Failed Oscar Campaigns: "Joker" (2019)

Scene from Joker (2019)

As awards seasons pick up, so do the campaigns to make your film have the best chances at the Best Picture race. However, like a drunken stupor, sometimes these efforts come off as trying too hard and leave behind a trailer of ridiculous flamboyance. Join me on every other Saturday for a highlight of the failed campaigns that make this season as much about prestige as it does about train wrecks. Come for the Harvey Weinstein comments and stay for the history. It's going to be a fun time as I explore cinema's rich history of attempting to matter.

Failed Oscar Campaigns: "The Irishman" (2019)

Scene from The Irishman (2019)

As awards seasons pick up, so do the campaigns to make your film have the best chances at the Best Picture race. However, like a drunken stupor, sometimes these efforts come off as trying too hard and leave behind a trailer of ridiculous flamboyance. Join me on every other Saturday for a highlight of the failed campaigns that make this season as much about prestige as it does about train wrecks. Come for the Harvey Weinstein comments and stay for the history. It's going to be a fun time as I explore cinema's rich history of attempting to matter.

How Peggy Reveals the Brilliance of "The Irishman" Script

Scene from The Irishman (2019)

The greatness of director Martin Scorsese's towering gangster epic The Irishman can be summarized with one performance: Peggy Sheeran. It may not seem like it given that she has considerably less screen time than most characters in Frank Sheeran's (Robert De Niro) life, but the way that writer Steven Zaillian uses her describes something key in the film's overall tragedy. Yes, one can use the crackling dialogue rich with acidic humor and bursts of violence that distract from Frank ever learning a lesson, but that isn't anything new for a Scorsese movie. No, there has to be something there that serves as the piece of Frank that got away, unable to ever be obtained even as he murders for the sake of building a reputation among the local mob. The performances are rich with personality, but one has to wonder what they mean in the long run. Why doesn't Frank's story end when the last of them have said goodbye? It's because their respect was easy to get. His family was a different matter.

"The Irishman" Proves Netflix Isn't Kidding Around This Oscar Season with 26.4 Million Views in the First Week

Scene from The Irishman (2019)

By all accounts, Netflix has been crushing it this awards season. This past week saw the streaming service dominate the Golden Globe nominations with major nominations for Dolemite is My Name, The Two Popes, Marriage Story, and the Martin Scorsese-directed epic The Irishman. All of the films look like their on track to dominate awards season and possibly lead the Oscars. That's not only the critics talking. According to data released by chief Ted Sarandon, The Irishman is a big success because of the availability on Netflix. With a reported 26.4 million households seeing the film in the first week and a potential 48 million projected for the first month, it's a number that looks to prove why Scorsese and Netflix were smart to collaborate on this 3.5-hour film. It may have made the film a bigger hit than a conventional release strategy.

Review: "The Irishman" is the Great Gangster Movie to End All Gangster Movies

Scene from The Irishman (2019)

With The Irishman, director Martin Scorsese has made the gangster movie to end all gangster movies. He has made a career of exploring the criminals who have gotten rich off of shady deals and violent discourse, leaving behind nothing but misery for everyone else. After pushing limits with films like Mean Streets, Goodfellas and The Wolf of Wall Street, he has taken on the elder statesman role in 2019 to discuss how a life of crime may seem rewarding at first but inevitably ends in a sadness that can't be escaped. As much as the 3.5-hour running time feels at times taxing, drawing out small moments that feel interminable, the result is to create an epic about a man learning to realize his own flaws only to realize that they come too late. It's a story about loyalty and aging in the ways that only Scorsese can get away with. While the results are less flashy than his aforementioned masterpieces, this is the final chapter in a cautionary tale that has defined his work from the beginning. With a cast of incredible actors at the top of their game, The Irishman may be overlong, but it's all in an attempt to cheat death. It's horrifying and immersive, leaving the audience with a powerful gut punch that is too bittersweet to forget.

Netflix Launches Website for Where You Can See "The Irishman"

Scene from The Irishman (2019)

For many Oscar fans last year, nothing was more debated than where you could actually see Roma. Given that Netflix maintains a fraught relationship with most major theater chains, it continues to loom large as a problem impacting their current plan to do slow rollouts for several of their Fall 2019 films. Among them is the hotly anticipated Martin Scorsese epic The Irishman, which has gained acclaim as one of the director's finest movies. But, where could you possibly see a film released by the Oscar-winning filmmaker? Up until now, the answer would be to do the familiar hard work of Googling or going to Fandango to find answers. Thanks to Netflix, there's an even easier option out there now.

