In the quest to see all the Oscar-nominated films, I'm down to categories like Visual Effects and Sound (remember when they had a separate category for sound effects editing? What happened to it?) But in these fields, we have mostly action epics which I didn't bother seeing during the summer. When I had a house in upstate NY and before COVID, we used to go to these kinds of pix all the time, just to get out of the house. I do love a good sci-fi or superhero flick and have enjoyed most of the Marvel Universe and Star Wars franchise. (I get Disney + with the Hulu Plus Live TV package so I may as well watch them since I'm paying for it.)
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Madeline Yuna Voyles and friend in
The Creator
Credit: 20th Century Studios |
The Creator (Nominated for Sound and Visual Effects/Seen on Hulu): Almost every shot in this massive sci-fi blockbuster contains a visual effect with half the cast being transformed for their roles as simulants or robots. There's also lots of huge spaceships and explosions. The premise has great potential: in the year 2070, AI-powered lifeforms based in Asia are at war with the humans-only West--read imperialist, jingoheaded USA. Parallels to the Vietnam War are obvious. The hero (John David Washington, Denzel's son) has been recruited to seize an AI superweapon which can control all technology and destroy mankind. Turns out the weapon or asset is in the form of a child. The reluctant hero's stake: his wife is somewhere behind enemy lines. The only way he can find her and save humanity to retrieve the sim-kid. The visuals are stunning, but the action gets kinda repetitive after a while. Plus there are continuity issues where the action doesn't make sense.
