The destination may be Italy, but the Oscar-nominated Io Capitano unfolds like a classic Greek fable. Director and co-writer Matteo Garrone crafts a stirring and often gut-wrenching modern Homeric tale, with a young African refugee enduring multiple hardships while refusing to surrender his character or humanity.
16 year-old Seydou (Seydou Sarr) and his cousin Moussa (Moustapha Fall) have been planning for months to leave their home in Senegal for the hope of a better life in Europe. The locals warn against the dangerous trip, and Seydou’s mother (Ndeye Khady Sy) forbids it, but the boys take the stash of money they’ve been saving and head out in secret.
The journey will not be kind. From Niger to Libya to the unforgiving Sahara (presented with breathtaking scope) and beyond, the boys will face shakedowns, bribes, arrest and torture, while subtle twists of fate conspire with glimpses of human kindness to keep them moving forward.
Sarr is absolutely terrific in a highly emotional and physical role, allowing Garrone (Dogman. Gomorrah) to strategically build empathy for the young man and his mission. With brutality all around him, Seydou must ultimately defend his humanity with stirring defiance, cementing his standing as a true and just wanderer.
But though Seydou’s odyssey may have a classic structure, the subtext here is never in doubt. Io Capitano succeeds on both fronts, bringing stark intimacy to the global refugee crisis, along with realization that stories can often speak so much more clearly than statistics.
It’s the most wonderful time of the year! We get to celebrate the terrible decisions some of this year’s Oscar nominees have made in their careers. Why? Because we sincerely love them—the movies and their stars. Join us as we comb through this year’s Oscar nominees’ bad horror past.
5. In Dreams (1999): Annette Bening and Robert Downey Jr.
It’s a twofer! Nominees for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actor, Annette Bening and Robert Downey Jr. joined director Neil Jordan (In the Company of Wolves, Interview with a Vampire, Byzantium) for this gender fluid serial killer/fairy tale mash up that just doesn’t work.
With Aidan Quinn, Stephen Rea, Margo Martindale (in a brief, thankless orderly role), it’s a convoluted mess of a movie that tosses together tropes from about six different styles of horror without ever trying to make sense of any of them.
This was Bening’s only real foray into horror, while Downey Jr. starred in Zodiac (great) and Gothica (poor).
4. Godsend (2004): Robert De Niro
Do not be surprised that De Niro starred in a lackluster horror flick in the early 2000s. He starred in several, not to mention the handful of bad actioners, bad thrillers, and bad comedies he peppers into his otherwise impressive filmography.
In this case, De Niro plays a geneticist with an ulterior motive, preying on the grief of a couple (Rebecca Romijn, Greg Kinnear) whose only child (Cameron Bright) has been killed. De Niro brings him back, but when has that ever been a good idea in a horror movie? Derivative and embarrassing, considering the cast.
Robert De Niro has starred in some great horror (Cape Fear, Angel Heart) and some bad horror (Hide and Seek, Frankenstein).
3. Case 39 (2009): Bradley Cooper
Like George Clooney, Bradley Cooper can write, direct, star, earn Oscar nominations, and be counted on to shine bright in a bunch of bad early career horror. In this case, he co-stars with now two-time Oscar winner Renee Zellweger.
It’s a blatant, lifeless The Ring ripoff with bad FX, bad acting and lame plotting. Cooper plays Doug (he’ll be your Doug). It’s a thankless role of boyfriend/buddy/bee sting sufferer.
We’ve talked about other Cooper horror before, but here’s his whole lineup: My Little Eye (pretty bad), Midnight Meat Train (not very good), and 10 Cloverfield Lane (voice acting, a really good movie).
2. The Wolfman (2010): Emily Blunt
We had such hopes for this one when it came out. That cast! Benicio Del Toro, Anthony Hopkins, Hugo Weaving, and 2024 Oscar nominee Emily Blunt.
