OSCAR NOMINEES? YES. 1001 BOOK WORTHY? REMAINS TO BE SEEN.

In determining what films will make the updated edition of the 1001 Movie Book, it's a good idea to look at the Best Picture Nominees from the previous year. Usually at least half of them make the cut.
I'm assuming of course that there will be an updated edition this year. I've listed these movies in what I think is likely to make the updated book.

1. Parasite-Boon Joon-ho's film of the have and have nots took home the Best Picture and Best Foreign Language Oscar and even motivated people who don't normally watch Foreign language films to check it out. This is a sure thing to make the book. (Best Picture Winner, International Film Winner)

Parasite

2. Jojo Rabbit-This offbeat film of a kid in Nazi Germany coping with a Jewish girl hiding in his house while being shadowed by his imaginary friend named Adolph has enough laughs, drama and critical acclimation to make the book (Best Picture Nominee)

 Jojo Rabbit

3.1917-This one long shot story of two soldiers racing to the front during WW1 has a chance to make it for the technical achievement alone. It's also important that you care about the people in the story that he makes it and we (at least I) do. This one should get in. (Best Picture Nominee)

 

1917

4.Joker-The retelling of the Joker origin story through a different lens than we are used to seems to be broken down into camps of loving it and hating it. I do think most agree on the emotionally powerfull performance of Joqauin Phoenix. I think this one gets in. (Best Picture Nominee)

Joker

5. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood-Quentin Tarantino's tale of Hollywood during the time of the Tate/Labianca murders has everything but Charles Manson's kitchen sink in it. I think this one gets in. though Tarantino's The Hateful Eight did not. (Best Picture Nominee)

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

6.Marriage Story-Story about the breakup of a bi-coastal marriage is a strong family drama with stellar performances. I'm on the fence whether this one gets in the book. (Best Picture Nominee)

 Marriage Story

7. The Irishman-Long film about teamster Jimmy Hoffa has been criticized for being too long and not quite to the level of some of other Scorsese films. I liked it, but still don't think it gets in.

8. Ford v. Ferrari-60's racing biography of Ken Miles and Carroll Shelby is an fine film and I learned about a story I knew little about. I still don't see this one getting in the book. (Best Picture Nominee)

Ford v. Ferrari

9. Little Women-Nice, well-acted update of the classic even has sort of a meta-twist between the character of Jo and Louisa May Alcott. I still don't think it gets in the book. (Best Picture Nominee)

Little Women

10. Toy Story 4-The first two Toy Story movies have been in different versions of the book and you really should see all four. I'm pretty sure Part 4 won't make the book, but you've gone this far with the toys, so you might as well see it to the end! (Best Animated Feature winner)

Toy Story 4

11. American Factory-Fascinating story of a Detroit motor plant being taken over by Chinese management is definitely worth a watch. Documentaries have been slighted by the book in recent years and don't think this one gets in either. (Best Documentary winner)

American Factory

12. Judy-Renee Zellweger's great star turn as the older Judy Garland is work a look-especially fans on Hollywood bio's.Still very unlikely this makes the book. (Best Actress Winner)

Judy

THE UP SERIES (1964-2019, GREAT BRITAIN)

Given me a child when he is seven and I will give you the man.-Jesuit proverb

The featured players of the Up series

at different life stages

In 1964, Granada television in Britain chose fourteen seven-year-old subjects for a television special about what it was like to be that age. This original film was directed by Paul Diamond and was originally supposed to be a one and off special. The subjects of the film were chosen by a young researcher named Michael Apted, who saw the potential for something really special here. Apted took over as director of the project and filmed the children again at age fourteen in 1970. He then filmed all the subjects in the film every seven years (all that would participate) all the way until 63 Up in 2019.

I had heard about this series over the years, but never watched it. We got the 56 Up! DVD at the library a couple of years ago, but really wanted to see the films from the beginning. In recent weeks, I noticed Britbox had all the episodes and my wife and I decided to plunge in and watch them.

I don't binge watch shows often, but The Up Series is definitely one I'd recommend going that route with. I feel like I just met these seven-year-old kids a couple of weeks ago and watching a show a night, they quickly are all reaching retirement age. It acts like an only slightly less speedy Picture of Dorian Gray with the featured kids.

We see the participants make schooling decisions, marriage decisions, career decisions and family decisions. Through the episodes, the extended family of the participants become players in this drama as well. Other participants keep their family out of it entirely. We also see past shows cleverly edited into each new show to give the viewer perspective.

One of the elements in the choosing of the original subjects is class. You have the prep school boys, seemingly born with silver spoons in their mouth and poorer East End kids that have to struggle for everything. The truth is of course much more complicated than that.

Here are the subjects for the film:

John, Andrew and Charles on the couch

in 14 Up

The Three Prep School Boys on the Couch

John Brisby, one of the upper class kids, was seemingly on the path to being a barrister from age seven. He likes to point out in later episodes that he had to struggle a lot more than what is portrayed in the earlier films.

Andrew Brackfield was one of the funniest of the seven year old kids, going on about he read The Financial Times on a daily basis. He later became a solicitor, but seems to spend a lot of time in his garden as the years go on. He appears to have one of the happier marriages and families in the film.

Charles Furneaux is the third of the Prep School boys. Charles didn't participate in any films after 21 Up, despite later becoming a documentary filmmaker himself!

Jackie, Lynn and Sue on the slide at age seven

The Three Working Class Girls on the Couch

Jackie Bassett is one of the three girls in the film that are usually filmed together. Her life has had her ups and downs with marriages, kids, work and health. She often seems to have a love/hate relationship with director Apted. I find her one of the most interesting subjects in the film.

Lynn Johnson was one of Jackie's friends who definitely had her ups and downs. She married young and had a family early, but kept her marriage together throughout her life. I certainly like the fact that she worked at libraries and a bookmobile for many years. She had many health issues over the years which she talks about in many episodes. She died in 2013 at the age of 57.

Sue Davis is the third of the three girls filmed together in episode one. She had her ups and downs with marriage and divorce over the years. She also had a potential singing career that she points out she was never able to follow through with. In later years, she is seen as being happily engaged to the same man for 21 years!

The Charity Boarding School Classmates

Symon Basterfield was the only participant of mixed race in this film. He worked at various jobs over the years which the viewer gets to experience vicariously (There's Symon on the fork lift again!). He married and had five kids only to divorce. His second wife was a strong presence in 49 Up and 56 Up.

Paul Kliegerman was also one of the funniest of the kids at seven. The clip that they show about his fear of marriage because his wife might serve him greens makes me laugh every time they show it. In actuality, Paul has had the same wife since 21 Up, and we see many of their travels through the outback and raising of their family over the years. One of the most likable participants in the film, we see Paul reunited with his classmate Symon in 49 Up (or was that 42 Up?)

The entire group together at 21 Up

The Academics

Bruce Balden may be the person I identify the most with in the film. Always concerned about social issues and injustice early on, he becomes a teacher in the inner city and in Bangla Desh for awhile. It didn't seem like he would ever get married, but did in 35 Up in a ceremony conducted by fellow Up participant Neil Hughes.

Nick Hitchon started out on a farm and went to boarding school before going to Oxford and eventually becoming a professor specializing in Nuclear Fusion at the University of Wisconsin. Nick's first marriage is documented in 28 Up, but that didn't last and seems happy with his second wife in later episodes. 

I just want to promote me band!

Peter Davies was a Liverpudlian youth who in 21 Up said some negative things about the Thatcher Administration which he got some criticism for and decided not to participate in the series again until 56 Up to promote his folk band!

This is pointless and silly!

Suzy Lusk had a most interesting evolution on the show. She went from being one of the rich kids in the beginning to being from a broken home and deciding the project was "pointless and silly" by the age of 14. At 21, she was an angry chain-smoking young lady who would never want to have kids and was mad at the world. By 28, she married someone who seemed to change her worldview for the better and has appeared to have a happy life (with kids!).

