[I review the Golden Globe nominated films "Frankenstein (the new version), "One Battle After Another," "Nouvelle Vague," and "Sinners" - And I make my predictions. Who will win?]
Part II: The Creature's Tale
After escaping from Victor, the Creature befriends a blind man (David Bradley) living in a cabin in the woods. The man teaches the Creature to read and speak. The Creature also becomes sentient and when he eventually discovers the truth about his creation, self-loathing sets in. He feels he is an outsider, misunderstood, hated, and realizing he cannot die and will spend eternity alone, the Creature begs Victor to create a companion for him. The Creature is not happy when Victor refuses, thus why the Creature wants to kill Victor.
The film asks the question: Who is the real monster here?
So that's the gist of the film's story but there is much more and Del Toro has created a different ending that is a tear-jerker.
The film is two-and-a-half hours long, and you know how I feel about overlong movies, but I have to say, this one did not feel overlong. It flew by, because every scene meant something, every scene was filled with emotion, not to mention the moody beautiful set design and cinematography, the incredible Victorian costumes and the exquisite score. And the acting is extraordinary. Both Isaac and Elordi are wonderful. Hard to believe Elordi once played Elvis.
Both Isaac and Elordi are nominated for acting Golden Globes as is Del Toro for Best Directing and the film for Best Motion Picture-Drama (the score was also nominated). The film has already won 27 awards and has another 90 nominations from other film societies.
So will this film win the Golden Globe for "Best Picture-Drama?" Will Del Toro win Best Director? Will Isaac and Elordi win?
Prediction: I feel it should win and so should Del Toro and the actors. I think the main competition in this category is "Hamnet (not seen at this writing)," but this was truly a wonderful film experience. It should win.
Rosy the Reviewer says...Del Toro has said "I dream that I can make the greatest Frankenstein ever..." And he has. This is the best movie I have seen all year. Not to be missed! (Netflix)
One Battle After Another (2025)
Can a movie about revolutionaries and white supremacists be funny? Well, yes, kind of.
"Ghetto" Pat Calhoun (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Perfidia Beverly Hills (Teyana Taylor) are members of a leftist revolutionary group called the French 75. While breaking out immigrants from a detention center at the U.S.-Mexico border, Perfidia comes across Capt. Steven J. Lockjaw (Sean Penn), one of the commanding officers, and manages to sexually humiliate him in a very cringeworthy scene. However, didn't seem to bother him that much, because turns out our very white supremacist Steven J. Lockjaw has a thing for black women, and when he catches Perfidia planting a bomb, he releases her after she agrees to have sex with him, and such is the screw, pardon the pun, that turns this story.
Later Pat and Perfidia become lovers, and then Perfidia gives birth to a girl named Charlene and they have a little family together. Mmmm, that little girl. Who is the Baby Daddy? One can't help but wonder. But Pat is all in and tries to persuade her to settle down, but Perfidia has postpartum depression, or maybe she is just bored, but anyway she abandons Pat and baby Charlene. She is caught after murdering a security guard in an armed bank robbery, but there is Lockjaw again, and he arranges for her to avoid prison in exchange for her to give him information on the whereabouts of the key French 75 members which she does. Perfidia enters witness protection and walks into Mexico (can you do that without a passport?).
Pat and Charlene have been given protection by the French 75 and changed their names to Bob and Willa Ferguson and are living in the sanctuary town of Baktan Cross, Calfornia, a place that does not exist in real life, but fun to try to figure out where this was filmed. Turns out Eureka, Stockton and San Juan Bautista, all of those California locations were in this movie.
Anyway, now it's sixteen years later, Willa (Chase Infiniti) is a free-spirited teen, and she has to be, because Bob has become a paranoid stoner. And through his vehement anti-immigration efforts, Lockjaw has become a colonel and a prominent figure within the US security agencies. When Lockjaw is invited to become a member of the Christmas Adventurers Club, a far-right white supremacist group, and they plan to do a deep dive into his personal life to see if he is lily white enough, he realizes he needs to find Willa and kill her to hide his past relationship with Perfidia.
So now we have Bob and Willa, with the help of sensei Sergio St. Carlos (Benicio Del Toro) and Perfidia's former ally, Deandra (Regina Hall), trying to escape Lockjaw and his goons and Lockjaw trying to hide his past proclivities from the Christmas Adventurers. Lots of car chases and running around trying to avoid being killed ensues, and that is when the movie finally kicked in for me and it's description as a dark comedy resonated.