Good God, was it awful. If you can look past the idea that Hopkins and Del Toro could be father and son, look past the insipid plot, look past Hopkins’s hamminess or del Toro’s disinterest, you cannot look past the heinous FX. But Blunt handles herself really, really well.
This was not the first, nor would it be the last horror film for Blunt: A Quiet Place (very good) A Quiet Place 2 (good) and Wind Chill (pretty good).
1. Frankenstein and Me (1996): Ryan Gosling
This one’s hard to track down, but worth the effort if you enjoy very badly made family-oriented “horror.” It’s a Disney TV movie starring Burt Reynolds (I swear to God). Burt’s married to a woman 1/3 his age (played by Myriam Cyr, who—God love her—is the worst actor on earth). The two have two young sons, who dream of bringing the dead to life.
Oscar winner Louise Fletcher takes abuse in a role that’s wildly beneath her, but there is one bright spot. This is Ryan Gosling’s first film, and he’s a spunky charmer, elevating every scene he’s in.
It wouldn’t be his last horror film, having also starred in Stay (mediocre, but co-starring 2024 Oscar nominee Sterling K. Brown) and Murder by Numbers (mediocre).
Is that the theme of Denis Villeneuve’s second installment of the Frank Herbert sci-fi epic? A colonizer twists religion to convince a huge population to act in their own worst interests? Sounds more like modern times, but maybe the blandly named Paul (Timothée Chalamet) really is The One.
Dune: Part Two is as breathtaking a vision as Villeneuve’s 2021 Part One. And it’s a better film, benefitting immeasurably from the freedom of exposition that weighed down Part One. The sequel rides intensity and action from its opening segment.
Having taken refuge with his mother (Rebecca Ferguson, still the most interesting performance in the film) among the Fremen, Paul tries to understand his visions while fighting alongside Chani (Zendaya), the woman he loves, to take back the spice-rich planet Arrakis from the evil and extremely pale Harkonnen.
Villeneuve’s world-building is again a wonder to behold. He immerses us in this world of sand and savagery, providing fully realized reminders of how much Herbert’s original vision has influenced iconic sci-fi tentpoles such as Mad Max and Star Wars.
And, in turn, this Dune isn’t shy about its own inspirations. From the conversion of Paul to the schemes behind the throne, from the cries of “false prophet!” to the bloodline surprises, Villeneuve and returning co-writer Jon Spaihts bob and weave the narrative through a fertile playground of Biblical and Shakespearean roots.
The ensemble is again large and mighty, sporting a litany of heavyweights (Javier Bardem, Florence Pugh, Josh Brolin, Charlotte Rampling, Christopher Walken, Léa Seydoux, Stellan Skarsgård, Austin Butler, Dave Bautista) who are all able to leave unique impressions amid the battle of screen time.
And that tells you how many characters are populating this adventure, because there is no shortage of screen time. But while Part Two‘s 2 hours and 45-minutes eclipse the first film, you’ll also find more meat on the bone. Yes, the second act does bog down a bit, but the finale sticks a damn fine landing. Overall, there’s just more earned tension, more thrills (get ready for the worms!) and more character arc to keep you invested in this fight.
Part Two also feels like the complete film that its predecessor did not, and it begins to pick the scab off that “white savior” issue, although we’ll need to get to Part Three to really do it justice. Even if there is not a third installment (and let’s be honest, there’s going to be), Dune: Part Two delivers a satisfying and complete adventure all its own.
Is the flattery still sincerest if you’re imitating yourself?
Because about 15 minutes into Drive-Away Dolls, the first installment of a lesbian B-movie trilogy from director/co-writer Ethan Coen and co-writer Tricia Cooke (Coen’s longtime producer/editor/wife), you can’t ignore how much this film reminds you of Coen Brothers movies.
And yes, better Coen Brothers movies.
Like The Big Lebowski, Burn After Reading, Barton Fink and A Serious Man, all of which get subtle and not-so-subtle nods in a twisting story of two young women and a mysterious, valuable briefcase.
