Matt's Musings

The Academy Awards are coming on March 15. We got the final list of nominees on January 22, and between now and the awards I'll be looking at the 10 Best Picture nominees and their chances of winning an award. Hamnet Starring : Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal Director: Chloe Zhao Total Nominations : 8 Nominated For : Best Picture, Best Director (Zhao), Best Actress (Buckley), Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Casting, Best Production Design, Best Costume Design, and Best Score About : This is the final countdown for Best Picture nominees. Hamnet is a wonderful film and a strong contender. Will it win Best Picture? Probably not. Will it win an Oscar, I think it will. It is likely the second or third option in most categories. The craft here is strong, but it is perhaps not as strong as some other contenders. As noted, I think Frankenstein is a more likely option in some craft areas. In Casting, I'd wager Hamnet is behind Sinners . In Picture, Screenplay, and Director, I'd wage...

It's hard to believe, but 2011 was 15 years ago. Over the next few weeks I'm going to be looking at some stand out films from 2011 that are turning 15 in 2026. Today, it's a tale from the diamond. Billy Beane : Let them make the mistakes. When your enemy's making mistakes, don't interrupt them. They're giving you an out. Just giving it to you. Take it. Say "thank you." Moneyball Starring : Brad Pitt, Jonah Hill, Chris Pratt, and Phillip Seymour Hoffman Director : Bennett Miller About: It's hard to take a non-fiction book about the business of baseball, and how to manipulate it with statistics and no money, and make it a compelling film. I'm sure there aren't many that read Moneyball and immediately saw it as an enduring film. And yet, that's what it's become. Even 15 years later it's a classic. I also didn't know I needed a buddy comedy starring Pitt and Hill, but we get that with Moneyball , and it's top shelf. The di...

Back in 1998, the American Film Institute unveiled its list of the 100 greatest films as voted on by members of the cinematic community. The year, I'm looking at the films on that list, re-ranked according to my preference. Check back Fridays and Saturdays throughout the year as we walk through this list of classic films. Byam : Captain Bligh, you've told your story of mutiny on the Bounty, how men plotted against you, seized your ship, cast you adrift in an open boat, a great venture in science brought to nothing, two British ships lost. But there's another story, Captain Bligh, of ten cocoanuts and two cheeses. A story of a man who robbed his seamen, cursed them, flogged them, not to punish but to break their spirit. A story of greed and tyranny, and of anger against it, of what it cost. Mutiny on the Bounty (1935) Original List Ranking : 86 Starring : Charles Laughton and Clark Gable Director : Frank Lloyd About : The film won the Academy Award for Best Picture. It was t...

Back in 1998, the American Film Institute unveiled its list of the 100 greatest films as voted on by members of the cinematic community. The year, I'm looking at the films on that list, re-ranked according to my preference. Check back Fridays and Saturdays throughout the year as we walk through this list of classic films. George M. Cohan : My mother thanks you, my father thanks you, my sister thanks you, and I thank you. Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942) Original List Ranking : 100 Starring : James Cagney, Joan Leslie, and Walter Huston Director: Michael Curtiz About: This is a case where I'm a bit higher than the original list or even the revised list. Yankee Doodle Dandy, the story of composer and singer George Cohan, is on both lists. It even moved up in the 2007 revision, all the way to No. 98. It's a classic piece of Americana and a biopic that is is solid if unspectacular. I saw it a few years ago, and it feels like a solid, interesting, and patriotic film. It's not my...

The Academy Awards are coming on March 15. We got the final list of nominees on January 22, and between now and the awards I'll be looking at the 10 Best Picture nominees and their chances of winning an award. Sentimental Value Starring : Renate Reinsve, Inga Ibsdotter Lilleas, Stellan Skarsgard, and Elle Fanning Director : Joachim Trier Total Nominations : 9 Nominated For : Best Picture, Best Director (Trier), Best Actress (Reinsve), Best Supporting Actor (Skarsgard), Best Supporting Actress (Fanning), Best Supporting Actress (Ibsdotter Lilleas), Best Original Screenplay, Best International Feature, and Best Editing About: This was one of my favorite films of the year. It's likely in the Top 4 in the Best Picture competition, but I don't think it will win. However, I don't think it's a film that will go home empty-handed. The question is how many it can win, and where. I love the work of Trier, who is nominated as a director and writer. I don't think he'll...

This was a big week at the movies as Neve Campbell returned in Scream 7. I have my thoughts on that and other new films I saw this week below. You can keep up with everything I’m watching by following me on Letterboxd @knighthawk7734. Dreams (Theaters) Starring : Jessica Chastain and Isaac Hernandez Synopsis : Sometimes films touch on important subjects in unimportant ways. Often that subject becomes a plot device or something to frame whatever narrative they want to share. It can be a turnoff for viewers and derail even a well-crafted narrative. That’s the case with Dreams, a new film from writer/director Michel Franco that opens wide on Friday, February 27. The film touches on an important subject—immigration—but uses it as more of a plot device. Unfortunately, the plot it services isn’t worthy of exploration. The film begins with a border crossing. Fernando (Hernandez) is making his way from Mexico into California. He makes it all the way to San Francisco, where he arrives at the ho...