OSCARS 2022 Nominations and Winners

[Chris Knipp]

http://www.chrisknipp.com/images/OSC3.jpg

The 2022 Oscar Nominations

Announced today, Feb. 8, 2022. The 94th Oscars will be announced March 27, 2022.

BEST PICTURE
“Belfast,” Laura Berwick, Kenneth Branagh, Becca Kovacik and Tamar Thomas, producers

“CODA,” Philippe Rousselet, Fabrice Gianfermi and Patrick Wachsberger, producers

“Don’t Look Up,” Adam McKay and Kevin Messick, producers

“Drive My Car,” Teruhisa Yamamoto, producer

“Dune,” Mary Parent, Denis Villeneuve and Cale Boyter, producers

“King Richard,” Tim White, Trevor White and Will Smith, producers

“Licorice Pizza,” Sara Murphy, Adam Somner and Paul Thomas Anderson, producers

“Nightmare Alley,” Guillermo del Toro, J. Miles Dale and Bradley Cooper, producers

“The Power of the Dog,” Jane Campion, Tanya Seghatchian, Emile Sherman, Iain Canning and Roger Frappier, producers

“West Side Story,” Steven Spielberg and Kristie Macosko Krieger, producers

BEST DIRECTOR


Kenneth Branagh (“Belfast”)

Ryûsuke Hamaguchi (“Drive My Car”)

Paul Thomas Anderson (“Licorice Pizza”)

Jane Campion (“The Power of the Dog”)

Steven Spielberg (“West Side Story”)

BEST LEAD ACTOR


Javier Bardem (“Being the Ricardos”)

Benedict Cumberbatch (“The Power of the Dog”)

Andrew Garfield (“Tick, Tick … Boom!”)

Will Smith (“King Richard”)

Denzel Washington (“The Tragedy of Macbeth”)

BEST LEAD ACTRESS




Jessica Chastain (“The Eyes of Tammy Faye”)

Olivia Colman (“The Lost Daughter”)

Penélope Cruz (“Parallel Mothers”)

Nicole Kidman (“Being the Ricardos”)

Kristen Stewart (“Spencer”)

BEST SUPPPORTING ACTDOR


Ciarán Hinds (“Belfast”)

Troy Kotsur (“CODA”)

Jesse Plemons (“The Power of the Dog”)

J.K. Simmons (“Being the Ricardos”)

Kodi Smit-McPhee (“The Power of the Dog”)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS


Jessie Buckley (“The Lost Daughter”)

Ariana DeBose (“West Side Story”)

Judi Dench (“Belfast”

Kirsten Dunst (“The Power of the Dog”)

Aunjanue Ellis (“King Richard”)

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY


“CODA,” screenplay by Siân Heder

“Drive My Car,” screenplay by Ryusuke Hamaguchi, Takamasa Oe

“Dune,” screenplay by Jon Spaihts and Denis Villeneuve and Eric Roth

“The Lost Daughter,” written by Maggie Gyllenhaal

“The Power of the Dog,” written by Jane Campion

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY


“Belfast,” written by Kenneth Branagh

“Don’t Look Up,” screenplay by Adam McKay; story by Adam McKay and David Sirota

“King Richard,” written by Zach Baylin

“Licorice Pizza,” written by Paul Thomas Anderson

“The Worst Person in the World,” written by Eskil Vogt, Joachim Trier

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY


“Dune,” Greig Fraser

“Nightmare Alley,” Dan Laustsen

“The Power of the Dog,” Ari Wegner

“The Tragedy of Macbeth,” Bruno Delbonnel

“West Side Story,” Janusz Kaminski

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM


“Encanto,” Jared Bush, Byron Howard, Yvett Merino and Clark Spencer

“Flee,” Jonas Poher Rasmussen, Monica Hellström, Signe Byrge Sørensen and Charlotte De La Gournerie

“Luca,” Enrico Casarosa and Andrea Warren

“The Mitchells vs. the Machines,” Mike Rianda, Phil Lord, Christopher Miller and Kurt Albrecht

“Raya and the Last Dragon,” Don Hall, Carlos López Estrada, Osnat Shurer and Peter Del Vecho

BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM


“Affairs of the Art,” Joanna Quinn and Les Mills

“Bestia,” Hugo Covarrubias and Tevo Díaz

“Boxballet,” Anton Dyakov

“Robin Robin,” Dan Ojari and Mikey Please

“The Windshield Wiper,” Alberto Mielgo and Leo Sanchez
BEST COSTUME DESIGN


“Cruella,” Jenny Beavan

“Cyrano,” Massimo Cantini Parrini and Jacqueline Durran

“Dune,” Jacqueline West and Robert Morgan

“Nightmare Alley,” Luis Sequeira

“West Side Story,” Paul Tazewell

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

“Don’t Look Up,” Nicholas Britell

“Dune,” Hans Zimmer

“Encanto,” Germaine Franco

“Parallel Mothers,” Alberto Iglesias

“The Power of the Dog,” Jonny Greenwood

BEST SOUND


“Belfast,” Denise Yarde, Simon Chase, James Mather and Niv Adiri

“Dune,” Mac Ruth, Mark Mangini, Theo Green, Doug Hemphill and Ron Bartlett

“No Time to Die,” Simon Hayes, Oliver Tarney, James Harrison, Paul Massey and Mark Taylor

“The Power of the Dog,” Richard Flynn, Robert Mackenzie and Tara Webb

“West Side Story,” Tod A. Maitland, Gary Rydstrom, Brian Chumney, Andy Nelson and Shawn Murphy

BEST ORIGINAL SONG


“Be Alive” from “King Richard,” music and lyric by Dixson and Beyoncé Knowles-Carter

“Dos Oruguitas” from “Encanto,” music and lyric by Lin-Manuel Miranda

“Down To Joy” from “Belfast,” music and lyric by Van Morrison

“No Time To Die” from “No Time to Die,” music and lyric by Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell

“Somehow You Do” from “Four Good Days,” music and lyric by Diane Warren

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE


“Ascension,” Jessica Kingdon, Kira Simon-Kennedy and Nathan Truesdell

“Attica,” Stanley Nelson and Traci A. Curry

“Flee,” Jonas Poher Rasmussen, Monica Hellström, Signe Byrge Sørensen and Charlotte De La Gournerie

“Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised),” Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, Joseph Patel, Robert Fyvolent and David Dinerstein

“Writing With Fire,” Rintu Thomas and Sushmit Ghosh

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT


“Audible,” Matt Ogens and Geoff McLean

“Lead Me Home,” Pedro Kos and Jon Shenk

“The Queen of Basketball,” Ben Proudfoot

“Three Songs for Benazir,” Elizabeth Mirzaei and Gulistan Mirzaei

“When We Were Bullies,” Jay Rosenblatt

BEST FILM EDITING


“Don’t Look Up,” Hank Corwin

“Dune,” Joe Walker

“King Richard”, Pamela Martin

“The Power of the Dog,” Peter Sciberras

“Tick, Tick…Boom!” Myron Kerstein and Andrew Weisblum

BEST INTERNATINAL FEATURE FILM


“Drive My Car” (Japan)

“Flee” (Denmark)

“The Hand of God” (Italy)

“Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom” (Bhutan)

“The Worst Person in the World” (Norway)

BEST MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING


“Coming 2 America,” Mike Marino, Stacey Morris and Carla Farmer

“Cruella,” Nadia Stacey, Naomi Donne and Julia Vernon

“Dune,” Donald Mowat, Love Larson and Eva von Bahr

“The Eyes of Tammy Faye,” Linda Dowds, Stephanie Ingram and Justin Raleigh

“House of Gucci,” Göran Lundström, Anna Carin Lock and Frederic Aspiras

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN


“Dune,” production design: Patrice Vermette; set decoration: Zsuzsanna Sipos

“Nightmare Alley,” production design: Tamara Deverell; set decoration: Shane Vieau

“The Power of the Dog,” production design: Grant Major; set decoration: Amber Richards

“The Tragedy of Macbeth,” production design: Stefan Dechant; set decoration: Nancy Haigh

“West Side Story,” production design: Adam Stockhausen; set decoration: Rena DeAngelo

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS


“Dune,” Paul Lambert, Tristan Myles, Brian Connor and Gerd Nefzer

“Free Guy,” Swen Gillberg, Bryan Grill, Nikos Kalaitzidis and Dan Sudick

“No Time to Die,” Charlie Noble, Joel Green, Jonathan Fawkner and Chris Corbould

“Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings,” Christopher Townsend, Joe Farrell, Sean Noel Walker and Dan Oliver

