Category: Oscar Nominee

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Velvet Goldmine (1998)

A decade after British glam rocker Jonathan Rhys Meyers withdrew from the spotlight, journalist Christian Bale accepts an assignment to write about the singer’s career and disappearance. Offering some gorgeous visuals, the non-linear, meandering story did little to hold my attention. Beyond the music and costumes that give an authentic 1970s glam rock feel, the most interesting parts involved the interactions of the three leads, which includes Ewan McGregor as an American musician, as their lives intertwine directly and indirectly over the years.    Music

Oscar Nomination: Best Costume Design

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Portrait of Jennie (1948)

Impoverished painter Joseph Cotten struggles to find heartfelt inspiration for his work until meeting young Jennifer Jones in Central Park. He’s fascinated by the mysterious girl who seems to come from another era and ages years in the short periods between their meetings. I hadn’t gone into this with too much expectation, but was delighted by the simple, time-bending love story. The romantic hints early in the relationship are somewhat off-putting but they at least remain chaste until the age difference is no longer pronounced. There’s a beauty in the artistic inspiration that the mysteries of Jennie provide for Cotten the artist.   Fantasy  Romance

Oscar Win: Best Effects, Special Effects

Oscar Nomination: Best Cinematography, Black-and-White

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Let It Be (1970)

It is not surprising that after watching Get Back I finally get around to watching this concert film which was the original result from all that footage. A commercial release of this unfortunately hasn’t existed since the 1980s so it’s unfair to compare the two on technical merits as the copy I was able to procure was so much darker and less clear than the recent miniseries. Regardless, it’s sad to think that for the longest time with all that footage available all that was available to the public was this hour and a half shoddily edited movie. There is little context given to anything that comes before the concert on the roof. The concert on the roof is the strongest piece of this film, but I’m still not sure which of the two renditions I prefer. This is more focused on showing the performance while the miniseries again gives context with the setup, more views and reactions of the audience, and even more footage of the police action. Regardless, they both end on such a melancholic note to know that’s more or less the end.   Music

Oscar Win: Best Music, Original Song Score

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Knights of the Round Table (1953)

In this telling of the legend of King Arthur, Mel Ferrer stars as Arthur while Robert Taylor and Ava Gardner fill in the roles of Lancelot and Guinevere respectively. As mentioned when reviewing Camelot, I don’t have any affinity for Arthurian tales. This film follows essentially the same points in the story as the previous film, but there are no songs and the performances aren’t as entertaining. I’d actually watched this a month or so ago, but thought I had missed too much and should check it out again. Turns out I was wrong, I hadn’t missed much of anything. The film does at least have colorful costumes and sets which are overserved by the beauty of Cinemascope.

Oscar Nominations: Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Color; Best Sound, Recording

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Swing High (1932)/ Sacheen: Breaking the Silence (2019)

One of the many short films narrated by Pete Smith, Swing High features stunts performed by a family of trapeze artists, The Flying Codonas. Many of the acrobatics are shot either from above or in slow motion which gives a close view to the action and maneuvers that the troupe goes through. The result is a lot more thrilling than the typical short I’ve seen from this era.

At the 1973 Oscars, which were being aired while the Wounded Knee Occupation was occurring, Marlon Brando appointed Native American actress Sacheen Littlefeather to decline his Best Actor award in protest of Native American portrayal in films and treatment throughout the country. I had only been vaguely aware of the event before, but this documentary offers Sacheen a chance to give her take on the experience in her own words. It’s particularly interesting that not long after I watched the film, it became public that the Academy had issued an apology to Sacheen for what she endured because of her speech.

Oscar Nomination: Best Short Subject, Novelty (Swing High)

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The Horse’s Mouth (1958)

Recently released from jail, curmudgeonly painter Alec Guinness searches for financing and a location for his next work of art. With a voice that sounds like he’s been eating pinecones for dinner, Guinness perfectly encapsulates the eccentric artist who is driven to create and cares not for anyone who gets in his way, certainly not the rich patrons who might be willing to pay for such work. A really amusing performance, Guinness carries the film, which he also wrote, and everyone else just needs to stand out of his way.  Comedy

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

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Winged Migration (2001)

This documentary follows birds from across the world as they make their annual migration from north to south and back again. Managing to get impressively close to the birds, there are numerous occasions where the viewer gets to feel like they are part of the flock. For fans of nature documentaries, I can’t imagine it gets any better than this. I’m not really into birds, but oddly found the occasional appearance of humans to be jarring. For this non-birder, the footage became repetitive after awhile, but I still found the scope incredibly impressive.  Animals

Oscar Nomination: Best Documentary, Features

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Incendies (2010)

To fulfill their mother’s last wish, adult twins Mélissa Désormeaux-Poulin and Maxim Gaudette are sent on a journey to her homeland, an unnamed Middle Eastern country, in search of their long lost brother and father. Denis Villeneuve is a director I keep my eyes out for because of his gorgeous visuals and complex storytelling and this film does indeed deliver on both of those fronts. The weaving of the past and present lead to an unsurprising ending, but the journey to get there is riveting and emotional.  War  Mystery

Oscar Nomination: Best Foreign Language Film of the Year

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Camelot (1967)

Preparing for battle with his old friend Sir Lancelot (portrayed by Franco Nero), Richard Harris’s King Arthur reflects on the circumstances that led him to the destruction of his Camelotian ideal. I generally care less about the Arthurian legend, but it’s somehow a little more palatable in musical form. The costumes and sets are gorgeously bright and creative. I particularly fell for the early winter scene where Harris first meets Vanessa Redgrave’s Guinevere. Redgrave is beautiful and strong willed, believably carrying on romances with both of the men who aren’t bad in their roles either. I love that many years after becoming romantically involved on this set, Redgrave and Nero later married, adding an extra dash of romanticism to a continued story.  Musical  Romance

Oscar Wins: Best Art Direction-Set Decoration; Best Costume Design; Best Music, Scoring of Music, Adaptation or Treatment

Oscar Nomination: Best Cinematography; Best Sound

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Ascension (2021)

The Chinese Dream is explored through stunning imagery of contemporary China. Presented with little dialogue and no commentary, it is really ambiguous as to what the director Jessica Kingdon was trying to convey or even the context for some of the footage featured. It’s not the type of film I generally find engaging. Centering primarily on the workplace, it seems the Chinese Dream does not differ much from the American Dream, everyone works so they can consume the products they are work to produce in an endless cycle.

Oscar Nomination: Best Documentary Feature

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