Magic on the Screen

 I know it had been a while since I have had the time to commit to my second hobby on this account but I wanted to share my predictions for Oscar nominations since they release tomorrow. Got to have them somewhere before they are revealed to the public! As we get closer to the ceremony I hope to release some reviews on my favorite films from this year from Todd Haynes' May, December to the insane world of Poor Things and the holiday charm of The Holdovers . Until then here are my Predictions (not personal nominees, those always end up being very different) for this 96th annual Academy Awards.  *All nominees ordered by alphabetical order, the posters are not indicative of winners* BEST PICTURE - American Fiction - Anatomy of a Fall - Barbie - The Holdovers - Killers of the Flower Moon - Maestro - Oppenheimer - Past Lives - Poor Things - The Zone of Interest BEST DIRECTOR - Greta Gerwig (Barbie) - Yorgos Lanthimos (Poor Things) - Christopher Nolan (Oppenheimer) - Alexander Pay...

  {Non-Spoiler Review} I implore everyone to not miss out on this movie as just another Batman movie that Warner Brothers is cashing in on with the most popular superhero character of our time. The Batman is director Matt Reeves take on the detective side of our main character. There is still action a plenty, but the main story here focuses on what connections can be made across Gotham’s underground scene and the messes left at Riddler’s crime sites. Reeves keeps his ball rolling as one of this generations promising directors with The Batman following his beautifully stunning work on War for the Planet of the Apes (2017). What elevates The Batman to the level of the Nolan Batman films before it is the stellar acting portrayed by the leads on both the hero and villain side. Robert Pattinson is dare I say the best under the cowl so far. This version of Batman is only in his second year of crime fighting so he does not have everything under control as he may want people to believe....

  {Non-Spoiler Review} Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem) is death. He is constantly stalking, brutal yet silent, and plays by a set of rules. Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin) chose death by taking the $2 million dollars from the drug exchange gone wrong that he happened to stumble upon. For every step that Moss takes forward to escaping with the money, Chigurh takes two. These two actors play into their roles as if it was real life. With extreme focus here on Javier’s performance, hailed as the most realistic portrayal of a psychopath to date. One’s eyes are glued to the screen when this killer with a ridiculous bowl cut shows up to rip apart any progress that our rough and gruff “hero” makes in his journey. Alongside our vigilante and murderer is the only hero in the story, Sheriff Ed Bell played by Tommy Lee Jones. The movie spends the most screen time on Moss, making one believe it is his story, but it is made clear by the end that this is actually Bell’s story, even when he is sitting a...

  {Non-Spoiler Review} Trying to understand Enemy (2013) is a process that brings forth with it just enough challenge when the curtain draws. The movie does not point out its twist to the viewer, it instead gives them just enough clues to make a conclusion after dwelling on the scenes that unfolded in front of their eyes. It is this that makes Enemy a slowly creeping phycological movie that does not overbear its viewer with any jump scares. Instead, it opts to draw and keep their minds next to a mild-mannered professor who stumbled into a haunting situation. Join Adam as he starts to leave his repetitive life for a little excitement in finding out just exactly who that movie extra is in the film he just rented. And why does he look exactly like him.   Jake Gyllenhaal proves himself once more as one of the 2000’s best actors with a dual role where even when his characters look and sound the same, they act entirely different. The difference in posture, confidence and slight...

{Non-spoiler Review} Every little girl has dreamt of unlimited dresses, dining with royalty, and a spacious bedroom fit for a queen. However in Spencer, these are all part of Princess Diana’s tortured existence. Director Pablo Larraín brings a take on another culturally prominent woman whose powerful spouse was unfaithful to her after his critical success with Jackie (2016). He sets the tone in an eerie fashion with an unnerving score and a color pallet that makes the viewer as clouded as Diana’s head. The story takes the princess from Christmas Eve to Boxing Day, each day passing coming to a boiling point as she deals with being the odd one out in the Royal Family as rumors of her husband’s infidelity spread across the media. This movie would fall apart completely if it were not for the tremendous performance by Kristen Stewart in the lead role. From the start of the movie, one may see Diana as a complainer. It is just three days after all, suck it up! It is not until the scene at the...

  {Non-spoiler Review} A story once thought unfilmable has just found its way towards ten Oscar nominations, including Best Picture. Dune is based off the book of the same name written by Frank Herbert in 1965 featuring the story of a young royal Paul Atreides (played by Timothée Chalamet) coming to age alongside multiple destinies. Paul must struggle to find himself on the planet Arrakis, whose spice production makes it the most important world in their system. Paul’s father, Duke Leto Atreides (Oscar Issac of Star Wars, Ex Machina and now Moon Knight fame) has been given control of the planet by the Emperor of the Known Universe to help harvest the spice. There are plenty of side characters to go around in Dune, as expected with its ensemble cast. Paul’s supporting cast is what makes up for Chalamet’s stoic yet sometimes dull performance. His mother, Lady Jessica played by Rebecca Ferguson steals the spotlight amongst them. Her guidance as a member of the religious Bene Gesseri...