The holiday season is the time of year when many of us reconnect with our families, but it’s also the time when Hollywood also sends out its love letters. Everyone knows that this, too, is the season of the Oscar-worthy wonders, and there are a good handful that are coming our way if they aren’t here already.
The Mule
Clint Eastwood’s newest film is based on a true story about an elderly man duped into becoming a transporter for a drug cartel. Early feedback suggests this isn’t Clint’s best work, but no one else could have achieved what Clint has here. His character is 90. He’s 88. Also, he’s well-known for his deft hand and his sensitive, endearing treatments of impactful events. Lately, his directorial focus has been on stories of real heroes and, regardless of what people think of the quality of the results, it’s that reason alone that makes for compelling screenplay.Welcome to Marwen
Director Robert Zemeckis has a fine track record of making very well-produced movies that often have highly technical elements. This is another “based on a true story” movie of Mark Hogancamp: a man, beaten into a coma, who heals himself by creating a world story of dolls that he photographs as art pieces. What a beautiful and powerful premise. The only worry I have is that Zemeckis’ works often lose a bit of their pizzazz because he is so concentrated on the major CG set piece that he loses sight of the “human” elements. Star Steve Carell and a host of great female supporting players should do much to abate those fears.P.S. If this work of fiction is compelling enough to you, you should check out the documentary Marwencol that goes even further. And then go read Mark Hogancamp's book Welcome to Marwencol. And then maybe you should play with your own dolls, too. Yeah, maybe I should, too.
Vice
Major method actor Christian Bale is in this movie somewhere but I can’t spot him, can you? He plays Dick Cheney in this story about the halcyon days of the George W. Bush presidency, when this former corporate executive became more than just a bit player in the White House and on the world political scene. With a stellar cast including Amy Adams and Sam Rockwell, director Adam McKay looks to make a big score here. I sure hope it’s at least watchable.Destroyer
Could someone please just give Nicole Kidman another Oscar already? Watch the trailer and then agree with me. Hopefully, this movie actually makes it to Edmonton theatres.At Eternity’s Gate
Visual artist Julian Schnabel already brought his biopic on Jean-Michel Basquiat years ago, and now he focuses his blurry gaze on Vincent van Gogh. Star Willem Dafoe plays the tortured painter. To be honest, I didn’t much care for the Basquiat piece, but there’s something perfect about Dafoe in van Gogh’s garb. I couldn’t imagine better casting. If you’re interested, it has had a limited run at Metro Cinema, with its last screening slated for Thursday, Dec. 27, at 9:15 p.m.On the Basis of Sex
Ruth Bader Ginsburg might not be such a big deal in this country but in the United States, she is a living legend: one of only a few women who was ever appointed as a Supreme Court judge but, more importantly, one who didn’t just sit on the bench. Her rancorous dissents and strong, intelligent decision-making led to her being given the loving sobriquet of Notorious RBG. And to think that in 1960, she was initially prevented from working after graduating at the top of her class simply because of her gender. This movie (by director Mimi Leder) tells that story.The rest
If Oscar quality doesn’t really inspire you then you’ll probably still find entertainment elsewhere in the multiplexes. There’s Bumblebee, Aquaman, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Mary Poppins Returns, Holmes and Watson, and Stan and Ollie. Speaking of those last two, this might just be the moment that John C. Reilly has been waiting for. He’s always been a great character actor and he stars as both the fictional detective’s apprentice Watson and the real-life silent film star Oliver Hardy. Now, he stands to show his versatility in both comedic and dramatic roles. Somewhere, someone is whispering, “Oscar ... Oscar ...” OK, it’s me.Whatever you do, however, do avoid Mortal Engines. The dystopian futuristic movie about mobile cities (on tank treads) attacking and consuming each other might have some great analogy behind it as everyone in any bedroom community would attest. The fact remains that it doesn’t come across as having a story behind it. Already, the movie has – well – tanked.
