2019 Oscar Predictions

Another year, another set of Oscar Predictions. As a reminder, these are purely my current predictions ranked in order of likelihood, not necessarily who I want to be nominated or win. Notably, the categories this year feel a lot less competitive than it's been in the past.

Best Actor

1. Bradley Cooper- A Star is Born

Bradley Cooper already has been nominated for three acting Oscars but I don't think he's ever had as good a chance of winning as he does this year. While I don't think Cooper is the unambiguous frontrunner to win at this point, I also can't think of anyone else likely to take the win at this point in Awards Season. 

2. Christian Bale- Vice

Christian Bale definitely ticks off some Oscar checkboxes with Vice as he's playing a real-life figure and went through a large physical transformation to portray the role. That said, as Bale already has an Oscar in his belt from less than a decade ago and Vice being far more divisive than A Star is Born, I'm still giving Cooper the edge for now.

3. Rami Malek- Bohemian Rhapsody

Bohemian Rhapsody wasn't exactly critically acclaimed and personally I've found myself liking it less upon reflection, but most do agree that Rami Malek is pretty terrific as Freddie Mercury. Rami Malek's already been nominated at the Golden Globes, Critics' Choice Awards, and SAG awards among others and the film's massive box office success will likely help his chances.

4. John David Washington- Black Klansman

John David Washington breakout performance has already garnered him several award nominations including the Golden Globes and SAG. While less of a lock than the three names in front of him, I'd argue he's got a decent shot at this point, especially with Black Klansman's Best Picture potential.

5. Viggo Mortensen- Green Book

Mortensen does solid work in a crowdpleaser movie that's already garnered him a SAG, Critic's Choice, and Golden Globe nomination. The question for me is whether or not some of Green Book's controversy over historical inaccuracies with the characters will have any affect on his Oscar chances (as well as that of his co-star Mahershala Ali)

6. Ryan Gosling- First Man

First Man's cinematic achievements were unfortunately overshadowed by a flag penetration controversy, which is disappointing because I think it's one of Ryan Gosling's strongest performances. Now he's not out of the race yet, particularly with the Critic's Choice awards nomination, but it's an uphill battle.

7. Robert Redford- The Old Man and the Gun

Robert Redford scored a Golden Globe nomination for what's said to be his final film, although with his lack of other recognition, I actually question if I'm ranking him too high. Still, I think the nature of this film being Redford's swan song gives him a bit of an edge over some of the other contenders.

8. Willem Dafoe- At Eternity's Gate

A year after receiving his third nomination for The Florida Project, Willem Dafoe has been getting raves for his meaty lead performance as Vincent Van Gogh, including a Golden Globe and Critic's Choice nomination.

9. Lucas Hedges- Boy Erased

Two years after getting his first nomination for Manchester by the Sea, Lucas Hedges has another shot this year with Boy Erased, though the film still lacks the wider recognition of some of the others in the race.

10. Ethan Hawke- First Reformed

Okay, won't lie, if there's one actor I really want to be nominated, it's Ethan Hawke, even if that's a pipe dream. But I don't know. He wasn't nominated at the Golden Globes or SAG, but he's actually been WINNING a lot of minor critics' awards, including in in Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, Detroit, San Diego, San Francisco, St. Louis, Toronto, and Vancouver. If Ethan Hawke somehow squeezed his way into a nomination or even a win, I'd be thrilled, but I'm trying not to get my hopes too high.

11. Joaquin Phoenix- You Were Never Really Here

Joaquin Phoenix has a lot of terrific performances and I'm happy that he's managed to add yet another one, even if its recognition will likely be more limited to smaller film circles (like the Spirit Awards where he was nominated)

12. Ben Foster- Leave No Trace

Ben Foster continues to be one of the most underrated actors working today and while he's certainly getting consistent work, it feels like he hasn't yet received the recognition he deserves. Perhaps Leave No Trace could change that? If nothing else, I'm happy to see he's getting some recognition.

13. John Cho- Searching

John Cho's performance in Searching is quite possibly the meatiest performance he's had to date. The film is best known for its computer screen gimmick, but Cho's performance plays a big role in holding the film together, and has earned him a Spirit Award nomination.

14. Jim Cummings- Thunder Road

Okay, so Cummings isn't being nominated, but I'm just mentioning him because Thunder Road is super great and you should watch it!

15. Daveed Diggs- Blindspotting

Okay, so Diggs isn't being nominated, but I'm just mentioning him because Blindspotting is super great and you should watch it!

Best Actress

1. Lady Gaga- A Star is Born

While this isn't Lady Gaga's first acting performance, this is a performance that's likely to serve as an acting breakout for her. With numerous award nominations all over and the film's critical and commercial success, she seems like a probable frontrunner for Best Actress at this time.

2. Olivia Colman- The Favourite

Olivia Colman would be a worthy Best Actress winner in my opinion, giving a performance that's equal parts hilarious and depressing. She seems to be a lock for a nomination at this point, but I question if she could compete Gaga's popularity and score a win. We'll see.

3. Melissa McCarthy- Can you Ever Forgive Me?

Melissa McCarthy got his first Oscar nomination for Bridesmaids 7 years ago, but now she has a real shot of another nomination for a mostly dramatic performance. With nominations at the Golden Globes, Critic's Choice, and SAG among others, McCarthy will likely be recognized come Oscar time, but I doubt it'll materialize into a win.

4. Glenn Close- The Wife

Glenn Close has been nominated for six Oscars and seems to be gearing up for a seventh one with The Wife, where she's already been nominated at the Golden Globes, Critic's Choice, and SAG. However, as few people have even heard of the film, I don't expect Close to get much more than a nomination.

5. Emily Blunt- Mary Poppins Returns

It's weird knowing that Emily Blunt has never received an Oscar nomination, but perhaps she can change that this year with Mary Poppins, taking over the role that won Julie Andrews an Oscar over 50 years ago. 

6. Toni Collette- Hereditary

Won't lie, I'm pretty sad that Toni Collette isn't a frontrunner to win, let alone a lock for a nomination. But she's not out of the woods yet, especially as this category doesn't feel too crowded or competitive this year.

7. Elsie Fisher- Eighth Grader

Elsie Fisher is only 15 years old, but in Eighth Grade she gave one of my favorite performances of the year, as well as one of the most believable portrayals of a teenager ever that's already scored her a Golden Globe nomination.

8. Nicole Kidman- Destroyer

Nicole Kidman has been getting some of the biggest raves of her career in Destroyer including a Golden Globe nomination, but the film's general recognition is still relatively low at this point.

  

9. Carey Mulligan- Wildlife

Carey Mulligan is basically in the same position as Nicole Kidman. She's getting some of the biggest raves of her career but the film's general recognition remains low. The main difference is that she doesn't have a Golden globe nomination.

10. Yalitza Aparicio- Roma

Yalitza Aparicio's breakout performance in Roma has dozens of powerful moments and has garnered her some awards recognition, though Cuaron's direction and screenplay remain the primary award contenders for the film.

11. Viola Davis- Widows

Viola Davis is strong as usual in Widows, but with little recognition outside a Satellite Award nomination, her chances seem unlikely this year.

12. Regina Hall- Support the Girls

Regina Hall is an actress who's been popping up in films for awhile, but Support The Girls has given her the most acclaim of her career, including a  Spirit Award nomination and a win at the New York Film Critics Circle.

13. Thomasin McKenzie- Leave No Trace

So Thomasin McKenzie has been getting some supporting acting nominations but she's clearly the film's lead character so screw it. She's great in Leave No Trace. Watch it. 

