2017 Oscar Nomination Predictions (October)

October 10, 2017 by Andrew Carden in Oscars

What up, my fellow Oscar lovers?

Over the past month, since my September predictions, a host of developments have transpired in this roller coaster ride of an awards season:

Trailers were released for a batch of contenders - All the Money in the World, The Meyerowitz Stories, Roman J. Israel, Esq., Star Wars: The Last Jedi and Wonder Wheel
Oscar hopefuls Battle of the Sexes and Stronger opened to solid critical notices - will, however, they be showered in awards love beyond for Emma Stone and Jake Gyllenhaal? Likewise, will Victoria and Abdul, the recipient of more lukewarm acclaim than those pictures, make much of a mark at all come awards time? (Note, however, that Victoria is faring better at the box office than the other two pics.)
Speaking of box office, Blade Runner 2049, despite glowing reviews, is struggling a make bank. With lackluster receipts, can the Harrison Ford-Ryan Gosling flick really be a major Oscar contender, beyond the technical categories?
Darren Aronofsky's mother! (a film I for one adored) polarized critics upon hitting theaters and managed to net that elusive F grade over at CinemaScore. Folks who thought this might just be Michelle Pfeiffer's year probably ought to move on. :(
In a move that shakes up Lead and Supporting Actor forecasts, Bryan Cranston shall be campaigned in the latter category for Last Flag Flying, with Steve Carell the sole Lead push and Laurence Fishburne (as expected) also in Supporting.
Sony Pictures Classics has picked up The Wife for distribution...in 2018. Fingers crossed for six-time Oscar nominee/legend Glenn Close next year!
Entertainment Studios has picked up the Christian Bale drama Hostiles for distribution this year. The picture, which won warm notices at the Telluride Film Festival, joins Chappaquiddick as the distributor's awards season pushes.

No doubt, I'm forgetting something of significance that recently went down.

Please see below my latest set of Oscar predictions, for the month of October. In parentheses you will find how many spots a contender has moved up or down since my last rankings. In some cases, I have dropped a film or performer entirely. Also, this marks the first month I am attempting predictions in both Documentary Feature and Foreign Language Film.

Have fun reading and, as always, feel free to comment with your own thoughts too!

Best Picture

Dunkirk (-)
The Shape of Water (-)
The Post (+2)
Darkest Hour (-1)
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (NEW)
Call Me By Your Name (-2)
The Florida Project (-)
Mudbound (-)
The Disaster Artist (NEW)
---
Coco (+1)
Phantom Thread (+3)
Lady Bird (+3)
The Big Sick (NEW)
Get Out (NEW)
Wonder Wheel (-6)

DROPPED
Last Flag Flying (-10)
Battle of the Sexes (-6)
Blade Runner 2049 (-3)

Best Director

Guillermo del Toro, The Shape of Water (-)
Christopher Nolan, Dunkirk (-)
Steven Spielberg, The Post (+2)
Joe Wright, Darkest Hour (-1)
Martin McDonagh, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (NEW)
---
Luca Guadagnino, Call Me By Your Name (-2)
Dee Rees, Mudbound (-1)
Sean Baker, The Florida Project (NEW)
Denis Villeneuve, Blade Runner 2049 (-2)
Paul Thomas Anderson, Phantom Thread (-2)

DROPPED
Woody Allen, Wonder Wheel (-2)
Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, Battle of the Sexes (-1)

Best Lead Actor

Gary Oldman, Darkest Hour (-)
Timothee Chalamet, Call Me By Your Name (-)
Tom Hanks, The Post (+5)
Jake Gyllenhaal, Stronger (-1)
Daniel Day-Lewis, Phantom Thread (-1)
---
Andrew Garfield, Breathe (-1)
James Franco, The Disaster Artist (-1)
Steve Carell, Last Flag Flying (-)
Harry Dean Stanton, Lucky (NEW)
Denzel Washington, Roman J. Israel, Esq. (-)

DROPPED
Bryan Cranston, Last Flag Flying (-7)

