Review: "1917" Explodes with Brilliant Ingenuity

Scene from 1917 (2019)

Over the past 100 years, there hasn't been a filmmaker that understood the immersive, claustrophobic experience of being placed into trench warfare quite like director Sam Mendes. Audiences have likely spent hours inside these narrow rows of safety, but not quite like 1917. A masterclass in the film could be taught in the first 10 minutes of this film, showing the navigation of two soldiers through these endless, winding passages as they pass around soldiers on their way to combat. What starts at ground level slowly drops the audience further into the trenches until all peripherals are surrounded by soldiers and dirt. Even with this, there is a sense of geography that could be followed. It's a story through action, and one that slowly unveils details in casual asides, presenting a vision of World War I that is sparing in the conventional plot in favor of an immersive experience.

Part of that immersive experience is owed to Mendes' desire to shoot the entire film in the gimmicky long take. The audience is a third party to Lance Corporals Blake (Dean-Charles Chapman) and Schofield (George Mackay), experiencing the same winding paths that they do as they deliver a message from base to a distant party, walking through no man's land and various other obstacles in a quest to prevent further war. It's one thing if that was the story, but Mendes insists on presenting constant obstacles on some of the most breathtaking set designs of the century, once again slowly placing the viewer into a world so large that they too will become exhausted by the time that Blake and Schofield have walked miles through an eerie quietness, still fearing the gunfire of enemy soldiers. It's easily among the best WWI movies in that it recreates the harrowing experience better than any comparable film, and it does so with a visual accomplishment that's even more of a bragging right. For what 1917 lacks in great storytelling, it makes up for in overall scale and atmosphere. 

Sam Mendes Promises a War Movie Like No Other in First "1917" Trailer

Scene from 1917

Even as the decades and centuries rage on, filmmakers have been attracted to the idea of the war film. In recent years, The Academy has awarded films like Hacksaw Ridge and Dunkirk as these harrowing journeys into the frontlines of some of the 20th century's most visceral moments. And for good reason. It's a challenging feat to make war into something new and engaging in cinema. It may be what helps director Sam Mendes' latest, 1917, stand out as one of the most groundbreaking films of the genre. With the promise to look like one smooth long take, 1917 is promising to be, if nothing else, one of the most unique war movie experiences of the decade. The first trailer has a lot of explosive moments to tantalize us, and hopefully, they deliver on the exhilaration. 

Failed Oscar Campaigns: "Black Mass" (2015)

Johnny Depp

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.

Theory Thursday: Benedict Cumberbatch is Overrated

Benedict Cumberbatch in Zoolander No. 2

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. 

Failed Oscar Campaigns: "The Imitation Game" (2013)

Benedict Cumberbatch

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.

Nothing But the Best: "12 Years a Slave" (2013)

Chiwetel Ejiofor in 12 Years a Slave

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.

The "Black Mass" Trailer Looks Like Depp is Trying to Impress Us Again

Johnny Depp

Here is a fact that many likely will find odd: Johnny Depp has earned three Oscar nominations - all between 2004 and 2008. For modern audiences, it is probably hard to believe that the actor behind critically panned movies like Mortdecai and Transcendence used to be one of the most interesting and rebellious mainstream actors out there. He even got an acting nomination for The Pirates of the Caribbean as Captain Jack Sparrow. While I don't feel his passion is entirely gone, there is a need for us, as well as him, to reassess his current acting career. With director Scott Cooper's Black Mass, it looks like if nothing else, he is back to giving a role that shows the edgier and more interesting side of Depp. The only question is if it will be enough.

Check Out the List of The Academy's 322 New Members

Tom Hardy in Mad Max: Fury Road

Following the recent announcement of new rules for this year's Academy Awards, The Academy has announced who their new members are. Among the list of 322 names is a mixture of actors, directors, musicians, and behind the scenes workers. As with every year, there's a lot of surprising and welcomed entries. This year sees a list that includes people as diverse as David Oyelowo (Selma) to Kelly Reichardt (Meek's Cutoff) to Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead). If for no other reason, it is an interesting list. The following is the list of names divided into categories as well as various credits that you'll likely recognize them from.

Review: "The Imitation Game" Tries to Be Important in Safe and Uninteresting Ways

Benedict Cumberbatch

One of the reasons that World War II has remained such a prominent subject in film culture is because of the massive scope that it encapsulates. Beyond the war and killing Adolf Hitler, it was about putting aside differences to do so. With stories ranging this year from The Monuments Men to Unbroken, the diversity continues to intrigue in director Morten Tyldum's The Imitation Game, which focuses on scientist Alan Turing (Benedict Cumberbatch) as he literally cracks the code on the Nazis. For a story with a complex core, it is unfortunate that so much of the layers above it feel too conventional

The Trailer for "The Penguins of Madagascar" Looks Like a Fun, Creative Ride

As stated last week, this year's animation race is going to be interesting. With this weekend's How to Train Your Dragon 2 (review coming next week), the race is already looking to be interesting. Besides The LEGO Movie, this year looks to be a nice antidote to the lackluster output of 2013. It does seem futile to discuss any category locks at this point, but what about the outliers? What films are going to be on the fringes of discussion and may make the cut? With today's release of the trailer for The Penguins of Madagascar, the discussion opens back up. Can a spin-off film from the acclaimed franchise Madagascar actually stand a chance at a nomination?