14. Rosamund Pike- A Private War

While far from her first film, Gone Girl proved to be a breakout role for Rosamund Pike, scoring her an Oscar nomination, but her career has taken a somewhat low-key path since then. This hasn't exactly changed as A Private War hasn't been the most talked about film this year, but it has given Pike a Golden Globe nomination.

Best Supporting Actor

1. Sam Elliot- A Star is Born

Sam Elliott seemed like a frontrunner to me until he wasn't nominated at the Golden Globes. Still, I've got him at number one because if he's not the frontrunner, then who is? He's still a likely nomination, he's in a critical and commercial success, he's a well-respected actor. 

2. Richard E. Grant- Can You Ever Forgive Me?

I honestly didn't even know Richard E. Grant by name until this year, though it turns out he's actually been popping up in a lot of stuff over the years. Still, this is easily his most recognized role to date and a probable nomination for the actor.

3. Timothée Chalamet- Beautiful Boy

Just a year after scoring his first nomination for Call Me by Your Name, Timothée Chalamet seems poised for another nomination for Beautiful Boy.

4. Adam Driver- Black Klansman

Adam Driver's been an up-and-coming star for awhile and one I figured would be nominated for an Oscar sooner or later. It seems like it might happen this year in Black Klansman where he's been nominated at the Golden Globes, SAG, and Critic's Choice.

5. Mahershala Ali- Green Book

As mentioned with Viggo Mortensen earlier, Mahershala Ali does solid work in a crowdpleaser movie that's already garnered him a SAG, Critic's Choice, and Golden Globe nomination. But to reiterate once more, the question for me is whether or not some of Green Book's controversy over historical inaccuracies with the characters will have any affect on his Oscar chances. 

6. Sam Rockwell- Vice

Sam Rockwell just won an Oscar last year and while certainly not a lock like his co-stars Christian Bale and Amy Adams, he could very well receive another nomination for portraying George W. Bush.

7. Michael B. Jordan- Black Panther

Michael B. Jordan got quite a bit of praise when Black Panther first hit theaters and while he hasn't been scoring everywhere, his nominations, most notably at the Critic's Choice Awards, definitely make him a contender. 

8. Josh Hamilton- Eighth Grade

Hamilton isn't really Eighth Grade's most likely nomination, but it's not a competitive category this year that he could maybe squeeze himself in, especially with the Spirit Award nomination under his belt.



9. Steven Yeun- Burning 
Yeun was once known simply as Glenn on The Walking Dead but he's built up a formidable career in the last couple years. He's now receiving some of the biggest acclaim of his career in Burning, including winning awards in LA and Toronto.

10. Hugh Grant- Paddington 2

Hugh Grant already received a BAFTA nomination last year for his performance in Paddington 2 (the film was released in 2017 in the UK but 2018 in the US) and has since scored a few minor critics' nominations coming into this awards season. Very unlikely to actually happen, but he deserves a mention.

11. Russell Hornsby- The Hate You Give 
Hornsby has received some critic award recognition for his performance including a win at the Utah Film Critic's Association.



12. Allesandro Nivola- Disobedience 
Nivola and Disobedience as a whole has been largely missing from the Oscar race but Nivola's win at the British Independent Film Awards suggests he could be a minor contender.

13. Daniel Kaluuya- Widows

Definitely not happening but Kaluuya was so great in Widows, my god. 

Best Supporting Actress

1. Amy Adams- Vice

Amy Adams has received five Oscar nominations to date and perhaps she could finally win this year with Vice.

2. Regina King- If Beale Street Could Talk

Regina King had enough hype that I almost would've considered her a frontrunner over Adams but her snub at the SAG awards was definitely a hit. She's still a probable nominee and could still potentially win. 

3. Emma Stone- The Favourite

Just two years after her Oscar win, Emma Stone will likely be nominated again in The Favourite, where she puts on an English accent and a lot of debt.

4. Rachel Weisz- The Favourite
In spite of competing with Emma Stone in this category (I'd argue they're both leads but this is how they're being promoted), I'd say both actresses have a solid chance of being nominated due to the relatively uncrowded category, the film's acclaim, and their recognition at the Golden Globes and SAG awards.

5. Claire Foy- First Man
While Claire Foy's role may be mainly viewed as a simple example of a wife character, I'd argue that her performance elevates the character quite a bit and its garnered her nominations at the Critic's Choice and Golden Globes.

6. Nicole Kidman- Boy Erased
Nicole Kidman is excellent as usual in Boy Erased, a performance that's garnered her some recognition and may help her squeeze into a non-competitive year.

7. Margot Robbie- Mary, Queen of Scots

A year after I, Tonya, Margot Robbie has received a SAG nomination for her role as Queen Elizabeth I. Though the overall reception to the film hasn't been super enthusiastic, she still has a chance.



8. Emily Blunt- A Quiet Place
I honestly probably wouldn't have even included Blunt if it wasn't for her surprise SAG nomination. Still not convinced it's going to happen, especially when she already has Mary Poppins if the Academy really wants to nominate her, but who knows?

9. Tilda Swinton- Suspiria
Tilda Swinton definitely won't be getting nominated for Suspiria, but wouldn't that be super cool?

10. Elizabeth Debicki- Widows

Elizabeth Debicki also won't be getting nominated for Widows, but she was my favorite part of the film and I hope this is the beginning of a long career for her.

Best Director

1. Alfonso Cuarón- Roma

2. Bradley Cooper- A Star is Born

3. Spike Lee- Black Klansman

4. Yorgos Lanthimos- The Favourite

5. Damian Chazelle- First Man

6. Barry Jenkins- If Beale Street Could Talk

7. Peter Farrelly- Green Book

8. Adam McKay- Vice

9. Ari Aster- Hereditary

10. Lynne Ramsay- You Were Never Really Here

11. Steve McQueen- Widows

12. Debra Granik- Leave No Trace

13. Paul Schrader- First Reformed

Widows Review

Disclaimer: I LOVE heist films. 

From the opening scene, I was hooked. There’s so much creative camera work on display from the beginning as we see a car chase filmed entirely from within a car (We Own the Night, another movie with Robert Duvall also did this well). It’s exquisite throughout, giving the viewer a sense of environment, lots of camera movement but never feeling too flashy, making Chicago a character itself (the shot of Colin Farrell in the car is incredible).

This is a “normie” movie. It’s the most mainstream thing Steve McQueen has ever done and that’s not a bad thing. It’s a crowdpleaser but it’s still made by an auteur director and it shows. Not sure it’ll happen but it’d be pretty damn cool if McQueen got an Oscar nomination for this. It’d also be cool if this film did great at the box office so we could get more movies about women like this and less lazy “female-version of film with men” movies. My only real issue is some stuff near the end. Things get a little rushed and not everything is super clear as to motives, with other plot aspects not being explicitly resolved. It’s not a huge deal because there is a lot that you can still infer but I don’t think it would’ve hurt the film to be more clear.

It’s a film with notable dramatic themes, particularly involving corrupt systems, gender and power dynamics etc. but Flynn and McQueen were able to convey this without being preachy about it. The themes were interwoven naturally to the story. It tells these themes through a lot of characters and a lot of storylines, but it managed to do this without feeling overblown. Instead, I always felt excited when a scene with a character we hadn’t seen for awhile popped up. The story takes its time, building up and developing characters, but I never felt bored for a second. Of course, the action is done so well that part of me wishes Steve McQueen could’ve had a bit more action, but I was still entertained when there wasn’t action going on so this wasn’t a dealbreaker.

