Tag: Berlin Film Festival

Oscar Watch: First Cow

Kelly Reichardt’s First Cow debuted at the Telluride Film Festival in August of 2019 to very solid reviews before moving to the Berlin Film Festival. The 19th century set drama taking place in the Oregon Territory stands at 95% on Rotten Tomatoes and represents another critical darling from the indie director.

After a limited and abbreviated theatrical run in March that was disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, Cow is now available for streaming today. Being that it’s one of the most acclaimed releases so far in 2020, I wouldn’t be surprised if distributor A24 makes an awards play for it.

That could be a tall order. Reichardt’s previous effort Certain Women with Laura Dern and Kristen Stewart also nabbed kudos from the critical community, but was ignored by Oscar voters. Her latest could easily see the same result, but with the uncertainty of the year’s calendar – a play for for Picture or Adapted Screenplay is at least feasible. My Oscar Watch posts will continue…

Oscar Watch: Onward

Pixar Studios is booking box office real estate early in 2020 with the release of next weekend’s Onward, which had its premiere at the Berlin Film Festival. The animated adventure follows two elf brothers voiced by Tom Holland and Chris Pratt. Early reviews have been mostly positive with a current Rotten Tomatoes score of 81%.

That said, many critics are saying that it’s not in the same league as other Pixar classics. And several of them have managed to win the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. So where will Onward stack up?

Since the inception of the category in 2001, Pixar has seen 13 of its 18 titles nominated for the award. 10 have emerged victorious, including Toy Story 4 two weeks ago. There have been two years where the studio has put out more than one feature. In 2015, Inside Out took the Oscar while The Good Dinosaur went without a nomination. The same happened in 2017 with Coco winning and Cars 3 missing a nod.

I say this because 2020 will also see a double release with Onward next weekend and Soul in June. It’s certainly possible that Pixar will save its awards campaigning for the latter instead. However, reviews for the former are decent enough that it could nab a slot among the five (depending on competition over the next ten months). Also worth mentioning is that Dan Scanlon, who directs here, made one of the other titles to go without a nomination with 2013’s Monsters University. My Oscar Watch posts will continue…

Oscar Watch: Final Portrait

Premiering across the pond at the Berlin Film Festival in February and debuting stateside at the South by Southwest shindig days ago, Stanley Tucci’s fifth directorial effort Final Portrait comes out in limited release this Friday. The film centers on the relationship of famed Swiss artist Alberto Giacometti (Geoffrey Rush) and American writer James Lord (Armie Hammer).

It’s been a decade since actor Tucci has been behind the camera. His debut effort Big Night from 1996 was his biggest critical and commercial success. Portrait has been met with solid reviews and it currently holds a 79% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

That said, any potential Oscar attention would likely focus on its performers. Rush had a big 1996 as well, winning Best Actor for Shine. He’s been nominated three times since. This is said to be one of his most impressive performances in recent years. Hammer probably just missed out on a nod for last year’s Call Me by Your Name and would be vying for his first recognition.

My take right now is that Portrait could be forgotten come nomination time. The early date and good but now fawning critical reaction could serve as roadblocks for Rush’s fifth go round and Hammer’s first.

My Oscar Watch posts will continue…

Oscar Watch: Isle of Dogs

It’s been four years since Wes Anderson’s The Grand Budapest Hotel garnered a host of Oscar nominations. His follow-up is the stop-motion animated comedic adventure Isle of Dogs, which hits theaters stateside in March and has made its debut at the Berlin Film Festival. The pic (say its name out loud and pick up on its apparent affection for canines) features a whole bunch of familiar faces providing voice work including Bryan Cranston, Edward Norton, Bill Murray, Greta Gerwig, Scarlett Johansson, Jeff Goldblum, Frances McDormand, Ken Watanabe, Tilda Swinton, Bob Balaban, Courtney B. Vance, Harvey Keitel, Liev Schrieber, and F. Murray Abraham.

Reaction overseas to Anderson’s latest is that he’s delivered another winner. That likely means Dogs will follow in the steps of the director’s Fantastic Mr. Fox, which was nominated for Best Animated Feature by the Academy. It ultimately lost to Pixar’s Up and that powerhouse studio has The Incredibles 2 on deck this year. Additionally, it could be a factor for Mr. Anderson in Original Screenplay.

Yes, it’s early but it could already be a safe assumption that the Dogs will be on display come nomination time next year.

My Oscar Watch posts will continue…

Oscar Watch: A Fantastic Woman

Sebastian Lelio’s A Fantastic Woman is a Chilean import that made waves when it premiered at the Berlin Film Festival. The drama boasts a 100% rating currently on Rotten Tomatoes and is Chile’s official submission in the Best Foreign Language Film category at the Oscars.

Chances are quite good it will land a nomination there, but it could also make Oscar history if its recognized in another race. Daniela Vega has landed raves for her performance. If she was able to nab a Best Actress nomination, Vega would be the first transgender performer to do so.

In another year, the critical acclaim and history making might be enough to make the final five. In 2017, it could be a long shot because this race is jam packed. At this juncture, Emma Stone in Battle of the Sexes and Frances McDormand for Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri look like they’re in. Meryl Streep’s work in Steven Spielberg’s The Post has yet to be screened, but it sure sounds like an Oscar type role. That’s in addition to a host of other possibilities, including Margot Robbie (I, Tonya), Sally Hawkins (The Shape of Water), Kate Winslet (Wonder Wheel), Judi Dench (Victoria and Abdul), and Jessica Chastain (Molly’s Game).

That said, there could still be room for a “surprise” nod and Vega would seem to fit the bill. I currently have her listed at #9 in the race and we’ll see how the coming weeks play out.

My Oscar Watch posts will continue…

Oscar Watch: Midnight Special

Two years ago, the Berlin Film Festival premiered a pair of films that garnered a total of 15 Oscar nominations – Wes Anderson’s The Grand Budapest Hotel and Richard Linklater’s Boyhood. Both were nominated for Best Picture.

One of the hottest titles to emerge from 2016’s Festival that could potentially merit Academy Awards chatter is Jeff Nichols’ Midnight Special, a science fiction drama that received glowing reviews. Nichols is the director behind critical darlings Take Shelter and Mud. His pictures have yet to receive awards attention, but that may finally change. Special stars Michael Shannon, Joel Edgerton, Adam Driver, Kirsten Dunst, and Jaeden Lieberher (the child actor who costarred alongside Bill Murray in St. Vincent).

With an 88% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, the film is said to be a throwback to 80s sci-fi efforts of Spielberg and John Carpenter. Reviews have especially made note of Shannon and Dunst’s work, who could be factors in the Actor and Supporting Actress races, respectively. Best Picture and Director could figure in, however I believe Special‘s best chance might be in Original Screenplay, penned by the director.

Obviously it’s early in 2016 to see how this will pan out. Yet if Special can manage solid box office grosses (a question mark) and remain in conversations over the remainder of the year, it could join Hotel and Boyhood as another Berlin success story.