Holiday Catch-Up on Oscar Films

The holiday season has come to mean something much more important than celebrating goodwill and exchanging gifts--catching up on potential Oscar nominated films so I will have seen as many as possible on the big night, March 10, 2024. Since the last entry on this topic, I managed to see three more potential nominees and rewatched Maestro on Netflix.

Julianne Moore and Charles Melton in
May December

May December: Previous Oscar winners Natalie Portman and Julianne Moore look to nab Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress slots for this bizarre indie which falls between comedy and drama (the Golden Globes has classified it a comedy). But newcomer Charles Melton has emerged as the front-runner for Best Supporting Actor, having won the New York Film Critics Circle and several other critics' group. BTW, have you noticed that almost every city and geographical area in the country now has its own movie critics' group, each bestowing its own set of awards? It used to be just New York and Los Angeles, now it's everywhere including the East Podunk Film Critics Circle and the Dead Cactus, Arizona Movie Reviewers and Fly Swatter Collectors Group.

Tae Yoo and Greta Lee in Past Lives.
Credit: A24

Past Lives: (watched on Amazon Prime) We heard much about this small, intimate character study and surprisingly it has received its share of accolades including several GG noms for Best Picture--Drama, Best Non-English Film, Best Actress Drama for Greta Lee as the Korean-American playwright reconnecting with her childhood sweetheart. Also several Film Independent Spirit nominations. I loved this delicate film chronicling the lost bond between two lovestruck kids who grow apart when their paths diverge. 

Poor Things: (saw in an actual movie theater at the

Emma Stone and Mark Ruffalo in
Poor Things.
Credit: YORGOS LANTHIMOS/
SEARCHLIGHT PICTURES

Regal Kaufman Astoria): Just saw this ravishing curio from Yorgos Lanthimos (The Favorite). One of the most striking and ingenious films of the year if not of the decade. A bizarre riff on Frankenstein where the mad scientist is the scarred one (a disfigured, disturbing Willem Dafoe) and the creation is the beautiful and brilliant one (Emma Stone in a stunning performance, already awarded best actress by several critics groups,--maybe not the East Podunk and Dead Cactus ones). Mark Ruffalo is a riot as the immoral rake who abducts Bella, the invented woman, and becomes enthralled to her (He won the National Board of Review). The production design, cinematography and costumes are amazing--references not only to the Universal horror films but also to Fritz Lang's Metropolis. We are transported to a world which is equal parts Charles Dickens, Jules Verne and Aubrey Beardsley. Kathryn Hunter makes a bizarre impression as a Parisian madame.

During the week between Christmas and New Years I hope to see more potential nominees including The Holdovers, Zone of Interest, Anatomy of a Fall and Frederick Wiseman's latest--Les Menus-Plaisirs Les Troisgros. The latter did not make the shortlist for Best Documentary Feature, but I want to see it anyway. I love all of Wiseman's films and have seen most of them. 

2023 Potential Oscar Nominated Films Seen So Far
Oppenheimer (34th Street AMC)
Barbie (Regal Union Square)
Asteroid City (Angelika)
Golda (County Theater, Doylestown, PA)
Killers of the Flower Moon (Regal Kaufman Astoria)

Rustin (Netflix)
The Killer (Netflix)--Tilda Swinton could nab a Supporting Actress nod
Maestro (Paris Cinema mezzanine and again on Netflix)

May December (Netflix)

Past Lives (Amazon Prime)

Poor Things (Regal Kaufman Astoria)

Still: A Michael J. Fox Film (Apple TV +)