Tag: Bobby Cannavale

Oscar Predictions: Blue Moon

Nouvelle Vague is Richard Linklater’s showbiz centered dramedy that premiered at Cannes that could contend for awards attention this season. Blue Moon is his other showbiz centered dramedy that was screened prior to Vague at the Berlin fest and is getting more exposure this weekend at Telluride. It stars the director’s frequent collaborator Ethan Hawke as Lorenz Hart, songwriter for Oklahoma! on the night of its Broadway premiere. Margaret Qualley, Andrew Scott (as composer Richard Rodgers), and Bobby Cannavale costar.

With Sony handling distribution (it’s out in October), you can expect an Oscar push and that particularly applies to Hawke. A two-time supporting nominee for 2001’s Training Day and 2014’s Boyhood, this is certainly his strongest shot at lead consideration since 2018’s First Reformed. Scott is worthy of mention as he was awarded the Silver Bear award for his supporting turn in Germany earlier this year.

Despite commendable 96% and 76 ratings on Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic, respectively, I don’t see this being a factor in the Best Picture derby. Yet I’m beginning to suspect Hawke could be a dark horse possibility if other lead actor performances not yet screened don’t pan out. I also wouldn’t totally discount Scott or Qualley, but I think Hawke stands the best shot. My Oscar Prediction posts will continue…

Oscar Predictions: Unstoppable

True life sports drama Unstoppable made a stop at the Toronto Film Festival prior to its December stateside release. William Goldenberg, an Academy Award winning editor whose credits include Argo, Zero Dark Thirty, and The Imitation Game, makes his directorial debut. Jharrel Jerome, Emmy recipient for When They See Us, stars as national championship wrestler Anthony Robles with Jennifer Lopez as his mother. The supporting cast includes Bobby Cannavale, Michael Peña, Don Cheadle, and Shawn Hatosy.

Reaction from up north indicates this is an effective if formulaic experience. Its chances in BP seem unrealistic. Five years ago, Ms. Lopez was widely expected to nab her first nomination in Supporting Actress for Hustlers. She did not make the dance. Buzz about her performance suggests she could have a second at bat in the same race with a vigorous campaign. I feel less confident she gets in for this than I did about Hustlers, however. My Oscar Prediction posts will continue…

MaXXXine Box Office Prediction

An homage to the adult entertainment titles and 80s slashers that created the VHS boom of that era, MaXXXine is the third of Ti West’s trilogy that includes X and Pearl from 2022. Mia Goth reprises her role from the former with a supporting cast including Elizabeth Debicki, Moses Sumney, Michelle Monaghan, Bobby Cannavale, Halsey, Lily Collins, Giancarlo Esposito, and Kevin Bacon.

Out July 5th, MaXXXine will try keeping pace with its two predecessors. In the spring of 2022, X made $4.3 million out of the gate and just shy of $12 million overall domestically. Pearl was a tad behind with a $3.1 million premiere and just over $10 million total.

These low-budget exercises have critics on their side. The RT score is 87% and, while strong, it’s the lowest of the three. Obviously the potential here is limited, but it might manage the best start to the series in mid single digits.

MaXXXine opening weekend prediction: $5.7 million

For my Despicable Me 4 prediction, click here:

Despicable Me 4 Box Office Prediction

Oscar Predictions: MaXXXine

Ti West’s MaXXXine completes a trilogy that started with X in 2022 and continued with Pearl just a few months later that same year. Out July 5th, the pics share critical acclaim with Mia Goth getting a lot of that praise. She headlines (reprising her X role) as an adult film star with this installment set in 1985 Los Angeles. Elizabeth Debicki, Moses Sumney, Michelle Monaghan, Bobby Cannavale, Halsey, Lily Collins, Giancarlo Esposito, and Kevin Bacon are in the supporting cast.

Reviews thus far are in range with its predecessors. X had 94%, Pearl‘s was 92%, and MaXXXine is currently sporting 91% on Rotten Tomatoes. While undeniably fresh, some early chatter suggests this is the weakest of the series.

If reaction was saying this was the strongest, Goth could be in the mix for an Actress bid as an acknowledgement of her work in all three. That doesn’t appear to be realistic. My Oscar Prediction posts will continue…

Oscar Predictions: Ezra

Actor Tony Goldwyn goes behind the camera for Ezra which hits theaters Friday after screening at the Toronto Film Festival last fall. Bobby Cannavale headlines the family dramedy alongside Robert De Niro, Rose Byrne, William Fitzgerald, Vera Farmiga, Whoopi Goldberg, Rainn Wilson, and Goldwyn himself.

