Capsule Reviews of the 96th Oscars Animated Shorts

As promised, here are this year's Oscar nominees for Best Animated Short.

Our Uniform (From Iran. Dir. Yegane Moghaddam): The narrator tells us about her upbringing in the Iranian school system, which forces her and her classmates to conceal their hair in hijabs. She relishes the opportunity to let her hair loose in private, and even abroad. Abroad, she admires the different colors and textures of the people around her. 

The short is animated directly onto the fabrics of Iranian school uniforms. It's a unique art style that lends itself to a few good gags. That the narrator and her classmate relish the opportunity to act like kids is rather optimistic. It's a lighthearted story about how good it is to express oneself with clothing - even if it opens with a disclaimer that says it's not against the hijab or anyone who wears it. It's also the lightest short by far; buckle up, we're about to hit heavy storytelling turbulence.

Letter to a Pig (From France/Israel. Dir. Tal Kantor): This seems like the obvious winner. In it, Haim, a Holocaust survivor, recounts how he survived the Nazis by hiding in a pig sty. One specific pig obscured him from the Nazis until they left. The titular letter is to that pig. Alma is the only student thoroughly invested in his story and is soon drawn into a creepy daydream. 

Its seventeen minutes blend a literally sketchy art style with some live-action elements. This mixture is haunting when we get close-ups of Haim as he goes deeper into his memories. Its climactic daydream is as disturbing as it is confounding. I thought it would be the most emotionally devastating short, but no, that comes later.

Pachyderme (From France. Dir. Stéphanie Clément): The narrator recounts a summer when she stayed with her grandparents. Their house is creepy, with a creaking roof and a broken pachyderm bone as Grandpa's centerpiece. He's an imposing figure, but he seems like a good grandpa. He gets creepier until a later scene that all but directly states what a scumbag he is. The implications are disturbing, and it's made creepier by its elegant storybook-esque CGI. We empathize with the narrator as she ends the short by confronting her past. It's not a grand ending, but it's still a memorable ending.

Ninety-Five Senses (From the USA. Dir Jerusha & Jared Hess): The creators of Napoleon Dynamite bring you the tale of Coy (Tim Blake Nelson), an old guy who recounts how his five senses shaped his life. He's a death row inmate and is about to lose all five senses in an hour or so. 

The short is divided into six segments, one for Coy and the other for the five senses. Each of them was animated by a different animator with their own style; Coy's segment is rendered with smokey charcoal, while the hearing segment is in Flash. The hearing segment is also the funniest segment ... right until it leads into Coy's crime. Sure, it takes a dour turn earlier once we learn he's on death row, but the mood whiplash is worse once we find out why. His story is especially profound when he meditates on the life he could have had. The title takes in account the 100 senses which Coy theorizes humans have access to five. His uniquely compelling story is anything but a simple explanation. Who knows? Maybe this might win too.

War is Over! Inspired by the Music of John & Yoko (From the USA. Dir. Dave Mullins): John Lennon and Yoko Ono's Christmas classic Happy Xmas (War Is Over) provides the backdrop for this short. In it, two soldiers on opposing sides of World War 1 play chess by pigeon mail. Everything's fine until their superiors force them into one final skirmish. The pigeon, meanwhile, races to deliver one last message. 

Remember me saying I thought Letter to a Pig would be the most emotionally devastating contender? That changed with this short's ending. We spend the short following two likable guys (both nameless and voiceless) carrying on the world's most interesting game of chess. It's quite harrowing when they're both thrown into a bloody skirmish. You will feel it once the bittersweet ending - and the titular song - kicks in. 

WETA FX visualized the short as a moving painting, which is as stunning as it sounds. Thomas Newman gives us an equally magnificent score that would easily give him an Oscar nomination if this was a feature. Letter to a Pig might seem like the obvious winner, but this might also come close. 

As always, you can catch the shorts in one package in theatres or find them wherever they're playing legally. I got to the package film today, which played these shortlisted possibilities:

Wild Summon (From the UK. Dir. Karni Arieli & Saul Freed): This is a nature documentary about the lifecycle of salmon narrated by Marianne Faithfull. The salmon are "played" by human scuba divers. The photorealistic scenery is stunning, while the "salmon" embody the uncanny valley. This might make one reconsider eating meat after they see what the salmon go through. 

I'm Hip (From the USA. Dir. John Musker): Dave Frishberg's cover of his 1966 Jazz number is visualized as a cat proclaims his hipness to the world. Nobody buys it. This is the most enjoyable of the shorts on this program. Its four minutes feature plenty of stylish 2D animation, a snazzy main number, and plenty of slapstick. The Hip Cat may have an ego, but he's still likable, and one might feel sorry when he gets pelted with stuff at the end. Don't worry, he's fine. He's a cartoon. This made a good finale for the shorts program. 

Now to get some other nominees reviewed. Just over a week before showtime. Tick, tock. 

Nyad

I resume my marathon reviewing of this year's Oscar nominees with Nyad, the biopic of a marathon swimmer. Diana Nyad's epic swim from Cuba to Florida took her five attempts over thirty-five years before she succeeded in 2013. Her accomplishments have since been disputed for a variety of reasons. Nevertheless, this biopic, which Julia Cox adapted from Nyad's memoir Find a Way for Elizabeth Chai Vaserhelyi & Jimmy Chin (Free Solo) to direct, is still a compelling sports film.

Diana Nyad (Annette Benning) once tried to make the epic swim in 1978. She decides to try again shortly after she turns sixty-one in 2010. She appoints her best friend and former partner Bonnie Stoll (Jodie Foster) as her coach. They hire a crew captained by John Bartlett (Rhys Ifans) to help Diana along the way. They finally take off in August of 2011, but her attempts are thwarted by raging currents, thunderstorms and even jellyfish. Diana's stubborn refusal to give up strains her relationships with her crew, Bonnie especially. She still needs their help if she's going to live to survive her epic swim. That pretty much sums it up.

