Monday, February 25, 2019

Oscar Recap

Image result for oscars
by Kam Williams


Green Book Is the Surprise Best Picture Winner
Olivia Colman Upsets Glenn Close for Best Actress

Green Book upset Roma to take home the Academy Award for Best Picture on an historic night featuring a record number of wins for black-themed films. Green Book also won in the Supporting Actor (Mahershala Ali) and Original Screenplay categories. 
 
Meanwhile, Spike Lee landed the Oscar for Adapted Screenplay for BlacKkKlansman, and Regina King garnered the Supporting Actress award for inspired performance in If Beale Street Could Talk. And Peter Ramsey won for co-directing the Best Animated Feature, Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse.

Black Panther prevailed in a trio of categories: Original Score, Costume Design and Production Design. In the process, Ruth E. Carter made history as the first African-American female to win for Costume Design, and Hannah Beachler did so, too, as the first African-American to win for Production Design.

The festivities flowed smoothly despite the absence of an emcee, and the show was about an hour shorter than usual. The emphasis on diversity was pretty obvious, with white presenters being outnumbered by black, Latino and Asians.

After jumping into the arms of Samuel L. Jackson on his way to the podium, a euphoric Spike Lee delivered a politically-tinged acceptance speech in which he appealed to folks to vote in the 2020 election. Although Spike never referred to Trump by name, the president subsequently saw fit to tweet about the Oscar-winner's supposedly “racist hit” against him.

As far as my Oscar picks, I only got half right, my worst showing ever.


Complete List of Academy Award Winners

Best Picture: Green Book
Best Director: Alfonso Cuaron (Roma)
Best Actress: Olivia Colman (The Favourite)
Best Actor: Rami Malek (Bohemian Rhapsody)
Best Supporting Actress: Regina King (If Beale Street Could Talk)
Best Supporting Actor: Mahershala Ali (Green Book)
Best Foreign Film: Roma
Best Animated Feature Film: Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse
Best Original Screenplay: Green Book
Best Adapted Screenplay: BlacKkKlansman
Best Original Score: Black Panther
Best Original Song: Shallow (A Star Is Born)
Best Documentary Feature: Free Solo
Best Documentary Short: Period. End Of Sentence
Best Live Action Short: Skin
Best Animated Short: Bao
Best Cinematography: Roma
Best Production Design: Black Panther
Best Costume Design: Black Panther
Best Hair And Makeup: Vice
Best Sound Editing: Bohemian Rhapsody
Best Sound Mixing: Bohemian Rhapsody
Best Visual Effects: First Man
Best Editing: Bohemian Rhapsody



Posted by Kam at 1:08 PM 3 comments

Sunday, February 24, 2019

Roma

Film Review by Kam Williams


Devoted Nanny Dotes on Kids in Dysfunctional Family Drama

Cleo Gutierrez (Yalitza Aparicio) is one of two live-in maids maintaining the home of Antonio (Fernando Grediaga) and Sofia (Marina de Tavira), couple in crisis with four young children. They can afford the help, which includes a chauffeur, because he's a prominent physician. But they also need the staff, since Antonio spends so much time supposedly attending “conferences in Canada.” 
 
The delinquent dad explains his absence to the kids as being away on business. However his long-suffering wife suspects that he's just up to monkey business with his mistress, which explains why she's not above begging him to cancel a trip. Luckily, Sofia has a shoulder to cry on in her mother, Teresa (Veronica Garcia), who lives with them, too. 
 
Meanwhile, Cleo and her fellow nanny, Adela (Nancy Garcia), dutifully assume the bulk of the child-rearing and housekeeping duties. Both of these servants hail from humble roots, being uneducated peasants of Mixteco, native Mexican heritage. 
 
Yet, like typical young women, they do dream of someday escaping their lowly station to start families of their own. And each has a romantic interest. Cleo's is Fermin (Jorge Antonio Guerrero), a cousin of Adela's boyfriend, Ramon (Jose Manuel Guerrero Mendoza). 
 
The plot thickens the evening the two couples go on a double date to a movie theater. Against her better judgment, Cleo leaves early with Fermin who has reserved a motel room where they share an evening of passionate, unprotected sex. 
 
She ends up pregnant, and a moment of truth arrives when her baby-daddy reacts badly to the news that he's about to become a father. So, now she has to worry whether she'll be fired when she tells Sofia that she's knocked up. 
 
