A few weeks ago the 2020 Oscars were presented, honoring films released in 2019. I was able to stay awake during the whole ceremony! (I can fall asleep during anything; the preceding astonishment is less a traditional indictment of the length of the ceremony in recent years and more an acknowledgment that I managed not to, well, fall asleep. Anyway.)
Best Picture
Parasite won this. Without actually having seen it (though I have blogging buddies who were among the early cheerful fans), I can only scratch my head over this curious insult to the rich and poor, regardless of the culture, and wonder if it happened at all because of Get Out. Of the nominated films, I was equally perplexed by Jojo Rabbit (likewise haven't seen), am convinced that 1917 is chiefly an editing spectacle (still haven't seen), wondering if Marriage Story is an update on the traditional Hollywood relationships-are-hell narrative (haven't seen), but would've been happy for Joker, Ford v Ferrari, or Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (loved all three).
Best Actor
Joaquin Phoenix (Joker) won this. Deservedly. Still weird to think the Joker, of all superhero characters, has become such an Oscar magnet, but he keeps eliciting great performances and great writing.
Best Actress
Renee Zellweger (Judy) won this. Couldn't be happier for her. Probably worst acceptance speech of the night.
Best Supporting Actor
Brad Pitt (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood) won this. I think the younger Pitt would've been amused. But he had the best acceptance speech of the night.
Best Supporting Actress
Laura Dern (Marriage Story) won this. I'm sorry, she's hot. Apparently she will always be hot.
Best Original Screenplay
Parasite won this. Really should've been Once Upon a Time in Hollywood or Knives Out.
Best Adapted Screenplay
Jojo Rabbit won this. Really should've been Joker.
Best Animated Feature Film
Toy Story 4 won this. My niece, years from now, will be baffled that Frozen II wasn't even nominated.
Best International Feature Film
Parasite won this, too. Some people were baffled that it could be nominated in both categories. I see no problem here.
Best Original Score
Joker won this. Well deserved.
Best Original Song
Rocketman won this. As often as not, the Oscars have no clue in this category. And most of the performances were awful. I have no idea why half the songs were even nominated.
Sunday, February 23, 2020
Sunday, February 16, 2020
Gemini Man (2019)
rating: ****
the story: A hitman ends up fighting a younger version of himself.
review: Here's one of those movies whose reception has just baffled me, for any number of reasons. I get that Will Smith hasn't been popular in about a decade, but for me, he's still an undeniable talent, and I love that he's getting back into the spotlight. I also get that Ang Lee somehow lost his critical credibility (I still have no idea how), but to continue treating him as if he's just another filmmaker is beyond idiotic. And for Smith and Lee to make a movie together and everyone still just sees no worth in their efforts...
Listen, I get it. You see a movie like this and assume it's just a gimmick: Will Smith battles himself. It's just another of those movies capitalizing on special effects. But there's beyond simplifying it. There's a lot to love, even if you're not as enamored of Smith (and Lee) as I am.
Take Mary Elizabeth Winstead, for instance. When I watched the movie in theaters, I was initially baffled. Is that Cobie Smulders? Wait, it isn't? Oh, it's Winstead! The last time I caught her was in Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, which I took as the geek version of (500) Days of Summer (which was a welcome interpretation). I expected that she'd go on to have a notable, visible career. So there I was, a decade later, not recognizing her, thinking she was someone else, and suddenly remembering how much I liked her. Her character in Gemini Man is pretty much exactly Smulders' MCU character, but given actual space to breathe (which in a half dozen appearances Smulders never got, which was why she had to take the act on the road in Jack Reacher: Never Go Back, and then just got to be awesome in Stumptown).
Then there's Clive Owen. Actually, this whole movie features people inexplicably unappreciated by today's audiences. Owen achieved immortality at least once, with Children of Men, but then he drifted into obscurity, and has begun resurfacing in recent years, although you'd hardly know it, because no one cares anymore. This older Clive Owen is no longer the good guy leading man, suave and self-confident, but the bad guy, and yet he's still magnetic. Of course.
Smith is great, as he always is, and watching his current self opposite a version of his younger self (basically just before his career exploded) is a distinct treat. The motorcycle stunts are a selling point all their own.
But the best thing about Gemini Man is the unexpected point of the story: Lee is actually arguing that suffering is a good thing. He believes that soldiers should feel pain. This is different from not giving them treatment. Smith ends up far better when he allows himself to embrace a personal life. (In the mix is Benedict Wong in another standout supporting role, after his MCU appearances.) The younger Smith is supposed to be one of those perfect killing machines who don't question anything. In other forms this means robots. But as we've repeatedly been told (even in Will Smith movies), robots are going to be people, too. Eventually they'll want exactly what we want.
Even when we don't realize we need it. We need our pain. Sucks to have it, but it's an essential part of living. Pain, regret, loss, all of it. It helps remind us that there's so much more to life, things that will make us feel those things.
Movies, especially blockbuster action movies, aren't supposed to help us worry about such things, yet Smith's movies have consistently, as his career has progressed, linger on them. Lee's movies have sought the transcendent, universal messages that went far beyond his origins, the kinds of movies critics find easy to enjoy, and continually reward, but so often fall far of the mark that more ambitious movies attempt. Such as, yes, Gemini Man.
the story: A hitman ends up fighting a younger version of himself.
review: Here's one of those movies whose reception has just baffled me, for any number of reasons. I get that Will Smith hasn't been popular in about a decade, but for me, he's still an undeniable talent, and I love that he's getting back into the spotlight. I also get that Ang Lee somehow lost his critical credibility (I still have no idea how), but to continue treating him as if he's just another filmmaker is beyond idiotic. And for Smith and Lee to make a movie together and everyone still just sees no worth in their efforts...
Listen, I get it. You see a movie like this and assume it's just a gimmick: Will Smith battles himself. It's just another of those movies capitalizing on special effects. But there's beyond simplifying it. There's a lot to love, even if you're not as enamored of Smith (and Lee) as I am.
Take Mary Elizabeth Winstead, for instance. When I watched the movie in theaters, I was initially baffled. Is that Cobie Smulders? Wait, it isn't? Oh, it's Winstead! The last time I caught her was in Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, which I took as the geek version of (500) Days of Summer (which was a welcome interpretation). I expected that she'd go on to have a notable, visible career. So there I was, a decade later, not recognizing her, thinking she was someone else, and suddenly remembering how much I liked her. Her character in Gemini Man is pretty much exactly Smulders' MCU character, but given actual space to breathe (which in a half dozen appearances Smulders never got, which was why she had to take the act on the road in Jack Reacher: Never Go Back, and then just got to be awesome in Stumptown).
Then there's Clive Owen. Actually, this whole movie features people inexplicably unappreciated by today's audiences. Owen achieved immortality at least once, with Children of Men, but then he drifted into obscurity, and has begun resurfacing in recent years, although you'd hardly know it, because no one cares anymore. This older Clive Owen is no longer the good guy leading man, suave and self-confident, but the bad guy, and yet he's still magnetic. Of course.
Smith is great, as he always is, and watching his current self opposite a version of his younger self (basically just before his career exploded) is a distinct treat. The motorcycle stunts are a selling point all their own.
But the best thing about Gemini Man is the unexpected point of the story: Lee is actually arguing that suffering is a good thing. He believes that soldiers should feel pain. This is different from not giving them treatment. Smith ends up far better when he allows himself to embrace a personal life. (In the mix is Benedict Wong in another standout supporting role, after his MCU appearances.) The younger Smith is supposed to be one of those perfect killing machines who don't question anything. In other forms this means robots. But as we've repeatedly been told (even in Will Smith movies), robots are going to be people, too. Eventually they'll want exactly what we want.
Even when we don't realize we need it. We need our pain. Sucks to have it, but it's an essential part of living. Pain, regret, loss, all of it. It helps remind us that there's so much more to life, things that will make us feel those things.
Movies, especially blockbuster action movies, aren't supposed to help us worry about such things, yet Smith's movies have consistently, as his career has progressed, linger on them. Lee's movies have sought the transcendent, universal messages that went far beyond his origins, the kinds of movies critics find easy to enjoy, and continually reward, but so often fall far of the mark that more ambitious movies attempt. Such as, yes, Gemini Man.
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