Week Nine of 2023
Finishing the Oscar Death Race!
I finallllly finished all of the Oscar nominated movies, with just a week to go! Ultimately, I think it’s an excellent crop of movies. There are a few races that seem totally locked (Ke Huy Quan for Everything Everywhere All At Once for example!), but a lot of others that seem very up in the air. Looking forward to a ceremony where people act like they actually care about the movies, fingers crossed. My official Oscar predictions will
WHAT I’M READING
bold indicates in-progress
METROPOLITAN LIFE by Fran Lebowitz - I’m still plugging away at this! I did such a marathon of reading in January that I’ve been lightening up a bit. But still a big old shelf of books to work on!
WHAT I’M WATCHING
~ not a first time watch
* a theater watch
90) A WOMAN UNDER THE INFLUENCE~ (1974) - Goddamn this is a great movie. It's dangerous and complicated and messy and frightening and intimate. Gena Rowlands gives the performance of a lifetime. The last act is some of the most intense family drama I've ever seen. Happy to revisit this one again. Simultaneously want to watch it again right now, but also could use a year away from it. 4/4 stars Source: DVD
91) THE QUIET GIRL* (2022) - This was so lovely. A joyful and devastating look at making a family. I loved all the lead performances. It was great to hear the lovely Irish language, especially my own name (if spelled a hell of a lot different). The closing moments had me sobbing. Really loved it. 4/4 stars Source: Landmark Century Cinemas
92) CREED~ (2015) - I always forget that this movie is absolutely incredible. One of Ryan Coogler's best. Sylvester Stallone shoulda won that Oscar. Michael B. Jordan and Tessa Thompson are so great. Yes to me crying at the music cues. A fantastic reboot that is absolutely worthy to stand up with the original. 4/4 stars Source: Arggh
93) CREED II~ (2018) - Still very good! Loses a little momentum, but still great. The Dragos are great antagonists, but their little stuff at the end makes me cry. A good movie! Desert training montage scene! 3.5/4 Source: Arggh
94) CREED III* (2023) - I loved this. I just really loved it. Operatic, anime-influenced, Michael B. Jordan directed the hell out of this movie. Good for him! The kid is extremely cute. Everybody does great here. Whenever Jonathan Majors appears, I am *respectfully* slapping the table and howling like a cartoon wolf. 3.75/4 stars Source: Regal Theater
95) LIVING (2022) - It's pretty good! Not an incredibly compelling movie, but still quite lovely. Bill Nighy does good work here, I'm glad he's getting recognized, but this isn't his best (About Time, u up?). A very sweet film. 3.25/4 stars Source: Arggh
96) A HOUSE MADE OF SPLINTERS (2022) - This movie made me quite emotional. Watching these kids struggle, laugh, filter in and out, all with such pain in their eyes, oof it was a lot. There are some very sweet moments with the kids together or the kids and their caretakers. But overall, I found it to be a lot to try to bear. 3/4 stars Source: YouTube rental
97) ALL THE BEAUTY AND THE BLOODSHED (2022) - Stunning work. I loved this documentary about the continuing downfall of the evil Sackler family and the life and career of Nan Goldin. A harrowing, triumphant, and emotionally resonant film. 3.75/4 stars Source: Amazon rental
98) WOMEN TALKING (2022) - My last Oscar nominated film of 2022 and wow wow wow. This movie is great! It wasn't the "difficult watch" I expected it to be. What an ensemble. Rooney Mara and Ben Wishaw were both fantastic, but truly everyone is doing incredible work here. My heart was in my throat the whole time and I cried very much at the end. So proud of the amazing Sarah Polley, once again. 4/4 stars Source: Arggh
99) THE MANDALORIAN: SEASONS 1-2~ (2019-2020) - Mando rewatch! Boy oh boy, what a perfect pilot episode. Just great performances by Pedro Pascal (+ his body doubles) and honestly, Gina Carano is great in this. Too bad, so sad that she's gone. Baby Yoda 4ever. Amy Sedaris perm. Gotta say, absolutely icked by CGI Luke Skywalker and hope we stay away from that crap from now on. 3.5/4 stars Source: Disney+
100) BLACK PANTHER: WAKANDA FOREVER~ (2022) - In looking back at my Oscar-nominated reviews, I realized that I never actually wrote one for this movie when I saw it! I only watched it the one time, in the theater amidst a lot of hype, until now. The first watch was incredibly emotional. Chadwick Boseman’s absence in this movie, but especially in all projects he’ll never work on, is deeply felt. And while Letitia Wright is not up to the task of anchoring this movie, luckily we have Angela Bassett to help guide it through. The second watch, I still enjoyed it, but it still has that lack that all these MCU movies have for me recently. Still waiting to feel connected to it again. 3/4 stars Source: Disney+
To Watch:
Cocaine Bear
Scream VI
65
80 For Brady lol
John Wick: Chapter 4
Magic Mike’s Last Dance
A Man Called Otto
Sharp Stick
Your Place or Mine
Enthiran
How The West Was Won