Review: "August: Osage County" Has a Lot of Great Performances... and Meryl Streep

Left to right: Julia Roberts, Meryl Streep, and Julianne Nicholson

The appeal of director John Wells' August: Osage County is that it pits many talented actresses against each other in a fight over family dysfunction through varying generations. Lead by Julia Roberts and Meryl Streep, this adaptation of the Tracey Letts' play is an effective slice of drama that lets characters shine and even tear into each other with a vibrant, hostile script that makes one hot weekend in Osage County into a pivotal point in the Weston family's life. It may at times suffer from overacting, but at its core, it is an engrossing family case study.

Is "August: Osage County" Capable of Being a Last Minute Best Picture Contender?

Left to right: Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts

*Note: Due to unforeseen circumstances, I was unable to write up a piece on director John Wells' August: Osage County during its premiere week.

With the Oscar nominations exactly one week away, it is an exciting time at The Oscar Buzz to look at all of the nominees. While I have covered majority of the big contenders over the past few months, the one that I forgot to write a piece on is August: Osage County, which looks to be a haven for potential actor nominations, specifically for that of Meryl Streep in the Best Actress race. The truth is that as the literal last film of 2013 to come out that had any awards potential, it does seem strange that it hasn't quite caught any buzz yet. 

Review: "12 Years a Slave" is a Quintessential Film About Slavery

Chiwetel Ejiofir

Once in awhile, a film comes along that almost seems to become bigger than its subject. Something that becomes so hyped that it almost feels like a cherished relic before it even hits theaters. After impressing audiences at TIFF, director Steve McQueen's latest 12 Years a Slave appears to be part of that select few. It seems bizarre that a film from the creator of Hunger and Shame, two morbidly bleak stories, could become an Oscar front runner and turn in a film that is arguably already one of the classics. His adoration for the novel by Solomon Northup and desire to bring to life a point in American history that tends to get overlooked brought together not only one of the best movies about slavery, but probably one of the best films of the decade.

"The Fifth Estate" Debuts to 2013's Record Lowest Box Office Numbers

Benedict Cumberbatch

It looked like 2013 was going to be the year of Benedict Cumberbatch. He has had an enviable run of success this year with the successful Sherlock series as well as being the villain in one of the year's most successful blockbusters Star Trek Into Darkness. As Fall began, he had a plethora of interesting projects that was sure to get him noticed, including a small part in Oscar front-runner 12 Years a Slave, a role alongside Meryl Streep in August: Osage County, and a return to blockbusters with The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug. In fact, it seemed that among all of these impressive roles that one of them would have landed him an Academy Award nomination. As predicted earlier, I assumed it would be director Bill Condon's The Fifth Estate. However, if the numbers are to be trusted, this is probably not the case.

"12 Years a Slave" Impresses Tiff and Raises Oscar Buzz Potential

Left to right: Michael Fassbender, Lupita Nyong'o, and Chiwetel Ejiofir

This past week saw many already put the stamp on what is going to be the Best Picture winner this year.With such high praise, many critics who attended the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) were privy to seeing one of my most anticipated movies of the Fall: director Steve McQueen's 12 Years a Slave. While it has also given many other reveals on potential nominees (including the critically panned August: Osage County), this is great news not only from the standpoint of the director, but for the season to come. It may make the season dull, but to know that we already have a front runner suggests that Oscar Buzz season is starting off just right.

Does "The Fifth Estate" Predict Cumberbatch's Best Actor Nomination?

Left to right: Benedict Cumberbatch and Daniel Bruhl

Hours after posting my piece on one of my most anticipated movies of the year, 12 Years a Slave, a trailer for director Bill Condon's The Fifth Estate is released. The irony lies in how insistent I was that this would be Benedict Cumberbatch's chance at an Oscar nomination. It doesn't seem that far fetched, considering that this almost seems to be similar to The Social Network in terms of relevancy to the modern era and the reliance on computers. What the trailer delivers is a glimpse into Cumberbatch's take on Julian Assange, founder of WikiLeaks. Is it a look into potentially one of the most celebrated performances of the year?

The "12 Years A Slave" Trailer Makes the Fall Season Look More Exciting

Left to right: Chiwetel Ejiofor and Michael Fassbender

If there has been one film that seems to have come out of nowhere and suggested Oscar Buzz in the past week, it has to be director Steve McQueen's latest 12 Years a Slave. With an all-star cast that includes Michael Fassbender, Brad Pitt, Benedict Cumberbatch, and last year's Academy Award Best Actress nominee Quvenzhane Wallis (Beasts of the Southern Wild), it already looks to be one of the most impressive groups in a film this year. With a mix of current events and the idea that a movie like Django Unchained can receive nominations, is it possible that this tale of slavery is capable of getting a Best Picture nomination? If the recently released trailer is any clue, I would place my money on it.