The project was met with muted buzz during its north of the border unveiling in September. Bleecker Street eventually picked up the distribution rights for what should be an unceremonious opening. The Rotten Tomatoes score is a so-so 65%. While some reviews are good, in order for it to get awards attention… well, it needs to be better than Ezra. My Oscar Prediction posts will continue…

Oscar Predictions: Blonde

While she received two Golden Globe nominations in her short-lived career, the Oscars never recognized Marilyn Monroe. Could the Academy honor the performance of Ana de Armas in the biopic Blonde as the icon? Arriving in limited release on September 16th before its September 28th Netlix stream, Andrew Dominik’s pic comes with a rare NC-17 rating and a near three hour runtime. Adrien Brody, Bobby Cannavale, Xavier Samuel, and Julianne Nicholson costar in the adaptation of Joyce Carol Oates’s 2000 novel.

This is Dominik’s first feature since 2012’s Killing Them Softly (his 2007 Western The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford is considered by many to be a modern day classic). It premiered at Venice and early buzz is that this is a dark and rather sleazy and often enthralling exploration of the price of fame. The Rotten Tomatoes meter is at 84%.

I’m dubious that the Academy will embrace this as a BP contender. The real question is whether de Armas can make the cut. Based on initial reaction, she certainly can but it’s no guarantee… unlike, say, Cate Blanchett (Tar) or Michelle Yeoh (Everything Everywhere All at Once). Her potential inclusion is probably contingent on how competition for slots plays out in the next four months. My Oscar Predictions posts will continue…

Sing 2 Box Office Prediction

Sing 2 hopes to make a joyful noise in theaters when it debuts December 22nd. Illumination Entertainment’s animated sequel arrives five years after the original scored $270 million domestically. Garth Jennings returns to direct as do the vocal stylings of Matthew McConaughey, Reese Witherspoon, Scarlett Johansson, Nick Kroll, Taron Egerton, Tori Kelly, and Nick Offerman. New to the proceedings are Bobby Cannavale, Halsey, Pharrell Williams, Letitia Wright, Eric Andre, Chelsea Peretti, and Bono.

So will Universal find what they’re looking for in terms of box office? In 2016, part 1 made a splash with a $55 million haul over its five-day Christmas rollout. That was good for second place behind Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. The best hope here is also a runner-up showing as Spider-Man: No Way Home will most certainly be #1 in its sophomore weekend. However, Sing 2 might place third behind the premiere of The Matrix Resurrections. 

I think it’s going to be a close competition between this and Matrix for the two spot. This animated follow-up is bound to leg out more strongly than Neo and company. I’ll say high 20s to low 30s for the traditional weekend and mid 40s the five-day.

Sing 2 opening weekend prediction: $31.3 million (Friday to Sunday); $46.8 million (Wednesday to Sunday)

For my The Matrix Resurrections prediction, click here:

The Matrix Resurrections Box Office Prediction

For my The King’s Man prediction, click here:

The King’s Man Box Office Prediction

For my American Underdog prediction, click here:

American Underdog Box Office Prediction

For my A Journal for Jordan prediction, click here:

A Journal for Jordan Box Office Prediction

Oscar Predictions: Sing 2

Sing 2 is likely to make loud box office noises when it’s released December 22nd. The sequel to the animated musical comedy arrives five years after the original took in $270 million domestically. From Illumination Entertainment, Garth Jennings returns to direct as do the voices of Matthew McConaughey, Reese Witherspoon, Scarlett Johansson, Nick Kroll, Taron Egerton, Tori Kelly, and Nick Offerman. Newbies include Bobby Cannavale, Halsey, Pharrell Williams, Letitia Wright, Eric Andre, and Bono.

Despite part one being a smash hit, it did not manage to nab a Best Animated Feature nod. The first Sing achieved a decent 71% Rotten Tomatoes rating. There’s just a handful of reviews out for the follow-up and it’s currently lower at 60%.

With a trio of Disney efforts (Encanto, Luca, Raya and the Last Dragon), two Netflix properties (The Mitchells vs. the Machines, The Summit of the Gods), and acclaimed foreign features Flee and Belle all in the mix, Animated Feature is already crowded. I don’t foresee a sequel to something that couldn’t get in the first time around being viable.

In Best Original Song, a band that Bono started that you might be familiar with (U2) has “Your Song Saved My Life”. This is another category with plenty of high profile contenders (Beyonce and Billie Eilish among them). Bono and his mates probably won’t make the cut. My Oscar Prediction posts for the films of 2021 will continue…

Tom & Jerry To The Rescue (?)

An age old cat and mouse contest is widening the eyeballs of box office prognosticators and theater owners courtesy of Tom & Jerry. The mix of live-action and animation reboot of a cartoon dating back to 1940 premiered simultaneously in multiplexes and HBO Max yesterday. This is how Warner Bros. is handling all their product in 2021 as we have already witnessed with The Little Things and Judas and the Black Messiah (and soon Godzilla vs. Kong). Reviews for the pic are certainly not rosy with a current Rotten Tomatoes score of 23%. And with the uncertainty of the box office for nearly a year, expectations weren’t much either.

