Evan D. Bill Clinton. Samuel Alito. Dick Cheney. Rush Limbaugh. This uniquely craven group of political thinkers are among the first faces seen in the new Apple TV+ documentary ‘Boys State.’ (Apologies to Cory Booker, another former Boys State alumnus shown who seems like a genuine guy.) Perhaps it’s the first warning that the titular program doesn’t exist to give the youth of America a chance to explore representative democracy so much as it does to train a new generation in how to game the US political system. “Democracy isn’t a spectator sport” reads the film’s tagline, but what if it is?
Evan D. From the start of nationwide lockdowns in the face of COVID-19, many a film has been declared ‘The Perfect Pandemic Film.’ In a lot of ways it makes sense. At a time where so many are feeling isolated, as the days blend together in a never ending stream, its natural to look to movies as a method of escape. In the early days it was ‘Contagion’ that helped contextualize the burgeoning threat. Soon after, ‘Portrait of a Lady on Fire’ hit Hulu and showed a tender side of isolation. ‘Hamilton,’ ‘Eurovision,’ ‘Da 5 Bloods’ all brought us together as a film viewing community. Each of these qualities have felt essential in their own moment.
Evan D.For film buffs, Oscar nomination day can be a bit of a roller coaster. Coming on the heels of the frequently wacky Golden Globes there is always a flicker of hope that the Academy will make good choices. Far more often than that though, the nominees are exactly what everyone pessimistically predicted plus a few surprises that are also usually bad.
2020 was no exception as beloved films such as ‘Knives Out’ and ‘Little Women’ underperformed while ‘The Farewell’ and ‘Uncut Gems’ were excluded entirely. Conversely the film that led all others in total nominations was the highly divisive ‘Joker.’ It wasn’t all bad news though, the Documentary branch nominated 4 women and 4 foreign language films in their category and ‘I Lost My Body’ found its way into the animated feature nominees after being snubbed by the Golden Globes. Just like last year, I’m breaking down the nominations in the major categories. If you’re interested in how I did last year, check it out here. Without further ado, the nominees are: Evan D. Imagine, you’re seated in a dark theater, the final previews have come to a close and the screen lights up with the outlines of a cat’s face in the clouds. Suddenly the evil magic cat Macavity appears beside you and in a flash you’ve been transported to a barge on the river Thames. Sure Macavity and his evil henchman (henchcat?) might force you to walk the plank, but this is still certainly a better fate than sitting through even a moment more of Tom Hooper’s ‘Cats.’
Evan D. Towards the end of Summer, the year in film was looking pretty bleak. Endgame had smashed box office records, but moviegoers had precious few truly great films to choose from. Fast forward to December and to consider 2019 anything less that great year in film would seem crazy.
Like most years, the best movies in 2019 were reflections of the world around us. Some of the most resonant films put a microscope on the global inequality we see today. We were treated to films that thoughtfully explored economic hardship, the uphill battle faced by women in male dominated worlds and the zero sum nature of late capitalism. It’s truly been a spectacular year for movies and here are my 10 favorites from 2019. Evan D. As has become something of a tradition in his career, Clint Eastwood is back to make a late-year Oscar push. Although the strategy has produced diminishing returns — with the exception of 2014’s American Sniper — since Million Dollar Baby cleaned up at the 05 Oscars, the film world still holds its breath for what Eastwood will do in December. Maybe they shouldn’t.
Evan D. Making a movie about Fred Rogers is a daunting task. Millions of Americans grew up in the Neighborhood and even now, nearly 20 years from his program’s final episode, Mister Rogers remains an almost universally beloved figure. All this to say that the bar was set awfully high for A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood. The film more than clears that bar. It excels for two specific reasons: Tom Hanks and Marielle Heller.
Evan D. Enzo Ferrari (Remo Girone) appears on screen for less than 10 minutes in a film that bears his last name. James Mangold’s new racing epic may be called Ford v Ferrari but the famous Italian super car designer is hardly the foil this title would seem to indicate. Instead the real battle taking place is between bureaucracy and individuality.
Ford v Ferrari tells the story of the Ford Motor Company’s attempt to defeat the dominant Ferrari racing team at the 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans. In reality though the rivalry between Ferrari and Henry Ford II (Tracey Letts) is just the background for a tale about Caroll Shelby (Matt Damon,) Ken Miles (Christian Bale) and the internal roadblocks they faced creating a car to compete with Ferrari. Evan D. With the launch of Disney+ last week and the massive box office haul in progress for Walt Disney Studios, the Mouse House is really having a moment. Indeed after just one day Disney plus reported over 10 million subscribers to its streaming platform. If that seems like a lot, it is. Disney+ already boasts a subscriber count higher than that of any other streaming platform except Netflix and Hulu (which Disney also owns.) Couple that with the company’s staggering box office numbers in the first 10 months of 2019 and you’re left with, pretty inarguably, the most powerful media company in the world right now.
Evan D. Money holds a certain power in the modern world. If you don’t have it then in infiltrates every thought, every decision. Each dollar has a direct effect on wether you and your family survive another day. But when a person has money it elevates them above such things. It not only lifts them from poverty but insulates them from the impoverished they left behind, sometimes literally. Never has this disparity been more eloquently displayed on screen than in Bong Joon-ho’s ‘Parasite.’
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