One of my criticisms of this movie is the title. I can never remember it and not really sure how it figures in the movie. But my main problem was that it took me almost an hour to get into the film, and after some cringeworthy moments, such as when Perfidia first meets Lockjaw (not a fan of shock value moments - I actually said out loud "What the hell?"), I figured out it was supposed to be funny.
And did I say this movie is almost three hours long? I have a problem with that too. Directors these days seem to have a difficult time editing themselves. And the soundtrack was really annoying at times.
But despite my complaints, after the first hour, I was all in.
Leonardo Di Caprio really shows his talent here. He is really, really good. I couldn't take my eyes off of him and Sean Penn? Geez, that guy, whatever he does, he gives it his all and this movie is no exception. I mean, just watch him walk. That's acting! I see Oscar nods for both of them. And props to the other actors and to writer/director Paul Thomas Anderson ("Boogie Nights," "Magnolia," "There Will Be Blood"), who based the film loosely on Thomas Pynchon's book "Vineland."
Though I think this film didn't need to be so long, Anderson has made an important film that speaks to where we are now. There are all kinds of nuances that those of us who are not happy with the current political climate in America can relate to, such as rounding up immigrants en masse, authoritarian police forces and rich white men creating secret societies.
So will this one win a "Best Picture - Musical or Comedy" Golden Globe? Will Leo and Sean win in their categories?
Prediction: With nine Golden Globe nominations, another 100+ other nominations and 110 wins already from other film societies, I say the film will probably win in this category. And Leo and Sean are right up there also as contenders in their acting categories. I also think Mr. Oscar is knocking at the door.
Rosy the Reviewer says...a timely film that will take you on a wild ride. I still haven't gotten over Sean Penn's walk. (available to rent or buy on Amazon Prime)
The making of Jean-Luc Godard's "Breathless (1960)," one of the first feature films of the French New Wave cinema.
Director Richard Linklater is on a roll. He has two films nominated for a Golden Globe in the "Best Picture - Musical or Comedy" category - this one and "Blue Moon (which I reviewed in my last post on December 12)." Like "Blue Moon," which paid homage to classic Broadway musicals and the songwriting duo of Rodgers and Hart, this one celebrates filmmaking, paying homage to the French New Wave, which clearly was an influence on Linklater's own filmmaking.
In 1959, Jean-Luc Godard attends the film premier of "La Passe du diable" along with his fellow film critics at "Cahiers due Cinema" - François Truffaut (Adrien Rouyard), Suzanne Schiffman (Jodie Ruth-Forest) and Claude Chabrol (Antoine Besson), all of whom had already made movies. At the afterparty, Godard harshly criticizes the film and pledges to become a film director, as his other colleagues have. Later, Godard attends the Cannes Film Festival where Truffaut's film "The 400 Blows" becomes a resounding success, so Godard decides it is his time to direct a film, so he co-writes a short outline with Truffaut and off he goes to direct "Breathless.
The story of "Breathless" involves Michel Portail, a young, impulsive petty criminal in Paris who idolizes American movie gangsters, especially Humphrey Bogart. When he kills a motorcycle cop after stealing a car, Portail becomes a wanted man. Then he meets Patricia, an American student, and the two fall in love, but as Patricia learns of Portail's crimes, she questions their relationship and it all ends badly. Actress Jean Seberg (Zoey Deutch) enjoying the success of her film "Bonjour Tristesse," plays Patricia and Jean-Paul Belmondo (Aubry Dullin) is cast as Portail.
So that's the gist of "Breathless," which became a classic of French cinema, but you would never know that would be the outcome because of the chaotic, impulsive and disjointed way that Godard directed the film, and that is what Linklater highlights in this movie. For example, there isn't a finished script, and on the first day of production, Godard films only one scene. As production goes on, Godard wants spontaneity and improvisation rather than finishing the script. There is no continuity and short shooting days. Cast and crew, and especially the producer, Georges de Beauregard (Bruno Dreyfurst), become frustrated. After 23 days, Godard wraps production.
When the film is shown, Truffaut, Chabrol and others dismiss the film, but we all know what happened. "Breathless" became one of the most daring and influential films ever made; Belmondo became an international heartthrob; Seberg went on to make 35 more films but sadly died from suicide at 40 (read her biography. Really sad what happened to her); and Godard went on to have a brilliant film career for over 60 years.
