2020 Academy Awards Nominees, Winners, and Commentary
2020 Academy Awards Nominees, Winners, and Commentary
Written By: Brad Williamson
Topic: 2020 Academy Awards
The Oscars have been exceedingly frustrating in recent years, and with many of the nominees, they seemed primed to continue this tradition in 2020. But this year, in the end, turned out to be one of the Academy’s most accurate set of results in my memory. Here we will present a summary of the nominees, winners, and brief commentary:
Uncut Gems
Uncut Gems
Directed by: Benny Safdie and Josh Safdie
Written by: Ronald Bronstein, Josh Safdie, and Benny Safdie
Starring: Adam Sandler, LaKeith Stanfield, Idina Menzel, and Eric Bogosian
Reviewed by: Brad Williamson
Genre: Drama
Score: 2/5
Uncut Gems is one of the most confusing movies I’ve ever seen, but not because of its plot structure, philosophy, cinematography, or character development. It’s confusing because I don’t know if I loved it or hated it, if it’s a masterpiece or a dumpster fire, if it’s a drama or a comedy or a horror film.
Bad Boys for Life
Bad Boys for Life
Directed by: Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah
Written by: Chris Bremner, Peter Craig, and Joe Carnahan
Starring: Will Smith, Vanessa Hudgens, Alexander Ludwig, Martin Lawrence, Paola Nuñez, Kate del Castillo, Joe Pantoliano, Charles Melton, Jacob Scipio
Reviewed by: Brad Williamson
Genre: Action, Comedy
Score: 3/5
It’s almost impossible to believe Bad Boys came out in 1995; that was 25 years ago. At the time of its release, Will Smith could still be seen on new episodes of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.
The Witcher: Season 1
The Witcher: Season 1
Created by: Lauren Schmidt
Starring: Henry Cavill, Freya Allan, Anya Chalotra, Mimi Ndiweni, Eamon Farren
Reviewed by: Brad Williamson
Genre: Fantasy
Score: .5/5
Rarely have I finished such a bad show, but I wanted to review this, so I gave it a fair shot. And I’ll never regain that lost time.
Ford v Ferrari
Ford v Ferrari
Directed by: James Mangold
Written by: Jez Butterworth, John-Henry Butterworth, Jason Keller
Starring: Matt Damon, Christian Bale, Jon Bernthal, Tracy Letts
Reviewed by: Brad Williamson
Genre: Biopic / Sports
Score: 3.5/5
I usually write my movie reviews soon after watching the film in question, but Ford vs. Ferrari presented a perfect storm of uncertainty.
The Endless
The Endless
Directed by: Justin Benson & Aaron Moorhead
Written by: Justin Benson & Aaron Moorhead
Starring: Justin Benson, Aaron Moorhead, & Callie Hernandez
Genre: Science Fiction, Thriller
Reviewed by: Joe Bones
Genre Score: 3.5/5
Score: 2.5/5
What if someone you cared about saved you from what they perceived as a horrible fate, but then you came to realize your new life is pretty awful? Would you try to be content with the life you have? Or seek out the life you once lived? These are the questions Aaron faces in The Endless. When he was a child, Aaron’s older brother Justin facilitated their escape from a UFO death cult. Years later and now adults, they receive a video tape showing that the cult members are still very much alive.
The Two Popes
The Two Popes
Directed by: Fernando Meirelles
Written by: Anthony McCarten
Starring: Anthony Hopkins, Jonathan Pryce, Juan Minujín
Reviewed by: Brad Williamson
Genre: Drama, Biopic
Score: 3/5
As a story this film succeeds wonderfully, but as an entertaining movie it falls short of greatness. Still, it’s one of Netflix’s very best offerings to date. Though heavily doused with Catholicism, you don’t need to be Catholic, or even religious, to feel the power of this tale.
Marriage Story
Marriage Story
Directed by: Noah Baumbach
Written by: Noah Baumbach
Starring: Scarlett Johansson, Adam Driver, Laura Dern, Ray Liotta, Alan Alda
Reviewed by: Brad Williamson
Genre: Drama
Score: 2.5/5
Simply put, this is a misleading title. A better representation would have been, “A Divorce Story.”
