s escape around the time of the Civil Rights Movement. It would be the beginning of the end for Nickel/Dozier.

This is a great work from RaMell Ross. The story he directs is based upon a 2019 novel of the same title that is the telling of that fictional friendship. The story he co-adapts with Joslyn Barnes is very good and very revealing. He succeeds in making a film about the abuse that is watchable and gets one to think. It’s a reminder of the ghosts of the past and how even if we do well in the present, it will come back to haunt us. Even as the guilty people are slowly brought to justice, we’re reminded it can’t erase the hurt and trauma. He does a good job in making it as much a story about two friends as it is about exposing the truth. Excellent work. Also great is the acting of Ethan Herisse and Brandon Wilson. Their performance as the friends caught in the drama did as much storytelling about the place as it did about them. Daveed Diggs is also very good as the adult Elwood who tries to hide his hurts of the past, but they eventually come out. Also great is the performance of Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor playing the grandmother who is hoping for the best for Elwood and tries with every chance and opportunity, only for every white ‘helper’ to fail her. Her mix of optimism and heartbreak adds to the story.

Nickel Boys succeeds in making what could be a film of unwatchable subject matter be watchable. The mix of a story of a friendship around a school with a notorious past exposes truths of the school while maintaining a sense of hope.

And that does it for now. That’s my review of the latest two Best Picture nominees of review. The last two will be coming very shortly.

Oscars 2024 Best Picture Reviews: Part Three

Jon The Blogcentric1 Comment

At first I intended for my Best Picture blogs to be three in total. When it became clear how much writing I did for the first two films, I decided dividing them into blogs of two reviews each is more worth it.  So in the meantime, here’s the third of my five Best Picture review blogs:

Dune: Part Two

The reboot of the Dune series has been so far the biggest movie action of the 2020’s. The re-adaptation of the Frank Herbert novel was a highly anticipated event in 2021 and hoped to get people back into the movie theatres after the relaxing of the strictest COVID precautions in history. It worked. Dune made over $400 million at the box office, was nominated for ten Academy Awards and won six. It was like what David Lynch got wrong, Denis Villeneuve got right. Originally, Villeneuve planned to divide the story into two films. This is what led to Dune: Part Two to be made.

The second Dune film continues with the drama left behind from the first. The second makes the stories of the dehumanizing Water Of Life, the installation of the young sadistic nephew of Arrakis as the ruler and heir to House Harkonnen, Paul’s romance interest to soldier Chani, the threat of holy war from Fremen fundamentalists, a spice trade at risk of smugglers, Paul’s consumption of the Water Of Life much to the disappointment of Chani, his dealing with his mother, his duel to battle the throne of the Harkonnen kingdom, his ascendancy to the role of king upon winning and the rejection of all as leader, including Chani. The drama continues, the excitement and thrills increase and the ending leaves the audience in suspense and the anticipation of what will follow in the sequel Dune: Messiah, set for release in the spring or summer of 2026.

Every year, there seems to be at least one ‘popcorn movie’ that seems to rack up enough buzz to eventually become a Best Picture nominee. Not only did Dune: Part Two get nominated for Best Picture, but the Dune franchise joins the Godfather, Lord Of The Rings, Going My Way and the Avatar franchise as the only five movie franchises to have two or more of its films nominated for Best Picture. It’s deserving of it because it succeeds in doing what a science fiction film should do. It takes people into another world. It creates an intense complex drama of the threat of the order of humanity and how it rests in the hands of one young man. It delivers in the action people go to expect form a film like Dune. On top of it, it succeeds in being the opposite of your typical movie sequel that ends up being a repeat of the first. Instead, we get a continuation of the chronologic drama and ends with the anticipation of the third and final part. Deserving of its Best Picture nomionation. And to think it was released back in March 2024. Talk about endurance!

Once again, top respect goes to Denis Villeneuve. You can trust Villeneuve to deliver in a sci-fi film. Both in his direction and his co-adaptation of the story with Jon Spaihts, he continues the excitement of the story well by keeping in the right parts, delivering on the action needed and making the smart decision to make his adaptation of Dune a three-film series instead of the two-film series he originally hoped for. He did things right and in winning fashion. Like most sci-fi films, the story is more focused on the special effects and action moments, but the film doesn’t stray away from its focus on the story and the characters. It is still there and still consistent. Even though Timothy Chalamet’s performance as Paul wasn’t too deep of a role, it is still consistent to the story and very believable. Zendaya’s performance as Chani added to the story. In the first Dune movie, Chani was a minor supporting role. Here, she’s the lead female protagonist and Zendaya does an excellent job in making her a key part of this chapter. There were also good performances of minor roles like Josh Brolin as Paul’s trainee and mentor, Rebecca Ferguson as Paul’s mother with whom Paul harbors resentment, Austin Butler as Paul’s fierce deadly rival to the throne and Christopher Walken as the emperor.