Jamie (Margaret Qualley) and Marian (Geraldine Viswanathan) are queer best friends in 1999 Philadelphia. Marian is sexually conservative, and the free-spirited Jamie hopes to get her friend some action while they accept a drive-away job down to Tallahassee and hit every lesbian bar they can find.
What the girls don’t know is that the car they’ve been given has two very important items in the trunk, and it isn’t long before “The Chief” (Colman Domingo) and his two hapless henchman (Joey Slotnick, C.J. Wilson) are on their tail heading South.
The cast is indeed impressive (with appearances from Pedro Pascal, Bill Camp, Beanie Feldstein and Matt Damon), but while the film serves up a handful of LOL moments, the vast majority of the nuttiness lands with more desperation than inspiration.
It all feels so forced, except for Viswanathan, whose earnest delivery points out the artifice in Qualley’s. The Foghorn Leghorn-y of pre-millennium lesbians, Jamie’s every line draws attention to its own zaniness. It calls to mind The Ladykillers—and that’s never the Coen movie you want to make people remember.
Much of the ensemble works magic, though. Camp is particularly, dryly memorable. But this script, and the unsteady direction, suffers from high expectations. Drive-Away Dolls is fine. It’s fun enough. It’s nutty. But if Coen and Cooke weren’t awkwardly chasing their own family history, it would have been more satisfying.
It’s understandable if Ordinary Angels seems familiar. Hilary Swank playing a tireless do-gooder in a based-on-true-events drama with a vaguely inspirational title is probably going to feel that way.
And while the film does rely on plenty of broad-brushing, it ultimately mines enough nuance to find some genuine feels, as well.
Swank plays Sharon Stevens, a hard-partying beauty salon owner in Kentucky who’s hoping one day to mend the relationship with her estranged son, Derek (Dempsey Byrk). While waiting at the grocery store checkout, a local newspaper story gives Sharon’s life new meaning.
Five year-old Michelle Schmitt (Emily Mitchell) has a rare disease and needs a liver transplant to survive. Her father Ed (Jack Reacher‘s Alan Ritchson), still hurting from his wife’s fatal battle with Wegener’s disease, is facing a mountain of medical debt while struggling to raise Michelle and her older sister Ashley (Skywalker Hughes) as a single parent.
After so much heartache, Ed admits to his mother Barbara (Nancy Travis) that he’s losing his faith. Could this hardscrabble hairdresser at their door be a Godsend? The few thousand dollars she raises from a salon fundraiser is a darn good start.
Two-time Oscar winner Swank is perfect for the role, even if the script from Kelly Fremon Craig (Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret) and Meg Tilly (the veteran actress with her first feature writing credit) doesn’t provide many edges, at least early on. Sharon is all “hush my mouth” spunk, smiling through her accent as she imposes her will on multiple situations and begins to feel interchangeable with similar characters from The Blind Side to Swank’s own Conviction.
Ritchson is fine and shares sweet chemistry with the two adorable young girls, though Ed also lacks the depth to move the character beyond any number of faith-based dramas following a basic heart string-tugging playbook.
Ordinary Angels does find a unique voice in the third act, when Ed’s patience wears thin, and Sharon is finally forced to confront the life she’s really trying to save. Plus, director Jon Gunn (The Case for Christ, The Week) moves away from the formulaic to develop some respectable tension when the call for Michelle’s life-saving transplant comes during a monster snowstorm.
That really happened, and the true story here does provide an inspiring example of the good that humans are capable of. No doubt we need that right now, and Ordinary Angels manages just enough extraordinary moments to please more than the choir.
When Rob Schenck was a young pastor, he was told never to prepare a sermon without consulting the Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, edited by Gerhard Kittel.
Years later, Schenck learned that Kittel was also the man who gave Hitler a Christian blessing for his Final Solution.
“That was an eye opener,” Schenck admits. The point—that there is no limit to what radical Christianity can be used to justify—is what drives God & Country. And much of the film’s success comes from how it combats that fanaticism with a measured, confident deconstruction.
