Avengers: Endgame To Stick With 3-Hour Runtime Following Positive Test-Screenings?

After an intensely positive round of test-screenings, it looks like directors Joe and Anthony Russo may be sticking with a reported three-hour runtime for the forthcoming Avengers: Endgame. The highly-anticipated culmination of a decade-long saga has an awful lot of loose ends to wrap up, and the Russo brothers seem intently aware of the weight […]

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Lady Gaga Brushes Off Bradley Cooper Romance Rumours

After a steamy performance of Shallow at the Academy Awards, rumours abound upon social media that Bradley Cooper and Stefani ‘Lady Gaga’ Germanotta were engaged in a secret tryst – rumours that Gaga has vehemently quashed whilst making an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live last night. Addressing the rumours directly, Kimmel said: “You had such […]

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Will Smith Will Not Return For James Gunn’s Suicide Squad Soft-Reboot

After portraying Floyd Lawton / Deadshot in director David Ayer’s 2016 cinematic dumpster fire Suicide Squad, actor Will Smith has declined to return for the forthcoming soft-reboot set to be helmed by Guardians of the Galaxy’s James Gunn. The news comes at the culmination of a chain of events, primarily incited by the alt-right cyber […]

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Fighting With My Family

Director: Stephen Merchant Stars: Florence Pugh, Nick Frost, Dwayne Johnson, Lena Headey, Jack Lowden & Vince Vaughn Released: 27th February 2019 (UK) Any one person could name several films centred around sports such as football, baseball, and boxing, but Stephen Merchant’s Fighting with My Family showcases a sport that is rarely seen on film: wrestling. […]

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‘Kathryn Upside Down’ Releases March 12

Random Media has acquired the worldwide rights to the comedy feature film, ‘Kathryn Upside Down’, starring Allie Loukas, Christopher M. Walsh (Chicago Fire), Carlton G. McBeth (It Takes a Village) and Matt Edmonds (Young Sinatra). Thefilm will release on-demand and on all digital platforms on March 12, 2019. Written, and directed by Allie Loukas, ‘Kathryn […]

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MEDIA APPEARANCE: David Ehrlich's IndieWire Critics Survey on February 25, 2019

Notable and notorious IndieWire film critic David Ehrlich recently put out a social media call for film critic peers to join a weekly survey to discuss movie topics, answer questions, and highlight their work.  Representing Every Movie Has a Lesson, I, along with over 60 other emerging and established film critics including some of my fellow Chicago Independent Film Critics Circle members and Aaron White of Feelin’ Film, accepted the invitation to participate.  I'm honored by the opportunity, and I hope my responses are chosen each week.  

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THIS WEEK'S QUESTION: Who should play James Bond after Daniel Craig is done?

Between Connery, Moore, Dalton, and especially Brosnan, I credit my mother for making me a James Bond fan. Though the Mission: Impossible franchise is on quite a run, I still consider Ian Fleming’s character king of the spy game. With Daniel Craig north of 50 and rumored to be done, the decadent tuxedo will be open to a new actor soon. I think I know just the guy and it’s an eclectic choice.

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THE FULL INDIEWIRE ARTICLE THIS WEEK

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MEDIA APPEARANCE: David Ehrlich's IndieWire Critics Survey on February 18, 2019

Notable and notorious IndieWire film critic David Ehrlich recently put out a social media call for film critic peers to join a weekly survey to discuss movie topics, answer questions, and highlight their work.  Representing Every Movie Has a Lesson, I, along with over 60 other emerging and established film critics including some of my fellow Chicago Independent Film Critics Circle members and Aaron White of Feelin’ Film, accepted the invitation to participate.  I'm honored by the opportunity, and I hope my responses are chosen each week.  

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THIS WEEK'S QUESTION: What is one silver lining of this year's awards season, and why?

The 2018-2019 awards season has been a contentious and challenging up-and-down chore. Unpredictable one moment and inflexible the next, it was hard to find what David Ehrlich was looking for. Then I remembered the stature and history of Spike Lee and what a win for him would mean. I found my answer right there.

THE FULL INDIEWIRE ARTICLE THIS WEEK MY FULL "BLACKKKLANSMAN" REVIEW

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CHECKLIST: 20 films to watch for the 2020 Oscars

(Image: goldderby.com)

In what has become an annual Monday morning Oscar hangover, this website looks down the calendar and into the crystal ball to prognosticate which 2019 films could be contenders for the 92nd Academy Awards in 2020.  Gosh, that year sounds like the absolute future. Last year, six films from the top ten of my 19-film list (and six others from the honorable mention section) ended up with Oscar nominations this past weekend, including wins for A Star is Born, The Favourite, First Man, If Beale Street Could Talk, Vice, and Bohemian Rhapsody .  No sooner than the sun rises and coffee pots turn on, the next Oscar season starts now!  Here’s your seventh year of advance scouting courtesy of Every Movie Has a Lesson. Release dates are listed if known.

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1. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

Everything Quentin Tarantino touches garners top attention and immediate Oscar attention lately.  The provocative filmmaker’s latest circles the fading Golden Age of Hollywood and orbits the Charles Manson murders.  Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt, Margot Robbie, and Al Pacino top-line a deep ensemble looking to combine sunny and seedy.  (July 26)

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2. Little Women

Emerging filmmaker Greta Gerwig follows Lady Bird with a new adaptation of Louisa May Alcott’s post-Civil War classic.  Florence Pugh, Saoirse Ronan, Laura Dern, Emma Watson, Eliza Scanlen, and the esteemed Meryl Streep are the March ladies and Timothee Chalamet is Theodore Laurence.  Gerwig proved her talent and this film looks to prove her ambition. (Christmas)

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3. Rocketman

If the maligned and sanitized Bohemian Rhapsody can score Oscar nominations and the most wins last night, surely this high profile biopic can do the same.  Dexter Fletcher, who tagged in to finish Bohemian Rhapsody after Bryan Singer’s departure, brings us the story of Elton John with Taron Egerton in the lead.  (May 31)

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(Image: imdb.com)

4. A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

If the documentary about the real Fred Rogers himself can’t get nominated (which is a travesty), maybe some Hollywood fluff about him starring a misplaced Tom Hanks can break through instead.  Can You Ever Forgive Me? and The Diary of a Teenage Girl director Marielle Heller steps up in class.  (November 22)

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5. Us

Get Out more than just put Jordan Peele on the map as a hitmaker.  He won an Oscar for its screenplay and became a sought-after talent.  His follow-up is Us, another psychological thriller starring Lupita Nyong’o, Elisabeth Moss, and Winston Duke with horror shadings that is sure to push audiences and voters to their limits.  They have long needed those pushes. (March 21)

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(Image: imdb.com)

6. Harriet

The Oscars are appropriate suckers for topical and daring historical epics.  Factor the towering historical symbol that is Underground Railroad heroine Harriet Tubman, played by Widows ensemble member Cynthia Erivo and directed by Kasi Lemmons, with the cries for true diversity and you have a big-time contender.  (Fall)

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7. The Goldfinch

Brooklyn director John Crowley follows up that novel adaptation with another for Donna Tartt’s Pulitzer Prize winner about a New York terrorist bombing survivor coping with the loss of his mother and falling into an arc of crime.  Ansel Elgort, Oakes Fegley, Nicole Kidman, Sarah Paulson, Luke Wilson and Jeffrey Wright take on this drama. (October 11)

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(Image: Evening Standard)

