The Weekend’s Watching and some Oscar chat…

Monday is about movies, and sometimes TV. Here’s a couple of short-grab mini-reviews of the things I watched this weekend…and some thoughts on the Oscar nominations

I saw Conclave over the weekend. And entirely wondered what the fuss was about that film! In fact, I’m slightly baffled by the rave reviews this is getting. The film has some moments, absolutely, and I did like Ralph Fiennes, the cinematography, the score, and aspects of whatever John Lithgow was doing, but Stanley Tucci was redundant.

And Conclave was needlessly slow, as opposed to slow-burn. Its Oscar-nominations seem strange at best, particularly, Isabella Rossellini — a great actress, but she was in this film for about two and a half minutes (seven and a half, actually). She delivered half of one good speech, but was it that good? And anyway, there’s a weird irony about a Supporting Actress nomination for this, a film about the weird, closed-ranks sexism of this strange, grotesque world that is the papacy. Anyway, there wasn’t really a story in this film. But it seemed damned pleased with itself for the way it held on to the idea that there might be until the final moments. And then gave us some sort of The Crying Game-esque ending, by which I only mean that the film’s whole big hook hangs on that end. Or does it? Did I miss something? Was I supposed to care about the men in religious frocks running around and having whispers?

I later watched The Room Next Door. Only (tiny) complaint was seeing John Turturro being hammy and over the top with strange, strange energy. But his role wasn’t important enough to neither make nor break the spirit of this movie.

What a lovely thing to watch. A soothing balm of a film in this age of anxiety and issue and chaos. Standout performances from reliably great actors — Julianne Moore and Tilda Swinton. And beautiful colours and cinematography throughout. The film, the feature-length English-language effort from cinema legend Pedro Almodóvar, feels like a moving painting. Moving is the word here too, in its multiple meanings. Another really terrific score too, because I’m a fucking bore and always notice that. Great film. Lovely. And yeah, that’s the right word to use. So I used it. Geez, I’ve thought a lot about how beautiful the colours, the design, the wardrobe choices, the saturation, and shooting of it all was. It’s like the colour of the film was a character in the film. Like an opulent version of Tangerine — where that movie existed on the cheap, and made a virtue out of its iPhone-shot colours, The Room Next Door is the stylised, big budget version that goes all on tech-spec to help it make its point.

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Both of the films I watched this weekend had me checking out the scores after — something I’ve not done as often as I used to of late. I’m still listening to a lot of film score, but I’m less likely to jump to the new releases. I loved the abrasive, jarring ‘sound design’-driven score for The Substance, which was released quite late after the movie. I loved Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross’ score for Challengers because I dug the film, and I’m generally a fan of their work. But I cannot believe it wasn’t nominated for the Oscars at least for score; a clear favourite I would have thought. In fact, the total snubbing of Challengers seems bizarre. I’d have figured it for editing, screenplay, score, and maybe cinematography, if not for any of the acting awards. Weird?

I’m baffled — as I suggested at the top — by Conclave’s number of award nominations. An okay film, at best. But absolutely an excellent and worthy performance from Fiennes. Will he win? I somehow think they’ll give it to Adrian Brody for The Brutalist, a movie I don’t really want to see, and feel I don’t need to see. I’m sure it’s not terrible, but I feel it’s just going to be a longer Conclave; a move that has enough sense of history and story for the people that want to buy into it, but is really a bit long nothing driven by decent-enough performances.

I would like Sebastian Stan to win for his excellent effort in The Apprentice. I loved this film.

Bit I can see that it’s now somewhat problematic. Imagine that dickwad of a president turning the victory of an actor there to excoriate him into a ‘win’ for himself and his presidency; imagine his dumbfuck fans playing along…

Still, the Best Actor category doesn’t feel as political as The Best Actress. Then again, it never does, right? This is the thing for the women and their work…

Demi Moore has to be the favourite, it’s her time! She was great in The Substance.

Just to be sure I watched it twice. A funny thing happened when I saw it for the second time too: I really loved Demi Moore’s role, and effort. The first time around I had, if anything, thought that maybe Margaret Qualley was the star, and my revision was long before the Oscar nominations were announced by the way.

Moore winning the Golden Globe is a pretty big sign, right? The announcement that she’d never won an acting award before — been a popular actor but not a critically acclaimed actor. I’m not saying any of this with a tone that suggests she’s not worthy of the win by the way. I truly do think it’s her time, not just something that’s been decided by the Academy as a “FairPlay” away of sorts (they do love to do that by the way).

I reckon Moore’s major competition is Mikey Madison. Anora is terrific, and Madison is excellent in it, and it’s kinda the opposite to the Moore story, an actor at the very start of her film career and the first peak of her powers. So that’s a good narrative too. And her effort in Anora is surely good enough to secure the win also.

It’s a tough category, you can make a case for every almost every actress. Karla Sofía Gascón (Emilia Pérez) is the first openly trans woman to be nominated for the award. Fantastic. But I can’t comment beyond that, as I am unlikely to watch the film — as it’s a) a musical, and b) not really my thing. Looks busy and silly, and not for me. But I’m real happy for her.

Fernanda Torres (I'm Still Here) is a fabulous actress also, and though I have yet to see I’m Still Here, I’ve no doubt she is brilliant in it. The trailer actually gave me goosebumps, and that’s something that never happens. I only feel good writing that sentence because it’s the actual truth. It did happen. And it never has before. If that hadn’t been the case, I’d have never written something so fucking cheesy. She also won the Golden Globe too — because the Globes has that split between drama and comedy, and it classed The Substance as a comedy.’

Finally, Cynthia Erivo (Wicked) — hahahahahahaha! No disrespect, well, actually, there’s quite a bit of disrespect meant in my laugh there, because fuck Wicked!

I’m not going to see that piece of shit, and I refuse to accept someone could get a Best Actress/Actor nomination for being in a movie of that tone — but hey, Hollywood loves to reflect in on itself, and celebrate “the movies” — so a film that nods to, links from, and exists because of another movie (in this case The Wizard of Oz) is probably going to win some awards. Bah Humbug!

A Complete Unknown is up for far too many awards also — Best Director, and the like. C’mon. Fuck off!

Anyway, I’ve run out of steam today. Those are some thoughts on the Oscars, for as much as I care to comment. Anything there that sparks you? What do you reckon? And what was I missing that was so good about bloody Conclave?