Driver and Cotillard SING!

by Eric Blume

In other surprising/weird/interesting film projects ahead for us in 2020, filming just wrapped on Annette, a musical featuring Adam Driver and Marion Cotillard, and directed by French auteur Leos Carax. Apparently Driver plays a stand-up comedian and Cotillard an opera singer, whose lives take a twist with the birth of their daughter Annette, who is born with a "special gift".

The movie sounds gloriously bananas.  Is it in French or English, or both?  Leos Carax is, without hyperbole, one of the most idiosyncratic directors alive.  It's almost thirty years ago that he had Juliette Binoche waterskiing down the Seine in Les Amants du Pont-Neuf, and eight years ago that he mystified everyone with the accordions and role play of Holy Motors.  The man does not have a commercial bone in his body.

We know from Marriage Story that Driver can carry a tune. It's thrilling that at essentially the most pivotal time in his career, he's chosen to take a left turn with a movie like this.  And it's been far too long since Cotillard has had a great role.  She's utterly magnificent in Nine (not sorry, haters), and her two numbers in that film demonstrate her ability to both keep it simple / honest AND to fly into full-blown performance mode.  But...she's playing an opera singer?  Sounds iffy.   Still, Driver and Cotillard are two of the greatest actors working today, and matching them sounds wonderfully inspired.

This movie on paper truly earns the letters WTF.  Even if it doesn't land, it should at least be interesting!

Are these your Golden Globes speeches?

by Murtada Elfadl

Banderas with Catherine Zeta Jones at last year's ceremony

It’s almost time for the Golden Globes. Over the years they have given us many memorable speeches that we talked about for days after and influenced the rest of awards season. So it’s time to judge potential speeches Sunday night by evidence given at other awards ceremonies earlier this season. I’ve chosen the best actor drama category because I think the nominees are eclectic in their public style and personae. And play along by thinking of which of these speeches you'd like to see a replica of on Sunday.

If Antonio Banderas were to win, I think he will be charming. However more importantly he will be sincere in paying respect to Pedro Almodovar, who will be in the audience. Wouldn’t you like to see that? 

Adam Driver will be probably not be the most memorable. If we take a look at his speech from last month’s Gothams it’s mostly a list of names. He only shows genuine emotion when he mentions his wife. And perhaps that will be enough to provide a TV moment.

Joaquin Phoenix's speech might be an odd mix of earnest and weird, as evidenced by this speech at TIFF. Unfortunately he won't be able to ramble as much as he did here, or interrupt the presenter. Still he's my bet for giving a speech that might become the most unforgettable. Despite not caring much for Joker (it's fine), it looks like I'm a Phoenix voter when playing this game.

Christian Bale and Jonathan Pryce haven't given speeches this season yet. Or at least ones I could find on youtube. Based entirely on what speech you want to see on Sunday night, who do you want to win this category?

Marriage Story: A Personal Reflection

by Cláudio Alves

This awards season has been a curious one. Thanks to Netflix, a handful of heavy contenders were made widely available when, in other years, you'd expect them to be stuck in limited release until late January. Oscar obsessives and film enthusiasts around the world were able to enter a conversation that's usually exclusive to critics and cinephiles from New York and LA. This democratization of film discussion is wonderful, but along with it came some of the internet's worst impulses. I'm talking about memes.

Specifically, I'm talking about the meme-ification of Marriage Story's climactic fight, a moment that made me relieve some of the worst parts of my life…

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What's next for the cast of "Star Wars"?

by Cláudio Alves

For actors, franchises can be a gift and a curse simultaneously. Money is a plus, certainly, and so is the newfound fame and recognizability. However, such treasures often come at the cost of artistic risks and availability to do anything other than the series they're then chained to. Long preproduction, long shoots and even longer reshoots fill the calendar and then there are endless promotional tours. In the end, the victims of the franchises are the performers' fans.

With the "end" of the Skywalker saga, it's a good time to ponder what comes next for the stars of the third Star Wars trilogy. Will these actors be able to ride the wave of popularity into exciting careers or will they forever be tied to these Disney-owned characters? We'll see…

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Review: "Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker"

by Cláudio Alves

"Let the past die. Kill it, if you have to." were the desperate words of an angry man. "The greatest teacher, failure is." was the philosophy of a wise master. Somewhere in between the two sentiments, those of Kylo Ren and Yoda, lies the ethos of Rian Johnson's The Last Jedi. There's no place for toxic nostalgia in that director's vision of the Star Wars universe, though a critical look at what came before is necessary or else we're bound to never grow. Independently of Episode VIII's other faults, one would think such a theme would be unanimously celebrated and generate little to no controversy. One would be mistaken. 

Johnson's Star Wars feature sparked a wave of antagonistic discourse that's still active two years after its release. While the perpetual litigation of that production's merits is no one's idea of a good time, it's crucial to consider its themes when analyzing the latest episode in the saga. If every film in a franchise is having a conversation with its brethren, The Rise of Skywalker represents a repudiation of The Last Jedi's core ideals. JJ Abrams' return to the saga is an open celebration of uncritical nostalgia. Indeed, it appears to have been conceived more as a cowed response to fans' complaints than as a satisfying narrative…

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