It’s a Steve McQueen film so it shouldn’t be surprising to say that the acting is pretty consistently great. Gotta mention Daniel Kaluuya though because he scared the hell out of me. Viola Davis delivers as expected, Elizabeth Debicki and Cynthia Ervos hopefully have bright futures ahead, Garrett Dillahunt’s character is such a sweetheart you can’t help but love him, Robert Duvall and Colin Farrell bring solid work as a powerful political family while Brian Tyree Henry once again shows his range as the half crime boss, half politician, being able to be affable or threatening depending on the scene. Admittedly Carrie Coon felt underused but that’s not exactly a flaw in that I felt she largely served her purpose in the story.

I can’t believe I’m saying this about the guy who directed Shame and 12 Years a Slave but if Steve McQueen wants to do a straight-up action film next, I’d be down. If he wants to do a really depressing drama, I’d be down. My main point is that I want more Steve McQueen movies.

Also, that dog is a treasure. She already elevated Game Night, now she’s working with auteur filmmakers. She’s going places.

Venom Review

By Alex Bauman

Venom is a film that should be decent enough in theory. Tom Hardy, Michelle Williams, and Riz Ahmed are all incredibly talented actors who I have loved a lot in other stuff. Ruben Fleischer (Zombieland, 30 Minutes or Less) is an okay enough director, not exactly an auteur but one who sounded passionate about the project. Having a character like Venom as the focus without Spider-Man is an interesting idea, though the question was whether or not it could actually be pulled off.

Tom Hardy in Venom

Some people have compared Venom to Catwoman, which isn't just one of the worst superhero movies of all time, it's one of the worst movies of all time. I'm inclined to disagree, though there is a subplot involving Eddie's neighbor that's very similar to a subplot involving a neighbor in Catwoman. It's better than Catwoman, but it's also less enjoyable. Catwoman is a horrible movie, but it's fun to watch in an ironic way. Venom is less aggressively bad than Catwoman, but it's also more bland and boring as a result.

I suppose the first problem with Venom is that there's nothing about it that feels special. Superhero movies are very popular right now so there needs to be something to really make it standout. One would think that the anti-hero approach would make it feel more unique, but the execution is so by-the-numbers. The film is so hesitant to show Venom doing anything villainous that he doesn't feel that interesting. The only thing that really stands out is how everything feels weaker than your average blockbuster. The characters, the visuals, the action all feel underwhelming.

But first, I'll discuss somethings that I liked. I chuckled a couple times. There was something intentionally pretty funny about Venom commenting on how he's a loser like Eddie Brock, so that's good. Seeing bongs normalized as background items in a story that nobody calls attention to is kinda nice, but I'm not giving the film any points for that because it doesn't actually add anything to the film. I also liked the character played by Reid Scott (Veep). I mean, the character isn't that special or anything, but as the new boyfriend of Eddie's ex-fiancee, it was pretty refreshing that they didn't make him a jerk. It's so cheap and easy to have stories about kind-hearted men winning back their exes who have left them for jerks, so it was nice that Reid Scott's character is portrayed as a genuinely nice guy (Please see #1 at the bottom for more spoiler-heavy insights into my full thoughts on this aspect).

But besides that, I can't really think of anything memorable about Venom. Even when it's not aggressively bad, it still feels generic. I love Tom Hardy and he's...fine, I suppose. He definitely tries his hardest and arguably elevates the film a TINY bit, but this is probably my least favorite performance from him. Michelle Williams feels like she's sleepwalking through this. This makes a lot more sense when you realize that she only did the film for the money and I can't say I blame her. In her own words:

“I wish there was always a clear, artistic line, but at a certain point, you have to square with the fact that you’re getting older, you live in the world and you have needs. In my twenties, I wasn’t cognizant of retirement, the housing market or college tuition; I just did whatever the fuck I wanted to do. Now, I sometimes do what I want to do, but I also have to make decisions that take care of my family. So, the decision-making is all over the place. It used to be one thing, but now it’s many things.”

Riz Ahmed has been a real rising star from Nightcrawler to The Night Of . So it's a shame that his villain character is so boring. There could be some attempt to give him some dimensions, since technically his goals are in the name of curing diseases and advancing humanity, but he reacts to everything in the most villainous way possible. Jenny Slate is okay as an ambivalent scientist working for Riz Ahmed, but she feels less like a character and more like a plot device. I'm not saying films need to take the time to add huge depth to every supporting character, but it'd be nice if I felt like she served some kind of purpose beyond introducing Eddie to the story's main conflict.

The script is pretty messy too, often times feeling like it's only concerned with advancing the plot agenda. It wants to get from Point A to Point B, but gives little thought into how to get there. Early on in the movie, Eddie has apparently been unemployed for 6 months, yet has still managed to live in a San Francisco apartment. The Venom symbiote is used in a surprising way yet is treated as insignificant by the characters. (Please see #2 at the bottom for more spoiler-heavy insights into my full thoughts on this aspect).

Likewise, Eddie is a flat protagonist with no real character arc or depth. He's an ambitious and sometimes reckless reporter who's a nice guy. That's about it. I can criticize a film like Doctor Strange for having a character arc that's pretty predictable, but at least that film had a character arc. In general, superhero origin stories should have character arcs and if they can't have one, they should have an interesting enough story to justify it. This film doesn't have either. (Please see #3 at the bottom for more spoiler-heavy insights into my full thoughts on this aspect).

Of course, lots have been said about the tonal issues. I suppose this is subjective but it didn't work for me. Venom does feel somewhat close to a horror-comedy, except it's not scary or funny. I did chuckle a couple times as mentioned above, but most of the attempts at buddy-comedy humor left me feeling nothing. There was a decent amount of laughter in the theater so don't take my word for it. Yet, I still felt like the film didn't know what it wanted to be. The first half feels very dark and serious before turning into a buddy-comedy once Venom enters. If anything, I would've preferred an opposite route. The film starts off humorous to relax the viewer before shocking them by entering darker territory once Venom comes in. Once again, that's personal preference so if what I described sounds like your type of movie, enjoy. 

And hey, some people probably don't even care about the plot or characters, right? They just want cool action and visual effects. Well, I'd argue the film doesn't really deliver on that front either. Most of the visuals look really fake. It's not as bad as Justice League but I never felt like the characters were actually interacting with the symbiote. Likewise, the action isn't exciting at all. Eddie is a passive character, seemingly having little control over what the Venom symbiote does, basically just soliciting advice ("Don't eat police officers") and reacting, which takes a lot out of the excitement for me personally. Remember the promised R-rating that we didn't get? Well, this film isn't even a hard PG-13. It's incredibly tame. If your interest in the film was seeing Venom bite off people's heads with lots of blood everywhere, look elsewhere. There's basically no blood at all until the mid-credits scene. Then we get another generic CGI climax to wrap the film up where we can barely even tell what's going on.

By the time Venom was over, I felt underwhelmed. Nothing interesting to work as a good superhero film and nothing crappy enough to work as an entertaining bad movie. The mid-credits scene does feature one of the fakest wigs I've ever seen in the history of cinema, but besides that this film feels incredibly forgettable. I've already forgotten 99% of the jokes less than 24 hours after seeing the film. Like I said, there's apparently an audience for it, so all the more power to you if you enjoyed this movie or it sounds like something you'd like. But all it felt like to me was a dull corporate product, a mere attempt by Sony to keep the rights to a Spider-Man property and a waste of the talented actors involved.

