2020 Oscar Nominations

Yesterday’s announcement of the Oscar nominations were met, I’d say, with more disappointment than fanfare. The choices seemed mostly predictable, and there was little to really excite – for the most part, all that was unexpected was who didn’t make the cut. The media was quick to point out that the Academy very narrowly escaped yet another #OscarsSoWhite, while many on Twitter countered that one actor of color out of 20 nominations is still pretty damn white (with Asian-American Twitter additionally “celebrating” Scarlett Johansson’s nominations for both Leading and Supporting Actress.)

We’ll start with Best Picture. I’ve seen three of the nine nominees so far (Jojo Rabbit, Little Women, and Marriage Story, reviews still forthcoming on the latter two,) and honestly, the only ones of the remaining six that I’m particularly eager to see are Parasite and 1917. The others don’t grip me all that much, and mostly feel like “well, of course” choices.

As far as acting goes, there are some choices I’m very happy with – Saoirse Ronan and Florence Pugh for Little Women, Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson for Marriage Story, Margot Robbie for Bombshell – these categories also contain my biggest gripes with the nominations. I’d had really liked to see Taron Egerton included for Rocketman and Eddie Murphy for Dolemite is My Name, and I pretty much carved Lupita Nyong’o’s name on the Leading Actress trophy back in February after I saw Us. I’ve seen four of the five Leading Actress nominees and I really liked all of them (and all accounts say Renée Zellweger in Judy is the one to beat,) but Nyong’o was astounding in that movie. And I never had any real hope for it, but I really would’ve loved to see Taika Waititi snag a Supporting Actor nomination for Jojo Rabbit.

Speaking of Jojo Rabbit, I was relieved to see it receive an Adapted Screenplay nomination, but Waititi’s exclusion from Best Director was a travesty (I also would’ve liked to see Greta Gerwig for Little Women and Lulu Wang for The Farewell – more on that in a minute.) That’s a category where I admittedly haven’t seen any of the nominated films, but Waititi’s work on Jojo Rabbit was just impeccable, and I have a hard time believing that five directors brought it harder than he did this year.

Other complaints? The complete lack of love for The Farewell overall, which was a major oversight in my book. Dolemite is My Name was also a terrific film, and while I think Rocketman’s plot gets a little by-the-numbers in places, the way it tells its story is anything but, and I’d have liked to see more recognition for it. On the whole, I saw a lot of great films in 2019, and this year’s nominations feel pretty centered around a much more limited range of movies.

Also, no Frozen II for Best Animated Feature? What’s up with that? Fortunately, though, Hair Love is up for Best Animated Short: the epitome of a precious I’m-not-crying-you’re-crying short film.

2017 Oscar Nominations: Thoughts

I suppose there are some who may say that the Academy was compensating for two years of #OscarsSoWhite with its seven nominations for actors of color (over a third of the total acting nominees,) but of the films I’ve seen so far featuring these performances, the nominations are very well deserved.  In fact, there could have easily been more had Octavia Spencer not been the only one of the Hidden Figures ladies to get a nod.  I’m especially pleased for Dev Patel, the only nominated PoC actor who isn’t Black.  Not only was it a bummer to see him overlooked in 2008 when Slumdog Millionaire otherwise got so much love, but he’s only the third actor of South Asian descent ever to be nominated for an Oscar (the others are Ben Kinglsey, who’s been recognized multiple times, and Merle Oberon way back in 1935.)

Overall, there aren’t too many big shockers in the nominations.  The main frontrunners, as predicted, are La La Land, Moonlight, and Manchester by the Sea, with the rest of the love spread out mainly where people assumed it would be.  There are surprises here and there, like no room in the actress categories for Amy Adams in Arrival or Annette Benning in 20^th Century Women, and Silence never gained the momentum it hoped to.  Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Actress will be definite races to watch, and I’m hoping that quite a few of the conclusions are a little less foregone come Oscar night – this is in no small part because I just caught La La Land (review to come soon) and was considerably less wowed than the Golden Globes would’ve had me believe.

