This year I have been determined to watch as many Oscar-buzz movies as possible…or at least the ones that intrigue me and Judas and the Black Messiah was one of those movies.
After having watched civil rights masterpieces like Malcolm X and BlacKkKlansman (both by Spike Lee) Judas and the Black Messiah felt like the generic versions of those films. The story, based on the true story of William O’Neal, an FBI informant who is tasked with infiltrating and spying on the Black Panther party in Chicago, Illinois, moves along in a cliche manner.
There aren’t any surprising revelations, the musical score feels like the type of music you always hear for these types of movies, and honestly, the only thing keeping me at all invested in this film were the performances of Lakeith Stanfield and Daniel Kaluuya.
I love a good murder mystery! I’m talking Se7en, Prisoners, and The Silence of the Lambs. Those are the best ones I’ve seen and I’ve seen some other good mystery movies along the way.
This week I decided to watch The Little Things, a new murder mystery starring Denzel Washington, Rami Malek, and Jared Leto. I almost skipped watching this movie but when Leto earned a Golden Globe nomination for the film I thought, heck, I might as well check it out.
So I watched it yesterday with my sister and oh my goodness, it was underwhelming.
For the first hour it’s just mindless exposition filled with cop lingo that left me pulling at my face with frustration. Half of what they were talking about I couldn’t understand and the other half, I just didn’t care about.
When Leto finally showed up, he kind of brought a bit of pizzazz to the movie but overall, the ending left me like, “WHAT?!” It just was annoying and nonsensical and just…frustrating.
The only reason why I made it as long as I did was because I was watching the film believing that Denzel Washington’s character was the actual killer.
SPOILERS AHEAD! It isn’t. In fact…we never find out who actually is killing all of the people. That doesn’t mean there isn’t a bit of a shocking ending but because the writer was trying so hard to tell a story that’s different they didn’t think to actually write a movie that was entertaining.
70 out of 100 and 2/5 stars
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The first time I ever heard of Riz Ahmed was when he appeared in the first Star Wars standalone film, Rogue One where he played Imperial pilot Bodhi Rook. The second movie I saw him in was Venom where he played the antagonist of the movie. In short, I haven’t seen him in any Oscar-worthy roles. So when I heard that he was getting praise for this new movie called Sound of Metal where he plays a drummer I thought to myself, “Really?” But…I was curious, so I decided to watch the movie.
Wow, wow, wow. Sound of Metal is honestly one of the best films of the year with an honest screenplay that feels like it was written by somebody who knew firsthand what the heck they were writing about.
The movie is about a drummer of a two-person heavy metal band who suddenly begins to experience severe hearing loss in both ears. What transpires over two hours is a very personal, very well-written look at accepting one’s self and embracing the challenges we may face with love and peace, not anger and fear.
Riz Ahmed’s performance as drummer Ruben was sublime. From the first second to the last you can feel his dedication to this role and his sincere understanding of the internal pain this character is going through during the duration of this movie. I found myself so moved by this movie and it’s simple message that spoke a thousand words. It’s message of self-love and accepting whatever happens day by day is a message a lot of people can benefit from right now when it may seem like the world is coming to an end.
And not only was the acting and writing in this movie really good but it was so immersive as well. The cinematography made it almost feel like watching a documentary of someone’s personal journey and the setting, heavily displayed in rural Missouri was absolutely beautiful.
I honestly cannot say enough good things about this movie. I would love it if it was recognized for Best Screenplay at the Oscars this year because the movie deserves it 100%. And of course, Riz Ahmed better not be snubbed at the Oscars because his performance was perfect. Absolutely perfect!
Could he win? Heck yeah he could win, but going up against the likes of Chadwick Boseman who’s very heavily favored to win a posthumous Oscar, I don’t know. I think if it was any other year he would totally be favored for the win because he was amazing but this year he’s just a bit out of luck.