Best Lead Actress

Frances McDormand, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (+1)
Sally Hawkins, The Shape of Water (+1)
Meryl Streep, The Post (+3)
Jessica Chastain, Molly's Game (-)
Judi Dench, Victoria & Abdul (+4)
---
Kate Winslet, Wonder Wheel (-1)
Emma Stone, Battle of the Sexes (-6)
Annette Bening, Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool (-1)
Saoirse Ronan, Lady Bird (-1)
Margot Robbie, I, Tonya (NEW)

DROPPED
Glenn Close, The Wife (-2)

Best Supporting Actor

Willem Dafoe, The Florida Project (-)
Sam Rockwell, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (+2)
Michael Stuhlbarg, Call Me By Your Name (-1)
Michael Shannon, The Shape of Water (+2)
Ben Mendelsohn, Darkest Hour (-2)
---
Armie Hammer, Call Me By Your Name (+1)
Dustin Hoffman, The Meyerowitz Stories (NEW)
Bryan Cranston, Last Flag Flying (NEW)
Richard Jenkins, The Shape of Water (-1)
Jason Mitchell, Mudbound (-)

DROPPED
Laurence Fishburne, Last Flag Flying (-5)
Idris Elba, Molly's Game (-2)

Best Supporting Actress

Melissa Leo, Novitiate (-)
Laurie Metcalf, Lady Bird (+1)
Allison Janney, I, Tonya (+3)
Octavia Spencer, The Shape of Water (-2)
Kristin Scott Thomas, Darkest Hour (-)
---
Holly Hunter, The Big Sick (-2)
Tatiana Maslany, Stronger (NEW)
Claire Foy, Breathe (NEW)
Hong Chau, Downsizing (-1)
Mary J. Blige, Mudbound (-)

DROPPED
Michelle Pfeiffer, mother! (-4)
Julianne Moore, Wonderstruck (-2)

Best Original Screenplay

Martin McDonagh, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (+2)
Anthony McCarten, Darkest Hour (-1)
Guillermo del Toro, The Shape of Water (-1)
Liz Hannah and Josh Singer, The Post (NEW)
Sean Baker and Chris Bergoch, The Florida Project (-)
---
Greta Gerwig, Lady Bird (-)
Woody Allen, Wonder Wheel (-3)
Emily V. Gordon and Kumail Nanjiani, The Big Sick (-1)
Jordan Peele, Get Out (-)
Paul Thomas Anderson, Phantom Thread (-2)

DROPPED
Simon Beaufoy, Battle of the Sexes (-1)

Best Adapted Screenplay

James Ivory, Call Me By Your Name (-)
Dee Rees and Virgil Williams, Mudbound (-)
Angelina Jolie and Loung Ung, First They Killed My Father (NEW)
Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber, The Disaster Artist (-)
Richard Linklater and Darryl Ponicsan, Last Flag Flying (-2)
---
Aaron Sorkin, Molly's Game (-)
Sofia Coppola, The Beguiled (-1)
John Pollono, Stronger (NEW)
Jason Fuchs, Allan Heinberg, William Moulton Marston and Zack Snyder, Wonder Woman (NEW)
Matt Greenhalgh and Peter Turner, Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool (NEW)

DROPPED
Peter Fellos, Armando Iannucci, Ian Martin, Fabien Nury, Theirry Robin and David Schneider, The Death of Stalin (-5)
Hampton Fancher and Michael Green, Blade Runner 2049 (-4)
Andrew Haigh, Lean on Pete (-3)

Best Animated Feature

Coco (-)
Loving Vincent (-)
The Breadwinner (-)
The Girl Without Hands (NEW)
Cars 3 (-1)
---
Despicable Me 3 (-1)
Ferdinand (-1)
The Lego Batman Movie (-1)
Mary and the Witch's Flower (NEW)
The Lego Ninjago (-2)

DROPPED
Leap! (-2)
Captain Underpants (-1)

Best Documentary Feature

City of Ghosts
Faces, Place
Ex Libris
Hell on Earth
Risk
---
Cries from Syria
L.A. 92
The Life and Death of Marsha P. Johnson
Abacus
Joan Didion: The Center Will Not Hold

