Category: Best Hair/Makeup

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Suicide Squad (2016)

After Superman’s death, government official Viola Davis gets the go-ahead to put together a team of supervillains to combat future superpowered threats. There is so much that is bad about this film: an incoherent story, inconsistent pacing, no sense of characterization, too many characters, unnecessary sexual objectification. Why does Enchantress want to destroy the world? Where does Harley Quinn’s random accent come from? Where do all the superheroes go while these guys are out saving the universe or whatever? What is the entire deal with the Joker? At least it offers something different than all of the cookie-cutter Marvel films.  Action

Oscar Win: Best Achievement in Makeup and Hairstyling

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Il Divo (2008)

The later days in the tumultuous career of ruthless seven-time Italian prime minister Giulio Andreotti (portrayed here by Toni Servillo) are marked by his failed bid for the presidency, scandals, and a criminal trial. Through much of his career, the prime minister remained untouched, a note that is reflected on by him in the film. An incredibly stylistic film, I felt I missed a whole lot due to my ignorance on Italian politics. Servillo does morph completely into the dead-eyed politician, laying out more in a simple stare than any word voiced.

Oscar Nomination: Best Achievement in Makeup

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Roommates (1995)

Following the deaths of both of his parents, D.B. Sweeney moved in with his 77 year old grandfather Peter Falk. What follows was thirty years of off and on living together through life’s ups and downs. The posters for this make it look like it’d be an intergenerational version of The Odd Couple, but it’s far from that. It’s mostly a maudlin portrayal of the difficulties of life that is only buoyed by a great performance by Falk and a criminally small appearance by Julianne Moore.

Oscar Nomination: Best Makeup

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The Nutty Professor (1996)

Mild-mannered professor Eddie Murphy desperately wants something more out of life, especially after meeting the beautiful Jada Pinkett Smith, so he experiments on himself with a potion he has been developing which turns him into a more charismatic, skinnier, but meaner version of himself. Leaning heavily into the playing multiple roles that was a cute bit in Coming to America, Eddie plays every adult member of the professor’s family. I was unprepared for the number of fart jokes that came out of that group every time they were on screen. That and fat jokes are pretty much what exists for humor in the film. The makeup and special effects in the film remain impressive 25 years later. It’s incredible how natural Murphy looks as a fat man and even how much more attractive he looked as such.  Comedy

Oscar Win: Best Makeup

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Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins (1985)

New York cop Fred Ward’s death was faked without his permission so he could be recruited into a secret government organization run by Wilford Brimley. Fred spends almost the entire film being trained by a Korean martial arts master bewilderingly played by Joel Grey in yellow face. The highlight of the film is a battle scene set on the Statue of Liberty while it was being refurbished. Like the rest of the movie, this is oddly not the climax to the story.     Action

Oscar Nomination: Best Makeup

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Border (2018)

Possessing an unusually heightened sense of smell, Eva Melander works for Swedish customs, sniffing out smuggled contraband. When she encounters someone else with similar features, it sends her on a voyage of personal discovery to her origins and unexpected revelations about the world at large. This is a very weird film and there were many places it went that were hard to get behind. Melander’s performance is striking. With the makeup for her character, she is completely unrecognizable, but her inner humanity still shines through.  Fantasy

Oscar Nomination: Best Achievement in Makeup and Hairstyling

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Coming 2 America (2021)

In this sequel to the 1988 film with almost the same name, the story forwards thirty years where Eddie Murphy’s Prince Akeem has three daughters and is set to take over the throne from his dying father. Because they still live in a patriarchy, the daughters are useless, but luckily Eddie unknowingly fathered a son during his long ago visit to Queens. It’s the type of sequel that’s incredibly weak in plotting but strong in nods to the previous film. The original being the first R rated film I saw in the theater and still holds up for me in recent watchings, I enjoyed seeing all the old characters return and the new ones blend in relatively smoothly. The costumes are gorgeous and the makeup necessary for Eddie and Arsenio Hall to portray multiple characters is well done, but the film is missing the charm of its predecessor.

Oscar Nomination: Best Achievement in Makeup and Hairstyling

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The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988)

In a war-torn city, a theatre troupe’s performance of the life and adventures of Baron Munchausen is interrupted by the man himself. The disruption causes the actors’ contract to be cancelled and the Baron insists on saving the city. This film was a notorious flop, which is a shame because it offers a fun adventure flick. I really enjoyed John Neville’s portrayal of the baron. It cannot live up to the wonder of Zeman’s The Fabulous Baron Munchausen and has some surprising adult tones mixed in an otherwise family friendly story, but it’s visually fanciful with twists and turns through the various adventures that conveys a great message in its circular telling.   Fantasy

Oscar Nominations: Best Art Direction-Set Decoration; Best Costume Design; Best Effects, Visual Effects; Best Makeup

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House of Gucci (2021)

This movie is such a mess that I’m having a hard time even thinking of a synopsis that covers what is portrayed. The best I can come up with is it’s about how Patrizia Reggiani’s (portrayed by Lady Gaga) marriage to Maurizio Gucci (Adam Driver in the film) caused the Gucci family to lose control of their fashion empire. Aside from the title, it takes its time bringing the Gucci name into the film. Lady Gaga looks great as a 1970s Italian woman, but I don’t know about her portrayal. While her father-in-law Jeremy Irons pegs her as a gold digger early on, there’s nothing in the early scenes that suggests that and her later actions come a bit out of nowhere. This could just be poor writing, but it’s not sold regardless. The entire cast is a bit out of sorts as to what kind of movie they’re in. They all fumble with their Italian accents, Irons deciding early on his normal one would suffice. Everyone that is except for Jared Leto. He gives an entirely dedicated campy performance as Maurizio’s cousin Paolo; he’s almost unrecognizable. I’m pretty sure the Oscar nomination is just for his makeup.

Oscar Nomination: Best Achievement in Makeup and Hairstyling

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2010: The Year We Make Contact (1984)

I am admittedly not a fan of 2001: A Space Odyssey nor Stanley Kubrick, so my expectations here weren’t very high. As a sequel to that film, this takes place nine years later with a joint Soviet-US mission to investigate HAL’s malfunction despite tensions being extremely high between the two countries back on earth. It’s not as visually impressive nor grand in scope as 2001. In fact, it’s pretty standard science fiction fare with a more explicit narrative that makes clear some of the events from the earlier film. For all that, I found it much more entertaining than the Kubrick’s alleged masterpiece. .  SciFi

Oscar Nominations: Best Art Direction-Set Decoration; Best Costume Design; Best Sound; Best Effects, Visual Effects; Best Makeup

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