Won’t lie, still pretty upset that Tom Hardy and Riz Ahmed aren’t starring in The True American together anymore. Probably would’ve utilized their talents a lot better than this film.
3.5/10





SPOILER ALERT:






1. So as explained above, the portrayal of the character Dan (Reed Scott) as a genuinely nice guy rather than Eddie's bitter enemy was refreshing. What was even more refreshing was that not only does he not die, he's still with Anne at the end of the film. I figured that the film would find some way to force Eddie to get back together with Anne, and it'd be through either Dan being a jerk or Dan dying. Instead, Eddie doesn't get the girl and that was actually surprising. So congratulations, Venom, you did one thing right.

2. I'm referring to the scene where Eddie has been separated from the Venom symbiote and is about to be executed by some villainous henchman. Obviously, there's the cliche element where these henchman take forever to just shoot Eddie in the face when Venom, in a feminine form, appears, takes out the henchman and saves him. Then proceeds to kiss Eddie, causing the symbiote to transfer onto him, showing that Anne (Michelle Williams) had bonded with the symbiote to rescue him. Even though Eddie's bonding with Venom is shown to have a great physical and psychological effect on him, Anne seems pretty unfazed by the whole thing and it's not acknowledged again until a brief mention near the end of the film. The film's plot agenda needed Eddie to separate from Venom so Venom could save him later. But the film viewed Anne as nothing more than a plot device for Venom to temporarily attach to, so her emotional response to having her body taken over by an alien is completely ignored by the script.

3. I feel Venom could've been far more interesting if it showed Eddie being corrupted by the symbiote, gradually turning into a worse person over the course of the film. Now, maybe not everyone agrees that this is a direction that the film should've taken, but surely we can agree it's disappointing that Eddie doesn't develop at all. He's the exact same person at the end that he is at the beginning. The only difference is that now he has superpowers. I guess he's become mildly more assertive through Venom, since he's now eating people, but Eddie Brock as an individual hasn't really changed at all.

Top films to see this Fall/December 2018

Another year, another overly long list of films to see, ranging from stuff I’m mildly interested in to stuff I’m extremely hyped for.

55. Bumblebee
I haven't seen a Transformers film in years and honestly the only reason I'm interested in this is because Travis Knight (Kubo and the Two Strings) is directing.

54. Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald
The sequel to the 2016 film that continues to expand the Harry Potter universe, this time with more fanservice as Jude Law portrays Albus Dumbledore.

53. Ralph Breaks the Internet
Eh...I liked Wreck it Ralph a fair bit and wanna be more excited for this, but I kinda worry its gonna get bogged down in product placement and pop culture references. We'll see.



52. The Happy Prince
Rupert Everett writes, directs, and stars in this film about the final days of Oscar Wilde.



51. Holmes and Watson
Did you think there were too many Sherlock Holmes stories right now? From the Benedict Cumberbatch show to the Robert Downey Jr. movies to the Ian McKellen film to the CBS series to that gnome movie. Well, hope you can find room for one more because Will Ferrell will be portraying this role in this comedic take on the character, with John C. Reilly playing John Watson.

50. Mary Poppins Returns
Rob Marshall (Chicago, Into the Woods) directs this sequel to Mary Poppins, with Emily Blunt taking over the title role. Dick Van Dyke will be portraying a new character with Lin-Manuel Miranda, Ben Whishaw, Emily Mortimer, Colin Firth, and Meryl Streep are some who fill out the rest of the cast.

49. Mortal Engines
Presumably intended as a franchise starter as its based on a novel series, the film is set in a post-apocalyptic steampunk world where entire cities have been mounted on wheels and motorised, and prey on one another. Peter Jackson is one of three credited screenwriters.

48. White Boy Rick
Currently in theaters telling the story of Richard Wershe, a teenager from Detroit who became an undercover informant for the FBI during the 1980s drug epidemic. I have followed Richard Wershe's story and must say that it is truly tragic and frustrating so the chance to see it reach a bigger audience is exciting. The cast includes Matthew McConaughey, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Bruce Dern, Piper Laurie, and Brian Tyree Henry.

47. The Hate U Give
A black teen divided between the poor, mostly black neighborhood she lives in and the wealthy, mostly white prep school she attends, who finds herself facing pressure from all sides of the community when she witnesses her friend shot by a police officer. The film currently holds a 100% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 16 reviews and an average rating of 8.3/10.

46. Serenity
A thriller with no relation to the 2005 film of the same name. Matthew McConaughey and Anne Hathaway star while the film is written and directed by Steven Knight, who previously wrote Eastern Promises and wrote and directed Locke, two films I enjoy quite a bit.

45. The Girl in the Spider's Web
Look, I'm going to be honest. I'm still pretty bummed that we didn't get to see DavidFincher and Rooney Mara continue this series, but I guess that's that. Still, maybe this could be good. Claire Foy has been a rising star and it even has Cameron Britton (Mindhunter) in it. The film is directed by Fede Alvarez, best known for The Evil Dead remake and Don't Breathe.

44. Green Book
Based on a true story, Green Book is directed by Peter Farrelly (of the Farrelly Brothers) and stars Mahershala Ali and Viggo Mortensen as a Jamaican-American pianist and his New York driver/bodyguard respectively. The film won the People's Choice Award and the trailer screams "Crowd Pleaser." The film currently holds a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 10 reviews with an average rating of 7.1/10. Interestingly enough, Viggo Mortensen's character is Tony Lip, who would later portray mob boss Carmine Lupertazzi on The Sopranos.

43. Creed II
I really enjoyed the first Creed and admittedly (similar to the Rocky franchise), I'm unsure if we needed more. We had a great movie that stood on its own and I'm not sure if turning this into a franchise is what it needs, especially with Ryan Coogler not returning to direct. But I won't lie, that trailer was pretty damn good.

42. Bohemian Rhapsody
A biopic on the band Queen with Rami Malek (Mr. Robot) starring as Freddie Mercury. There are a couple reasons why this film isn't higher on the list. The first reason is because Sacha Baron Cohen was originally set to play Mercury but left due to creative differences. Cohen seemed like a perfect fit but I do love Rami Malek so I wish him the best. But the other concern is Bryan Singer. He was fired with two weeks left in filming, accused of showing up late to work (or not at all) and feuding with the cast. Dexter Fletcher served as Singer's replacement but Singer is still the credited director. How these production issues will affect the film remains to be seen.

41. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
An animated film based on the Miles Morales version of Spider-man, a teen from Brooklyn who takes on the Spider-man mantle in an alternate universe. The film will be exploring a shared multi-verse of different people (including Peter Parker) who have taken on the Spider-man mantle, but Miles Morales will be the protagonist. The cast includes Mahershala Ali, Hailee Steinfeld, Liev Schrieber, Brian Tyree Henry, and apparently even Nicolas Cage (who does not appear in the trailer).

40. Bad Times at the El Royale
The newest film from Drew Goddard, a guy you might not know by name but has a resume many may recognize. He began writing for tv shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Alias, and Lost, more recently creating the Netflix series Daredevil. In film, he wrote Cloverfield and World War Z (my negative feelings on World War Z aside, with all of the production issues, I suspect most of the film's faults were not because of Goddard) and The Martian (for which he received an Oscar nomination. He made his directorial debut with The Cabin in the Woods, which he co-wrote with Joss Whedon. His latest film, an original screenplay, follows seven strangers who each are hiding dark secrets that come to a head on one night in a shady motel. The cast includes Jeff Bridges, Dakota Johnson, Jon Hamm, and Chris Hemsworth.