“Spider-Man: No Way Home,” Kelly Port, Chris Waegner, Scott Edelstein and Dan Sudick

BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM


“Ala Kachuu – Take and Run,” Maria Brendle and Nadine Lüchinger

“The Dress,” Tadeusz Łysiak and Maciej Ślesicki

“The Long Goodbye,” Aneil Karia and Riz Ahmed

“On My Mind,” Martin Strange-Hansen and Kim Magnusson

“Please Hold,” K.D. Dávila and Levin Menekse

[Chris Knipp]

Obviously I needed to watch Flee with three best-film nominations in three different categories, foreign, documentarey, and animated, and I did watch it and you'll find my review here. I had some quibbles and don't rate it as high as some do, but it is effective in its way.

A Tweet I saw about the snub of Nic Cage makes me think I should watch Pig - another one-syllable film I've missed. Metacritic 82%.

[Chris Knipp]

http://www.chrisknipp.com/images/php0fXlJLAM.jpg

Jane Campion has survived her gaffes, it appears, and people are not deserting The Power of the Dog, which has won Best Picture at BAFTA and CCA.

Scorsese, Ang Lee, Sofia Coppola heap praise on the movie in pull quotes provided in the latest promotion from Screen Slate. See Martin Scorsese's detailed comments when presenting the New York Critic's Circle Award for Best Director to Jane Campion (https://film.netflixawards.com/the-power-of-the-dog/watch/trailers-featurettes-clips/1647497786238-nyfcc-scorsese.mp4?utm_source=Screen+Slate+Daily&utm_campaign=c31af94287-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2019_02_22_06_06_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_edeb36e96d-c31af94287-309473169&mc_cid=c31af94287&mc_eid=a146061c0a).

Will Smith is winning Best Actor, which pleases me because I loved the performances in King Richard.

As for Joanna Scanlan's winning Best Actress for After Love, I have not seen and have barely heard of this film. Its Metascore (though based on only 6 reviews) is high - 82%. It seems to rely on the same kind of tricky, thriller-like structure as I've just experienced in the upcoming Mothering Sunday (French director Eva Husson).

British critic Mark Kermode has one of his excellent short spoken reviews of After Love HERE (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3INqMRuENk).

[Chris Knipp]

BAFTA Winners
Joanna Scanlan
Best Actress · After Love

Will Smith
Best Actor · King Richard

The Power of the Dog
Best Film · Jane Campion, Roger Frappier, Emile Sherman, ...

Belfast
Best British Film · Kenneth Branagh, Tamar Thomas, Laura Berwick, ...

Jane Campion
Best Direction · The Power of the Dog

Lashana Lynch
Rising Star Award

Drive My Car
Film Not in the English Language · Ryusuke Hamaguchi, Teruhisa Yamamoto

Dune
Special Visual Effects · Gerd Nefzer, Tristan Myles, Brian Connor, ...

Licorice Pizza
Best Original Screenplay · Paul Thomas Anderson

Do Not Feed the Pigeons
British Short Animation · Antonin Niclass, They found palliative awards, best British for Belfast, best non in Englilsh, Drive My Car, Best Screenplay, Liconrice Pizza, but Dune gets fobbed off with just "Special Visual Effects." Not what Villeneuve was dreaming of, I reckon.

[Chris Knipp]

A llisting from Entertainment (https://ew.com/awards/tracking-top-oscars-contenders-2022/) two days ago:

Contenders for Best Picture
1. CODA
Best Picture (or equivalent) wins: Sundance Grand Jury Prize, AFI Top 10, SAG ensemble, PGA
Best Picture (or equivalent) nominations: Golden Globes (Drama), Critics Choice, WGA (Adapted), Oscars

2. THE POWER OF THE DOG
Best Picture (or equivalent) wins: VIFF Silver Lion, AFI Top 10, Golden Globes (Drama), Critics Choice, BAFTA
Best Picture (or equivalent) nominations: TIFF People's Choice Award runner-up, PGA, ACE, Oscars

3. KING RICHARD
Best Picture (or equivalent) wins: AFI Top 10, ACE
Best Picture (or equivalent) nominations: NBR Top 10, Golden Globes (Drama), Critics Choice, SAG ensemble, PGA, WGA (Original), Oscars