Director Dan Partland doesn’t insert himself into the conversation, but has no problem crafting a spirited one. Yes, he has a clear agenda, but includes enough footage from news reports, political speeches and televangelist messaging that the film’s worldview becomes the “other side” getting a chance to be heard.
Partland relies on historians, authors, and theologians to trace the rise of Christian Nationalism, it’s deviation from actual Christian teachings, the quest for power over values that earns a rebranding as “White Religious Nationalism,” and how the true believers have been convinced that America has a God-ordained role in human history.
And if democracy gets in the way? See January 6th, 2021.
The attack on the Capitol is what bookends the film, and in between, Partland actually elicits sympathy for the attackers, who have been fed a calculated diet of lies, fear and outrage. The resulting echo chamber creates an alternative reality bubble, one that was always designed to burst.
If you noticed the proudly theocratic ruling from the Alabama Supreme Court last week, you know that the threat to democracy is only becoming more dangerous. Partland makes it clear that the biggest hope is awareness, so that those led astray by the fervor (like Schenck) can experience a new awakening.
Christian Nationalism has nothing to do with Christianity. And God & Country finds a useful tone between sermonizing and condescension that can help us see that light.
Being trapped in a town–whether by supernatural forces or physical ones–is a nightmare scenario that horror movies use to their advantage. Maybe it’s bloodthirsty kids in a cornfield who keep you. Maybe it’s some kind of unnatural barrier, and every time you leave, you wind up where you started. Either way, spooky times! Here are our five favorite towns that won’t let you leave!
5. Hilsboro: The Brotherhood of Satan (1971)
One of those mid-afternoon TV watches one day home sick from school, this movie scared the shit out of me. Was it the kidnapping and possession of children? The Satanic cult? No–it was the idea that K.T. and Nicky could never leave the town. No matter what direction they drove or how they attempted it, they would never get out of the town.
That idea stuck with me for ages, but in restrospect, the movie has a lot of weird goodness going for it. It seems to have inspired Being John Malcovich to a degree, as well as Cemetery Man. It’s a B-movie, no question, but it is a lot of fun.
4. Camp Arcadia: The Endless (2017)
Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead continue themes developed in the remarkable Resolution (which could also be on the list). And though it’s really a camp they need to leave, the dread the filmmakers develop is identical to that of the town that won’t let go.
As brothers return to the cult they’d escaped years earlier for a friendly visit, you spend every minute hoping, goading, yelling, begging them to fucking just leave! Get out! What are you still doing there?!
The tension is palpable and the fraternal familiarity between Justin and Moorhead is painfully, tenderly authentic. This works to ground the science fiction elements as they develop, creating an unnerving and memorable feature.
3. Hobbs End: In the Mouth of Madness (1994)
John Carpenter combines King with Lovecraft to create an unforgettable journey into madness. Sam Neill is an insurance investigator out to prove that vanished author Sutter Cane is a phony. He just needs to get to Hobb’s End and prove it.
There’s a scene with a bicyclist on a country road that boasts of Carpenter’s genre magic, as madness and mayhem collude to keep Neill where he is, at least until he can serve a greater purpose.
2. Buffalora: Cemetery Man (Dellamorte Dellamore – [of death, of love], 1994)
Inarguably director Michele Soavi’s best work is confined mainly to the cemetery in Buffalora. Released the same year as In the Mouth of Madness, Cemetery Man explores a handful of the same themes. It just does it with more sex.
The film balances humor with horror, sneakily leading to meaner and more chaotic plot turns until there’s no going back.
Rupert Everett is perfection as Dellamorte, the cemetery keeper who has noticed that the dead come back about seven days after they’re interred. Things go from bad to worse to worse still, and finally he loads up his best friend Gnaghi and plans to put Buffalora behind him. Good luck.
1. The Yabba: Wake in Fright (1971)
First time in the Yabba?
