Week Ending 2/28/25
Oscars weekend
It’s Oscars time and Conan O’Brien is on the clock. Wild that he’s never been tapped to host before. Or that he’s never chosen to accept before. I mean, we had James Franco and Anne Hathaway inexplicably host one year. So, why wouldn’t they have at least asked Conan before?
I’m looking forward to just watching the show again this year. Sure, trolling Bluesky for fun posts during the ceremony would probably bring me back to why I wrote a recap via tweets for so long, but the cynicism and cruelty of Twitter/X really broke me two years ago and 2024 was nice and chill without the distraction. No reason for me to go back now.
The below three reviews put me one film away from 100%-ing the list. I could probably hunt down a publicist to watch The Porcelain War, but it’s not necessarily a title I feel I need to see before Sunday. Not if No Other Land wins Best Doc like it should. For a glimpse of what I thought of all the nominees, this link contains them all (besides the below three and my Shorts round-ups at The Film Stage).
I also started archiving the pre-show prediction pieces I used to do with Chris Schobert and Bill Altreuter at my website only to discover we did it much longer than I remembered. The most recent nine years are up now here (with a handful to go).
As for 2025, I think there could be some surprises. Emilia Pérez had all the momentum before Best Actress nominee Karla Sofía Gascón poured water on the fire thanks to unearthed social media posts. Then Anora seemed to take control before Conclave won Best Ensemble at the SAG Awards and added even more ambiguity. Maybe The Brutalist still has a shot of sneaking in. Maybe The Substance shocks the world. Heck, I wouldn’t even put it past a stodgy Academy gifting the crown to A Complete Unknown.
Here are my picks for the big eight awards:
Best Adapted Screenplay - RaMell Ross & Joslyn Barnes (Nickel Boys)
Best Original Screenplay - Jesse Eisenberg (A Real Pain)
Best Director - Sean Baker (Anora)
Best Supporting Actress - Zoe Saldaña (Emilia Pérez)
Best Supporting Actor - Kieran Culkin (A Real Pain)
Best Lead Actress - Demi Moore (The Substance)
Best Lead Actor - Timothee Chalamet (A Complete Unknown)
Best Picture - Anora
I have zero confidence in any of these choices except Kieran Culkin and, maybe, Demi Moore. But since I didn’t have her winning until a couple weeks ago, I guarantee nothing. I still don’t love the category fraud of Saldaña being in supporting rather than lead, but it will help her odds. Nickel Boys in Adapted is my biggest long shot, but the fact it snuck into Best Picture makes me think there will be some love. And I hope I’m wrong about Timmy, but that SAG upset says a lot since actors are the largest Academy branch. I really hope Adrien Brody or Colman Domingo win, though.
What I Watched:
BETTER MAN
(VOD/Digital HD)
It says more about America than Robbie Williams that the "joke" surrounding Better Man has been some variation of "Who's Robbie Williams?" Has the nation truly forgotten when "Angels" and "Millennium" played on the radio non-stop throughout 1999 and 2000? He was so instantly big that I thought I was purchasing his debut album when picking up The Ego Has Landed at Media Play. It wasn't until later that I discovered he was once a member of UK boy band Take That and that The Ego Has Landed was actually an American compilation of the best tracks from his first two solo albums. But, considering it didn't rank on the US charts and Williams rightfully focused on his global appeal with years of built-in traction, maybe the broader American public wasn't paying attention.
So, it also speaks more to the American view of cinema when most of the press surrounding Michael Gracey's film centers on that myopic sense of irrelevance. As though Robbie Williams doesn't deserve the sort of platform a Hollywood release provides because "they" don't remember his name. Bullocks. Not only is his international mainstream appeal worthy of a biopic, but his infamy ensures the story will be entertaining enough for audiences regardless of their familiarity. Williams was a coked-out alcoholic pop star who grabbed as many spotlights as women to guarantee maximum exposure without caring if he looked good or bad. To catch a glimpse of that circus is to ride the vicarious roller coaster of celebrity few experience themselves. Lesser names have received the same.
