Cinema Sight by Wesley Lovell

91st Oscars (2018), Precursors

The African American Film Critics Association has chosen Black Panther as the Best Film of the year, beating out If Beale Street Could Talk based on their top ten of the year. Most interesting, BlacKkKlansman, which received two awards for writing and lead actor, didn’t make the top ten selections. There isn’t a lot of predictive value to this group’s selection, though a lot of their choices are already Oscar contenders, which is a wonderful thing.

Award Tallies

(3) Black Panther
(2) BlacKkKlansman, The Hate U Give

The Awards

Trailer Watch: Captain Marvel (2019) Updated

Wesley Lovell

Trailer Watch

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New Trailer (#2) / New Poster (#2)

Captain Marvel, updated

Preview Link: CLICK HERE for all of the new content as well as the original.

Trailer Watch: Welcome to Marwen (2018) Updated

Wesley Lovell

Trailer Watch

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New Trailer (#3) / New Poster (#9)

Welcome to Marwen, updated

Preview Link: CLICK HERE for all of the new content as well as the original.

The DVD Report #598

Peter J Patrick

DVD Report

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New This Week

Mission: Impossible – Fallout is the sixth film in the now 23-year-old franchise that was based on the highly successful 1960s TV series that ran from 1966-1969.

Not a remake of the TV series, Tom Cruise’s character, Ethan Hunt is an agent in the same elite covert operations team that was led by Peter Graves’ Jim Phelps character, played in the 1996 film by Jon Voight, a character long gone from the film series.

The latest film is the first actual sequel, all the others were stand-alone stories. Following events set in motion by 2011’s Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, the film brings back Michelle Monaghan as Cruise’s ex-wife Julia, featured in 2006’s Mission Impossible: III.

Julia is now remarried to a doctor without borders played by Wes Bentley. They feature in the film’s climax but are not prominent in the earlier portions of the film which focus on Cruise, new partner Henry Cavill, old partners Ving Rhames and Simon Pegg, and MI-6’s Rebecca Ferguson from 2015’s Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation. Alec Baldwin from that film is also on board, as is Angela Bassett who, along with Baldwin, represents Cruise’s controllers.

The new film, which clocks in at 2 hours and 27 minutes, was written and directed by Christopher McQuarrie (The Usual Suspects) who previously did the same for Rogue Nation.

This Day in Oscar History: December 11 (2018)

Wesley Lovell

This Day in Oscar History

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Here’s what happened today in Oscar History.

Born

Died

Released

Poll: Now That You’ve Seen “Mary Queen of Scots”

Wesley Lovell

Polls

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Polls

Now That You’ve Seen Mary Queen of Scots…?

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Film Preview: Pimp (2018)

Wesley Lovell

Film Previews

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Page Revisions:

(December 9, 2018) Original

Release Date:

November 9, 2018

Synopsis:

From IMDb: “An urban love story set on the hard streets of the Bronx. A struggling female Pimp, named Wednesday, grows up learning the game from her dad. Once he’s gone she’s left to look out for her prostitute mother and girlfriend Nikki.”

Poster Rating: D

SEE ALL POSTERS BELOW
Review: There is way too much white in this design, from the clothing to the grayed lettering, everything sits together poorly.

Trailer Rating: B+

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Review: The aural background, the visual foreground, and the cut of this trailer all make the film seem like a potent and interesting film.

Oscar Prospects:

None.

Trailer #1

Film Preview: The New Romantic (2018)

Wesley Lovell

Film Previews

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Page Revisions:

(December 9, 2018) Original

Release Date:

November 9, 2018

Synopsis:

From IMDb: “Frustrated with the lack of chivalrous guys her own age, a college senior gives up on dating for love to date an older man in exchange for gifts instead.”

Poster Rating: C

SEE ALL POSTERS BELOW
Review: A neon heart and title on top of a bland background and uneventful visage doesn’t make a strong statement.

Trailer Rating: B+

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Review: While the premise doesn’t seem that fresh, the trailer suggests there is something we haven’t seen a lot of lurking at the edges of this film.

Oscar Prospects:

None.

Trailer #1

Oscar Preview: Weekend of Dec. 7-9, 2018

Wesley Lovell

Oscar Preview

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We had one film release this past weekend with the potential for Oscar nominations.

Mary Queen of Scots

In Oscar history, period epic dramas have been a staple, gracing countless Oscar ceremonies and winning numerous awards. Mary Queen of Scots looks to be just the kind of movie the Academy has always loved to recognized. So, why does it feel like an also-ran?

The first sign of trouble came when critics reviewed the film. While they have been uniformly positive (68% on Rotten Tomatoes and 64 on MetaCritic), they aren’t the stuff of Oscar juggernauts. Matter of fact, the film has been almost ignored by the precursor awards so far, including the more friendly Golden Globes. Sure, the Satellite Awards gave it a few mentions, but they aren’t a group Oscar voters typically look to for validation.

The film sports Oscar nominees Saoirse Ronan and Margot Robbie, two of the biggest young actresses working today. It’s a period feast that’s sure to figure in at least Production Design and Costume Design, but the film itself just can’t seem to get a toe-hold in this year’s race. While Ronan and Robbie both look to give fiery performances, the critics are looking in other directors for their choices, which means neither is likely to compete this year.