The Irishman
The Irishman
Directed by: Martin Scorsese
Written by: Steven Zaillian
Starring: Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Joe Pesci, Harvey Keitel, Ray Romano, Anna Paquin
Reviewed by: Brad Williamson
Genre: Drama
Score: 1.5/5
I have no problem with long movies or slow movies. Boring movies with no good story to tell, however, are nothing more than a waste of time. And while I don’t quite consider this film a waste, it wasn’t far from it.
Frozen II
Frozen II
Directed by: Jennifer Lee and Chris Buck
Written by: Jennifer Lee
Starring: Kristen Bell, Idina Menzel, Josh Gad, Jonathan Groff, Sterling K. Brown, Evan Rachel Wood, Alfred Molina, Alan Tudyk
Reviewed by: Brad Williamson
Genre: Animation
Score: 3.5/5
I waited a week to see Frozen II to avoid the crowds, but I also avoided spoilers, and I’m glad I did because it was completely different than I expected. While this is mostly a good thing, the movie wasn’t perfect. It’s also a difficult movie to assess, and especially to score, because of the music. How much should the soundtrack—good or bad—affect the score of a regular movie? And how much is this affect magnified in a musical?
Terminator: Dark Fate
Terminator: Dark Fate
Directed by: Tim Miller
Written by: David S. Goyer, Justin Rhodes, and Billy Ray
Starring: Linda Hamilton, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Mackenzie Davis, Natalia Reyes, and Gabriel Luna
Reviewed by: Brad Williamson
Genre: Action / Science-fiction
Score: 3/5
There is always hope surrounding a new Terminator release returning to past glory, but with the cooperation of many of the original cast and crew who made the first two so great, Dark Fate seemed primed to make good on this elusive promise. Then they chose Tim Miller to helm it, immediately tempering these expectations. Still, I was excited about this film for a number of reasons.
Maleficent: Mistress of Evil
Maleficent: Mistress of Evil
Directed by: Joachim Rønning
Written by: Micah Fitzerman-Blue, Noah Harpster, and Linda Woolverton
Starring: Angelina Jolie, Michelle Pfeiffer, Elle Fanning, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Sam Riley, Harris Dickinson, Ed Skrein, and Robert Lindsay
Reviewed by: Brad Williamson
Genre: Fantasy, Action
Score: 2.5/5
Maleficent was a nice surprise, a movie that not much was expected of but which delivered an enjoyable tale. I would even say it is the best of Disney’s recent remakes, probably because instead of being a direct retelling, it’s more a reimagining. Thus I was curious and, against my instincts, a bit excited to see how this sequel turned out.
기생충 (Parasite)
기생충 (Parasite)
Directed by: 봉준호 (Bong Joon-Ho)
Written by: 봉준호 (Bong Joon-Ho) and 한진원 (Han Jin-Won)
Starring: 송강호 (Song Kang-ho), 조여정 (Jo Yeo-jeong), 박소담 (Park So-dam), 최우식 (Choi Woo-sik), 박서준 (Park Seo-joon), 이순견 (Lee Sun-kyun), 정지소 (Jung Ji-so), 이정은 (Lee Jeong-eun), 장혜진 (Jang Hye-jin)
Reviewed by: Brad Williamson
Genre: Black Comedy, Drama
Score: 5/5
기생충, which means Parasite, is one of the most powerful movies about wealth to arrive this century. From 봉준호 (pronounced Bong Joon-Ho), the director of Snowpiercer (설국열차), Mother (마더), and The Host (괴물), this film eclipses an already-great catalogue of creations.
Joker
Joker
Directed by: Todd Phillips
Written by: Todd Phillips and Scott Silver
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Zazie Beetz, Robert De Niro, Frances Conroy, Leigh Gill
Reviewed by: Brad Williamson
Genre: Drama, Comic
Score: 3/5
Relying on shock value and great acting, Joker feels like more than the sum of its parts, but you’re left feeling like something is missing, unfulfilled. Let me explain.
Phoenix is great, but he feels too restrained, which is the opposite of what the joker should be. His actions certainly aren’t, but his laugh, while in character, seems too prevalent; his most joker-like moments are while dancing, staring at someone, awkwardly conversing, and using his body’s great physical comedy and acting, but Phillips overuses the simplistic laughter.
Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood
Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood
Directed by: Quentin Tarantino
Written by: Quentin Tarantino
Starring: Brad Pitt, Leonardo DiCaprio, Margot Robbie, Emile Hirsch, Timothy Olyphant, Julia Butters, Dakota Fanning, and Al Pacino
Reviewed by: Brad Williamson
Genre: Drama, Comedy
Score: 4.5/5
Viewing Mindset: Very late showing on opening night, excited but always tentative with expectations at Tarantino films.
Tarantino is one of the most divisive directors out there; as such, I might be the only person who is luke-warm on him. Most either love him or hate him or love to hate him, but I’m torn. On one hand are such true masterpieces as Pulp Fiction and Hateful Eight, and to a lesser degree the Kill Bills; while in the other hand we hold overrated films such as Inglourious Basterds and Resevoir Dogs; and still leftover, unable to decide quite how good they really are, we have Jackie Brown and Django Unchained.
And now we have Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood, something completely different, something wholly un-Tarantino.
Ad Astra
Ad Astra
Directed by: James Gray
Written by: James Gray and Ethan Gross
Starring: Brad Pitt, LisaGay Hamilton, Tommy Lee Jones, Liv Tyler, Donald Sutherland
Reviewed by: Brad Williamson
Genre: Science-Fiction
Genre Score: 5/5
Score: 5/5
Viewing Mindset: Eager to watch but tempering expectations
Quick, name a movie with no useless scene. Bet you can’t, or at least that you struggle to do so. Even some of the greatest films ever made fail in this regard: 2001’s longer-than-necessary dialogue in the opening, Return of the King’s epilogue, The Matrix’s romance. But Ad Astra qualifies.
Seinfeld & Baseball Series: George Costanza, Hitting Instructor
Seinfeld & Baseball Series: George Costanza, Hitting Instructor
Written by: Rob leicht
Topic: Baseball, Television
Larry David’s classic sitcom Seinfeld is widely considered to be the greatest sitcom of all time. Over 20 years since its conclusion, the “show about nothing” remains massively popular—when Hulu’s current deal expires in 2020 bidding for the streaming rights is expected to reach half a billion dollars. Seinfeld has indelibly inserted itself into our popular culture, and while it may be a show about nothing, there are many topics that are prevalent throughout its entire run. Of them, the most relevant to this website is baseball, from the Mets posters on Jerry’s apartment wall in the pilot episode to George’s front office career with the New York Yankees. As series creator Larry David is a lifelong Yankees fan and star Jerry Seinfeld a lifelong Mets fan, this intersection of sport and pop culture was inevitable. Thus I am excited to present to you a new Center Field of Gravity series: Seinfeld & Baseball.
Angel Has Fallen
Angel Has Fallen
Directed by: Ric Roman Waugh
Starring: Gerard Butler, Morgan Freeman, Jada Pinkett Smith, and Lance Reddick
Genre: Action
Reviewed by: Rob Leicht
Genre Score: 2/5
Score: 1.5/5
Angel Has Fallen is the third installment in Gerard Butler’s action franchise following Olympus Has Fallen (2013) and London Has Fallen (2016). Stamped with the same general action movie template as the two previous films, the conclusion to the series now has Gerard Butler’s Mike Banning on the run after being framed for attempted assassination of the POTUS. I actually enjoyed the preceding movies for what they were, mostly forgettable action flicks, but Angel Has Fallen fails to meet that already low standard.
Atlanta Seasons 1 and 2
Atlanta Seasons 1 and 2
Created by: Donald Glover
Starring: Donald Glover, LaKeith Stanfield, Brian Tyree Henry, Zazie Beetz, Khris Davis
Genre: Music, Comedy
Reviewed by: Brad Williamson
Genre Score: 4/5
Score: 3.5/5
Neither sports nor sci-fi, this show cannot be ignored. At its heart a very simple tale: Atlanta’s underground rap scene.
But the charm of this show is the side of rap rarely portrayed: usually non-violent, sensitive, poverty even following shows and deals, families and children, mental illness, and everyday life. Also, the acting is some of the best on television, while the writing is some of the absolutely funniest.
Not much more to say: Go watch, now.