Best Foreign Language Film

First They Killed My Father (Cambodia)
A Fantastic Woman (Chile)
A Letter to the President (Afghanistan)
Her Love Boils Bathwater (Japan)
A Taxi Driver (South Korea)
---
In the Fade (Germany)
The Square (Sweden)
Scary Mother (Georgia)
The Train of Salt and Sugar (Mozambique)
Summer 1993 (Spain)

Best Cinematography

Hoyte Van Hoytema, Dunkirk (-)
Roger Deakins, Blade Runner 2049 (-)
Dan Laustsen, The Shape of Water (+1)
Bruno Delbonnel, Darkest Hour (-2)
Vittorio Storaro, Wonder Wheel (+2)
---
Janusz Kaminski, The Post (-1)
Sayombhu Mukdeeprom, Call Me By Your Name (-2)
Rachel Morrison, Mudbound (-)
Edward Lachman, Wonderstruck (-)
Masanobu Takayanagi, Hostiles (-)

Best Costume Design

Jacqueline Durran, Darkest Hour (-)
Ellen Miojnick, The Greatest Showman (+3)
Jacqueline Durran, Beauty and the Beast (+3)
Consolata Boyle, Victoria & Abdul (-2)
Sandy Powell, Wonderstruck (-2)
---
Alexandra Byrne and Timothy Everest, Murder on the Orient Express (+1)
Mark Bridges, Phantom Thread (-3)
Suzy Benzinger, Wonder Wheel (NEW)
Ann Roth, The Post (-1)
Lindy Hemming, Wonder Woman (-1)

DROPPED
Mary Zophres, Battle of the Sexes (-1)

Best Film Editing

Lee Smith, Dunkirk (-)
Sidney Wolinsky, The Shape of Water (-)
Michael Kahn, The Post (+1)
Valerio Bonelli, Darkest Hour (-1)
Jon Gregory, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (NEW)
---
Bob Ducsay, Star Wars: The Last Jedi (-1)
William Hoy and Stan Salfas, War for the Planet of the Apes (-1)
Joe Walker, Blade Runner 2049 (-)
Mako Kamitsuna, Mudbound (+1)
Walter Fasano, Call Me By Your Name (-1)

DROPPED
Pamela Martin, Battle of the Sexes (-4)

Best Makeup & Hairstyling

Anita Burger, David Malinkowski and Lucy Sibbick, Darkest Hour (-)
Paula Fleet and Patricia Keighran, The Shape of Water (-)
Sunday English, Gary English, Nicki Ledermann, Angela Levin,Gary Martori, Jerry Popolis, Rania Ribalow, Pamela S. Westmore and Nakoya Yancey, The Greatest Showman (+4)
---
Flora Moody and Allison Sing, Star Wars: The Last Jedi (-1)
Alexis Continente, Carol Hemming, Dana Kalder, Jutta Russell, Chiara Ugolini and Wakana Yoshihara, Murder on the Orient Express (+3)
Lizza Lawson, Jo-Ann MacNiel and Donald Mowat, Blade Runner 2049 (-2)
Mary Everett, Bill Myer and Teresa Vest, I, Tonya (NEW)
Jacqueline Bhavnani, Samantha Denyer, Sarah Kelly and Bradley Simms, Beauty and the Beast (-3)
Haruyo Sawada and Torsten Witte, Battle of the Sexes (-3)
Sarah Craig, Linda Dowds, Stephanie Ingram, Debra Manou, Emily O'Quinn and Sean Sansom, It (-)

DROPPED
Jerry DeCarlo and Claus Lulla, Wonderstruck (-3)

Best Original Score

Alexandre Desplat, The Shape of Water (-)
Dario Marianelli, Darkest Hour (+1)
John Williams, Star Wars: The Last Jedi (+1)
Hans Zimmer, Dunkirk (-2)
Thomas Newman, Victoria & Abdul (-)
---
Carter Burwell, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (NEW)
Michael Giacchino, Coco (NEW)
John Williams, The Post (-2)
Hans Zimmer, Blade Runner 2049 (-2)
John Debney, Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, The Greatest Showman (-)

DROPPED
Carter Burwell, Wonderstruck (-3)
Dustin O'Halloran, The Current War (-1)

