While movie lovers around the world are gearing up for another jam-packed summer slate of effects-driven films, more discerning cinephiles will also be eagerly anticipating movie magic of a different sort. Indeed, in the coming months and throughout the fall, audiences will be treated to the crème de la crème of arguably cinema's most spectacular element - the actors. Some of them will go on to garner Oscar buzz, while others will live on as fan favorites. Either way, the standout performers will never be forgotten. As we look ahead to what the remainder of 2018 has to offer, here are my 20 Most Anticipated Performances of 2018:
Monday, April 30, 2018
REVIEW: In the Last Days of the City
How do you capture the essence of a city? Is it the people, the buildings, the sounds? In Tamer El Said’s elegiac debut film “In the Last Days of the City“, one man wrestles with this central question as he attempts to capture a cinematic portrait of a place that no longer feels like home.
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REVIEW: Godard Mon Amour
There’s a cruel irony that runs through “Godard Mon Amour“, the latest nostalgia-tinged effort from Michel Hazanavicius. Its titular subject – famed pioneer of the French New Wave Jean Luc Godard – was known for his anti-establishment, inventive style of filmmaking. The name Godard is, therefore, one of the last names you would associate with a genre as old-fashioned as the biopic. But in perhaps one of the boldest moves of his career, Hazanavicius makes a valiant, if misguided attempt at capturing a key moment in the auteur’s life.
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REVIEW: Zama
Early in Lucrecia Martel’s historical drama “Zama“, there’s a portentous scene that sets the one for the rest of the film. In it, a man recalls the story of a species of fish that spends its entire life swimming to and fro against the tide of the water, forever remaining in one place. The significance of this anecdote isn’t immediately apparent. But as this story unfolds, it becomes a metaphor for the film itself, which follows a man who is actively going nowhere.
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REVIEW: Boyz n the Hood
During the recently concluded awards season, the Hollywood Reporter published an interesting article in honor of the success of “Get Out”. In it, all of the African-American directing nominees in the history of the Oscars gathered for a candid discussion about their experiences in the industry. Before even reading the article, the accompanying photo was already telling in two significant ways. Firstly, the paltry 4 nominees couldn’t even fill a single year’s quota of nominees. And secondly, the oldest nominated film represented was “Boyz n the Hood“, released just 27 years ago in the summer of 1991. Though the blaxploitation movement had already emerged out of the civil rights movement and Spike Lee had given us the seminal “Do the Right Thing” two years earlier, it wasn’t until “Boyz n the Hood” that a black director finally received that public stamp of industry approval.
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REVIEW: The China Hustle
By no fault of its own, Jed Rothstein’s “The China Hustle” is an eye-opening yet somewhat underwhelming documentary. Thanks to prominent media coverage and a slew of fiction and non-fiction films about the 2008 economic crisis, its revelations of fraud will hardly alarm even the most casually informed viewer. Many Americans have already become disillusioned with the nation’s financial institutions. But this fascinating documentary further adds an unexpected piece to a global puzzle of capitalism gone mad.
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REVIEW: Keep the Change
As the spirit of activism attempts to upend longstanding Hollywood paradigms, efforts at more inclusive filmmaking practices is a trending topic. Indeed, Frances McDormand recently sent the world into a googling frenzy when she ended her Oscar acceptance speech with the word “inclusion rider”. But what do we mean when we say “inclusion”? Too often our discussions around diversity are quite literally “black and white”. But the fabric of our modern society is a technicolor quilt of varied experiences, all of which deserved to be treated with the level of sincere empathy that writer-director Rachel Israel brings to “Keep the Change“. In this award-winning debut feature, Israel delivers a precious take on the classic romantic comedy, casting a pair of autistic characters as its lovestruck leads.
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REVIEW: Claire's Camera
In the opening moments of Hong Sang-soo’s “Claire’s Camera“, a film sales assistant named Manhee (Kim Min-hee) is fired during a work trip at the Cannes Film Festival. The reasoning for her dismissal is a lack of trust, as her boss claims that she lacks honesty. As we follow her subsequent aimless drifting through this seaside city, the notion of truth becomes a primary concern for the film, which commits steadfastly to understated realism.
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10 Black Films to Anticipate in 2018
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ll know that “Black Panther” has taken the world by storm. With its record-smashing box office and cultural impact, the film has captured our imaginations and gave us a Black History Month to remember. Its monumental success has truly shattered any illusions as to the limited commercial potential of black films, though Hollywood will surely attempt to dismiss it as an anomaly. It is therefore up to us movie lovers to prove them wrong. And if the exciting slate of 2018 releases is any indication, we can expect many more opportunities to celebrate black excellence at the movies this year.
Ranging from big franchise movies to eccentric indies, here are 10 upcoming films to look forward to, all directed by and starring black talent:
Read more at The Awards Circuit
Wednesday, April 25, 2018
OSCAR WATCH: A Quiet Place
Over a century ago, cinema as we know it began with silent films, which laid the foundation for many of the common techniques used by filmmakers today. Despite the lack of audible dialogue, those early pioneers were able to capture the imagination of audiences and tell unforgettable stories. Fast forward to the 21st century and populist cinema has adopted a more noisy, talky approach. It's for this reason that John Krasinski's exceptional "A Quiet Place" stands out so noticeably in today's marketplace. Indeed, few words are audibly spoken throughout this nerve-wracking sophomore feature. But Krasinski proves to be highly fluent in another language - the powerful audiovisual language of horror cinema.
"A Quiet Place" is set in the near future in 2020, a time when most the world's human population has been decimated by mysterious deadly creatures. Those who remain are constantly living on a knife's edge, as they must remain quiet at all times to avoid detection by these creatures who use their hypersensitive hearing to track down their victims. Among the survivors is the Abbott Family - husband Lee (John Krasinski), wife Evelyn (Emily Blunt), sons Marcus (Noah Jupe) and Beau (Cade Woodward), and deaf daughter Regan (Millicent Simmonds) - who struggle to survive while they seek to learn how to stop these monsters before it's too late.
From this intriguingly original premise, Krasinski crafts one of the most effective horror films ever made. Thanks to the unbearably tense silence, every jump scare is twice as startling and every creepy sound sends a chill down your spine. And like any good monster flick, the creature design is absolutely terrifying to behold. The film is so scary that it will make you want to run screaming for the doors.
But although you'll want to call on Jesus to save you from this nightmarish experience, you'll still be willfully glued to your seat. What elevates this horror story is its potent human element, thanks to a deeply affecting emotional throughline and a compelling rooting factor for the characters. Doing double duty, Krasinski is just a proficient in front of the camera as the family's heroic father, further displaying his newfound leading man appeal. By his side, Emily Blunt is as expressive as ever in a role that calls on her considerable skills as an actress. As wife, mother and vulnerable, she is at once warm, formidable and tender. But perhaps the most significant performance in the film comes from Millicent Simmonds. Following her debut performance in "Wonderstruck", she continues to be a shining example of the endless capabilities of deaf actors, giving the film an empathetic perspective of adolescent angst.
As with many horror movies, the plot relies on a few bad decisions from these characters to move the plot along and set up the dangerous scenarios. But when a film is this well made, these minor contrivances are easily forgiven. Thanks to Krasinski's masterful use of image and sound, Oscar nominations for Best Picture and Best Director are certainly within the realm of possibility. And in my opinion, they'd be well deserved. "A Quiet Place" is one of the most enthralling theatrical experiences I've had in recent memory and easily my favourite film of 2018 so far.