8. The Woman in the Window

Joe Wright’s films are no strangers to Oscars with Atonement, Darkest Hour, Pride and Prejudice, and Anna Karenina on his resume.  Oddly enough, he himself has never been nominated as a filmmaker.  Maybe teaming with the great Tracy Letts adapting A.J. Finn’s thriller about an agoraphobic doctor witnessing a crime can be the one to break that streak.  Speaking of streaks, The Woman in the Window stars six-time Oscar nominee Amy Adams.  She’s more that due as well. Oscar winners Gary Oldman and Julianne Moore flank Adams, as well as Anthony Mackie and Brian Tyree Henry.  (October 4)

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(Image: variety.com)

9. 1917

Little plot and even less casting is known about this World War I film from American Beauty and Skyfall director Sam Mendes returning from the London theatre scene.  You had me at World War I and you had me at Sam Mendes. Pass me an Oscar ballot.  (December)

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10. The Irishman

Speaking of directors who have automatic awards attention cache, folks have been hotly anticipating Martin Scorsese’s reunion with Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, and Harvey Keitel.  Netflix won the bidding war for this crime saga set in the backdrop of the killing of Jimmy Hoffa, played by Al Pacino. This expensive gamble would love to follow the new cred given to Netflix by Roma last night.  (October)

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11. The Last Thing He Wanted

Dee Rees follows her overly-snubbed 2017 film Mudbound with this wild 80’s-set story of an unemployed journalist who becomes an arms dealer.  The trio of previous winners Anne Hathaway and Ben Affleck and back-to-back nominee Willem Dafoe can move Oscar needles.  Let’s see what Rees can do with a bigger bat. Netflix is the home again for her work. (TBA)

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(Image: autoweek.com)

12. Ford v. Ferrari

Christian Bale’s roles feel nearly automatic for awards consideration.  You can say the same for Matt Damon as well. Those two A-listers join Jon Bernthal, Tracy Letts, Caitriona Balfe, Noah Jupe, and Josh Lucas for the true story of American muscle meeting foreign dominance on the race tracks of Le Mans.  Stalwart Logan director James Mangold helms this biographical drama sure to have its fair share of action as well.  (June 28)

(Image: imdb.com)

13. Ad Astra

The Lost City of Z director James Gray leads this science fiction epic possibly in the same vein of the likes of Interstellar.  Brad Pitt plays an Army Corps engineer in search of his missing father (Tommy Lee Jones) 20 years after departing to Neptune for sign of intelligent life.  That recipe could be special. (May 24)

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(Image: trailertrack.com)

14. Lucy in the Sky

Double that astronaut science fiction with TV writer Noah Hawley’s feature debut about Natalie Portman’s astronaut who is unraveling returning to Earth after her experiences in space. Zazie Beetz, Jon Hamm, Dan Stevens, and Ellen Burstyn co-star.

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15. Judy

Like Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and Rocketman, Hollywood biopics always cut to the front of the line.  Welcome the return of Oscar winner Renee Zellweger! In Stan & Ollie fashion, she plays the one and only Judy Garland during a final performing peak a year before her death.  (October

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16. The Report

Longtime Steven Soderbergh collaborator Scott Z. Burns steps into the director’s chair for this examination of the CIA-sanctioned torture of post-9/11 prisoners.  The Report stars Adam Driver and John Hamm.  The buzz out of its premiere at Sundance has been positive.  (TBA)

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(Image: usatoday.com)

17. The Good Liar

Oscar loves aging actors that still put on clinics of their talent and greatness.  Think Glenn Close with The Wife.  The 2019 candidate for that is The Good Liar from prolific director and Oscar-winning writer Bill Condon.  Cinematic treasures Helen Mirren and the Oscar-ignored Ian McKellan are online lovers who meet in a thrilling swindle attempt of a con artist.  (November 15)

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18. Pain & Glory

Esteemed Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodovar returns with two of his favorite muses, Antonio Banderas and Penelope Cruz, for a sumptuous autobiographical film of talent, craft, love, and reflection.  I would elect this to follow in the footsteps of Roma.  (TBA)

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(Image: deadline.com)

19. Newsflash

I don’t think anyone looks at Seth Rogen and see a serious actor, let alone Walter Cronkite.  Halloween director David Gordon Green does.  Rogen will play the beloved newsman as he reports on the assassination of JFK.  Mark Ruffalo is slated to co-star, along with Logan Lerman possibly as a young Dan Rather.  This will need to be seen to be believed because this is a long way from Green and Rogen’s Pineapple Express days.  If a shift to sharp drama can work for Adam McKay, it can work for Green.

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(Image: imdb.com)

20. Gemini Man

Will Smith might be snakebit in 2019 with the growing question marks for Aladdin, but someone who is too good to be saddled by that is Oscar-winning director Ang Lee, even after Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk.  His newest film tells a futuristic hitman story where an aging killer is targeted by a clone of his younger self.  If anyone can get the most from Smith’s charisma, it’s Ang Lee and the might of producer Jerry Bruckheimer writing the checks and lighting the matches.  (October 4)

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OTHER CONTENDERS:

Cats, Toy Story 4, Star Wars: Episode IX, Avengers: Endgame, The Lion King, Pale Blue Dot, The Kid, Antlers, The Laundromat, The History of the Kelly Gang, Where’d You Go, Bernadette?, The King, Downhill, Radegund, Triple Frontier, Knives Out, The Truth, Bergman Island, Judy, Fonzo, Jojo Rabbit, and anything else you want off of this massive list.

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SPECIAL: Final 2019 Awards Tracker and Oscar Reactions

Welcome to conclusion of my eighth year of Every Movie Has a Lesson's "Awards Tracker."  My goal every year is simple: Help each and every one of you win your Oscar pools. I don’t know about you, but I got smoked with a 14-10 spread last night across the 24 categories, easily my lowest score in these eight years. Time to get back in the saddle next year.

This year, I was proud to now be a member of three awards-voting bodies. As a director and co-founder, I locally represented the Chicago Independent Film Critics Circle. In 2017, I became a new voter of the Online Film and Television Awards. My big step in 2018 came when I was accepted into the Online Film Critics Society, the largest national group of online critics. It’s a pleasure and honor to see my own picks make it into the award seasons discussion on those fronts.

Here's how this little page of my personal interest works.  I find value in tracking the trends and following the tea leaves of the all the minor lead-up awards before the Oscars.  I chart the winners of each category with listed winners and comments on the surrounding buzz. 

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BEST MOTION PICTURE

OSCAR REACTION:  Surprise, surprise. The white savior narrative wins. Boy, Twitter is going to have a field day for a long time with this one, and by long time I mean like 48 hours, which is an eternity by Twitter standards. You can bet Green Book will now make those retrospective lists that come out every year of the least likely and least deserving Best Picture winners of Academy Award history, right there next to Crash and Shakespeare in Love. The cinephile reception for this one is that bad.

WINNERS:  

23- Roma  (NY, Chicago, SF, DC, LA, TOR, PHI, SS, SEA, KC, LV, NYO, VAN, ACT, NC, OK, Online, SE, CC, DEN, EDA, London, BAFTA)

10- The Favourite  (ATL, WC, KC, HOU, FL, NM, PCC, IA, GAL, OFTA)

7- If Beale Street Could Talk  (Boston, GW, COL, SAT, AUS, CIFCC, Spirit)

7- Green Book  (TIFF, NBR, NT, PHX, Globe, NV, Oscar)

4- A Star is Born  (DFW, STL, SAT, GA)

2- The Hate U Give  (IN, LAO)

2- The Rider (GIFA, NSFC)

2- Black Panther  (AA, BF)

1- Leave No Trace (SD)

1- Eighth Grade  (DET)

1- You Were Never Really Here  (BO)

1- Avengers: Infinity War (PC)

1- Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse  (UT)

1- Bohemian Rhapsody  (Globe)

1- Custody  (DUB)

1- Shoplifters  (Cannes)

1- The Miseducation of Cameron Post  (Sundance)

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BEST DIRECTOR

OSCAR REACTION: This was a no-doubt awards season sweep for Alfonso Cuaron. You know, when you look at the history, the only American director to win Best Director this decade is Damian Chazelle for La La Land. The foreign dominance between Cuaron, Guillermo del Toro, Alejandro G. Inarritu, Ang Lee, Michel Hazanavicius, and Tom Hooper is really something. The U.S. of A. really needs to step up.