39. Peterloo
Peterloo is based on the true story of the Peterloo Massacre when British forces killed their own people who were protesting parliamentary reform. Directed by Mark Leigh, the film currently has an 83% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 12 reviews with an average rating of 6,9/10.

38. The Children Act
An A24 film starring Emma Thompson as a High Court judge must decide if she should order a life-saving blood transfusion for a teen with cancer despite his family's refusal to accept medical treatment for religious reasons. The film currently has a 69% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 67 reviews with an average rating of 6.3/10.

37. On the Basis of Sex
Mimi Leder's first film in nearly a decade stars Felicity Jones as a young Ruth Bader Ginsburg, focusing on her battling a case of gender discrimination. Armie Hammer co-stars as her husband.

36. Colette
In a plot that makes me think of Tim Burton's Big Eyes (this isn't a bad thing and both films being based on a true story is actually very telling), Keira Knightley stars as the title character, an author writing novels under her husband's name who pushes to challenge gender norms and get the credit she deserves. Dominic West co-stars as her husband.

35. Can You Ever Forgive Me?
Melissa McCarthy stars as a failing writer who begins forging letters from deceased authors and playwrights. The film premiered at the Telluride Film Festival and currently holds a Rotten Tomatoes score of 100% based on 21 reviews, with an average rating of 7.8/10.

34. Welcome to Marwen
Steve Carell stars in this new Robert Zemeckis film about a man dealing with the aftermath of a violent assault by creating a WWII miniature village. The surreal approach features scenes of the dolls (voiced by Carell and the rest of the live-action cast) enacting out their own sequences. Whether or not the film (based on a true story) will address that the man was beaten up for being a cross-dresser remains to be seen.

33. Mandy
Nicolas Cage stars in this action-horror with a lot of red colors. The film has had a mostly positive but still rather divisive response, with some calling it unique and praising Cage's performance and others calling it overlong and has more style than substance. It's also one of the last films scored by the late Jóhann Jóhannsson.

32. Shoplifters
A Japanese drama about a family who resorts to shoplifting to cope with their poverty, the film holds an approval rating of 100% based on 24 reviews, with an average rating of 9.2/10. It is Japan's selection for Best Foreign Language Film at the Academy Awards

31. Anna and the Apocalypse
It's a British Christmas zombie musical film. What more do you want?



30. Capernaum
A Lebanese drama film that premiered at Cannes, receiving a 15-minute standing ovation and winning the Grand Jury Prize. It tells the story of a young boy who decides to sue his parents. It is Lebanon’s selection for Best Foreign Language film at the Academy Awards.

29. The Mule
Clint Eastwood was once one of my favorite working directors though admittedly my opinion on his recent work hasn't been particularly positive. But The Mule looks exciting. Clint Eastwood also stars, his first acting role since Trouble with the Curve in 2012. Inspired by a true story, Eastwood portrays a man in his 80s who begins working as a drug dealer and courier for a Mexican drug cartel. Past Eastwood collaborators Bradley Cooper, Michael Peña, and Laurence Fishburne co-star as DEA Agents.

28. Mary, Queen of Scots
Saorise Ronan stars as the title character while Margot Robbie plays the Queen of England in 1569, covering the conflict between the two countries. Guy Pearce and David Tennant also star but this looks like a showcase for Ronan and Robbie’s performances.

27. The House That Jack Built
Danish director Lars Von Trier brings controversy yet again in his latest film which had a divisive response at Cannes and resulted in walk-outs due to its graphic violence. The film stars Matt Dillon as a serial killer in Washington State set over several years.

26. A Private War
Rosamund Pike (Gone Girl) stars as real-life war correspondent Marie Colvin, with the film seeming to emphasize her covering of the Syrian Civil War.

25. What They Had
A drama film from first-time writer/director Elizabeth Chomko, the film tells the story of Bridget (Hilary Swank) returning to her family at the urging of her brother (Michael Shannon) where her mother (Blythe Danner) is suffering from Alzheimer's. Robert Forster co-stars as her father. The film currently has a 100% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 11 reviews with an average rating of 7.5/10.

24. Lizzie
Chloë Sevigny and Kristen Stewart star in this film telling the story of Lizzie Borden (portrayed by Sevigny) and the events leading up to the infamous ax-murders. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 70% based on 20 reviews, with an average rating of 5.8/10.

23. The Front Runner
Jason Reitman (Up in the Air, Juno) directs this biographical drama starring Hugh Jackman as Gary Hart, a Democratic presidential candidate in 1988 and the fallout that occurred when his extramarital affair was revealed to the public.

22. Destroyer
A new film from director Karyn Kusama, starring Nicole Kidman as a cop who must deal with her past when a gang leader she knew when working undercover re-emerges. The film currently holds an 85% on Rotte Tomatoes based on 33 reviews with an average rating of 6.8/10. Much praise has went towards Nicole Kidman's performance.

21. Apostle
Dan Stevens stars in this period horror from Garth Evans (The Raid series) in his English-language debut. The film follows a man traveling to an island to find his sister, who's been kidnapped by a cult.

20. Halloween
David Gordon Green has already proven himself to be a versatile director with work both comedic (Pineapple Express) and dramatic (George Washington, Joe) and now he's tackling the horror genre with the latest film in the Halloween franchise. Now there's an interesting catch to this one. Jamie Lee Curtis is returning but the film is a direct sequel to the 1978 classic, treating the rest of the sequels as if they never happened. The film currently holds an 83% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 42 reviews with an average rating of 7.2/10.

19. A Star is Born

Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga star in the latest adaptation of A Star is Born, this time using a country music backdrop. The film has been incredibly acclaimed so far with a Rotten tomatoes rating of 95% based on 77 reviews and an average rating of 8.1/10. Bradley Cooper also directs.

18. The Sisters Brothers

Honestly I don't think the trailer for this is that special but the reason why I want to see it is because it's directed by acclaimed French filmmaker Jacques Audiard and has an excellent cast (John C. Reilly, Joaquin Phoenix, Jake Gyllenhaal, Riz Ahmed, and Rutger Hauer). Reilly and Phoenix play two assassin brothers who get caught up in the California gold rush. 

17. Beautiful Boy

One of two films starring a love interest from Lady Bird with the word "Boy" in the title coming out this year based on a true story. This one stars Timothée Chalamet as a young meth addict while Steve Carell portrays his father. Also starring Maura Tierney and Amy Ryan, the film holds an approval rating of 84% based on 25 reviews, with an average rating of 6.2/10. The film holds an approval rating of 94% based on 16 reviews, with an average rating of 8/10

16. Boy Erased

The other film starring a love interest from Lady Bird with the word "Boy" in the title coming out this year based on a true story. This one stars Lucas Hedges as a son pressured into entering gay conversion therapy by his parents (Russell Crowe and Nicole Kidman). It's written and directed by Joel Edgerton (The Gift) who also portrays the head therapist at the gay conversion therapy program.

15. At Eternity's Gate
Willem Dafoe plays Vincent Van Gogh in his final days. The film holds an approval rating of 80% based on 10 reviews, with an average rating of 6.8/10

14. Burning
A Korean mystery drama based on the short story "Barn Burning" by Japanese author Haruki Murakami. The film is directed by Lee Chang-dong who also helmed the excellent film "Poetry" and Steven Yeun (The Walking Dead) plays a key supporting role. The trailer is here although I have not yet watched it, having heard that the film is best viewed with as little info as possible. The film premiered at Cannes Film Festival and is South Korea's selection for Best Foreign Language Film at the Academy Awards.