Dark Season 2
Dark Season 2
Created by: Baran bo Odar, Jantje Friese
Starring: Louis Hofmann, Karoline Eichhorn, Jördis Triebel, Maja Schöne, Stephan Kampwirth, Tamar Pelzig, Lisa Vicari, Deborah Kaufmann
Genre: Science Fiction, Time Travel
Reviewed by: Brad Williamson
Genre Score: 4/5
Score: 3.5/5
Dark is a show with a premise that shouldn’t work on the screen, but somehow it does so majestically: time travel is possible in 33-year increments, and the same characters become older and younger embodiments of themselves due to the nearly-perfect generational time slip. With a core of around only ten characters, the cast nevertheless grows into the dozens without ever introducing new personalities. You’re never unfamiliar with anyone, even if it’s their first appearance, because you know them from the past or future, or both.
Midsommar
Midsommar
Directed by: Ari Aster
Written by: Ari Aster
Starring: Florence Pugh. Jack Reynor, Will Poulter, William Jackson Harper, Vilhelm Blomgren, Ellora Torchia
Genre: Horror, Cult
Reviewed by: Brad Williamson
Genre Score: 3.5/5
Score: 3/5
Viewing Mindset: Sober and excited to see the follow-up to “Hereditary”; watched immediately after “Spiderman: Far From Home”.
This is the second full-length feature from the exciting new horror director Ari Astor, following his controversial but undeniably spectacular “Hereditary”. With “Midsommar”, he remains firmly entrenched within the horror genre, and even within the cult sub-genre, but we begin to see his true leanings and inspirations here; as so often happens, following a successful mainstream (mainstreamish in this case) debut, the director is given more freedom with the second offering. Less mainstream, more shocking, much slower, and more environmental, this film seems like something cobbled together between Wes Anderson, Lars von Trier, and George A. Romero.
Spiderman: Far From Home
Spiderman: Far From Home
Directed by: Jon Watts
Written by: Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers
Starring: Tom Holland, Samuel L. Jackson, Jake Gyllenhaal, Marisa Tomei,Jon Favreau, Zendaya, Jacob Batalon
Genre: Action, Comic
Reviewed by: Brad Williamson
Genre Score: 3/5
Score: 2.5/5
Viewing Mindset: Sober and slightly pessimistic regarding Marvel films in general; watched back-to-back with “Midsommar”.
I’ll start with this: outside of animations, this is, without a doubt, the best Spiderman film ever. It isn’t the best at any one aspect, but as a whole, the sum of its parts adds up to the best. Though still not reaching the upper-echelon of comic book films, it firmly asserts itself into that respectable second tier.
Stranger Things Season 3
Stranger Things Season 3
Created by: Matt Duffer and Ross Duffer
Starring: Winona Ryder, David Harbour, Finn Wolfhard,Millie Bobby Brown, Caleb McLaughlin, Natalia Dyer, Charlie Heaton, Joe Keery, Cara Buono, Gaten Matarazzo, Dacre Montgomery
Genre: Comedy, Monster
Reviewed by: Brad Williamson
Genre Score: 3/5
Score: 2/5
For those who have viewed previous seasons, the tone, plot, and themes will feel familiar because, well, not much has changed. However, this safe familiarity manages to be more charming than stale. Still, this season is not without both its great moments and major flaws.
It starts by asking whether or not everyone truly wanted Eleven to close the gateway, or at least it seems like that is the question being posed with the tentative story telling. After all, maybe we could use the upside-down as a…as an energy source? This scene immediately raises many more questions than answers, and is the major downfall of the season: while some of the questions are answered (kind of?), so many more are left unaddressed. How did these mysterious Russians get here? The scenes with the mayor explaining he was threatened are insufficient to explain such a strange situation.
Zone Blanche Seasons 1 and 2
Zone Blanche Seasons 1 and 2
Created by: Mathieu Missoffe
Starring: Naidra Ayadi, Brigitte Sy, Renaud Rutten,Camille Aguilar, Samuel Jouyk, Laurent Capelluto, Hubert Delattre, Suliane Brahim
Genre: Episodic Crime, Fantasy
Reviewed by: Brad Williamson
Genre Score: 3/5
Score: 2/5
A French show with a pagan premise, Zone Blanche shines with its unique episodic structure while also maintaining a larger one.
Their little town has an astronomically high death rate, but no one knows why. When a disgraced DA shows up to find answers, he finds much more than he bargained for.
Each episode examines another death or gruesome situation and as they examine these–which always end up having earthly causes yet remain oddly unreal–the truth uncoils in the form of a god of the forest that has been murdering since the Romans invaded France in order to protect its land and animals. But that can’t be true, can it?