Unofficial Academy Awards Discussion Board

Da 5 Bloods (Spike Lee, 2020) 8/10

This is Spike Lee's anti-Vietnam magnus opus, his "Apocalypse, Now". And like most of his films the plot hinges on race and the big betrayal by the American Empire. His angry emotional voice is heard loud and clear as he takes a look back into the past and shows how that war treated the black soldier who constituted 32% of the entire fighting force in Vietnam - more than even white soldiers. Lee pays homage to a number of Hollywood films and incorporates into his main plot elements of John Huston's classic story of greed, "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre", and uses old newsreels and quotes by Boxer Muhammad Ali and Civil Rights Activist Martin Luther King, both very vociferous in their condemnation of the War in South East Asia. Four black veterans go back to Vietnam to try and locate gold they stole and hid during the war. They also hope to find the remains of their fallen comrade (Chadwick Boseman) - the 5th spoke in their wheel - who was their leader and spoke passionately to them about how the U.S. government used the black man to fight their war yet gave back nothing in return. The story often goes into brief tangents - one veteran discovers that he has a daughter from a former Vietnamese hooker who is now a powerful broker and who helps the men make a deal with a businessman (Jean Reno) to get the gold out of the country. They also run into the founder (Mélanie Thierry) of an organization dedicated to the removal of landmines. The screenplay uses its conventional plot - the search for gold, the discovery of their fallen comrade's body, assorted shootouts when they are betrayed and chased by the businessman's local goons - to make scathing points on the role played by the US. government during the war. Lee ensures he drums the "Black Lives Matter" message well and good using an offbeat almost over-the-top style to convey it. Delroy Lindo is a standout as the angry, guilt-ridden soldier suffering from PTSD. In one of his last roles, Chadwick Boseman, playing the gung-ho comrade and guiding force of the group, is equally good. Beautifully photographed and scored film is often erratic and overlong. However, there's no denying that this hysterical and bizzare black comedy is also very moving and a strong reminder of Lee's status as one of the most original filmmakers working today.

The Midnight Sky (George Clooney, 2020) 4/10

Lacklustre film that churns out yet another post-apocalypse plot. What is really disappointing is that a big star like Clooney would actually waste resources to create something we've seen before in far better films like "Gravity", "Ad Astra", "The Martian" and the crappy "Interstellar". The film's deathly pace is the final nail in the coffin. A scientist (George Clooney), on a remote Arctic research station, refuses to leave when everybody evacuates due to some pending and unexplained catastrophe about to hit earth. Since he has terminal cancer he feels no reason to run. When he discovers a small girl left behind he finds a reason to go on in order to save her. Trying to reach another station proves disasterous as the two barely escape with their lives when the ice below them begins to crack and he loses his dialysis. Reaching back he makes contact with an astronaut (Felicity Jones) on a spaceship returning to earth after discovering a habitable moon. The film recovers very briefly during two set pieces, one on earth with the cracked ice and another in space when the ship is hit by a shower of meteors. Nothing we haven't seen before. And the surprise sentimental reveal at the end is also a bore as we see it coming way before as the scientist warns the astronauts about what is in store for them on earth. Clooney, with a huge beard and sunken eyes, is irritating in his attempt to look ravaged and act old. I get that he wants to try a different look but the soggy material fails him. Jones and the other astronauts, portrayed by David Oyelowo, Kyle Chandler and Damián Bichir, all play stock characters and go through motions we've seen far too many times in such films. Skip this unless you want to tune in to catch some great cinematography and a lovely symphonic score.

The Mikado (1939) - 7/10 - This adaptation of the Gilbert and Sullivan opera is colorful and entertaining enough. The singing seems to be pretty decent and the acting wasn't bad.

Thousands Cheer (1943) - 5/10 - The movie starts out with singer Kathryn Grayson plotting to get her parents back together. Her father is a colonel i the army and she travels with him to try and increase the morale of the soldiers by singing with the band and fraternizing with the soldiers. She falls in love with a private named Eddie (Gene Kelly), but he has morale issues of his own. The last half of the movie is a mishmash of performances and skits for a morale boosting concert hosted by Mickey Rooney. Rooney is particularly unfunny here and many of the skits and musical numbers aren't that entertaining either. The romance part between Grayson and Kelly wasn't bad, but the movie overall is a below average.