Speaking of La La Land, it received two Best Original Song nominations, and I’m hoping against hope that they’ll cancel each other out to give Moana the win.  I know I’m biased as all get-out in Lin-Manuel Miranda’s favor, but I honestly don’t see how either “City of Stars” or “Audition” could be considered a better song than “How Far I’ll Go.”  Given how the industry generally salivates over films about itself, seeing La La Land didn’t necessarily get my hopes up for Moana, but it firmly cemented my feelings of how mad I’ll be if “How Far I’ll Go” doesn’t get awarded for the beautiful addition it is to the Disney princess songbook.  (Side note:  Best Animated Film is a great-looking category, and while I think Zootopia will likely, rightfully win, Moana and Kubo and the Two Strings earned their nominations but good.)

Even though I’m better positioned at the start of this year’s Oscar nominations than I think I’ve ever been before – I’ve already seen four of the nine Best Picture nominees – I still feel like it’s too early for me to say much more.  Moonlight, I think, is the big lynchpin for me.  It never came to my local theater when it was first released, and I’m dying for it to show up either here or somewhere not too far away pretty soon, because I’ve been wanting to see it for months.  I’m also anxious to check out Arrival, which I admittedly missed when it came around (it’ll be out on DVD before Oscar night, though, so I’m hoping to catch it there,) and I think The Lobster will be a good DVD watch for the “quirky Best Original Screenplay nominee” niche. 

However, being ahead is an advantage to me now.  I think I could potentially see all the films in my favorite categories (Best picture, acting, directing, writing, and cinematography) before the ceremony.  Though I’m crossing my fingers for some of the more out-of-the-way films to pop up in closer theaters in the next month, it would only take one or two “movie trip” weekends to the Cities to knock out the films I can’t get here or on DVD.  We’ll see how well I do.

2016 Tony Awards

Sorry, Buster Monday – last night was Tony night, so you’ll have to wait until tomorrow.

Obviously, there was a shadow cast over what everyone had thought would be Broadway’s annual televised celebration.  Host James Corden opened with brief, heartfelt remarks for those touched by the tragedy in Orlando, most presenters, winners, and audience members wore gray ribbons in solidarity, and a number of people took time out of their acceptance speeches to address the shooting.  But while the night was more somber than expected, I’m glad that the telecast wasn’t radically changed – “the show went on,” as they say, and the talent that was recognized onstage was still applauded and celebrated.  Terror wants to change us, break us.  Sometimes, the only way we know how to stand up to it is to carry on and still find joy in life, even when our hearts are heavy.

And so, we did have Broadway’s big night.  Corden, for my money, did an excellent job hosting.  The cast of Hamilton started the show with a Corden-related parody of their opening number – culminating in Corden warning them, “Just you wait!” when they started eyeing the Tony he was holding – and then the former History Boy/Craig from Doctor Who/the Baker from the Into the Woods movie gave quite the terrific opening-number performance himself.  The sprawling number amusingly riffed on numerous musicals and chased one famous lyric to another (ie, “People who need people are the / Luck be a lady / Tonight, tonight…”)  He also had some fun bits throughout the evening, my favorite being the nostalgia tour through a number of Broadway folks’ Law and Order history, and generally kept things moving with his affable enthusiasm.

No surprise, this was the Hamil-tonys, and Hamilton won big, taking home every award it was up for except best set design and best lead actress – 11 in all, one shy of The Producers’ record.  On the acting front, Leslie Odom Jr. beat out Lin-Manuel Miranda for lead actor (but, since Miranda won best score and best book that night, I’m guessing he’s okay with it,) Reneé Elise Goldsberry crushed it for featured actress, and out of three Hamilton nominees in the featured actor category, I was thrilled to see Daveed Diggs take the statue.  Among all the other awards it won were, like I said, two for Miranda, and in his speech for best score, he read a gorgeous sonnet he’d written as a tribute to the victims of the Orlando shooting.  They performed twice more after the show opener.  Their main performance was an electric rendition of “Yorktown (The World Turned Upside Down)”, and having taking home best musical, the ladies closed the show with “The Schuyler Sisters.”

