The first 20 minutes of this are iconic. The vast majority of the rest of the film involve Charles Durning running, which he really isn’t in the shape for, after a psychopath. The end does tie everything up at the end, so it’s not an entire loss. Carol Kane is engaging as the babysitter; it generally surprises me when I see her in a non-comedic role. 
Since watching the Whoopi Goldberg’s Moms Mabley documentary, I’ve been trying to watch her few film appearances. Sadly the quality of the version on Hoopla is extremely poor, but was watchable enough. The story is not anything new for the 1930s-40s, a group of performers have to put on a show to save the boardinghouse, but it does offer the chance to see Moms and other acts of the time in action. I did chuckle at the little twist at the end.
The rare Oscar nominated short that isn’t depressing as all get out, this tells of happenstance friendship that develops between an Afghan immigrant and a young German woman. The only real complaint I have is that I really would have enjoyed it as a full-length film, giving the viewer a chance to really get to know the women and have their friendship develop further.
Oscar Nomination: Best Short Film, Live Action
Mothers experiencing one of the worst things imaginable and using that grief to push for the truth is inspirational. Sadly, the quality of this film is not quite able to do the subject justice. It has the feel of a nightly news exposé rather than a meaningful documentary. I appreciate that this film exists to give light to the atrocities that had been committed in Argentina and the fight of these women.
Oscar Nomination: Best Documentary, Features
Bagdad Cafe is a quirky bit of indie storytelling set at a remote café/hotel in the desolate American Southwest. A German woman, abandoned by her husband, soon becomes the catalyst toward changing the lives and attitudes of the various colorful characters who live and work at the café. CCH Pounder and Marianne Sägebrecht develop a sweet chemistry between them as the cantankerous owner of the establishment and the German visitor respectively.
Oscar Nomination: Best Music, Original Song
This certainly could be incredibly faithful to the Cyrano story, but man is the majority of it boring. Cyrano, while obviously articulate and a capable wordsmith, is too conceited and hot-headed to be a hero worth rooting for. Through all the sword fighting, I was just hoping it would get to what I see as the whole point of the plot, the love story and mixing of identities. Jose Ferrar is adequate as Cyrano, doing a fairly good job portraying his heartbreak, but I couldn’t help thinking the whole production would have been smoother with thirty less minutes of runtime. Not helping its case any was another poor coloration version provided by Amazon.
Oscar Win: Best Actor in a Leading Role
This whole movie seems like it was made about 10 years earlier, as if it was trying to take advantage of Blade Runner and Terminator’s popularity. A dystopian future where the super rich steal bodies from the past in order to achieve immortality is certainly a story that could be compelling even in modern times, particularly with the caveat that the ordinary people’s bodies are too derelict to be useful for the task. But that dystopian future wasn’t going to be happening in 2009 even from a 1992 perspective. Emilio Estevez performs capably as the freejacked body, but most of the cast is underutilized. Rene Russo plays her generic love-interest role. Anthony Hopkins makes occasional appearances, but doesn’t bring any spark. The only real spark to the whole production is Mick Jagger looking cooler than I ever thought he was capable of.
I really don’t know what to think of this film. It’s rather odd, occasionally amusing, and often feels very contemporary. The pre-credit scene does a great job of setting up Putney Swope as the new head of an advertising firm and then the rest of the film is all quite a bit of mayhem. I thought to myself that if someone wants to reflect on some of the odder choices Robert Downey Jr. has made in his career, that he came from the same genetic material as this film. Kudos for the odd, but intriguing choice to dub over Arnold Johnson’s voice with Downey Sr.’s deep tone; downvotes for the excessively long ad for Lucky Airlines.
My first exposure to Rose Marie was watching Match Game reruns. Having never watched The Dick Van Dyke Show, I wasn’t even aware she was part of the cast. It was only in recent years that I saw a bit of her singing as Baby Rose Marie and was completely surprised to discover they were one and the same person. I’m glad that they were able to make this film before she passed on because her nine decades long career spans so many aspects of show business from radio to television to stage to film. As a biopic, it stays mainly on the glossier side of things, only lightly addressing the child exploitation and mob tie aspects of her career, but it’s great to see interviews from so many nonagenarian performers, such as Carl Reiner, Dick Van Dyke, Peter Marshall, and Rose Marie herself.
I don’t know how intentional it was, but this movie has the acting and visual quality of a Bollywood film from many decades earlier. It pushes hard on the important topic of modern day slavery, but a short film’s runtime for this particular film offers little to convey an emotional connection to the characters and their plight.
Oscar Nomination: Best Short Film, Live Action