What sets Better Man apart is not the so-called gimmick of presenting Williams' life behind the visage of a computer-generated chimpanzee, but its unparalleled honesty. The whole "performing monkey" metaphor may be cute on the surface, but it's a devastating manifestation of crippling imposter syndrome at its core. While that psychological diagnosis would generally be projected upon the subject in your usual external production banking on controversy or outright ignored by your usual internal, self-produced honorific, Williams (who narrates the film) lets Gracey and his co-writers Simon Gleeson and Oliver Cole mine the truth in a way that allows the result to become as much a cautionary tale as an inspirational catharsis. Because few people would wish Williams' life on their worst enemies once you peel back the tabloid sheen.
Beyond the self-loathing manifested by Chimp Robbie Williams (played by Jonno Davies) seeing scowling and rage-fueled versions of himself in the crowd also lies depression, abandonment, anxiety, and suicidal ideation. There's nothing more horrific than hearing the line "Light 'em up!" and seeing him push the pain down to reveal a smile meant to hide the truth from fans and media. Admitting that Take That producer Nigel Martin Smith (Damon Herriman) forcing him to soften Robert to Robbie was the best thing he ever did for him isn't some flippant remark to diminish that chapter of his success. No, it allowed Williams to better compartmentalize his personas and further dissociate as a means of coping with the reality that his every dream coming true could never fill the void inside.
You must give Williams a ton of respect for allowing himself to be as vulnerable as needed to ensure this script is as meaningful as it is entertaining. Yes, he's still enjoying the process of taking the piss out of people from his past, the general public, and himself, but he's also providing a window into the toll taken and the trauma endured to become the sort of person who would willingly give up their privacy for adulation. That's not to say his demons are universally held. It's just that his demons are the kind that help foster a trajectory of destructive behavior. There's a reason some kids are quick to play the ham and earn applause. It's often because they feel invisible to those that should never stop seeing them.
I wouldn't have been surprised to find writing credits given to Williams' therapists considering so much of what we witness feels straight out of a session trying to figure out the origins and triggers of his problems. Dad (Steve Pemberton) leaving. Mom (Kate Mulvany) staying. Nan (Alison Steadman) forever cheerleading. His friend Nate (Frazer Hadfield) trying to keep him grounded only to be ignored. His love for Nicole (Raechelle Banno) being born from a sense of kinship and understanding only to dissolve into resentment and jealousy. It means something that none of the drug use on-screen is glorified or rendered as "fun" too. Right from the start, Williams' addictions are shown as damaging, disgusting, and embarrassing. It's not about escape. It's about desperately trying to hide.
Pair that authenticity with the impressive spectacle of show-stopping theatrics and it's difficult not to get fully absorbed in the chaos. The "Rock DJ" faux one-shot is as fantastic as everyone has been saying, but I really loved the juxtaposition of love and heartbreak that comes from the "She's the One" scene. "Angels" is also very affecting considering what transpires beneath it and the constant callbacks to Frank Sinatra's "My Way" never cease to carry all the weight that comes with the baggage of its place within Robbie and his father's dynamic. The success of these musical interludes has finally made me consider that watching Gracey's The Greatest Showman might not be such a bad idea after all. Considering my utter lack of interest upon that film's release, this revelation might be the biggest compliment to Better Man I can pay.
- 8/10
GLADIATOR II
(streaming on Paramount+ and MGM+)
I'm thinking Gladiator II is a product of its time. A product of a sequel/prequel culture wherein nuance and complexity is excised for fan service and happy endings. Why? Because David Scarpa's script, as realized by Ridley Scott, feels like the answer to the question: What if Gladiator, but simpler and less bleak? What if the point wasn't for Maximus to avenge the death of his family and reunite with them in the afterlife, but to use their absence as the reason to become the very thing he never wanted to become?
Yes, a lot of people still die. These aren't bleak deaths, though. They aren't innocent victims of tyranny. They are either tyrants being deposed by more ruthless tyrants or martyrs willingly sacrificing themselves to ensure tyrants can no longer hide behind fear-induced loyalty. Yes, it's still a plot in search of Marcus Aurelius' dream of a "Free Rome," but it takes that idea literally rather than figuratively. It's as though a new generation of viewers couldn't understand that the freedom won in Gladiator existed within the soul, so Scott obliged by force-feeding them a freedom via concrete physical victory instead.
