Nomadland Nominated Producers: Frances McDormand, Peter Spears, Mollye Asher, Dan Janvey and Chloé ZhaoDirector: Chloé ZhaoWriter: Chloé Zhao (based on the book by Jessica Bruder)Cast: Frances McDormand, David Strathairn, Linda May, Bob Wells, Swankie Wheels, others. Plot: Fern is houseless, not homeless. In another life, her husband worked for the …
The Father Nominated Producers: David Parfitt, Jean-Louis Livi, and Philippe CarcassonneDirector: Florian ZellerWriters: Christopher Hampton, Florian Zeller (from his stage play) Cast: Anthony Hopkins, Olivia Colman, Rufus Sewell, Imogen Poots, Olivia Williams, Mark Gatiss, Ayesha Dharker Plot: Something funny is going on. Anne thinks that her aging father Anthony can’t …
Maria Bakalova Age: 24Film: Borat Subsequent MoviefilmRole: Tutar Sagdiyev, daughter of the (in)famous Borat, who travels with him to America where he hopes to give her as a gift to Mike Pence but keeps running into obstacles as Covid-19 presents novel challenges to his schemes. Nomination History:This is Bakalova’s first …
Riz Ahmed Age: 38Film: Sound of MetalRole: Ruben, the drummer in a two-person punk band who suddenly begins losing his hearing. Ruben’s music is quite literally his life since his bandmate is also his trailer mate and (in his mind) his soul mate, so when his hearing loss rapidly deteriorates, …
Best Picture: # 48Original Release Date: November 19, 1975Rating: RRuntime: 2 hours, 13 minutesDirector: Milos Formos Quick Impressions:I’ve never read Ken Kesey’s novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, and this was my first time watching the film, but I did see the stage play in high school when my …
Viola Davis Age: 55Film: Ma Rainey’s Black BottomRole: Ma Rainey, early Blues legend and vaudeville star who comes to Chicago on a sweltering day in July, 1927, to make a record of some of her hit songs. Though Ma lives up to her reputation for being difficult, she’s the one …
Best Picture: #47Original Release Date: December 18, 1974Rating: RRuntime: 3 hour, 22 minutesDirector: Francis Ford Coppola Quick Impressions:Watching this movie with my daughter made me realize sadly that we will never get to watch Godfather III together and finish out the series. (Well, I mean, I guess there’s no law …
Sacha Baron Cohen Age: 49Film: The Trial of the Chicago 7Role: Abbie Hoffman, the charismatic and controversial political activist/comedian/leader of the Youth International Party accused (with six or seven others) of conspiracy and crossing state lines to incite a riot near the Democratic National Convention in Chicago the summer of …
Best Picture: #44Original Release Date: October 9, 1971Rating: RRuntime: 1 hour, 44 minutesDirector: William Friedkin Quick Impressions:My mother hated The French Connection. I can’t so much as think of the title without imagining my mom raving about how awful it was. In fact, she frequently cited it as the nadir …
Best Picture: #43Original Release Date: April 22, 1970Rating: PGRuntime: 2 hours, 52 minutesDirector: Franklin J. Schaffner Quick Impressions:Before watching this film, my daughter and I found its theatrical trailer on YouTube, and…um…wow. That left us with quite a strange (and strong) impression of the movie. For one thing, unlike the …