Murmur of the Heart (1971) - 8/10 - Louis Malle's film centers on Laurent, a 15 year old boy named Laurent growing up in Dijon, France in 1954. He has an overly affectionate mother, a distant father and two older brothers who like to pull pranks. Laurent loves listening to jazz and reading and also does well in school. Like many teenage boys, he is interested in sex and his older brothers take him to a place to lose his virginity. Later, it turns out that scarlet fever has given Laurent a heart murmur so he spends time at a sanatarium with his mother to try and cure his condition. The movie has plenty of humor and moves at a good pace. The acting is very good and it is an entertaining film.

First Love (1970) - 3/10 - Alexander is a 16 year old boy spending the summer at a Russian country estate in the 1800s. He becomes infatuated with the 21 year old woman who moves in next door and joins the circle of men who are courting her. She doesn't exactly return his affections, but doesn't send him away either. The movie was dreadfully dull with lots of images of birds and trees and grass and not a lot happening. for stretches of time.

Moonrise (1948) - 6.5/10 - Danny Hawkins grew up bullied and teased by classmates because his father had been hanged for murder. Danny is in love with Gilly Johnson, but one of Danny's worst bullies, Jerry Sykes, is her boyfriend. Danny and Jerry have it out in the woods one night and Danny prevails, though he starts to come unglued a bit shortly thereafter since he fears the same fate as his father. This was an okay noir film, though one that could have been a lot better. I just didn't find a lot of it particularly engaging.

Big Magilla wrote:

gunnar wrote:Bill and Ted Face the Music (2020) - 6/10 - I didn't hate it, but this movie seemed like a pale imitation of the first two Bill and Ted movies. I thought it lacked the energy, humor, and fun of the earlier films. Maybe I was just expecting too much.

You didn't expect too much. It was terrible. 0/10 for me.

I might have rated it higher than I should have for nostalgia reasons. It was pretty lifeless.


Midway (2019) - 7.5/10 - I thought that this was a pretty good depiction of the Battle of Midway and the events leading up to it, starting with Pearl Harbor. It's a bit weak on character development and lots of stuff was left out, but there is only so much space in a 2+ hour movie. The events focus on pilot Dick Best and intelligence officer Edwin Layton. I thought that the acting was excellent and the special effects were pretty good. I've read that they got a lot of stuff right historically as well which is a plus.

This is Cinerama (1952) - 7/10 - This documentary doesn't really have the same impact as it probably did in a theater with the actual Cinerama screen and sound, but I thought it was interesting. There is an introduction which serves as a brief history of moving pictures followed by scenes from a rollercoaster, a ballet, the Venice canals, and much more. The second half features a trip to Cypress Gardens with lots of aquatic action and scenes from around the U.S. I had the original theater program handy which my mom saved from when she saw it back in the early 1950s.

gunnar wrote:Bill and Ted Face the Music (2020) - 6/10 - I didn't hate it, but this movie seemed like a pale imitation of the first two Bill and Ted movies. I thought it lacked the energy, humor, and fun of the earlier films. Maybe I was just expecting too much.

You didn't expect too much. It was terrible. 0/10 for me.

Bill and Ted Face the Music (2020) - 6/10 - I didn't hate it, but this movie seemed like a pale imitation of the first two Bill and Ted movies. I thought it lacked the energy, humor, and fun of the earlier films. Maybe I was just expecting too much.

Electra (1962) - 8/10 - This adaptation of the Greek tragedy by Euripides is shot in a very lean style. The cinematography and acting were excellent. Irene Pappas plays Electra, the daughter of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra. When Agamemnon is killed upon his return from the Trojan wars, Electra is kept hidden away for many years before being married to a peasant. Her brother, Orestes, went into exile as a child. The two reunite as adults and plot revenge for their father. Pappas later went on to play Clytemnestra in Iphigenia (1977) and did a nice job there as well. I think that this is a very good adaptation of the play and I would put it on par with Iphigenia, which had the same director.

A Place in the World (1992) - 9/10 - Ernesto is growing up in a small town in Argentina where many of the people raise sheep, but struggle financially. Ernesto's father, Mario, teaches school to primary school students sent to him by the ranchers. Mario also tries to keep a cooperative going to protect the small ranchers from the wealthy landowner who buys their wool and tries to control the town. Ernesto's mother, Ana, is a doctor who runs a small clinic along with a local nun, Nelda. A geologist named Hans arrives in town to work for the wealthy landowner to see if a hydroelectric dam is feasible. I thought that the acting and the setting were excellent. This is a well made coming of age story.