Sweaty, drunken, debauched–Ted Kotcheff’s Aussie thriller wrings tension from every scene as John Grant, put-upon school teacher, explores his manliness with the very manliest in town.
A pressure cooker, the film is an absolute education in escalating tension, but it also boasts what may be the greatest performance of Donald Pleasance’s career.
The film is not for the faint of heart, and potential viewers beware: the kangaroo hunt is real.
When I was a kid watching the Oscars, I remember always being perplexed by short film categories. How do people manage to see these shorts?
Good news, kids, it’s gotten much easier. Not only to we now have ShortsTV, but in the last several years, all the nominated shorts have been packaged by category for theatrical showings. And in the cases where the combined run times don’t reach feature length, some bonus shorts are added to the programs.
In this year’s Documentary group, you’ll find informative shorts that inspire, surprise and delight.
Island In Between 20 Mins. Director: S. Leo Chiang Taiwan
Taiwanese-American filmmaker S. Leo Chiang calls this his ”op-doc,” as he reflects on a ”three way custody battle” that continues to define him.
The triangle of influence is made up of the U.S., China and the small island of Kinmen, where Chiang’s parents still live. Kinmen is a Taiwanese island only 10km from mainland China, a small piece of land sitting literally and figuratively between vastly different worlds.
It’s often wise to funnel complex ideas through smaller, more intimate perspectives, and Chaing does that effectively here. In documenting his own journey to self-identification, Island In Between becomes an enlightening window into a slice of world history that continues to breed tension.
No trailer available
Nai Nai & Wài Pó 17 mins. Director: Sean Wang United States
In a bad mood? Give this one 17 minutes and it will be gone like a fart in the wind.
Probably one of Wai Po’s farts.
Nai Nai & Wai Po are the paternal and maternal grandmothers of filmmaker Sean Wang. They live together in China, and are happy that their grandson is visiting to make them ”movie stars!”
Wang fills each frame with love and appreciation, allowing each woman to look back, to talk about how they see life and death, and to get gloriously silly.
It’s a wonderful love letter to family that will bring a warm smile to your heart, and make you want to call your Mom or Grandma.
The ABCs of Book Banning 27 Mins. Directors: Trish Adlesic, Nazenet Habtezghi, Sheila Nevins United States
The film quickly gets you up to date on some sobering facts: approximately 2,000 books have been removed from U.S. school districts after being restricted, challenged or banned.
Then, the directors let a group of 8, 9 and 10 year-olds sound ff on these decisions. These kids are smart and thirst for knowledge, and their wonderfully simplistic assessments expose the ridiculous objections to many of these books.
“You’re stealing knowledge.”
“I like to learn.”
“Something’s not clicking in your brain.”
And, after being told that a book having same sex parents is objectionable: ”Why? It’s not like they turned into a werewolf!”
The clear objective here to give voice to those who don’t often get to weigh in on an issue that directly concerns them. But to rest its case, the film spotlights a 100 year-old woman’s impassioned speech to a local school board debating banned books.
Neither age group has much use for BS. Well done.
The Barber of Little Rock 35 mins. Directors: John Hoffman Christine Turner United States
Get to know Arlo Washington.
A Little Rock barber and small business owner, Arlo’s commitment to confronting the racial wealth gap led to his forming the People’s Trust bank in 2008, a Community Development Financial Institution specially designed to combat the economic segregation of his community.
I.e. ”banking while Black.”
You feel inspired just spending time with Arlo, and smarter for the way he and the film break down the ways CDFI’s can make truly impactful differences in both lives and communities.
Arlo’s work provides freedom, which is precisely why a friend advises him to watch his back. The film lets you understand why the friend’s words are well taken, even as you’re hoping Arlo’s work is just getting started.
The Last Repair Shop 39 mins. Directors: Kris Bowers, Ben Proudfoot United States
The team behind the 2020 Oscar nominee A Concerto Is a Conversation returns to spotlight the people inside a musical instrument repair shop, and the students whose lives they are touching.
