Burrow | Cinema Parrot Disco

The Oscars are on this weekend so I’m doing a post with links to the reviews I’ve done of some of the nominated films.

I’ve not managed to watch many of the nominees, especially in the major categories. To be honest, though, I wasn’t overly thrilled with most of the nominees I’ve seen & am not that bothered about seeing those I’ve not seen (other than Promising Young Woman & Minari and possibly The Father & Nomadland).

**Edit to add that I watched Promising Young Woman last night & liked it a lot. Definitely my favorite so far in the major categories. My review is HERE**

Here are my reviews of those I’ve seen (from my favorite to least favorite). And, yes, I enjoyed Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga more than most of the major nominees so far…

Promising Young Woman
Wolfwalkers
Soul
Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga
Sound Of Metal
The Trial of the Chicago 7
The Midnight Sky
Onward
Mank
Borat Subsequent Moviefilm
Mulan
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Pieces of a Woman
Hillbilly Elegy
News of the World
Over the Moon

Documentaries & Shorts I’ve Seen:

My Octopus Teacher
If Anything Happens I Love You
The Present
A Love Song For Latasha
Burrow
Two Distant Strangers

Here are all the Oscar nominees:

Best Picture
Nomadland
Promising Young Woman
The Trial of the Chicago 7
Minari
Sound of Metal
The Father
Judas and the Black Messiah
Mank

Actress in a Leading Role
Frances McDormand, Nomadland
Vanessa Kirby, Pieces of a Woman
Carey Mulligan, Promising Young Woman
Viola Davis, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Andra Day, The United States vs. Billie Holiday

Actor in a Leading Role
Chadwick Boseman, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Anthony Hopkins, The Father
Riz Ahmed, Sound of Metal
Gary Oldman, Mank
Steven Yeun, Minari

Actress in a Supporting Role
Olivia Colman, The Father
Maria Bakalova, Borat Subsequent Moviefilm
Youn Yuh-jung, Minari
Amanda Seyfried, Mank
Glenn Close, Hillbilly Elegy

Actor in a Supporting Role
Daniel Kaluuya, Judas and the Black Messiah
Leslie Odom Jr., One Night in Miami
Sacha Baron Cohen, The Trial of the Chicago 7
Paul Raci, Sound of Metal
Lakeith Stanfield, Judas and the Black Messiah

Directing
Chloe Zhao, Nomadland
Thomas Vinterberg, Another Round
Emerald Fennell, Promising Young Woman
David Fincher, Mank
Lee Isaac Chung, Minari

Costume Design
Emma
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Mank
Mulan
Pinocchio

Music (Original Score)
Da 5 Bloods
Mank
Minari
News of the World
Soul

Sound
Greyhound
Mank
News of the World
Soul
Sound of Metal

Music (Original Song)
“Husavik” from Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga
“Fight For You” from Judas and the Black Messiah
“lo Sì (Seen)” from The Life Ahead (La Vita Davanti a Se)
“Speak Now” from One Night in Miami
“Hear My Voice” from The Trial of the Chicago 7

Writing (Adapted Screenplay)
Nomadland
The Father
One Night in Miami
The White Tiger
Borat Subsequent Moviefilm

Writing (Original Screenplay)
The Trial of the Chicago 7
Judas and the Black Messiah
Promising Young Woman
Sound of Metal
Minari

Animated Short Film
Burrow
Genius Loci
If Anything Happens I Love You
Opera
Yes-People

Live-Action Short Film
Feeling Through
The Letter Room
The Present
Two Distant Strangers
White Eye

Documentary Feature
Collective
Crip Camp
The Mole Agent
My Octopus Teacher
Time

Documentary Short Subject
Colette
A Concerto Is a Conversation
Do Not Split
Hunger Ward
A Love Song for Latasha

Animated Feature Film
Onward
Over the Moon
A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon
Soul
Wolfwalkers

International Feature Film
Denmark, Another Round
Hong Kong, Better Days
Romania, Collective
Tunisia, The Man Who Sold His Skin
Bosnia and Herzegovina, Quo Vadis, Aida?

Production Design
The Father
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Mank
News of the World
Tenet

Cinematography
Judas and the Black Messiah
Mank
News of the World
Nomadland
The Trial of the Chicago 7

Visual Effects
Love and Monsters
The Midnight Sky
Mulan
The One and Only Ivan
Tenet

Makeup and Hairstyling
Emma
Hillbilly Elegy
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Mank
Pinocchio

What are your favorite Oscar nominees this year & what do you most want to see win?

Figured I should review these two films since the Oscars are this weekend & they’re nominated. I also watched a few nominated shorts, so I’ll briefly mention those at the end of this post as well (If Anything Happens I Love You, The Present, A Love Song for Latasha, Burrow & Two Distant Strangers).

Sound Of Metal (2019)

Directed by Darius Marder

Starring: Riz Ahmed, Olivia Cooke, Paul Raci

Plot Synopsis: (via Wikipedia)
Sound of Metal is a 2019 American drama film directed and co-written by Darius Marder starring Riz Ahmed as a metal drummer who loses his hearing.

My Opinion:

I don’t know how to write a full review anymore. I can’t believe I used to do a full review post for pretty much each & every movie I watched?! I think the monthly roundup posts I do now with just a paragraph or so for each movie works better for me as, especially in the past few years, I just don’t have much to say about most current films. I feel like I’ve seen so many movies now that nothing ever feels new or original. It’s probably why I’m going back to exploring much older films that I haven’t yet seen. Movies used to be so much better than they are now. Or am I just old & bitter?!