I feel kind of bad for the other show that had the unfortunate luck to come out the same year as Hamilton, because this was a strong year.  All the performances from nominated shows ranged from good to fantastic, and after seeing the telecast, I’ve definitely added to my “cast recordings to buy” list (more on my favorites later this week.)  The Color Purple and its leading lady Cynthia Erivo won best revival and best lead actress, and in any other year, most of these shows probably would have done well for themselves, award-wise. 

Oh yeah – of the 20 acting nominees for musicals, 10 were people of color, plus 4 of the 20 nominees for plays.  Not only that, PoC won all four of the musical acting categories.  The Great White Way isn’t doing too shabby!

2016 Oscar Awards

Another year, another Oscars.  The awards were a mixed bag for me – some predictable wins and a few upsets, some well-deserved (in my opinion) wins and a few that bugged me – but the ceremony itself had plenty of intriguing moments to keep my interest.

I was thrilled that Mad Max:  Fury Road cleaned up in the design and technical categories, taking home six awards (the most of any film that night.)  Even though it didn’t get any of the “big” stuff, I’m glad the Academy actually recognized how wonderful it is.  The only problem with the sweep was that it got my hopes up that George Miller might beat out Alejandro González Iñárritu for best director.  No luck, sadly.  However, just as I was resigning myself to The Revenant winning best picture, Spotlight swooped in to save the day!  Very happy for Tom McCarthy and everyone behind that movie.  It was a little odd that it only won one other award it was up for (best original screenplay,) but it felt gratifying to me that the film deemed to have the best story was also the film given the top honor.  The Big Short’s win for best adapted screenplay made me happy as well, and as for cinematography, I’m a little bowled over that Emmanuel Lubezki (The Revenant) got his third Oscar in a row.  When that streak ended, it really ended!

The acting categories went three-for-four as I expected.  Mark Rylance winning best supporting actor for Bridge of Spies shocked me – I’d thought Stallone had it in the bag.  I was most happy for Brie Larson getting the lead actress trophy.  Even though that win was in no way a surprise, it was for very good reason.  Although I anticipated Alicia Vikander taking best supporting actress, I still don’t like the fact that she won for a very obvious co-lead role.  And Leonardo DiCaprio… Good on him for finally nabbing that Oscar, but it’s disappointing to me that it was for The Revenant.  I just didn’t think that film provided him with a good showcase for his talents at all.

I enjoyed Chris Rock as the host, and while I figured he wouldn’t avoid the #OscarsSoWhite controversy, it surprised me how heavily the ceremony centered around it.  It was the focus of the whole monologue (which, for me, veered occasionally into attempts to absolving the Academy on the issue because there are “more important things” to worry about, but which also made some good, cutting points,) and there were numerous bits addressing diversity in Hollywood.  I particularly liked the “Black actors inserted into best picture nominees” clips, an amusing “history lesson” with Angela Bassett, and Rock’s man-on-the-street interviews with theatergoers outside a Compton cinema.  Others onstage, from presenters to winners to the Academy president, also brought up the importance of inclusion, although I don’t recall anyone white taking part in those statements.  One thing that bothered me in the #OscarsSoWhite remarks was how consistently it was framed as #OscarsNotBlack, when no actors of color were recognized.  I realize that most of the specific snubs called out this year were Black actors (or directors, in Ryan Coogler and F. Gary Gray’s cases,) and in general, I think other acting communities of color are at a different stage in their fight for representation in Hollywood, but it still felt weird that hardly anyone recognized it as more than a Black issue.  However, I love that Rock made opportunity a major focus; his rueful comment to Leonardo DiCaprio about Leo being “in a great movie every year” highlighted the imbalance in a pretty striking way.