13. Vice

Vice (formerly titled Backseat) stars Christian Bale and Amy Adams as Dick and Lynne Cheney respectively, following Dick Cheney's rise "to become the most powerful Vice President in America's history." Other cast members include Sam Rockwell (George W. Bush), Steve Carell (Donald Rumsfeld) and Bill Pullman (Nelson Rockefeller). Directed by Adam McKay (The Big Short, Anchorman), it is scheduled for a release in December.

12. The Old Man and the Gun

David Lowery (A Ghost Story) directs what is said to be Robert Redford's final acting role. Based on a true story, Redford plays Forrest Tucker, an elderly prison escapee who performs a string of heists. The film has a 90% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 20 revies with an average rating of 7.2/10.

11. Mid90s

Jonah Hill wrote and directed this coming-of-age drama, starring Sunny Suljic (The Killing of a Sacred Deer) as a thirteen-year-old in 90s-era LA who spends his summer navigating between his troubled home life and a group of new friends that he meets at a Motor Avenue skate shop. The A24 film currently has a 94% rating on Rotten tomatoes based on 17 reviews with an average rating of 7.1/10.

10. Wildlife

Speaking of directorial debuts of actors, Wildlife is the directorial debut of Paul Dano and considering he's worked in the past with such directors as Richard Linklater, Paul Thomas Anderson, Ang Lee, Spike Jonze, Steve McQueen, Denis Villeneuve, and Bong Joon-Ho just to name a few, I'll be very curious to see what his directing skills are like because early buzz for his work is very positive. Co-written with his long time partner Zoe Kazan. the film stars Carey Mulligan and Jake Gyllenhall and follows a boy watching his parents' marriage fall apart in 1960s Montana. The film currently holds a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 41 reviews with an average rating of 7.8/10.

9. Under the Silver Lake

Under the Silver Lake was originally set to be released in June before being pushed back to December. Let's hope it's worth the wait. Directed by David Robert Mitchell (It Follows), the comedic neo-noir film follows Andrew Garfield as a man who sets out on a quest to find the woman he met the night before in his apartment complex's swimming pool after she goes missing. It premiered at the Cannes film festival to a divisive response.

8. Hold the Dark

Jeremy Saulnier (Blue Ruin, Green Room) promises a high body count in his latest film starring Jeffrey Wright and Alexander Skarsgård follows a man (Wright) summoned to an Alaska village to track down the wolves believed to have killed three children. 

7. Suspiria

Luca Guadagnino (Call Me by Your Name) directs what is described as a "homage" to the 1977 Dario Argento horror film of the same name. Starring Dakota Johnson and Tilda Swinton with a score composed by Radiohead singer Thom Yorke, the film has received a very divisive response thus far, often falling into love-it or hate-it camps.

6. The Ballad of Buster Scruggs

The latest film from The Coen Brothers is also an unusual direction for them to take. It's an anthology western film, essentially six short films set during the civil war era. It currently holds a 94% rating on Rotten tomatoes based on 17 reviews with an average rating of 7.8/10

5. The Favourite

Yorgos Lanthimos (The Lobster, The Killing of a Sacred Deer) is such a cool guy that we're already getting a new movie from him. The story focuses on the behind-the-scenes politics between two cousins (Rachel Weisz and Emma Stone) jockeying to be court favourites during the reign of Queen Anne (Olivia Colman) in the early 18th century. The film currently holds a 96% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 25 reviews with an average rating of 8.8/10.

4. Roma

Alfonso Cuarón makes his first spanish-language film in many years with Roma, a semi-biographical take on Cuarón's upbringing in Mexico City, and follows the life of a middle class family and their live-in housekeeper. The film won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival, has been selected as Mexico's entry for Best Foreign Language Film at the Academy Awards, and on Rotten Tomaotes currently holds a 96% based on 26 reviews, with an average rating of 9/10. 

3. First Man

Damian Chazelle (Whiplash, La La Land) decides to make a movie not about jazz. The film stars Ryan Gosling as Neil Armstrong and follows the years leading up to the Apollo 11 trip to the moon. Although reportedly the American flag is seen planted on the moon in the film, the actually flag planting is not which has enraged flag fetishists in the U.S. So if you're a flag fetishist, this might not be the movie for you, but on Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an 88% based on 60 reviews, with an average rating of 7.7/10.

2. If Beale Street could talk

Barry Jenkins' first film since his breakout directorial effort, Moonlight. Based on the James Baldwin novel, If Beale Street Could Talk tells the story of a woman trying to clear the name of her imprisoned husband before their child is born. Premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival, it currently holds a 91% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 44 reviews with an average rating of 8.6/10

1. Widows

The latest film from director Steve McQueen (12 Years a Slave, Shame) follows a group of women who attempt a heist after the deaths of their criminal husbands. It premiered at the Toronto Film Festival to critical acclaim, holding an a Rotten Tomatoes rating of 97% based on 31 reviews, with an average rating of 8.1/10.

Sicario: Day of the Soldado Review

By Alex Bauman

Sicario: Day of the Soldado is the sequel to 2015's Sicario that nobody asked for. Then again, nobody was asking for a sequel to The Godfather either and that worked out pretty well. This sequel also lost two of the greatest assets from the original film: Director Denis Villeneuve (replaced by Stefano Sollima) and cinematographer Roger Deakins (replaced by Dariusz Wolski). So needless to say, I was a bit hesitant about this film once it was announced, but it certainly intrigued me. Taylor Sheridan was once again writing the screenplay and after Hell or High Water and Wind River, he had solidified himself as a screenwriter I enjoyed quite a lot. The original film was financially successful, making $84 million on a $30 million budget, but that's not the kind of success that causes a studio to demand a sequel. It seemed like Sheridan was doing a sequel because he genuinely wanted to do a sequel.

I'll give a little bit of perspective onto my thoughts on the original film before delving into the sequel for anyone curious. I think Sicario is pretty fantastic. It's led by a trio of great performances from Emily Blunt, Benicio Del Toro, and Josh Brolin, the direction and cinematography are unsurprisingly excellent, the musical score helps build tension in a subtle way, and the moral ambiguity gives the viewer a lot to think about long after the film is done. There are a few minor issues I have with the film, but the strengths greatly outweigh any flaws and I'd probably give it something close to a 9.5/10.

Soldado (because I really prefer this simple title over the one ultimately used) starts a bit rough, taking its time before reintroducing Benicio Del Toro’s Alejandro. There’s one part in the beginning I didn’t like that sorta justifies itself later but it also results in a pretty big coincidence that you just kinda have to go with. There’s also a really stupid scene of a random woman running directly towards danger with her daughter, seemingly only existing to create an emotional response. (Please see #1 at the bottom for more spoiler-heavy insights into my full thoughts on this scene).

Josh Brolin, Jeffrey Donovan, and Benicio Del Toro

That said, things improve in the middle section, which is easily the strongest. It features some good action set pieces and while there is more action than the first, it doesn’t feel like it’s completely sacrificed its roots to be a standard action flick, which is what I feared from the trailers. The acting is generally strong from everyone, though Del Toro, Brolin, and Isabela Moner (playing the daughter of a cartel leader) are the only ones with actual meat to their roles. Catherine Keener is decent with her limited character, Jeffrey Donovan has a few quips, and Elijah Rodriguez playing a teenage "coyote" is pretty uninteresting though the actor is fine, I suppose. My favorite part of the middle section is how it builds off of themes from the first film. It’s gone from bending the rules to “no rules” as we see our apparent heroes make some pretty morally questionable choices. While it never quite reaches the anxiety of the first film, there are still moments of genuine tension. (Please see #2 at the bottom for more spoiler-heavy insights into my thoughts on a specific scene in the middle section of the film).