Best Production Design

Nathan Crowley, Dunkirk (-)
Paul D. Austerberry, The Shape of Water (-)
Sarah Greenwood, Darkest Hour (-)
Dennis Gassner, Blade Runner 2049 (-)
David J. Bomba, Mudbound (-)
---
Nathan Crowley, The Greatest Showman (-)
Santo Loquasto, Wonder Wheel (NEW)
Aline Bonetto, Wonder Woman (-1)
Rick Heinrichs, Star Wars: The Last Jedi (-1)
Rick Carter, The Post (-1)

DROPPED
Sarah Finley and Adam Squires, Victoria & Abdul (-2)

Best Sound Editing

Richard King, Dunkirk (-)
Matthew Wood, Star Wars: The Last Jedi (-)
Will Files, War for the Planet of the Apes (-)
Nathan Robitaille, The Shape of Water (-)
Julian Slater, Baby Driver (+1)
---
Theo Green and Mark A. Mangini, Blade Runner 2049 (-1)
Justin Doyle, Coco (+3)
James Mather, Wonder Woman (-1)
Scott Hecker, Hostiles (-1)
Richard Hymns, The Post (-1)

Best Sound Mixing

Gregg Landaker, Gary Rizzo and Mark Weingarten, Dunkirk (-)
David Parker and Michael Semanchick, Star Wars: The Last Jedi (-)
Christian T. Cooke, Filip Hosek and Brad Zoern, The Shape of Water (-)
Bill Bair, Will Files, Tom Lalley, Douglas Murray and Andy Nelson, War for the Planet of the Apes (-)
Christopher Boyes and Michael Semanchick, Coco (+5)
---
Ron Barlett, Doug Hemphill and Mac Ruth, Blade Runner 2049 (-1)
Gary Rydstrom,The Post (+1)
Paul Munro, Wonder Woman (-1)
Tim Cavagin and Julian Slater, Baby Driver (+1)
Craig Berkey and Roger J. Sacdalan, Darkest Hour (-2)

Best Visual Effects

Richard Bain, Ben Morris and Michael Mulholland, Star Wars: The Last Jedi (-)
Dennis Berardi and Kristen Bligh, The Shape of Water (-)
Ryan Cook, Dan Lemmon, Joe Letteri and Erik Winquist, War for the Planet of the Apes (-)
Richard Clegg, Paul Lambert, Victor Muller and John Nelson, Blade Runner 2049 (-)
Andrew Jackson, Andrew Lockley and Tim McGovern, Dunkirk (-)
---
Frazer Churchill, Viktor Muller, Jessica Norman and Bill Westenhofer, Wonder Woman (-)
Kyle McCulloch, David Piombino, Kelly Port and Glen Pratt, Beauty and the Beast (-)
Vincent Cirelli, Jake Morrison, Brendan Seals, Alexis Wajsbrot and Chad Wiebe,Thor: Ragnarok (+2)
Dan Bethell, Theodore Bialek, Vincent Cirelli, Lou Pecora and Doug Spilatro, Spider-Man: Homecoming (-1)
Matthew Crnich, Ray McMaster, Kevin Andrew Smith, Doug Spilatro and Christopher Townsend, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (-1)

Angelina Jolie's First They Killed My Father is among the 92 pictures that will vie for Oscar consideration in Best Foreign Language Film. — Angelina Jolie's *First They Killed My Father* is among the 92 pictures that will vie for Oscar consideration in Best Foreign Language Film.

2017 Foreign Language Film Oscar Submissions

October 05, 2017 by Andrew Carden in Oscars

This year, a record 92 countries have submitted pictures for Oscar consideration in Best Foreign Language Film. They are:

Afghanistan, “A Letter to the President,” Roya Sadat, director;
Albania, “Daybreak,” Gentian Koçi, director;
Algeria, “Road to Istanbul,” Rachid Bouchareb, director;
Argentina, “Zama,” Lucrecia Martel, director;
Armenia, “Yeva,” Anahit Abad, director;
Australia, “The Space Between,” Ruth Borgobello, director;
Austria, “Happy End,” Michael Haneke, director;
Azerbaijan, “Pomegranate Orchard,” Ilgar Najaf, director;
Bangladesh, “The Cage,” Akram Khan, director;
Belgium, “Racer and the Jailbird,” Michaël R. Roskam, director;
Bolivia, “Dark Skull,” Kiro Russo, director;
Bosnia and Herzegovina, “Men Don’t Cry,” Alen Drljević, director;
Brazil, “Bingo - The King of the Mornings,” Daniel Rezende, director;
Bulgaria, “Glory,” Petar Valchanov, Kristina Grozeva, directors;
Cambodia, “First They Killed My Father,” Angelina Jolie, director;
Canada, “Hochelaga, Land of Souls,” François Girard, director;
Chile, “A Fantastic Woman,” Sebastián Lelio, director;
China, “Wolf Warrior 2,” Wu Jing, director;
Colombia, “Guilty Men,” Iván D. Gaona, director;
Costa Rica, “The Sound of Things,” Ariel Escalante, director;
Croatia, “Quit Staring at My Plate,” Hana Jušić, director;
Czech Republic, “Ice Mother,” Bohdan Sláma, director;
Denmark, “You Disappear,” Peter Schønau Fog, director;
Dominican Republic, “Woodpeckers,” Jose Maria Cabral, director;
Ecuador, “Alba,” Ana Cristina Barragán, director;
Egypt, “Sheikh Jackson,” Amr Salama, director;
Estonia, “November,” Rainer Sarnet, director;
Finland, “Tom of Finland,” Dome Karukoski, director;
France, “BPM (Beats Per Minute),” Robin Campillo, director;
Georgia, “Scary Mother,” Ana Urushadze, director;
Germany, “In the Fade,” Fatih Akin, director;
Greece, “Amerika Square,” Yannis Sakaridis, director;
Haiti, “Ayiti Mon Amour,” Guetty Felin, director;
Honduras, “Morazán,” Hispano Durón, director;
Hong Kong, “Mad World,” Wong Chun, director;
Hungary, “On Body and Soul,” Ildikó Enyedi, director;
Iceland, “Under the Tree,” Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurðsson, director;
India, “Newton,” Amit V Masurkar, director;
Indonesia, “Turah,” Wicaksono Wisnu Legowo, director;
Iran, “Breath,” Narges Abyar, director;
Iraq, “Reseba - The Dark Wind,” Hussein Hassan, director;
Ireland, “Song of Granite,” Pat Collins, director;
Israel, “Foxtrot,” Samuel Maoz, director;
Italy, “A Ciambra,” Jonas Carpignano, director;
Japan, “Her Love Boils Bathwater,” Ryota Nakano, director;
Kazakhstan, “The Road to Mother,” Akhan Satayev, director;
Kenya, “Kati Kati,” Mbithi Masya, director;
Kosovo, “Unwanted,” Edon Rizvanolli, director;
Kyrgyzstan, “Centaur,” Aktan Arym Kubat, director;
Lao People’s Democratic Republic, “Dearest Sister,” Mattie Do, director;
Latvia, “The Chronicles of Melanie,” Viestur Kairish, director;
Lebanon, “The Insult,” Ziad Doueiri, director;
Lithuania, “Frost,” Sharunas Bartas, director;
Luxembourg, “Barrage,” Laura Schroeder, director;
Mexico, “Tempestad,” Tatiana Huezo, director;
Mongolia, “The Children of Genghis,” Zolbayar Dorj, director;
Morocco, “Razzia,” Nabil Ayouch, director;
Mozambique, “The Train of Salt and Sugar,” Licinio Azevedo, director;
Nepal, “White Sun,” Deepak Rauniyar, director;
Netherlands, “Layla M.,” Mijke de Jong, director;
New Zealand, “One Thousand Ropes,” Tusi Tamasese, director;
Norway, “Thelma,” Joachim Trier, director;
Pakistan, “Saawan,” Farhan Alam, director;
Palestine, “Wajib,” Annemarie Jacir, director;
Panama, “Beyond Brotherhood,” Arianne Benedetti, director;
Paraguay, “Los Buscadores,” Juan Carlos Maneglia, Tana Schembori, directors;
Peru, “Rosa Chumbe,” Jonatan Relayze, director;
Philippines, “Birdshot,” Mikhail Red, director;
Poland, “Spoor,” Agnieszka Holland, Kasia Adamik, directors;
Portugal, “Saint George,” Marco Martins, director;
Romania, “Fixeur,” Adrian Sitaru, director;
Russia, “Loveless,” Andrey Zvyagintsev, director;
Senegal, “Félicité,” Alain Gomis, director;
Serbia, “Requiem for Mrs. J.,” Bojan Vuletic, director;
Singapore, “Pop Aye,” Kirsten Tan, director;
Slovakia, “The Line,” Peter Bebjak, director;
Slovenia, “The Miner,” Hanna A. W. Slak, director;
South Africa, “The Wound,” John Trengove, director;
South Korea, “A Taxi Driver,” Jang Hoon, director;
Spain, “Summer 1993,” Carla Simón, director;
Sweden, “The Square,” Ruben Östlund, director;
Switzerland, “The Divine Order,” Petra Volpe, director;
Syria, “Little Gandhi,” Sam Kadi, director;
Taiwan, “Small Talk,” Hui-Chen Huang, director;
Thailand, “By the Time It Gets Dark,” Anocha Suwichakornpong, director;
Tunisia, “The Last of Us,” Ala Eddine Slim, director;
Turkey, “Ayla: The Daughter of War,” Can Ulkay, director;
Ukraine, “Black Level,” Valentyn Vasyanovych, director;
United Kingdom, “My Pure Land,” Sarmad Masud, director;
Uruguay, “Another Story of the World,” Guillermo Casanova, director;
Venezuela, “El Inca,” Ignacio Castillo Cottin, director;
Vietnam, “Father and Son,” Luong Dinh Dung, director.

