Category: Oscar Winner

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Drive My Car (2021)

Two years after the unexpected death of his wife, actor-director Hidetoshi Nishijima accepts an offer to direct a multilingual production of Uncle Vanya for a Hiroshima theatrical festival. Because of insurance purposes, the festival organizers require him to be driven by professional driver Toko Miura, an introverted young woman who has also experienced loss in her life. Like director Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s previous film, I wasn’t sure if I was really wanting to continue with this early on, especially as the credits for this film don’t appear until after 40 minutes at point which the main story begins. That isn’t to say the earlier minutes were unnecessary fluff, it was just difficult to see where it was going. Visually gorgeous with relatable themes of relationships entwined and sharing grief, it never feels like it’s three hour run time. My biggest takeaway remains as a fascination with the idea of a multilingual performance. I’d love to see one on stage now, but it’s already incredible watching the necessary process to make such a thing work unfold.  Best Picture Nomination

Oscar Win: Best International Feature Film

Oscar Nominations: Best Motion Picture of the Year; Best Achievement in Directing; Best Adapted Screenplay

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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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Roger Youngson shorts (1949-1956)

Looking for some Oscar nominated short films, I ran across a handful directed by Youngson on youtube. Almost universally they are edited together bits of old film footage around a singular theme: Spills and Chills (1949, early daredevils), Cavalcade of Girls (1950, accomplishments of 20th century women), Blaze Busters (1950, firefighters), World of Kids (1950, cute kids), This Mechanical Age (1954, early aviation), Gadgets Galore (1955, early automobile driving), and I Never Forget a Face (1956, earliest footage of famous people). They’re relatively amusing and slightly educational, though watching them in sequence makes it obvious that the footage is often reused from film to film. Despite its obvious era-related sexism, my favorite of the group was the only unnominated one from the group, Cavalcade of Girls, as it offers more educational opportunities though I Never Forget a Face is interesting in noting the begins of celebrity film coverage.

Oscar Wins: Best Short Subject, One-reel (World of Kids; This Mechanical Age)

Oscar Nominations: Best Short Subject, One-reel (Spills and Chills; Blaze Busters; Gadgets Galore; I Never Forget a Face)

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Karakter (1997)

Born the illegitimate son of a withholding housekeeper and her cruel bailiff employer, Fedja van Huêt becomes the chief suspect in his biological father’s unexpected death, requiring him to provide the details of his rise from poverty to becoming a lawyer himself. The periodic exchanges between the two over the years exhibits a contentious relationship that runs deep for both men. I found this to be an unexpectedly riveting drama that explores the bonds, or lack thereof, of family and the degrees to which success can be attributed to circumstances of birth, self determination, and luck.

Oscar Win: Best Foreign Language Film

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Cactus Flower (1969)

His girlfriend Goldie Hawn values honesty above all else, which becomes a problem when dentist Walter Matthau decides he would like to marry her after previously telling her he was married with three children. Enter Ingrid Bergman, Matthau’s prudish assistant who holds a secret affection for her employer, who is enlisted to fill in as the imaginary wife. A light-hearted amusing romp, I appreciated it for being one of Bergman’s later roles and a rare comedic performance. I really dig Goldie’s mod style and her bubbly personality throughout the film, but it’s strange that she won an Oscar for a role that doesn’t seem that far-fetched from her normal persona.  Comedy  Romance

Oscar Win: Best Actress in a Supporting Role

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The War of the Worlds (1953)

When a large object falls from space, the hopeful reception by the naïve Californians is quickly dashed by the brutal destruction of the visiting Martians. Some brilliant set designs are unfortunately paired with an incredibly hokey story and under developed heroes. While I love a lot of 1950s SciFi films, this one takes itself a bit too seriously while not putting in enough effort for the audience to do so as well. The well-established ending comes along suddenly in a ‘we didn’t know quite where to go with this’ sort of way.  SciFi  Action

Oscar Win: Best Effects, Special Effects

Oscar Nominations: Best Sound, Recording; Best Film Editing

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Whitewash (1994)/ The Box (1967)

Based on an actual incident, Whitewash tells the story of a young school girl who was attacked by a gang of thugs who painted her face white. This has been on my watchlist for so long that I don’t know where I originally encountered it. A somewhat rough looking piece of animation, it goes far to illustrate the terrorizing aspect of mindless racism and the benefits of supportive allies.

In The Box, a short bearded man goes into a bar and places a small box on the counter. What follows is a string of patrons who are all nosily curious as to what is in the box. The premise is not much, but the animation is cute with a pleasant simplicity and some interesting changes in perspective.

Oscar Win: Best Short Subject, Cartoons (The Box)

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Death on the Nile (1978)

In his first outing as the Belgian detective, Peter Ustinov’s Poirot witnesses an obsessive Mia Farrow hounding her ex-fiancé Simon MacCorkindale and his new wife/her former best friend Lois Chiles while the couple honeymoons on the Nile River. It is of course difficult to not compare this to Branagh’s recent take on the story. Ustinov is not a bad representation of Poirot, but I prefer Kenneth’s. Here Poirot is less a leader in the investigation and more a co-investigator with David Niven’s Colonel Race. While I liked the beginning setup in the newer version, I think overall this has the superior telling of the story. Filming on location seems to be an important detail to give the right feel for the story. The cast here is far better as well with stellar veterans such as Bette Davis, Maggie Smith and Angela Lansbury all providing support.   Mystery

Oscar Win: Best Costume Design

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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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Melvin and Howard (1980)

Melvin Dummar didn’t think anything of it when he picked up an injured motorcyclist who claimed to be Howard Hughes in the Nevada desert. That is until years later when the real Hughes died and a will was found that claimed Dummar as one of the beneficiaries. This film is based on that true story with Paul Le Mat portraying Melvin and Jason Robards as Howard. The film concentrates mostly on Dummar’s life between those two events, constantly hustling and struggling to hold on to one marriage before moving on to the second. It feels a lot like a film made in the previous decade with a somewhat dislikable lead who some might still find charming but who is upstaged by the spirit of those around him, particularly wives Mary Steenburgen and Pamela Reed. It’s still hard not to root at least a bit for Melvin, especially when learning details of the case persisted into the next century.

Oscar Win: Best Actress in a Supporting Role; Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen

Oscar Nomination: Best Actor in a Supporting Role

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