Don't Look Up (Sydney Moonlight Cinema)

To be honest, the fact that I watched this on a large screen with an audience in an outdoor cinema, under a clear summer night with stars, definitely played a part in the surreal enjoyment of this extremely Adam McKay satirical film. It was the most McKay-ish of his recent films, and he kept the level up throughout the whole 2hours-plus film. That could have been a bit too much. The jokes and gags just kept coming on one after another, and ran again and again. The ridiculous satirical nature of deniers and right-wing ideologists, though rang true and funny in the first half, was exhausting and draining towards the back half.

That said, the ensemble cast was excellent. I forgot what a good actress Jennifer Lawrence used to be when she first started before she got distracted by mediocre-to-bad, Hollywood fluffs. Her comedic timing was brilliant as well her meme-able facial reactions. Leonardo DiCaprio too was refreshing and could be a long shot for a Best Actor nomination. Everybody loves him and he genuinely looked like he was having fun.

Other big-named standouts included Meryl Streep and Cate Blanchett, both actresses looked great and really just embraced the satirical hamminess of it all. And Mark Rylance was a treasure as the deadpanned technocrat. Even Jonah Hill and Timotheé Chalamet were acceptably funny as McKay dished Hill out sparingly and kept Chalamet’s peacock showiness to a minimum.

Linus Sandgren’s cinematography and Nicholas Britell’s music were beautiful, with the latter a strong contender for an Oscar nomination.

Editing and original screenplay nominations are almost a sure bet too. Also a top 10 Best Picture nod, buoyed by the amazing cast and the Hollywood-approved, politically correct message.

House of Gucci

There was a good story and film somewhere inside this bloated mess, but it was not what we got. Its historical inaccuracy can be overlooked since it was a movie. However, it was grossly inconsistent in terms of character developments - or lack thereof - and overall tone of the film.

Ridley Scott’s directing remained assured, but he seemed to have lost control with the purpose of the film. Did he want this to be a campy thriller or a serious dramatic biography? Who/what was the focus of the film? Lady Gaga’s Patrizia Reggiani, Adam Driver’s Maurizio Gucci or the House of Gucci itself? This film was utterly confused.

You know you are in trouble if mid-way, I begin to think a Ryan Murphy limited series might have served the story better.

The odd song choices and needle drops also added to the layer of confusion. The songs were either of the wrong period and most times did not suit the tone of the scene, or they were such clichéd choices that it brought you out of the moment.

And to make things worse, we had to content with over 2.5 hours of ridiculous, all-over-the-place, wildly inconsistent accents from all the main actors. Lady Gaga sounded more Euro-Russian with the occasional accent sneaking in; Driver was more consistent with a somewhat Italian accent; Al Pacino and Jeremy Irons were not even trying, with the latter sounding positively British most times; and Jared Leto was just a joke.

Sadly, the acting was also about the same. It was practically like watching different movies. Driver was the only one who seemed to think he was in a serious Oscar-contending drama. Lady Gaga was all gloriously camp and vacant eyes. She had a few good scenes, but only seemed to embodied her character superficially. That could be the fault of Scott and the writers, but was she really Oscar worthy? Pacino and Irons, like their accents, were just phoning it in. Someone really needs to rein Leto in and set him some boundaries.

With ten Best Picture nominees this year, “House of Gucci” might just sneak in, and Lady Gaga might also get a Best Actress nomination. But in my opinion, both do not deserve it.

The Tragedy of Macbeth

Joel Coen’s adaptation of this Shakespeare classic was a stunning study of monochrome cinematography and brutal architecture production design. Led by a stellar Denzel Washington, this was a rather faithful literal translation of the play to the screen. As usual, the Elizabethan English may be challenging to some, but after a few beats you will get into the rhythm, and Shakespeare’s powerful use of the English language still never ceased to amaze. The metaphors, allusions, foreshadowing, alliterations and flow of words were masterful, and the cast did it proud.

Washington was magnetic. His Macbeth embodied a man, perhaps just passed his prime, that had so many layers and contradictions. His fears, ambitions, tyranny, delusions, love for his wife were all on display, and Washington flipped through all the emotions effortlessly as we witnessed the rise and fall of Macbeth. Is he a Tragic character? Or just a victim of his own Hubris?

Frances McDormand as Lady Macbeth was a slightly more mixed bag. Her early portrayal of an equally ambitious Queen-in-waiting was more convincing, but her devolution to fear and doubt seemed less natural (especially if one is not familiar with the original text). But, boy, can McDormand serve a look!

The biggest standout was Kathryn Hunter as the weird sisters. She was phenomenal. Although only appearing briefly, her witchy portrayal was utterly terrifying and memorable. Every enunciation of Shakespeare’s famous lines echoed with purpose. And those bodily movements. Brilliant.

Outstanding cinematography by Bruno Delbonnel (pay attention Wes Anderson!). The use of lights and shadows were outstanding. Paired with the gorgeous production design by Stefan Dechant - sharp, angular, brutal and Tadao Ando-esque - the whole Macbeth castle seemed like a whole character unto itself.

“Macbeth” was a challenging film. Enriching and gorgeous, but definitely appealing to a niche audience. Washington may get a Best Actor nomination and the film a Best Picture nod, and hopefully at least two more for Delbonnel and Dechant.

