The Sandman
The Mad King
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Post by The Sandman on Mar 21, 2021 18:18:12 GMT -5
Oscars were announced. Every year I make a point of checking out every Best Picture nominee.
Nominees this year are:
• Judas and the Black Messiah
• Promising Young Woman
• Sound of Metal
• The Trial of the Chicago 7
• The Father
• Mank
• Minari
• Nomadland
I have now seen the first 4 on that list, and have started Mank.
Anyone seen, or plan on seeing, any of these?
(Later I will post my thoughts on some of what I have seen thus far)
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The Sandman
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Post by The Sandman on Mar 22, 2021 5:25:09 GMT -5
Have now seen Mank as well. The fact that it was nominated for 10 awards just feels like Hollywood masturbating itself for making another movie about Hollywood...
Judas and the Black Messiah, Sound of Metal, and The Trial of the Chicago 7 were all very, very good, and worthy of Best Picture nominations.
Sound of Metal (about a recovering addict, heavy metal drummer who begins to lose his hearing) is slightly melodramatic, which you know just from the core plot of the movie, but it's very well done, so that doesn't really matter. It sucks you in pretty well and is very engaging, and makes you feel things. Yay feelings, amiright?
The Trial of the Chicago 7 is an often-funny, yet humiliatingly true story, showcasing pretty much the lowest depths the government will go to for political trials. Saw a documentary on this a few years ago, and basically the most unrealistic things in this flick are pretty much all true, sadly. Also, I really like Sasha Baron Cohen.
Judas and the Black Messiah was a great companion piece to Trial of the Chicago 7, as there are a few overlapping characters and an overlapping timeline. Fred Hampton is a character in both, though he is a minor yet not insignificant character in Chicago 7, he is one of two focal points in Judas and the Black Messiah. Educational, complex, and sometimes devastating, this is my favourite of the batch so far, I think.
Promising Young Woman is an excellent genre flick, very well done, but does nothing to transcend that very simple revenge flick genre. As such, this feels more like a #MeToo token nomination, rather than a movie that is legitimately one of the best films of the year. Characters and plot points are (likely intentionally) flat and cookie-cutter cliches. I think these are intentional, since it makes this genre of film. But it does not make something worthy of being discussed as the best film of 2021. A shame.
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Post by The Texas Rattlesnakes on Mar 22, 2021 5:39:11 GMT -5
I can watch Trial of the Chicago 7 on Netflix and Judas and the Black Messiah on HBO Max, so that's good. Isn't promising young woman the one where she lures potential rapists out and murders them or something? I would never have expected that to be a nominee. |
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Post by The Rocketmen on Mar 22, 2021 12:14:49 GMT -5
Literally have heard of 2 of these films. I'm so fucking out of touch at this point.
But I did check out the following flicks recently:
A Marriage Story
Yes, God, Yes
Always Be my Maybe (asian-focused rom com, pretty enjoyable)
Kiki's Delivery Service
Escape Room (just... don't lol)
The Post
The Lookout
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The Sandman
The Mad King
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Post by The Sandman on Mar 22, 2021 14:54:22 GMT -5
I can watch Trial of the Chicago 7 on Netflix and Judas and the Black Messiah on HBO Max, so that's good. Do. I would still recommend Trial first, then Judas, but they aren't really directly connected or anything. Just some cool crossover stuff is all. Isn't promising young woman the one where she lures potential rapists out and murders them or something? I would never have expected that to be a nominee. Close. She acts drunk so assholes will take her home and try to drunk-sex her, then basically reveals she is not drunk, berates and shames them, etc. But it's more well-done than it sounds. And the plot evolves from there, that is mostly just sort of a starting point. But the core gist is the same throughout - revenge against rapists or rapey people kinda thing. And yeah, it's nomination for "Best Picture" is very unusual. |
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The Sandman
The Mad King
Black Belt (7th Degree)
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Post by The Sandman on Mar 28, 2021 2:26:52 GMT -5
Have now seen all of these. For me, there felt like a pretty clear hierarchy, though #1 and #2 are pretty close to being tied as well.
1. Judas and the Black Messiah
2. Trial of the Chicago 7
3 (tie) Sound of Metal and The Father
5 (tie) Nomadland and Minari
7. Mank
8. Promising Young Woman
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Post by The Rocketmen on Mar 28, 2021 16:27:37 GMT -5
Have now seen Trial of the Chicago 7, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Laughed way more than I expected.
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