36- Alfonso Cuaron for Roma  (NY, ATL, Chicago, DC, TOR, SEA, DFW, IN, KC, LV, NYO, UT, NSFC, ACT, HOU, FL, COL, NT, NC, OK, Online, PCC, PHX, SAT, SE, Globe, IA, CC, DEN, EDA, GA, GAL, London, DGA, BAFTA, Oscar)

5- Spike Lee for BlacKkKlansman  (SF, STL, LAO, NV, CIFCC)

3- Lynne Ramsey for You Were Never Really Here  (BO, Boston, LAO)

3- Barry Jenkins for If Beale Street Could Talk  (PHI, GW, Spirit)

2- Debra Granik for Leave No Trace  (LA, SD)

2- Ryan Coogler for Black Panther  (AA, BF)

2- Pawel Pawlikowski for Cold War  (Cannes, EFA)

2- Yorgos Lanthimos for The Favourite  (NM, OFTA)

1- Chloe Zhao for The Rider  (DUB)

1- Paul Schrader for First Reformed  (VAN)

1- Bradley Cooper for A Star is Born  (NBR)

1- Adam McKay for Vice  (DET)

1- Sara Colangelo for The Kindergarten Teacher  (Sundance)

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BEST ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE

OSCAR REACTION:  Say what you will or won’t about Bohemian Rhapsody or your wishes for Ethan Hawke, this was, as the winner himself said, a “monumental” moment for Rami Malek. He was outstanding, through and through.

WINNERS:  

32- Ethan Hawke for First Reformed  (GIFA, NY, ATL, DET, LA, Chicago, SF, DC, TOR, SD, WC, SEA, BO, IN, KC, NYO, STL, VAN, UT, NSFC, GW, NC, OK, Online, PCC, SE, DEN, EDA, GA, GAL, CIFCC, London, Spirit)

10- Rami Malek for Bohemian Rhapsody  (ACT, LAO, NT, SAT, IA, Globe, SAG, BAFTA, OFTA, Oscar)

8- Christian Bale for Vice  (PHI, DFW, KC, HOU, Globe, NV, CCx2)

2- Bradley Cooper for A Star is Born  (DC, BF)

2- Viggo Mortensen for Green Book  (NBR, PHX)

2- Marcello Fonte for Dogman  (Cannes, EFA)

1- Willem Dafoe for At Eternity’s Gate  (SAT)

1- Ben Foster for Leave No Trace  (COL)

1- Joaquin Phoenix for You Were Never Really Here  (FL)

1- John C. Reilly for Stan & Ollie  (Boston)

1- Victor Polster for Girl  (NM)

1- John David Washington for BlacKkKlansman  (AA)

1- Charlie Plummer for Lean on Pete  (DUB)

1- Benjamin Dickey for Blaze  (Sundance)

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BEST ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE

OSCAR REACTION:   The frontrunner and dominant winner of the awards season fended off the surging veteran. That’s like winning twice at the Academy Awards and their penchant for awarding career resumes over top performances.

WINNERS:  

22- Olivia Colman for The Favourite  (ATL, DC, TOR, WC, DFW, VAN, NSFC, ACT, COL, NC, SAT, SE, Globe, IA, CC, DEN, EDA, GAL, London, BAFTA, OFTA, Oscar)

12- Toni Collette for Hereditary  (GIFA, DET, Chicago, SEA, BO, STL, HOU, LAO, NT, Online, NV, GA)

7- Glenn Close for The Wife  (SD, NM, SAT, Globe, CC, SAG, Spirit)

6- Melissa McCarthy for Can You Ever Forgive Me?  (SF, Boston, NYO, VAN, FL, PCC)

4- Lady Gaga for A Star is Born  (NBR, DC, PHX, CC)

3- Regina Hall for Support the Girls  (NY, AA, VAN)

2- Elsie Fisher for Eighth Grade  (UT, CIFCC)

2- Viola Davis for Widows  (PHI, BF)

2- Yalitza Aparicio for Roma  (GW, OK)

1- Joanna Kulig for Cold War (EFA)

1- Nicole Kidman for Destroyer (NV)

1- Amanda Stenberg for The Hate U Give  (IN)

1- Charlotte Rampling for Hannah  (DUB)

1- Samal Yeslyamova for Ayka  (Cannes)

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BEST ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

OSCAR REACTION:  Grant would have been lovely, and Sam Elliott would have been even better. But, I can’t argue with Mahershala Ali, his stature, and his talent. The man just became the second two-time black Oscar winner after Denzel Washington. Don’t call it a torch passed. Just call it a second torch and let’s see some more get added going forward.

WINNERS:  

22- Richard E. Grant for Can You Ever Forgive Me?  (NY, Chicago, PHI, SD, SEA, BO, Boston, KC, NYO, STL, VAN, UT, COL, PCC, SAT, SE, NV, EDA, GAL, CIFCC, London, OFTA, Spirit)

15- Mahershala Ali for Green Book  (DC, DFW, ACT, HOU, BF, LAO, NT, PHX, Globe, IA, CC, DEN, SAG, BAFTA, Oscar)

5- Sam Elliott for A Star is Born  (NBR, ATL, IN, NM, GA)

5- Steven Yeun for Burning  (LA, TOR, NSFC, GW, FL)

4- Michael B. Jordan for Black Panther  (SF, NC, OK, Online)

2- Hugh Grant for Paddington 2 (BAFTA, UT)

2- Russell Hornsby for The Hate U Give  (AA, LAO)

1- Timothee Chalamat for Beautiful Boy  (SD)

1- Josh Hamilton for Eighth Grade  (DET)

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BEST ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

OSCAR REACTION:   The dominant Regina King finished her reign through this awards season on top with a no-doubt win. Let’s see her continue her film career further after her long successes on television. Thank you for being the Oscar candlelight flicker for If Beale Street Could Talk, my #1 film of 2018.

WINNERS:  

36- Regina King for If Beale Street Could Talk  (NBR, NY, DET, SF, DC, LA, TOR, PHI, SEA, AA, BO, Boston, DFW, IN, NYO, STL, NSFC, GW, COL, BF, LAO, NC, OK, Online, PCC, SAT, SE, Globe, IA, CC, EDA, GAL, CIFCC, OFTA, Spirit, Oscar)

6- Rachel Weisz for The Favourite  (VAN, HOU, NV, DEN, London, BAFTA)

4- Emma Stone for The Favourite  (ATL, NT, PHX, GA)

2- Sakura Ando for Shoplifters  (FL, NM)

2- Olivia Colman for The Favourite  (Chicago, UT)

1- Emily Blunt for A Quiet Place (SAG)

1- Nicole Kidman for Boy Erased  (ACT)

1- Amy Adams for Vice  (KC)

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BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

OSCAR REACTION:   This surprise win looked like a possible omen for a Best Picture win for Green Book. In the moment, Samuel L. Jackson’s face opening that envelope said it all. That’s how off this winner was. This was also the moment we all thought The Favourite was going to go home empty-handed after 10 nominations before Colman’s win slashed the goose egg.