There are plenty of reasons to like this movie, and Benning's performance is just one of them. Diana simply can't "succumb to mediocrity," as she admits early on, which makes her drive quite understandable. Her determination sometimes gives way to egotism, which is most apparent late in the film. Her fourth swim is hit by a thunderstorm which nearly sinks her crew and threatens to wash her away. We may want her to succeed, but we can't agree with her wanting to persist during the storm. She proudly admits to having a superiority complex when she subsequently quarrels with Bonnie. It's still nice when she apologizes to Bonnie and Bartlett for her self-centeredness. Her coming ashore on her successful attempt makes for a rousing finale. 

Another reason is Foster's performance as Bonnie. Bonnie and Diana have such great chemistry together and almost feel like an old married couple (they aren't). When Diana tells Bonnie of her plan, Bonnie is surprised, but is still willing to help her friend out. That includes pulling Diana out of the water when things get too hectic. Her rage over Diana's self-centeredness later on is more than understandable. She's Diana's voice-of-reason, but she still has a life beyond her. Indeed, if you want a reason why both Benning and Foster got Oscar nominations, then look no further than that argument. Their ultimate reconciliation is quite rewarding even if it feels like a typical story beat.

They have a good on-screen crew. Ifans as Bartlett makes for a gruff, yet sensible sea captain, and another good voice of reason for Diana. Dee (Karly Rothenberg), the silent helmswoman, will surely surprise you with her one and only line. The crew's protective protocols are quite interesting to learn about and are made thrilling by a few close calls. Johnny Solo shows up in flashbacks as Diana's stepfather, Aristotle Nyad, who teaches her to take pride in her family name. He also storms out of her life for reasons the film never really explains. Eric T. Miller also appears as Diana's abusive coach, Jack T. Nelson, the film's most reprehensible character.

Diana's swims utilize some great visual effects and ocean cinematography from Claudio Miranda. The thunderstorm that hits the penultimate attempt looks and sounds pretty real. Her previous swim, in which she's stun by jellyfish, even getting knocked cold by the second sting, is equally harrowing. That swim and the climactic one even have some trippy hallucinations. Benning herself is rendered unrecognizable under Diana's sea-worn appearance (how did the makeup team get ignored?). Alexandre Desplat's stunning score accentuates the beauty and the peril of Diana's swims, while the soundtrack includes a few good oldies. 

Nyad is an excellent biopic helmed by two great stars, both of whom earned their spots on this year's Oscar ballots. Its subject's accomplishments have been doubted, but I don't think you'll doubt how rousing its two hours are. It's simply that good. See what I mean when you check it out on Netflix. That's where the next film on my docket is playing. Check that out later this week.

Demon Slayer: Hashira Training

 Since Demon Slayer's third season premiere strategy went so well last year, production company UFOtable decided to do it again this year. Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba - To the Hashira Training once again pairs the last season finale with the upcoming season premiere. 

 Unlike last time, both halves (A Connected Bond: Daybreak and First Light & a currently untitled episode) are both about an hour long. We're not treated to the credits every so often, this time. But anyone who didn't follow the third season won't know what's going on. So, once again, let's give some context.

Our demon slaying hero Tanjiro (Natsuki Hanae), his demon sister Nezuko (Akari Kito) and their fellow demon slaying rookie Genya Shinazugawa (Nobuhiko Okamoto) open the story in pursuit of the miniature demon Hantengu (Toshio Furukawa), who can split himself into multiple entities. The Hashira Mitsuri Kanroji (Kana Hanazawa) is already fighting one of the other entities in a seemingly fruitless battle. Tanjiro tries to cut down Hantengu, but he upsizes into the brutish Urami and nearly kills him. Tanjiro finally cuts down Hantengu with a new sword while Nezuko burns up in the sunlight. 

And then she shows up perfectly fine.

To say this is a game-changer, especially for big bad Muzan Kibutsuji (Toshihiko Seki), is an understatement. He decides to use her to overcome his nasty weakness to the sun. Meanwhile, the Hashira are assigned to train the rawhides and themselves for what will surely be the final battle. Tanjiro and his demon-slaying buddies are in for the workout of their lives. But apparently, some of the demon slayers might not survive the upcoming battle.

 Sure, the film gives us a recap of the story thus far. That is, everything except for what happened in the previous episode. The first half had a last time recap that this film lacks. So, you'll have a lot of questions early on into the film. Who is this little demon and why are they chasing him? Who's the bad guy that she's fighting? What's the deal with swordsmith Hotaru Haganezuka (Daisuke Namikawa)? The answers for all of them are "watch the show."

The game-changing moment still works. I was well aware that Nezuko would survive the sunrise. It was still emotional seeing her burn up and Tanjiro agonizing whether to save her or a trio of Swordsmith Villagers from a headless Urami. You'll be as glad as Tanjiro when she stands in the sun and speaks her first words since her demonization. That the Swordsmith Villagers are wearing some incredibly goofy masks barely detracts from the emotions here. You don't need a lot of context to feel something here.

Let's give a few character highlights. Tanjiro's demon-slaying buddies, Zenitsu (Hiro Shimono) and Inosuke (Yoshitsugu Matsuoka) are still as fun as ever. Muzan's formal introduction has him murder two of his servants in some shocking displays of violence. Hantengu's final monologue almost makes one sorry for the cowardly villain. Tamayo (Maaya Sakamoto), a sympathetic demon who debuted in the first season, gives us a few good updates since her last appearance. It helps that we're given some context in her recap. It was also nice seeing Tengen Uzui (Katsuyuki Konishi) again after his ordeal in the last film. Gyomei Himejima (Tomokazu Sugita), the main Hashira of the upcoming season, makes quite the impression with his quiet, yet forceful nature.