Let’s be clear: in non COVID times, Tom & Jerry heading toward a $13-$14 million opening would be considered pretty disappointing. How times have changed. When considering that millions of subscribers could simply cue it up from the comfort of home and with around half of theaters still shuttered, an estimated $12 million start is impressive. Should this number hold, it would mark the second biggest opening gross of the Coronavirus era (behind only Wonder Woman 1984).

That’s more than The Croods: A New Age managed over Thanksgiving and it legged out to over $50 million domestically. There’s no reason to think the iconic cat and mouse won’t do the same. This is also music to the ears of Disney as they prepare to release their animated Raya and the Last Dragon next weekend (along with a Disney Plus rollout).

However, this news really must be encouraging to theaters chains and owners. This is a sign that family audiences in particular will turn up for new product even if it’s available on the couch. As for material outside of that genre, the jury is still out and lots of attention should turn to the aforementioned battle of two other famous creatures (Godzilla vs. Kong) in one month. One thing seems clearer today: the outlook for theaters, while still in flux, got a little rosier.

The Irishman Movie Review

There are the types of characters we have met before in Martin Scorsese’s gangster genre works, but never quite like this. There are characters we never really meet here, but we’re introduced to the way they die. There are characters that never speak, but we’re aware of their thought process. And it’s that time consuming process that the filmmaker goes through here that makes The Irishman feel both invigorating and melancholy.

The thought of reuniting this director, Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, and anything involving the Mob is enough to get many running to the theater or, in this case for most, Netflix. Add Al Pacino to the mix (working with Scorsese somehow for the first time) and there’s more incentive. Yet this is far from a rehash of previous material. It’s an often stunning work that stands on its own merits. There is no coasting happening with De Niro or Pacino and that’s something they can rightfully be accused of in the past quarter century or so. The pair (who shared just a couple of scenes in Michael Mann’s masterful Heat and greater screen time in the unfortunate Righteous Kill) contribute some of their finest work in years. For Pesci, he hasn’t worked in years and his return finds him playing a Mafia boss but in a way you won’t expect.

The unexpected is key here and welcome. Just as GoodFellas gave audiences a final act kinetically viewed from Ray Liotta’s coked out perspective, the last segment of The Irishman is made from a considerably lower dosage. As De Niro’s character enters his final act, we witness him finally pause to consider his existence. And it’s not of a glorified nature.

In this tale based on certain truths and possible myths, De Niro is Frank Sheeran. He’s a World War II vet and truck driver residing in Philadelphia. Frank saw plenty of combat overseas and he’s willing to have a career of killing back stateside. His employer becomes Russell Bufalino (Pesci), the area crime boss and confidante of labor leader Jimmy Hoffa (Pacino). Frank soon becomes Hoffa’s body man, enforcer, and trusted friend. Whether on assignment from Bufalino or Jimmy, Frank’s speciality is to “paint houses” (code for taking out whomever he’s ordered to). He’s skilled at it and the screenplay from Steven Zaillian gets into the occasional minutia and necessary strategy of carrying out such tasks.

Hoffa’s bigger than life personality (something Pacino is perfect to portray) often conflicts with the more buttoned down approach of Bufalino (something Pesci is more surprisingly adept at). This frequently leaves Frank in the position of mediator of murder or no murder. There’s plenty of it here, but The Irishman is noticeably less bloody than GoodFellas or Casino. 

De Niro has by far the most screen time and his work is perhaps the most impressive in a picture loaded with two other heavyweights in excellent form. It’s ultimately his film to carry and he does so with an ability he hasn’t shown in a long while. There’s plenty of other familiar faces from Harvey Keitel as another boss to Ray Romano as the group’s very busy attorney. Frank’s family is given the short shrift, but that’s no accident as he doesn’t have much time for them. His relationship with one daughter played by Anna Paquin is a constant thread and it’s a quiet and powerful one.

The Irishman transpires over several decades and Scorsese made the choice not to use younger actors to play the main roles in their 30s and beyond. This is done through de-aging visual effects that, while certainly not perfect, are the best I’ve seen yet. Most importantly, I didn’t find it as a distraction after a couple of minutes.

Just as Hoffa is obsessed with punctuality, The Irishman is about time. In this world of criminals and betrayal and violence, time moves fast. The film itself doesn’t at three and a half hours. That didn’t feel overly padded to me. This is good company. However, as this draws to a close, time slows down for some characters as well. And as Scorsese and three legendary actors expertly show for 209 minutes, some doors for reflection are slammed shut with a bang. Others are left slightly open for it.

**** (out of four)