Review: Thoroughbreds (2018)

* * *
Director: Cory Finley
Starring: Olivia Cooke, Anya Taylor-Joy, Anton Yelchin

I wanted to like Thoroughbreds a lot more than I actually did. The first two-thirds are clever, intriguing, and go to darker places than most movies about teenagers that aren't outright horror movies or Heathers. Then the ending comes along and ties everything up so quickly and so neatly that I could only feel disappointed. Thoroughbreds is a perfectly fine film built on a trio of strong performances from Olivia Cooke, Anya Taylor-Joy, and the late Anton Yelchin, and a film which, despite its origins as a play, manages not to feel stagey (though it helps that the narrative is enhanced by a feeling of claustrophobia), but it just doesn't quite get there as a story despite a solid build up.

Review: Black Panther (2018)

* * * 1/2
Director: Ryan Coogler
Starring: Chadwick Boseman, Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong'o

Long live the King. To watch Black Panther is to be awed, not just by the film itself (though it is a work of incredible achievement) but by the tradition that it joins. As the opening credits unfold, highlighting the characters and films of the Marvel cinematic universe, it's hard to be unimpressed by what Marvel has accomplished, the way that it has brought together so many moving pieces, creating properties that are unique from each other but also complement and build off of each other as part of one large, unified tapestry. That this is not as easy as Marvel (barring a misstep in the form of The Incredible Hulk) has made it look is evident in the struggles of other would-be cinematic universes, from the struggling DC's superhero series to Universal's dead on arrival "Dark" universe. Eventually the series will start to be hit by the reality that you can only go so high before you start to come down, but that sure as hell doesn't happen with Black Panther, which joins Guardians of the Galaxy, Ant-Man, Doctor Strange and Thor: Ragnarok as movies that probably could not have been made 10 years ago (or, at least, not with the budgets and hype that they got) and continues Marvel's streak of just getting better and better.

Oscar Winners

As they're announced:

Best Picture: The Shape of Water

Best Actress: Frances McDormand, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Best Actor: Gary Oldman, Darkest Hour

Best Director: Guillermo del Toro, The Shape of Water

Best Original Song: "Remember Me," Coco

Best Original Score: Alexandre Desplat, The Shape of Water

Best Cinematography: Roger Deakins, Blade Runner 2049 (FINALLY!)

Best Original Screenplay: Jordan Peele, Get Out

Best Adapted Screenplay: James Ivory, Call Me By Your Name

Best Live Action Short Film: The Silent Child

Best Documentary Short Subject: Heaven is a Traffic Jam on the 405

Best Film Editing: Lee Smith, Dunkirk

Best Visual Effects: Blade Runner 2049

Best Animated Feature: Coco

Best Animated Short Film: Dear Basketball

Best Supporting Actress: Allison Janney, I, Tonya

Best Foreign Language Film: A Fantastic Woman

Best Production Design: The Shape of Water

Best Sound Mixing: Dunkirk

Best Sound Editing: Dunkirk

Best Documentary Feature: Icarus

Best Costume Design: Mark Bridges, Phantom Thread

Best Makeup and Hairstyling: Darkest Hour

Best Supporting Actor: Sam Rockwell, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Oscar Predictions

Winners will be announced tomorrow, here is my list of predictions:

Best Picture: The Shape of Water

Best Director: Guillermo del Toro, The Shape of Water

Best Actress: Frances McDormand, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Best Actor: Gary Oldman, Darkest Hour

Best Supporting Actor: Sam Rockwell, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Best Supporting Actress: Laurie Metcalf, Lady Bird

Best Original Screenplay: Jordan Peele, Get Out

Best Adapted Screenplay: James Ivory, Call Me By Your Name

Best Film Editing: Lee Smith, Dunkirk

Best Cinematography: Dan Lausten, The Shape of Water

Best Production Design: The Shape of Water

Best Costume Design: Mark Bridges, Phantom Thread

Best Makeup and Hairstyling: Arjen Tuiten, Wonder

Best Visual Effects: Blade Runner 2049

Best Sound Editing: Dunkirk

Best Sound Mixing: The Shape of Water

Best Original Score: Alexandre Desplat, The Shape of Water

Best Original Song: "Remember Me," Coco

Best Documentary Feature: Faces Places

Best Foreign Language Film: Loveless

Best Animated Feature: Coco

Best Animated Short Film: LOU

Best Live Action Short Film: My Nephew Emmett

Best Documentary Short Film: Traffic Stop

90th Academy Awards: Best Picture

The nominees are:

Call Me By Your Name
Plot: A teenage boy falls in love with the male student of his professor father, who comes to stay with his family during the summer.

Nominated Producers and Oscar History:

* Peter Spears: First nomination

* Luca Guadagnino: First nomination

* Emilie Georges: First nomination

* Marco Morabito: First nomination

Total Nominations for Film: 4 (Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Original Song)

90th Academy Awards: Best Director

The nominees are:

Paul Thomas Anderson, Phantom Thread
Oscar History: 1 previous nomination for Best Director, 2 nominations for Best Original Screenplay, 2 nominations for Best Adapted Screenplay; also nominated for Best Picture