Review: "Joker" Says a Lot About the World's Troubles, But Does Less With It

Scene from Joker

With last year's Black Panther earning a Best Picture nomination, the idea of the superhero film has become something more prestigious. Suddenly every Avengers movie has an aura around it, thinking that the genre is about to evolve into something new and rich, enhancing the potential of cinema by leaps and bounds. While director Todd Phillips' Joker is far from the first "dark" comic book movie, it's the first since The Dark Knight to chase acting awards for its star Joaquin Phoenix, an enigmatic actor if there ever was one. With a brutally earned R-Rating, the film shot onto the scene and escorted controversy into every theater. It's a film rich with complicated thoughts, where there's plenty to discuss even if you hate the film. It's a serious film after all. The best of cinema brings out big emotions.

Joker is a film that wants to capitalize the I in Importance, suggesting something that is apparent about the modern era. In a world where mass shootings happen weekly, there is a need to discuss controversial topics in a way that advances the discourse. It's what should make this film one of the most biting, exciting films of the decade. Instead, it feels like Phillips' first dramatic film is too insecure to dive deeper into the character. Everything is surface-level, coddling the audience through major scenes by stating Arthur Fleck's (Phoenix) internal grief so bluntly. There's plenty that it says, but what it does is far less effective, only surviving by the unnerving laugh that Phoenix brings to his character. Phillips knows his references, citing everything from Martin Scorsese to Charles Chaplin to Stephen Sondheim to Jerry Lewis. But what does all of this bring to the bigger picture? At most, it brings forth a conversation that isn't entirely eloquent in the film. It may be enough to make it one of the most staggering superhero movies ever to be released by a major studio, but that doesn't mean it's a success.

The New "Joker" Trailer is Ready for Its Close-Up

Scene from The Joker (2019)

On the heels of 2018's Black Panther, this Oscar season can't help but include another comic book movie in the conversation. While technically Avengers: Endgame is still being discussed, most prognosticators are awaiting the first screenings from Venice Film Festival of director Todd Phillips' The Joker, which is being pushed as a surprise contender. At this moment, it's an exciting alternative, if just because it finds Joaquin Phoenix finally joining the superhero genre after over a decade of provocative and memorable arthouse roles. What could he possibly bring to the role that is worthy of this much praise? As the final trailer would suggest, he is probably the only thing worth remembering in this marketing.

"The Irishman" Trailer Sets Scorsese Up for Oscar Potential

Scene from The Irishman (2019)

There have been few obvious Oscar campaigns quite like director Martin Scorsese's The Irishman. It was so anticipated that a teaser played during the commercials for the actual ceremony. However, this is the first time that audiences will be privy to what lied in one of the most exciting pairings of the year. Not only is it the return of Scorsese with Robert de Niro, but it also features Goodfellas actor Joe Pesci and his first with Al Pacino. It's a dynamite group that could sell the film without a single piece of marketing. Thankfully, the trailer that premiered lived up to the expectations, taking audiences back to the world of Scorsese gangster films for the first time since The Departed in 2006. If nothing else, it looks to be one of the best excuses to subscribe to Netflix yet.

Why "The King of Comedy" Made Us Reevaluate Jerry Lewis as an Actor

Scene from The King of Comedy

It's a premise that movies have done to death. The idea of making a comedian play a "serious role," or against type, has the potential to reach surreal levels that reflects the pain underneath their comedy. Actors like Jim Carrey and Robin Williams would get plenty of credit for it later on. However, there were few whose performances are on par with Jerry Lewis' role in director Martin Scorsese's 1982 satire The King of Comedy. Lewis may have been playing a comedian as the Johnny Carson-esque Jerry Langford, but he's the film's dramatic core, of which separates audiences from the deranged Rupert Pupkin (Robert De Niro), who tries to get on his show. Over the course of the film, Lewis gives a performance that doesn't only play against type, but shows a complicated side to the clownish actor that may say a lot about him, but mostly proves that he was capable of more than slapstick.

Ranking Robert De Niro's 7 Oscar Nominated Roles

Robert De Niro in Joy

Today marks the 73rd birthday of actor Robert De Niro. While it may be easy to ignore among his later and lesser films, he is an actor that so deftly earned the honor of being one of the greatest actors of his generation. One can easily see it in his impressive work between the 70's and 90's where he constantly embodied the roles with rigorous attention to detail and enough crazy stories to make Jared Leto look tame. Still, can you name all seven of his Oscar-nominated performances? Better yet, can you name the two of his that won? The following is a ranking of his nominations that reflect an actor at various stages of his career doing his work so well that lesser actors can only hope to achieve half of the level of gravitas.

Nothing But the Best: "The Deer Hunter" (1978)

Scene from The Deer Hunter

Welcome to the series Nothing But the Best in which I chronicle all of the Academy Award Best Picture winners as they celebrate their anniversaries. Instead of going in chronological order, this series will be presented on each film's anniversary and will feature personal opinions as well as facts regarding its legacy and behind the scenes information. The goal is to create an in depth essay for each film while looking not only how the medium progressed, but how the film is integral to pop culture. In some cases, it will be easy. Others not so much. Without further ado, let's start the show.