Thus unfolds Roma, a semi-autobiographical, dysfunctional family drama written and directed by Alfonso Cuaron. Set in Mexico City in the Seventies, this impressionistic saga shot in black & white more than makes up in atmosphere what it might lack in meaningful dialogue. 
 
Kudos to Cuaron for crafting such a visually-captivating, surreal memoir of his troubled coming of age! 

 
Excellent (4 stars)
Rated R for profanity, disturbing images and graphic nudity
In Spanish and Mixtec with subtitles.
Running time: 135 minutes
Production Companies: Esperanto Filmoj / Participant Media
Distributor: Netflix

To see a trailer for Roma, visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BS27ngZtxg

Posted by Kam at 4:18 PM 3 comments

Saturday, February 23, 2019

Top Ten DVD List for February 26, 2019

 by Kam Williams


This Week's DVD Releases

Ralph Breaks the Internet

Border

Ships [Ferahfeza]

Rampant

Mary Queen of Scots

Animal Kingdom: The Complete Third Season

Between Worlds

The Possession of Hannah Grace

Mystery Road: Series 1

The Vengeance of She

Posted by Kam at 12:04 PM 1 comments

Tuesday, February 19, 2019

Kam's Kapsules for movies opening February 22, 2019

 

Weekly Previews That Make Choosing a Film Fun  
by Kam Williams  
 
OPENING THIS WEEK


WIDE RELEASES

How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World (PG for action and mild rude humor) Final installment in the animated fantasy trilogy finds Hiccup (Jay Baruchel) and Toothless embarking on an epic journey to protect their peaceful village from the darkest threat it has ever faced. Voice cast includes America Ferrara, Cate Blanchett, Jonah Hill, Kristen Wiig, Gerard Butler and Craig Ferguson.



INDEPENDENT & FOREIGN FILMS

The Changeover (Unrated) Adaptation of Margaret Mahy's young adult novel, set in Christchurch, New Zealand, about a 16 year-old girl (Erana James) drawn into a battle with the evil spirit draining the life out of her little brother (Benji Purchase). Supporting cast includes Timothy Spall, Melanie Lynskey and Lucy Lawless.

The Iron Orchard (R for profanity and some sexuality) Depression Era drama chronicling a young man's (Lane Garrison) effort to work his way up the ranks from laborer to wildcatter in the oilfields of West Texas. With Ali Cobrin, Austin Nichols and Lew Temple.

Prosecuting Evil (Unrated) Reverential retrospective about Ben Ferencz, the sole surviving prosecutor of Nazi war criminals at the Nuremberg trials. Featuring commentary by Alan Dershowitz, Wesley Clark and Fatou Bensouda.

Run the Race (PG for teen partying and mature themes) Sports saga about two teenaged siblings' (Tanner Stine and Evan Hofer) struggle to survive in the wake of their mother's death and being abandoned by their father (Kristoffer Poloaha). With Mykelti Williamson, Frances Farmer, Mario Van Peebles, Tim Tebow and Eddie George.

Total Dhamaal (Unrated) Third installment in the zany action series revolving around a small time crook's (Ajay Devgn) attempt to recoup his losses after being double-crossed by his partner in crime (Manoj Pahwa). Cast includes Arshad Warsi, Javed Jaffrey and Anil Kapoor. (In Hindi with subtitles)


Posted by Kam at 1:31 PM 0 comments

Monday, February 18, 2019

Cold War



Film Review by Kam Williams


Star-Crossed Lovers Repeatedly Rendezvous in Polish Postwar Drama

Dateline: Poland, 1949. The countryside is still devastated by the blight left behind in the wake of the Second World War. It is amidst these ruins that we find young Zula Lichon (Joanna Kulig) auditioning for a spot in the national entertainment ensemble.

The aspiring singer-dancer should be thankful for her good looks, since she only survives the tryout because the repertory company's powerful musical director, Wiktor Warski (Tomasz Kot), is quite taken by her beauty. The pretty peasant girl, in turn, is quite flattered by the attention being lavished on her by her handsome and relatively-sophisticated advocate, even though he's old enough to be her father.

Before long, the two start sleeping together, indulging an animal magnetism during stolen moments between their traveling troupe's performances at various ports of call behind the Iron Curtain. Sadly, they are far less passionate about their work than they are about each other.

