Category: Oscar Nominee

Posted on 2022-03-13 | No Comments |

To Be or Not to Be (1983)

A theatre troupe uses their talents to fight the Nazis in occupied Poland. I hadn’t at first realized that this was a remake of the 1942 film of the same title even if it’s a fairly faithful recreation. Both films are evocative of their eras. The narrative flows better in the earlier film; the jokes seemingly more important here. While they all provide laughs, Mel Brooks’ films definitely vary in how they resonate with me. This one is middle of the pack. It is great to see him working with his wife Anne Bancroft. They have a natural, fun camaraderie that comes across well in this film.

Oscar Nomination: Best Actor in a Supporting Role

Posted on 2022-03-12 | No Comments |

The Missing Picture (2013)

In 1970s Cambodia, eleven year old Rithy Panh and his family were among the millions rounded up by the Khmer Rouge and sent to reeducation work camps. As an adult director, Panh uses a mixture of clay figures, animation, and archival footage to work through the atrocities he experienced, including the deaths of his entire family. The result is a somewhat dull, but unconventional documentary on an important part of world history, told from a first hand perspective. The figures are the most powerful part, but they are presented in static dioramas with very slow, drawn-out narration.

Oscar Nomination: Best Foreign Language Film of the Year

Posted on 2022-03-12 | No Comments |

The Firemen’s Ball (1967)

The firemen of a small Czechoslovakian town are hosting a ball in honor of their chief’s retirement. With the whole town invited, there are many activities planned: dancing, an raffle, and a beauty pageant. Unfortunately, before the event even begins, nothing really goes as planned. It started a bit slow for me, but my appreciation and amusement grew as the ball went on. Some of this progression is do to jokes that require some build up to a rather funny ending.

Oscar Nomination: Best Foreign Language Film

Posted on 2022-03-11 | No Comments |

Kings of the Turf (1941)/Saved from the Flames: 54 Rare and Restored Films (1896-1944)

The life of a cart horse from birth to adulthood is detailed with questionable humor in Kings of the Turf. I’m sure there is someone out there that finds such things amusing, but for me, it’s quite a bore and very forgettable. It’s too fictionalized of an account to feel informative and not appealing enough to bother otherwise.

As the title suggests, Saved from the Flames is a collection of rare films that were made during the days of nitrate films. Comments on the films are available after the cut.

Oscar Nomination: Best Short Subject, One-reel (Kings of the Turf)

Posted on 2022-03-11 | No Comments |

The Great Lie (1941)

When his marriage to Mary Astor is deemed invalid, George Brent returns to old flame Bette Davis. Unfortunately Mary got pregnant during their short time together, a fact that does not become clear until George disappeared during a business trip to Brazil. It’s a weird far-fetched plot, but well acted all around particularly during the scenes between the two women. I was glad to see two McDaniel siblings, Hattie and Sam, in larger, interacting roles, though of course they’re both still servants.

Oscar Win: Best Actress in a Supporting Role

Posted on 2022-03-10 | No Comments |

Omar (2013)

After he and two of his childhood friends carry out a sniper attack on an Israeli soldier, Adam Bakri’s titular character is captured and coerced into becoming a collaborator. His situation is further complicated by his love for one of his friends’ sister and finding the traitor in their group who tipped off the authorities. I hadn’t intended to watch so many films on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict but it was one of those weird coincidences in my library check-outs. This was rather similar to the same director’s Paradise Now . I think I prefer Paradise Now as a film, but this one does have a more multi-faceted story and also includes a more thorough look at the hopeless situation of collaborators which was referenced in that other film.

Oscar Nomination: Best Foreign Language Film of the Year

Posted on 2022-03-10 | No Comments |

Caesar and Cleopatra (1945)

The acting in this telling of the relationship between Julius Caesar and Cleopatra is weird but interesting. Vivien Leigh’s Cleopatra is of course gorgeous, but she portrays the queen as a weak, petulant child. In response, Claude Rains’s Caesar is a smirking father figure, manipulating the impulsive Cleopatra to his own gains. The film is pretty to look at, but it also boring. The action is dull with the most interesting parts spoken instead of shown.

Oscar Nomination: Best Art Direction-Interior Decoration, Color

Posted on 2022-03-09 | No Comments |

She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949)

On the verge of retirement, captain John Wayne is ordered to have his men escort two women, Mildred Natwick and Joanna Dru, to a stagecoach travelling back East while also being on the lookout for Cheyenne and Arapaho, riled after Custer’s defeat. This is very standard Western fare that took me quite a long time to get through. The various young men, two vying for the affections of Dru, all came across as interchangeable to me. Victor McLaglen does provide some welcome comic relief from the dull proceedings. I also enjoyed the small presence of Natwick, though wish more had been done with her role.

Oscar Win: Best Cinematography, Color

Posted on 2022-03-08 | No Comments |

Paradise Now (2005)

Two childhood friends living in Nablus are recruited to carry out suicide bombings in Tel Aviv. On the day chosen for the attack, they make it through the military checkpoint, but are forced to flee from guards, separating for the remainder of the day with neither knowing what happened to the other. It’s a delicate, human telling of the two young men’s histories and the conditions in their lives that lead them to this point without necessarily glorifying the choices they have made.

Oscar Nomination: Best Foreign Language Film of the Year

Posted on 2022-03-08 | No Comments |

The Tender Trap (1955)

Womanizing theatrical agent Frank Sinatra’s idyllic life is disrupted when he falls for young actress Debbie Reynolds who has her entire life mapped out, starting with getting married by her next birthday. Sinatra’s role here reminds me a lot of his character in Come Blow Your Horn and a lot of the same criticisms hold true, though he’s not quite as old in this film. Reynolds is adorable, but her character is at best exceptionally naïve and there’s little reason for the two of them to get together. Celeste Holm, as one of Sinatra’s many girlfriends, is a highlight as the most sensible and put together character in the entire film.

Oscar Nomination: Best Music, Original Song