Review: "Loving"

In 1967, the landmark civil rights decision by the United States Supreme Court in Loving v. Virginia invalidated laws prohibiting interracial marriage. The case was brought by Richard and Mildred Loving, an interracial couple sentenced to a year in prison by the Commonwealth of Virginia for marrying each other. As a result of the court's ruling, the number of interracial marriages in the U.S. increased significantly over the years and decades to come and the decision was cited as precedent in future federal court decisions pertaining to the unconstitutionality of restrictions on same-sex marriage in the U.S.

Loving, the immensely moving new film written and directed by Jeff Nichols, follows Richard (the chameleon-like Joel Edgerton) and Mildred (Ruth Negga) as they are harassed and arrested by local authorities for violating the Commonwealth's anti-miscegenation laws. Richard and Mildred move to Washington D.C. to remain married and raise a family but yearn to someday make it back to their family and friends in Virginia. The couple at last sees some light at the end of the tunnel when the American Civil Liberties Union approaches the couple about filing the lawsuit against the Commonwealth that will ultimately lead to the 1967 decision.

The picture is so whole-heartedly convincing that it often looks and feels more like a documentary than a scripted, performed film. Edgerton and Negga do beautiful, lived-in work as Richard and Mildred and they're surrounded by a fine supporting cast, including Nick Kroll, Michael Shannon, Bill Camp and Sharon Blackwood. Nichols' efforts are completely spot-on, with countless aggravating, inspiring, sweet and even occasionally very funny moments. Not a false note is struck. Kudos too to David Wingo's fine original score.

Expect to see lots of Loving this coming awards season.

A

Review: "Arrival"

One of these years, Amy Adams, you will (at last!) take home an Oscar.

Adams, who during her career has stolen scenes from the typically commanding likes of Leonardo DiCaprio (in Catch Me If You Can), Meryl Streep (Doubt) and Joaquin Phoenix (The Master), plus delivered a number of terrific leading turns (Enchanted, in particular), is in exquisite form in the latest film from director Denis Villenueve, Arrival. It might well be her finest work to date, though I've yet to see her comparably acclaimed work in the upcoming Nocturnal Animals.

In the film, Adams portrays Louise Banks, a brilliant linguistics professor recruited by the U.S. military to lead its team of investigators in what has become a global race to successfully communicate with one of a dozen extraterrestrial spacecrafts that have touched down across Earth.

Banks, supported, among others, by a theoretical physicist (Jeremy Renner) and U.S. Army colonel (Forest Whitaker), comes face-to-face with the aliens - dubbed Heptapods - that have landed in the U.S. and works tirelessly to decode the creatures' complicated language. What, Banks hopes to discover, is exactly their purpose for being here? All the while, much of the rest of the world sinks into turmoil and war over these visits and Banks is incessantly haunted - and yet, quite often, helped - by memories of her deceased daughter.

The opening half hour of Arrival comes close to capturing that same awe-inspiring feeling we all had during the finale of Steven Spielberg's Close Encounters of the Third Kind, when Richard Dreyfuss' character, following an arduous journey, finally witnessed, in breathtaking fashion, the arrival of extraterrestrial beings. This picture is also awfully convincing in portraying just what the chaotic global reaction would probably be to such an event.

With that said, after the movie magic that is the first encounter with the extraterrestrials, Arrival has few additional goods to deliver. It stagnates. The picture, as a whole, does not prove as compelling or exciting as Villeneuve's exhilarating Sicario from last year and I found the constant back-and-forth with moments involving her late daughter both overly manipulative and a case of overediting.

Adams is spectacular throughout and ultimately keeps Arrival plenty afloat but, beyond her work, the first quarter of the movie and Bradford Young's stunning cinematography, I don't think the picture works nearly as incredibly as it should have. I suppose the most apt comparison to the film would be Robert Zemeckis' Contact, which also sported one hell of a leading performance (from Jodie Foster) and some intriguing ideas but otherwise looked and felt curiously sterile.

