March 2020

Bumblebee looks like all of us stuck at home right now.

Wow, what a month it has been. Life went from blissfully normal to pandemic isolation real fast here in the US. Thankfully, my family is taking all the changes well and we’re all healthy. Before this all went down, I made one last trip to the movie theater to see The Invisible Man. I was pretty bummed that I didn’t get to see Onward in time, but am so happy that the good people at Disney+ are releasing it there on April 3rd. Between helping my kindergartner with his school work, keeping the toddler entertained (thanks again Disney+!) and not going insane with worry, I didn’t watch very many new movies. One thing that helps me cope in this new normal is doing puzzles. Of course, I prefer them movie themed. They make great wall decor!

My finished pandemic puzzles, so far.

My March new-to-me movies:

• The Invisible Man
• *Mansfield Park
• *Troop Zero
• Brittany Runs a Marathon
• Fighting With My Family
• Book Club
• *Honey Boy
• *It’s Kind of a Funny Story

*directed or co-directed by a woman #52FilmsByWomen

Yesterday my oldest celebrated his 6th birthday! While his party had to be canceled, we made the best of this strange situation with video chats with friends and family. And I let him watch a “big kid movie,” Bumblebee! He is obsessed with all things Transformers, and I previously told him it was too violent for him to watch, so this was a huge treat. 

Stay safe and healthy, readers!

February 2020

Welcome to March! Film in February has been a fun mix of Oscar picks, trips to my local theater and streaming movies from my couch. My husband picked a few of these. And there’s some he didn’t care to watch with me. His loss. Anyway, here’s the new and new-to-me movies I watched in February:

• Pain and Glory (2019 Pedro Almodóvar)
• I Lost My Body (2019 Jérémy Clapin)
• *Honeyland (2019 Tamara Kotevska and Ljubomir Stefanov)
• *Kitbull -Oscar nominated animated short- (2019  Rosana Sullivan)
• Hairlove -Oscar nominated animated short- winner!- (Matthew A. Cherry)
• Purple Rain (1984 Albert Magnoli)
• *Birds of Prey (2020 Cathy Yan)
• *Can You Ever Forgive Me? (2018 Marielle Heller)
• I Love You Phillip Morris (2009 Glenn Ficarra, John Requa)
• Sonic the Hedgehog (2020 Jeff Fowler)
• Bombshells and Dollies (2019 Daniel Halperin)
• Ma (2019 Tate Taylor)
• *Appropriate Behavior (2014 Desiree Akhavan)
• *The Photograph (2020 Stella Meghie)
• Zombieland: Doubletap (2019 Ruben Fleischer)
• The Call of the Wild (2020 Chris Sanders) 

I’ve decided to include the year and director now, to avoid any confusion. 

New to our 4K collection is Frozen II. My kids love it, though the toddler was skeptical at first. It takes him a while to warm up to new movies. And now that everyone in my family has seen it, I can make all the “Samantha?” jokes I want!

*indicates a film directed or co-directed by a woman

#52FilmsByWomen 2020

Bombshells and Dollies

The new documentary, Bombshells and Dollies, dives into the fun and exciting world of The Miss Viva Las Vegas Pinup Contest. While a casual passerby may dismiss the contest as simply another pageant, this film shows the viewer that there is so much more to it. The ladies involved in this pinup world and rockabilly lifestyle are more than just beauty queens, but have big hearts, aspirations and goals. Best of all, they help to share and promote a body positive lifestyle, showing that all women can be authentically gorgeous. 

The film does a great job of explaining exactly what the contemporary pinup girl lifestyle is. Inspired from the 1940s and 50s, the pinup girls here are inspired to seek out or create their own vintage look and style. Many call back to classic Hollywood beauties like Laura Bacall, Hedy Lamarr or Betty Grable. Others look to empowering icons like Rosie the Riveter and the images of ladies painted on the sides of army planes. Some of the contestants look to elements from their unique cultures in their look. But overall, a pinup is never outwardly sexual or simply objectified. There’s always personality, happiness and someone you’d like to engage with behind the beauty. 

In the The Miss Viva Las Vegas Pinup Contest, contestants come from all over the world to compete in the contest. Some hail from Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, Canada and South Africa as well as the United States. The contestants are not selected simply on looks. Judges consider what sort of work and charities the contestants are involved with as well. Many of them promote body positivity and pride in their cultures. 

All the contestants in the film were delightful and beautiful ladies rocking their vintage wear in pinup style, but I had my favorites. One was Hell Cath, whose body was covered in beautiful tattoos. Some may think that a tattooed pinup girl sounds strange, like an oxymoron, the two don’t usually go together. But her style and personality has been helping normalize and promote tattoos in the modern pinup world. Another favorite was Ivy Fox who is an advocate for the LGBTQ and brave enough to announce on stage that she gay. Best of all, she was met with nothing but support. I loved how Angie Honeyburst has a style inspired by ladies of the Mexican revolution. And how Blue Haired Betty’s story was how she went from a shy goth teen to her bright, colorful self now. Each of these ladies are just lovely, inside and out.

Perhaps the best part of this film is when winners are announced. There are no fights or drama, just love and support for the fellow contestants. The viewer really feels that these ladies are each other’s biggest fans. It’s truly wonderful to see women supporting women.

Before seeing Bombshells and Dollies, I knew nothing about pinup culture and didn’t think I would be interested. However, the documentary was engaging enough that I left with a new appreciation for the culture and fashion. In fact, I was inspired to search for some vintage dresses for myself. These ladies have shown me that everyone is beautiful, worthy and can feel amazing, no matter their size or style.

Bombshells and Dollies is the latest film from Tricoast Studios. The film is available to stream on InDemand, Amazon, DirecTV, AT&T, FlixFling, Vimeo on Demand, Vudu and FANDANGO. 

Oscar Predictions 2019

Wow, hard to believe another great year has passed. 2020 is especially exciting here at The Best Picture Project because it marks 10 years since I started this blog. It’s hard to believe I’ve been writing about film here for an entire decade! I love that I’m still able to keep this labor of love alive no matter how busy life becomes. Thank you to all my readers!

Now, let’s play a little game I like to call, Pretend It’s Still the 2000s. That’s not just where I reminisce about my high school and college years, but also a magical time when there were only 5 Best Picture nominees. This year I believe those 5 films would be:

Once Upon a Time… In Hollywood, Jojo Rabbit, Little Women, 1917 and Parasite

Now for my official Oscar predictions:

Best Actor- Playing The Joker seems to be a curse or a blessing, here’s hoping it’s not a curse for Joaquin Phoenix

Best Actress- I’ve only seen 2 of these: my uninformed heart would like to see Saoirse Ronan win for her role in Little Women. 

Supporting Actor- This category feels too tight. It’d be fun to see Brad Pitt win.

Supporting Actress- What is with me and not seeing all the actresses? Only saw 3 of these, but Scarlett Johansson’s performance in Jojo Rabbit makes the story, so I’ll choose her.

Director- Anyone but Todd Phillips. Maybe Tarantino. Probably Bong Joon Ho.

Original screenplay- Parasite

Adapted screenplay- Little Women

Cinematography- The Lighthouse. I love the daring, unique the look of this movie too much.

Editing- Ford v Ferrari

Production design- 1917. They made a mile of trenches for this movie!

Costume- Little Women

Makeup- Joker

Score- It’s a tossup. All these scores are so deserving. But it’s been a while since John Williams won and this is supposed to be the last Star Wars, so I’ll pick John Williams.

Original song- I’m Gonna Love Me Again. I wanna see Elton John win an Oscar. 

Sound mix- Ford V Ferrari

Sound edit- Ford v Ferrari for all the sound!

VFX- I have a feeling about 1917.

Animated Feature- Missing Link! Laika is well overdue for an Oscar.

International film- Parasite

Best Picture- Ok, I think it’s between 1917 and Parasite. But last year everyone was rooting for Roma or BlackKklansman or even Black Panther and Green Book came outta nowhere. So after a decade of studying it, I have very little faith in the Best Picture category. It’s so unpredictable and often the results are volatile. We’ll see what happens. Final prediction: 1917

Happy Oscar night!

Marriage Story

Marriage Story opens with a montage narrating the things Nicole and Charlie love about each other. These look like ordinary, everyday moments that only someone who loves you would notice. Bumping your head on the kitchen cabinet your partner left open. Cups of tea left around the house. The way you talk to strangers on the street. Taking care of your kid at night. It’s these little moments that really make up a life, a marriage and a love story. This love story takes place within a divorce.

Charlie (Adam Driver) and Nicole (Scarlett Johansson) live in New York. Charlie directs a theater company and Nicloe is his lead actress. She used to live in Los Angeles and even had a memorable part in a movie. Now after years of life, marriage and a kid, Henry (Azhy Robertson), of about seven years old, Nicole wants to divorce. She moves out to live in LA with their son to shoot a TV pilot, but she doesn’t tell Charlie that she intends to stay.

