'Promising News in Miami'

by Nathaniel R

Good news for those still stuck at home, which is most of us. Both the provocative Carey Mulligan vehicle Promising Young Woman and the thoughtful Tom Hanks western News of the World are arriving On Demand starting Friday, January 15th (a week from tomorrow!). Coincidentally that's also Regina King's birthday and the day her directorial debut, One Night in Miami, begins streaming on Amazon Prime. It's like Regina is giving us a gift for her birthday. Generous!

So circle that date on your calendar. You'll be able to have a delicious Best Picture hopeful triple feature weekend. Your mileage will of course vary on whether each of these three are worthy of a "Best" stamp but at the very least they're all interesting and handsomely made movies and as a triple feature they offer a ton of variety in tone and theme and acting styles.

Which are you most eager to see? 

What did you see over Christmas weekend?

Here's the Christmas weekend box office in the U.S. The domestic box office was, of course, still scant due to the pandemic...

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Oscar Chart Updates: Production Design and Film Editing

We've been discussing each Oscar chart this past week or so so let's finish up the visuals with Production Design and Film Editing.

PRODUCTION DESIGN
Beyond Mank, which features Oscar nominees Donald Graham Burt and Jan Pascale recreating Classic Hollywood this field remains something of an 'anything is possible' mystery. Best Picture heat often helps in the 'below-the-line' categories. But, even acknowledging that fact, many of the hottest Best Picture contenders like Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, One Night in Miami, Minari, and Nomadland, have by their very intimate story natures, not a lot of visible art direction happening. It's not that they aren't beautifully designed but you know how at the Oscars it's pretty standard that "MOST = BEST"...

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Yes No Maybe So: News of the World

by Nathaniel R

Suddenly we're feeling quite prophetic in expecting News of the World to receive a multitude of Oscar nominations. Universal has finally given us more than just a film still and the western drama looks exciting and robust. Check out the trailer and Yes No Maybe So after the jump...

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New Oscar Predictions: Supporting Actress

by Nathaniel R

With most of this year's buzziest titles featuring large casts filled with men, and with the general shortage of movies, Supporting Actress is looking much less competitive than usual. At least so far. This is why we're feeling so confident that the one to watch is 12 year old Helena Zengel of the western drama News of the World. It's a large role -- she plays the kidnapped girl that Tom Hanks is out to rescue -- and just last year with Germany's Oscar submission System Crasher, she made international waves receiving a nomination for Best Actress at the European Film Awards. Of course the film might not open. Nothing is certain this season...

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