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Academy’s Documentary Branch Whittling Down Shortlist for 2022

10Dec

By Matt ShiverdeckerNo Comments

Features, Film

Academy’s Documentary Branch Whittling Down Shortlist for 2022

Earlier this week, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scientists (AMPAS) announced the full list of feature films eligible for consideration as Best Documentary at the upcoming 94th Academy Awards. There are a total of 138 titles eligible for the category this year and members of the Documentary Branch begin voting today to whittle that list down to a shortlist of 15 films that will advance into the new year. The shortlist should be announced on Tuesday, December 21 and those 15 films will screen on their way towards a second round of balloting which will reveal the final 5 nominees in the category. One of the films you can likely expect to get nominated this year is "Flee" - the Danish film about a queer refugee from Afghanistan is the first to ever qualify in the Document...

‘Don’t Look Up’ is a Star-studded Apocalyptic Satire (Review)

7Dec

By Matt ShiverdeckerNo Comments

Film, Reviews

‘Don’t Look Up’ is a Star-studded Apocalyptic Satire (Review)

Movies that take place during the end of the world are nothing new, but the COVID-19 pandemic feels like it accelerated their frequency. Over the last two years, we've seen "Greenland," "How It Ends," "The Mitchells vs. The Machines," "Songbird," and many more tread this territory in different ways With his latest effort, director Adam McKay ("The Big Short") teams up with journalist David Sirota to craft a stupidly hysterical screenplay about what might happen if the planet was facing an extinction level event. On the surface, it doesn't seem like that would bring about a lot of laughter, but for me, it definitely did. Jennifer Lawrence stars as Kate Dibiasky. She is an astronomy grad student who, while on a standard observation of the night sky, discovers a massive comet that appe...

3Dec

By Matt ShiverdeckerNo Comments

Features, Film

How To Stream 2021’s Best Movies

December is here which means that we're rapidly approaching my favorite time of the year: awards season! This week alone has already seen the Gotham Awards, the National Board of Review, and the New York Film Critics Circle give away their top honors. There are plenty more kudos to follow, heading towards the 94th Academy Awards in March 2022. While there are buzzed-about titles that will be getting theatrical-only releases over the next month or two, many of the year's best films are already streaming or available to rent on VOD. This post will help point you in the right direction so you can get caught up over the holidays and be ready for your office or friend Oscar pools! The list below includes titles available now and some that will be dropping in the weeks ahead. Whene...

The Life and Tragic Death of Adrienne Shelly Examined in New HBO Documentary (Review)

1Dec

By Matt ShiverdeckerNo Comments

Film, Reviews

The Life and Tragic Death of Adrienne Shelly Examined in New HBO Documentary (Review)

There was a moment in the early 90s when it looked like actress Adrienne Shelly would become one of the biggest stars in Hollywood. She burst onto the scene with extraordinary leading roles in two independent films by Hal Hartley. 1989's "The Unbelievable Truth" and 1990's "Trust" were wildly unique and quirky comedies that became minor hits on the arthouse circuit and ended up finding larger audiences thanks to home video. As an actor, she was struggling by the late 90s to be cast in the kinds of movies she was really passionate, so she started to make her own. A 1997 feature called "Sudden Manhattan" is nearly impossible to track down these days, but she made a much bigger splash with what turned out to be her final film. Shelly wrote and directed the 2007 feature "Waitres...

The Life and Career of Julia Child is Chronicled in Tasty New Documentary (Review)

26Nov

By Matt ShiverdeckerNo Comments

Film, Reviews

The Life and Career of Julia Child is Chronicled in Tasty New Documentary (Review)

It's surprising that it has taken so long for a documentary about legendary chef Julia Child to surface. I live in a household where the 2009 film "Julie & Julia" is pure and frequent comfort viewing, so checking this out was a requirement. Filmmakers Betsy West and Julie Cohen earned an Oscar nomination for their film "RBG" and their latest look at a pioneering woman was snapped up quickly by CNN Films and Sony Pictures Classics. Unlike it's subject, this film certainly doesn't break any new ground, but it's a loving and enthusiastic chronicle of a woman who changed the conversation around home cooking in America for decades. Her husband Paul worked for the State Department and was assigned to live in Paris. After having a meal at La Couronne, Child's life was forever chang...