Unfortunately the last section is pretty weak with more contrivances, an unnecessary plotline involving a teen named Miguel working as a “coyote” at the border which ends up being a lot less interesting than it sounds (basically like the Mexican cop plotline in the last film except the Mexican plotline was simultaneously more simple and emotionally involving for me), and a plotline that abruptly resolves itself in spite of leaving a lot more questions than answers. And I’m not talking about ambiguity. I mean, the way it’s resolved doesn’t make much sense to me. I can’t say I cared much for the final scene either which felt like something that could've been completely cut out and changed nothing, especially since so much is skimmed over that the film could've easily focused its time on. (Please see #3, #4, and #5 at the bottom for more spoiler-heavy insights into my thoughts on the last act of the film).

As someone who’s a big fan of Taylor Sheridan’s earlier screenplays, Soldado is easily his weakest to date and I’m genuinely surprised by how sloppy some elements of the screenplay were. Still, there are other to enjoy. Stefano Sollima is no Denis Villeneuve but it’s still a solidly shot film and Benicio Del Toro is excellent once again. It’s not as good as the first film, but I think everyone already knew that. I wish i could give it a higher rating, because if the beginning and end were as strong as the middle, this would probably be closer to an 8/10 rating from me. As it is, we have a decent crime-action film. It’s just disappointing it couldn’t be better. It’s not The Godfather Part II of 21st century sequels but it’s not complete cash-grab garbage like Speed 2. See it if you liked the first and wanna see more like it, just don’t have your expectations too high.

Rating: 6.5/10

SPOILER ALERT. I will be discussing spoilers here to elaborate on points in the review. If you don't want to be spoiled stop reading.




1."There’s one part in the beginning I didn’t like that sorta justifies itself later but it also results in a pretty big coincidence that you just kinda have to go with."
I’m referring to the whole concept of cartels smuggling jihadists over the border, since it seems so counterproductive to do something that would bring that much heat and potentially kill their American customers. There is a line from Graver giving an explanation about how if the border is tightened up, they can charge more, so i’ll give it credit for that, but I still felt relieved when it turned out the suicide bombers were U.S. citizens. That reveal even helps give more insight to Graver's character, seeing how upset he is that the narrative he set up isn't true and how he doesn't seem to care. The only problem is that it makes a really huge coincidence with the one guy who did blow himself up at the border around the same time as the suicide bombers in Kansas City.

2. I really loved the scene when after the shootout with corrupt Mexican cops, Graver’s team sees other cops asking them for help and it’s unclear if they’re also corrupt or not. While one of the Mexican cops did fire a bullet at Steve (resulting in all of the Mexican cops getting gunned down), I wonder if anyone else thought there was ambiguity over whether those guys were actually corrupt or one of them just got nervous and fired a shot. I'm not sure if Sheridan actually intended for the scene to be ambiguous or if we were supposed to assume those cops were corrupt as well, but it was easily one of my favorite moments in the theater because of how uncomfortable it made me.

3. "Unfortunately the last section is pretty weak with more contrivances, an unnecessary plotline involving a teen working as a “coyote” at the border which ends up being a lot less interesting than it sounds..."
I'll admit I never cared too much about this teen coyote storyline, even as it was obvious it was going to tie back into the main plotline. As mentioned above, it parallels the Mexican cop storyline in the first one but lacks what made it interesting. I enjoyed the Mexican cop storyline because it added dimensions to a character who would've otherwise been a flat plot device, but the film also knew to not overdo it with screentime. He pops up every once in awhile and we see a sympathetic character, a loving father and husband who may be more a victim of circumstance than anything. With the teen coyote, we briefly see his family when we first meet him, but they never appear again. Even though he seems to have a lot more screentime than the Mexican cop in the first film, I never felt like I really knew his character that well. Likewise, the contrived way he comes into the storyline where he just happened to see Alejandro briefly and then a few days later instantly recognizes the face of a guy he saw in a car for like 10 seconds, felt just kinda lazy.

4. and a plotline that abruptly resolves itself in spite of leaving a lot more questions than answers
That was really stupid when Graver just changes his mind and decides to bring Isabel into witness protection. It’s not a horrible development in theory, but how could the storyline end there? It’s not Graver’s decision to make. He’s got bosses who made it very clear they wanted her dead. He doesn’t get to just say “nah” and magically put her into witness protection. But that's it. No confrontation or argument with his bosses, no fallout for disobeying their orders. The storyline ends there.

5. "I can’t say I cared much for the final scene either which felt like something that could've been completely cut out and changed nothing, especially since so much is skimmed over that the film could've easily focused its time on."
So besides the way that the film skims over Graver somehow putting Isabel into witness protection, it felt like the only person who cared less about Miguel’s storyline than me was the film itself. So he shoots (and miraculously doesn’t kill) Alejandro, then seems like he wants out of the criminal life and jumps off of the truck. Then we cut to a year later and he’s dressed considerably more thuggish than before. So did he just change his mind? Did he call up his buddies the next day and say “Sorry about jumping out of the truck, guys. Can I still be in the gang?” What’s the point of giving him that kind of development if you’re just gonna cut to a year later and undo it? The film seems to have a sequel hook in the final scene but it's going to need to do more to make me care about Miguel in the next one if he's going to stick around.

Mute Review

By Alex Bauman

I've been waiting for Mute for years. It's been a passion project for Duncan Jones and seemed to have plenty of elements that I would love. It's science-fiction, it's neo-noir, it's set in the same universe as Moon, one of my favorite movies of all time.

In May 2009, I attended the Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF). I'm 13 years old. I see the film Moon, directed by a first-timer named Duncan Jones, who I later learn is David Bowie's son. I love the movie and rewatch it several times over the years, showing it to many friends. Sam Rockwell is quickly established as one of my favorite actors and I'm eager to see what Duncan Jones does yet. After the screening at SIFF, Duncan Jones comes up and answers questions. I have nothing to ask, but do take the opportunity to take a low-quality photo. The one thing that I did learn about Duncan Jones that day is that he's a very passionate man. He's in it for the art and there's something I can respect about that.



Here it is zoomed in, not that it helps.



It's 2018. I'm 22 years old. I'm psyched for the release of Mute. I first heard about the movie many years ago. Duncan Jones decided to put it off to direct Source Code in 2011. Then he put it off again to direct Warcraft in 2016. But now the film is happening. The trailer comes out and I think it looks fantastic. Here's an actual comment I posted on a message board regarding the trailer:

"Yes! I’ve been waiting for this movie for so many years. It’s a little surreal that it’s finally coming out. I just hope I can watch it with realistic expectations."

Mute follows the story of Leo (Alexander Skarsgård), a mute bartender searching for his missing girlfriend in 2035 Berlin. We simultaneously see the story line of Cactus Bill (Paul Rudd), an American surgeon running a black market clinic with Duck (Justin Theroux), while trying to care for her daughter and find a way out of the country. Seemed interesting enough.