Once again, the technical standards upheld by the previous seasons & films are alive and well. Everything from the animation, the color palettes and especially the score, are just great. The Demon Slayers' sword techniques, whether it's Obanai Iguro (Kenichi Suzumura) turning his into a snake or Tanjiro setting his on fire, still look and sound great. The battles are still tense and exciting. Other than the Hantengu battle, the film's standout sequence is a Demon Slayer raid against what they assume is Muzan's castle. The illusion dissipating in front of the slayers makes for a stunning reveal. You need to see it for yourself.

Demon Slayer - To the Hashira Training will delight those who can't wait for the fourth season. Both its halves, whether you've already seen the first half or not, have great action scenes and character bits throughout their combined 104-minutes. Everyone else has a lot of catching up to do. The combined project actually feels like a cohesive double feature, rather than a blu-ray on the big screen. That's at least one of my gripes from the last film they addressed here. Still, considering that this is technically the penultimate arc, I wonder what they'll do for the last few once they're animated. I'll be waiting.

The Eternal Memory

I'd keep my Paramount Plus trial for a full subscription, but a vast majority of its content is already covered by MGM Plus and even Amazon Prime. The Eternal Memory, one of this year's Oscar nominees for Best Documentary, is only available for free on Paramount Plus now. So, I made time for it.

Maite Alberdi follows up The Mole Agent with this portrait of Augusto Góngora and his second wife, Paulina Urrutia. Góngora, who died back in May, was a newscasting legend who covered the crimes of the Pinochet regime and later worked at TVN as a host. Paulina is an actress who once served as the Minister of Culture and the Arts. They lived together for nineteen years before they married in 2016, right when Augusto came down with Alzheimer's.

"Pauli," as Augusto called her, actually shot much of the film herself in 2020 during that pandemic. So, we're right with her as she helps him cope with the disease. She continuously jogs his memories of her, his family, and his considerable life. But Augusto's mind deteriorates faster than either of them can exercise it. They still stick together despite the strain of it all.

The film works on multiple fronts. It's a strong portrait of a marriage in its golden years. We see Pauli patiently work Augusto's memories as soon as they wake up together in the first scene. Her subsequent mental curriculum for him is charming to watch. He shows up to watch her rehearse and act in her latest play. We even see home movies of them together in the 90's. It's all the more tragic when Augusto later grows irritable and even fails to recognize his own reflection. He and Pauli are overwhelmed as they realize he's become trapped in his own failing mind. But as I said, they still stuck it out, and their last scene together is quite moving.

It's also an excellent portrait of the daily lives of two interesting people. It's quite amazing to learn about their collective careers. Pauli regarded herself as a public servant with her acting career, of which we see a good highlight reel. I'm sure she made the most of her career as Culture Minister. Augusto covered everything from Pinochet's coup to his regime's various crimes against their people. His account of the Caso Degollados scandal is quite harrowing. He later collaborated on the book, The Forbidden Memory, to make sure the victims wouldn't be forgotten. His later career as a tv host, and occasional actor, brings us the delightful story of him acting in a miniseries directed by legendary filmmaker Raul Ruiz. They've achieved quite a lot, and if you've seen Blade Runner, you'll understand Roy Batty's last words as Augusto's memories fade "like tears in rain."

Who knows if The Eternal Memory will win the Oscar in a few weeks. But you should still check it out if you have Paramount Plus. Anyone unfamiliar with its subjects will learn quite a lot about their lives and careers. It'll especially resonate with older couples or their grown kids. It's only 84-minutes, and you'll be enthralled in no time. Now for the next review.

All of Us Strangers

The Academy Awards may have ignored All of Us Strangers, but that doesn't mean I have to. Andrew Haigh's romantic drama just debuted on Hulu today after its extremely limited release in December. What did they miss?

This and The Zone of Interest both have something in common; they're both based on novels by recently deceased authors. Said novel is Taichi Yamada's Strangers, which was already filmed as 1988's The Discarnates. Yamada died at 89 just weeks before this film came out. Whereas the original novel was a horror story in Tokyo, Haigh's adaptation is a melancholic love story in London. Let's get on to it.

Cinematographer Jamie D. Ramsay gives us a memorable introduction to its protagonist, Adam (Andrew Scott). We first see London, before Adam fades in behind his flat window, as he surveys the city. Already, we can tell that he's quite lonely. He's so lonely that his apartment building only has one other tenant. That tenant, Harry (Paul Mescal), offers to accompany him one night, but he declines. Adam is a TV writer, but he has writer's block so bad that his latest teleplay is stuck on a single logline. He goes back to his childhood home for inspiration.

 He finds his mom & dad (Jamie Bell & Claire Foy) are still around, which is awkward because they've been dead since the eighties. They don't look a day older, but they recognize him years later. Adam and his ghost parents spend quality time together. He even comes out to them, which they accept with a bit of surprise. His spirits are lifted after he begins a relationship with Harry. There's a bright future with Harry, though he's still stuck in the past with his parents. How will he move on? Is there also something Harry wants to tell us?

The film doesn't dwell on things like why the ghost parents are around. They're just there to reconnect with their much-older son, who probably couldn't care less on the why's and how's. You'll be enthralled as the family sorts things out together. They get some of their best scenes together when Adam comes out to them. Ghost Mom fears the lonely life Adam will lead because of his orientation, even though he assures her that things are slightly better these days. Ghost Dad, meanwhile, apologizes for his lack of sympathy back then. This is a family metaphorically stuck together in the past and they only move on when Adam accepts their deaths. 

We feel Harry's dejection after Adam initially rejects him. His drunken confidence during their first meeting gives way to a lifetime of loneliness as he rides the elevator down. Things get much brighter when the two of them finally connect. Scott and Mescal have such great chemistry as they bond over their shared loneliness. You'll be happy for them as they find happiness with each other. That makes the climactic twist I alluded to earlier all the more devastating. If I haven't alluded to all ready, I must state that Bell, Foy, Mescal and Scott all make up an excellent ensemble. There's nothing wrong with their performances.

