November has finally come and the Oscar fever is rising! Soon the first nominations and awards will be announced and you will be able to follow it all here. But let's have a look at some of the recent news. I will also give you my opinion of some movies that I have seen in the meantime.
A couple of weeks ago the Academy announced its longlist of countries submitting their movie for the International Feature Film Oscar. The list was 93 titles long, which was a record. Unfortunately, the Academy had to disqualify one movie; the Nigerian film contained English dialogue, which is a big nono. Really too bad, since it was the first time that Nigeria participated.
Ford vs. Ferrari has been released in the meantime and the reviews are mainly (very) positive. Quite extraordinary is the fact that the two main actors - Matt Damon and Christian Bale - will be competing against each other in the Best Actor category. What happens when you have 2 very strong actors in one movie, is that usually, one would end up in the Best Actor category and the other in the Best Supporting Actor category. In my eyes, this is quite a gamble especially since the Best Actor category this year is already overflowing with some very big names. Let's see how this all works out.
Could this be the year that the Academy will give an Oscar to some remarkable comebacks - or at least nominate them? Let's have a look:
- Renee Zellweger for Judy: she already has won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress (Cold Mountain) and could be on her way to win for Best Actress. She still is a huge favourite in this category (and has been so since the very beginning).
- Joe Pesci for The Irishman: in the nineties, he won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for Goodfellas. I don't think it will be a surprise when he gets a nomination in the same category again and maybe win? As I have mentioned before, the categories of Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor are filled to the brim with some of the biggest names in the industry, so expect some stiff competition here.
- Eddie Murphy for Dolemite Is My Name: Murphy has never won an Oscar but was nominated for Best Supporting Actor for Dreamgirls. Will we see him in the Best Actor category?
This weekend I caught up with some movies on Netflix. The first one was The Laundromat, based on the affair with the Panama Papers. I had very high expectations for this movie, especially after having seen the trailer. Director Soderbergh has a very good reputation and it's always a joy to see Meryl Streep and Gary Oldman act. But that's about it; the screenplay is badly written, it tries to tell too many things at the same time, resulting in a confusing movie. I could be mistaken but I don't think this is going to be a huge Oscars contender.
I also saw The King: great story, even greater battle scenes and some fine acting. But Timothée Chalomet lacked the experience to play the complex character of Henry V and it shows in the scenes with Robert Pattinson for example who has really grown as an actor. Too bad for Timothée Chalomet, but maybe he can make an appearance in the Best Supporting Actor (Little Women). But give Chalomet some more years and I predict that we will see him turn into a great or even formidable actor.
To be honest, I was quite unexpectedly blown away by Dolemite Is My Name. What a great and exciting movie! It contains an electrifying energy, supported by the funky music and especially by the performance by Eddie Murphy. Dare I say the truth: I didn't know that he could be such a tremendous actor. By the way, Wesley Snipes was an agreeable surprise as well. But how well will Dolemite Is My Name do with the Oscars?
So far I have 3 Oscar favourites: Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Parasite and Dolemite Is My Name. Usually, I have only or two, so three is very unusual, to say the least. And I have yet to see The Irishman. I know that in my first update I confessed to not being a Scorcese fan. But after having heard and seen some very good stuff, I am actually looking forward to seeing the movie, and I even expect to be blown away by it. This is indeed becoming a very interesting Oscar race!
My next Oscars update will probably come in 2 weeks. Tomorrow I will update my travel website.
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