On Thursday this week, some shocking news rolled out. That news was the Brocolli Family have relinquished creative control of the James Bond franchise to Amazon MGM. I can’t even begin to pretend this is good news. While not all the Bond films were great (looking at you Die Another Day), there was a consistency that existed that no other franchise of this type has ever achieved. With Amazon now in the drivers seat, what is really going to stop them from creating spin-off series to add content to Prime? I for one don’t need The Adventures of Moneypenny or a M origin series. The Kennedy family is still part of the creative process, so these things might not happen, but come on. We all kind of know they are in our future. We have seen this play out before in 2012. That was when George Lucas sold Star Wars to Disney. Once that transferred over to the House of Mouse, we got new films. That is normal, and we will get future Bond films, which is ok. However, we also got spin-off series for Boba Fett, Andor, Asoka, and a made up pair of character that were very popular (Mandalorian and Grogu). That last pairing are getting their own film next May. The point here is Disney exploded the Star Wars content partly because they have a streaming service that needs it. Just like Amazon does. Get ready for Q’s Invention Workshop next summer. On to the reviews!
I thought I had all the Best Picture films watched well before nomination day, but I’m Still Here showed up as a nomination and changed my plans. I already planned to watch it as a I knew it would be in the International category, but with it being up for the big prize, it took added precedence. Having seen it finally after my first attempt being canceled due to COVID last week, this was one of the better films I have watched in a couple years. Fernanda Torres is magnificent in this as Eunice Paiva. Set in the early 1970’s in Brazil during a military dictatorship, Eunice’s husband and father to their 5 children is arrested in a raid, and disappears. After Eunice and one of their daughters are questioned and released, the film follows Eunice’s efforts to find her husband. This is based on a memoir that was written by Eunice’s son Marcelo, so that is an added level of realism to the film. Torres just puts so much pain and heartbreak into this role, all while trying to hide what is happening from the youngest children. The little victories that happen in the later stages of the film seem significant in the saddest of ways, and the film portrays them that way too. With seeing this and The Seed of the Sacred Fig, it just makes Emilia Perez stand out more as not belonging. I’m predicting I’m Still Here to win Best International, but I am preparing for Perez to take the win. I just don’t see how someone who watches that film and this can’t see the difference. This is filled with so much hope, heartbreak, and perseverance that it simply is simply one of the best of the year.
There were not many mysteries in this one. You kind of give the game away a bit when your title of the film is what it is. That isn’t what the movie really about though. This film is about grief and the need to reach out for help. We follow Sonequa Martin-Green’s Merit throughout the film, and she is followed by Natalie Morales’s Zoe, but only she can see her. We see her struggle to open up in court ordered group therapy, and even opening up to loved ones. What happened to Zoe is something that is holding Merit back, and we know she needs to share, but that is so much easier for someone on the outside to say. That is shown by the conversations Merit’s therapy leader Dr Cole, played by Morgan Freeman, has with Merit as she continues to be shut off. It shouldn’t surprise you that she eventually shares by the end of the film, and what happened is something you don’t see coming, and is just heartbreaking, if not a common issue that so, so many people have gone through. Another standout here is Ed Harris as Merit’s grandfather, Dale. Dale has early onset Alzheimer’s and can’t be left alone, but the cabin he lives in is just so important to him, that he refuses to leave.
That storyline is the main this film got the grade it did from me. What this film has for me is two separate storylines that do not mesh well together. What we have here is a storyline of grief and needing help, and a storyline of a family’s efforts to tackle a loved one who is developing a cruel disease. While either can make for an interesting film, the two together don’t really work. It is obvious based on the special message that plays during the credits that the Zoe storyline is the important one, so why not focus more on that one. This is still a good film. It just could have been better by focusing more on what was deemed important by the filmmakers themselves.
We have not had too many great Apple TV+ original films. Yes, CODA did win the 2022 Best Picture. There is also Napoleon, Killers of the Flower Moon, and I will argue for Spirited. On the other side there is lot of mediocre to bad films released by Apple. The Gorge is in that second group. Directed by Scott Derrickson in between The Black Phone entries, this film is about two elite snipers stationed on opposite sides of the titular Gorge. They have to both not communicate with the other side, and keep what ever is in the gorge from coming out. This is a movie and not a documentary, so when you cast Miles Teller and Anya Taylor-Joy, you know they are going to talk to each other, and develop feeling for each other. As the plot demands, the two find themselves in the gorge eventually, and what we see down there is certainly something. It is just a never ending slog through a CGI wasteland filled with plant people and other weird creatures. I just felt bored through most of this film and that was the problem. The action scenes had little to no stakes as I know our leads are going to be fine. I’m just curious how much money it took to get Teller and Taylor-Joy to do this film. The bulk of the budget had to be used on the CGI mess, and there isn’t much more to the film outside of that. This was just a waste of two hours that has become commonplace with Apple releases. Maybe they should focus on better projects in the future rather than dumping money into projects that might not return the investment. F1 is the next one for the studio un June, and the budget for that is said to be massive. Hopefully it all comes together for that one. It certainly didn’t for this one.
To say this year has been a slow start to the Box Office would be an understatement. Only one release in these first two months have passed the $100 million dollar mark (Cap) and even that one has been disappointing when compared to other MCU releases. Do I think Last Breath is going to go crazy? No chance. March has a few contenders, so we will have to wait and see how that unfolds I guess.
- Paddington in Peru
- The Monkey
- Captain America: Brave New World
- Dog Man
- The Unbreakable Boy
Slow week this next week for a couple of reasons. One, because there is really nothing coming out this weekend, and I need a little break to get ready for the March run. So it’s a Mystery Movie on Monday, and a streaming movie sometime during the week. Then, chaos hits next week.
Mitten Film Nerd 
Leave a comment