At 40 Years Old, "Taxi Driver" is Still a Fascinating Look into Loneliness and War

Robert De Niro

Nowadays, it's easy to think of director Martin Scorsese as a visionary whose every film and every lecture and interview are worthy of dissection. However, it's harder to remember a time when he wasn't the king of gritty New York dramas where faith and violence were battling themes. Even then, there was a time when it didn't even look like he would make it out of the 70's. With a drug addiction to his credit and a screenplay by an equally depressed writer named Paul Schrader, Taxi Driver is the ultimate homage to loneliness and delusion in a New York that has since been gussied up. The film is a time capsule of 70's cynicism as well as featuring one of the most breathtaking performances of Robert De Niro's career as Travis Bickle: a Vietnam War veteran who drives to escape his sleeping problems. The times may have changed, but the impact of Taxi Driver remains just as immediate as it did 40 years ago.

Review: "Joy" Gives Lawrence One of Her Career Bests

Jennifer Lawrence

There's something intriguing about director David O. Russell's work since The Fighter. Where his earlier career is mired in violent outbreaks and abrasive cinema, he has suddenly become one of the most wholesome/tolerable auteurs of populous cinema. It isn't that he plays it safe, but has found a formula and a cast that are willing to bring his stories of the underdog to life in the same ways that James Stewart did with Frank Capra (though more crass). While his work continues to remain wildly inconsistent, his latest Joy is the perfect encapsulation of what his career means in 2015. It isn't just his take on feminism and economics. It's a film that wants to look at the process of selling an implausible vision - such as Jennifer Lawrence selling retractable mops. With this film, he perfects his formula and makes one of his career bests with a story that's strong and a funny bone to match. 

Nothing But the Best: "The Godfather Part II" (1974)

Robert De Niro in The Godfather Part II

Welcome to the series Nothing But the Best in which I chronicle all of the Academy Award Best Picture winners as they celebrate their anniversaries. Instead of going in chronological order, this series will be presented on each film's anniversary and will feature personal opinions as well as facts regarding its legacy and behind the scenes information. The goal is to create an in depth essay for each film while looking not only how the medium progressed, but how the film is integral to pop culture. In some cases, it will be easy. Others not so much. Without further ado, let's start the show.

Theory Thursday: "The King of Comedy" is Scorsese's Most Important Film

Robert De Niro in The King of Comedy

Welcome to a weekly column called Theory Thursdays, which will be released every Thursday and discuss my "controversial opinion" related to something relative to the week of release. Sometimes it will be birthdays while others is current events or a new film release. Whatever the case may be, this is a personal defense for why I disagree with the general opinion and hope to convince you of the same. While I don't expect you to be on my side, I do hope for a rational argument. After all, film is a subjective medium and this is merely just a theory that can be proven either way. 

Birthday Take: Robert De Niro in "Raging Bull" (1980)

Robert De Niro in Raging Bull

Welcome to The Birthday Take, a column dedicated to celebrating Oscar nominees and winners' birthdays by paying tribute to the work that got them noticed. This isn't meant to be an exhaustive retrospective, but more of a highlight of one nominated work that makes them noteworthy. The column will run whenever there is a birthday and will hopefully give a dense exploration of the finest performances and techniques applied to film. So please join me as we blow out the candles and dig into the delicious substance.

The First "Joy" Trailer Shows Lawrence Gunning for an Oscar Nomination

Jennifer Lawrence

It has already been a rough 2015 for the cast of Silver Linings Playbook. First there was director David O. Russell's long abandoned Accidental Love, which saw the light of day long after it shouldn't have. Then there was the shelved Jennifer Lawrence/Bradley Cooper romance Serena (review coming soon), which favored slightly better. However, it looks like the gang is getting back together for a hopefully better outing with their first collaboration since 2013's American Hustle called Joy. With the first trailer released, there's plenty to get excited about, especially since it looks like the charm is back and I'm sure that we're looking at another Oscar front runner.

Failed Oscar Campaigns: "Silver Linings Playbook" (2012)

Left to right: Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper

As awards seasons pick up, so do the campaigns to make your film have the best chances at the Best Picture race. However, like a drunken stupor, sometimes these efforts come off as trying too hard and leave behind a trailer of ridiculous flamboyance. Join me on every other Saturday for a highlight of the failed campaigns that make this season as much about prestige as it does about train wrecks. Come for the Harvey Weinstein comments and stay for the history. It's going to be a fun time as I explore cinema's rich history of attempting to matter.

There's Only Five Days Until Oscar Night!

Ladies and gentlemen, we are officially five days away from this year's Academy Awards! It is an exciting time that is finally coming to a close. As everyone catches up with their last minute viewings and predictions, I thought that I would take a break and commemorate the countdown with a look at my Top 10 favorite acting nominees who have five or more nominations to their credit. After pointing out lists of favorite movies and directors, I figured that it was time to understand me through the performances that shape how I perceive the ceremony and thus better reflect what I look for in performances.