Zamros said:
Just gave Almodóvar's Pain and Glory a watch and I gotta say... this is a movie that ticks off all the awards bait boxes without doing anything especially challenging or innovative. You name it: Main character is a filmmaker that suffers from a physical ailment? Check. Interspersed flashback structure? Check. Exactly one scene of gay stuff? Check.
I'm not sure what the "one" scene is because I thought a lot of the film was about Salvador being gay wasn't it? The young Salvador's first feelings, stopping to stare at Eduardo painting a wall in the hot son, caressing Eduardo's hand as Salvador teaches him to write, feinting when he sees him naked etc. The scene where Salvador reconciles with his great lost love Federico. The scene where Salvador is almost admitting why he didn't want his mother to live with him and maybe she is almost saying she knows why but they don't get the chance to forgive each other. Salvador finding the painting Eduardo did of him on the day he feinted.
Only You (2019)
'Only You' is up for the "Outstanding Debut" BAFTA but I think it should've been nominated for "Best Film" too. Structurally, it's like a romcom but with all the "com" taken out and replaced with more romance, beauty, pain, doubt and truth. Glasgow residents Elena and Jake randomly meet, it's "love at first sight" and the rest of the film is an intimate portrait of their relationship. It's best to go in knowing as little as possible about the plot because in many ways it's designed to subvert our expectations of a romantic film.
Laia Costa and
Josh O'Connor go beyond great acting and chemistry to where I just totally believed they were a couple and cared deeply about their lives. The uses of music are so memorable, especially
Elvis Costello and a glorious cover of
'Blue Moon' by
Chromatics which plays over the end credits sequence (which I watched every frame of). This is the first feature from Director/Writer
Harry Wootliff but she should be up those two BAFTAs as well. It's on Netflix now.
Handily this clip doesn't give away the direction of the plot:
Parasite (2019)
If you liked the imaginative and satirical concepts of
Bong Joon-ho's 'Snowpiercer' and
'Okja', then you will not be disappointed by the much trumpeted
'Parasite'. It follows a family of resourceful lower-class grifters who inveigle themselves into the home of a rich bourgeois family by posing as high-class servants. The double-meaning of the title comments on the way both sides feed off each other and can be seen as a larger examination of worldwide inequality. It's a very clever script that keeps hitting you with twists, social-critiques and escalations, although perhaps the cleverness runs out of steam when the story gets near it's resolution. The best thing about the writing is how it manages to keep you liking and sympathizing with the factions, no matter how terribly they behave.
Farmageddon: A Shaun the Sheep Movie (2019)
The plot to
Aardman's latest film is basically a copy 'n' paste of
'E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial'. I didn't really mind, the dialogue-free clay-mation is delightful as always and there is lots of fun to be had spotting all the references to every Sci-Fi thing ever (Milliways Supermarket, Tars Bars, Roswell's Jam etc), even
Charlie Chaplin's 'Modern Times' gets a nod (which I'm sure all the kids will get). Plus there are the trademark Aardman "blink and you'll miss it" grown-worthy puns like a "DRAB radio", "Brown Flakes" cereal and a newspaper called "ECHO Echo echo".
Tom Howe's score cleverly homages themes from Sci-Fi scores by
John Williams,
James Horner and
David Arnold.
The BAFTAs are on in half an hour so I'm out of time to watch the films. I managed to view all but 3 of the nominated movies this year (yay!
). Here is who I think should win from the choices available in each category (my personal favorites, not predictions):
Best Film: Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Best Director: Bong Joon-ho (Parasite)
Best Actor in a Leading Role: Joaquin Phoenix (Joker)
Best Actress in a Leading Role: Jessie Buckley (Wild Rose)
Best Actor in a Supporting Role: Joe Pesci (The Irishman)
Best Actress in a Supporting Role: Laura Dern (Marriage Story)
Best Original Screenplay: Knives Out
Best Adapted Screenplay: Little Women
Outstanding British Film: Bait
Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer: Harry Wootliff, Writer/Director (Only You)
Best Cinematography: The Lighthouse
Best Editing: Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Best Costume Design: Little Women
Best Production Design: Jojo Rabbit
Best Makeup and Hair: Bombshell
Best Original Score: 1917
Best Sound: 1917
Best Special Visual Effects: The Lion King
Best Film Not in the English Language: Pain and Glory
Best Documentary: For Sama
Best Animated Film: Toy Story 4
Best Casting: The Personal History of David Copperfield
Rising Star Award: Awkwafina
(I haven't seen any of the nominated short films by the way.)
Let's see if the BAFTA voters agree with me on anything
. Still another week to squeeze in a couple more Oscar nominated films!