Many filmmakers have been influenced by the French New Wave and particularly by Godard. And Linklater is clearly one of them. Written by Holly Gent, Vincent Palmo Jr. and Michele Petin, this is a little slice of French film life, a look into the early days of the French New Wave, but this film also seemed to be very niche.
I wonder how many current filmgoers can relate to this part of film history, and who will recognize the famous names thrown around, because to enjoy the film, it helps to know the movers and shakers of the French New Wave. Famous names abound as well as famous quotes (Godard's most famous line - "All you need for a movie is a girl and a gun"), but that doesn't mean much if no one recognizes the names or the quotes. The film is black and white mostly in French with English subtitles, which is fine, but Linklater also chose to include closed captions like "chuckling" and "sound of car horn." I found that very irritating. Not sure what the purpose of that was. Linklater also seemed to be imitating Godard's style of filmmaking because the movie felt very disjointed and chaotic at times. But the actors were great and the production values captured the times and did mimic the filmmaking of that era, and, of course, there were lots and lots of cigarettes.
Linklater pays homage to French New Wave cinema and perhaps hoped that this little film would ignite interest in that part of film history. Not sure that will happen.
Will it win a Golden Globe for "Best Picture - Musical or Comedy?"
Prediction: I say no, and it doesn't help that Linklater's "Blue Moon" is also nominated in this category. They could cancel each other out.
Rosy the Reviewer says...an interesting little love letter from Linklater to Godard and French New Wave cinema, but I wonder if the general movie going public can relate (Netflix).
Sinners (2025)
What does a black community in the 1930's South have to do with vampires? Nothing really but it makes for an intriguing concept in this tale about twin brothers returning from their troubled lives in Chicago only to find more trouble.
Michael B. Jordan plays identical twins and World War I veterans Elijah "Smoke" and Elias "Stack" Moore (get it? Smoke-Stack? - lol) who return to Clarksdale, Mississippi, after spending seven years in Chicago. These guys are gangsters and they have returned to their small town to start a juke joint for the local Black community. They are accompanied by their young cousin, Sammie (Miles Caton), AKA Preacher Boy, who is a blues singer.
They reunite with Delta Slim (Delroy Lindo), a blues harmonica player; Grace (Li Jun Li) and Bo Chow (Yao), local Chinese shopkeepers; field worker Cornbread Omar Benson Miller); and Smoke's wife, Annie (Wunmi Mosaku). Delta will perform in the joint, Grace and Bo will supply the food, Cornbread will be the bouncer and Annie will cook.
In the meantime, Mary (Hailee Steinfeld), Stack's ex-girlfriend shows up. As an aside, Annie believes in Hoodoo and thinks that she has kept the twins safe over the years, but that is yet to be determined because there are vampires afoot. What? Vampires?
Anyway, on the joint's opening night, the music attracts Remmick (Jack O'Connell), who is a KKK guy and also a vampire (huge metaphor there) and his fellow vampires, and it all goes to hell after that.
Michael B. Jordan is nominated for a Best Actor Golden Globe and it's well deserved as he played both brothers and each is distinctive. Written and directed by Ryan Coogler, the film is nominated for another six Golden Globe awards and has already won 124 awards from other film societies, but this movie just didn't do it for me. It took too long to get going, and when the vampires finally showed up, I couldn't help but think, where did the vampires come from? What do they have to do with this?
Despite the focus on the music, traditions, culture and the struggles of the black community in the 1930's South as well as the moody and sometimes beautiful cinematography, good acting, and, yes, vampires...sorry, I just didn't get it, much as I love vampires. If you are going to do black culture, do black culture, and if you are going to do vampires, do vampires, but mashing them together, didn't work for me.
So will this win "Best Picture - Drama?" Will Michael B. Jordan win Best Actor-Drama?"
Prediction: I say, no. Despite the stylish presentation and the metaphor, I just could not get into this movie. And I also think Michael B. Jordan has some stiff competition in the Best Actor-Drama category.
Rosy the Reviewer says...even though I kind of like vampires, I didn't find this a satisfying movie experience. It was a very bizarre vampire movie. The movie actually could have done without the vampires. (streaming on HBO Max and Hulu).