This lack of communication is bewildering to Charlie, who assumes they are and always will be a New York based family. Soon, Nicole is doing more things her own way, getting a divorce lawyer (Laura Dern) when they agreed before to not use lawyers. While Nicole is busy being the primary parent for their son and expanding her career, Charlie is stretched thin trying to keep his play and theater company going in New York while also frequenting to LA to deal with this divorce and try to be present for his son.

One of my favorite scenes in the film is when the power goes out at Nicole’s place. Henry is with his father for the night and video chatting with his mom when she can’t open her gate. Without hesitation Charlie and Henry go to help her. Charlie gets things working again and while he’s there Nicole gives him a quick haircut. Henry falls asleep and Nicole wants to just bring him inside, but Charlie reminds her it’s his night. The whole scene is peaceful and sweet in a dutiful way. When the gate closes between them we see a look of sadness and longing. We get a sense that this is how they’re lives together will be now, civil and helping each other but no longer lovers.

There is so, so much to unpack in this movie, but one of the themes that hit me hardest is how parents are perceived and judged, especially under the microscope of divorce. The lawyers bring everything out and turn normal little moments into weapons of shame. We see Charlie nervously stage his new apartment before a social worker visits to observe him and Henry together. It’s probably the most pressure he’s ever been under to be a good father. Meanwhile, Nora preps Nicole for questioning about her personal life and drinking habits, warning her that her honest answers won’t be good enough. I love how she bluntly points out the double standard against all women, “People don’t accept mothers who drink too much wine and yell at their child and call him an asshole. I get it. I do it too. We can accept an imperfect dad. Let’s face it, the idea of a good father was only invented like 30 years ago. … We love them for their fallibilities, but people absolutely don’t accept those same failings in mothers.”

Marriage Story is nominated for six Academy Awards including Best Picture, original screenplay and original score. Laura Dern is nominated for supporting actress. Adam Driver is nominated for lead actor. And Scarlett Johansson is nominated for best actress. She’s also nominated for her supporting role in Jojo Rabbit. She’s one of the few actors to earn to acting nominations in one year.

What Marriage Story does best is show a realistic couple trying to separate their lives the best they can. For Nicole, every step is both brave and scary, though she tries not to show it. Thankfully she has family to support her, though her mother is not exactly great at it, but she does add a lot of laughs to the film. Nicole’s lawyer, Nora is the first person (maybe in her whole life) to really ask Nicole what she wants and validates that what she wants is important. In a wonderful monologue, Nicole describes how she and Charlie came together and how she just fell into his life and she never really made her own. It’s sad and probably rings very true to other people’s love stories. For Nicole to pursue her own “aliveness” is an act of hope.

“Getting divorced with a kid is one of the hardest things to do. It’s like a death without a body.”

Joker

I went to see Joker opening weekend in a full IMAX theater. I was unmoved most of the film, but the gasps from the audience made it an enjoyable experience. I left feeling sour, angry and didn’t think Joker deserved a review from me. When the Oscar nominations were announced I was confused and astounded at the eleven awards it was nominated for. What was I missing? So the other night I gave it another go at home. I still can’t say I like Joker, but with that second viewing some of the themes and ideas settled better and I can say it’s a good movie.

In Todd Phillips’ reincarnation of the classic Batman villain, Joker tells the story of Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix) and his transformation from an aspiring comedian to the face behind a riotous anti-rich movement in Gotham City. This poor joker lives with his mother, works as an advertising clown on the rough streets, and sees a government mandated counselor in order to get his medication. He carries a card explaining how he can break into unstoppable fits of laughter at any moment. One by one, the things that give his life meaning are taken away. He loses his job. The government cuts the program that gives him help and medication. His comedy act bombs so badly the local late night TV host makes fun of him. And he learns a horrible truth about his mother. 

One of the most surprising aspects about this version of an infamous villain is how he becomes a villain in his own self defense. In the train scene that turns into a triple murder, we don’t completely fault Arthur. He was being beaten and shot in self defense. Ok, that third guy on the stairs was definitely murder. When he sees what his mysterious murder has started, it seems to validate his existence and says, “For my whole life I didn’t’ even know I even existed, but I do and people are starting to notice.” For a mentally ill guy recently off his medication, it makes perfect sense to keep it up. Keep being noticed. Keep moving your world in the only way you’ve found that works: violence. 