The House on Chelouche Street (1973) - 7.5/10 - Sami is a 15 year old boy growing up in Tel Aviv while it was still under British control before the establishment of Israel. He lives with his mother (Clara, a 33 year old widow) and his three siblings. Sami is bright and loves to read, but has quit school in order to work and help support the family. Clara makes a living working as a maid and spends a fair amount of time fending off the advances of one of their neighbors. Sami becomes involved with a resistance group that fights against British occupation. There is some violence between the British forces and the locals as well as between the Arab and Jewish populations. I thought it was a decent film which gives a good picture of what life was like at that time for a certain segment of the population.

Sallah Shabati (1964) - 7/10 - Sallah Shabati (Chaim Topol) arrives in Israel on a plane with his pregnant wife, seven children, and an old female relative. They are placed in a dilapidated one room shack in a transit camp. Sallah spends much of his time playing backgammon and avoiding work while also trying to figure out how to get enough money to move his family to a nearby housing project that is near completion. Meanwhile, Sallah's eldest son and daughter each find romance among the locals. The movie is a comedy/satire, though I didn't find most of it to be incredibly funny. It had its moments, though, and the song in the coffee shop was pretty good.

First Cow (Kelly Reichardt, 2020) 7/10

In the Pacific Northwest during the early nineteenth century a close friendship develops between a skilled cook (John Magaro) and a Chinese immigrant (Orion Lee). This extremely lowkey film follows the two dreamers on their quest to find fame and fortune. Their first step towards a money making scheme involves creating biscuits for sale. This they achieve by secretly milking the only cow in the vicinity which is owned by a rich British gentleman (Toby Jones). As business booms it is only a matter of time before the man hears about the wonder biscuits and comes personally to taste and buy. And it is also a matter of time before their clandestine arrangements are discovered and the two friends are pursued by the angry owner of the cow. The film scores in its depiction of day to day living in rural America during a time when different cultures - Native Americans, the local white men, Chinese, Russian and British immigrants - were beginning to gather to forge living together. Christopher Blauvelt's stunning cinematography captures the glorious countryside with its snaking rivers, woods thick with trees, as the camera even focuses on blades of grass as they gently sway in the breeze. At the center of the story is the friendship between two men from extremely diverse backgrounds who form a strong bond through failure while managing to dodge a pursuit. They get separated with one man getting seriously hurt and the other returning for him. The film's opening and ending images are haunting yet peaceful as an image of extreme violence gets blurred by the sense of togetherness at the forefront. While often moving and poetic the film's slow pace at times seems like a deterent although Reichardt's keen eye brings out subtle nuances in the characters on screen.

Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (George C. Wolf, 2020) 9/10

Searing tribute to Black culture at large, a tip of the hat to a blues legend and a fiery reminder of the Black experience through the ages that is very relevant even today. This is an adaptation of one of the ten-play Pittsburgh Cycle by August Wilson chronicling the 20th-century African-American experience and which producer Denzel Washington is bringing to the screen. After "Fences" this is the second play to be given a big screen treatment in recent years. The story deals with issues related to race, art, religion and the historic exploitation of black musicians by white producers. Ma Rainey (Viola Davis), a famous blues-singer of the 1920s, comes to a recording studio in Chicago with her four bandmates to record one of her signature songs, "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom". She immediately comes into conflict with Levee (Chadwick Boseman), her trumpeteer, who wants to jazz up the song and give it a more upbeat tone while she is adamant about singing it her old way which is much slower. She is also angry at him for trying to make a pass at her girlfriend. The film uses five monologues by each of the band members who get to speak about past events in their lives giving an insight into their own characters and how it shaped them. The entire cast is extraordinary, including Michael Potts as the bassist, Glynn Turman as the pianist and Colmon Domingo as the trombonist. However, the story comes alive in the scenes with both Davis and Chadwick who are both the heart and sad souls of the story. Ma Rainey is angry, temperamental, proud and larger-than-life and has spent a lifetime reaching the place she's at in her life and not going to let anyone cross her. She makes a formidable diva with her face plastered in almost clown-like makeup and a heaving large body glistening with sweat. Boseman is equally electrifying as the charismatic cocky young man thumbing his nose at the diva and her old fashioned ways and wanting to branch out with his own band. His heartfelt monologue delves deep into his past bringing out the horror and trauma of an event that took place when he was a child which in fact is the playwright using that event to highlight a common "experience" many black people had faced. This was Boseman's last film before he passed away and it is astonishing to see him give such a sharply nuanced performance while he was in the last stages of the illness that eventually killed him. The film mostly retains the play's claustrophobic set of the basement recording room with only a few scenes shot outside in the open. Yet Tobias Schliessler's camera, giving each scene a burnished golden hue, constantly moves in and around the characters which keeps it from seeming stagebound allowing the actors to deliver their dramatic monologues with full force. Ann Roth's lovely costumes also beautifully evoke the era adding a lot to the film's atmosphere.