That's because the group finds itself pressured to stage productions that are pure propaganda, given how Poland, as part of the Soviet bloc, is under the thumb of Stalinist Russia. In fact, the political paranoia of the era so deeply affects Zula, that she meets weekly with a Communist Party boss (Lech Kaczmarek) to secretly snitch on her unsuspecting lover's conduct.

The jaded artists hatch a plan to defect to the West in 1952 following a concert in East Berlin. But when only one of the two follows through with the plan, they end up separated and terribly frustrated for the next dozen years.

Thus unfolds Cold War, a melancholy masterpiece written and directed by Pawel Pawlikowski. His previous picture, Ida, won the Best Foreign Film Oscar in 2015. This black & white romance drama has deservedly landed a trio of nominations, in the Foreign Film, Director and Cinematography categories.

Between a sobering score and haunting settings, Pawlikowski has created the perfect backdrop for a maudlin postmortem contemplating the fate of a couple of star-crossed lovers.


Excellent (4 stars)
Rated R for sexuality, nudity and profanity
In Polish. French, Russian, German, Italian and Croatian
Running time: 89 minutes
Production Companies: Opus Films / Polish Film Institute / Film4 / BFI / MK2 Films
Distributor: Amazon Studios

To see a trailer for Cold War, visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BvPkDdFeTk8



Posted by Kam at 8:51 AM 0 comments

Sunday, February 17, 2019

Top Ten DVD List for February 19, 2019

  • Frantz Fanon: Black Skin, White Mask [Blu-ray]
by Kam Williams


This Week's DVD Releases

A Star Is Born

Can You Ever Forgive Me?


Frantz Fanon: Black Skin, White Mask

Overlord

Backbeat

Narcissister Organ Player

The Return of the Vampire


Robin Hood

Iceman: The Time Traveler


Posted by Kam at 9:27 AM 0 comments

Saturday, February 16, 2019

The Envelope Please: Your Guide to the Oscars

 
by Kam Williams


Who Will Win, Who Deserves to Win, Who Was Snubbed


2018 was a banner year for black cast films, including BlacKkKlansman, Black Panther, Green Book and If Beale Street Could Talk. Might Spike Lee (BlacKkKlansman) finally win the Best Director and Best Picture Oscars which have eluded him over the course of his 40-year career? Not likely, despite the Academy's history of rewarding overlooked legends more for their body of work than for their latest offering. 
 
How about Black Panther, the highest-grossing ($1.34 billion) superhero movie of all time? It was nominated for 7 Academy Awards, but only in one major category, Best Picture. None of its actors were recognized. The snub is reminiscent of how in 2001 none of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon's cast members received nominations, although the film landed 10 overall. 
 
If Beale Street Could Talk, Barry Jenkins' critically-acclaimed adaptation of the James Baldwin novel of the same name, wasn't even nominated for Best Picture, though Regina King is the favorite to win for Best Supporting Actress. The crowd-pleaser Green Book might have had a shot at Best Picture were it not for the Mexican drama Roma. 

It looks like the semi-autobiographical, black & white adventure, written and directed by Alfonso Cuaron, is destined to garner the most glory on Oscar night, including Best Picture and Best Director. Why the Academy lavished Roma with 10 nominations and Crazy Rich Asians with none is beyond the ken of this critic. Two of my other faves, Eighth Grade and Private Life, were also totally ignored.

Below, see my pick to win in each major category, followed by which nominee is the most deserving, followed by the best pictures and performances not even nominated. The Oscars will air live on Sunday, February 24th at 8 pm ET / 5 pm PT on ABC-TV. The show will have no host, since the producers couldn't find a replacement for Kevin Hart, who withdrew in the wake of condemnation for some homophobic tweets.