Tony Walker at 7 Up and 56 Up

The breakout stars

Tony Walker-"I want to be a jockey when I grow up. I want to be a jockey when I grow up!" I always quote Tony's seven-year-old aspirations to my wife before we start a new episode. Tony is one of the lower East Side kids who did indeed become a jockey for awhile before becoming a taxi driver among other things. The fast talking Tony seems to be one of those people who can probably get away with a lot just by talking his way out of things. Married at 28, his wife was featured in all the subsequent episodes and they are not afraid to speak openly about the highs and lows of their relationship.

Neil Hughes at 56 Up and 7 Up

Neil Hughes was the Liverpool youth who had aspirations, yet never seemed to find his way. He was often depicted throughout the run of the show as homeless or suffering from a form of mental illness-yet always finding a way to survive. He later became a local councilman and even a preacher (performing the marriage ceremony for Bruce Balden).

I think for the most part the participants haven been shown in a positive light. I mean there aren't any villains in this piece (Maybe Charles, only because he wouldn't participate after 21 Up) and I hope the lives of all of them continue to improve through 63 Up, 70 Up, 77 Up...

A QUESTION OF SILENCE (1982), CAROL (2015)

Three women converge of the shop owner
in A Question of Silence

A Question of Silence is a story of three women. One is a seemingly happy, plump middle aged waitress. But is she really happy? She's alone and perhaps she isn't really as contented as she seems. Another is an attractive office assistant. Her boss relies on her to run the office, but seems to have little respect for her ideas. The third is a housewife with a family. The three women don't know each other but find themselves at a dress shop one day. The housewife attempts to steal a garment and is approached by the owner. The three women converge of him and...well, they beat him to death.

The women are in custody and are interviewed by a female criminal psychiatrist named Janine. Janine tries to understand them at first and actually comes to sympathize with them as time goes on.

A feminist parable to be sure. What is the director/writer Gorris trying to say? And should a man watch this with a different eye than a woman? I'm not sure, but I don't think anyone watches A Question of Silence and says, "Wow, that was entertaining!" Of course, it wasn't meant to be.

Carol (Cate Blanchette) meets Therese (Rooney Mara)
in Carol

We recently read the 1952 novel The Price of Salt by Patricia Highsmith for my book club. It is the story of a young lady named Therese who slowly becomes enamored by an older married woman named Carol. It is a book that really delves into Therese's thoughts and somehow makes intricate details and mundane thoughts interesting. I actually liked this book more than some of the women in my book group who thought she relied on this detail too much and neglected getting on with the story.

Having read the book makes the praised film adaptation Carol interesting. I've seen it before, but looking at it right after reading the book makes it seem somehow less than when I first saw it. Granted, film is a different medium and taken as a stand alone without knowing about the book, it is a pretty good study of these two women. It also recreates the time well and Cate Blanchette and Rooney Mara are good in the lead roles.

Overall, the story is about a clear love between two women that can not be expressed because of the time and the situation they are in. But the end surprisingly does give them and the reader (or viewer) hope that they can both ultimately be happy.

The Price of Salt
(listed under Highsmith's alias
Claire Morgan)

ECSTASY (1933, CZECHOSLOVOKIA), SAMSON AND DELILAH (1948), BOMBSHELL: THE HEDY LAMARR STORY (2017)

Hedy Kielser naked and afraid
 in Ecstasy

The Czech film Ecstasy is a somewhat puzzling film to watch. It is about a bride named Eva who is on her honeymoon with her older husband named Emil and suddenly realizes she doesn't love him and leaves him to go back to the comfort of her family. While swimming and chasing a horse before she is able to get her clothes on she meets a builder who eventually becomes her lover. Emil eventually comes back to try to reconcile with Eva and complications ensue.

Ecstasy director Gustav Machaty and his cinematographer definitely have some cinematic skill with their often offbeat camera angles and slow pacing. The film itself often plays like a silent, with minutes between dialogue even though sound had been around for several years when this film was shot! It's not a bad film now that I think about it, but there's really only one reason it's remembered today.

Heddy Lamar: Eva is played by Austrian Hedy Kiesler, who later became famous in America under the name of Heddy Lamar. Her scene when she is running after her horse in the nude was considered quite scandalous at the time, but it did give her some attention which later led to her emigration to the United States and becoming a star for MGM studios in the 40's.