4. BELFAST
Best Picture (or equivalent) wins: TIFF People's Choice Award, PSIFF Vanguard Award, AFI Special Award
Best Picture (or equivalent) nominations: NBR Top 10, Golden Globes (Drama), Critics Choice, SAG ensemble, PGA, ACE, BAFTA, Oscars

5. DON'T LOOK UP
Best Picture (or equivalent) wins: AFI Top 10
Best Picture (or equivalent) nominations: NBR Top 10, Golden Globes (Musical/Comedy), Critics Choice, SAG ensemble, PGA, WGA (Original), ACE, BAFTA, Oscars

6. DUNE
Best Picture (or equivalent) wins: AFI Top 10
Best Picture (or equivalent) nominations: NBR Top 10, Golden Globes (Drama), Critics Choice, PGA, WGA (Adapted), ACE, BAFTA, Oscars

7. LICORICE PIZZA
Best Picture (or equivalent) wins: NBR, AFI Top 10
Best Picture (or equivalent) nominations: Golden Globes (Musical/Comedy), Critics Choice, PGA, WGA (Original), ACE, BAFTA, Oscars

8. WEST SIDE STORY
Best Picture (or equivalent) wins: AFI Top 10, Golden Globes (Musical/Comedy)
Best Picture (or equivalent) nominations: NBR Top 10, Critics Choice, PGA, WGA (Adapted), Oscars

9. NIGHTMARE ALLEY
Best Picture (or equivalent) wins: AFI Top 10
Best Picture (or equivalent) nominations: NBR Top 10, Critics Choice, WGA (Adapted), Oscars

10. DRIVE MY CAR
Best Picture (or equivalent) wins: NYFCC, LAFCA
Best Picture (or equivalent) nominations: Cannes Palme d'Or, Oscars

Contrast this with the critical ratings, as reflected in the Metacritic scores:

Drive My Car 91
Licorice Pizza 90
The Power of the Dog 89
West Side Story 85
King Richard 76
Belfast 75
Dune 74
CODA 74
Nightmare Alley 70
Don't Look Up 49

I can see how DRIVE MY CAR could be a critics' darling but low in popularity among voters, but CODA is really not worthy of outranking THE POWER OF THE DOG as an example of cinematic art. If it wins the Best Picture Oscar, that will be a disappointment almost on a scale of CRASH beating BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN, only BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN had a range of human meaning that TPOTD rather lacks, in my opinion. Is this turnabout due to Jane Campion's verbal gaffes?

[Chris Knipp]

Two Oscar notes on Oscar awards day

The NYTimes today has another article (https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/26/business/media/academy-awards-streaming-services.html), credited to two people, about how movies aren't movies anymore because they're not primarily shown in movie theaters.

And it points out CODA is a "streaming" film (AppleTV) and TPOTD is also (Netflix).

I get confused about this because I watch a movie however I can, but it still looks like a movie to me whether I see it on my laptop or in a cinema.

I initially saw Compartment No. 6 (http://www.filmleaf.net/showthread.php?5110-COMPARTMENT-NO-6-(Juho-Kuosmanen-2021)&p=40023#post40023)on my laptop, then weeks later went to see it in a theater. The theater experience was a richer, more memorable one, both visually and emotionally; but it was quite a good movie both times.

The radical, smart, conservative, Catholic, gay, black critic Armond Wbite has published a defense of Sam Elliott (https://www.nationalreview.com/2022/03/sam-elliott-abides/) and his attack on The Power of the Dog for violating the true traditions of the Western. (Didn't Clint Eastwood do that with Unforgiven in 1992?)

White refers us to Elliott's "definitive role as The Stranger, a Western archetype, in the cult classic ˆThe Big Lebowski."

But what also struck me about White's piece was his argument that The Power of the Dog is covertly homophobic for representing a gay boy who is evil and "murderous" and, he says, "fascist. (I still don't fully fathom what Kodi Smit-McPhee's character is all about.)

[Johann]

Dune is doing well tonight. (I’m watching the show and I’m happy about that).
Hope it wins Best Picture and Director.

I love the lighthearted tone of the show and the Bond 60th Anniversary edit was nice to see.

[Johann]

Comedian Chris Rock insulted Will Smith’s wife Jada with a joke about being in “G.I. Jane 2”.
They cut the sound and Will stormed onstage, imitating knocking Chris out.
You could see Will mouth the words “Keep my wife’s name out ya mouth!”…
It was quite surreal, I didn’t know if it was real or not- it sure looked real.

