Review: "The Prom" Does Enough Right to Be a Good Time

Scene from The Prom (2020)

If there are any issues to be found with director Ryan Murphy's version of The Prom, they're mostly found in the show it was adapted from. At its core, it's one of the most good-intentioned musicals of the modern age, spinning the familiar coming of age story about proms into this one of queer acceptance. When the film is in this mode, there's rarely anything more euphoric, finding protagonist Emma (Jo Ellen Pellman) expressing herself with this passionate outsider narrative. It's her against an Indiana school that finds her lesbianism offensive. The struggle makes for compelling drama, especially when dealing with her still closeted girlfriend Alyssa (Ariana DeBose). 

Those moments of tenderness are the heart of the film, which unfortunately are sidelined by something more egregious. The Prom is as much about acceptance as it is the power of theater as a form of self-expression, and that means a whole supporting cast of eccentric Broadway types. What they bring to the show is essential, but the approach creates a gross misunderstanding of what makes The Prom a delightful addition to the movie musical. It isn't about watching adults ham it up, sharing these stories of coming out and doing vivid dance numbers. This was, as its title suggests, should've been about the prom. Had the story been presented predominantly from Emma's perspective, it may even be a masterpiece. Instead, it's a decent if familiar story only elevated by a sugar-rush of a soundtrack that is sure to get stuck in your head. It's a good time, but it could've been better.

Review: "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom" Hits the Sweetest High Notes

Scene from Ma Rainey's Black Bottom

To sing the blues is to pour your heart out to the world. With every aching note, the struggles of the individual reflect a community eager to be heard. It's something that lives inside the Black community, serving as a survival tool throughout years of oppression and reminding everyone what it means to be human. But given how diverse the voices within this group are, one has to ask the question: what is the blues? Who gets to control the direction that it goes? Throughout director George C. Wolfe's fantastic adaptation of Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, he explores this question in great detail over a sweltering summer day in 1927. What follows is a phenomenal showcase of talent, finding Chadwick Boseman and Viola Davis butting heads with electric performances and even more energetic music. It's one of the year's most vibrant stories and one that never lets up for the entire ride.

Review: "Hillbilly Elegy" is the Worst Kind of Oscar Bait

Scene from Hillbilly Elegy

There's a certain sadness that comes with reporting the news that Hillbilly Elegy is a giant misfire, embodying the familiar lower-class struggles as mindless melodrama. Even in the hands of someone as capable as director Ron Howard, there's no understanding of what lies underneath the surface. In a time where Middle America has a crisis worth sharing, Howard has decided to stop at the problem, too scared to have compassion for his characters. The themes of socioeconomics, drug addiction, and the passive aggressiveness it produces are details that are worth sharing, but there's no bigger point here. The ending likes to think there is, but Howard fails to make it matter. It's doubtful that he's even met a hillbilly. If he did, he would've known that their story deserves something more than nonstop shouting matches. 

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.

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.

Review: "The 40-Year-Old Version" is an Entertaining Reason for Why All Voices Deserve to Be Heard

Scene from The 40-Year-Old Version

For everyone, growing old has its share of nightmares. It's the fear of losing your vitality, an inability to connect with a world that thrives on youth. For most people, it's a struggle that has its own workarounds, but not if you're on the verge of becoming a 40-year-old Black woman. In Radha Blank's directorial debut, she does an impressive job of exploring self-expression at an age when nobody wants to listen, instead of asking you to compromise your vision to the tried and true. What Blank argues in The 40-Year-Old Version is not what the value of success is, but whether or not it is important to be true to yourself. With a debut, she bears her soul with an urgency that recalls a perspective not often allowed in the cinema. As a result, it feels at times breathtaking as well as frustrating, realizing how many other voices out there are being ignored, crushed by expectations of a society that doesn't like you unless you fit certain conventions.

Theory Thursday: Adam Sandler is Doing Some of His Career-Best Work Right Now (2015-Present)

Scene from Hubie Halloween

Welcome to a sporadic 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. 

