This article was originally published in the DIASPORA NEWSLETTER on December 9, 2024.
With the recent unveiling of Film Independent Spirit Awards and Golden Globes nominees as well as the recent Gotham Awards and numerous critic circle accolades, awards season has not just landed — it is slutting itself around. And when Oscar time comes it’s gonna be a full-out orgy of accolades.
The thing is — there is no solid frontrunner. Every year, there seems to be a fave, but this year is weird. I can’t get a read on what is the big title that everyone is drooling over. Everyone wants a piece of the FYC (For Your Consideration) cake and I’ve been receiving FYC promos and screeners for a myriad of titles from made-for-awards-season titles like Anora and Wicked to titles that make me question the studios’ intention (An FYC screener for Beetlejuice Beetlejuice? Okay, if you say so.).
I’ve been watching films non-stop for the past month or so and these are just some of my thoughts on films racing in this hella thirsty awards season race. So please enjoy reading my mini-reviews amidst a soundscape of my Gladiator and Wicked music remixes.
GLADIATOR 2: It was great and all, but I would have been fine staying at home and watching the first Gladiator because they are the same story. Denzel Washington was the most entertaining part of this sequel. And that ocean battle with sharks in the coliseum felt like it came from the wild imagination of a five-year-old.
SING SING: Currently reading Dan Slepian’s book “The Sing Sing Files” which is linked to this amazing drama that more people need to be talking about. Directed by Greg Kwedar, the movie stars Colman Domingo as well as real-life formerly incarcerated men from the titular maximum security prison as they participate in the Rehabilitation Through the Arts program at the prison. It shows how art can heal and make you work your bullshit out. Sing Sing is required viewing and reading if you are interested in challenging America’s broken and corrupt prison system.
QUEER: Yes it is.
NICKEL BOYS: RaMell Ross’s bold film takes risks and chances with its storytelling bolstering the talent of a group of talented young actors including Ethan Herisse, Brandon Wilson, and Luke Tennie who are joined by actors Hamish Linklater, and the incomparable Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor. The first-person POV film has been done before but not like this. Ross uses it as a tool of empathy rather than a gimmick and it elevates the material.
WICKED: The oversaturation of Wicked content is starting to subside, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that this movie is an experience. Jon M. Chu levels up his game to make Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande bonafide movie stars.
THE BRUTALIST: I know what you’re thinking: “215 MINUTES WITH AN INTERMISSION? HELL NO!”. I was the same way — but I suggest to watch it once. Brady Corbet’s epic drama is about an immigrant architect (Adrien Brody) who goes through one helluva journey amidst a movie that has incredible art design that contributes to the story.
THE SUBSTANCE: Oh lord. This was as wild as they said it is and Demi Moore has always been a queen. And this might be the first movie where I paid attention to Margaret Qualley. Director Coralie Fargeat is bae.
THE LAST SHOWGIRL: Not the best movie, but I loved Pamela Anderson in it. And did you see her school ALL OF US in the Criterion Closet? She knows more about formative cinema than some people in this business. She was comfortable and confident with her performance as she continued to show us the vulnerability that she started to unpack in Ryan White’s doc about her.
NOSEFERATU: After a while, the titular character started sounding like the Count from Sesame Street and I was fine with it. There is something so tragically poetic in a Gen X way about Lily-Rose Depp playing a character that is pretty much the same character in Bram Stoker’s Dracula who was played by her daddy’s ex, the incomparable Winona Ryder. Also, there is a demonic full frontal in the movie. More like NoseferaTOOL.
MEMOIR OF A SNAIL: Adam Elliot’s beautiful, melancholic stop-motion animated feature had me in tears as we see the struggles of a hopeful and kind Grace Pudel (voiced by the wonderful Sarah Snook), who is separated from her twin brother and navigates a series of tragic misfortunes while collecting snails. Yes, it’s a tragedy, but the hope is strong.
PIECE BY PIECE: Will remind you of how Pharrell Williams, along with Chad Hugo, had a chokehold on music in the late nineties and well into the early ‘00s, creating the Golden Age of The Neptunes.
HERETIC: Hugh Grant terrorizing two Mormon gals about the complexities of religion? Why wouldn’t you want to watch this?
THE WILD ROBOT: Who knew a story about a robot in the wild would make me so emotional? It features the voice Lupita Nyong’o so that helps — and the animation is… wild.
BIG BOYS: Corey Sherman’s coming-of-age pic starring the endearing Isaac Krasner gives us a perspective we don’t see often: the closeted, awkward chubby teen outcast. As he falls for his cousin’s hunky boyfriend while on a camping trip, Big Boys gives us a queer narrative that is curious, sweet and kind but not patronizing. Big Boys reminds us that good indie films still exist.
TRANSFORMERS ONE: This fantastic animated take on a wildly popular franchise is on par with the 1986 animated Transformers: The Movie. Transformers One was what 10-year-old Dino was dreaming of.
THE FIRE INSIDE: A solid feature directorial debut for DP Rachel Morrison. The movie, like record-breaking Olympian boxer Claressa Shields (played fantastically by Ryan Destiny — she and Bryan Tyree Henry make a fantastic pair) is “too damn good to be ignored”. With a script penned by Barry Jenkins, The Fire Inside is a solid sports movie that brings an overlooked story of a deserving Black woman who defied the odds — a story that got buried in the sports news annals.
Again, these are just some of the movies I watched for awards season. Nonetheless, this is how I feel after watching all I need to watch for FYC season:
