All Oscar Charts Updated

by Nathaniel R

Peggy (Anna Paquin) silently judging "The Irishman" as it moves up the charts

Every Oscar chart has been at least slightly revised with Joker, The Irishman, and The Two Popes on the rise while JoJo Rabbit and A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood take a few hits. For now we're only predicting two nominations for Richard Jewell though we do fear that it could grow larger still since critics and the Academy regularly lose their minds when confronted with the uneven acting and flat visuals of Clint Eastwood dramas. We'll never understand this annual glitch in the matrix.

Some risks we're taking at the moment: trying snubs for Frozen 2, Saoirse Ronan, Willem Dafoe, and Tom Hanks on for size to see how those particular charts feel without them as predicted nominees. 

Will they or won't they? It feels like Little Women and The Farewell are both on the bubble of a Best Picture nod. It would be fun to predict both but could they really overcome audience hit Ford V Ferrari and Eastwood bait Richard Jewell, simultaneously since both fit more neatly into the kind of stories (aka true and about men... sigh) that Oscar prefers?

UPDATED CHARTS 
INDEX | PICTURE | DIRECTOR
ACTRESS | ACTOR | SUPP' ACTRESS | SUPP' ACTOR | 
SCREENPLAYS | VISUAL | SOUND | 
ANIMATED & DOCUMENTARY | INTERNATIONAL FEATURE 

Review: Todd Haynes returns with "Dark Waters"

by Murtada Elfadl

You know you are in good hands when the actor chosen to come in and jumpstart the plot, give dimensionality to the film, or just wreck the audience hearts is Bill Camp. This is exactly who Todd Haynes chooses to do all three of these things in Dark Waters. Camp is a Virginia farmer who calls on a corporate lawyer he knows from the old neighborhood (Mark Ruffalo) to help him sue the big corporation that is killing his animals, his family and himself with the toxic waste they spill out in the water system and into the bodies of the unsuspecting.

This is just the tip of a big iceberg that Robert Bilott (Ruffalo) uncovers...

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The Whistlers: Film Noir Romanian-Style

by Cláudio Alves

As Noirvember comes to an end, it's interesting to peruse the current Awards hopefuls in search of some examples of film noir. Lynn Lee already defended the merits of Edward Norton's Motherless Brooklyn, but my attentions were drawn, as usual, to the Best International Feature category. Amid the record-breaking 91 submissions, we can find a peculiar experiment of deconstructed noir archetypes and mechanisms. It comes from one of those countries whose historical lack of a nomination is an absurdity and reflects poorly on the Academy.

I'm talking, of course, about Romania's The Whistlers…

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AARP "Grown-Up" Nominations

by Nathaniel R

 

The Two Popes leads the nominations for the 19th annual AARP "Movies for Grown-ups" Awards . The ceremony, which will also honor Annette Bening with the Career Achievement Award will be held on January 11th in Beverly Hills with Tony Danza hosting. These awards don't get much attention but we think they're worth noting each year since a good chunk of Oscar voters are in their target demographic as a magazine...

Best Picture/Best Movie for Grownups

• A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
• Bombshell
• The Farewell
• The Irishman
• Little Women
• Marriage Story
• Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
• The Two Popes

Bombshell sticks out in this crowd as 'one of these things is not like the others', doesn't it?

Best Actress

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Best of November ICYMI

One month left to go in the year. AND THE DECADE. We are not prepared. If you've been spottily visiting the site please return daily (things are picking up with great speed) but here are 12 highlights you won't want to have missed from the month we're wrapping up right now.

Highlights
• Parasite's Palme d'Or Loot it's now one of the most successful winners ever
• Mati Diop and Atlantics Murtada talks to 2019's most exciting new cinematic voice
• Soundtracking: Yentl Chris writes beautifully about Babs' 1983 triumph
• Over & Overs: Sister Act Kyndall used to sing in the choir. She loves Whoopi & co.
• Little Claudia in Interview with the Vampire Jason's 'Horror Actressing' series wants more...
• Parasite and films on economic disparity Lynn on recent Asian films that address the issue more cogently than American films have 
• Antonio Banderas, a singular sensation Nathaniel wonders where he's been.
• Frozen 2 Tim goes deep on Disney's latest blockbuster
• FYC Lulu Wang Cláudio makes a case for the director of The Farewell

Most Discussed
• Spirit Nominations Clemency, Farewell, and more...
• SAG Screenings Little Women, Bombshell, etc...
• Oscar Trivia Which films in history received the most nominations but missed Best Picture? It's a fascinating list.

COMING IN DECEMBER: Little Women, Bombshell, 1917, Marriage Story, Uncut Gems, Cats, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, more interviews with Oscar hopefuls, and Best of 2019 and Best of Decade List-Mania and Awards begin (but do not end) and run through Oscar week 2020.