Also, C-3PO, R2-D2, and BB-8 were made of win.  I “awwed” when Jacob Tremblay from Room stood up in his seat to get a better view of the droids.

Straight Outta Compton (2015, R)

I’ll admit it.  I could have seen this one in theaters – it was at my local cinema for quite a while, during the summer when I had plenty of time to see movies – and I chickened out.  Even though I’ve seen other Black-themed movies in theaters, this one seemed more personal somehow, like I’d be intruding if I went to see it (dumb, right?)  Anyway, Netflix made me pay for my foolishness by sitting on the DVD for a month before they started sending it out, and I just finished watching it.

The film follows the story of the rap group N.W.A., with the strongest focus on members Ice Cube, Dr. Dre, and Eazy-E.  The guys get together in the late ‘80s with a vision of “reality” rap that tells how life really is for young Black men in the streets of Compton, California.  Their music is as popular as it is incendiary, and the group soon finds itself coming up against pressures from without (charges that their lyrics are immoral, irresponsible, and even criminal) and within (the conflicts that always seem to arise with money and fame.)

In some ways, the movie is very much a classic musical biopic.  As with any such picture worth its salt, great emphasis is placed on the cast and how well they capture the real-life musicians they’re portraying.  Now, I could tell you shockingly little about that, since I went into the film knowing shockingly little about N.W.A., but everything I’ve heard suggests that Jason Mitchell (Eazy-E,) Corey Hawkins (Dr. Dre,) and O’Shea Jackson Jr. (Ice Cube – Jackson is Ice Cube’s actual son and spitting image) are all spot-on.  I can tell you that these actors are hugely engaging, their rapping sounds great, and their performances easily carried me through the two-and-a-half-hour runtime; at one point, I thought that the group seemed to be finding big success too fast, only to realize that I was already a third of the way into the movie. 

The script hits a lot of musical-biopic hallmarks as well.  There’s the unlikely rise to fame, the “in it for the music” early devotion, the large living, the contract disputes, the inevitable rifts and falling-outs, the rock bottoms, and the comebacks.  However, Straight Outta Compton sets itself apart in the genre as well.  The screenwriters, who snagged the film’s only Oscar nod, have great material to work with in N.W.A.’s story.  Pushback over the group’s lyrics and themes leads to stranger-than-fiction moments like a warning letter from the FBI over their song “Fuck the Police,” and when the guys begin to fall out, it isn’t just behind-the-scenes drama playing out in the tabloids – it plays out in rap battles, with escalating disses in dueling albums.  Additionally, the powerful backdrop of police violence in LA, coming to a head in the Rodney King trial and the LA riots, starkly represents how much we still need change. 

All in all, an incredibly solid film with an excellent cast that tells its story well.  From what I hear, it definitely hits home for late-80s/early-90s hip-hop fans, but it’s still very accessible to someone uninitiated like me.  Remind me again why it isn’t this year’s Walk the Line at the Oscars?

Warnings

Tons of language (including numerous N-words and explicit sexual references,) sexual content (including sex scenes and nudity,) violence, drinking/drug use, and thematic elements.

Tangerine (2015, R)

I’m putting this film with the other #OscarsSoWhite movies I’ve watched lately, though I don’t think it would have been a likely contender regardless of the main characters’ races.  It’s too small, too meandering, and too vulgar – while Oscar films can be any of these things, it’s rare to find one that’s all three.  However, I heard positive things about it and really wanted to see it, particularly since a movie starring trans actresses of color seemed like a really satisfying answer to (the, naturally, nominated) Eddie Redmayne playing a trans woman in The Danish Girl.

Tangerine follows a pair of sex workers through a tumultuous Christmas Eve in L.A.  Sin-Dee, fresh out of jail, has just learned that her boyfriend/pimp cheated on her while she was away.  Not remotely one to bottle her feelings, she’s on the warpath to find him and/or the “real fish” (i.e., cisgender woman) who’s been knocking boots with him.  Her best friend Alexandra tries to be supportive, but she’s dreading Sin-Dee’s flair for drama, and besides, she has her own concerns to be thinking about – her first onstage musical performance at a bar later that evening.