If you're not moved by All of Us Strangers the first time you watch it, then I'm sure you'll get it the second time. I'm sure you'll even feel something just thinking about it. Its tender story is accentuated by its soft colors and Emilie Levienaise-Farrouch's score. You'll never get bored watching its small cast throughout its 104-minutes. It's a pity that the Academy ignored it, but that's probably because of the wealth of other contenders. Press Play on Hulu for a unique love story. Need I say more?

The Zone of Interest

 So, it's finally happened.

The Zone of Interest, Jonathan Glazer's adaptation of the recently deceased Martin Amis's novel, has finally come to streaming. It's only available for purchase, which I did for $19.99 on Amazon. That's not a bad price for a Blu-Ray, but this isn't an easy film to sit through, nor is it easy to think about.

Right off the bat, I must comment on the much-hyped Oscar-nominated and now, BAFTA-winning, sound mix. The film is primarily centered around the humble home of our protagonists, Rudolf (Christien Friedel) and Hedwig (Sandra Huller). They raise their kids, hold parties, and live their daily lives. But we hear something going on all throughout the movie. There are the occasional gunshots, dogs barking, people shouting, trains whistling, furnaces churning, and perhaps most disturbingly of all, screams that blend together into a raging torrent. Mica Levi's droning score sometimes doesn't register as music, and you're not sure what it is instead. Whatever's going on back there, you'd have to be really brave, naive, or heartless, to mind it. That's a point the sound mix makes perfectly well.

The something that's going on back there is Auschwitz. Rudolf is Rudolf Hoss, the camp's commandant, who lives next door to the Nazi death machine with his family. Rudolf still tries to raise his kids like any normal parent would. Hedwig and her friends occasionally relish in the goods the Nazis snatch from Jewish prisoners. Their idyllic family life is disrupted when Rudolf is promoted to deputy camp inspector. This requires Rudolf to transfer to Oranienberg, near Berlin, though Hedwig wishes to stay put in her current home. Oh, pity her. (That was sarcasm).

This is perhaps the most shocking slice-of-life story you'll ever see. Huller's performance as Hedwig is its greatest centerpiece. In one scene, Hedwig and her mother, Linna (Imogen Kogge), have a nice conversation. Linna is proud of the good life Hedwig and Rudolf have made. Hedwig proudly proclaiming herself "The Queen of Auschwitz" in that scene is perfectly revolting. Hedwig also mistreats her housemaid, Aniela (Zuzanna Kobiela), even threatening to have Rudolf incinerate her. She's a loving mother, yes, but casually evil to just about anyone else. Linna, for her part, is actually shocked once she gets a glimpse of the Nazi death machine. The film doesn't take us inside Auschwitz, other than in an epilogue set long after the war, but we and she see smoke rise from the crematorium. Need I say more?

We now get to Rudolf. I'd hesitate to call him sympathetic, but he has a few humanizing moments here and there. He's quite outraged when the ashes of murdered prisoners wash into a river that he and his kids were swimming in. Later on, he meets and pets a schnauzer getting walked in Berlin. But this is a man who mistreats his prisoners, and I don't just mean having them killed, and imagines gassing a party of loyalists at the end. The ending is made all the more ambiguous knowing that the real life Rudolf pretty much repented just before his execution in 1947. Is he sickened by the evil he caused? Does he feel powerless to escape his current path? Or is it something else?

The film's BAFTA-nominated production designer and cinematographer, Chris Oddy and Łukasz Żal, perfectly visualize its casually bleak tone. The Hoss House is splendid, that's for sure, but the pleasantness is eradicated by the background noise. It gets pretty surreal once we meet a minor character, Aleksandra (Julia Polaczek), who leaves food at night for the prisoners. The sudden shift to night-vision for her scenes is a jarring one, for sure. Its most memorable scene, visually, might be its last, when Rudolf finds himself alone in a darkened, gray hallway. After the aforementioned epilogue, Rudolf walks down the stairwell, perhaps resigned to his dark path. That's a scene that'll stick with you for a long time.

The Zone of Interest represents the United Kingdom in the International Feature Oscar race. It's also the inevitable winner considering it's also nominated for Best Picture, among other awards. This is a film that forces its audience to reflect on their own humanity as it denounces its villain protagonists' inhumanity. All it needs to do is to show them live their lives. It doesn't need to do much to say much. It's quite a profound film, but it's not really an easy film to sit through. It's a bit over two weeks before the Oscars, and if you want to see it before then, see it however you can. It took this long before it became accessible to me at all. Maybe you'll be lucky to already have it playing theatrically nearby. Maybe.

Capsule Reviews of the 96th Oscars Documentary Shorts

 Here they are. All five of this year's nominees for the Best Documentary Short Oscar. Let's go.

Nai Nai and Wai Po (Dir. Sean Wang): We begin with this Disney Plus short, in which the director chronicles his grandmas - paternal grandma Yi Yan Fuei (Nai Nai) and maternal grandma Chang Li Hua (Wai Po). It's simply them living their daily lives in their shared home. They admit their "daily lives are pretty ordinary," but it's still fun to see them, for example, arm wrestle, watch Superbad and dress like hip teens. Mortality is on their minds, but they try to make the most of it, however long they have it. It's a simple story that will surely resonate with audiences young and old. Its final line makes for a great punchline. It's enough to make me think of my own Grandmas, who passed away when both were 97. I think this might win on Oscar night, but let's talk about the other shorts first.

The Barber of Little Rock (Dir. John Hoffman and Christine Turner): We switch to YouTube for the next three shorts. The New Yorker chronicles Arlo Washington, a barber who not only founded the Washington Barber College but the People's Trust Community Federal Credit Union, Arkansas's only Black-owned private bank. Both these institutions help combat the ever-widening racial wealth gap. We see Arlo and his staff lend a sympathetic ear to their customers, one of whom has several concurrent medical issues, as they help them out of their financial jams. That 95 percent of their loans are paid back in time is impressive, but it's astounding when Arlo talks about one customer who took out loan after loan and paid them all. The interviews with his staff and customers accentuate this compelling portrait of a great man. 