The result is a watered-down reboot more than anything else. A film that holds the concept of "more is more" to its chest and refuses to let go. Let's have two immoral cretins on the throne rather than one! Let's split Maximus in two so his personas of "good general" and "fearless gladiator" can co-exist just long enough to thematically merge via sacrifice anyway! Let's push the cretins to the background as syphilis-riddled idiots so this go-round's gladiator whisperer can become an intelligent usurper pulling strings on both sides of the aisle!
My favorite example of diminishing returns, however, is the fact that the film thinks so little of Hanno (Paul Mescal) that it continuously uses flashbacks to Russell Crowe to remind us of the emotions we're supposed to feel. That this technique also doubles as a foreshadowing hammer bludgeoner insofar as who Hanno is beyond his real name only reinforces how little faith the filmmakers have in their audience to put the pieces together.
While all of this marks Gladiator II as an unequivocal failure as a sequel and remake, it is admittedly still an adequate actioner. I thought Mescal held his own in what's a departure from the introspective dramas I'm used to seeing him in. The action scenes are well-constructed and exciting with zero lulls (a positive for the thrills and a negative for any desire to get into the heads of the characters). And the supporting cast (Denzel Washington is the highlight, Pedro Pascal is the heart, and Joseph Quinn and Fred Hechinger the jesters Scarpa and Scott hope to shield their blunt sleight of hand connecting the films) is excellent.
Does it provide anything we didn't already receive from the original? No. Does it do anything better than the original? No. It's an unnecessary cash-grab that allowed Ridley Scott to play with familiar toys within a grander spectacle that ultimately strips them of what made them special enough to want to pick them back up. So, press play for the excuse to eat popcorn. Expecting more will only disappoint you at best and fill you with rage (like Hanno) at worst.
- 6/10
THE SIX TRIPLE EIGHT
(streaming on Netflix)
Things did not start off well for Tyler Perry's The Six Triple Eight. What should have been a statement scene of war full of explosions and fire is delivered with some of the worst computer effects I've seen in a long time. The smoke and flames are rendered in a way that ensures we know neither are actually there—actors and objects moving freely without any real inkling of physically interacting with those elements. All I could do was cross my fingers in the hope that the rest of this drama would leave the theatrics behind in the knowledge it simply couldn't achieve the authenticity necessary for them to be successful. Thankfully, besides one more detonation, Perry realized his budget needed that reprieve.
I wouldn't go so far as to say the opening scenes post-battle were much better, though. Those abysmal five minutes are followed by fifteen minutes of dreadfully rendered melodrama to set the stage for Lena Derriecott's (Ebony Obsidian) decision to enlist in the army. We get clunky race conflict between her and a fellow classmate of hers and her white Jewish beau Abram (Gregg Sulkin). There's the saccharinely old-fashioned sprouts of romance despite these would-be lovers' obviously augmented economic and social chasm. And, of course, the inevitable tragedy that befalls them to flip Lena's world upside down. It's soap opera-level histrionics, the likes of which has marred most of Perry's work, all to finally get us where the film's real story lies: Europe.
Boot camp pushes us in the right direction despite its constant use of over-the-top fantasy to get Lena through the difficulties of training because we finally get to meet the star of the show in Major Charity Adams (Kerry Washington). To say that Washington and Milauna Jackson's Captain Campbell are on another level compared to the rest of the production is an understatement because it all buckles beneath soaring scores and manipulative tension whenever they're not on-screen. That isn't to say their characters aren't forced to endure similar moments of ham-fisted narrative cliché, only that they have the gravitas to overcome the script's limitations and deliver the grounded emotions necessary to honor this important chapter in American history.
Saying that inherently diminishes Obsidian, Shanice Shantay, Sarah Jeffery, and others' roles, but only by comparison. These young privates do well to carry things when needed and to humanize the struggle they face as women, Black women, and women soldiers during World War II. It's just tough to see them shine when they're constantly berated by a white cast built to abuse, demean, and sabotage them in pursuit of dialing up the messaging to "incendiary" and providing a scene of manufactured "respect" that made me laugh out loud. It's one thing to give us a scene where the white military gives Adams and her girls their flowers upon fully understanding their job's impact. It's another to collect the specific white men who demonized them the most to do it. Perry couldn't have rendered it heavier handed if he tried.