I don’t think this is quite the film for me, although that’s not down to its quality.  Instead, it’s more a matter of sensibility.  It’s a very “roll with what’s happening” movie, following Sin-Dee and Alexandra throughout their day.  That’s frequently outrageous, sometimes gross, sometimes trashy, occasionally humdrum, always serpentine.  While it has a definite throughline of Sin-Dee wanting to find and confront her boyfriend, the plot wanders toward it rather than building up to it.  It’s a super-indie trait that I can find tiresome when it’s sustained over a full movie.

But that’s why I didn’t connect with it.  I know many like that style, and I’d say the film does it pretty well.  Plus, while my attention wavered on the characters’ journeys, I enjoy the characters themselves.  Sin-Dee can be a self-involved piece of work with a hair-trigger temper, but she’s also funny, resourceful, and more vulnerable than she lets on.  Alexandra’s long-suffering support for her friend ranges from amusing to sweet, and I like her no-nonsense attitude.

And yeah, I love that these trans characters are played by trans actresses.  Neither Kitana Kiki Rodriguez (Sin-Dee) or Mya Taylor (Alexandra) had screen experience before this film, but both give spirited, naturalistic performances that embody their roles to a tee.  One thing I’ve realized about cis actors playing trans is that, for me, part of my attention is always on how well they play trans.  Never mind the character’s personality or emotions; there’s always a part of my brain going, “How’re they doing?  Can I buy that?  Is this portrayal respectful?”  But it shouldn’t be like that.  When I watch Jennifer Lawrence, I don’t think, “She’s great at playing a woman,” and Chiwetel Ejiofor’s films don’t make me muse, “He’s so believable as a Black man.”  Binary gender is understood, race is understood (though not as much as it really needs to be.)  Genders outside of cis-male and cis-female should be as well (along with disability, more consistently.)  Then, like here, we can get straight to looking at the nuances of the characters instead of concentrating on how the performer handles groundwork that ought to be background detail.

Warnings

Sexual content (including multiple sex scenes, solicitation, and some nudity,) violence, language (including transphobic and homophobic slurs,) drinking, smoking, and drug use.

A Few More Thoughts on the Oscars Race Debate

I’ve been following the #OscarsSoWhite stuff quite a bit, and in the midst of what I’ve read, there’s naturally been a wide range of expressed views.  Some call for change, some urge moderation, and some make me shake my head in disbelief (for Pete’s sake, Charlotte Rampling!)  One popular topic has been absolving the Academy of any racial bias by explaining precisely why certain hoped-for nominations didn’t happen.  If you look online, it doesn’t take long before you can find someone willing to tell you exactly why this year’s nominations are so homogenized and why the reasons are perfectly innocent.  When I look at them, however, I still see imbalance.  Some of the major arguments, along with my rebuttals, are as follows. 

Michael B. Jordan (and Ryan Coogler) didn’t get nominated for Creed because the Academy is kind of snobbish and isn’t about to recognize a Rocky movie – First, rightly or wrongly, the original Rocky won both best picture and best director in 1977.  Second, Sylvester Stallone’s nomination shows the Academy wasn’t averse to recognizing the film.

Will Smith didn’t get nominated for Concussion because his film got shaky reviews and didn’t perform well at the box office: 63% at Rotten Tomatoes and $34 million domestic – Lukewarm reviews didn’t hold back Jennifer Lawrence for Joy (60%,) and neither did a poor box office showing keep Michael Fassbender and Kate Winslet from being nominated for Steve Jobs ($17 million.)  The Danish Girl hasn’t had the critical or box-office reception it had anticipated, but both Eddie Redmayne and Alicia Vikander got nominated.