As is common with great science fiction films, the standout achievements are in the technical areas. You need it for a sci-fi film to excel and Dune: Part Two had some of the best of the year. Its top achievements are in the cinematography by Greig Fraser, the production design by Patrice Vermette and Shane Viau, the costuming by Jacqueline West, the editing by Joe Walker, the special effects by the film’s effects team, and the music from Hans Zimmer. All of it was successful in taking the audience into Dune’s futuristic world and enhancing the film’s action.

Dune: Part Two succeeds in keeping alive the drama, intensity and excitement of the first film and sets the audience up for anticipation of the third and final chapter. It succeeds in having the best qualities of a sci-fi film without the common watering down or cheapening of the quality.

Emilia Perez

Now this film has been the subject of a lot of discussion, for better or for worse. In watching it, one would be shocked how a musical is made out of subject matter that would be the last themes and elements thought of as subject matter for a musical. Nevertheless, the mix of a musical with modern-day dark drama works as a film from start to finish. Despite that, this film is not for everybody. If you’re a person who welcomes experimentation in film like I do, then you will like it or respect it as a film. If you want to be entertained, that’s taking chances as a lot of people will be unhappy with a film like this. Trust me. A transsexual druglord and all the corruption in Mexico and the missing people that come with it does not make for an entertaining film. Making a musical out of it would seem quite the oddity.

From the start, it looked like the type of film that would get a lot of Oscar buzz. It had great acting, an eyebrow-raising story and quite the unconventional way of making a film. The film would achieve thirteen Oscar nominations and then the hate began. First, there are the complaints from the transsexual communities complaining of the transsexual character being a murderous drug lord before the operation. Then came complaints from the people of Mexico of how Mexico was depicted as a place of rabid crime. Additionally, it came to light past social media messages from Karla Sofia Gascon. Exposed in her messages were tweets that were Islamophobic, racist and even critical of her own co-stars. This only came to light just after all the nominations were revealed. I know there’s always at least one Best Picture contender that starts a load of controversy. Best Picture nominees often start some controversy or debate but there’s always one that stands out the most. This will have to be the biggest of the ten.

I’m not normally one to trash a film unless it’s really horrendous or really terrible either in quality or in its subject matter. While the film is definitely one of uncomfortable subject matter, I do give it credit for its experimentation. We should know that this film is originally a stage opera created by Jacques Audiard who adapted it from a chapter in a French book Ecoute. I will give Audiard credit for trying to make a musical out of out-of-the-ordinary subject matter. Watching it will make you question if the musical elements of the film work or not but there are many parts that stand out as great and will even blow you away. Don’t forget this isn’t a story about a transition from man to woman. It’s also a transition of personality going from leader of a drug cartel to a humanitarian. Also I feel the acting in the story works well. It’s the acting from the three main stars of the film that help make the film work on the screen and work as an unexpected musical. The funny thing is after you’ve finished watching, you will ask yourself if you liked it or not. Or if this worked or not. Despite its imperfections, I consider it a brave attempt.

Responsible for this film is French director Jacques Audiard. Audiard has had a decades-long reputation as a filmmaker in France and has directed many films outside the French language. This film, which was a Palme d’Or nominee at Cannes 2024, should be seen as an accomplishment in retrospect. A flawed accomplishment, a provocative accomplishment but an accomplishment nevertheless. It’s not just this being an unlikely musical but also adapting a stage opera to the big screen. As if adapting a musical isn’t hard enough. Despite its flaws, I give Audiard credit for that.

Also excellent is the performance of lead Karla Sofia Gascon. A transsexual woman herself, Gascon does a great job in both the male role of Manitas and the female role of Emilia Perez. It’s two different conflicting personalities of the same character and it needed to be done well, and Gascon succeeds in doing it. Also excellent is Zoe Saldana as the lawyer caught in the middle of it all. When watching the film, you wonder if the lead is Emilia or if the lead is Rita Castro. Zoe does a great job in making the film as much hers as it is Emilia’s. Selena Gomez’ performance was not all there. Nevertheless she did have some great moments and was believable in most scenes. Adriana Paz is also great in playing Emilia’s lover. I give top technical acclaim to Paul Guilhaume in the cinematography, the hair and makeup team for the convincing work on the pre-transition Manitas, and the collaboration of Clement Ducol and Camille on the standout music.

Emilia Perez is not everyone’s cup of tea. It gives a lot of reasons for you to hate it and a lot of reasons for you to like it. I consider it a film for myself to like and admire, despite its obvious flaws.

And there you go. This is my look at two more contenders for the Best Picture Oscar. With ten films, boy do you get a lot of different films.