my picks for tonight’s 97th Academy Awards (the Oscars for 2024’s films) (winners indicated)
I correctly guessed 12 out of the 23 categories, which is exactly as well as I did last year. (Five of my “should win”s did win!) At least I’m consistent.
Demi Moore
OFCS 2024 awards winners announced
Anora and The Substance are the big winners; Ava DuVernay, Barbara Crampton, and Nicolas Cage are honored with Special Achievement Awards…
AWFJ 2024 EDA Awards winners announced
The Brutalist, Conclave, and The Substance are the big winners…
Songbird movie review: screechingly out of tune
An appalling melange of insipid disaster drama and implausible romance with a bit of dystopian satire thrown in. This is a crass cash-in meant to prey on our pandemic anxieties, not grapple with them.
movies by or about women opening US/Can Sep 18–20
Tuva Novotny directs Swedish dramedy Britt-Marie Was Here, starring Pernilla August; more… [This post is for Patreon patrons only for the first month.]
Corporate Animals movie review: work is hell
Corporate culture gets a delightfully twisted kick in the ass when a “team-building retreat” turns disastrous. As horror vies with comedy, the pitch(black)-perfect cast gets the balance just right.
Very Good Girls movie review: sex negative
An almost complete waste of a talented cast, and all to, apparently, convince teenaged girls that sex isn’t worth the hassle. Say what?
Margin Call (review)
Wily humor and sly observations about the lives of these high rollers are the highlights. It’s when those give way to issues of morality that the film disappoints, just a little…
Alex Pettyfer slams Hollywood; big ‘Harry Potter’ spoiler in trailer; Hollywood gender gap still gapping; more: leftover links
Plus: Atlas Shrugged producer gives up on sequels, unless he hasn’t…
cinematic roots of: ‘Easy A’
In Easy A, Emma Stone — in a story based on the classic novel The Scarlet Letter — learns how cruel teenagers can be when she pretends to be the sluttiest slut their high school has ever known. This flick sprang from (among other films)…