Come on, like the Academy was ever gonna nominate Straight Outta Compton; it’s about gangsta rap! – Again, the film did get one nomination (best original screenplay, for its white writers,) so it’s not like the Academy didn’t know about it or didn’t recognize it as a great film.  Also, from Coal Miner’s Daughter to Walk the Line to Amadeus, musical biopics are like crack to Academy voters.  Is it fair to ignore an incredibly popular, well-reviewed example of the genre because of the style of music it uses?

Idris Elba didn’t get nominated for Beasts of No Nation because it was released on Netflix and the Academy doesn’t like new media - Okay, this one is probably true (at least, it had better be, since there’s no other earthly reason not to recognize Elba’s work here.)  It’s a shame because 1) Netflix has proven time and again that it has serious game when it comes to original programming, and 2) it makes the Academy look pretty fuddy-duddy compared to the Emmys, which have been giving online shows love for years.  Of course, the TV industry also seems to do better at including people of color, so maybe the movie business is just backward as a whole?

Are you saying the people who got nominated didn’t deserve it?  Is Matt Damon just chopped liver?  Who would you have kicked out to give (insert non-nominated PoC’s name here) a slot? – Look, I get it.  The Oscars are an insanely competitive world, and only five people in any one category can snag a nomination.  Tom Hanks didn’t get nominated for Bridge of Spies, after all, and neither did Charlize Theron for Mad Max:  Fury Road.  In any given year, there will be people giving Oscar-caliber performances who just don’t make the cut, and that’s because, once you hit a certain echelon of acting, the delineations of quality are so minute that it largely comes down to the luck of the draw.  Sure, there are always going to be outliers on either side – frontrunners and longshots – but for the most part, it’s a matter of the gods being with you.  But that’s the thing:  if it’s a game of chance, the results should be random in the particulars but reasonably statistical in generalities.  In other words, however large that pool of deserving performances may be – 30?  50?  100? – anyone within that pool should have at least close to an even chance of being nominated in one of the four acting categories.  So, in theory, if that group is 15% people of color, then PoC should make up roughly 15% of the nominations.  Right?  (I know, by the way, that 15% is a depressingly-low number, but I’m keeping it intentionally low in reply to maybe-Black-actors-just-didn’t-have-any-award-worthy-performances-this-year “argument.”)  We know there are 20 nominated actors every year.  A single nomination slot is only 5%.  5%!  So, that means either PoC gave less than 5% of this year’s Oscar-caliber performances, or it doesn’t add up that 20 white actors “just so happened” to be the ones to draw the winning cards for the second year in a row.  Which seems more likely to you?

(Besides, none of this explains why David Oyelowo didn’t get nominated for Selma last year!)

Sicario (2015, R)

Sicario isn’t a big Oscar contender.  It’s only up for one of my priority categories – Roger Deakins for best cimematography – but to me, it’s reminiscent of gritty, violent current-event pictures of recent years, like The Hurt Locker or Zero Dark Thirty.  While focusing on fighting a drug cartel instead of insurgents or terrorists, it has much of the same sensibility as those films.  For whatever reason, I had a harder time connecting with The Hurt Locker and Zero Dark Thirty, so it’s probably no surprise that this film left me a bit cold.

Kate, a dedicated FBI agent, is tired of fighting a losing game.  After a particularly harrowing we-know-exactly-who’s-behind-it-but-we-can’t-pin-it-on-him experience, she’s ready to go all in when she’s invited to volunteer for a very high-level, very hush-hush squad that promises actual results.  She’s eager to make a real difference, but the deeper she gets into the increasingly-sketchy operation, the more she struggles to understand what she’s really gotten herself into.