 

Titane

What an exhilarating and exciting film. No wonder it won the Palme d’Or. It was audacious, outrageous, provocative, original, freh, unpredictable, visceral, sympathetic, uncompromising, repulsive, engrossing, challenging and so much more.

It was a cinematic experience.

With a bare minimum of dialogue, director/writer Julia Doucournau crafted an immaculate journey that one never knew how it was going to end; and whether it will end or not.

Leading lady Agathe Rousselle was phenomenal. The make-up team definitely helped, but Rousselle fully inhabited her role. She was haunting and scary and terrifying, but yet beneath that cold, hardened exterior was was a child-like innocence that just needed to be loved. And you believed that.

Coupled with Vincent London who came in at the half-way mark, they made for a fascinating pair. Both so similar in what they desire and they need, but yet possibly so dangerous together.

Kudos to Ducournau for always keeping us guessing as to how the film will end, and when it finally arrived, it was as haunting and tender as when the film started.

The score by Jim Williams echoed the hauntedness of the cinematography by Ruben Impens. Lots of stark contrast juxtaposed with softness, in particular by the repeated motif of flames and fires. Death, destruction and rebirth. The allegories were not subtle.

Regardless, “Titane” absolutely deserved its accolades. However, my Best International Feature Film Oscar vote still goes to “Drive My Car”.

Licorice Pizza

The closest we will get to a Paul Thomas Anderson rom-com. An almost perfect love story with two amazing leads in their feature film debut.

Alana Haim was fascinating. She was irresistibly magnetic and charismatic, effortlessly lighting up the screen and drawing our focus. Cooper Hoffman - so like his father - was perfectly cast as the young charming hustler, exuding an equally effortless screen presence. The chemistry between them was electrifying and absolutely worth the ticket price.

The first 2/3 of the film was brilliant, near perfect. It was funny, smoothly paced, sweet and emotional and so worth the journey. However, the third act was meandering and slightly loses focus. Haim’s character suddenly loses her agency and Hoffman’s character devolved to unlikeability. Thankfully, PTA managed to wring it back at the final moments.

Regardless, the film was beautifully shot as usual by PTA himself and Michael Bauman, and excellently scored by Jonny Greenwood. Both of which were surely going to get Oscar nominations. On top of the likely Best Picture, Best Original Screenplay and maybe even Best Director; Haim will be a long shot for Best Actress.

The Worst Person in the World (Verdens Verste Menneske)

Norwegian’s Oscar entry for Best International Feature Film and Cannes’ Best Actress winner was a dark romantic comedy that succinctly captured the wistful, fleeting, uncertainty and unmoored fragility of the Gen Z/Millennials and broadly - albeit sometimes blatantly - juxtaposed it with the more grounded yet still wishful sensibility of the Gen X/Y-ers.

We followed the intriguing and arresting and infinitely charismatic Renate Reinsve through the years, or as Joachim Trier stated in the opening, through 12 chapters, a prologue and an epilogue, as she attempted to discover herself. Inherently, this was a film about her love story to herself. It masked itself as a love story between Reinsve and the men in her life - key of whom was played by Anders Danielsen Lie - as Trier played and mixed with generational expectations, but truly, in the end, we were on a journey hoping that Reinsve’s character figures out what she wants in her life before she fully becomes “The Worst Person in the World”.

Kudos to Trier and Reinsve for managing to tell a story and creating a character who could have been loathsome and unlikeable but ended up being so realistic, relatable and empathetic to. We never really wanted her to fail. We hoped she succeeds. But through the two-hours runtime, we do sometimes wonder if she was worth it. Was this person - this character - worth rooting for? And I think they had achieved it, although the last act may have been too manipulative to feel organic. But, hey, this is a fictional film after all, no?

A stronger contender to make it as one of the nominees come Oscar time. But unlike “Drive My Car”, I doubt it has a chance in the other categories.

West Side Story

 

Never doubt Steven Spielberg. What a stunning remake of the classic. Undeniably gorgeously shot by Janusz Kamiński and expertly updated and adapted by Tony Kushner, this musical film remained emotionally heart wrenching and indescribably catchy. Spielberg captured the electrical energy of the Jets and the Sharks without ever seeming goofy or unrealistic, but at the same time also creating an undercurrent of emotional tenderness that swelled and crested as Tony and Maria’s story threaded through the rhythms and rhymes of Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim.

And someone give Ariana DeBose her Oscar nomination…or better still, the Oscar…now!! Her “America” was a show-stopping showcase and if Jennifer Hudson and Anne Hathaway can win Oscars, so can DeBose.

Rachel Zegler was a wonderful discovery, all bright-eyed and innocent naïveté. Ansel Elgort had a good singing voice and was a decent Tony but he lacked that dangerous edge; more dreamboat than edgy catamaran. Their chemistry though palpable was not electrifying as it could be.

Mike Faist as Riff and David Alvarez as Bernardo were the other standouts, and Rita Moreno would be another potential oscar nominee just because of nostalgia and she got to sing “Somewhere”.

“West Side Story” is surely going to be another Spielberg Oscar juggernaut, but whether it will do a “The Post” and “Lincoln” and pick up none to a few wins, or hark back to the days of “Schindler’s List” and sweep will be hard to say. Without much acting support, it might end up doing a “Mad Max: Fury Road” and sweep the technicals, although “Dune” might give it a run for that honour.