All in all, do yourself a favor and watch this movie. It’s currently on Amazon Prime Video and it’s totally worth the viewing. I’m giving it 100 out of 100 and 5 out of 5 stars. It was really, really good,
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As the award season ramps up so does my determination to watch as many of these Oscar buzz films as possible. So far I’ve seen Da 5 Bloods, One Night in Miami, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, and The Trial of the Chicago 7 but now I’ve added Mank to that list.
Mank follows the true story of Herman Mankiewicz, the man who wrote one of the greatest cinematic works of all time, Citizen Kane. The drunken screenwriter genius decided to take William Hearst’s life story and fabricate into the plot that is Citizen Kane and ultimately, it was an interesting story of the creation of a famous movie.
The film has been nominated for six Golden Globes and I’d say deservedly so. David Fincher, known for directing hits like Se7en and The Social Network, placed his notable stamp on this film with a keen eye for detail and storytelling against the black-and-white cinematography. Gary Oldman nabs only his second Golden Globe for this movie as he distinctly portrays Mank in a way that made me not see him simply as an overweight Commissioner Gordon.
And while this movie was interesting enough that it made me want to learn more about Upton Sinclair and eventually finish Citizen Kane I’m sorry to say the film was actually pretty boring.
Written with a cliche sense of wit that’s designed for these types of movies, Mank drags on the nerves as it flashes back and forth through time, whiplashing the viewer through the story in, I guess, an effort to keep one from falling asleep. It’s an annoying ploy that almost didn’t pay off, as I found myself on the verge of sleep a couple of times. Plus, there were a lot of times when I didn’t know who was talking about who.
To be able to enjoy this movie you have to be very learned up about classic Hollywood and the big producers of the 1930s’ because a casual Millennial is going to stare at this movie with a slack jaw and eyes glazed over black-and-white.
All in all, Mank is another film that will fade from memory and join the collective pool of boring movies that unsurprisingly was nominated for a bunch of awards.
I’m giving Mank 87 out of 100 and 4 out of 5 stars.
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So, I finally just watched Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom and to my relief, it was better than I expected. Based on a play written by playwright August Wilson, the film tells the story of blues legend, Ma Rainey (Viola Davis) and a tense recording session in Chicago of 1927 as she clashes with her trumpeter (Chadwick Boseman.)
The film lives up to the hype, delivering some of the best acting of the year. Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom is dark, powerful, and oh does it shine a light on the trauma of African-Americans.
In a time when racial tension is such a topic this movie is like a slap to the face with authenticity. Even though it speaks of race in a 1920s’ light it speaks to the horrors of our present so boldly that you can’t help but sit back and just take a deep breath.
Viola Davis is once again superb as Ma Rainey, delivering every line and moment with purpose and conviction. And Chadwick Boseman, gosh Boseman was gone too soon. This unapologetic depiction of an angry young black man traumatized by horrific events of his past may just be his best performance and is definitely deserving of every award he can muster. He’s already gotten a posthumous Golden Globe nomination for the role today and deservedly so. I honestly feel like he should win but I’m going to check out Sound of Metal next to see how Riz Ahmed does.
Okay, the Golden Globe nominations are in and there are some choices that make sense and some surprise snobs that have left me a bit stunned but overall, I’m pleased with the picks and am looking forward to seeing who wins.
In terms of the snubs, I was surprised to see Delroy Lindo not nominated for his role in Da 5 Bloods, or Chadwick Boseman for Best Supporting Actor in Da 5 Bloods as well. The movie was one of the best of the year, delivering some powerful performances and directing that once again highlighted Spike Lee’s impressive movie making skills.
Minari was subjected to the Foreign Language Film category even though the movie was made in America by an American director who’s telling an American story. But the main language of the movie is Korean so…
Regina King was nominated for Best Director for One Night in Miami which makes sense. Viola Davis apparently did a pretty good job in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, hence her nomination. And so on and so on.
I’ll have more thoughts about the nominations on the way as I begin to watch more of these nominated films like Mank and Sound of Metal next but for now, it’s movie award season baby!
(And by the way, yay for The Mandalorian‘s nomination for Best TV Series-Drama. It totally deserves it!!!!)
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Annlyel Online 