B+

2016 Contenders in Best Animated Feature

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has announced 27 motion pictures have been submitted for consideration in the category of Best Animated Feature. They are:

The Angry Birds Movie
April and the Extraordinary World
Bilal
Finding Dory
Ice Age: Collision Course
Kingsglaive Final Fantasy XV
Kubo and the Two Strings
Kung Fu Panda 3
The Little Prince
Long Way North
Miss Hokusai
Moana
Monkey King: Hero Is Back
Mune
Mustafa & the Magician
My Life as a Zucchini
Phantom Boy
The Red Turtle
Sausage Party
The Secret Life of Pets
Sing
Snowtime!
Storks
Trolls
25 April
Your Name
Zootopia

Review: "Moonlight"

When, early next year, I sit down and reflect on all of the cinema I viewed over the course of 2016, there is scant doubt in my mind that some of the most beautiful, moving moments I witnessed all year will have come from director Barry Jenkins' Moonlight.

For that matter, when I hang up my hat as a moviegoer a century (hopefully longer!) from now, I anticipate this exquisite film will rank sky-high on my list of all-time greatest coming-of-age stories.

The picture, based on Tarell Alvin McCraney's play In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue, traces the life of young Chiron through three chapters, in his childhood, teen years and adulthood.

Nicknamed "Little" as a child, the timid, withdrawn Chiron is bullied by classmates and finds minimal comfort at home with his controlling, drug-abusing mother (Naomie Harris). His only solace comes in moments spent alongside his kind, empathetic best friend Kevin and a crack dealer named Juan (the brilliant Mahershala Ali) he befriends and slowly opens up to.

As a teenager, Chiron continues to face harassment at school, often violent, and his mother declines into full-out addiction. All the while, he still has Kevin to turn to, and their relationship blossoms into something so much more substantial and special. It also, however, is complicated by the peer pressures Kevin faces by classmates who despise and wish to inflict pain on Chiron.

The third chapter finds a far tougher and more tenacious Chiron in his adulthood. Now going by the name "Black" (given to him by Kevin back in high school), he emulates a key past figure from his life and maintains a shaky, long-distance relationship with his mother, who has at last sought to keep herself out of trouble. Chiron has not seen or spoken with Kevin in years but that changes one evening when he receives a phone call from his old best friend.

From start to finish, Moonlight is full of immensely powerful, often startling moments. Jenkins captures nuanced feelings of childhood in a way I haven't seen so vividly drawn since scenes from Terrence Malick's The Tree of Life. The picture is often a heartbreaker for sure but never manipulative and just about everything here rings true. While certain images from the first chapter have most stayed with me since seeing the film, I think Moonlight's dialogue especially comes to life in the final half hour, as Chiron sits down with the man who perhaps knows him best.

Ali and Harris have garnered the bulk of chatter in terms of awards season speculation and both are fantastic, no doubt. But it's a real shame if we neglect to just as loudly rave about the rest of Moonlight's incredible cast. Alex Hibbert, Ashton Sanders and Trevante Rhodes are devastatingly good as the child, teen and adult Chirons, respectively. Andre Holland is excellent as adult Kevin and Jaden Piner and Jharrel Jerome are strong too portraying him as a child and teenager. A real standout for me here was also Janelle Monae, warm and engaging in her scenes as Juan's wife and another of the few figures Chiron can count on - she has a bright screen presence that all but ensures a great film career to come.

I have came across some wariness to Moonlight from moviegoers who either view the film has a guaranteed downer or loathe cinema concerning drugs and won't check it out on that basis alone. To folks in either of those two groups - this thing is a real must-see, gorgeously filmed, stuffed with one extraordinary performance after another and featuring some of the sharpest writing I've encountered in the 2010s. Go!

A

2016 Oscar Nomination Predictions (November)

Howdy, fellow Oscar junkies!

Since October and my last set of Oscar predictions, the following events have gone down in this wild and awesome ride of an awards season:

• Ang Lee's Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk garnered mixed-to-negative notices from attendees of its New York Film Festival premiere.
   
• Paramount Pictures announced Viola Davis will receive a Best Supporting Actress campaign for her turn in Denzel Washington's Fences.
   