Then the film came out and it was critically panned. You could say I was a little heartbroken. I wait 2 months before finally watching it. My previously high expectations have now morphed into low expectations when I finally watch it. It's hard to say how much these expectations affected my thoughts on the film. Did I like Mute? Nope. Did I hate Mute? Not really. Mute is less a bad film and more a really frustrating one because it has ideas that could potentially be interesting only to do nothing with them. It feels like the first draft of a script before all of the polish has occurred.

I have a lot to say about this movie and a lot of it isn't exactly positive, but let's get some of what I liked acknowledged first. Visually speaking, the film is nice. It's not incredible, but I definitely remember that there were points in the film when I was enjoying the shots and visual effects onscreen. Nothing super memorable per se, but it is a competently directed picture. The world-building isn't exactly great (more on that later) but there's still something sorta cool just about seeing this futuristic Berlin at times. Clint Mansell's score is nowhere near as good as in Moon, but it's still pretty decent.

As mentioned, this film is set in the same universe as Duncan Jones' previous film, Moon. One thing I appreciated was that the references to Moon were subtle. A couple of times, I simply noticed things in the background. Someone who hadn't seen Moon won't be distracted by the emergence of something that doesn't make sense to them and those who have are trusted to be smart enough to pick up subtle things. Of course, part of me wishes we could've seen more, that Sam Rockwell could've had a bigger cameo, but it's for the best that this film focuses on standing on its own.

Paul Rudd in Mute

Paul Rudd and Justin Theroux play two American surgeons on the black-market with a sort of ambiguous relationship. They call each other "babe" but the young girl with them is explicitly only Rudd's daughter, not Theroux's and Theroux is regularly flirting with barely-legal girls. They have pretty solid chemistry and I was usually most interested in the film whenever they were onscreen. Rudd is definitely the best part of the film and it's pretty great to see him shine in something more villainous and serious. But even my use of the word villainous shouldn't confuse the fact that his character is very morally grey and I appreciated the film's attempt to make him multi-dimensional. Unfortunately, this sometimes results in his character feeling a bit inconsistent in how he's written. Mainly that there are a couple of points when his character becomes bizarrely antagonistic without any real motivation behind it, that it's like the film didn't know how to write a sympathetic villain so they just flipped an on-off switch, having him go from sympathetic in one scene to inexplicably antagonistic in the next. Still, I enjoyed Rudd's performance overall and found him a lot more interesting than the film's protagonist.

As for what I didn't like. Well, here's one of the biggest problems as alluded to above. Leo is a boring protagonist. Alexander Skarsgård has been sweeping various award shows recently, winning an Emmy, a Golden Globe, and a SAG Award for his performance in Big Little Lies. He's definitely capable of being a great actor, but he's not interesting at all here, though I think that's less Skarsgård's fault and more a fault of the writing. Leo is mute and he's Amish. That's about all that we know about him as a character. It's hard to get emotionally invested in him because we rarely know what's going on internally. He doesn't appear to know sign language so we only see him communicate when he writes down very small phrases. This serves in contrast to Eliza in The Shape of Water, another mute character, as we understand her internal conflict. Part of this is helped by her use of sign language and consistent interactions with other characters. Leo's interactions with characters mainly seem to exist just to bring him to the next location, not really showcase him as a person in any way. Hell, The Shape of Water was even able to tell us about Eliza by just showing her morning routine. I'm not saying that writing a protagonist as mute doesn't bring challenges that a non-mute protagonist probably wouldn't have, but if you're going to do it, then you need to put in an effort to write them well. Muteness is not a character trait and if Leo had any type of character arc over the course of the film, I didn't see it. There is a very quick scene where we see Leo swimming in a pool and then silently screaming underwater, which I thought was an effective way of showing the internal struggle of his character, but that alone wasn't enough to make him feel multi-dimensional.

Alexander Skarsgård in Mute

Since I've mentioned Leo being Amish, I should bring up another issue that the film has. It tends to introduce intriguing ideas and then go nowhere with them. That's the thing. There are individual scenes that I think work quite well on their own. There were points in the movie when things were introduced and I was intrigued to see how the film developed this, but then the film didn't develop these ideas at all. The pieces are there, but the effort to make them actually fit is not.

In regards to that point, there are a lot of missed and somewhat confusing elements in regards to making Leo Amish. First off, I despise the idea that certain minority groups should only be given representation if their minority status has a direct impact on the story. But the decision to make Leo Amish makes things a little confusing. He's an Amish guy living in Berlin in 2035 with a non-Amish girlfriend. It's never really clear why an Amish guy would be living in a city so technology-heavy in the first place. That could've been an idea to explore, but it's barely acknowledged. He just turns away from the TV when he's in a diner. Cool.

Noticeably, once Leo starts using technology in the film, he seems to pick up everything pretty quickly. Honestly, an easy fix to this would've been to have just made the character having been from an Amish family but no longer actively practicing the Amish beliefs to explain that, but he's clearly established as still practicing Amish customs. But if Leo needed to be actively practicing Amish customs, there was still an interesting idea that could've been explored. Here's a guy who's been ignoring the technologically-advanced world around him because of his beliefs. Now his girlfriend has vanished and he must cast his beliefs aside and do whatever it takes to find her. Seeing him struggle to use and understand technology in the name of finding the woman he loves could've been interesting, but like I said, he picks up everything pretty easily, and we never get any sense of internal conflict over him using technology against his belief system.

That's not the only missed opportunity. The film naturally builds up a pretty cool fight with an intimidating character that ends up occurring entirely off screen. But the biggest screw-up is one that many have mentioned. I'll keep it vague but there's a controversial plot element inserted in the second half of the film. I actually enjoyed the scene that introduced this plot element. It was well-acted and I was excited to see how the story developed on it. The revelation about this character should change everything. But in the next scene, it's like the revelation didn't even happen. It's one of the weirdest tonal shifts I can think of in recent memory and makes the characters feel so...inconsistent.

One of the saddest failures of Mute would have to be its world-building. It's worth noting that Mute was original meant to be set in modern times before being changed to 2035 and it certainly shows. The sci-fi setting is mainly just there for decoration, not really for anything interesting. The film mainly just seemed to think that throwing in some occasional weird shit would compensate for that, but it really doesn't. The most egregious example would be a scene with Dominic Monaghan dressed as a Geisha with some sex robots in his room. It doesn't say anything about the world. It doesn't say anything about the character because we never see him again. It's just showing sex robots to be...quirky and shocking, I guess. It doesn't even feel authentic to this character we barely know. Monaghan's character is clearly embarrassed by having somebody else see his sex robots, but still answers the door dressed like a geisha with a whip? Why not just establish him as not caring if somebody sees this stuff? Or attempting to get out of his geisha clothing before answering the door? There's also a nearly unrecognizable Robert Sheehan wearing...plastic on his face? I guess that could be fashionable in 17 years...

The pacing isn't great. I can't say I was as bored as some people apparently were, but it did feel like a took a long time for anything to really happen and near the end, there was definitely some faulty character logic that seemed to only be there to drag things out. The ending itself is pretty dumb for a lot of plot-specific reasons. One character involved in the climax is such a plot-device that their presence just felt annoying. They're not even really reacting to anything. They're just sorta there.

I didn't hate Mute but the flaws definitely outweigh the few things that work. It's just a shame that a passion project from a genuinely talented director turned out this way. If the film attempted actual world-building and tried to follow-through on ideas it introduced, I think it had the potential to be a really great film. But it doesn't and the result is a dull affair. Hopefully Duncan Jones learns from the mistakes of Mute and does something better next time, especially since he apparently hopes to make another film set in the same universe as Moon and Mute.

5/10