Review: "Victoria and Abdul"

October 01, 2017 by Andrew Carden in Reviews

All hail the Dame!

Judi Dench, who can really do no wrong, is in supreme form in her latest picture, once again taking on the role of Queen Victoria (after 1997's Mrs. Brown) and reuniting with that fine filmmaker Stephen Frears (who directed Dench to Oscar nominations for Mrs. Henderson Presents... and Philomena).

Victoria and Abdul is a truly splendid picture, even better than those three aforementioned films, not exclusively a showcase for its leading lady but also her irresistible leading man.

The picture opens on Abdul Karim (Ali Fazal), a young clerk who ventures from India to participate in the Queen's Golden Jubilee. At this point toward the end of her reign, the Queen is lonely, in poor health and restless with the stuffy inner circle around her. She takes an immediate liking to the kind and handsome Abdul, a development that hardly sits well with the household's racist snobs.

As outside parties vie, to negligible success, to tear the duo apart, their alliance only strengthens, as Abdul instills in the Queen a greater sense of purpose and sunnier outlook on life.

Frears, whose Florence Foster Jenkins mostly left me shrugging my shoulders last year, has hit a real home run here - this is his finest, most satisfying endeavor since another Dame, Helen Mirren, floored us all with The Queen. Kudos to all crew involved, who have crafted one of the year's lushest, most sumptuous pictures.

The heart and soul of the film, of course, are Dench and Fazal, who have heaps more chemistry than what you'll find in 99 percent of romcoms these days. This turn is right among the top-tier of Dench performances, alongside the extraordinary likes of Mrs. Brown and Notes on a Scandal. But the real revelation here is really Bollywood star Fazal, who has a warm and winning screen presence and, like the audience, seems completely in awe of his co-star.

This year's race for the Best Actress Oscar looks poised to be a chaotic one, with a dozen or more turns in serious contention for nominations. Pretty please, Academy, don't forget Dench (and Fazal, while you're at it).

Review: "Battle of the Sexes"

September 30, 2017 by Andrew Carden in Reviews

Before Battle of the Sexes, there was When Billie Beat Bobby, the 2001 ABC television movie that first documented that legendary 1973 tennis match between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs.

