Review: "The Trial of the Chicago 7" is a Defiantly Urgent Drama

Scene from The Trial of the Chicago 7

It has been some time since writer and director Aaron Sorkin has taken his audience inside a courtroom. While most of his films have pivotal scenes taking place in these judicial buildings, they have rarely been used for than a few minutes, allowing actors to chew through some meaty dialogue, As the Oscar-winning writer quickly proves, he's rarely better than when giving actors a chance to espouse their deepest desires, yelling to the masses in a hope that they will listen. It's the belief in The American Dream, that everyone deserves freedoms. A courtroom is the perfect setting for these ideas to be lobbed at each other, forming a tennis match of intensity that turns dialogue into its own action sequence. At his best, Sorkin grabs you and hypnotizes you into believing that whoever's talking is the most important person in the room.

He does that a lot with his latest The Trial of the Chicago 7, which finds a riot surrounding the 1968 Democratic National Convention turned into a hub for something grander. As people outside chant "The whole world's watching," there is this urgency for the legal system to recognize the change, the belief that The Vietnam War is unjust, and that the police are not as innocent as they claim. Whether intentionally or not, Sorkin feels like he's struck lightning this time around, finding several exceptional performances lobbying riveting language, mixing in small sways of humor, and action sequences that pull at the emotions. This is a story that feels urgent, reflecting the divide between the people and the government, and in 2020 it's rarely felt truer. It's another home run that never lets up, making the most complicated of legal jargon into something accessible. He hasn't been this much of a livewire since The Social Network, and he's finally come into his own as a director. Welcome back, Sorkin. We've missed you.

Review: "The Aeronauts" is a Balloon Ride Worth Taking

Scene from The Aeronauts

Think back for a moment and try to answer this question: when has there been a nonfiction movie about a scientist that was... exciting? While the revelations that one finds through meticulous research can lead to world-changing events, nobody could mistake the story of, say, Marie Curie or Peter Higgs as a film on par with Tom Cruise's latest action flick. Then again, that's where director Tom Harper dares to dream. The Aeronauts is a mixed bag in terms of authenticity, but what he does with a hot air balloon feels revolutionary, presenting a perspective on cinema that hasn't been covered before. Imagine a Jules Verne story brought to life, full of wondrous discoveries and peril from inside the claustrophobic space of a basket. For as much as the film has issues getting things off the ground, it still delivers the goods when it gets there and elevates this goofy premise into one of the best surprises of 2019. It's a biopic worthy of its action beats, and it will have those willing to embrace is tone in a constant state of awe.

Composing Greatness: #8. The Freshman Class of the 2010's - "The Theory of Everything" (2014)

Scene from The Theory of Everything (2014)

Welcome to Composing Greatness: a column dedicated to exploring the work of film composers. This will specifically focus on the films that earned them Oscar nominations while exploring what makes it so special. This will be broken down into a look at the overall style, interesting moments within the composition, and what made the score worth nominating in the first place. This will also include various subcategories where I will rank the themes of each film along with any time that the composer actually wins. This is a column meant to explore a side of film that doesn't get enough credit while hopefully introducing audiences to an enriched view of more prolific composers' work. This will only cover scores/songs that are compiled in an easily accessible format (so no extended scores will be considered). Join me every Sunday as I cover these talents that if you don't know by name, you recognize by sound.

“The Aeronauts” Goes Up Up and Away in a Beautiful Trailer

Scene from The Aeronauts

With dozens of trailers seemingly dropping by the day, it becomes difficult to keep track of them all. Still, between Netflix and Amazon Studios alone, the calendar is already full of promising new titles that promise to make the season more exciting. Then again, Amazon may have saved the best for last with director Tom Harper’s The Aeronauts, which is a look at the history of hot air balloons starring two Oscar-nominated performers teaming up for the first time since The Theory of Everything. While that alone is rather exciting, the popping imagery only adds to the curiosity of what this true story has in store. More importantly, can a movie with scenes this wild stand a chance at the Oscars?

Failed Oscar Campaigns: "Les Miserables" (2012)

Hugh Jackman

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: Alicia Vikander Didn't Deserve an Oscar for "The Danish Girl"

Alicia Vikander in The Danish Girl

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. 

What "The Danish Girl," Says About the Oscar's Problematic Relationship with LGBT Movies

Eddie Redmayne in The Danish Girl

Last night, I decided to catch up on the missing links in my Oscar-nominated movies for this year. I decided to tackle director Tom Hooper's The Danish Girl: a film that I inevitably had high hopes for, if just because of what 2015 was symbolically in the LGBT community. Beyond America legalizing gay marriage, it was the time when we had multiple noteworthy trans celebrities, cinema was hitting new strides with Tangerine, and Transparent was continuing its yearlong (and arguably still going) success. Transgender culture is probably more accepted than it ever had been, and The Danish Girl could be the period to the sentence. Of course, that is problematic to say, but what became abundantly clear is that it was actually doing the opposite. Despite its romanticism, The Danish Girl featured stereotypes akin to the gay best friend with flamboyancy and a lisp. While it took some reading to fully understand why, it's generally one of the problems with The Academy's recent crop of nominees.