WINNERS:  

18- Deborah Davis and Tony McNamara for The Favourite  (ATL, DC, TOR, SEA, DFW, KC, NYO, ACT, NM, NC, PCC, SE, NV, EDA, GAL, London, BAFTA, OFTA)

12- Paul Schrader for First Reformed  (GIFA, NBR, NY, Chicago, SF, TOR, BO, IN, VAN, OK, Online, CC)

6- Bo Burnham for Eighth Grade  (SD, UT, COL, GA, CIFCC, WGA)

4- Nick Vallelonga, Brian Hayes Curry, and Peter Farrelly for Green Book  (DET, PHX, Globe, Oscar)

3- Boots Riley for Sorry to Bother You  (GW, FL, BF)

3- Adam McKay for Vice  (DET, STL, LAO)

1- Pawel Pawlikowski for Cold War (EFA)

1- John Krasinski, Scott Beck, and Bryan Woods for A Quiet Place (DEN)

1- Alfonso Cuaron for Roma  (SAT)

1- Christine Choe for Nancy  (Sundance)

1- Alice Rohrwacher for Happy as Lazarro  (Cannes)

1- Jafar Panahi for 3 Faces  (Cannes)

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BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

OSCAR REACTION:  Spike Lee deserved a moment, got his moment, and nailed his moment. Great speech and story! Say it with me: “Academy Award winner Spike Lee.”

WINNERS:  

12- Charlie Wachtel, David Rabinowitz, Kevin Willmott and Spike Lee for BlacKkKlansman  (SF, AA, KC, STL, COL, OK, SE, DEN, GA, CIFCC, BAFTA, Oscar)

9- Nicole Holofcener and Jeff Whitty for Can You Ever Forgive Me?  (DC, LA, Boston, FL, PHX, SAT, EDA, WGA, Spirit)

8- Barry Jenkins for If Beale Street Could Talk  (NBR, Chicago, GW, BF, NC, Online, CC, OFTA)

4- Audrey Wells for The Hate U Give  (PHI, WC, IN, LAO)

2- Armando Iannucci, David Schneider, Ian Martin, Peter Fellows, and Fabien Nury for The Death of Stalin  (SD, NSFC)

1- Debra Granik and Anne Rosellini for Leave No Trace (USC)

1- Ryan Coogler and Joe Robert Cole for Black Panther (NV)

1- Oh Jung-mi and Lee Chang-dong for Burning  (NM)

1- Lynne Ramsey for You Were Never Really There  (DUB)

1- Phil Lord and Rodney Rothman for Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse  (UT)

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BEST ANIMATED FEATURE

OSCAR REACTION:   The lock of the night was locked with the key thrown away. Great to see the comic book love!

WINNERS:

30- Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse  (NY, DET, Chicago, SF, LA, SEA, AA, BO, IN, KC, NYO, STL, UT, GW, COL, BF, LAO, NC, OK, Online, PCC, Globe, CC, DEN, EDA, GA, Annie, CIFCC, BAFTA, OFTA)

11- Isle of Dogs  (DC, TOR, SD, Boston, DFW, HOU, NT, PHX, SAT, SE, NV)

3- Incredibles 2  (NBR, PHI, IA)

1- Mirai  (FL, Annie)

1- Another Day of Life (EFA)

1- The Wolf House  (NM)

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BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM

OSCAR REACTION: Pixar doesn’t always win here the way they win in the feature category, but the popular one beat the obscure ones on a night where popularity wins. I can’t say I’m surprised. This was a really good field this year. Do yourself a favor and find these little gems on Vimeo or YouTube soon.

WINNERS:  

1- Weekends (Annie)

1- Bao (Oscar)

1- Roughhouse (BAFTA)

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BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT

OSCAR REACTION:  I’ve come to the place where I haven’t seen this winner. I’ll correct that soon.

WINNERS:  

1- Skin (Oscar)

1- Matria  (Sundance)

1- 73 Cows (BAFTA)

1- The Years (EFA)

1- Three Centimetres (London)

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BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

OSCAR REACTION : With Fred Rogers on the sidelines, category could have went many directions, but the big screen wonder was the winner. Kudos to my Feelin’ Film guy Aaron White who has now interviewed an Oscar winner!

WINNERS:  

31- Won’t You Be My Neighbor?  (ATL, SF, DC, TOR, PHI, BO, Boston, DFW, IN, KC, NYO, STL, UT, HOU, LAO, NM, NT, NC, OK, Online, PCC, PHX, SE, NV, IA, DEN, EDA, GA, GAL, OFTA, Spirit)

8- Minding the Gap  (NY, Chicago, VAN, NSFC, GW, SAT, IDA, CIFCC)

3- Shirkers  (LA, FL, COL)

4- Free Solo  (TIFF, SEA, BAFTA, Oscar)

2- Hale County This Morning, This Evening  (GIFA, EYE)

2- Three Identical Strangers  (DET, SD)

2- RBG  (NBR, WC)

2- Quincy  (AA, BF)

1- Faces Places (London)

1- Bergman: A Year in the Life (EFA)

1- So Help Me God  (DUB)

1- Kailash  (Sundance)

1- The Sentence  (Sundance)

---

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT

OSCAR REACTION:   At this point in the night, this dartboard category probably gave the most raucous winner’s speech of the night.

WINNERS:  

1- Period. End of Sentence (Oscar)

1- My Dead Dad’s Porno Tapes (EYE)

1- Zion (IDA)

---

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

OSCAR REACTION:  Could wealth had been spread? Probably. Was it going to happen? Nope. Roma has been dominant and won where it was supposed to. Great to see this first Oscar win in this category for the country of Mexico.

WINNERS:  

37- Roma  (ATL, Chicago, SF, DC, PHI, WC, SEA, BO, DFW, IN, KC, STL, VAN, UT, NSFC, HOU, GW, BF, LAO, NT, OK, Online, PCC, PHX, SAT, SE, Globe, CC, DEN, EDA, GA, GAL, CIFCC, BAFTA, OFTA, Spirit, Oscar)

5- Shoplifters  (LA, SD, Boston, FL, COL)

4- Cold War  (NY, NYO, EFA, London)

4- Burning  (LA, TOR, GW, NM)

1- Butterflies  (Sundance)

1- The Guilty  (Sundance)

---

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

OSCAR REACTION:  It may not have been the most creative or whizzing work, but it was the best and deepest. Cuaron makes history as the first director to ever win a Cinematographer Oscar for shooting his own film.

WINNERS:  

31- Alfonso Cuaron for Roma  (NY, ATL, Chicago, SF, DC, LA, PHI, SEA, BO, Boston, DFW, NYO, STL, UT, NSFC, HOU, GW, COL, BF, LAO, Online, PHX, SE, NV, CC, EDA, GA, CIFCC, BAFTA, OFTA, Oscar)

3- Lukasz Zal for Cold War  (FL, London, ASC)

1- Sayombhu Mukdeeprom for Suspiria (Spirit)

1- Matthew Libatique for A Star is Born  (SAT)

1- Monika Lenczewska for Under the Tree  (DUB)

---

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN/ART DIRECTION

OSCAR REACTION:  Echoing costume design, it’s wonderful to finally see the world-building of a comic book film be recognized on the highest level. Bravo, Black Panther!