We’ll start with what works.  The direction is tight and gripping, showing how the threat of violence can somehow simmer in the air and yet, when it finally erupts, still feel like it’s coming out of nowhere.  (Deakins’s work has plenty to do with that – something of an always-a-bridesmaid cinematographer, he’s been nominated for a whopping 16 Oscars and never won.)  I like the basic framework of Kate and a number of the other characters, especially the mysterious and knowledgeable Alejandro and Kate’s FBI partner Reggie.  As far as the latter goes, the close, supportive friendship between Kate and Reggie is one of my favorite parts of the film.  He’s definitely there for the sole purpose of serving her story, which is kind of uncool, but I still like the way they talk things through, look for trouble together, and unwind after a hard day.

The screenplay is a little rougher for me.  It’s all right, but it feels a bit been-there, done-that.  My attention started to wander in the last third of the film, and while many of the characters are set up well, some later fall prey to out-of-character Idiot Ball plotting to get the story moving where it needs to go.  Kate gets the worst of this, which is a shame, because it keeps me from loving her as much as I want to.

That said, she’s still pretty engaging, thanks in huge part to Emily Blunt’s smart performance that walks the right line between toughness and vulnerability.  I may shake my head at some of the things Kate does, but Blunt always sells them with everything she’s got.  Plus, her platonic chemistry with Reggie (played by Daniel Kaluuya, a.k.a. Posh Kenneth from Skins) is off the hook.  Benicio del Toro is great as the enigmatic Alejandro.  Although the role earned him some Oscar buzz a while back, I haven’t heard him mentioned much since the nominations came out and #OscarsSoWhite started up again.  Not sure why.  Is it because he was more of a longshot compared to people like Idris Elba or Michael B. Jordan?  Or maybe the fact that some have been translating “no PoC actors up for Oscars” to mean “no Black actors up for Oscars?”  It’s weird that his performance isn’t really a part of the conversation.  In other news, the film also features a reliably-good Josh Brolin and a brief appearance by Victor Garber.

Warnings

Strong violence, disturbing images, language, drinking, smoking, and sexual content.

Chi-Raq (2015, R)

I’m a little embarrassed to admit that this is my first Spike Lee movie I’ve.  I’d been vaguely aware of it, but it was back-to-back Daily Show interviews with Spike Lee and Nick Cannon that made me go, “Whoa, I need to see this!”  Naturally, it never came to my local theater, and the city an hour+ drive from my house only had it before about two weeks, so I missed it on the big screen.  Netflix just got it on DVD, though, and I snatched it up the first chance I got.

A modern retelling of an Aristophanes play, Chi-Raq takes place in Chicago, where gang-related shootings have ended more American lives than both the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.  The fighting here is focused on two Southside gangs, the Spartans and the Trojans.  Desperate to put a stop to the violence, Lysistrata, the girlfriend of the Spartan leader Chi-Raq, decides to go on a “sex strike” from her man until he agrees to lay down arms, and she enlists women from both the Spartan and Trojan sides, as well as women all over Chicago and beyond, to join the cause.

This being my first Spike Lee movie, I don’t know how it compares to his other work, so we’ll stick to the story at hand.  I thought this film was a pretty singular experience.  It looks amazing, with its very purposeful color scheme, dramatically-framed shots, and semi-musical flair with some movements choreographed or synced to the beat of the soundtrack.  Most of the characters somehow seem archetypal while feeling really specific.  They carry the story with stylish but earnest vibrancy.  The satire is fun, while the commentary sometimes meanders between insightful and overly pointed; at times, it feels a bit too “tell, not show.”  I can see how the film might be labeled “preachy,” but at the same time, there’s a real rawness to it.  This is a sleek, precisely-penned movie, and yet it’s also an urgent voice shouting and sick of not being heard.

A lot of flavor is drawn from the source material.  There are the cheeky reference, like the eye-patch-wearing Trojan leader Cyclops and the jokes about a young Chicagoan named Oedipus, and we have a one-man Greek chorus in the form of dapper Dolmedes.  More notably, however, much of the dialogue is written in verse.  First of all, this is really striking and makes the film stand out from most standard fare.  Overall, I think the device has its pros and cons.  It allows for some really dazzling lines with stunningly-phrased truth bombs and extremely clever rhyming.  That said, a huge chunk of the delivery falls into something of a sing-song cadence that keeps the dialogue from really feeling spoken.  There are times when the rhythm flows more tightly, usually by someone emphasizing the beat just a bit more or a bit less than the general tempo, and then it’s like magic.  Throughout too much of the film, though, it’s at a not-quite-right place somewhere in between, which makes it come across as a little too consciously written.