Birthday Take: Eddie Redmayne in "The Theory of Everything" (2014)

Eddie Redmayne in The Theory of Everything

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.

Why I Like Eddie Redmayne (Even If You Think He's Oscar Bait-y)

Eddie Redmayne in The Danish Girl

There is a certain amount of flack that I have received for my opinions on Eddie Redmayne. Mind you, I don't consider him my favorite actor. It mostly came to fruition last year when The Theory of Everything had come out. Most considered it a little too sentimental of a portrait of Stephen Hawking. Meanwhile, I thought that it was perfectly accessible biopic fare that was, at very least, better than The Imitation Game. It was also a moment in which I chose to argue that I was as impressed with his physical transformation as I was watching Daniel Day Lewis in My Left Foot. I still maintain that. With director Tom Hooper's The Danish Girl making rounds at the Venice Film Festival, many are claiming that something unusual will happen. He may get back-to-back Oscars. Without seeing the film, I can honestly say that I hope it works out.

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.

The Highlights of the 87th Academy Awards Ceremony

The moment has come and gone. The 87th Annual Academy Awards happened at the Dolby Theater and handed out 24 awards throughout the night, including Best Picture winner Birdman. What were some of the highlights of the evening? The following is a list of the various moments that stand out above the rest and prove just why Neil Patrick Harris, and the show in general, was in top form and knew how to make the overlong program move fast enough to keep attentive while also lacking in self-involvement. It may have not been the best ceremony ever, but at least it was a lot better than most years.

A Theory on Why Eddie Redmayne Will Win Best Actor

Eddie Redmayne

With the Oscars closing in, it's time to finalize the votes for who is likely going to win the top prizes. While I have already discussed the three pronged Best Picture race (Selma, Birdman, Boyhood), but now it is time to get into the other big categories. Over the next few days, I will be sharing quick pieces on who is likely to win in each of the major categories as well as any discussion of a potential upset. Coming up is a piece on why Eddie Redmayne (The Theory of Everything) is pretty much going to walk away with the Best Actor trophy on Oscar night.

A Discussion on the Oscars and The Norbit Effect

Eddie Redmayne in Jupiter Ascending

For those unaware, there is a common conspiracy trend known as "The Norbit Effect." In 2007, actor Eddie Murphy was posed to win Best Supporting Actor for his excellent turn in Dreamgirls. It was considered a comeback and proof that the actor wasn't just some hack. However, he released what is widely regarded as his worst film around the time that Oscar voters were turning in their ballots called Norbit. As history shows, Alan Arkin for Little Miss Sunshine won this category. However, with Norbit in wide release on Oscar Night, many suspect that it was the cause of Murphy's loss. After this weekend, does any of the main front runners stand any chance of falling to this trap?

Review: "The Theory of Everything" Excels in Greatness Despite Conventional Structure

Left to right: Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones

This is a movie that shouldn't work. Everything about it is heavily documented and the zeitgeist-heavy presence of Stephen Hawking gives us every detail that we need. The famed scientist, played here by Eddie Redmayne, overcame a lot of obstacles, fell in love and won the hearts of scientists internationally. Still, with his Lou Gherig's Disease, there's something deeper in the character. There is something more refined and fascinating that keeps director James Marsh's The Theory of Everything from being a sentimental, disposable biopic in which nothing particularly shocking happens. True, everything down to the iconic voice box gets explored in the film. However, like the best of biopics, the struggles and stories are all surface level for a more universal subtext with something that compels. In this case, it is the balance between work and love, health and sanity, even science and religion. For a protagonist who is bound to a wheelchair for most of the two hour running time, the film manages to capture something more powerful about how we perceive our world.

"The Theory of Everything" Joins the Oscar Race After Successful Debut at TIFF

Left to right: Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones

Here's the truth. When I initially saw a trailer for director James Marsh's The Theory of Everything, I wasn't impressed. It looked like a cheap biopic of Stephen Hawking that wasn't really called for. In fact, the trailer was kind of cliche and boring. Even if Eddie Redmayne was solid in Les Miserables, he wasn't my favorite part. Yet I have been mistaken and this has become quickly a film to watch out for. After premiering at Toronto International Film Festival, the Oscar Buzz is sparking again with a surprise, out of nowhere candidate.