Happy 2022!

Happy 2022, everyone! This last year was another surreal one, full of ups and downs. This year was spent mostly watching Star Wars shows, Marvel Cinematic Universe, and returning to some old favorites. Probably my favorite film I saw this year was Dune, favorite show was Star Wars: Rebels.

Other highlights were marathoning Star Wars: Clone Wars, weekly viewings of Star Wars: The Bad Batch, watching every Marvel film made so far plus Loki--such a great show!--and being inspired by Nomadland. It was also fun to go to a few Rifftrax: Live shows in the theater.

I'm hoping to keep watching new and old films in 2022 and make a few more themed lists for everyone. I never did actually make my list of 25 under-appreciated films, but I am working on re-watching all of Jean Pierre-Jeunet's films. Look for that soon!

Best wishes!

Nomadland

Nomadland (Chloe Zhao, 2020)

Click here for the basics

Rating: Q=8, P=7 / Obsession

Scale 1=4, Scale 2=4, Scale 3=4, Scale 4=3

Grief/Coping, Pseudo-Documentary, Social Realism, Travel

This film is a poem. So beautiful. Chloe Zhao has made a masterpiece (only her third film!). I felt like I was watching something momentous in the history of filmmaking. Frances McDormand is incredible--her performance feels so candid, emotional, and meaningful. Watching Fern embrace a nomad lifestyle as she copes with so much loss is moving and important. Through Fern we see ourselves as individuals and as a broken species. As she says at the beginning of the film, she is not homeless, just houseless. Who is to say that the human society we've created--with mortgages, regular schedules, jobs with insurance and benefits, etc.--is the way we should be living?

This film definitely deserved the Best Picture and Best Actress awards. Probably my favorite Best Picture winner in quite a while. Magnificent.

--Don't understand the ratings? Click here

Oscar Dash 2021: The Results

And the winner is...Nomadland! Can't wait to see this film when I can.

For a full list of winners, click here.

Oscar Dash 2021: The Nominations

It's that time of year again...well, actually it's much later than usual. Oscar Dash 2021. I have had most of these movies in my queue for a while now and plan to watch them all before the winners are announced April 25. Here are the nominees for best picture:

Judas and the Black Messiah

The Father

The Trial of the Chicago 7

Nomadland

Minari

Sound of Metal

Promising Young Woman

Mank