Mission to Moscow (1943) - 6/10 - Joseph Davies was sent by FDR as an ambassador to the Soviet Union from 1936-1938. He wrote a bestselling book about his experiences and this movie is based on it. This is a heavily pro-Soviet propaganda film and it is laid on so thick at times that it is cringeworthy. However, it is also an interesting movie at times and there is a decent cast. Davies also visits Berlin, Paris, London, Amsterdam and other places in Europe, but the emphasis is on the Soviet system and Stalin.

Arizona (1940) - 7.5/10 - Peter Muncie (William Holden) is on his way from Missouri to California in 1860 when he makes a stop in Tucson, Arizona. Tucson is still pretty small, but is growing. While there, he falls for the only American woman in town - Phoebe Titus (Jean Arthur), a woman who has a pie business and plans to become a rancher and haul freight. The local bad boys are run by a saloon owner named Ward who becomes partners with a new guy in town named Carteret. They plan to ruin Phoebe and take control of her properties. The Civil War comes and goes during this time. There are Indian raids set up by the bad guys. I thought it was a pretty entertaining film and a good western. Phoebe was capable of taking care of her business, but Peter fits in to the picture as well.

The Nasty Girl (1990) - 8/10 - Sonja grows up in the German town of Pfilzing. Her father is a teacher and she is a diligent student who wins a trip to Paris through an essay contest. Later, another essay contest with the theme 'My home town during the Reich' leads her to research what her town was like during the Nazi era. She's heard that many people in town resisted the Reich and that only a few people collaborated. However, she runs into roadblocks when she tries to access records and small clues to what really happened lead her to question the common narrative. This leads to threats from the locals as she continues to research after high school, getting married, and having children. I thought that the movie was kind of quirky, but also very good. Lena Stolze does an excellent job as Sonja. The movie is sort of a fictionalized version of Anna Rosmus's story.

Solomon and Gaenor (1999) - 7/10 - In 1911 Wales, Solomon (Ioan Gruffudd) is a young Jewish man sells fabrics door to door, but hides his Jewish background. Gaenor (Nia Roberts) is a young Welsh woman from a religious family that he meets along his sales route. The two fall in love and have an illicit affair that neither of their families would condone if they knew the full truth of it. Troubles escalate when Gaenor gets pregnant and people find out. I thought it was pretty well acted and a good story. The town was pretty dreary, but that was to the point since it was a poor coal mining town where many were struggling financially.

The Howards of Virginia (1940) - 4/10 - Cary Grant stars as Matt Howard, a friend of Thomas Jefferson since boyhood who is a poor surveyor and later tobacco farmer. He is mistaken for being from a wealthy family with the same last name and becomes attracted to the sister of a snobbish landowner. The two wed, but they are very much a mismatched pair. Grant was pretty bad in this one. His character has very little in the way of manners or even concern for his wife's feelings. The movies glosses over many of the events leading up to Revolutionary War and the early stages of the war. Howard's children magically age late in the film to about 10 years older than they should be. Unfortunately, the movie just isn't very good.

Brother Sun, Sister Moon (1972) - 7/10 - Francesco of Assisi returns home after being held as a prisoner of war for some time and is also suffering from a severe illness. When he recovers, his personality and beliefs have changed. He believes that it is his calling to live in poverty, go barefoot, rebuild a ruined church, and live simply. Others are attracted to his way of life, including many of his old friends and a young woman named Clare. The movie details the life of St. Francis of Assisi from the time of his conversion through a trip to see the Pope. The film has nice cinematography, but I didn't think that the songs really fit the film. Also, some of the dialogue and acting made Francis seem somewhat simple rather than devout. It wasn't a bad film, but could have been better.

