The Oscar Project
This week's wide release films include Fahrenheit 11/9, The House With a Clock in Its Walls, and Life Itself. I am late putting up this post and it won't have as much detail on the limited releases as I normally do. No big explanations here, but sometimes life gets in the way of things and I wasn't able to get these set up before life happened.
I hope you enjoy the films and let me know your thoughts.
Fahrenheit 11/9
Director Michael Moore takes his award winning film from 2004 (Fahrenheit 9/11) and flips the title subtly to bring it to the conversation about our current presidency and the controversy and dissension spreading across our nation. It's plain to see that Moore has no love for our current president, especially given the lines in the trailer that introduce Trump as "the last president of the United States." But what is it that he proposes we do to improve the state of the nation and ultimately start to bring the opposing sides together so we can create conversations instead of arguments?
In the end, Moore's latest film will resonate with the left, infuriate the right, and probably not win any major awards.
The House with a Clock in Its Walls
If you've ever read the 1973 John Bellairs book The House with a Clock in Its Walls, you may be looking forward to this film with great anticipation. If you haven't read the book, check it out from your local library before seeing the film. On the surface, this film looks like a poor imitation of the Harry Potter universe, albeit less fully fleshed out and with a much smaller (and simpler) cast of characters. The film follows young Lewis Barnavelt as he goes to live with his Uncle Jonathan in Michigan following the death of his parents. As the title suggests, the house where Jonathan lives is not all that it seems and strange things begin happening as the characters meddle with magic.
Honestly, if you want a movie about magic, there are eight Harry Potter films to enjoy and I'm sure you can find something in them you've missed until now. There won't be an Oscar buzz on this film so go read the book instead.
Life Itself
With a title like this and the claim to be from the producers of This is Us, Life Itself seems like it would be a no brainer to be successful. However, I have a feeling that the previews and the list of stars involved are leading to an over inflated sense of the film's appeal. I think one of the reasons This is Us is so successful on television is the ability to create long story arcs for the characters, something that will no doubt be missing from this film. The simple fact that this story is being told over several generations and across multiple locations tells me that it won't be able to stick to any one area of focus long enough to make a big impact.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorI'm just a film buff who wants to watch great movies. Where else to find the best, than the list of those nominated by the Academy each year? Archives
May 2023
Categories
All
|