Review: "I'm Thinking of Ending Things" is a Special Kind of Frustrating

Scene from I'm Thinking of Ending Things

If you were to describe Charlie Kaufman's filmography in one word, it's headache. Not cerebral or surreal, just headache. Over a career spanning 25 years, he has taken a look inside the human condition and asked the profound questions about how our brain works. With Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, he explored romance in one of the most creative dramas of the 21st century. More recently, he explored loneliness in Anomalisa by turning a hotel full of people voiced by only three actors. He's an oddball who takes risks, but at the end of the day, you'll understand why these ideas make your head ache at night, causing you to toss and turn at night. He may not always say it directly, but those willing to listen will find something satisfying in his frustration, finding profundity in the mundane conversations as we transition to the next phase of life.

This is what makes I'm Thinking of Ending Things a particularly unique ride even within his filmography. While every story has these twists and turns that reveal themselves to us, this Netflix collaboration is one that requires an insubordinate amount of patience, requiring audiences to get through a 20-minute car ride full of seemingly inconsequential conversations. Why does any of this matter? Kaufman has gotten to a point in his writing career where he sprinkles nuance so gradually that you might miss it entirely. It may be why this is a difficult film to understand, let alone enjoy. Is it actually a journey to visit family, or is this an attempt at Kaufman's grander existential crisis magnum opus? The answer lies somewhere in the middle, maybe blurred out in a cloud of snow in the rearview mirror. While the film eventually gets there, the road there requires an effort that not everyone will be willing to face. 

Charlie Kaufman Returns with the First Neurotic Trailer for "I'm Thinking of Ending Things"

Scene from I'm Thinking of Ending Things

On the one hand, this year is so screwed up that its impossible to have any idea at how to look at this awards season. Considering that we're months out from the usual launch, there's no surety that anything will even be out. Most of the big films have moved to 2021 at the hopes that this pandemic will be over. For now, we just have to treat everything with a certain sensitivity, treating what would be a longshot as a serious contender. Given that streaming services like Netflix and Disney+ have been releasing quality work, there's a good reason to argue that this year's winners will be digital.

Following in the path of Da 5 Bloods, Netflix is releasing their next high profile movie I'm Thinking of Ending Things. No, it's not a title meant to imply how we feel right now. It's the latest film from Oscar-winning screenwriter Charlie Kaufman. Considering that his neurotic gifts have made some of the most interesting existential dives into the human condition over the past 20 years, it's always a delight to know that he's back out there doing stuff. After watching this trailer, that uncertainty clearly shines through. The only question is if audiences will be ready for a neurotic, depressing family get together. For those who are, this is a great and refreshing film in a sometimes dour period.

It's Early June, Have We Already Seen Any Serious Oscar Contenders?

There's no denying that the upcoming Oscar season is going to be a very special one. While every year brings with it a handful of worthy surprises, this one is framed instead by the world around it. For starters, the COVID-19 pandemic has caused the shutdown of theaters and forced The Academy to allow streaming movies for the first (and probably only) time in their history. Even if we haven't yet gotten to the traditional awards season, it's interesting to ask the question: have we seen any big players yet? I'd like to think that we have, especially with the presence of such acclaimed movies like Shirley, Da 5 Bloods, and dark horse contender The King of Staten Island.

All of these films have one thing in common. They're thankfully good movies in a time when we're dried out with good-at-best titles. In fact, things are looking up in the month ahead as more streaming options give promising results. So, what does this Oscar season look like, and have we seen anything of value just yet? If we're looking at a case where theaters will be shutting back down due to an expansion of the virus, I'm willing to bet that we have a handful of things already on our docket, hopefully making for one of the most exciting and off years we've ever seen.

Spike Lee Lights Up the Oscar Conversation with "Da 5 Bloods" Trailer

Scene from Da 5 Bloods

When we last left director Spike Lee, he had broken through a decades-long feud with The Academy Awards and won an Oscar for BlacKkKlansman. The film found him capable of taking his angry style and presenting in an accessible way that made audiences latch onto its subject matter of racial divides in society. Even as time has passed, he seems just as ambitious as ever, wanting to tell stories that reshape how we see black America as something more complex and interesting. Considering that everyone was eager to see what he'd do next with his first Netflix movie, many see this as a new era, where Lee will be returning to the conversation sooner than later.