Heddy Lamar using her body 

in Sampson and Delilah

Samson and Delilah was one of the biggest hits MGM and director Cecil B. Demille had during the 1940's.

Heddy Lamar played the seductive temptress Delilah and she did indeed have looks to kill for...or at least get your haircut for. I actually liked this film more than I thought I would (I think I'm just growing soft for old movies). The final destruction of the temple as well as other action scenes (such as Samson kicking ass with the jawbone of an ass) makes for a pretty good spectacle and Lamar's co-star Victor Mature is able as the mighty Samson. We also have on hand a young Angela Lansbury as Delilah's sister and the always wonderful (to me) George Sanders as the Saran.

 

Heddy Lamar using her brain
in Bombshell: The Heddy Lamar Story

The last film of my Heddy Lamar triple feature is the documentary Bombshell: The Heddy Lamar Story. This film shows Heddy's rise from a Czech ingenue to a major Hollywood star, her many marriages and the many peaks and valleys of her career before becoming a recluse later in life. 

One of the noted aspects of this documentary is showing Heddy's...brain. She is credited (or maybe not credited enough) with the development of "frequency hopping"to prevent enemy subs and such for picking up on messages delivered to allies during World War II. She and George Antheil were awarded a patent on this in 1942 and was used as a valuable tool in keeping transmissions secret in subsequent years (and wars.)

ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT (1930), 1917 (2019)

In the trenches in All Quiet on the Western Front

There is a lot of criticism of a lot of the early Best Picture Academy Award choices, but the 1930 Best Picture choice of All Quiet on the Western Front is a decision that has stood the test of time. Even prickly alternative Oscar writer Danny Peary thinks the Academy got this one right.

The film is of course based on the anti-war novel by Erich Maria Remarque and depicts a group of young soldiers excitedly joining the German army during World War I only to find their dreams of heroism brings them mostly horror and death. I don't think that there were any war films like this in the early talkie era and one can only imagine the impact the sounds of warfare had on audiences of the time.

Read the book...see the movie.. then.go do something to make the world a better place.

Corporal Schofield (George Mackay) tries to get a message

 to the front in 1917

All Quiet on the Western front was only ten years removed from the end of World War I and this year we have another Oscar contender one-hundred years removed from the event. The film is 1917 and is director Sam Mendes's recount of stories passed down from his grandfather Alfred Mendes about the Great War.

The story depicts about soldiers in the British Army who have to get a message to company commanders to cancel an attack that aerial surveillance has discovered to be a set-up from the enemy. 1917 follows these soldiers (Schofield and Blake) as they try to make it to the front in time. The film is noted for being shot in one take and that is a most impressive technical trick. The set design is really stunning. I may watch this whole film again and just try to catch everything that is going on in the background! There has been some criticism that the movie is made for the video game generation. Maybe a little. I can see 1917 on Nintendo being a thing...But  it's still an impressive work and the latest Awards Watch post has 1917 as winning Best Director and Best Picture. Roger Deakins should be a shoo-in for the Cinematography Award and the picture may clean up on many other technical award categories. Except editing, of course. We'll see on February 9th.

2019 DOCUMENTARIES

2019 Documentary Films

For Sama

For Sama is the story documented by director Waad Al-Kateeb about her marriage and the birth of her son under the unimaginably horrific circumstances of the uprisng in Aleppo, Syria during the last few years. It's a first person view of the consequences of war with children often the innocent victims. For Sama was nominated for the Best Documentary Oscar for 2019.

The Edge of Democracy

Another type of first person documentary shows what has happened to Brazil over the last couple of decades. The country has gone from a spirited democracy to basically being taken over by what is basically a Fascist regime. Petra Costa, daughter of prominent political activists, is the recorder of the unfolding story here. The Edge of Democracy was nominated for Best Documentary for 2019. .

Honeyland

Honeyland depicts a small community in North Macedonia whose villagers depend on honeycombs and beekeeping to earn a living. The film focuses especially on one woman and her elderly mother. Honeyland definitely shows a world that I've never seen before as only a good documentary can.

