Month: October 2021

Posted on 2021-10-21 | No Comments |

Driveways (2019)

Sometimes I poke at myself for continually adding every little film that intrigues me to my grand To Watch list, but other times I’m grateful because I end up watching lesser known gems such as this one. Hong Chau is a single mother who has temporarily moved into her recently deceased sister’s home to prepare it for sale. Brian Dennehy is the next-door neighbor who bonds with her young son. This is such a complex portrayal of different ages and life experiences, particularly when dealing with death, that it feels as if it fully encompasses every stage of life itself. The acting is excellent and it really is a beautiful little film.

Posted on 2021-10-21 | No Comments |

Fearless (1993)

Jeff Bridges survives a horrifying airplane crash and the film follows his personality change in the aftermath. His family finds him difficult to relate to and he feels compelled to reach out to his fellow survivors. The story is a bit uneven in its impact, but the cast is incredible, including Isabella Rossellini, John Turturro, Tom Hulce, and Benicio del Toro. Most incredible is Rosie Perez’s performance as a mother who lost her child in the crash. She transcends her typical role to fully portray the grief and powerlessness required in the role.

Oscar Nomination: Best Actress in a Supporting Role

Posted on 2021-10-21 | No Comments |

The Crime of Padre Amaro (2002)

Gael García Bernal is a young priest sent to provide back-up in a small Mexican town’s parish. He’s egotistical and self-righteous in his condemnation of the sins of the nearby priests all while committing similar acts himself, leading a devout young woman hard and fast into a downward spiral. Their ‘love’ story is certain to be considered blasphemous to anyone who holds Catholic doctrine dear and not just because of the disintegration of his celibacy vow. Any narrative not involving these two characters falls away as the film builds to its ugly and disastrous ending.

Oscar Nomination: Best Foreign Language Film

Posted on 2021-10-21 | No Comments |

Evolution (1971)/The Door (2008)

A little blogging economy here, covering two different shorts from disparate categories. The animation on Evolution, a short film portraying evolution from primordial soup to space travel days, is cute. The creature that first finds its way onto land looks a bit like Sonny the Cuckoo Bird. It’s at that point in the short that the creatures get a bit more fantastic and the females are all strangely depicted with large breasts. It’s also at that point where it loses me and my interest.

The Door is set in the days following the Chernobyl disaster. It’s a powerful tale that tells one story of residents living in the exclusion zone who were directly affected by the meltdown. It makes economical use of its under 20 minute runtime to portray a complete and complex story.

Oscar Nominations: Best Short Subject, Animated Films (Evolution); Best Short Film, Live Action (The Door)

Posted on 2021-10-21 | No Comments |

Death of a Cheerleader (1994)

In this made for television movie, Kellie Martin wants to be rich and popular like Tori Spelling, trying her darnedest to make it happen. Unfortunately Tori is kind of awful so it’s not a surprise that she is the cheerleader in the title. It’s the best quality you can expect from a TV movie based on a true story, which makes it trashy but entertaining. Oddly they made the murderer the most sympathetic character and the victim someone you’d hate. There’s also the added 1990s moral panic that the girl who dresses in black is bullied and also considered the prime suspect.

Posted on 2021-10-20 | No Comments |

I Never Promised You a Rose Garden (1977)

A young woman who suffers from delusions winds up in a mental institution after a suicide attempt. The film feels realistic, though I’m not sure how accurate it is toward her particular illness or mental hospitals. I found the depictions of her fantasy world particularly effective. Kathleen Quinlan as the woman gives an impressive performance, conveying so many of the emotions from hopelessness to anger to despair. Now that I’ve seen many of her earlier films, I enjoy seeing Sylvia Sidney’s gravelly voiced old broad roles which are a stark comparison to her big eyed, soft faced love interest of the 1930s.

Oscar Nomination: Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium

Posted on 2021-10-20 | No Comments |

Granny O’Grimm’s Sleeping Beauty (2008)

Granny tries to keep it real by infusing the story of Sleeping Beauty with tales of ageism and unrealistic beauty standards. Unfortunately, such a tale frightens the young listener and the message is lost. The utilization of two different animation styles between the storyteller and the actual store was neat.

Oscar Nomination: Best Short Film, Animated

Posted on 2021-10-20 | No Comments |

Common Threads: Stories from the Quilt (1989)

Telling the story of the NAMES Project Memorial Quilt, this film focuses on the stories of 5 individuals featured on the quilt, told through recollections by family and loved ones. I’ve seen exhibits of the Quilt and witnessed people seeing their loved one’s panel for the first time. It’s a powerful and emotional experience, as is watching this documentary. It doesn’t hide from its duty to provide the history, the negligence, and the awfulness that occurred during the early days of the epidemic, but it remains dedicated to showing the real humans living and dying with this horrible disease.

Oscar Win: Best Documentary, Features

Posted on 2021-10-20 | No Comments |

Maverick (1994)

Ah, the 1990s when Mel Gibson charmed us all. Gibson is Maverick, a gambler trying to get to a winner-takes-all poker tournament. For good reason, I kept imagining James Garner doing a much better job in the role, though it’s still nice to see him in the movie. Jodie Foster is decent in her role, though there’s a continued unfunny gag regarding her being a klutz. It’s a cute film, but too long and meandering for what it is. The ending doesn’t make any logical sense with regards to the rest of the film, which is sad because it would have been a fun ending to a better written film.

Oscar Nomination: Best Costume Design

Posted on 2021-10-19 | No Comments |

The Island of Dr Moreau (1977)

This is a pretty good rendition of the famous H.G. Wells story. Burt Lancaster plays the mad scientist who oversees an island where he experiments on animals trying to make them human-like; Michael York is the unfortunate man who finds himself stranded on said island. Both of them are well-cast in their roles and are well matched in their battle of wills, but what is particularly fascinating in the film is the believable depictions of the human-animal hybrids.