Since 1959, the L.A. school district has been providing free instrument repair for its music students. It is one of the last U.S. districts to still offer this service, and the film shows us the joy the practice can bring to the kids, while it profiles the unique circumstances that brought four expert craftspeople to the same repair shop.
It’s a captivating and warm approach to illustrating this one degree of separation between generations, and reminding us of the enrichment possible through music education.
When I was a kid watching the Oscars, I remember always being perplexed by short film categories. How do people manage to see these shorts?
Good news, kids, it’s gotten much easier. Not only do we now have ShortsTV, but in the last several years, all the nominated shorts have been packaged by category for theatrical showings. And in the cases where the combined run times don’t reach feature length, some bonus shorts are added to the programs.
In this year’s Live Action group, we get four tear-jerkers, two big plot twists and one Wes Anderson cavalcade of whimsy. Enjoy.
Invincible 30 Mins. Writer/director: Vincent René-Lortie Canada
Based on the last 48 hours in the life of Marc-Antoine Bernier, a 14 year-old boy struggling with incarceration in a youth centre, Invincible finds humanity amid heartbreak.
Young Léokim Beaumier-Lépine gives a terrific performance as Marc, whose continued outbursts have put his weekend visits home at risk. Marc has shown himself to be both smart and talented, but has not responded well to his confinement. The situation is also beginning to take a toll on his younger sister, Justine (Élia St-Pierre).
René-Lortie brings an artful touch of grace to this tragic story, allowing a troubled spirit to soar toward freedom.
Knight of Fortune 25 mins. Writer/director: Lasse Lyskjær Noer Denmark
Karl (Leif Andrée) has come to the morgue for a last look at his beloved wife. He’s told to be prepared for the changes in her appearance, but he can’t quite bring himself to open the coffin and accept that she is gone.
In the restroom, Karl meets Torben (Jens Jørn Spottag), another grieving widower who would like Karl to accompany him to the room with his own late wife’s coffin, and help him say goodbye.
The men’s quick bond is bittersweet and warmly funny. And when Karl learns some surprising facts about Torben, the film becomes a wonderfully touching message about love, loss, and what it takes to keep moving forward.
No trailer available
Red, White and Blue 23 mins. Writer/director: Nazrin Choudhury United State
Brittany Show stars as Rachel, a struggling single parent in Arkansas who is suddenly faced with an unwanted pregnancy. She’s forced to cross state lines for the care she seeks, and Rachel’s choices seem fairly clear cut.
Until they’re not.
Choudhury, a veteran TV writer directing her first film, drops a major twist that changes everything we thought we knew about Rachel. Yes, what follows comes on pretty strong, but Choudbury isn’t interested in whispering, and there’s an urgency in Red, White and Blue that can’t be denied.
The After 19 mins. Writers: Misan Harriman and John Julius Schwabach Director: Misan Harriman United Kingdom
The first of two Netflix films in this group, The After finds Dayo (David Oyelowo in fine form as always) struggling to accept unspeakable tragedy.
Sleepwalking though what’s left of his life, Dayo takes a job as a ride share driver. The lack of personal interaction seems perfect for Dayo’s desire to withdraw, until a certain passenger forces him to confront the past.
The film is not subtle, but Oyelowo’s turn is deeply affecting, allowing The After to speak clearly through the tears.
The Wonderful Life of Henry Sugar 37mins. Writer/director: Wes Anderson. U.K./U.S.A.
One of three short films Wes Anderson produced for Netflix last year, Henry Sugar unfolds like a delightful pop-up book being presented to us by a breathlessly enthusiastic troupe.
Benedict Cumberbatch, Dev Patel, Ralph Fiennes and Sir Ben Kingsley lead a stellar ensemble that thrives inside Anderson’s trademark world of unmistakable color, framing and pace.
You could say the film is about a man who learns to see through objects with help from a stolen book, but that would be doing a disservice to the engaging ways the entire tale evolves. Wonderful indeed.