Oscar Preview: Precursor Winners & Losers, Week 4

Wesley Lovell

91st Oscars (2018), Oscar Preview, Precursors

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As the precursor awards continue unabated until Oscar night, I’m going to be providing a weekly update highlighting the films that have won and lost momentum through the precursor awards (and in some cases other outside influences).

A slew of precursors have been handed out this week and most of the major ones have been announced. We have a few big ones still to go (such as the Broadcast Film Critics Association, Kansas City Film Critics, and the Online Film Critics Society), but we’re also about to hit the guild nominations with Screen Actors Guild leading the way next week.

But, before we get into this week’s winners and losers, let’s take a look at what’s coming up this week:

Week 5

Tue. 11 – Houston Critics (Nominations) (Unconfirmed)
Tue. 11 – Phoenix Critics (Nominations) (Unconfirmed)
Wed. 12 – Dallas Area Critics (Awards) (Unconfirmed)
Wed. 12 – African American Critics (Awards) (Unconfirmed)
Wed. 12 – Screen Actors (Nominations) (Official)
Wed. 12 – Goya Awards (Nominations) (Unconfirmed)
Thu. 13 – Las Vegas Critics (Awards) (Unconfirmed)
Fri. 14 – Austin Critics (Nominations) (Unconfirmed)
Fri. 14 – Vancouver Critics (Nominations) (Unconfirmed)
Sat. 15 – Phoenix Circle (Awards) (Unconfirmed)
Sat. 15 – Black Critics (Awards) (Unconfirmed)
Sun. 16 – Boston Critics (Awards) (Official)
Sun. 16 – Kansas City Critics (Awards) (Unconfirmed)
Sun. 16 – St. Louis Critics (Awards) (Unconfirmed)
Mon. 17 – Indiana Journalists (Awards) (Unconfirmed)
Mon. 17 – Seattle Critics (Awards) (Unconfirmed)
Mon. 17 – Southeastern Critics (Awards) (Unconfirmed)
Mon. 17 – Utah Critics (Awards) (Unconfirmed)
Mon. 17 – Vancouver Critics (Awards) (Unconfirmed)

Big Winners

Precursor: 2nd Seattle Critics Nominations (2018)

Wesley Lovell

91st Oscars (2018), Precursors

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Another decent showing for First Man. Does this mean the film will be performing better at the Oscars? Unlikely as the five nominations the film got were below the line (save Claire Foy). The Favourite did incredibly well, as did Roma, Black Panther, and If Beale Street Could Talk. Mission: Impossible – Fallout even managed a Best Picture citation among its five nominations, which is solid, though A Star Is Born didn’t have a great day below the line.

Nominations Tallies

(11) The Favourite
(8) Roma
(7) Black Panther, If Beale Street Could Talk
(5) First Man, Mission: Impossible – Fallout
(4) First Reformed, A Star Is Born
(3) Blindspotting, Widows

The Nominations

Precursor: 24th Broadcast Critics Nominations (2018)

Wesley Lovell

91st Oscars (2018), Precursors

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Aided by the comedy categories, The Favourite pulled in the most nominations of the year with Black Panther doing incredibly well as well. First Man gets the first serious attention it’s received all season with double-digit nominations. Roma didn’t do nearly as well as the others, but had a solid run, though Green Book was probably the weakest represented. Apart from that, with all of the extra slots, this group seems to have covered most of its bases for major Oscar contenders.

Nominations Tallies

(14) The Favourite
(12) Black Panther
(10) First Man
(9) Mary Poppins Returns, A Star Is Born, Vice
(8) Roma
(7) Green Book
(5) If Beale Street Could Talk
(4) BlacKkKlansman, Crazy Rich Asians
(3) Bohemian Rhapsody, Can You Ever Forgive Me?, Deadpool 2, Eighth Grade, Game Night, A Quiet Place, Widows

The Nominations

The Morning After: Dec. 10, 2018

Wesley Lovell

Morning After

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Welcome to The Morning After, where I share with you what movies I’ve seen over the past week. Below, you will find short reviews of those movies along with a star rating. Full length reviews may come at a later date.

So, here is what I watched this past week:

The Favourite

My first exposure to director Yorgos Lanthimos was his futuristic satire The Lobster starring Rachel Weisz and Colin Farrell. That film was certainly bizarre, but showed a great flavor for the unusual, making him a director to look out for each time he releases a film.

The Favourite has a lot of Lanthimos’ trademark quirkiness, but it’s a more straight forward period drama than what he’s done previously. Olivia Colman plays Queen Anne, an 18th century English monarch whose short rein was filled with the kind of pablum that doesn’t often make great movies. Except this one, which centers around the relationship of Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough (Rachel Weisz) and her cousin Abigail Hill (Emma Stone) as she seeks a job after her family financial collapse. As Abigail weeds her way into Anne’s life, Sarah plays her political hand too strongly, risking her royal friendship and allowing Abigail an opening.

Review: Isle of Dogs (2018)

Wesley Lovell