Best Picture

Will Win: Roma
Deserves to Win: Green Book
Overlooked: Crazy Rich Asians, Eighth Grade, Private Life


Best Director

Will Win: Alfonso Cuaron (Roma)
Deserves to Win: Spike Lee (BlacKkKlansman)
Overlooked: Jon M. Chu (Crazy Rich Asians), Bo Burnham (Eighth Grade), Tamara Jenkins (Private Life)


Best Actor

Will Win: Rami Malek (Bohemian Rhapsody)
Deserves to Win: Rami Malek
Overlooked: Chadwick Boseman (Black Panther), Paul Giamatti (Private Life), Henry Golding (Crazy Rich Asians)


Best Actress

Will Win: Glenn Close (The Wife)
Deserves to Win: Yalitza Aparicio (Roma)
Overlooked: Viola Davis (Widows), Elsie Fisher (Eighth Grade), Nicole Kidman (Destroyer)


Best Supporting Actor

Will Win: Mahershala Ali (Green Book)
Deserves to Win: Mahershala Ali
Overlooked: Michael B. Jordan (Black Panther)


Best Supporting Actress

Will Win: Regina King (If Beale Street Could Talk)
Deserves to Win: Regina King
Overlooked: Michelle Yeoh (Crazy Rich Asians), Letitia Wright (Black Panther)


Best Original Screenplay

Will Win: The Favourite
Deserves to Win: Green Book
Overlooked: Eighth Grade, Private Life


Best Adapted Screenplay

Will Win: BlacKkKlansman
Deserves to Win: BlacKkKlansman
Overlooked: Crazy Rich Asians, Black Panther


Predictions for the Rest of the Categories

Animated Feature: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
Foreign Language Film: Roma
Documentary Feature: Free Solo
Cinematography: Roma
Costume Design: The Favourite
Production Design: The Favourite
Film Editing: Vice
Makeup and Hairstyling: Vice
Original Score: If Beale Street Could Talk
Best Song: “Shallow” (A Star Is Born)
Sound Editing: First Man
Sound Mixing: A Star Is Born
Visual Effects: Avengers: Infinity War
Animated Short: Bao
Documentary Short: Black Sheep
Live Action Short: Marguerite

Posted by Kam at 4:14 PM 0 comments

Wednesday, February 13, 2019

Kam's Kapsules for movies opening February 15, 2019

Weekly Previews That Make Choosing a Film Fun 
by Kam Williams


OPENING THIS WEEK

WIDE RELEASES


Alita: Battle Angel (PG-13 for action, violence and brief profanity) Rosa Salazar tackles the title role in this post-apocalyptic sci-fi as a cyborg with amnesia recruited by a compassionate scientist (Christoph Waltz) to break the world's cycle of death and destruction. Cast includes Mahershala Ali, Jennifer Connelly, Jackie Earle Haley and Michelle Rodriguez.


Happy Death Day 2U (PG-13 for violence, profanity, sexuality and mature themes) Slasher sequel finds heroine Tree Gelbman (Jessica Roth) re-entering the time loop and repeatedly reliving the same day during which she is hunted and killed by a masked assassin. With Ruby Modine, Israel Broussard and Suraj Sharma.


Isn't It Romantic (PG-13 for profanity, sexuality and a drug reference) Satirical fantasy, set in NYC, about an Australian architect (Rebel Wilson) who wakes up trapped in a romantic comedy after being knocked unconscious by a mugger on a subway platform. Supporting cast includes Liam Hemsworth, Adam Devine and Priyanka Chopra.



INDEPENDENT & FOREIGN FILMS

Birds of Passage (Unrated) Colombian crime thriller, set in the Seventies, about an indigenous family that comes to regret dealing drugs. Co-starring Jose Acosta, Carmina Martinez and Natalia Reyes. (In English, Spanish and Wayuu with subtitles)

Donnybrook (R for profanity, drug use, graphic nudity, and disturbing violence and sexuality) Adaptation of Frank Bill's best seller of the same name about an ex-Marine (Jamie Bell) and a meth dealer (Frank Grillo) who enter an illicit, bare-knuckle cage match with a $100,000 winner take all purse. Featuring Margaret Qualley, James Badge Gale and Chris Browning.

Fighting with My Family (PG-13 for sexuality, violence, crude humor, drug use and pervasive profanity) Fact-based comedy about a couple of retired pro wrestlers (Nick Frost and Lena Headey) whose children (Florence Pugh and Jack Lowden) dream of following in their parents' footsteps. With Dwayne Johnson, Vince Vaughn and Stephen Merchant.

The Lears (Unrated) Dysfunctional family dramedy about an aging architect (Bruce Dern) who invites his four children to a weekend retreat to announce that he's marrying his personal assistant (Victoria Smurfit) that Sunday. Featuring Anthony Michael Hall, Sean Astin, Aly Michalka, Nic Bishop and James Hoare.