The tip of the hat acknowledging The Godfather was nice.
Al Pacino, Francis Coppola and Robert DeNiro were onstage to commemorate 50 years and support 🇺🇦 Ukraine.

[Chris Knipp]

Hey Johann. I'm glad Dune got best cinematography. Its images are really beautiful. The same dp, Greig Fraser, also did The Batman. Had not heard of him before this. I noted this in my review of The Batman.

Will Smith smacked Chris Rock for making a joke about his wife, Jada Pinckett Smith. He won the Oscar for Best Actor. Comedians should refrain from making jokes about people's wives. I sympathize with Will Smith. And he smacked him, he didn't punch him. I personally am not a fan of Chris Rock. I loved King Richard and Will Smith's (and all the other principals') performance in the movie.

I am disappointed about the Best Foreign award. It should have gone to not Drive My Car, but The Hand of God and TheWorst Person in the World. Nobody likes that Japanese movie.

[Johann]

Will won Best Actor and he was very emotional. He apologized to the Academy: “Love makes you do crazy things!”

I’m in disbelief that Denis Villeneuve wasn’t nominated for best director…Inconceivable!
Another nice anniversary segment for Pulp Fiction with the three lead actors. Very nice.
Best Actress goes to Jessica Chastain for playing Tammy Faye Baker?

[Chris Knipp]

The Chris Rock/Will Smith incident was broadcast on Australian TV with no muting. It was not playacting. And he said "out of your f...ing mouth." Twice. Louder the second time. And it was a real not a pretend slap.

The Best Actress nominees are all very worthy. A friend of mine wants very much for Nicole to win. I liked the Kristen Stewart film. I love Penelope Cruz. My only problem with Jessica is I disliked that movie.

"Love makes you do crazy things" was an excellent apology. I agree it's too bad about Vinneneuve having no Best Director nomination. His career keeps going on and getting bigger, though. . .

I have seen almost everything but still not Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom, and none of the animated films except the NYFF Main Slate film Flee.

[Johann]

Wow. They cut the sound here in Canada.
I think what really set Will off was Rock dismissing Jada with “it was a good joke!”
Rock was clearly rattled. He couldn’t say his lines afterward.

Good Oscars, for a pandemic show.
CODA WON BEST PICTURE.

[Chris Knipp]

Here is the full list of winners:


Best Picture: “CODA”
Best Actress: Jessica Chastain, “The Eyes of Tammy Faye”
Best Actor: Will Smith, “King Richard”
Best Director: Jane Campion, “The Power of the Dog”
Best Original Song: “No Time to Die”
Best Documentary Feature: “Summer of Soul”
Best Adapted Screenplay: “CODA”
Best Original Screenplay: “Belfast”
Best Costume Design: “Cruella”
Best International Feature: “Drive My Car”
Best Supporting Actor: Troy Kotsur, “CODA”
Best Animated Feature: “Encanto”
Best Visual Effects: “Dune”
Best Cinematography: “Dune”
Best Supporting Actress: Ariana DeBose, “West Side Story”
Best Film Editing: “Dune”
Best Score: “Dune”
Best Sound: “Dune”
Best Production Design: “Dune”
Best Makeup and Hairstyling: “The Eyes of Tammy Faye”
Best: Documentary (Short Subject): “The Queen of Basketball.”
Best Short (Animated): “The Windshield Wiper.”
Best Short Film (Live Action): “The Long Goodbye.”
Note that:
Eight of the 23 awards typically announced during each year’s Oscars telecast will instead be pre-taped an hour before the ceremony this year and then edited into the regular broadcast, according to The Hollywood Reporter. (https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/oscars-several-awards-wont-be-telecast-live-this-year-exclusive-1235097888/) The categories affected: documentary short, film editing, makeup/hairstyling, original score, production design, animated short, live action short and sound.

[Johann]

This Chris Rock/Will Smith incident is going to haunt both of them.

On YouTube the comments are fast and furious: “Where was security?” “Why wasn’t Will stripped of his Oscar for disgracing himself and the Academy?” “Look how privileged these actors are! He assaults a fellow actor onstage and THEN SITS BACK DOWN??” “Chris Rock insulted Jada at the 2016 Oscars too!”, etc. etc. etc.