Parading Susan Sarandon and her fake teeth around as Eleanor Roosevelt for a brief subplot that could have been completely replaced with a throwaway line acknowledging that she spearheaded this campaign to deliver the almost seven million pieces of mail locked in air hangers does the film no favors. And getting Oprah Winfrey to play Mary McLeod Bethune in a two-minute cameo solely so Dean Norris' racist General Halt can wear a look of disgust whenever he dares let his eyes fall upon her reads as a power move on Perry's part rather than a desire to add anything. An off-handed mention of writing to Bethune to get into the army by a couple of Lena's new friends does more to honor her.
But that's the silliness we expect from a Tyler Perry film. It comes with the territory and wishing he would tighten things up to turn this two-hour film into a more streamlined ninety-minutes is a fool's errand. We can only approach it as is and understand that, despite its shortcomings, The Six Triple Eight is a crucial piece of history told in an affecting way. Learning about the out-of-the-box thinking needed to fulfill their task, the constant barrage of treachery faced from the men they were helping, and the fearsome integrity and leadership of Adams is worth the mess. Lena's search for closure might even make those first twenty minutes less eye roll-inducing too ... might. Just because it all should be better, though, doesn't mean it's not still enough.
- 6/10
Cinematic F-Bombs:
This week saw HERE (2024), IT ENDS WITH US (2024), and PASSED AWAY (1992) added to the archive (cinematicfbombs.com).
Tom Hanks delivering an f-bomb in HERE.
New Releases This Week:
(Review links where applicable)
Opening Buffalo-area theaters 2/28/25 -
Laaj Sharanam at Regal; Quaker
Last Breath at Dipson Capitol & Flix; AMC Maple Ridge & Market Arcade; Regal Elmwood, Transit, Galleria & Quaker
Mazaka at Regal Elmwood
Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX -Beginning- at North Park Theatre (select times); Regal Elmwood & Transit
My Dead Friend Zoe at AMC Maple Ridge; Regal Quaker
No Address at Regal Quaker
The Real Sister “Chi Dau” at Regal Galleria
Riff Raff at Dipson Capitol & Flix; Regal Transit, Galleria & Quaker
“It feels like Pollono wanted a full-blown comical farce and Montiel didn't get the joke because everything is way too absurd to be delivered so seriously.” – Full thoughts at HHYS.
Sabdham at Regal Elmwood
A Sloth Story at Dipson Capitol & Flix; Regal Transit, Galleria & Quaker
Superboys of Malegaon at Regal Elmwood, Transit & Galleria
“Kagti does a great job capturing that do-it-yourself aesthetic and energy with an abundance of humor and heart. Gourav and Singh’s performances are paramount, but it's Arora who shines as their selfless heart who never forgets what's really at stake.” – Full thoughts at HHYS.
Vermiglio at North Park Theatre (select times)
Quick thoughts at jaredmobarak.com.
Streaming from 2/28/25 -
Dead Money – Hulu on 2/28
“Andy talks about math via voice-over, but this isn't as much a poker movie as it is a darkly comic drama with poker in it. The suspense isn't therefore built at the table, but by the guns being held to the temples of people off-screen.” – Full thoughts at HHYS.
Nickel Boys – MGM+ on 2/28
“The film is a harrowing piece of American history and inspiring tale of mankind's perseverance to overcome overall, but its pieces are just as powerful—in some cases more.” – Full thoughts at jaredmobarak.com.
Squad 36 – Netflix on 2/28
The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim – Max on 2/28
Strange Darling – Paramount+ on 3/1
“It's not that Mollner is manipulating his characters to hide the truth. He's manipulating our preconceptions to heighten it.” – Full thought at HHYS.
Rumours – Paramount+ on 3/3
“Those paying attention to the degradation of politicians into empty suits in it for the money won't gain new insight, but it is a laugh watching grown adults with nuclear arsenals smiling like children when someone compliments the dumb thing they said.” – Full thoughts at HHYS.
The Gutter – Hulu on 3/4
Picture This – Prime on 3/6
Now on VOD/Digital HD -
A Complete Unknown (2/25)
Quick thoughts at jaredmobarak.com.
Love Hurts (2/25)
Presence (2/25)
Adult Best Friends (2/28)
Cold Wallet (2/28)
The Golden Voice (2/28)
Uppercut (2/28)