December 11, 2020
If there was any doubt that Winter was upon us, I got the cold hard reality slap to the face this past weekend when Mother Nature delivered a snowstorm to the Northeast. Last Saturday featured my annual inner monologue of “Why the [expletive deleted] do I live in Connecticut again?” while snow blowing our driveway. That was decidedly NOT my moment of happiness this past week. Oh well, at least I have movies to keep me distracted from the next few months of cold and snow. And since Winter is officially here, that means we are on to part two of my Winter movie preview. If you missed part one, you can find it here.
Before we dive in, a quick follow up on a few films I covered in my Fall Preview series (available here – Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3) that are becoming more widely available. I won’t say too much, as I want to save something for my upcoming series on the year in film, but here’s a directional recommendation: Hillbilly Elegy – don’t bother. The Trial of the Chicago 7 – If you are a fan of Aaron Sorkin, watch this one on Netflix. Nomadland – if you can find it in a theater (or in a virtual cinema online), see it. If not, add it to your list. Sound of Metal – watch it on Amazon Prime and enjoy an amazing performance by Riz Ahmed and an innovative use of sound mixing. Mank – if you’ve never seen Citizen Kane, watch it first (or if you have, watch it again, because it’s Citizen Kane) and then check out Mank on Netflix.
Speaking of Mank, after my post last week, my sister’s friend Susan commented that while streaming services are nice, there is nothing like seeing a movie on the big screen. I whole-heartedly agree and was lucky enough to find Mank playing at a local theater right before Thanksgiving and decided to check it out. It’s funny because this was the same theater that I went to about a year ago to see The Irishman, which started the conversation at Thanksgiving last year that inspired this blog. If you are not familiar with my origin story, you can read it here. Mank was beautiful on the big screen and was a nice reminder of why I love seeing films in a theater. Despite the trend in streaming services, I sure hope the theater model survives in some form for a long time to come. Ok, now we’re really on to part two.
An Inspirational Final Performance – Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Only twice in Oscars history has an actor won an Academy Award posthumously. Peter Finch (Best Actor for Network in 1976) and Heath Ledger (Best Supporting Actor for The Dark Knight in 2008) were both honored after their death. There is a strong possibility we could see a third occurrence this year with Chadwick Boseman, who tragically passed away in August after a battle with colon cancer, for his performance in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom. The film is based on a stage play by August Wilson and stars Viola Davis alongside Boseman as blues musicians during a tense recording session one afternoon in a Chicago studio. Boseman is receiving rave reviews for his performance, which comes on the heels of his impressive turn in Spike Lee’s Da 5 Bloods earlier this summer. Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom premieres on Netflix on December 18th.
Another Oscar Front Runner – Pieces of a Woman
Every once in a while, we see a transcendent performance from an actress that captures a moment during awards season and catapults that actress to another level. As I began reading about Pieces of a Woman, starring Vanessa Kirby and Shia LaBeouf, I started thinking about Room, the 2015 film that featured Brie Larson in a career-changing performance that won her an Oscar for Best Actress. Kirby plays a woman who suffers a tragedy at the beginning of the film and must learn to cope with the aftermath of that incident, along with her husband (played by LaBeouf), and her mother (played by acting legend Ellen Burstyn). I’ve read that the beginning of this film is harrowing to watch, but Kirby’s performance is extraordinary in the film and she will likely be in the mix when we get to this year’s award season. While she may be best known for her role in The Crown, she’s also appeared in the Mission: Impossible franchise and other action films. This performance will likely make her a household name. Pieces of a Woman opens in select theaters on December 30th before premiering on Netflix on January 7th.
Demented and Sad, but Social – Promising Young Woman
I have no idea why that phrase just popped into my head. Actually, yes I do. As I was thinking about a word to describe the lead character in this film, “demented” came to mind, and of course, the line from The Breakfast Club followed because I’ve seen that movie a million times and parts of it are buried deep in the recesses of my mind. Sigh. OK, I actually wrote about Promising Young Woman wayyyyy back in February when I wrote about the Sundance Film Festival. It’s finally getting a release at the end of this month. Carey Mulligan plays a young woman with a mysterious past who takes it upon herself to exact revenge on men who prey on women at bars. It looks like a creepy thriller with Mulligan having a lot of fun in the lead role. Promising Young Woman opens in theaters on Christmas. One note about this film’s release – it’s being distributed by Focus Features, which is part of Universal Pictures. Last week, I noted that Universal is testing out a strategy with theatrical releases becoming available on demand after a few weeks. So, this one may be available to rent in mid-January. Stay tuned.