That effort, a deservedly forgotten one at this point, was a sanitized comedy that barely scratched the surface on either of their lives. With the usually great Ron Silver woefully miscast as Riggs and Holly Hunter valiantly trying (to little success) to liven up the proceedings as King, the picture was a pretty piss-poor tribute to one of the all-time great events in sports history.

Now, nearly two decades later, we have a big-budget feature film on King vs. Riggs, headlined by an Oscar-winning actress (Emma Stone), two other Oscar-nominated performers (Steve Carell and Elisabeth Shue) and an Oscar-winning screenwriter to boot (Simon Beaufoy).

The result, Battle of the Sexes, is an improvement over When Billie Beat Bobby, albeit only modestly so. This is not, I suspect, going to be the toast of the Oscars next year.

As the picture, directed by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, opens, World Tennis magazine founder Gladys Heldman (Sarah Silverman) leads King and other female tennis players in bolting from the U.S. Lawn Tennis Association, which has proposed a tournament in which the female winner would get a tinsy winsy fraction of the prize the male winner would receive. They form their own tennis tour, which draws heaps of attention, including from none other than Riggs.

Riggs, once a tennis superstar in the 1940s and now 55 years old and a hopeless gambling addict, is hungry for a comeback. His first "Battle of the Sexes" against the snobby Margaret Court (Jessica McNamee) proves a walk in the park. Riggs ups the ante, with a far larger prize at stake, and draws the attention of King, whose personal life has been a topsy turvy one ever since falling head over heels for her hairdresser Marilyn (Andrea Riseborough). The rest, of course, is history.

There's a lot to like in Battle of the Sexes. For one, the performances are terrific and convicing, with Stone in far more compelling form here than last year's La La Land. Silverman is a delight as the team's imperious promoter and Austin Stowell is a nice find as Larry, King's unconditionally supportive husband. The picture also perfectly captures the look and feel of the time.

At the same time, there's a tonal uneasiness in the sitcom-level comedy of the Riggs scenes and the tenderness and sensitivity of much of the King material. Other supporting players, especially Shue (as Riggs' perturbed wife) and Bill Pullman (as Jack Kramer, head of the Tennis Association), look completely lost at sea, saddled with thankless, thinly written roles. But perhaps most egregious of all, the big final showdown just isn't as exhilarating or inspiring a sight as it should be, as portrayed here.

The performances and palpable '70s nostalgia make Battle of the Sexes an entertaining-enough endeavor but it might be best just to check out a documentary on Billie vs. Bobby instead.

Review: "Our Souls at Night"

September 30, 2017 by Andrew Carden in Reviews

Not long ago, in anticipation of this long-awaited reunion, I went back and revisited 1967's Barefoot in the Park, the Neil Simon comedy that saw Jane Fonda and Robert Redford in the most purely adorable forms of their careers.

Barefoot, I'm afraid, hasn't aged so well. Sure, Fonda and Redford look fabulous and Mildred Natwick is a scene-stealing hoot in her Oscar-nominated turn as Fonda's mama, but it's really among the more thin and turgid Simon works. The star wattage only keeps it alive for so long.

Our Souls at Night, the first Fonda-Redford picture since 1979's The Electric Horseman, is, I'm pleased to report, a real charmer, a modest but sweet film that often soars on the chemistry of its leads.

One evening, Fonda's Addie pays a visit to her neighbor, Redford's Louis. Both are widowed and lonely and, despite living near each other for decades, never really got to know each other. Addie has an initially uneasy proposal, that it might be nice if she and Louis slept together on occasion. That is, not for sex but for company and companionship.

Without too much in the way of hesitation, they do and, slowly but surely, sparks fly. Their relationship is strengthened but later tested by the entrance of Addie's estranged son (Matthias Schoenaerts) and endearing grandson (Iain Armitage).

Souls has a slightly sluggish start and ends on a note that I didn't find entirely satisfying but, on the whole, is quite an enchanting endeavor. Fonda (in a role leaps and bounds different from her dazzling work on Grace and Frankie) and Redford are wonderful as ever and the screenplay, by Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber, is observant and full of insight.

One other, minor quibble - if you're going to have the legendary Bruce Dern in this thing, why only give him about three minutes of screen time and not even a scene alongside Coming Home co-star Fonda?!

B+