WINNERS:  

8- Fiona Crombie for The Favourite  (Chicago, SEA, FL, PHX, NV, GA, CIFCC, ADG, OFTA)

5- Hannah Beachler for Black Panther  (SF, DC, LA, STL, CC, ADG, Oscar)

1- Nelson Coates for Crazy Rich Asians (ADG)

1- Paul Harrod and Adam Stockhausen for Isle of Dogs (ADG)

1- John Myhre and Gordon Sim for Mary Poppins Returns  (SAT)

1- Aaron Haye for Bohemian Rhapsody  (NM)

1- Jum-Hee Shin for Burning  (Cannes)

---

BEST FILM EDITING

OSCAR REACTION:  The win for Bohemian Rhapsody here was quite the curveball. Like many other places where it won, it’s hard to call this work the best in this field. I am a fan of long-time Bryan Singer collaborator and sometimes film composer John Ottman for the win. Deserving guy!

WINNERS:  

6- Alfonso Cuaron and Adam Gough for Roma  (Chicago, NM, PHX, SAT, EDA, CIFCC)

3- Tom Cross for First Man (DC, Boston, CC)

2- John Ottman for Bohemian Rhapsody (ACE, Oscar)

2- Yorgos Mavropsaridis for The Favourite (ACE, OFTA)

2- Eddie Hamilton for Mission: Impossible - Fallout  (SEA, Online)

2- Joe Bini for You Were Never Really Here (Spirit, BO)

1- Hank Corwin for Vice (BAFTA)

1- Robert Fischer, Jr. for Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (ACE)

1- Bob Eisenhardt for Free Solo (ACE)

1- Nicholas D. Johnson and Will Merrick for Searching  (LAO)

1- Christopher Tellefsen for A Quiet Place (HP)

1- Joe Walker for Widows  (COL)

1- Joi McMillon and Nat Sanders for If Beale Street Could Talk  (GW)

1- Joshua Altman and Bing Liu for  Minding the Gap  (LA)

1- Bob Murawski and Orson Welles for The Other Side of the Wind  (SF)

---

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

OSCAR REACTION:  After years of creative work in their genre and in the entire field, it’s about damn time a comic book film has won a costume Oscar. This was a big and important win!

WINNERS:  

7- Ruth E. Carter for Black Panther  (SEA, Online, CC, CIFCC, CDG, OFTA, Oscar)

4- Sandy Powell for The Favourite  (PHX, SAT, CDG, BAFTA)

1- Mary E. Vogt for Crazy Rich Asians (CDG)

---

BEST MAKEUP AND HAIR-STYLING

OSCAR BUZZ:  For the second year in a row, the big star transformation wins. This was more about the films that weren’t nominated in the short three-film field.

WINNERS:   

4- Vice (CC, MHG, OFTA, Oscar)

1- The Favourite (OFTA)

1- Black Panther (CIFCC)

1- Crazy Rich Asians (MHG)

1- A Star is Born (MHG)

1- Mary Queen of Scots (MHG)

---

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

OSCAR REACTION:   This is great to see more traditional effects and innovative approaches win the top award over straight CGI. This was a great win for First Man and the entire art of visual effects.

WINNERS:

7- Avengers: Infinity War  (STL, LAO, NV, HP, DEN, VES, OFTA)

5- Black Panther  (NC, PHX, SAT, CC, BAFTA)

3- Annihilation  (Chicago, FL, Online)

3- First Man (CIFCC, VES, Oscar)

1- Mission: Impossible - Fallout  (SEA)

1- Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (VES)

1- Ralph Breaks the Internet (Annie)

1- Mary Poppins Returns (Annie)

---

BEST SOUND EDITING

OSCAR REACTION:  With all due respect, I can’t put Bohemian Rhapsody up for this award when the other nominees had superior work in the field.

WINNERS:  

2- A Quiet Place (Online, SAT)

2- Bohemian Rhapsody (BAFTA, Oscar)

1- First Man (OFTA)

---

BEST SOUND MIXING

OSCAR REACTION:  Echo what was said in Sound Editing. This should have been First Man.

WINNERS:  

3- A Quiet Place (Online, SAT, OFTA)

3- Bohemian Rhapsody (CAS, BAFTA, Oscar)

1- First Man (OFTA)

---

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

OSCAR REACTION:  Gosh, I can’t get over the comic book movie love! From John Williams and Danny Elfman to Alan Silvestri and Hans Zimmer, so many comic scores have come and gone and never won. This was a wonderful win for Black Panther and the genre.

WINNERS:  

12- Nicholas Britell for If Beale Street Could Talk  (Chicago, DC, LA, Boston, NYO, COL, LAO, Online, PCC, IA, CIFCC, OFTA)

7- Justin Hurwitz for First Man  (ATL, FL, PHX, SAT, Globe, CC, GA)

2- Ludwig Goransson for Black Panther (DEN, Oscar)

2- Thom Yorke for Suspiria  (PHI, IN)

1- Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman for Mary Poppins Returns  (NM)

1- Geoff Barrow and Ben Salisbury for Annihilation  (UT)

1- Terence Blanchard for BlacKkKlansman  (STL)

1- Johann Johannsson for Mandy  (SEA)

1- Jonny Greenwood for You Were Never Really Here  (BO)

1- Alexandre Desplat for Isle of Dogs  (DFW)

OSCAR NOMINEES: BlacKkKlansman, Black Panther, If Beale Street Could Talk, Isle of Dogs, Mary Poppins Returns

---

BEST ORIGINAL SONG

OSCAR REACTION:   You could smell the favoritism for “Shallow” from the beginning of the evening with the endless commercial break teases and extended performance time. But, wow, what a stunner of a performance to match the song. The back-shot duet was the centerpiece of the show. Tingles, feels, and all!

WINNERS:  

11- “Shallow” by Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga for A Star is Born  (LAO, Online, PHX, SAT, Globe, IA, CC, DEN, GA, OFTA, Oscar)

1- “All the Stars” by Kendrick Lamar for Black Panther (AA)

1- “Suspirium “ by Thom Yorke for Suspiria  (NM)

---

ACRONYM KEY FOR AWARD GROUPS

African-American Film Critics Association (AA), ACE Eddie Awards (ACE), Art Directors Guild Awards (ADG), Annie Awards (Annie), American Society of Cinematographers (ASC), Atlanta Film Critics (ATL), Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (ACT), Austin Film Critics Association (AUS), British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA), Black Film Critics Circle (BF), Boston Society of Film Critics (Boston), Boston Online Film Critics Association (BO), Cannes Film Festival (Cannes), Cinema Audio Society (CAS), Costume Designers Guild (CDG), Chicago Film Critics Association (Chicago), Chicago Independent Film Critics Circle (CIFCC), Broadcast Film Critics Association/Critics Choice Awards (CC), Columbus/Central Ohio Film Critics Associations (COL), Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association (DC), Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association (DFW), Denver Film Critics Society (DEN), Detroit Film Critics Society (DET), Directors Guild of America (DGA), Dublin Film Critics Circle (DUB), Alliance of Women Film Journalists/EDA Awards (EDA), European Film Awards (EFA), Cinema Eye Awards (EYE), Florida Film Critics Circle (FL), Georgia Film Critics Association (GA), Gay and Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association/Dorian Awards (GAL), Gotham Independent Film Awards (GIFA), Greater Western New York Film Critics Association (GW), Hollywood Foreign Press Association/Golden Globes (Globe), Hollywood Film Awards (HFA), Houston Film Critics Society (HOU), Hollywood Professionals Association (HP), Iowa Film Critics Association (IA), Indiana Film Journalist Associations (IN), International Documentary Association (IDA), Kansas City Film Critics Circle (KC), Los Angeles Film Critics Association (LA), Los Angeles Online Film Critics Society (LAO), London Film Critics Circle (London), Las Vegas Film Critics Association/Sierra Winners (LV), Makeup and Hair-styling Guild (MHG), National Board of Review (NBR), North Carolina Film Critics Association (NC), National Society of Film Critics (NSFC), New Mexico Film Critics (NM), North Texas Film Critics Association (NT), Nevada Film Critics Society (NV), New York Film Critics Circle (NY), New York Online Film Critics Association (NYO), Online Film and Television Awards (OFTA), Oklahoma Film Critics Circle (OK), Online Film Critics Society (Online), The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences/Academy Awards (Oscar), People’s Choice Awards (PC), Producers Guild of America (PGA), Philadelphia Film Critics Circle (PHI), Phoenix Critic Circle (PCC), Phoenix Film Critics Society (PHX), Screen Actors Guild Awards (SAG), International Press Academy/Satellite Awards (SAT), San Diego Film Critics Society (SD), Southeastern Film Critics Association (SE), Seattle Film Critics Society (SEA), San Francisco Film Critics Circle (SF),  Independent Spirit Awards (Spirit), Sight and Sound Magazine (SS), St. Louis Film Critics (STL), Sundance Film Festival (Sundance), Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), Toronto Film Critics Association (TOR), USC Libraries Scripter Award (USC), Utah Film Critics Association (UT), Vancouver Critics Circle (VAN), Visual Effects Society Awards (VES), Women Film Critics Circle (WC), Writers Guild of America (WGA)