Hey, at least it gets people talking about the Oscars again…it has a rep of being a dud event.
Will Smith was triggered last night. He seems to have anger issues.
Arsenio Hall once said: Everyone will forget a bad joke. No one will forget a bad attitude.

[Chris Knipp]

I repeat, I don't like Chris Rock or his jokes, which seem to me unfunny. An emcee of the Oscars I loved was Steve Martin. He was witty. That is rare.Offending someone's wife in front of him is vulgar and rude. Will's response was violent.I realize that Will's slap was inadvisable. Next time they should seat Will way back in the audience far from the stage. But you're right - it's brought the Oscars back in the news. It may also occasion useful discussions about domestic violence's bad effect on adults. The ceremonies offered few ideas, including almost no mention of Russia's vicious war on Ukraine - the pandemic - or any other outside issue, though the win of CODA brought diversity and giving handicapped people a say to the foreground.

My choice was The Power of the Dog, not CODA. However, TPOTD, though powerful, elegant filmmaking, is hard to love, and I don't even understand it.

I would have liked The Worst Person in the World or The Hand of God to win the foreign feature category. Drive My Car was another movie that I found hard to love. This was a remarkable year for Hamaguchi. I prefer his other film this year, Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy.

[Johann]

Martin Scorsese has championed The Power of The Dog as great cinema.
I know Jane Campion from The Piano, and I have no problem with her.
The clips I’ve seen of TPOTD showed promise, but I don’t really know what it’s about.

Coda seems like a must-see.
I can’t believe Will Smith beat DENZEL…it seems ludicrous to me.
I don’t like Chris Rock either. His style of comedy is abrasive and toxic.
He also knows he can push it with his jokes and I’m glad he’s not pressing charges.
Everybody saw what happened. Even the crowd at the Dolby theatre thought it was “A Bit”.
It was only when Will started cursing and yelling that the mood changed.

I liked this years show, slap and all. Haha

[Chris Knipp]

Well, I hope you get to see some of these worthy candidates for awards, including the best international feature nominees.

Before you wonder at Will's win over Denzel, see those films. Denzel is in a somewhat dubious production of Shakespeare's Macbeth; Will, in a rousing tale of the father of the two greatest tennis players of all time, Venus and Serena Williams. It's a better film, I think, and Will gives a terrific performance as a helicopter dad who goes a bit too far but gets fabulous results. (It helps that the sisters both love tennis and want to be stars.)

[Johann]

I want to see all films that get noticed/praise but I am a little limited.
Luckily I have a good friend who sees everything and buys the blu-rays…

The Batman is a hit that I have very little interest in. The trailer looked dark, boring and with characterizations that don’t appeal to me at all. I’m all for new versions of Batman, just not this one.

I’m really excited for Ridley Scott’s NAPOLEON with Joaquin Phoenix.
He looks great in costume.
As for the Williams sisters movie, why not a movie about them exclusively? Why a whole movie on their dad?
And I heard that Will is overacting throughout the whole movie!

[Chris Knipp]

King Richard is a movie about parenting. Selena & Venus are very present in the movie and so is their mother. It's about the dad but without the girls there would be no story. And all three actresses are great too. You could not have a movie about the sisters exclusively. The point is that they became great tennis players first and foremost because of the encouragement and coaching of both of their parents. Great athletes don't spring from nowhere. But they almost did, since they grew up initially in a sort of Los Angeles ghetto.

Hope you do get to see the best new stuff by whatever means necessary.

I wanted to see The Batman more than usual because I like Robert Pattinson.

Joaquin Phoenix looks good in the costume, I agree. But I have a problem with a movie about French history where everybody speaks English. Ridley Scott's going for broke. His younger brother committed suicide and he is 84.

[Johann]

Fair enough.
The sisters story may be better served this way. (No tennis 🎾 pun intended)
Trailers are a good gauge for me. If a trailer doesn’t have “the pull”, I’m loathe to give a movie a chance.
With The Batman I cheated and read scores of reviews- the film is a polarizer.
I found out that the Riddler turns himself in, destroying Batman’s “detective work”…and that rubs me the wrong way.
If you’re going to make a police procedural detective Batman film, then wow us with it. Don’t have wonky twists. Don’t jerk the audience’s chain too much. Don’t have Alfred solve your riddles for you.

