"Anora," a Sean Baker comedy-drama that has a vigorous narrative regarding a sex worker at Brighton Beach and her marriage to the son of a Russian oligarch, became the cornerstone for an independent film victory in the U.S with five Oscars-including one for Mikey Madison as the lead actress, and a phenomenal four for Baker as he took best picture, director, editing, and original screenplay.
Most other winners, indeed "Anora," are available to rent on the big platforms or subscription services, such that the three winning short films are likewise just one click away. Nevertheless, it is not until the complete Oscar shorts programs find their way into theaters nationwide that such movies will come into being. The films being shown exclusively in theaters center on, for instance, the best international feature winner — "I'm Still Here" — and that of the documentary feature winner — "No Other Land." The latter film comprises an Israeli-Palestinian co-production currently making inroads into the art houses in America without official distribution.
'Anora'
Best picture, yes? Best director, yes? Best actress, yes? Best original screenplay, yes? Best editing, yes?
It's a Sean Baker film about the brief love affair between a Brighton Beach sex worker and the son of a Russian billionaire. It captures the zaniness of screwball comedies and the feelings, run high, kind of drama made famous by John Cassavetes. Most of the energy comes from Mikey Madison's explosive performance as Ani the stripper, whose first interaction with charming young partygoer Ivan (Mark Eydelshteyn) has pretty "Pretty Woman" vibes. Yet, their quick marriage in the USA brings upon the radar of Ivan's guardians there and his parents over in Eastern Europe — Ani's fight to keep them together, sometimes more than a saying, works both slapstick and heartbreaking.
Viewing options include rental on platforms like Amazon, Apple TV+, Fandango at Home, Google Play, and YouTube.
The pursuit of the marriage of form and function has long been considered the essence of good architecture; however, Brady Corbet's eponymous narrative feature about the architectural vision of a Hungarian-Jewish Holocaust survivor defiantly upends this tried-and-true principle. Not only with a rather healthy running time of 215 minutes (including an intermission in theaters) but shot in VistaVision, a widescreen process that hasn't been used for feature production since 1961. When "The Brutalist" picks up with one László Toth (Adrien Brody) making his way to post-War Philadelphia and a job with a moody industrialist, with Guy Pearce playing this character directing the development of a new community center, the film blossoms into an intelligent indictment of the warring factions of art and commerce and the often-realized-in-compromise dreams they peddle. On these terms, Corbet is undeniably successful.
Where to view: Available on Amazon, Apple TV, and Fandango at Home.
Conclave
(Best Adapted Screenplay)
Externally, the election of a new pope appears as an enigmatic and very solemn ceremony, sealed with the observation of white smoke sneaking aloft from the Sistine Chapel. Dynamic play "Conclave," however, shows the assembly of the College of Cardinals— from paranoia, betrayal, and political maneuvering as factions try to control the future of the Catholic Church— in any other way but boring. Serving what tends to be a difficult role is Ralph Fiennes shepherding the election through many ballots and ever-changing alliances against strong emotions that are mounting outside the Vatican walls.
You can catch the movie on Peacock, rent it on channels like Amazon, Apple TV, Google Play, and YouTube; which fall under the category of Fandango at Home.
Emilia Perez: Best Supporting Actress, Original Song
Musical by Jacques Audiard, extremely daring in narrative and concept, tracks the journey of a transgender cartel leader in Mexico as he sets out on an adventurous path through content not easily found in other films, such as a stand-out scene during a transition surgery Emilia Pérez is chic and quickly engaging, but also to an extent remarkably quite a few other thought-provoking elements The story is based on the physical and moral transformation of a kingpin, Karla Sofía Gascón, who hires a lawyer, Zoe Saldaña, to help her turn over a new leaf with her covert gender identity Hence, she resurfaces as a humanitarian working to find the remains of victims left by cartels Her prior bad acts must inevitably and almost poetically, collide with her present well-intended actions
Awarded for: Best supporting actor.
In an uncanny comedy-drama dualistic performance of the writer, director, and star of the film, Jesse Eisenberg, Kieran Culkin brings raw energy, and forthright discourse helped him make himself stand out as Roman Roy in HBO's "Succession." However, in the movie, his character also reveals moments of vulnerability; he plays a lonely wanderer who joins his cousin on a trip to sites of Polish Jewish heritage following the death of his grandmother. While infinitely contributing to the overall cringe value of the film through an insistence on airing his thoughts even at the most inappropriate times, he lays quite a deep impact on everyone around, suggesting that much more about him is sensitive to the environment than initially seen.
Viewing options: Hulu. Alternatively, rent it on Amazon, Apple TV, Fandango at Home, Google Play, or YouTube.
(For the award of Best Animated Film.)
