Fresh Fork

The Academy Awards nominations were announced January 22, 2025 - with some films to stand-out in terms of number of nominations!  Emilia Pérez  is the most nominated film (13 nods), followed by The Brutalist and Wicked (10 nominations each). Some unexpected snubs include Denis Villeneuve ( Dune: Part II ) and Edward Berger ( Conclave ) for Best Director, Marianne Jean-Baptiste ( Hard Truths ) in Best Actress, Clarence Maclin ( Sing Sing ) in Best Supporting Actor or  Challengers  in Best Original Score, but there are some pleasant surprises like  I'm Still Here  ( Ainda Estou Aqui ) in Best Picture and  A Complete Unknown  in Best Director (James Mangold). Here's the full list: BEST PICTURE “Anora” “The Brutalist” “A Complete Unknown” “Conclave” “Dune: Part Two” “Emilia Pérez” “I’m Still Here” “Nickel Boys” “The Substance” “Wicked” BEST ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE Adrien Brody, “The Brutalist” Timothée Chalamet, “A Complete Unknown” Colman Domingo, “S...

  wards season is ready to start and distributors are already lining their contenders. After the indie Winter & Spring and a lackluster Summer seasonl, it seems there aren't many contenders that had their releases outside of a film festival this year. Sure Thanksgiving and Christmas season always have a word to say concerning the Oscar potential of more commercial cinematic ventures, but I consider the biggest players have already screened in Cannes, Venice, Telluride and TIFF.  To understand the Oscar game, we have to have some points in mind: #1 - it kinda plays like a presidential election in the way your party (AKA distributor) needs to champion the movie and land a FYC campaign; #2 - Best Picture nominees are chosen through a preferential balloting system, which means the love towards a movie plays a big part in the game while not liking the movie does not (you can't "unvote" a movie or block the AMPAS members of picking it);  #3 - the first critics' awar...

  enre:  Horror; Drama; Comedy Director:  Coralie Fargeat Writer:  Coralie Fargeat Starring:  Demi Moore, Margaret Qualley  and  Dennis Quaid As a non-fan of horror flicks, I consider 2024 to be one of the most interesting years for the genre. For me,  The Substance  represents the genre peaking both in its style and in its utility: a movie that's both spellbiding but also makes you look away from its visual narrative; and a movie that comments society's obsession with beauty and perfection but also mocks it and offers a view of the ugly side of the coin. For its style and substance,  The Substance  might well be one of the most daring, smart and interesting movies I've seen in years! The movie starts with the star of Elizabeth Sparkle in Hollywood Walk of Fame, from its very beginning and going through time, losing interest from those who pass by, starting to crack and being covered in ketchup. It all plays like a brief summary of...

  Genre:  Romance; Comedy. Director:  Greg Berlanti Writer:  Rose Gilroy Starring:  Scarlett Johansson, Channing Tatum, Ray Romano, Anna Garcia, Jim Rash  and  Woody Harrelson The rom-com genre isn't properly alive these days, specially during Summer season considering the amount of sci-fi/adventure, squels, animated and super-hero movies that usually get released at this time of the year, but Fly Me to the Moon cracks the blockbuster-busy schedule at movie theatres. But  Fly Me to the Moon  is movie with a big production budget that was meant to streaming service, but... is it any good? The answer is: yes, it is very good and I am glad Apple decided to give it a theatrical run! It's pure entertainment, elevated by an interesting premise and graced by a charismatic performance by Scarlett Johansson. The movie starts with the ups and downs (mostly the downs) of the Apollo 11 pre-mission in the aftermath of a series of unsuccessful previous ate...

he nominations for the Academy Awards 2024 were announced last Tuesday (January 23th) and while  Oppenheimer  leads as the most nominated movie of the year, there were a few shocking misses and some welcome inclusions.  In fact, last Tuesday's announcement came with a couple of surprises: no Greta Gerwig in Best Director for  Barbie  (something I had always predicted, but the internet wasn't ready for ),  Killers of the Flower Moon  missing Best Adapted Screenplay, but  The Zone of Interest  gets nominated there; two international films in the Best Picture lineup ( Anatomy of a Fall  and  The Zone of Interest ); John Williams got nominated for his score for the latest installment of  Indiana Jones  (like... REALLY?); Napoleon gets nominated in 3 craft categories;  Past Lives  makes the Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay, but somehow misses Best Actress for Greta Lee...; No  Saltburn , no  Asteroi...

  enre: Comedy; Action; Romance. Director: Richard Linklater Writers: Richard Linklater & Glen Powell Starring: Glen Powell, Adria Arjona, Austin Amelio & Retta Audiences who go watch it expecting a grand cinematic experience might feel it as a bit of a letdown, but if they're open to embrace  Hit Man 's small scaled filmmaking with a spicy (and quite funny) touch, then they will have one of the most rewarding time at the movies of the last couple of years.  Hit Man  is a delicious film, not perfect, but quite audience-friendly. It's pretty mainstream, but it's pretty good also! Richard Linklater is better known for audience-friendly movies like  Dazed and Confused  (1993) or  School of Rock  (2003), but also for some quite prestigious titles like the  Before  trilogy,  Tape  (2001) or  Boyhood  (2014). With  Hit Man , Linklater seems to find the perfect combo between his two "categories" of works of his ...