[Chris Knipp]

I think King Richard is a great story, well "served."

I'm not into the comic book stories from one to the other so the plot details of The Batman didn't matter to me much, but you are probably quite right to question those story elements. I watched it for the visuals, which are beautiful and the cinematographer just won an Oscar for Dune. I filter movies by trailers myself lately I admit. I also read lots of reviews, both before and after. Sometimes they are more interesting than the movies they're about. Also the French reivews (excerpted on the French site AlloCiné) - great. The French love cinema, they are intellectual, and the result is interesting reviews. Not a coincidence that the Nouvelle Vague grew largely out of directors who started out as film critics on Cahiers du Cinéma.

Just watched a couple of interviews with the great Jean-Pierre Melville, not exactly Nouvelle Vague but an inspiration to them, who reminds you that back then, the way to learn how to make movie was to watch them and the only way was to go to the movies and stay from morning till the small hours watching one movie after another - on the big screen, sitting up close.

[Johann]

Re: NAPOLEON

Ridley is indeed 84, and I don’t know why he would tackle Napoleon at this juncture.
I wonder if he’s got a Kubrick complex and wants to make the film Stanley couldn’t.
His biblical epic EXODUS: Gods and Kings blew me away.
My expectations are high, and I think they will be met for Napoleon.
Last night Ridley was the butt of jokes (G.I. Jane/The Last Duel) but he’s no fucking joke to me.
He can do anything he wants. He’s earned the right. His resume isn’t perfect, but man it’s still impressive.
I’m happy he’s still working and at a high level- see the polish in Prometheus.

[Chris Knipp]

http://www.chrisknipp.com/images/empnap.jpg
JOAQUIN PHOENIX AS NAPOLEON BONAPARTE - RIDLEY SCOTT FILM

Ridley's profile (like Napoleon's?) is imperfect but impressive indeed. I didn't see his Last Duel (Metacritic 67%, but it would have been interesting to see it and I could have seen it on the big screen).

[Johann]

There he is…thanks for the pic.

The Last Duel got mild reviews but talk about a trailer with pull!
It looks fantastic, with the great Adam Driver who’s just a steamroller.

[Johann]

I also read lots of reviews, both before and after. Sometimes they are more interesting than the movies they're about. Also the French reivews (excerpted on the French site AlloCiné) - great. The French love cinema, they are intellectual, and the result is interesting reviews. Not a coincidence that the Nouvelle Vague grew largely out of directors who started out as film critics on Cahiers du Cinéma.

Agree.
The best directors are film lovers. They instinctively know what works and what doesn’t.
Kubrick became a director after seeing scores and scores of movies in New York and saying to himself “I can do better than what I’m seeing!”
The French are arguably the most passionate film lovers- that New Wave is proof.
Bergman noticed a new language brought to cinema when he saw Ivan’s Childhood by Andrei Tarkovsky.
Scorsese- a totally obsessed cinephile/historian.
Kurosawa- loved John Ford
The lists are endless.

[Chris Knipp]

Yes! The French have a higher percentage of cinephiles than anywhere else in the world. Though small, their film industry is top quality and its products sometimes are more accessible to us than the excellent Asian ones.

The kind of historical movie where everyone regardless of origins speaks modern English has become passé, I feel, but Ridley keeps on making them. The Last Duel is one: medieval Frenchmen speaking modern English. It's on HBO I find and I'm taking a look at it.

Ridley's filmography is somewhat hit or miss; you seem to like the grand ones like Exodus that aren't the critical successes as we can see from a Vulture website list (https://www.vulture.com/article/ridley-scott-movies-best-ranked.html) of his work from worst to best complied by AV Club's Scott Tobias.

The top six according to this are: 1. Alien (1979), 2. Blade Runner (1982), 3. The Duellists (1977), 4. Thelma & Louise (1991), 5. The Martian (2015), and 6. The Counselor (2013). I'm curious to see The Duelists and The Counselor, which I haven't, and maybe rewatch Alien.

I do like Adam Driver in just about anything. Matt Damon is starting to seem a little worn out sometimes. He was great in The Martian, perhaps not so good in The Last Duel (The Duelists is Scott's better "Duel" film).