East/West (1999) - 7.5/10 - In 1946, Stalin invites Russians who left during the revolution in 1917 to return to the Soviet Union. However, when a ship full of returnees arrives in Odessa, the people are separated into the fit and unfit. Among the returnees is a doctor named Alexei Golovin whose French wife is labeled as a spy. They are sent to Kiev and soon find that life in the Soviet Union is not what they expected. They are trapped with no way to return to the west. The movie is a bit clunky at times, but overall is a pretty decent film.

Hell's Angels (1930) - 8/10 - Howard Hughes directed this World War I film which was originally a silent film, but got reworked into a talking picture. The main characters are Roy and Monte Rutledge, brothers who are pretty different in their outlook on life. Roy is serious and studious and is in love with a young woman named Helen (Jean Harlow) that he thinks holds similar views to his own. Monte is a womanizer who loves to party and have a good time. He finds out that Helen is really more like himself than like Roy. The story is decent, though not spectacular. Most of the Germans are shown in a fairly negative light, though i suppose that is not unexpected. The aerial sequences are pretty well done, especially the battle sequences near the end of the film. There is also a color sequence at a dance before the action switches to France. Harlow is the original 'blonde bombshell' here and the color sequence showcases this. Overall, I thought it was a pretty good film, though I still like Wings more.

Restoration (1995) - 7/10 - Robert Downey, Jr. stars as a physician named Merivel during the reign of Charles II after the restoration of the monarchy in England. He gains the king's favor and is granted a large estate where Merivel can entertain and play and just have fun. He falls for one of the king's mistresses and later loses the king's favor and the estate. The movie has great costumes and set design, but moves kind of slow through the first half of the film. It picks up after Merivel ends up working at a home for the insane after losing his estate. Overall, I enjoyed it, though it is a bit uneven. It has a nice supporting cast with Sam Neill, David Thewlis, Polly Walker, Meg Ryan, Ian McKellen and others.

Li'l Abner (1959) - 7.5/10 - This movie was based on the Broadway musical which in turn was based on Al Capp's comic strip. My brother starred as Abner in a local production of the musical so I was already somewhat familiar with the story. Daisy Mae wants to catch Abner on Sadie Hawkins Day so that she can marry him, but the town may need to be evacuated so that the government can use it to test bombs. The people of Dogpatch try to find a way to make their town important enough so that it isn't bombed. There are plenty of songs and dances and I found them to be fun. The musical roots of the film are pretty obvious, especially with the scenery, the costumes and the dialogue, but that seemed to add to the enjoyment for me this time around rather than detracting from it. This film won't be for everybody, but I liked it.

Angels & Insects (1995) - 7.5/10 - William Adamson is a naturalist who returns home to Victorian England after being shipwrecked on the way back from an expedition to the Amazon. William is now dependent on his patron, a wealthy country gentleman, and ends up helping his patron with his project to classify specimens while also helping teach the patron's younger daughters. William finds a kindred spirit in the governess of the children, but is instead attracted to the elder daughter of his patron who is in mourning for her late fiance. He marries the daughter, Eugenia, but finds that the marriage is not quite what he expected. I thought that this was a pretty good period drama. It is slow moving at times and some of the performances are a bit reserved, but I found that appropriate to the characters.

Thanks for the clarification.

Big Magilla wrote:I haven't seen Let Them All Talk, but I do know that the crossing was on the Queen Elizabeth 2, not the Queen Mary which has been moored in Long Beach Harbor (outside Los Angeles) for decades where it serves as a hotel and tourist attraction. The QE2 is now a floating hotel docked in Dubai.

It was the Queen Mary 2 in the movie which has succeeded the QE2 since 2004 and has served as the flagship of the Cunard Line on its Transatlantic crossings. The Queen Mary 2 is the only purpose built passenger ship designed as an ocean liner, as opposed to a cruise ship.

Dianne Wiest’s “Elon Musk” monologue (which, apparently, was completely improvised) is one of the most memorable, quietly devastating moments of film from this year. I have thought about it often since watching the movie.

I haven't seen Let Them All Talk, but I do know that the crossing was on the Queen Elizabeth 2, not the Queen Mary which has been moored in Long Beach Harbor (outside Los Angeles) for decades where it serves as a hotel and tourist attraction. The QE2 is now a floating hotel docked in Dubai.