Da 5 Bloods is promised to be a Vietnam War epic like no other. With few exceptions (if any), there hasn't been a war story that explores the struggles of the black experience in this way. One has to wonder what he has to say, especially since we know that he won't hold back and get as confrontational as he believes that the story needs to be. While everyone won't get to see it in a theater, it's coming very soon to light up the Oscar conversation, giving us something that prognosticators sorely need right now. From the first trailer, it feels like we got our first surefire nominee and one that could find Lee going bigger and bolder than ever before. While it has some trappings of Vietnam War movie tropes, it's still got a lot of greatness under its surface.

The Academy Awards to Allow Streaming Movies for First (and Possibly Only) Time

If you've been wondering why The Oscar Buzz has been largely quiet in the past month, it's because I'm sure as to how to open operations back up. The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a lot of uncertainty, and I don't know if I have enough content to return to publishing stuff on here full time. However, there is some news that has finally arrived, suggesting that this year's Academy Awards aren't hopeless just yet. With theaters closed, one had to wonder what would happen next. Would we just be giving all of the statues to The Invisible Man and Birds of Prey? That seems ridiculous. Here's some good news, though. The first big update since the Academy Awards ceremony has dropped, and there's plenty to look forward to this season. It may not be the same, but it will definitely be an interesting one for the record books.

"Parasite" Revolutionized How We See Best Picture Winners

Bong Joon-ho

Back in 2009 when I was discovering who I was as a cinephile, there were a handful of movies I was recommended. My friend Dorian, more a fan of eastern cinema like J-Horror and Studio Ghibli, joined me on a quest to watch all of these films, discovering some of the finest voices of contemporary cinema. Among those films was The Host, itself already promising given our love for monster movies. While I had expected there to be rabid chaos letting loose, I hadn't expected there to be so much personality and humor, creating a social commentary within this realm that I hadn't fathomed would have anything memorable to say besides giving the audience a thrill. Maybe it was because I was young, but the way it enhanced story only proved to me that international cinema had this capability of connecting to me, even if I couldn't tell you a single thing about South Korea. In that way, I was a changed man.

Along with the great Park Chan-Wook (The Vengeance Trilogy), the decade to follow was an incredible time to watch The Host's director Bong Joon-ho emerge as this larger-than-life personality, helping to bring attention to the incredible Korean Wave of cinema still going on. There was something special about Joon-ho, who constantly returned to the conversation with these abstract genre thrillers like Snowpiercer and Okja: films that sought to connect Korean ideology with western interests. With Parasite, he found a way to create the ultimate universal tale in a story of the economic struggles of the working class as they fight for a little luxury. It was known not only by critics but also by its unprecedented box office run. This wasn't just another South Korean import. It was a $167 million success story that went even further. By winning Best Picture at the Oscars, Joon-ho did the unthinkable in elevating himself from connecting with the weirdos who love international cinema, to just being plain accepted for making an undeniable masterpiece that has a lot to say both in text and in success about the future of film.

Ranking the Best Picture Nominees of 2020

Scene from The Irishman (2019)

One of the greatest games to play following every Oscar season is to see every film that's nominated in any given character. None are more fun than Best Picture, which remains the most anticipated category year in and year out, leaving behind a winner that is going to be talked about for decades and (very soon) a century. Now that I have seen every nominee in the class of 2020, I am throwing in my hat to determine which films I love the most and what are some of the weak spots on the list. As a whole, the films picked from 2019 presented another strong class that reflects the best of cinema's diverse potential. Could it be better? Sure, but the nine films here are no slouches.

Composing Greatness: #1. Oscars 2020 Edition - "Marriage Story"

Scene from Marriage Story (2019)

Welcome to a very special edition of Composing Greatness. In this limited series, I will be looking at the five scores nominated for this year's Best Original Score category. To avoid favoritism, the list will be done in alphabetical order of composers and feature the same guidelines as the original series. This is meant to explore the music behind the great films of 2019, and provide insight into what makes each of them special and whether or not they deserved to be nominated at all. Join me all week as I listen to the music, leave some thoughts, and hopefully sway you to check out these wonderful, wonderful scores.