[Johann]

Peter Greenaway (one of my favourite directors) singled out Ridley Scott in a recent interview.
He admires Blade Runner and Gladiator as fantastic visual productions.
His filmography is hit and miss, and that is where the criticism lies, that he’s not consistent enough.
To me the strengths of his best work outweigh the lesser work.
He’s very cinematic, very visual, and you want that from a director. It’s the execution of his stories (acting, plot) where he gets tripped up. Case in point: Legend with Tom Cruise. Visually amazing but a little weak story wise.
He’s a cult director to me, not a blockbuster man.
Since Gladiator’s huge success he’s made big movies, and I don’t begrudge him that. The bigger the better!
He dedicated Exodus to his deceased brother Tony, a good director in his own right. His suicide was confusing to me.

Napoleon has got my attention. I have real excitement for it. Joaquin is so hot right now, and he could potentially win another Oscar for it. I hear you on the English. This won’t be a true foreign film as it should be.
It will be a blockbuster- style historical epic.
It will be “Hollywood”

[Chris Knipp]

RIDLEY SCOTT'S THE LAST DUEL (2021).

Well, much of the dialogue seems to me in principle tone deaf; I can't help remembering that in the late 14th century when this true story occurs, apart from the fact that these people in reality would be speaking medieval French, there was nothing remotely like modern English. The Rashomon-like three-part storytelling is laborious, making the 2 1/2-hour movie over-long, and the rape part is too similar in each part to make much difference. Various critics have suggested just the third part, from the lady's POV, written by Nicole Holofcener (Friends with Money, Please Give, Enough Said; Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, who're in the cast, wrote the first two parts), would have been good enough by itself for a leaner, swifter, more clean emotional thrust.

But wait a minute: lots of this is good, and at least looks great. Where Ridley shines is in the purely physical, violent bits, and the final, complete sequence of the medieval duel-to-the-death starting out with lances and horseback and ending with hand-to-hand hacking with swords, long blades, and halberds, in its extreme brutality and the rich Pasolini-like crowd watching, is shockingly convincing, visceral, and real. The contemporary relevance is in the basis of the duel: a woman's (Jodie Comer's) accusation of rape which results in the King ordaining a duel between her husband (Matt Damon) and the accused men (Adam Driver), his former good friend who has become an enemy. It turns out that if her husband loses, she will be considered guilty and will be locked in an iron halter and burned to death, orphaning her newborn son. High stakes. Good story. There's enough talent and money involved for a work of traditional Hollywood, though outmoded, to still shine.

Ridley's weakness with story shows here not in the story being weak; it's a great story - but in the three-version presentation not quite justifying itself, and winding up making us a little tired of the story - till that great visceral final duel. I'm not sure there is a clear visual style, or any style at all, but it's still as you say, "very cinematic, very visual." Uneven though Ridley is, I agree he's done some wonderful stuff. I remember what an immense impression Thelma & Louise made the first time, and as for Blade Runner, it's part of the canon of the greatest movies of all time. (I think Tony Scott's suicide was confusing to everybody.)

[Johann]

Bravo.
Thanks for that report.
I’d heard that what made the movie great was the duel itself, that it was exciting and visceral.
It’s on my list of must-sees.

[Chris Knipp]

I confirm that.

[Johann]

Saw King Richard today. I’m unable to post on your thread Chris.

Great movie about determination.
Will Smith is good, but he didn’t make me forget he was Will Smith.
He should have been nominated but I don’t think he should have won.
All he really did was go unshaven and talk with a lisp.
He didn’t disappear into this role, as I expect from a Best Actor win.

We don’t need a Venus & Serena movie- we got it with King Richard.
The two girls who play them are perfect. I believed in them.

[Chris Knipp]

Don't know why you couldn't get onto my KING RICHARD thread. It's here
http://www.filmleaf.net/showthread.php?5083-KING-RICHARD-(Reinaldo-Marcus-Greene-2021)&highlight=king+richard
It's not closed to you.
But anyway glad you liked the movie. You're rather hard on Will Smith's performance. I think it's very good. It's difficult for us to forget Will Smith is Will Smith no matter how good he is.
Yes, the girls are great and the way they play off each other really is brilliant.
Let's also not forget Aunjanue Ellis as Oracene 'Brandy' Williams, also terrific.

[Johann]

For some reason when I’m using an iPad the threads have a default where they won’t let me reply.

Yes, the movie was great, one of the best things Will has done.

[Chris Knipp]

Then you must figure that out or not use an iPad!