Some animated films, including "WALL-E" and the critically acclaimed "The Wild Robot," are familiar because of their wordless openings, setting a poetic and majestic mood. But, in this Latvian experimental picture with a cat's great adventure through the woods there are no spoken creatures whatsoever. "Flow" places its star cat against photorealistic backdrops as he treks through a disaster flood setting to get on a boat with other survivors whose ranks include a kind Labrador and a baffled capybara. Although traces of irretrievable human loss loom over this quasi-Noah's Ark spectacle, a strong undercurrent centers in the movie on the microcosm that springs from that particular disaster.
Viewing Options: Stream it on Max. The film is available for rent on Amazon, Apple TV+, and Fandango at Home.
'Wicked'
In Best Production Design and Costume Design
After the Broadway megahit is divided into two segments, it might seem like a profit-driven strategy that could render "Wicked" as just half a film stretched too thin, yet director Jon M. Chu, who recently adapted "In the Heights" for the screen, manages to keep his version impressively light on its feet. Most of that lively energy comes from the contrasting buddy dynamic between Cynthia Erivo, who plays Elphaba, the green-skinned outcast with a gift for sorcery, and Ariana Grande as Glinda, an effervescent aspiring good witch who befriends Elphaba at university. It is in Glinda's efforts to lift the lowly outsider within their class that Elphaba herself begins to come into her own about her place and powers in the Land of Oz.
Other options for watching the film include purchasing it through platforms like Amazon or Apple TV or Google Play or Fandango at Home or YouTube.
Demi Moore stars in a production by Coralie Fargeat that merges feminist comedy with body horror inspired by Cronenberg. She channels her history as one of the most glamorous figures of the '80s to put words to the agonizing pressure of what it means to be a woman in the public eye and aging naturally. This is until the grotesque boss, played by Dennis Quaid, hands her a pink slip from the popular TV aerobics program as she celebrates her 50th birthday. Elizabeth Sparkle (Moore) then finds out about a new technology that will allow her to share her life with a younger copy of herself. And although Elizabeth gets along well with this new, bubbly copy (Margaret Qualley), this will spark a metaphysical war between them. Through the tale of "The Substance" that once more brings forth themes of reputation, honesty, and the very typical practice of women competing with one another, sometimes to the death, the movie will probe such societal flaws.
Viewing options: Stream via Mubi. Rent on Amazon, Apple TV, or Fandango at Home.
"Dune: Second Chapter
(Awarded for: Best sound, visual effects.)"
Following the feat of bringing to life Frank Herbert's novel with the release of "Dune" in 2021, director Denis Villeneuve now steers a high wire act In "Dune: Part Two," to be mounted over potentially catastrophic effects of its protagonist's rise to power. The narrative picks back up just after Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) joins forces with the Fremen, the indigenous people of Arrakis, a desert planet that yielded unimaginable riches. The movie also goes on to develop his journey into leadership with a pulse-pounding scene up until he is standing on a sandworm. But as Paul finally starts leading in fulfillment Of the promised prophecies by his most ardent followers, ominous signs of a holy war begin to surface, betting against him in terrible odds.
Release: Max, Netflix; rent on Amazon, Apple TV+, Fandango at Home, Google Play, and YouTube.
Title: Beneath The Cypress Tree
(Award: Best Animated Short Film.)
Primarily, what we bear witness to within this strikingly straightforward Iranian work is the severe aftermath of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, but in "In the Shadow of the Cypress," directors Hossein Molayemi and Shirin Sohani tell it strikingly differently. One breakdown. An excruciating breakdown experienced by a former naval captain inside the walls of his coastal dwelling, at the same time his traumatized daughter makes to depart packing a suitcase—then a stranded whale laboring on the beach. The film unfurls without dialogue, displaying their efforts to save that whale, simultaneously creeping into what re-emergence of trauma the captain might have entertained and the myriad feelings involved for the daughter taking care of a man she loves but cannot seem to handle either.
Her singular position
(Awarded for: Best short documentary.)
In 1966, Orin O'Brien achieved prominence as the first woman to break what, until then, had been an all-male preserve, the 104-member New York Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Leonard Bernstein, who described her double bass as "the source of radiance." The documentary The Only Girl in the Orchestra, directed by her niece, Molly O'Brien, vividly captures some of the sexist press coverage that surrounded her appointment, like the male musician who said he could not play with such an attractive woman. However, O'Brien would rather stress her love for music, more so the double bass, a very important one at that, for anchoring and blending in all of the music-making efforts with all other musicians.
I’M NOT A ROBOT
(Stream on: Netflix)
(I Am Not A Robot)
I’M NOT A ROBOT
(Stream on: Netflix)
(I Am Not A Robot)