Honeyland is nominated for Best Documentary and Best International Film for 2019.

Apollo 11

Apollo 11 is a documentary using only archival footage of the first trip to the moon. It was listed as one of the Oscar favorites going in, but didn't even get nominated. Speculation is that it may have been seen more as a triumph of editing rather than as a documentary in the traditional sense.

American Factory

American Factory shows what happens when a large Chinese car glass manufacturer takes over a previously shut down plant in Ohio. It is fascinating to watch the culture clashes, the work ethic and the fight over unionization. I didn't realize the film was produced by Barack and Michelle Obama until the closing credits. American Factory was nominated for Best Documentary Oscar for 2019. 

Knock Down the House

Knock Down the House is the inspirational (at least to me) of four Justice Democrats who ran for congress during the 2018 election. The odds were against them as they didn't take corporate donations and had the establishment fighting them all the way. I like all the women here, though the breakout star of this vehicle is clearly future president* Alexadria Ocasio-Cortez. The film won a prize at the Sundance film festival, but did not get an Oscar nomination.

*On a 2009 entry on this blog I said (jokingly!!) that Donald Trump was going to one day be the President. Let's see if I can prognosticate someone more positive for the future on this entry!

LITTLE WOMEN (2019), LADY BIRD (2017)

Saoirse Ronan as Lady Bird

Nice coming of age film that I've actually seen twice now-and it does gain through a second viewing. Saoirse Ronan got a well deserved Oscar nomination for her role as the titular Lady Bird and it might be my favorite performance of all the nominees (from two years ago). This is director Greta Gerwig's first major motion picture as a director. But is she going to be a one-hit wonder???

Emma Watson (Meg), Florence Pugh (Amy),

Saoirse Ronan (Jo) and Eliza Scanlen (Beth)

are Little Women

The answer to that is obviously no. Gerwig's new adaptation of Little Women has been been praised greatly and many think it is the best film adaptation yet of Louisa May Alcott's famous novel. I did go with a friend who is an expert on all things Little Women and though she liked it, she still didn't like it as much as the 90's version with Wyonna Ryder.

I haven't read the book in awhile and did find the jumping around with the timeline a bit confusing at times. I did like the meta take in that the character of Jo is actually trying to write the book Little Women about their lives!

Gerwig did bring back a couple of her Lady Bird stars to be in Little Women: Saoirse Ronan (Jo) and Timothee Chalamet (Laurie).

Random Little Women question: Of the sisters, Jo is clearly the star, Amy is the one with all the emotional problems and Beth is the tragic figure. But what about Meg? I can't figure out her deal exactly. Is she basically the Zeppo of the Little Women quartet?

Little Women has been nominated for six Oscars, including: Best Picture, Best Actress and Best Adapted Screenplay. Gerwig did not get a nomination for Best Director.

Timothee Chalamet and Saoirse Ronan
in Lady Bird

Saoirse Ronan and Timothee Chalamet
in Little Women

WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS (2014), HUNT FOR THE WILDERPEOPLE (2016), JOJO RABBIT (2019)

The vampire crew in What We Do in the Shadows

New Zealand director Taika Waititi's cult film What We Do in the Shadows is a most amusing mockumentary about vampires. These vampires aren't particularly menacing, in fact, the vamps in the film are living together and mostly have to do humdrum thing like doing the dishes or deciding what to cook for dinner. They also experience difficulty with getting into clubs because vampires can't go into places unless they are asked and have trouble dressing because they can't see themselves in a mirror! It's a fun film.

Sam Neill and Julian Dennison
 in Hunt for the Wilderpeople

Another Waititi film that is quite charming is Hunt for the Wilderpeople. The film begins with an older couple, Bella and Hector Faulkner (Sam Neill, Rima Te Diata) who live near the bush in New Zealand that adopt a largely unwanted 13-year-old orphan named Ricky Baker (Julian Dennison). Things seem to be just starting to work with the three of them when Bella suddenly drops dead. Hector tells Ricky that it was Bella and not him that wanted to adopt him and this leads to Ricky running away into the bush. Hector goes after him, but the their journey into the bush becomes quite an adventure when they get lost and Hector is suspected of kidnapping Ricky. They meet several interesting creatures and people in the woods, my favorite of which is a woodsman named Psycho Sam. This is a very charming and likable film. Two for two so far.