Having Dominated the Annie Awards, Can Netflix Win Best Animated Film?

Scene from I Lost My Body

In a year that many are arguing is among the most predictable Oscar nominations in history, there is one field that seems ripe with interesting contradictions. The Best Animated Film category felt like it was set in stone since before the year was over. Disney was scheduled to dominate with two of the biggest films of the year: Toy Story 4 and Frozen II, both sequels to films that won the category previously. However, things began to unravel from there. Frozen II missed the cut entirely. In fact, the studio with a dual nomination was the one that was least expected: Netflix. With I Lost My Body and Klaus, the studio pulled one of the biggest upsets of the year. But, what if this is only the beginning? What if Netflix is on track to beat the major studios in the CGI landscape?

While there's still plenty to argue against this, the news just keeps looking worse and worse for Disney and Pixar. At the Annie Awards, Netflix won 19 awards including Best Feature for Klaus and Best Independent Feature for I Lost My Body. This isn't to say that Netflix has the upper-hand, but it's looking like this may be one of the most surprising upsets in recent years. What lies ahead at an Oscars where Pixar is already being undermined at other awards ceremonies by its competition? One has to wonder what lies ahead if either Netflix film stands a decent chance of beating the big boys. Even if it's a longshot, it feels like a good time to think that things are changing in the Best Animated Film category, maybe for the better.

Review: "The Two Popes" Gives an Entertaining Perspective on History

Scene from The Two Popes

While popes throughout history have been seen as holier than thou figures, there's one thing in director Fernando Meirelles' that feels groundbreaking. For a figure like Pope Benedict XVI, every day is a chance to solve the world's problems. It seems like it would be full of contemplation, wondering how to perform God's will to a public who holds you in higher esteem. However, the moment that seems most striking is not him performing a miracle or presenting a sermon in Latin, but in what he does at the Vatican when doors are closed and the public has gone home for the night. Like most of us, Benedict turns to TV for pleasure with a crime-solving dog show called Kommander Rex. It's a brief moment, but Benedict's joy in the silliness reflects what The Two Popes does so phenomenally well. These are moments that make us human, and sometimes communion is simply gathering together to watch TV. By humanizing Pope Benedict XVI and his successor Pope Francis, the film demystifies two of the stuffier figures in modern culture and gives them a rich, sympathetic, and dimensional personality. 

"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: "Marriage Story" Creates One of the Most Empathetic Divorce Story Ever

Scene from Marriage Story

From under a hushed voice, Marriage Story opens with Charlie (Adam Driver) and Nicole (Scarlett Johansson) shares lists of things that they like about each other. As a montage of their life starts to clue the viewer in, there's a sense of happiness in between both of them. It's a way of appreciating the joys that they brought to each other's life, as well as the odd eccentricities that they tolerate as a charming foible. This is director-writer Noah Baumbach's introduction to the world, and the montages create an innocence in such ideas as Charlie being too energy conscious. These details play out in a way that slowly begins to suggest to those familiar with the concept as a form of therapy. As the scene cuts to the current action, Charlie and Nicole are in marriage counseling, holding letters full of compliments that they'll share with each other.

That's where the issue starts. For all of the nice things that the audience has heard, neither has told each other. It's a world of implied joy hidden under something far more complicated. It's not just a case of romantic burnout. It's one where careers have pulled them to different coasts and suddenly the charming foibles they once forgave now are like nails on a chalkboard. It's understood why the couple wants to break-up, but what makes Baumbach's new film a masterpiece is that he's empathetic to both sides, never allowing the viewer to perform vindictive acts of taking sides. This isn't one where Charlie is a rage monster or Nicole too overbearing. It's merely a story of tragic reality. Sometimes life sends people in different directions, and in this case, divorce is most tragic not because of the people involved, but the circumstances they're placed into.

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.