my picks for tomorrow night’s 98th Academy Awards (the Oscars for 2025’s films) (winners indicated)
I correctly guessed 12 out of the 24 categories, which is about as well as I usually do. (Ten of my “should win”s did win!) At least I’m consistent.
Ethan Hawke
Society of the Snow (La sociedad de la nieve) movie review: cold hard crash
A stark, haunting adventure, viscerally terrifying, full of despair, informed by the moral and philosophical quandaries of what it takes to sustain oneself in body and spirit in impossible conditions.
Dream Scenario movie review: (un)likely boogeyman
Nicolas Cage is comedic in a dry, subtle, nakedly painful way, playing with his “Cage rage” persona; his performance is profoundly moving. I only wish the film was more deserving of what he’s doing.
Turn Every Page: The Adventures of Robert Caro and Robert Gottlieb documentary review: slow journalism
The crisp, congenial charms of this intimate exploration of a decades-long working partnership overlay an unsentimental elegy for an era in journalism and publishing that has all but disappeared.
weekend watchlist: when the ghosts won’t shut up
Plus sci-fi noir, sun-fueled madness, and more. (First published August 12th, 2022, on Substack and Patreon.)
Tesla movie review: less than electrifying
Hawke is warm and empathetic, but the film’s artificiality is at odds with a celebration of the visionary’s life and work, and finally offputting. I wish this were either more earnest or more bonkers.
AWFJ 2018 EDA Awards winners announced
Our most honored films are Roma (five awards), The Favourite (four awards), and Can You Ever Forgive Me? (three awards).
OFCS 2018 awards winners announced
Roma wins four awards including Best Picture; Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is Best Animated Feature.
Juliet, Naked movie review: idol threat
A gentle, generous confrontation between fan and artist, and between a past full of regret and the possibility of a happier future, made warm and human by the terrific central performances. An instant new comfort movie.
The Magnificent Seven movie review: a dusty, dry husk of a movie
Humorless, rote, clichéd, and entirely unsurprising. Antoine Fuqua attempts to recapture old Hollywood magic — and fails — rather than create his own.