• New trailers dropped for Annette Bening pics 20th Century Women and Rules Don't Apply.
   
• The Academy announced 85 foreign language films and 145 documentary features will compete for consideration in their respective categories.

Please check out below my latest Oscar predix, for the month of November. In parentheses you will find how many slots a contender has moved up or down since my October rankings. In a number of cases (I'm looking at you, Billy Lynn), I have booted a film or performer entirely.

Enjoy and, as always, feel free to comment with your own thoughts as well!

Best Picture

1. La La Land (-)
2. Jackie (-)
3. Arrival (+3)
4. Manchester by the Sea (-1)
5. Silence (+2)
6. Moonlight (+4)
7. Fences (-3)
8. Loving (-)
9. Hidden Figures (-)
   ---
10. Rules Don't Apply (+5)
11. 20th Century Women (+1)
12. Lion (-1)
13. Sully (NEW)
14. Nocturnal Animals (-1)
15. Allied (-1)

DROPPED
Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk (-10)

Best Director

1. Damien Chazelle, La La Land (-)
2. Denis Villanueve, Arrival (-)
3. Martin Scorsese, Silence (+1)
4. Pablo Larrain, Jackie (+2)
5. Kenneth Lonergan, Manchester by the Sea (+2)
   ---
6. Barry Jenkins, Moonlight (+4)
7. Denzel Washington, Fences (-2)
8. Warren Beatty, Rules Don't Apply (+1)
9. Clint Eastwood, Sully (NEW)
10. Jeff Nichols, Loving (-2)

DROPPED
Ang Lee, Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk (-7)

Best Lead Actor

1. Casey Affleck, Manchester by the Sea (-)
2. Denzel Washington, Fences (-)
3. Ryan Gosling, La La Land (-)
4. Joel Edgerton, Loving (-)
5. Andrew Garfield, Silence (+1)
   ---
6. Warren Beatty, Rules Don't Apply (NEW)
7. Tom Hanks, Sully (-)
8. Michael Keaton, The Founder (+1)
9. Jake Gyllenhaal, Nocturnal Animals (-1)
10. Robert De Niro, The Comedian (NEW)

DROPPED:
Joe Alwyn, Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk (-5)
Dev Patel, Lion (-1)

Best Lead Actress

1. Emma Stone, La La Land (-)
2. Natalie Portman, Jackie (-)
3. Annette Bening, 20th Century Women (+1)
4. Amy Adams, Arrival (+3)
5. Meryl Streep, Florence Foster Jenkins (-)
   ---
6. Ruth Negga, Loving (-)
7. Taraji P. Henson, Hidden Figures (+1)
8. Jessica Chastain, Miss Sloane (+1)
9. Isabelle Huppert, Elle (+1)
10. Kate Beckinsale, Love & Friendship (NEW)

DROPPED
Viola Davis, Fences (-7)

Best Supporting Actor

1. Liam Neeson, Silence (-)
2. Lucas Hedges, Manchester by the Sea (+2)
3. Peter Sarsgaard, Jackie (-)
4. Michael Shannon, Nocturnal Animals (-2)
5. Mahershala Ali, Moonlight (+1)
   ---
6. Jeff Bridges, Hell or High Water (-1)
7. Adam Driver, Silence (-)
8. Hugh Grant, Florence Foster Jenkins (NEW)
9. Dev Patel, Lion (NEW)
10. Stephen Henderson, Fences (-1)

DROPPED
Steve Martin, Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk (-3)
Mykelti Williamson, Fences (-1)

Best Supporting Actress

1. Michelle Williams, Manchester by the Sea (-)
2. Naomie Harris, Moonlight (-)
3. Viola Davis, Fences (NEW)
4. Greta Gerwig, 20th Century Women (-1)
5. Nicole Kidman, Lion (-)
   ---
6. Octavia Spencer, Hidden Figures (-)
7. Lupita Nyong'o, Queen of Katwe (-)
8. Annette Bening, Rules Don't Apply (-)
9. Felicity Jones, A Monster Calls (-)
10. Molly Shannon, Other People (-)