A Disney Christmas Present – Pixar’s Soul
As I have written before, I’ve never been a big consumer of animation films. It’s not that I dislike them, it’s just a genre that I have never invested my time in watching. That being said, when it comes to Pixar films, I feel like they are a cut above the rest when it comes to quality. Starting with Toy Story 25 years ago, Pixar has released some of the most entertaining and innovative stories over the years, including Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, and WALL-E. Soul was written and directed by Pete Docter, who has been with Pixar since 1990, and has been involved in all of the studio’s notable films over the years, including serving as writer and director for Monsters Inc., Up, and Inside Out (which I thought was very good). Soul stars Jamie Foxx as a jazz music teacher who suffers an accident and has his soul separated from his body. The film explores the journey of his soul, and his encounters with other souls, including one played by Tina Fey. This film is getting outstanding reviews in early previews, and after watching this, I will likely be exploring the Pixar library to see some of the films I missed over the years, and rewatching some of the classics. Soul premieres on Disney+ on Christmas.
A Blockbuster in Your Living Room – Wonder Woman 1984
The release of this film has been covered extensively over the last several weeks, and I discussed it in my post last week. But what about the movie itself? It’s a sequel to the first Wonder Woman film starring Gal Gadot, released in 2017 and directed by Patty Jenkins. The first film was a monster success and I thought it was well done. Jenkins is back directing the sequel (and co-writing the script) and this time Gadot is squaring off against a villain played by Kristen Wiig. I’m a little skeptical of Wiig in this role, but based on the trailer and the early reviews, I’m becoming more optimistic. It’s got a nice 1980s vibe and based on my (old) age, I think I will enjoy the 1980s nostalgia. And hey, we can’t let 2020 go by without a blockbuster, right? Did you know that 2020 is the first year since 2009 without a Marvel movie? I’m not a regular MCU consumer, but even I can acknowledge that’s a big deal. Speaking of blockbusters, if you (like most of the country) missed Tenet, it’s available next week on DVD, Blu Ray and digital. I liked it a lot and will cover my thoughts on it as part of my upcoming series on 2020. Wonder Woman 1984 will be released on Christmas on HBO Max (for one month only) and in theaters.
The Epic Western – News of the World
The trailer for this film was recently released and it looks like just the type of sweeping epic film we’d expect at the end of the year ahead of awards season. Tom Hanks reunites with writer-director Paul Greengrass, who he worked with on the excellent 2013 film Captain Phillips, in this story based on a 2016 novel. Hanks plays a Civil War veteran who makes his living as a news reader, someone who travels from town to town to share the news of the world with people for a fee. Along the way, he comes across a young girl who has just been released from four years of captivity. He agrees to bring her back to her aunt and uncle across the country and the film chronicles their journey. The girl is played by Helena Zengel, a German actress who will be making her American film debut. I’m hopeful this will be a film that lives up to the promise of the trailer and the director / actor pedigree. News of the World opens in theaters on Christmas. Similar to Promising Young Woman, this film will be released by Universal Pictures, so there is a chance it could make a quick appearance on demand in January. We’ll see.
The Futuristic Sci-Fi Adventure – The Midnight Sky
An astronomer doing research in the Arctic in a post-apocalyptic world is faced with a crisis when he realizes that there has been a catastrophic event in the outside world that he isolated from. George Clooney stars in the lead role and directs the film, based on the 2016 novel Good Morning, Midnight. I don’t know much more about this film, other than watching the trailer, which looks very intriguing without revealing too much of the plot. I purposely don’t want to learn anything else, so I don’t have any details spoiled. I have a great deal of respect for Clooney as an actor and filmmaker. In recent years, he has been focusing more of his attention on humanitarian causes, so if he is going to take time to direct and star in a film with a complex storyline (including filming in Iceland!), I’m going to trust that it will pay off. The Midnight Sky will premiere on Netflix on December 23rd.
That’s it for this week. I hope you enjoyed this Winter Movie preview and found a few films to add to your list. Here’s what I have coming up – January will be primarily a series of my thoughts on the year in film, including my top 10 list. After that, thanks to a great suggestion from my friend and former colleague John, I think I’m going to dive into some of the wonderful TV series that we’ve seen the last several years. But before all of that, next week I’m going to wrap up the year with a fun little post that will look at two of our most talented actors in a head to head matchup across a series of categories that only someone with a mind as demented as mine could come up with. Want a hint? They are featured in two movies coming soon that I previewed above. Thanks again for reading and if you’d like to be notified of future posts, you can subscribe here.
Thanks Steve. I’ll have to watch for some of these movies when they come out.