Island in Between (Dir. S. Leo Chiang): The New York Times bring us this chronicle of Kinmen, the Taiwanese islands just six miles away from mainland China. The Islands are central to the ongoing territorial disputes between China and Taiwan. Chiang chronicles life living in Taiwan amidst these disputes. We learn plenty about his personal family history, the Taiwanese military preparing for the worse, and even about the Kinmen-Ximen ferry. The ferry requires Taiwanese citizens to have a Chinese-issued passport, as if their own Taiwanese passport means nothing. That's just one daunting aspect of living amidst the world's biggest custody battle. Chiang's climactic visit to Mainland China gives him and the audience hope that, perhaps someday, these disputes can be resolved peacefully. It may take some time to discern that message, but once you do, I think you'll feel its impact. It's an interesting documentary, overall.

The Last Repair Shop (Dir. Ben Proudfoot & Kris Bowers): Both directors, previously nominated in this category for A Concierto is a Conversation, are back with this short from the Los Angeles Times. In it, they chronicle the employees of warehouse that have maintained school instruments since 1959. We get to meet its small staff and a few students who have benefitted from their work. The personal stories of its staff form the meat of its barely 40-minute runtime. Paty Moreno, the Brass cleaner, was a struggling single mother; manager Steve Bagmanyan fled Azerbaijan to escape persecution; Duane Michaels, the woodwinds cleaner, once opened for Elvis after being scouted by Col. Parker. I could elaborate on them all, but it would take up a lot of time. The ending gives both staff and students a chance to record a symphony together, which makes for a satisfying ending to a compelling short. This is the category's other likely winner.

The ABCs of Book Banning (Dir. Sheila Nevins & Trish Adlesic): I had to get a Paramount Plus trial, via Amazon, to watch this short, just as I said I would last week. In it, the filmmakers give us the perspectives of multiple kids on recent efforts, mainly in Florida, to restrict or ban certain books from their school libraries. The targeted books mainly deal with racial and LGBT issues. The kids interviewed strongly disagree with these efforts; the targeted books taught them that hate is wrong, we should love one another, among other messages. These are simplistic messages that some people shouldn't be afraid of letting their kids learn.

The filmmakers show us a selection of books "restricted," "challenged" and "banned" in school libraries. Maus is a Banned Book, The Hobbit is Restricted and The 1619 Project is challenged. We get some animated and textual excerpts from a few other books. A few memorable sections are devoted to Little Miss Hot Mess's The Hips on the Drag Queen go Swish, Swish, Swish (a Challenged book) and Meena Harris's Ambitious Girl (a Restricted Book). The former, a parody of The Wheels on the Bus Go Round, Round, Round, is simply too silly to be offensive, while the latter's confidence boosting message is much needed. These books have value, as centenarian Grace Linn, whose testimony at a Florida school board opens and closes the short, asserted when she denounced the book bans. I wonder if it will be enough to change some minds. Maybe not.

The short film packages will play locally starting next weekend. I'll get to the animated shorts then. I got to prepare for my next feature review, and both its price and reputation are massive. That will be tomorrow.

Bob Marley: One Love

 There were a lot of things that I didn't understand when I was younger. One of them was that Reggae superstar and constant radio presence Bob Marley died in 1981, a mere five years before I was born. His was a name I heard quite a bit of as a youngster, and now, he lives again in a biopic, Bob Marley: One Love. Let's see how it is.

It all starts in 1976 when post-colonial Jamaica is threatened with civil war. Bob (Kingsley Ben-Adir) and his band, the Wailers, prepare to perform at the Smile Unity Concert to help bring their people together. Bob, his wife Rita (Lashana Lynch), and the Wailers are targeted by political assassins. They survive and perform a 90-minute set piece at the concert. Bob and the Wailers flee Jamaica for London, while Rita and her kids head off to the United States. The rest of the movie has Bob & the Wailers compose their greatest album, Exodus, while Bob has periodic flashbacks of his pre-fame life. He and Rita argue and reconcile by the time he develops the skin cancer that would eventually kill him.

There's quite a bit to learn about Bob during the film's 104 minutes. In the flashbacks alone, we learn about his white father Norval (Daniel Menville, Jr.), how he met Rita, how he was influenced by his Rastafarian faith, and, my personal favorite, how the Wailers impressed gruff producer Coxsonne Dodd (Jeff Crosley). In the present, we see Bob and the Wailers get the idea for Exodus after listening to Ernest Gold's soundtrack from the same-named movie. Later, Bob and manager Donald Taylor (Anthony Welsh) get into an argument over finances. Anyone barely familiar with Bob's life will be intrigued with what they learn here.

Any negatives? Bob has a recurring nightmare of his younger self running through a burning field. Is that based on something that happened? I don't think it says. A few names get lost in the shuffle, primarily publicist Howard Bloom (Michael Gandolfini), or even the recently deceased Aston "Family Man" Barrett (his actual son, Aston Barrett Jr). I had to look up a few names researching this review, and what I found was interesting to learn. I'm willing to give it another shot when it comes to home media to see what I missed.

Ben-Adir is quite lively and likable as Bob. On-stage, Bob's actual vocals are used on the soundtrack, which makes for a setlist as lively as his dancing. He tries his best to keep a high spirit off-stage, especially when he sings Three Little Birds to his sons (including Ziggy, played here by Xavier Woolry, who also produces the film) a-capella. That he was nearly assassinated by his own countrymen wounds him more than any bullets ever did. His ego-driven argument with Rita tests his audience sympathy, but we're on his side when he's humbled by the grim diagnosis. It may be a familiar plotline, but Ben-Adir's performance helps ease the audience through it all. 

