"Knocked Up?"
PINNED: this newsletter is supposed to be a friendly recapping of the movies in, and coming to, theaters. But things be real weird right now. So until that changes in earnest, I'll either be suggesting old favorites to revisit, pointing out recent flicks you may have missed or calling out notable new VOD / streaming options.
Theaters are opening.
Your 2021 Best Picture
Academy Award Nominees
(from top, left to right)
JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH (HBO Max): the one with Daniel Kaluuya from Get Out / Black Panther where he plays an actual rising Black Panthers leader who scares the (white dominated) FBI so much they hire LaKeith Stanfield to infiltrate the org.
Other Notable Noms: Best Supporting Actor - both Kaluuya & Stanfield / Best Original Screenplay / Best Cinematography
MANK (Netflix): that black and white one with Gary Oldman as Herman J. Mankiewicz, the writer of Citizen Kane, and directed by David Fincher (whose own father wrote the script decades ago).
Other Notable Noms: Best Actor - Gary Oldman / Best Supporting Actress - Amanda Seyfreid / Best Director - Fincher / Best Cinematography
MINARI (VOD): the one that stars Steven Yeun from The Walking Dead where he plays one half of a Korean-American couple who move their young family from California to Oklahoma in hopes of creating a better life.
Other Notable Noms: Best Actor - Steven Yeun (first time ever for someone of Asian American decent) / Best Supporting Actress - Yuh-Jung Youn (first time a Korean actor has been nominated) / Best Director - Lee Isaac Chung
NOMADLAND (Hulu): the one where Frances McDormand protrays a nomad in the wake of the great recession and meets real life nomads cast . Also commonly thought to be the leader in this category.
Other Notable Noms: Best Actress - Frances McDormand / Best Director - Chloé Zhao (one of two females - the most ever in the category) / Best Adapted Screenplay / Best Cinematography
PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN (VOD): the one that contrasts a strings based version of the poppy Britney Spears song Toxic with the awful subject of sexual assault and its ramifications, with Carey Mulligan in the lead.
Other Notable Noms: Best Actress - Carey Mulligan / Best Director - Emerald Fennell (second of the two females in the category) / Best Original Screenplay.
SOUND OF METAL (Prime): the one where a punk band drummer (Riz Ahmed) starts to go deaf, forcing him to deal with not only that problem, but other deep issues in his life.
Other Notable Noms: Best Actor - Riz Ahmed / Best Supporting Actor - Paul Raci / Best Original Screenplay.
THE FATHER (Theaters): the one about dementia with really good acting from really good actors, Olivia Coleman and Anthony Hopkins.
Other Notable Noms: Best Actor - Anthony Hopkins / Best Supporting Actress - Olivia Coleman / Best Adapted Screenplay.
THE TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7 (Netflix): the heavy on talking and acting one from Aaron Sorkin (of course) about the trial prosecuting activists for protesting the '68 Democratic National Convention.
Other Notable Noms: Best Supporting Actor - Sacha Baron Cohen / Best Original Screenplay / Best Cinematography
Highlights
Concrete Cowboy - Idris Elba and Caleb McLaughlin (from Stranger Things) are father and son in a story about urban cowboys. Based on the book Ghetto Cowboy which is based on a real area in Philly where there's a deep Black horse-riding culture.
In the Heights - Lin-Manuel Miranda's first stage production becomes a legit movie (not just a film version of the stage show, a la Hamilton). Had been delayed from last year. Note: there are two new trailers in here.
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