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‘KATHRYN UPSIDE DOWN’

Random Media has acquired the worldwide rights to the comedy feature film, ‘Kathryn Upside Down’, starring Allie Loukas, Christopher M. Walsh (Chicago Fire), Carlton G. McBeth (It Takes a Village) and Matt Edmonds (Young Sinatra). Thefilm will release on-demand and on all digital platforms on March 12, 2019. Written, and directed by Allie Loukas, ‘Kathryn […]

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MOVIE REVIEW: How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World

(Image: letterboxd.com)

HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON: THE HIDDEN WORLD— 3 STARS

One of the most exceptional qualities of the How to Train Your Dragon films are their undaunted sense of encouragement. Too many animated film entries targeted to kids are dominated by crass and crude humor. We may laugh, but we don’t grow. This hit franchise stewarded by writer-director Dean DeBlois always achieves the latter in splendid fashion. Through its motivating attitude, rich pathos, and indomitable spirit, the final chapter of How to Train Your Dragon celebrates the substance that has made this series triumph.

LESSON #1: ROOTING SOMEONE OR SOMETHING ON — This signature encouragement occurs often in the simplest dialogue of an imperative or exclamatory cheer. As a benevolent and fire-breathing Toothless takes to the clouds and soars over surf, the visuals dazzle and the music swells, but it’s the words that add extra. Bigger than pep talks, every hopeful “go,” helpful “you can do this,” exasperating “yeah,” thankful “this is awesome” punctuate excitement with battle cries of supportive emotion rather than hollow indifference.

These beautiful bonds are what elevate How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World. It is one year after the climactic events of the 2014 second film. Our emerging heroic leader Hiccup (voiced by Jay Baruchel) narrates the customary introduction of Berk. Continuing the wondrous and evolving world-building of the first two movies, the cliffside settlement is now a teeming and colorful favela of large birdhouse-like dwellings sharing space with the cozy chalets of the native Vikings. Joined by his training buddies and the loyal love of Astrid (America Ferrera), Hiccup has assumed his late father Stoick’s place beside his returning mother Valka (Cate Blanchett) and trusty mentor Gobber (Craig Ferguson).

LESSON #2: DIFFERENCE MAKERS IN BATTLE — In order to secure and extend peace beyond Berk’s borders, Hiccup and his crew have mobilized to target dragon trappers and poachers to free the captive creatures as a way of collecting strays, so to speak, to join their sanctuary. The young leader has empowered his countrymen to yoke the dragons’ allegiance and power, giving them a superior combative advantage not unlike how tanks and fighter jets prevail with ease over foot soldiers. Warriors, you need to get yourself a dragon.

Hiccup’s forward momentum of “picking fights” has provoked the ire of the realm’s most feared dragon hunter, the smoothly sinister Grimmel (F. Murray Abraham, smooth and sinister himself). As Gobber warns, Hiccup may have picked a fight he will finally use. The evil tactician is flanked by fiery-acid spewing monsters and commands a powerful white Fury dragon, supposedly the last female of its kind. This alluring potential mate becomes bait to wrestle away Toothless, the controlling alpha of the whole flock. Grimmel’s threats and pursuits set the peril and adventure into motion towards the titular mythic haven of all the dragons, but not before a little romance paves the path before danger.

LESSON #3: KNOW HOW TO STRUT — Age, status, and organic taxonomy do not matter. A male or female seeking to make an impression of interest and affection needs to know how to show off. From cricket chirps, firefly glows, and the wild scents of pheromones to putting forth your best appearance or even the ability to dance, a creature needs to be able to strut. It’s not too much if it works and scores you a potential partner. Go for it. You’ve got two tender dragons in The Hidden World that will steal your heart.

My goodness, do the ever-progressing upgrade in computer animation really show here. You would think a few years would not make a distinguishable difference, but wow! In the same sharpening way the 2014 sequel looked better than the 2010 starter, this finale is eye-poppingly gorgeous from heavens to horizons. Legendary cinematographer Roger Deakins returned as a visual consultant for the second consecutive film and his eye is wholly apparent in the lavish glow of every lightbeam, shadow, vista, and texture. If the visuals aren’t knockout enough, composer John Powell’s third How to Train Your Dragon score is inspirational and exhilarating. The man earned an Oscar nomination from the ethnic refrains and themes of the first film and it’s not too early into 2019 to say he deserves another.

Try as it may, not every trait can advance upward for this conclusion. The middle film is an awfully tough act to follow and it shows. The levels of emotional weight and soaring action, while entirely fitting and more than considerable, are a noticeable step below part two. Here in the third, dimwitted sidebar characters like Kristen Wiig’s Ruffnut, Justin Ripple’s Tuffnut, and Jonah Hill’s Snotlout rob and smear too many moments with lame chicanery. Their bits feel overwritten and from an entirely different movie, unlike the deft comic timing of Ferguson’s ruffian and the balance provided by the soulful presence of Blanchett’s matriarch.

LESSON #4: THE IMPORTANCE OF GAINING FREEDOM — Ending on the positive, this lesson speaks to a goal that defines a undeniable core of character integrity that is strong for this big finish. Our heroes experience a quest of mystery and discovery, creation and destruction, and, most of all, rising love and departing sacrifices. All of those moments arrive with both personal and shared freedom in the center. How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World arrives at this final lesson with genuine care and, to circle all the way back, encouragement.

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Godzilla vs. Kong Moves Up Its Release By 9 Weeks

It looks like Warner Bros. have strapped their big boy pants on and gotten cocky. After the barnstorming success of their Conjuring shared universe, the newly-minted success of the DCEU with Aquaman, and even a Space Jam sequel on the books, their ‘MonsterVerse’ is set to take something of a victory lap in 2020 with […]

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90s Kids Rejoice, Space Jam 2 Has A Release Date

Warner Bros. has officially slated their forthcoming sequel to 1996’s cult-favourite Space Jam, which will star basketball legend LeBron James. A Space Jam 2 has been rumoured since 2015, when LeBron James and his company (SpringHill Entertainment) signed a deal with Warner Bros. Back then, director Justin Lin (Star Trek Beyond) was reportedly in negotiations […]

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Kendrick Lamar and SZA Will Not Perform Their Nominated Black Panther Song At The Oscars

After much to-ing and fro-ing, sources close to the academy have confirmed to press that hip hop legend Kendrick Lamar will not perform his Oscar-nominated hit All the Stars with SZA on the live telecast. Those same sources have said that the situation comes down to a clashing of logistics and timing. Indeed, Lamar was […]

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MOVIE REVIEW: Fighting with My Family

(Image by Robert Viglasky courtesy of MGM via EPK.tv)

FIGHTING WITH MY FAMILY— 3 STARS

If you’re not a fan of professional wrestling for whatever reason, find one, especially an adult, and ask them why they love it. Prepare for the answer to become a show. Watch them light up and tell you a personal story of connection and experience. Listen to them describe a colorful, larger-than-life character. Observe them remember a jaw-dropping moment of athleticism right down to where they were and who they were with when they witnessed it. Hear them sound off with a catchphrase or two to finish.