As Lysistrata and Chi-Raq, both Teyonah Parris and Nick Cannon are great.  I especially love Lysistrata, a potent cross between brilliant, fierce, passionate, and smooth.  Further props go to Angela Bassett as a neighborhood woman and Samuel L. Jackson as Dolmedes.  Also featured are John Cusack, Jennifer Hudson, Harry Lennix (Boyd from Dollhouse,) and Dave Chappelle.

Warnings

Sexual content (including sex scenes and explicit language,) gang violence, swearing, drinking/drug use, and thematic elements.

Creed (2015, PG-13)

I had a heck of a time trying to see this.  I blinked (and missed) its release at my local theater, and since then, it’s vanished from the closest theater every time I’ve contemplated driving out to see it.  I finally managed to catch it, 62 miles away – yeesh.  But you know what?  So worth it.  (Be advised that this is my first Rocky-franchise film ever, so my background is thin.)

Adonis “Donnie” Creed has spent his life in the shadow of a man he never met.  The illegitimate son of boxing legend Apollo Creed (who died in the ring before he was born,) Donnie is determined by follow in his father’s footsteps while at the same time not trading in on his father’s legacy – he boxes under his late mother’s last name.  Despite the protests of his adopted mother – Creed’s widow Mary Anne – who worries for his safety, his efforts take him to Philly, where he attempts to enlist an aging Rocky Balboa as his coach.

Okay – as I’ve said, I’m not a big sports movie person in general, and I’ve seen only a very few boxing movies.  (I feel obliged to point out that one of those is Buster Keaton’s Battling Butler.)  But I loved this movie.  I thought it was absolutely great.  I’ve heard some people say it has pretty strong parallels to the original Rocky – shades of the A New Hope/The Force Awakens comparisons? – and I couldn’t tell you about that, but it’s just incredibly well-made.  The story is compelling, the direction is tight, the characters are meaty and rootable, and the acting is rock-solid.  Every element comes together wonderfully. 

There are beautiful character and story touches throughout, little moments that flesh out these people and the world they inhabit (I particularly like that Donnie’s love interest has stuff going on in her life besides being Donnie’s love interest.)  In tone, the film can be dramatic, exciting, uplifting, humorous, touching, and intense, skipping effortlessly between these variations as the script demands.  The dialogue sounds natural and lived-in, even in the “rah-rah, inspiring sports movie” moments.  Also?  The relationships are excellent.  The mentor-mentee chemistry between Donnie and Rocky is aces, the brief scenes we get between Donnie and Mary Anne are lovely, and I really like the budding relationship between Donnie and aspiring musician Bianca.

Michael B. Jordan is splendid as Donnie.  As Hamilton would say, he’s “young, scrappy, and hungry,” but he’s also angry, in up to his neck if not over his head, and bubbling with unresolved issues.  I’d at first thought Sylvester Stallone’s Oscar nomination was sort of a comprehensive nod to his history of playing Rocky, but he is in truth very good here and rises to the occasion of some fantastic material.  I love Tessa Thompson (who I remember best as Jackie on Veronica Mars) as Bianca, and as Mary Anne, Phylicia Rashad does great work with limited screentime.

On the #OscarsSoWhite front, I really, really wish writer-director Ryan Coogler had been recognized in some way – a screenplay nod if the voters were feeling especially stingy with the directing slots.  I’d have loved to see some love for Michael B. Jordan as well, although the lead actor category is so packed with Oscar-y roles that I’m not sure who he might’ve edged out.

Warnings

Boxing violence, some swearing, and brief sexual content.