Ruben Brandt, Collector (R for violence and nude images) Animated suspense thriller about a psychotherapist (Ivan Kamaras) who, with help from four of his patients, steals priceless works of art from the Louvre, MOMA, the Hermitage and other museums in order to alleviate his suffering from violent nightmares. Cast includes Gabriella Hamori, Katalin Dombi and Csaba Marton. (In English and Hungarian with subtitles)

Sorry Angel (Unrated) Romance drama, set in Paris in 1993, about a renowned writer (Pierre Deladonchamps) who falls in love with a gay film student (Vincent Lacoste) from Brittany about half his age. With Denis Podalydes, Adele Wismes and Thomas Gonzalez. (In French with subtitles)

This One's for the Ladies (R for nudity, graphic images, sexual simulations and pervasive profanity) Raunchy documentary revolving around a New Jersey karate dojo which morphs into a male strip club every Thursday night. Featuring performances by Tyga, Raw Dawg and Poundcake.

Posted by Kam at 11:40 AM 4 comments

Tuesday, February 12, 2019

Deep Roots

 
Book Review by Kam Williams

Deep Roots
How Slavery Still Shapes Southern Politics
by Avidit Acharya, Matthew Blackwell and Maya Sen
Princeton University Press
Hardcover, $29.95
296 pages, Illustrated
ISBN: 978-0-691-17674-1


“Despite dramatic social transformations in the United States during the last 150 years, the South has remained staunchly conservative. Southerners are more likely to support Republican candidates, gun rights, and the death penalty, and southern whites harbor higher levels of racial resentment than whites in other parts of the country. 
 
Why haven't these sentiments evolved or changed? “Deep Roots” shows that the entrenched political and racial views of contemporary white southerners are a direct consequence of the region's slaveholding history, which continues to shape economic, political, and social spheres. Today, southern whites who live in areas once reliant on slavery—compared to areas that were not—are more racially hostile and less amenable to policies that could promote black progress.”

Excerpted from the dust jacket 
 

William Faulkner is the only Nobel prize-winner born in Mississippi, which is where most of his stories are set. One of this preeminent Southern writer's most memorable lines is, “The past is never dead. It's not even past.” 
 
That quote comes to mind while reading “Deep Roots: How Slavery Still Shapes Southern Politics.” That's because, after conducting painstaking research, authors Avidit Acharya, Matthew Blackwell and Maya Sen arrived at a conclusion (“History shapes contemporary political culture.”) which sounds like a paraphrase of Faulkner's famous saying. 
 
Over the course of the 150+ years since Emancipation, the descendants of slave owners have continuously operated to prevent blacks from pursuing the American Dream. In the face of the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments, southern municipalities, cities and states passed Jim Crow laws denying African-Americans the right to vote, travel, buy land, possess a gun, get an education, and so forth. 
 
The punishment for even the slightest of infractions ranged from whipping to lynching in order to strictly maintain the region's color-coded caste system. “Racial violence was an important component of the development of anti-black attitudes, even among poor whites.” Furthermore, “White children were often present... and, in some striking cases, they were also active participants.”

So, is it any surprise that, “As of the 2016 election, all of the former states of the Confederacy had implemented some voter identification law” in an effort to deny as many black citizens as possible access to the ballot box? Advocates of Confederate monuments and memorials continue to claim the Civil War was waged over states' rights, conveniently ignoring the assertion of the designer of the rebel battle flag that, “As a people, we are fighting to maintain the heaven-ordained supremacy of the white man over the inferior or colored race.”

A timely tome which explains why, from neo-Nazis marching in Charlottesville to Virginia politicians donning blackface, when it comes to the South, the more things change, the more they remain insane.


Posted by Kam at 5:43 PM 0 comments

Top Ten DVD List for February 12, 2019

  • Poetic Justice [Blu-ray]
 

by Kam Williams



This Week's DVD Releases

Four Weddings and a Funeral [25th Anniversary Edition]

Poetic Justice

Indivisible

The Betty White Collection [40 Episodes]

Antonio Lopez 1970: Sex, Fashion & Disco

Ackley Bridge: Series 2

Moko Jumbie

Nobody's Fool

Bang: Series 1

Astro Boy [The Complete Series]



Honorable Mention

Benji Movie Collection

Shimmer and Shine: Flight of the Zahracorns

Haunted Hospital: Heilstatten

Nude Area

Posted by Kam at 10:38 AM 0 comments

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