DROPPED
Kristen Stewart, Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk (-6)

Best Original Screenplay

1. Kenneth Lonergan, Manchester by the Sea (-)
2. Noah Oppenheim, Jackie (-)
3. Barry Jenkins and Tarell McCraney, Moonlight (+1)
4. Jeff Nichols, Loving (-1)
5. Damien Chazelle, La La Land (-)
   ---
6. Warren Beatty, Rules Don't Apply (+3)
7. Mike Mills, 20th Century Women (-1)
8. Jared Bush, Byron Howard, Phil Johnston, Jennifer Lee, Rich Moore, Jim Reardon and Josie Trinidad, Zootopia (-1)
9. Ron Clements and John Musker, Moana (-1)
10. Asghar Farhadi, The Salesman (-)

Best Adapted Screenplay

1. August Wilson, Fences (-)
2. Eric Heisserer, Arrival (+5)
3. Jay Cocks, Silence (-)
4. Tom Ford, Nocturnal Animals (-)
5. Allison Schroeder, Hidden Figures (-)
   ---
6. Luke Davies, Lion (-)
7. Ben Affleck, Live by Night (+1)
8. Whit Stillman, Love & Friendship (+1)
9. David Birke, Elle (+1)
10. Todd Komarnicki, Sully (NEW)

DROPPED
Jean-Christophe Castelli, Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk (-9)

Best Animated Feature

1. Zootopia (-)
2. Moana (-)
3. Sing (-)
4. The Red Turtle (-)
5. Finding Dory (-)
   ---
6. Kubo and the Two Strings (-)
7. April and the Extraordinary World (-)
8. Miss Hokusai (-)
9. Sausage Party (-)
10. The Secret Life of Pets (-)

Best Cinematography

1. Linus Sandgren, La La Land (-)
2. Bradford Young, Arrival (+1)
3. Stephanie Fontaine, Jackie (+1)
4. Rodrigo Prieto, Silence (+1)
5. Seamus McGarvey, Nocturnal Animals (+1)
   ---
6. Bill Pope, The Jungle Book (+1)
7. Robert Richardson, Live by Night (+1)
8. James Laxton, Moonlight (+1)
9. Caleb Deschanel, Rules Don't Apply (NEW)
10. Charlotte Bruus Christiansen, Fences (-)

DROPPED
John Toll, Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk (-9)

Best Costume Design

1. Mary Zophres, La La Land (-)
2. Madeline Fontaine, Jackie (-)
3. Sandy Powell, Silence (-)
4. Albert Wolsky, Rules Don't Apply (-)
5. Eimer Ni Mhaoldomhnaigh, Love & Friendship (-)
   ---
6. Consolata Boyle, Florence Foster Jenkins (-)
7. Colleen Atwood, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (+2)
8. Sharen Davis, Fences (-)
9. Jacqueline West, Live by Night (+1)
10. Joanna Johnston, Allied (-3)

Best Film Editing

1. Tom Cross, La La Land (-)
2. Thelma Schoonmaker, Silence (+1)
3. Joe Walker, Arrival (+3)
4. Sebastián Sepúlveda, Jackie (-2)
5. Joi McMillon and Nat Sanders, Moonlight (+3)
   ---
6. Joan Sobel, Nocturnal Animals (+1)
7. Jennifer Lame, Manchester by the Sea (+2)
8. Hughes Winborne, Fences (-2)
9. Blu Murray, Sully (NEW)
10. Alexandre de Francheschi, Lion (NEW)

DROPPED
Tim Squyre, Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk (-7)
Jeremiah O’Driscoll, Allied (-1)

Best Makeup & Hairstyling

1. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (-)
2. Florence Foster Jenkins (-)
3. Rules Don't Apply (-)
   ---
4. Jackie (+1)
5. Hail, Caesar! (+1)
6. Silence (NEW)
7. Love & Friendship (-3)
8. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (-1)
9. Star Trek: Beyond (+1)
10. Live by Night (-2)

DROPPED
Hidden Figures (-2)

