Day: February 4, 2020
-
BAFTA The Party’s Over
The British Academy Film Awards are somewhat of a black sheep in the trinity of lavish, self-indulgent film awards ceremonies in the early months of each new year. Their bizarre practice of pre-recording the ceremony – so the winners end up announced before it’s even televised – then editing out a bunch of the technical and ‘smaller’ awards, makes it a very lacklustre viewing experience. Though that being said, there’s a lot to say about the awards and the ceremony itself. First, and most obvious, is the sweep of “1917”. Seven wins out of nine nominations, only losing Makeup and Hair to “Bombshell” and Original Score to “Joker”. Not unexpected given the film’s staggering momentum this awards season, plus the film being British which the BAFTAs highly favour. But it’s still telling. Expect “1917” to make a similar sweep of the upcoming Academy Awards, with a near-guaranteed shot at Best Picture and Best Director, winning both of its equivalents here.
-
Sundance Exclusive Review: Promising Young Woman
“Promising Young Woman” is one of those films that begins with a very good idea. Ideas that involve the camera lasciviously objectifying men on a dance floor the way women typically are. Granted, it’s played for laughs rather than sex appeal, since there’s nothing resembling eye candy, but you can’t have everything. Or maybe it’s an early indicator of what the movie’s real agenda is, which is condemning anyone who violates its ideas of what good behaviour should be, rather than people who suffer from such expectations. Not that it’s a bad idea to condemn violence, which is the real villain in “Promising Young Woman.” In case the marketing left any doubt, the movie addresses a very specific kind of violence that dares not speak its name here.
-
Review: Waiting For Anya
“Waiting for Anya” (2020) feels like a good learning resource for a school history lesson. Its drama is gentle, the people are all very clean and the peril is mild. But it still helps to shine a light on the brave townsfolk all around Europe who risked death to smuggle others to safety across the borders. Based on the children’s novel of the same name by “War Horse” author Michael Morpurgo, “Waiting for Anya” (2020) tells the story of Jo (Noah Schnapp from “Stranger Things”), a young shepherd living in a remote village in the south of France in 1942. His father is a prisoner of war and his mother and grandfather are sheep farmers.
-
Best Actress of the Decade, Entry No. 2: Natalie Portman
To celebrate the last decade 2010-2019 we are counting down the best actresses and discussing some of their most notable and memorable performances of the last decade. With the help of Film Twitter, the ITOL team have selected 30 actresses. Entry No. 2 is Natalie Portman, and writer Michael Frank discusses his favourite performances by Portman over the last decade.
In Their Own League 