Parasite

  And this week's Friday night movie has been... Parasite!

Original image located here. Accessed 29th November 2024

Best Picture Oscar winner no.: 92 (2019)

It may be easy to mock the Oscars for getting it wrong and going for the 'safe' option. So credit is credit due when the Academy shows some stones and laud the nastier, less-audience-friendly choice.
Not much I can say really: This may have been the apex of the 'message' era/2010s of Best Picture winners. And certainly representative of the 'eat the rich' mindset that has emerged in recent years.

But the movie itself? It's a pitch black comedy and just the way I like it. Unforgettable imagery, strung out tension, delicious ironies, and a sense that one is never sure how this movie is going turn out.
Clearly movies never get better than this. 

Wicked (part 1)

 Last night I went and saw Wicked.

Original image located here. Accessed 24th November 2024

Perhaps I shouldn't be surprised that a movie adaptation of the Wicked musical would be made. After all, said musical was a mammoth success and started this trend of 'retelling the narrative of villains' (it's doubtful Frozen would've existed without Wicked). Furthermore, the existence of the movie is helpful in that this narrative can reach those who can't afford the triple digit figure for the stage show.

There's not a lot can I fault with this movie: Sure it's the first half of a duology but what's there is impressive: The visuals are astonishing, the humour & the script is great and the cast all fit their roles well. Indeed, I am convinced that playing Glinda was Ariana Grande's life ambition. 

So yeah I was won over, in a manner akin to the many who went and saw the stage show.
So! When's the next one coming?

Moonlight

 And this week's Friday night movie has been... La La L-sorry, Moonlight!

Original image located here. Accessed 22nd November 2024

Best Picture Oscar winner no.: 89 (2016)

I have spoken many times how I doubt the movie-going public will ever forgive Shakespeare in Love for winning Best Picture over Saving Private Ryan. So how does said public feel about Moonlight winning over La La Land? Granted the circumstances of that victory were different but it isn't much of a stretch to imagine at least some bitterness.
But in a way, perhaps it was fitting that Moonlight won instead of La La Land as it represented a change of the times: The musical - a genre that has been a tried and tested Oscar winner - lost out to something different and radical.

I said last week that the 2010s represented a time when message movies were gaining traction at the Oscars and this is no different. It shows the life of a gay black man, from childhood to adulthood. Granted such experiences are completely foreign to my own but I was still very impressed with this movie. It certainly has a sense of solemnity to it that is akin to being in church and it is fascinating to see life play out in such a manner. It is also compelling to see one's choices in life and, at the end of the movie, the offering of the question of what one would do differently.

Really this movie is a triumph of taking very little and doing a lot with it. Indeed, there's something to be learned from that..

Spotlight

 And this week's Friday night movie has been... Spotlight!

Original image located here. Accessed 15th November 2024

Best Picture Oscar winner no.: 88 (2015)

It's quite daring to have this movie to win Best Picture. Not only was a small winner (it won only one other award) but it also faces down the Catholic church. But then again, this is the 2010s where message movies are the norm. 

However get past the first impressions and this film is remarkable: It less about condemnation and more about the journalistic team working to uncover this case. It is an ensemble drama with all present clearly working outside of their comfort zone and giving committed performances. Also it's nice to see Mark Ruffalo in a role that both isn't the Hulk and allows him to flex his acting muscles. 

So how does the Catholic church emerge from this? Well, they are largely unseen. Granted this is perhaps to make sure this movie got a major release but this narrative isn't about them: It's about the victims, having endured physical and spiritual abuse. It is a wise decision to not show the journalistic team in a heroic light and instead focus on the people they are trying to reach. Indeed, that list at the end does hit like a truck.

Truly a remarkable movie. 

Birdman

And this week's Friday night movie has been... Birdman (or the Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)!

Original image located here. Accessed 11th November 2024

Best Picture Oscar winner no.: 87 (2014)

Clearly the major selling point of this movie was movie was it was shot in a way that conveys the impression it was done in one continuous take. A tall order since I saw, and adored, Russian Ark and that was the real deal. So what does this movie do?

Well the edits are there and you will need a sharp eye to spot them. But this is still a remarkable film: Sure the technological aspect of it is impressive but the real meat is the notion of a washed up actor who is trying to be taken seriously. Yes there is a thinly veiled dig at the MCU and the nods to Batman are hard to miss but this is still staggering in what it's conveying. 
When you see as many movies have I have it does get to a point where you see so much it's hard to see something that leaps out at you. Thankfully this is one such movie. 

12 Years a Slave

And this week's Friday night movie has been... 12 Years a Slave!

Original image located here. Accessed 4th November 2024

Best Picture Oscar winner no.: 86 (2013)

And now we are well and truly into the twenty tens. At this point, the new decade of Best Picture Oscar winners has had time to determine what it wants to be. And to would seem that identity would be built up out of 'message' movies.

Lets not beat around the bush: This was not an easy watch. Sure the cinematography is staggering in it's beauty and the sheer scale of it's shots, sure the acting is equally gripping and the direction is top notch but this is still a depiction of American slavery. That this movie is clearly well researched and based on historical fact does not take away the ugliness and brutality of it all. And it is all there on screen, whether we like or not.

Still, this movie is nothing less than astonishing.
And just when you think the Academy doesn't have the guts to stray away from the 'safe' option, they still manage to surprise you.