Jane Campion Triumphantly Returns With ‘The Power of the Dog’

19Nov

By Matt ShiverdeckerNo Comments

Film, Reviews

Jane Campion Triumphantly Returns With ‘The Power of the Dog’

It's been twelve long years since Jane Campion's last feature film, the sumptuously romantic period drama "Bright Star." She's certainly made up for lost time with her latest, a powerhouse adaptation of Thomas Savage's 1967 novel. In Montana during the mid-1920s, Phil Burbank (Benedict Cumberbatch) and his brother George (Jesse Plemons) are running their family ranch. Phil has a mean streak and establishes his dominance by frequently mocking George's weight and generally being a rotten human being. When George takes a liking to a young widow named Rose (Kirsten Dunst, hopefully headed towards a much-deserved Best Actress Oscar nomination) and quickly marries her, it sets off something in Phil that only exacerbates his already unpleasant demeanor. He exhibits this in many ways, ...

16Nov

By Matt ShiverdeckerNo Comments

Events, Film

12th Annual DOC NYC Festival Happening Now in Hybrid Format

Now in its 12th year, DOC NYC kicked off over the weekend and is taking place now in a hybrid format. This means that if you're in New York City, there are still screenings happening with hundreds of special guests for Q&As and interviews. The good news is that wherever you are in the United States, you can can actually buy tickets for individual screenings and grab yourself a pass that will allow you to watch some of the best documentaries of the year from the comfort and safety of home. According to their website, for the last nine years, the festival has screened the film that went on to win the Best Documentary award at the Oscars. 24 of the last 25 Oscar nominees were also on recent lineups. If you're a fan of documentary films from around the globe, this is the place to s...

Jessica Chastain Dazzles in Otherwise Average “The Eyes of Tammy Faye” (Review)

12Nov

By Matt ShiverdeckerNo Comments

Film, Reviews

Jessica Chastain Dazzles in Otherwise Average “The Eyes of Tammy Faye” (Review)

For nearly two decades, Tammy Faye Bakker and her husband Jim were televangelists, preaching to the faithful on TV screens all around the world. Director Michael Showalter ("The Big Sick") and screenwriter Abe Sylvia have taken the documentary of the same name that was released in 2000 (streaming now on WOW Presents Plus) and used it as a springboard for this biopic on the controversial couple. The end result is overlong and a little tedious if you've seen the documentary before, but it's worth watching simply because of how marvelous that Jessica Chastain is portraying Tammy Faye. She is simply unrecognizable under all that makeup and the outrageously fake eyelashes, often clinging to a can of Diet Coke and becoming one with the character. Chandler Head portrays Tammy Faye as ...

“Passing” Elegantly Examines Friendship and Race in 1920’s New York (Review)

9Nov

By Matt ShiverdeckerNo Comments

Film, Reviews

“Passing” Elegantly Examines Friendship and Race in 1920’s New York (Review)

Shortly after premiering at this year's Sundance Film Festival, the directorial debut of actor Rebecca Hall ("The Night House") was acquired for release by Netflix in a worldwide deal. Based on the groundbreaking 1929 novel of the same name by Nella Larsen, "Passing" tells the story of two childhood friends who run into each other as adults, intersecting with each other again at very different places in their lives. https://youtu.be/mPlr-E_xKlU Tessa Thompson stars as Irene, a woman living in Harlem with her husband Brian (André Holland) and their two children. With Brian working as a doctor, they live comfortably enough for Irene to spend her time charitably. While stopping for a drink on a blisteringly hot summer day, she runs into Clare (Ruth Negga) in a hotel bar. The ...

‘The Beta Test’ is a Razor Sharp Satire With No Strings Attached (Review)

5Nov

By Matt ShiverdeckerNo Comments

Film, Reviews

‘The Beta Test’ is a Razor Sharp Satire With No Strings Attached (Review)

In the opening scene of "The Beta Test," viewers witness the graphic murder of a young woman in a domestic violence incident. It sets a very dark tone for the film and foreshadows some elements of the storyline but shifts directions relatively quickly after the opening credits. We're introduced to Jordan (Jim Cummings, "Thunder Road," "The Wolf of Snow Hollow"), an anxious Hollywood agent battling a stressful job, a painful ulcer, and a fiancée named Caroline (Virginia Newcomb) who he is just weeks away from marrying. A routine visit to the mailbox kicks Jordan's storyline into full gear. He gets a letter in a purple envelope, addressed to him with golden calligraphy and featuring no return address. Inside is an invitation to come to a local hotel room for an anonymous and "no strin...