Compare their zeal with other populations of fandom and you will see that it has evolved beyond kid’s stuff. They will sound a great deal like a Star Wars fan, a comic book lover, a water-cooler TV junkie who never misses an episode of their favorite show, or any other barstool sports nut jawing about their chosen game. Why? It’s because professional wrestling has made a connection with them. It is a wholly unique product that rolls sports and narrative into one experience. The new film Fighting with My Family drops the perfect gem of a “soap opera in spandex” and has characters describe themselves as “riddled with wrestling” like an addiction. The fitting melodrama is as ripped as the muscles being flexed.

LESSON #1: PROFESSIONAL WRESTLING IS A SPECIAL KIND OF ENTERTAINMENT — In the decades since hitting it big in the 1980s, professional wrestling, led by Vince McMahon’s World Wrestling Entertainment, has tapped into avenues of nearly universal appeal across demographics, geographic borders, and socioeconomic statuses. Putting on shows over 350 nights a year, it is the evolution of the traveling circus beyond freak labels, now with professional recruiting, training, corporate sponsorship, and purposeful production values.

Fighting with My Family borrows and mashes together two tried-and-true movie formulas to tell a very engaging true story of one of their superstars, Sariya-Jade Bevis, better known as Paige. On one end, it is the well-worn stardom dream archetype of a kid longing to become famous for the brand of glamour they grow up loving. On the other, it is a straight-up sports movie with big game feels. Both paths have their inherent cues, contrivances, and cliches, but they also have their high appeal and hearty feels.  Like the athletic amalgam itself, the blend is fitting where the typical personal challenges of each formulaic journey mirror and amplify themselves perfectly when applied to professional wrestling.

Fast-rising English actress Florence Pugh (Outlaw King and Lady Macbeth) stars as the little sister of a wrestling family in Norwich, England. Sariya’s hard-playing parents Patrick and Julia, played with rakish relish by Nick Frost and Lena Headey, run a homegrown grassroots wrestling outfit traveling by van and performing in back rooms to riotous and loyal little crowds. Sariya and her older brother Zak (Jack Lowden of Dunkirk and Mary Queen of Scots) have been groomed in all aspects of the all-hands-on-deck family business from the training, recruitment, and marketing to the becoming top talents between the ropes.

LESSON #2: THE QUEST FOR PERSONAL PINNACLES — The achievement at the top of any dreamer’s ladder doesn’t matter. The energy of inspiration and desire is the same. So is the obsession, and so is the hard work and competition to get it. Across those that succeed and those that fail, every participant has their personal reasons and level of internal drive to strive towards belonging in or attaining that dream.

Sariya and Zak’s resume calls are answered when the siblings receive an invitation to audition for a WWE talent scout (Vince Vaughn, repeating a bit of his Hacksaw Ridge drill sergeant act) in London. After giving their best, only Sariya is invited to continue forward, crushing Zak on the cusp of becoming a new father. Taking a ring name matching Rose McGowan’s witch on Charmed and leaving her native country, Sariya signs with NXT, the WWE’s developmental wing based in Orlando, to train and compete against other prospective performers who are stronger, faster, and prettier than her. From here, the interwoven formulas of peaks and valleys take over.

LESSON #3: IT’S NOT ALL ABOUT THE MUSCLES — Diving more specific than Lesson #2, the intriguing part for neophytes to discover about becoming a successful professional wrestler lies in the intangibles necessary that go beyond looks. Vaughn’s character calls it “spark” and he’s dead right. Character is key and there is an art to pulling it off . The vibe comes out on the microphone with the promo work beyond the basic tough talk and the storytelling of the athleticism on display. One has to connect with the ever-fickle crowds by making their personas, words, and actions become real extensions of their true selves.

There’s a not a top-rope too high for Florence Pugh. She ably leads the family dynamics knocked around by physical prowess. Pugh connects like the real Paige did. Through her characterizations, the respect you gain for her story matches the respect you gain for the industry. If the objective of this biopic was to hook curious new fans, dazzle eyes, and get a few more butts in seats, then Fighting with Mr Family has done that with cheers.

Written and directed by comedy specialist Stephen Merchant, this movie has stadium-sized charm and spirit matching the subjects and their rambunctious chosen mission field. The laughs come easy with just the right dose of hero worship and brand advertisement. Produced in-house by WWE Studios with a Hollywood rub from executive producer Dwayne Johnson (rightly mugging for attention and playing himself as well), Fighting with Their Family follows 2013’s The Call as another step forward for the billion-dollar giant in making more legitimate mainstream-level movies instead of straight-to-DVD side projects for its faces and heels.

While this film selectively streamlines and exaggerates the very recent (and readily comparable) true story of Paige, the essence is there. Fighting with Their Family greatly succeeds in showcasing how good success stories like hers are everywhere on the WWE roster and woven into the history of its not-so-little-anymore cottage industry. The WWE has been doing little house label documentary pieces on their top stars for years, but they’re stepping into something bigger now. The company that makes scripted entertainment for television has found a new wellspring to dramatize their own cultural touchstones. They have matinee-worthy backstage biographies that would potentially put other athletic legends to shame.

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Chris Hemsworth Goes From Thor to Hulk… Hogan

Thor: Ragnarok star Chris Hemsworth has officially signed on to portray wrestling legend Hulk Hogan in Netflix’s forthcoming biopic. Netflix obtained the exclusive life rights and consulting services from Terry Gene Bollea (the real name behind the alter ego) late last year. The feature, which will be directed by The Hangover trilogy helmer Todd Phillips, […]

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OSCAR PREDICTIONS 2019: The race for Best Picture

PART 7: THE RACE FOR BEST PICTURE

This hostless and apparently commercial-hampered and time-constrained 91st Academy Awards arrive on Sunday, February 25th. It’s time to breakdown each category and put some stone cold predictions into digital ink. Throughout the busy awards season, this website’s 2019 Awards Tracker has been my workspace to tally all the early award winners. That prognostication data is cited in these predictions. This column examines the race for Best Picture. As I say every year, stick with me and I will win you your Oscar pool!

THE ACADEMY AWARD FOR BEST MOTION PICTURE

The nominees: Black Panther, BlacKkKlansman, Bohemian Rhapsody, The Favourite, Green Book, Roma, A Star is Born, Vice

AWARDS TRACKER DATA: 23- Roma, 9- The Favourite, 6- If Beale Street Could Talk, 6- Green Book, 4- A Star is Born, 2- The Hate U Give, 2- The Rider, 2- Black Panther, and nine other films with one win.

Who was snubbed: I know it’s hard to say anything in an eight-film field is a snub and not sound like the 65th team griping about missing a big tournament. That said, If Beale Street Could Talk is a glaring omission this year. Sure, Barry Jenkins so recently won this top award with Moonlight two years ago, but his James Baldwin adaptation is just as excellent, if not better. Like I’ve been poking with constant reminders and reflections in all of these prediction breakdown posts, the middle tier of independent film (The Rider, First Reformed, Eighth Grade, Blindspotting, The Hate U Give, and more) gets marginalized to the titles with bigger backing once the awards season marketing begins. Annapurna got Vice in over If Beale Street Could Talk. I think it pushed the wrong horse.

Happy to be there- AKA “The First Cut”: The still-relatively-recent annual silliness of having more than five nominees means fat needs to be trimmed. Let the data of win totals be the decider. Anything with less than two Best Picture wins gets the boot. Sorry, BlacKkKlansman. Spike Lee is going to lose to Green Book: Driving Miss Daisy 2 thirty years after Do the Right Thing lost to Driving Miss Daisy. Sorry, Bohemian Rhapsody. Your scandals and crappy film show too many flaws. Sorry, Vice. You were cooler when you were called W. and The Big Short.

The true finalists- AKA “The Final Five”: Roma, The Favourite, Green Book, A Star is Born, Black Panther

Who should win: And now we’ve come to the prickliest of questions where awards prognosticators all pitch their reasonings for just about any of these five, let alone eight finalists. I’m a If Beale Street Could Talk guy. I’m a Searching guy. I’m a First Man guy. I don’t think any of these eight films should win. None of them are downright instant classics.

If I’m voting with my heart instead of my head, a win for Black Panther would be the biggest eyebrow-raising game-changer from this field. And it’s not impossible. The film won the top ensemble SAG award from the Screen Actors Guild, the actor’s equivalent of Best Picture. Larger than Get Out (which I backed last year for the same hopeful reasons), Black Panther represents quality, popularity, diversity, and emerging artistry all in one package. A surprise Oscar win would legitimize so many avenues: Ryan Coogler as a real director, the notion that audience hits cannot win Oscars anymore, and how the entire genre of comic book films are now (and have been) bigger than kids stuff.

More importantly, a Black Panther win would quickly erase the back-of-the-mind thoughts of being solely a token nominee to appease diversity and the masses. Don’t just nominate it to prove your progressiveness. Vote for it to win, period. That’s how you break glass ceilings and industry stigmas.

Who will win: The creme of pedigree almost rises to the top. If this was four months ago at the beginning of the season, A Star is Born would be running away and hiding with this award and a Bradley Cooper casino-cleaning sweep. The one thing Green Book has going for it to hang around as an upset special is the vital Producers Guild of America (PGA) win matching the recipients of the Best Picture category, but it has nothing else, only a deteriorating reputation of backlash.

Today, in the final week, Roma and The Favourite are the consensus art house picks with the most nominations and prior wins. They’re the true contenders and it’s time to cash in the “there’s a first time for everything” card. Roma is the juggernaut that keeps wowing industry members and earning respect at every awards show it enters while The Favourite settles for artistic prizes. Roma hasn’t faltered yet and I don’t think it will. Alfonso Cuaron’s film would be the first purely foreign language film in the 91 years of the Academy Awards to win Best Picture. It’s time for new history.

I’m backing the data and the odds. Folks can try to drum up the perceived “Netflix hate,” but why does it keep winning? Folks can complain about subtitles and black-and-white this and that, but why does it keep winning? It wins because it’s too good to deny and draws the right parallels to the politics of the present that are floating in our country. That topicality wins awards, plain and simple, especially in a year up against the likes of its fellow nominees.

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OSCAR PREDICTIONS 2019: The female acting awards

PART 6: THE FEMALE ACTING AWARDS

This hostless and apparently commercial-hampered and time-constrained 91st Academy Awards arrive on Sunday, February 25th. It’s time to breakdown each category and put some stone cold predictions into digital ink. Throughout the busy awards season, this website’s 2019 Awards Tracker has been my workspace to tally all the early award winners. That prognostication data is cited in these predictions. This column examines the races for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress. As I say every year, stick with me and I will win you your Oscar pool!

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BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

The nominees: Amy Adams for Vice, Marina de Tavira for Roma, Regina King for If Beale Street Could Talk, Emma Stone for The Favourite, Rachel Weisz for The Favourite

AWARDS TRACKER DATA: 33- King, 6- Weisz, 4- Stone, 2- Sakura Ando for Shoplifters, 2- Olivia Colman for The Favourite, and three others with one win

Who was snubbed: This isn’t so much a snub as it is a reclassification. In my opinion and by my invisible stopwatch, Emma Stone is the lead in The Favourite. I would swap Colman in the lead actress race for Stone in this one and change the whole dynamic of both awards. I think Colman has a better shot winning here than where she is up in lead. More on that in a bit.

Happy to be there: This is going to be said twice on this column, but the unassuming and zero-letter-list stars of Roma are honored to be here among Hollywood’s finest. Marina de Tavira’s inclusion is a victory for her and the film. She deserves this place, even as a long shot.

Who should win: Shuffling the three ladies of The Favourite, there’s not a doubt in my mind that Rachel Weisz was the best of the three top women of that movie. She has the most delicious lines and most devious part in a movie of double-looks and double-crosses. She nailed it all in true Yorgos Lanthimos dryness. Rachel was absolutely perfect.

Who will win: Though I love the film to pieces as my best film of 2018, I don’t think Regina King was the best thing about If Beale Street Could Talk. I think that was KiKi Layne (see below). That said, this feels like shades of 2018 with Allison Janney and Laurie Metcalf. You have a long-time character actress who’s always good in everything she does across film and TV that is finally being recognized for a standout piece of work. Regina King may never make it on this stage or roll call again, but she will always have this beautiful gift of a part from Barry Jenkins. Enjoy this moment, Ms. King! You earned it.

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BEST ACTRESS

The nominees: Yalitza Aparicio for Roma, Glenn Close for The Wife, Olivia Colman for The Favourite, Lady Gaga for A Star is Born, Melissa McCarthy for Can You Ever Forgive Me?

AWARDS TRACKER DATA: 20- Colman, 12- Toni Collette for Hereditary, 6- Close. 6- McCarthy, 4- Gaga, 3- Regina Hall for Support the Girls, 2- Elsie Fisher for Eighth Grade, 2- Viola Davis for Widows, 2- Aparicio, and five more with one win.

Who was snubbed: Though it’s one of the oldest staple genres of film, horror simply doesn’t get respectable praise from the artistic film community. If it did, Toni Collette would be on this final list of nominees, if not even walking out the absolute winner. Horror is like comedy. Go try it and perform it convincingly yourself before you knock it. Speaking of comedy, Elsie Fisher was a deserving and incredible revelation for Eighth Grade. Child performers get even less respect than horror and comedy.

Happy to be there: The completely unknown Yalitza Aparicio of Roma became the embodiment of Alfonso Cuaron’s childhood memories. Her plainness was unremarkable but real. Her presence was slight, but her heart was tremendously endearing. She has to be living a dream right now to be on movie’s biggest night.

Who should win: Melissa McCarthy impressed me to no end in Can You Ever Forgive Me? She took all of her antennae strength for physical performance that she normally tunes to a Jim Carrey-like 12 and distilled it into a character who wasn’t comfortable in her own skin. Her sense of timing and emotive reaction were impeccable. I will gladly pay to see her put the shenanigans away 50% of the time and go the way of Robin Williams with his dramatic chops as she ages.

Who will win: Welcome to the resume-fulfilling lifetime achievement moment of the program. Throw out the tale-of-the-tape comparisons, the award seasons data, and any other trend or metric. Glenn Close is winning this award for The Wife as a sign of respect, faith, and promise from an industry that nearly forgot about her. Anyone beating her would be the second coming of Juliette Binoche sneaking ahead of Lauren Bacall.

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NEXT AND FINALLY: The race for Best Picture!

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