Failed Oscar Campaigns: "mother!" (2017)

Scene from mother!

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.

R.I.P. Johan Johansson (1969-2018)

Johan Johansson

On February 9, 2018, composer Johan Johansson passed away at the age of 48 in Berlin, Germany. To some, he was known as an Icelandic musician who composed a mix of traditional music with electronic accompaniment. To the world of film, he was known for his work on films like The Theory of Everything, and several Denis Villeneuve movies such as Prisoners, Sicario, and Arrival. He received two Oscar nominations for his work, which managed to mix the ethereal with classical compositions in a way that captured the mood of the film. He was considered to be one of the best modern composers and leaves behind an enviable body of work. In his short legacy, he leaves behind an incredible body of work that shows the power of music in film better than most people.

Review: "mother!" Doesn't Like You, and You Won't Like Her Either (SPOILERS!)

Jennifer Lawrence

In press interviews, director Darren Aronofsky said of his latest movie mother! that it would be shocking that people wouldn't want to look at him again. It's a brilliant marketing move, and one that done correctly works as well as a viral video from OK Go. Who wouldn't want to see something different in cinema, especially if it comes from the provocateur who previously made drug trips exciting and horrifying, and turned a ballet movie into one of the greatest psychosexual thrillers of the decade? The unfortunate news is that this plan may have backfired, as the film will make people not want to look at Aronofsky ever again. It's a mean, masochistic movie whose themes are buried underneath lazy surrealism and one-note characters who don't have much to do. Mother! is a mess, and a profoundly gross one at that.