Yes, Bob Marley: One Love covers many familiar biopic tropes. It will still satisfy anyone who came for the music of its long-deceased superstar. It's a good place to introduce someone to his music; both Bob's songs and Kris Bower's score make for great listening. There's some great makeup and hairstyling work that could easily make next year's Oscar shortlist. Don't worry about some bad reviews. It's worth seeing with a good-sized crowd in a theatre, or with a few friends once it makes it to home media. See what I mean when you see it soon.

Madame Web

 While we wait for another Spider-Verse film, it's time to give the cinematic spotlight to another character in Spidey's web. That would be Madame Web, the clairvoyant memorably voiced in Spidey's 90s cartoon by none other than Stan Lee's wife, Joan. Longtime TV director SJ Clarkson's theatrical debut gives Web the superheroine origin story nobody knew they needed ... or wanted. 

It's not that bad, though.

In 1973, biologists Constance Webb (Kerry Bishe) and Ezekiel Sims (Tahar Rahim) procure a rare spider specimen in the Peruvian jungles. Ezekiel betrays the research team and claims the spider for himself. Constance is left mostly dead, and later dies delivering her daughter, Cassandra. 

In 2003, "Cassie" (Dakota Johnson) is an EMT partnered with Ben Parker (Adam Scott), the future Uncle Ben himself. During a bridge rescue, Cassie gets trapped in a car when it falls into the river. When she comes through, Cassie soon discovers that she can see the future. These future visions, as edited by Leigh Folsom Boyd, are as perfectly disorienting to the audience as they are to her. These future visions feel real until the film rewinds back a few minutes. One such vision in a diner is the only suspenseless vision, partially because that was the lead-up to the film's one and only trailer.

What about the plot? Well, Ezekiel's been foreseeing his own death at the hands of three costumed Spider-Women. He identifies them as teenagers Julia Cornwall (Sydney Sweeney), Mattie Franklin (Celeste O'Connor) and Anya Corazon (Isabela Merced). He goes off to kill them dressed like an evil Spider-Man. Cassie gets the three to safety when Spidey-Sims shows up at Grand Central Station. Ezekiel won't quit until the girls are dead, which looks like a job for Madame Web. That's basically it.

One of its weakest aspects is its villain. Ezekiel is anything but a good guy, something we know once he kills his research partners, but we know little about him. We don't know what he's been up to for the past thirty-years. He doesn't necessarily need a sympathetic goal, but he needs a goal, nonetheless. We don't even know why the three Spider-Women want to kill him in the future (off-screen villainy, perhaps?). It's a shame because Rahim is fine in the role. He just needed a better script.

The writing is slightly better for the three future Spider-Women. They have such likable quirky personalities that, when Cassie leaves them in the woods, you can't blame them for running off to the aforementioned diner. They have great chemistry with Johnson and have a few great scenes with her. One is when Cassie leads them out of Grand Central Station and the other is when they reveal their broken homelives to her. Their personalities sell them as teenagers even though their actresses aren't. They only don their Spider-Women costumes in future visions, perhaps saving their real super heroics for a sequel the film thinks it's getting. Still, the costumeless final battle with Spidey-Sims is a good display of ingenuity.

Johnson is fine in the title role. She's quite awkward, before and after she gets her powers, which leads to some hilarity. As I said, we also feel her disorientation with her future visions throughout the film. A pivotal one is when she saves a pigeon that she foresaw smashing into her window by opening it. Her leaving the girls in the woods is somewhat irresponsible, but she gets better later on. Her best scene is when she reconciles with her mother in a vision. It's such a nice moment. She gets some great chemistry with Scott's Uncle Ben and Emma Roberts's Mary Parker (Spidey's future mom).

What else can I say about it? Madame Web's visions and her climactic ability to appear in multiple spots are quite nifty effects even if the CGI isn't perfect. Trust me, you will notice plenty of obvious CGI in the climax. The future Spider-Womens' costumes are practically pitch-perfect recreations of their comic book appearances. It's a pity about their limited screentime. Finally, Disney should hire composer Johan Soderqvist once they hear his soaring score for this film. His main theme would fit perfectly for Spidey himself.

Overall, this film isn't perfect, but it's not a complete catastrophe. Let's see how Sony's live-action Spider-Verse improves when Kraven the Hunter finally prowls in theaters this August. But until then, here's hoping Beyond the Spider-Verse gets going soon. 

Capsule Reviews for the 96th Oscar Live-Action Shorts

 It's about time I get to the nominated shorts. The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar is currently the frontrunner for the Live Action short category, but since it's always better to be safe than sorry, I streamed the rest last night. Let's see what I thought of them.

Invincible (From Canada. Dir: Vincent Rene-Lortie): It was hard looking for this short considering that an Amazon animated series, a Mark Wahlberg movie from 2006 and several other works also share its title. I eventually found it on the director's Vimeo account and pressed play.

 In it, Rene-Lortie chronicles his friend, Marc-Antoine Bernier (Léokim Beaumier-Lépine), who died at the age of 14 when he crashed a stolen car into a river. This is depicted in medias res in the short's prologue. A few days earlier, Marc returns to juvie after a weekend stay with his family. He hates it there, though he has friends and a counselor, Luc (Ralph Prosper), who tries to set him straight. He eventually seizes upon an opportunity to escape.

The film doesn't specify what Marc did to get sent to juvie. I don't think it really matters, though. It proves Luc right as it shows Marc playing with his sister, Justine (Elia St-Pierre) in the opening, gently letting a bee out his window, and helping another inmate at gardening. Not even him setting off the sprinklers with a match is enough to get the audience to dislike him. Luc is a reasonable authority figure who only puts his foot down as a last resort. The stunning score by Simon P. Castonguay and cinematography by Alexandre Nour-Desjardins accentuates Marc's tragic story. It seems like the most likely winner if the Academy doesn't go with Henry Sugar.