Sam Rockwell, Scarlett Johansson and Roman Griffin Davis
in Jojo Rabbit

Jojo Rabbit is Waititi's first film to get a Best Picture Oscar nomination. The black comedy is about a young boy named Jojo in World War II Germany who learns to be a good Nazi by having the imaginary presence of Hitler encouraging him along the way. Jojo's Nazi ways are challenged by the fact that his mother (Scarlett Johansson) is a collaborator with the enemy who keeps a Jewish girl (Thomasin McKenzie) hidden in their house. Jojo comes to like the girl and the film has a lot of moving moments, as well as some pretty funny ones.

Jojo Rabbit has been nominated for six Oscars, including: Best Picture, Best Supporting Actress and Best Original Screenplay.

Taika Waiti the Actor

Waititi plays the leader of the vampire house
in What We Do in the Shadows

Waititi has one scene as the minister in 

Hunt for the Wilderpeople

And finally, Waititi cast himself as the menacing
and more than a bit goofy imaginary version
of Hitler in Jojo Rabbit

THE SQUID AND THE WHALE (2005), MARRIAGE STORY (2019)

 Jeff Daniels and Laura Linney at counseling

in The Squid and the Whale

Noah Bambauch's The Squid and the Whale tells the story of Bernard Berkman (Jeff Daniels) and his wife Joan (Laura Linney), a couple going through a divorce in 1986 Brooklyn. The Berkman's are an academically minded couple, with Bernard being a writer and professor and Joan being an aspiring novelist. They both love their kids, Walt and Frank, but express this love in odd ways at times exacerbated by the fact that they are now living in different houses. 

This is an interesting character study of all four of the main leads. Bernard is a bit of a stuffy academic, who looks down on people like Ivan (William Baldwin), the local tennis pro, who he refers to as a philistine. Joan's disconnect with Bernard led to her having affairs (including Ivan) which is explored here also. Walt Berkman (Jesse Eisenberg) admires his dad-He has a poster of one of his dad's favorite films, The Mother and the Whore on his wall for Heaven's sake! Walt seems to blame his mom for their troubles more than dad. He has trouble finding a girl that he considers good enough and openly plagiarizes Pink Floyd at the school talent show. The younger brother Frank (Owen Kline) is starting to have troubles of his own involving his own relationships and experimentation with drinking and masturbation...the latter of which wouldn't be a problem if he wasn't doing it in the library!

This is an intellectual and fascinating story of the dissolution of a marriage and family. 

Jesse Eisenberg and Owen Kline in

The Squid and The Whale

Didn't every 80's kid have a poster of  Jean Eustache's

The Mother and the Whore on their wall?

Scarlett Johansson and Adam Driver

in Marriage Story

Noah Baumbach goes to the broken family well again in 2019's much praised Marriage Story. I was at first a little taken aback by the fact that the couple are both in show business, but this is later an important plot point in that Charlie directs plays in New York and Nicole has moved to Los Angles to further her professional career in television. Their son Henry (Azhy Robertson) is caught in the middle. One of the most interesting aspects of the film is legally. Divorce isn't cheap, financially or emotionally. Nicole finds a lawyer (Laura Dern) that takes no prisoners. Charlie finds a older but caring lawyer (Alan Alda) at first, but then realizes he's got to get his own "asshole" lawyer (Ray Liotta).

The film is very well acted and is a strong emotional piece. Adam Driver is especially solid and his performance of the song Being Alive at the end of the film is a fitting catharsis to the film.

Noah Baumbach and his wife Greta Gerwig (Little Women) both have films nominated for Best Picture this year...I hope that doesn't cause them any problems at home...

Marriage Story has been nominated for six Oscars, including: Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Actress and Best Original Screenplay.

Lawyering up...Alan Alda assists Adam Driver

in Marriage Story

Lawyering up...Laura Dern advocates for

Scarlett Johannson in Marriage Story