Why am I rambling? I think it’s because, despite Sound Of Metal certainly being a good film with good performances, I don’t have much to say about it. I mean, it’s not exactly up there with Oscar winners of the past, is it? It’s not The Sound Of Music or The Bridge On The River Kwai, is it? But I’ve felt this way about the Best Picture nominees for years now. Where are the sweeping epics??? It’s all dreary drama now. It’s all performance based. I can appreciate a good performance but it’s not something I’ve ever cared about too much. I mean, I’d rather have an awesome movie with meh performances than a meh movie with awesome performances. But that may just be me. I wouldn’t say Sound Of Metal is at all meh, of course. I just think it’s one that should be up for the acting awards and not Best Picture. (Though I liked it more than the other Best Picture nominees I’ve seen! The Trial Of The Chicago 7 & Mank – those were pretty meh).

Okay, I feel like I’m being negative about this movie when it’s likely to stay one of the films I liked the most after I see all the Best Picture nominees. I’m just venting my frustration at the lack of truly amazing films nowadays. Paul Raci & especially Riz Ahmed were very good & I’m happy to see them nominated. I think they both don’t stand a chance of winning but I’d like to see Ahmed recognised for his work. Also liked Olivia Cooke as his girlfriend but was disappointed that we didn’t see much of their relationship & saw hardly anything to do with their band & career. And, yes – I wanted more actual metal. I’m a big music fan of all genres (well, other than country) and like a lot of metal. I know the focus of the film is the character’s loss of hearing but I’d still have liked to see a little more to do with his music and with his relationship with his girlfriend. I didn’t feel we got to know them well by the end of the film. Also, we didn’t get to know him well enough beforehand to truly understand his loss and what it meant to him.

Well, I’m just nitpicking now. It’s a good film. It gave a good look into the lives of those who have lost their hearing & I liked how they worked together to live with it. And I hope it wins the Oscar for sound – It would be a worthy winner. I could maybe be convinced to give this half a star more but I’ve ranked it 4th for 2021 U.K. releases & I only gave those above it 7/10. So I better stick with a 7 for now…

My Rating: 7/10

My Octopus Teacher (2020)

Directed by Pippa Ehrlich & James Reed

Starring: Craig Foster, Tom Foster, Octopus (Rosetta), Pyjama Shark

Plot Synopsis: (via Wikipedia)
My Octopus Teacher is a 2020 Netflix Original documentary film directed by Pippa Ehrlich and James Reed, which documents a year spent by filmmaker Craig Foster forging a relationship with a wild common octopus in a South African kelp forest.

My Opinion:

I’m terrible about watching documentaries. I don’t know why, as I do enjoy the really good ones but I have to force myself to watch them. So I’m rating & ranking documentaries separately from the movies that I watch as it’s hard to compare them. As far as documentaries go, this is easily my favorite that I’ve seen in a long time. I don’t even like octopuses! (Octopi???). Honestly, they’re creepy little things. They’re fascinating but they’re f*^king weird.

I loved this little octopus by the end of this documentary! I wasn’t expecting to like this so much, so they clearly did a great job with the film. Man, I was so stressed whenever the dangerous shark fish thingies that wanted to eat the octopus got anywhere near her. I was all “Oh no! Swim away, little octopus! Hurry!!!” I was extremely concerned about this octopus. It’s amazing that this dude went diving every single day to watch her. You really do feel like you’re on this journey with him & I loved watching the octopus adapt & learn. Who knew octopuses were so smart?? Brilliant creatures. I may become an octopus fan now thanks to this fantastic documentary.

My Rating: 7.5/10

Nominated Shorts I’ve Seen (with super brief thoughts):

– If Anything Happens I Love You – I already reviewed this a little bit in the link so don’t need to say much more than “This is utterly heartbreaking“. A hard one to watch but a powerful animated short with a message that won’t make the slightest bit of difference in America. Things are never going to change there – I lost hope years ago. Would be happy if this won the Oscar.

– The Present – Thought this was a really good short showing the struggles some people face in doing the most basic day to day things in life that those of us in other countries take completely for granted. It’s why I get so annoyed with people constantly whining about the stupidest shit on Twitter. Shut up with your first world problems!

– A Love Song for Latasha – This is a very short film worth checking out on Netflix. Another very heartbreaking short, this is the Wikipedia synopsis for this true story: “Drawing on memories from the subject’s cousin and best friend, the film reimagines the life of Latasha Harlins, a Black Los Angeles girl shot and killed by a convenience store owner in 1991.”

– Burrow – This is a cute Pixar short (well, one of the SparkShorts shorts). It’s not up there in quality with the likes of the other Pixar shorts that were shown in cinemas before films. Enjoyable but forgettable – Pixar has many better shorts than this one.

– Two Distant Strangers – This is a short also on Netflix. It’s another important message but unfortunately not as well done as the other nominees I’ve seen. To be honest, though, I never watch enough of the short films & find them hard to judge as it must be difficult to fully develop your characters & ideas in such a small amount of time. Is the quality of filmmaking here Oscar-worthy? I don’t know but I think it’s common for shorts & documentaries to be nominated more for their message so I suppose it’s good that they get more people watching them thanks to their nominations. The actors did a decent enough job in this with an okay script & one-dimensional characters.

**I’m now able to watch Promising Young Woman, so I’ll try to watch it & get a review posted before the Oscars. I’ll do a post tomorrow with all the nominees & links to my reviews of all the films I’ve managed to see. Disappointing year so far! But I have yet to see a lot of those nominated in the major categories.