Knight of Fortune (From Denmark. Dir: Lasse Lyskjær Noer): Who knew that a short about death would be one of the lighter films in this year's lineup? In it, Karl (Leif Andree), a widower, visits his late wife at the morgue. He meets a fellow widower, Torben (Jens Jørn Spottag), who asks him for emotional support to visit his own late wife. They both bond when they discover their wives were fans of the band Rocazino's title song. Things take a turn once Karl learns more about his new friend.

How can a short about death be funny? Well, we have Karl fumbling to replace a failing light tube, how he meets Torben and the morticians' constant reminders of the state of corpses. Its first hint of twist is easy to pick-up once Karl meets Torben's "fellow mourners." It's still pretty nice to see Karl and Torben bond over their wives, paying their last respects and helping the others do the same. Its twist is sure to remind one of, of all films, Planes, Trains and Automobiles, even if superficially. You might understand why once you press play on Youtube via The New Yorker. Get ready, though, for it gets pretty dark in the next two shorts.

Red, White, And Blue (From the U.S. Dir: Nazrin Choudhury): I had to rent this from its official site for just $1.99. In it, Rachel (Brittany Snow) is a waitress dealing with an unwanted pregnancy. She has to cross state lines from Arkansas to Illinois to get an abortion. She takes her ten-year-old daughter, Maddy (Juliet Donenfeld), seemingly for emotional support. It's only once she gets to the clinic that the story is tossed on its head.

I'd be giving away the twist if I worded that last sentence poorly. It's a twist that will send you through denial, rage and horror once it hits. Before hand, we get a decent slice-of-life story as Rachel struggles living paycheck to paycheck. Even her son, Jake (Redding Munsell), losing his tooth and expecting the tooth fairy is cause for financial concern. An understanding customer, Margo (Mo Collins), gives her a humongous tip to help her out. Her and Maddy's "girl's trip" is pretty lighthearted with a matching pop song. How bad can it be? More importantly, how can anyone with a conscience not be horrified by the climax?

The After (From England. Dir: Misan Harriman): This Netflix short was co-produced by David Oyelowo, who also stars as Dayo, a happy business and family man. At least, that's what he'd want to be. He delays an important meeting for his daughter, Laura's (Amelie Dokubo) dance recital, only for a knife-wielding maniac to target his family. A year later, Dayo takes up work as a ride-share driver, constantly listening to his passengers' chatter. His bottled-up grief bubbles over when he drives a family from the airport.

Its prologue is tense as you wait for whatever shatters Dayo's happy life. I knew from the summary that something happened, but I wasn't really prepared for what it was. After that, we go through Dayo's new daily life driving all sorts of passengers. Among the most sympathetic are two nameless women frantically trying to get an ambulance for a loved-one (who doesn't make it). 

The aforementioned family consists of parents Stewart and Emily (Sule Rimi and Izuka Hoyle) and daughter Rebecca (Ellen Francis). Rebecca is the empathetically smartest of Dayo's passengers as she recognizes Dayo's distress. She hugs him at the end while her parents bicker and argue over who lost their keys. Their obliviousness to Dayo's distress, and not only that, assuming he grabbed her, make them quite unlikable. He gets a moment to let out his agony, carries on with his work and ... the end. Anyone looking for a concise ending will be disappointed. But it's still a compelling short, overall.

I'll get to the Documentary shorts next week, though that will require making a Paramount Plus account for The ABCs of Book Banning (I'll go with a trial). I'll watch the animated short film package in theatres once it shows up. Look forward to those reviews. Next up is a feature.

El Conde

Early in his career, Pablo Larrain chronicled life in his native Chile under the rule of Augusto Pinochet in his films Tony Manero, Post Mortem and No. His latest film, El Conde - translated and listed in Netflix as The Count - reimagines one of history's greatest monsters as an actual monster. Let's see how it is.

I almost thought something was wrong with the language selection when I was greeted with an English narration. But no, that's a deliberate choice. The voice belongs to actress Stella Gonet, who appears later as, of all people, Margaret Thatcher. How Thatcher actually figures into the story is an audacious surprise. Anyway, Thatcher narrates how one Claude Pinoche (Clemente Rodriguez) was outed as a vampire during the French Revolution and eventually escaped to Central America. As Pinochet, El Conde rose through the ranks of the Chilean military until he seized power in 1973. 

Historically, Pinochet died on December 10, 2006, at the age of 91. But that's what they want you to think. "Actually," El Conde (Jaime Vadell), who is pushing 250, faked his death by going cold turkey on blood. He and his family retire to the countryside with their ill-gotten gains. He has finally gotten bored of his long life, particularly when he has to share it with his unfaithful wife Lucia (Gloria Munchmeyer), their greedy kids, and their fellow-vampire butler Fyodor (Alfredo Castro). When El Conde seemingly goes on a vampiric killing spree, his daughter Luciana (Catalina Guerra) and her siblings hire Carmen (Paula Luchsinger), a vampire hunting nun, to stake him. It doesn't take long before El Conde sees through her initial disguise as an accountant. It takes less than that before Carmen falls under his spell - or does she?

This may have not been Chile's submission for the International Feature Oscar - The Settlers was - but cinematographer Edward Lachman still earned a spot on this year's Oscar ballot. That it's in black-and-white does nothing to diminish the savagery of its violence. Lachman gets us uncomfortably close as El Conde carves out several unfortunate hearts and blender them for a "nice" smoothie. Its landscapes, particularly when El Conde flies over them like a vampiric Superman, are far more pleasant to look at. It's quite striking to see El Conde in full attire blend into the scenery. The cinematography also accentuates the creepiness of Rodrigo Bazaes's production design, especially the farmhouse. 

Its titular character's villainy easily gets under your skin. Anyone remotely familiar with the Pinochet regime's numerous crimes will cry foul whenever El Conde shifts the blame to his subordinates. He tolerates being called a killer, but being called a thief crosses a line. Carmen later calls him out for his casual callousness when she "audits" him. Why doesn't he let her stake him at the first opportunity? That's something I asked myself a bit, but perhaps she helped renew his lust for life; if so, we're in trouble. Thatcher's narration will make you hate her long before she shows up, or even before you realize who she is. She extols El Conde's bloodlust with one long "Yeah, he's a murderer. So what?" rant. I must say Gonet really nails Thatcher's icy demeanor.