Joaquin Phoenix’s performance is the obviously great thing in this film. In my first viewing I walked away knowing he would get an Oscar nomination for his role. The Joker has been played in so many times and Phoenix finds a new edge for this character, making him both sympathetic and loathsome. He makes Arthur the kind of guy you really feel bad for, but you make sure to stay away from him. I’d move seats if I was that lady with her kid on the bus. His laugh is something truly creepy and becomes a noise stuck in your head and creeping into your mind at weak moments.   

There is one scene that frightened me to tears in the theater and still got under my skin at home. I’m about to spoil it, so skip to the next paragraph if you haven’t seen Joker. When two of Arthur’s former co-workers visit to help cheer him up, it turns into a vicious murder. I felt so awful for the dwarf man witnessing his friend’s death and the only way out is right in front of Arthur. What made me break down in tears was when he could not reach the door latch! It’s small obstacle in such an awful, desperate moment and I was so scared for that man’s life. Maybe it’s because I’m also very short and can see a high door latch sealing my doom, but that whole scene, its quick brutality and drawn out fear struck a deep chord.

Somehow, Joker is nominated for a whopping eleven Oscar nominations. Eleven. That’s more than any other film this year. They include Best Picture, adapted screenplay, cinematography, film editing, costume design, original score, makeup and hairstyling, sound mixing and sound editing. Phoenix is nominated for best actor. And Todd Phillips, who has directed movies like The Hangover and Old School, is nominated for best director. 

What Joker does best is show us an unforgiving, dirty version of Gotham City with the lower class pushed to their limits and rising up against Thomas Wayne and his rich elites. With programs to help the poor and mentally ill being taken away, those affected fall with no safety net. These ideas are captivating and frightening in this chapter of American history. All they needed was one joker to push back and the whole city began to burn. 

“Is it just me, or is it getting crazier out there?”

1917

Relentless. That’s the word that rings in my head as I think about Sam Mendes’ film 1917. Based on stories from Mendes’ grandfather in WWI, the film follows two WWI British soldiers, Lance Corporal  Blake (Dean-Charles Chapman) and Lance Corporal Schofield (George MacKay) on an important mission. Before dawn, they need to walk nine miles through enemy territory to deliver a message to stop an attack planned for the morning. The soldiers there are heading into a trap. Against time and all odds, they must deliver this message to save 1,600 men, including Blake’s brother.

What makes this film so relentless is the fact that it is filmed to look like one continuous shot. From the field of wildflowers Blake and Schofield are resting by, to the end of the film, the camera follows these soldiers on their mission barely letting us blink. The camera moves through the labyrinth of trenches, across the dreaded no-mans-land, through an abandoned farm house, a town reduced to rubble and flame, down a raging river, through forests and into battle. There’s no downtime for these men as they navigate through muddy craters, run from a crashing plane, accidentally stick a hand into a rotting corpse that a rat just climbed out of and desperately run from enemy fire. The intense and unblinking realism of this film is downright frightening.

The night scene is both beautiful and terrifying. In it, Schofield is trying to get across a town that has been reduced to rubble. He can only see by the fires raging, flares and bombs exploding around him. Hiding in the shadows and destruction are enemy soldiers. The cinematography in this film is amazing, but the night scene sends it over the edge.

Like great war films, these soldiers also show compassion. For Schofield, he happens upon a young French woman and a baby. He gives them all the food he has. It’s a gentle, sweet moment that breaks away from the chaos, only briefly. Unfortunately, Blake’s act of compassion doesn’t go as well. 

I’m sure Hitchcock would be astounded at the technical achievement of this film. To make a feature film that appears to be one long, continuous shot (there is one major cut to black and back) is ambitious and obviously took an unprecedented amount of planning with sprawling sets and some of the most advanced equipment. I’ve read that there was nearly one mile of trenches dug for the film. Following soldiers through them, I believe it.

1917 received ten Oscar nominations including Best Picture, original screenplay, cinematography, makeup and hairstyling, production design, original score, visual effects, sound mixing and sound editing. Sam Mendes is nominated for best director, his second nomination. His previous nomination earned him a win for American Beauty. I seriously doubt 1917 will leave Oscar night empty handed.

I saw 1917 in an IMAX theater and would highly recommend seeing the film that way. The film is not so much a story, but an experience alongside the soldiers, and seeing it on such a big, immersive screen only heightens that experience. Honestly, I nearly ducked at one point. I don’t think any film has made me do that. 

“I hoped today would be a good day. Hope is a dangerous thing.”