In an effort to break out of my silence -- October is my favorite month so why has it been so hard? -- micro thoughts on 5 Oscar hopefuls I meant to review but didn't. Whoops. Please to discuss in the comments.
Battle of the Sexes (Jonathan Dayton & Valerie Faris)
The story of Billie Jean King's (Emma Stone) famous 1973 match with Bobby Riggs (Steve Carell) and her efforts to make women's tennis viable in a sexist industry
Capsule: A timely well-crafted look back to the beginnings of a gender war that's depressingly still raging and a soupçon of queer romance to give it unique personality. Dayton & Faris's light touch is the right choice for this briskly-paced but delicately felt recreation of a pivotal American moment. Emma Stone is perfection as the heroic tight shouldered athlete at the center. Just discussed on the podcast. B+
Oscar Chances: This one could go either way. Much will depend on how smart Fox Searchlight is at selling it to voters. Though maybe don't bet against Emma Stone returning to Best Actress; she's very burrowed into King's skin but still as sunny as Emma Stone.
Blade Runner 2049, Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool, Victoria and Abdul and the Shape of Water are after the jump
Blade Runner 2049 (Denis Villeneuve)
"K" (Ryan Gosling) attempts to uncover the mystery of buried replicant bones ... which leads him to Deckard (Harrison Ford) long in hiding.
Capsule: Villeneuve has injected the 1982 classic's rain-soaked existential sadness into his blood but hasn't managed to absorb its ambiguous throughline or edgy eroticism. They're both greatly missed but the amazing craftsmanship is truly something to behold. There's nothing here to match Rutger Hauer's Oscar-worthy work as Roy Beatty in the original film but a wonderful array of character faces and the aforementioned design hold the camera rapt throughout. Top notch, if unnecessary, fan fiction though it's unlikely to inspire 35 years worth of discussion which will then prompt another sequel in 2052. B
Oscar Chances: Could be a major contender in tech categories. I'm doubtful it's a Mad Max Fury Road, though, as some excitable pundits have been suggesting.
Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool (Paul McGuigan)
A young actor (Jamie Bell) recalls his turbulent affair with Gloria Grahame (Annette Bening), when the movie star returns to his life with very bad news.
Capsule: Not quite the duet you are expecting. The film is more Peter Turner's story (Jamie Bell rises to the challenge with best film performance) as he grapples with a career that's going nowhere, dating an older woman who is also a temperamental former movie star. Curiously the film rarely finds its way into Gloria's headspace. That's saved up for one riveting setpiece where the tables are turned on your feelings about their faltering romance. Occassionally buoyant (Bell & Bening dancing to disco music is bliss) but more often sad and intricately moody. If I hear this compared to My Week With Marilyn one more time, I'll scream. It's better in nearly every conceivable way, from casting to control of tone to performances. B
Oscar Chances: A shot at Best Actress but the terrible release date (December 29th now? UGH) does not bode well.
Shape of Water (Guillermo del Toro)
A mute cleaning woman (Sally Hawkins) falls in love with a fish-like humanoid imprisoned in a government testing facility. She attempts to enlist her hesistant friends (Octavia Spencer & Richard Jenkins) to help her rescue him.
Capsule: You can see what del Toro is up to from the very first frames; The Shape of Water's magic is perhaps too mechanical. But this is a small gripe that we'll file next to another minor one (Michael Shannon, pull it down a notch or three) and the big one "why are you focusing on plot when the character beats are this extraordinary!?" Still, whatever small reservations, this is a rare magical experience aimed at adults and looks and sounds delicious. Bonus points for its warm love of its characters and the surprisingly sex-positive point of view. B+
Oscar Chances: A major threat for nominations in virtually every category but for the one's it's ineligible for (Best Actor, Song, Foreign Film... that sorta thing)
Victoria and Abdul (Stephen Frears)
Her Majesty Mrs Brown... several years later with a new "inappropriate" friendship for the government to freak out over. She's incorrigible in that way.
Capsule: Smarter than you'd expect -- the film is acutely aware if perhaps too glib about the charges of "colonial propaganda" that will be hurled at it. Despite its redundancies (in some respects it's the same few scenes over and over again)., it's quite watchable with beautiful costumes, enjoyably broad performances, and enough humor to classify it as a historical comedy rather than a historical drama. But the only reason anyone is going is to see the Dame Judi Dench show and she delivers. In that respect you'd have to give it a higher grade than our C+
Oscar Chances: A possibility, though no sure thing, in both Costume Design and Best Actress