Beware of spoilers.

Yes, the film clearly makes us think that El Conde is the flying heart carver. But it makes perfect sense once you figure out that it's really Fyodor. Him casually confessing to his numerous crimes is just as unnerving as El Conde denying his own. Lucia is just as icy and sinister as The Iron Lady herself. Luciana and her siblings are strangely the most likable characters in the film. Yes, they want the old man staked for selfish reasons, but they want the old man staked. Carmen is fine, though she gets her most compelling moments once you realize her true plans.

End of spoilers.

El Conde is a surprisingly funny film about one of history's most evil men. Larrain and Guillermo Calderan's script has some audacious dialogue during its 111 minutes. How Carmen and Luciana discuss the planned "exorcism" is pretty amusing, for example. There's also some stunning juxtaposition as the film compares the Pinochets' illegal accounts to El Conde's vampirism. Overall, I think that it's worth a watch if you're in the mood for a good horror film but there's nothing interesting in theaters. Lachman's chances of winning the Oscar are slim, but his cinematography makes for a memorable viewing experience. See it soon to see what I mean. That's it for now.

Poor Things

I have a problem. You see, I'm about to review Poor Things, a film that I can't really describe succinctly. Furthermore, it's a film that may involve "sensitive content" (how my 2017 Valerian review got flagged for the same thing last year is an annoying mystery). So, if you can't handle sensitive content or my euphemisms of such ... there's the door.

Let's get started.

Yorgos Lanthimos reunites with a few alumni from The Favourite - writer Tony McNamara, cinematographer Robbie Ryan, editor Yorgos Mavropsaridis, and especially star Emma Stone - for this adaptation of Alasdair Gray's 1992 novel. A few critics have already described the multiple Oscar nominee as a "weird Barbie" (not like that film's Weird Barbie"). Up until I saw it, I preferred to describe it as a weird Frankenstein parody. It's not exactly that, but you'd understand my choice of words once you meet Dr. Godwin "God" Baxter (Willem Dafoe) and his "creature," Bella (Stone).

Bella was born when a desperate woman jumped off the London Bridge. One mad science experiment later, Bella is technically back, for although she looks mature, her behavior is anything but that. She's bratty, inarticulate and devoid of tact, among other things. As such, Baxter confines Bella to his house. But that changes when he brings home med student Max McCandles (Ramy Youseff) as his new assistant. Max soon decides to marry Bella, which Baxter is OK with as long as she stays put. Bella doesn't like it; coincidentally or not, that's when her intelligence and sexuality skyrocket.

Anyway, Bella accepts Max's proposal, but she first decides to run off with Baxter's lawyer, Duncan Wedderburn (Mark Ruffalo), for a lavish trip. Duncan's the kind of lawyer willing to indulge Bella's desire for "furious jumping." That makes their first stop in Lisbon all the more memorable. Her growing maturity eventually infuriates him more than her social faux pas. She soon meets a few characters who decimate her naive world view. And then her past comes back for her.

This is a very alien film, technically speaking. Sure, the locations Bella visits are real, but between the steampunk sky trams and watercolory skies, this might be another planet. Baxter's "pets," which include a bulldog with a duck's head, do little to dissuade that notion. Bella might struggle to fit in with "polite society," but her wardrobe, as designed by costume designer Holly Waddington, fits in with the strangeness. Our fascinated disorientation is accentuated by Jerskin Fendrix's surreal score and Ryan's frequent fish-eye lenses. Its first act is mostly black-and-white, but everything else, including the prologue, is filmed in the most stunning color possible. Let's just say everyone who got an Oscar nomination here deserved it in spades.

Bella's story is as oddly fascinating as her world. Her childish behavior, which isn't hyperbole as you'll learn why, is equally creepy and funny. One of her earlier scenes has her poke a cadaver with glee, while a later dinner party with Duncan and a few no-names shows her at her most tactless. It's quite hilarious when she even tells Baxter of her "secret" plan with Duncan. What's most fascinating about Stone's performance is how Bella slowly but surely grows. Her primitive speech at the start gets noticeably articulate near the end of her Lisbon trip. She shows some simplistic, yet sophisticated business sense, when she joins Madame Swiney's (Kathryn Hunter) brothel in Paris. She soon outwits Alfie Blessington (Christopher Abbott), her former self's abusive husband, with some weird science. There is a compelling story if you can get through the weirdness.

 Who else does Bella have in her world? Duncan is a pathetic manchild who goes from a funny cad to a creepily possessive cad who's also a loser. That's highlighted when, during their cruise to Alexandria, he tries to toss Bella's new friend Martha (Hanna Schygulla) overboard, which the old lady finds fun. Baxter is quite overprotective of Bella, but I'm sure his casual descriptions of his abusive father's "science experiments" will disturb you more than his possessiveness or his messed-up face (excellent makeup work there). It helps that he quickly relents to let Max marry Bella and to let her elope with Duncan. He's actually quite pitiable as he lies on his deathbed. Max is quite likable, as are Bella's fellow prostitute Toinette (Suzy Bemba) and professional cynic Harry Astley (Jerrod Carmichael). The only character I truly detested was Blessington, a man who gets his dog to scare a maid into spilling soup on herself and threatens to shoot her if she complains (and he seriously wonders why his servants are planning to revolt!). His karmic punishment is hilarious.

It's just about over a month before the next Oscars. Who knows if Poor Things will be available to stream by then? So, see it soon as you can however you can. This is a long movie, clocking in at 142-minutes, but it's not boring in the slightest. It's a weird movie, but it's still one of the most compelling coming-of-age stories you'll ever see. It's a film that can't be simply described, it must be seen to be believed. If you're lucky. That's it for now.