Best Original Score

1. Johann Johansson, Arrival (+1)
2. Howard Shore, Silence (+1)
3. Mica Levi, Jackie (+1)
4. Opetaia Foa’i, Mark Mancina and Lin-Manuel Miranda, Moana (-3)
5. Michael Giacchino, Zootopia (+1)
   ---
6. Justin Hurwitz, La La Land (+1)
7. Michael Giacchino, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (+1)
8. Alexandre Desplat, Florence Foster Jenkins (+2)
9. John Williams, The BFG (NEW)
10. Thomas Newman, Finding Dory (-1)

DROPPED
Jeff and Mychael Danna, Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk (-6)

Best Original Song

1. "City of Stars," La La Land (-)
2. "Audition," La La Land (+1)
3. "We Know the Way," Moana (-1)
4. "How Far I'll Go," Moana (-)
5. "Victory," Hidden Figures (-)
   ---
6. "Go Now," Sing Street (-)
7. "A Letter to the Free," 13th (-)
8. "The Great Beyond, Sausage Party (-)
9. "Can't Stop the Feeling," Trolls (-)
10. "Rules Don't Apply," Rules Don't Apply (NEW)

DROPPED
"Dancing in the Shadows," Po (-1)

Best Production Design

1. David Wasco, La La Land (-)
2. Dante Ferretti, Silence (-)
3. Jean Rabasse, Jackie (-)
4. Jeannine Oppewall, Rules Don't Apply (-)
5. Stuart Craig, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (-)
   ---
6. Anna Rackard, Love & Friendship (+2)
7. Jess Gonchor, Live by Night (+2)
8. Patrice Vermette, Arrival (NEW)
9. Gary Freeman, Allied (-3)
10. David Gropman, Fences (-3)

DROPPED
Mark Friedberg, Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk (-2)

Best Sound Editing

1. La La Land (-)
2. Arrival (-)
3. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (-)
4. Silence (+1)
5. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (+2)
   ---
6. Captain America: Civil War (+4)
7. Passengers (+2)
8. Sully (NEW)
9. Hacksaw Ridge (NEW)
10. Moana (-4)

DROPPED
Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk (-7)
Allied (-3)

Best Sound Mixing

1. La La Land (-)
2. Arrival (-)
3. Silence (+1)
4. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (+2)
5. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (+2)
   ---
6. Moana (-1)
7. Zootopia (+3)
8. Sully (NEW)
9. Captain America: Civil War (NEW)
10. Passengers (-1)

DROPPED
Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk (-8)
Allied (-3)

Best Visual Effects

1. Arrival (-)
2. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (-)
3. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (+2)
4. Passengers (-1)
5. The Jungle Book (+1)
   ---
6. Captain America: Civil War (+1)
7. Doctor Strange (NEW)
8. Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk (-3)
9. A Monster Calls (-1)
10. Star Trek: Beyond (-1)

DROPPED
Deadpool (-1)

Best Documentary Feature

1. 13th (-)
2. Gleason (-)
3. Lo and Behold, Reveries of the Connected World (+7)
4. Equal Means Equal (-)
5. The Eagle Huntress (NEW)
   ---
6. Fire at Sea (+1)
7. Miss Sharon Jones (+1)
8. By Sidney Lumet (+1)
9. The Beatles: Eight Days a Week - The Touring Years (NEW)
10. Newtown (-5)

DROPPED
The Seasons in Quincy: Four Portraits of John Berger (-8)
Three Days of Terror: The Charlie Hebdo Attacks (-5)

Best Foreign Language Film

1. The Salesman (Iran) (-)
2. Toni Erdmann (Germany) (NEW)
3. Death in Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina) (-1)
4. Elle (France) (-1)
5. Sand Storm (Israel) (-1)
   ---
6. Ma'Rosa (Phillippines) (-1)
7. Julieta (Spain) (-1)
8. From Afar (Venezuela) (-1)
9. The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mäki (Finland) (-1)
10. Barakah Meets Barakah (Saudi Arabia) (-1)

DROPPED
Train Driver's Diary (Serbia) (-1)