My former Creative Loafing editor Kristi York Wooten invited our site to provide commentary during the week leading up to the Sunday, March 2, 2025 Academy Awards.
Here’s a link to Georgia Public Broadcasting story and segments, featuring the latest and greatest predictions following the SAG and BAFTA ceremonies. Undoubtedly, there will be more surprises!
https://www.gpb.org/news/2025/02/27/gpbs-oscar-predictions-who-will-win-at-the-2025-academy-awards
Are we all now leaning toward Conclave vs. Anora? What a chaotic season after SAG Awards shifted the picture and actor races yet again! Here’s our latest discussion. Tune in Sunday, March 2, 2025 at 7:00pm Eastern for the ABC telecast.
ENZO is rolling out the red carpet for an Oscars Viewing Party on Sunday, March 2, 2025. Celebrating the glitz and glam of Hollywood’s biggest night in the heart of the Town at Trilith, you’re invited to make a grand entrance on the red carpet with professional photographers capturing every timeless moment.
Beginning at 6:00 pm, sip on complimentary bubbly and mingle with fellow fashion and cinema enthusiasts before the 97th Academy Awards. Benefiting Two Sparrows Village, the annual Oscars Viewing Party will feature a hearty array of Chef Andrea Montobbio’s favorite offerings, movie-inspired cocktails, and more. Master of ceremonies and Silver Screen Capture film correspondent Stephen Michael Brown will host competitive giveaways, featuring ENZO gift cards and coveted movie memorabilia as prizes during the 7:00 pm telecast.
Tickets — $100 per person and include complimentary glass of Prosecco, two drink tickets and food — are available here: https://enzo-itl.com/experience/enzos-oscars-viewing-party-2/
Photo credit: Chucky Kahng
A cursed curio and two vengeful twins are the Maine attraction in the latest adaptation of a classic Stephen King short story. The Monkey (B-), the latest horror film by Osgood Perkins, explores childhood trauma through the eyes of actor Theo James in dual roles as bickering brothers in possession of an organ grinder wind-up toy monkey capable of causing a spontaneous and usually grisly death with each turn of his key. Also this primate plaything doesn’t take requests, even when someone wishes someone else dead. The burden of ownership of the drumming monkey weighs heavily on the back of the nicer brother throughout life and especially on a father son roadtrip with his own estranged son. The film’s off-kilter humor and general sense of nihilism underscore the sometimes sheer randomness of why freak accidents happen. The film’s kills are abundant and inventive even if the overall content is as threadbare as its titular toy’s red vest. The final showdown is a bit sloppy, and the conclusion slightly unsatisfying. But the movie is generally a brisk ride and shines brightest when staring most deeply into sinister terrain. Despite matinee idol looks, Theo James does a nifty job in his often unhinged, goofy roles. Perkins deftly mixes suspense and silliness in this dark lark, building on a Gremlins and Final Destination style tradition.
My FilmThirst video review: https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZT25FceFC/
Bruce David Klein’s latest documentary shows how a star was reborn into a stage and screen legend. Chronicling the complex period of Liza Minnelli’s life starting in the 1970s, just after the tragic death of her mother Judy Garland, Liza: A Truly Terrific Absolutely True Story (B+), is star-studded and often dazzling. Viewers will get to see the documentary subject confront a range of personal and professional challenges on the way to becoming a bona fide icon. Over the formative years covered in the film, Liza seeks out extraordinary mentors in the fields of music and dance (John Kander, Fred Ebb and Bob Fosse among them) and fashion via Halston. With insightful participation from a coterie of colleagues ranging from Ben Vereen to the late Chita Rivera, along with revelatory participation by the star herself, it’s an intriguing look at the star’s rise and resilience. It is most interesting when she is most vulnerable. The episodic format with chapter titles and quotes is a little tedious, but ultimately it’s a definitive portrait of the lady.
In 60 seconds, we reveal what we think will win in the top categories at the Academy Awards ceremony March 2, 2025.
The 35th Marvel Cinematic Universe film mixes Tom Clancy style espionage with the increasingly complicated trappings of serialized superheroism, and the whole hulking smash-up faces an identity and creativity crisis. Julius Onah’s Captain America: Brave New World (C) chronicles two characters in the honeymoon periods of newfound careers: Harrison Ford as newly elected and problematic U.S. President Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross and Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson who assumes the mantle of the Captain America persona with a touch of imposter syndrome. A proposed team-up between commander-in-chief and the newly coronated Cap is quickly jeopardized by a series of meddling menaces plus raiders of a lost “adamantium” element that proves to be a MacGuffin most mid. The story fails to transport viewers to interesting places despite the fact that one location is intriguingly titled Celestial Island and then not developed in the slightest. Conversely the production devotes multiple minutes to a junkyard fight and one single row of cherry blossom trees shot from various angles. A presidential security advisor played by Shira Haas is furnished limited lines when there could have been a smart political subtext unfolding. Danny Ramirez coasts on charisma as Joaquin Torres/Falcon, a sidekick who’s both silly and sentimental and generally the most genuinely entertaining part of the movie. The action sequences move fast, largely masking any real momentum, while generally the film’s pace crawls. Much of this installment plays out like a chore with phoned-in performances, despite the participation of multiple past Oscar nominees. Ford and Mackie are game for the drama, but the temperamental POTUS and the bearer of the shield can only wield so much life out of this flimsy episode.
My “FilmThirt” persona reviews this movie on TikTok:
A genre defying film that’s part romance, part satire, part horror, part fantasy, part whodunit and parts unknown, Drew Hancock’s Companion (B+) confronts the dynamics of modern relationships in fierce and twisty ways. Set in a lavish weekend getaway mountain home, the gathered ensemble is game for the occasion: Sophie Thatcher as a troubled companion to everyman Jack Quaid; Lukas Gage and Harvey Guillen as blissful gay partners; and Megan Suri as unconventional gangster moll to a mysterious and married Rupert Friend. Some secrets and blood are spilled in a story that will keep people guessing. The narrative gleefully continues to reframe itself as more layers are revealed. Viewers also discover a technology component capable of shifting the characters’ destinies. Hancock has a good deal of creativity up his sleeve as gender and power dynamics unfurl in his wily wilderness. Thatcher is a natural as a character getting a strange feeling about her vacation mates, and Quaid gives off an effortless affable quality. The film is not so terribly bloody or scary as to keep away the casually curious. It does, however, lose a little steam toward the end. Overall this unassuming and brisk movie will reward those seeking a mainstream film with some thematic travels down some surprising paths.
Here’s some spoiler-free fan art I made with the Leonardo.AI app after contemplating the movie a while:
I spoke with the Academy Awards class taught by Dr. Amber Hutchins at Kennesaw State University this week to discuss a variety of topics about the very volatile 2025 Oscars!
High school speechmakers demonstrate the power of the podium in Jennifer Tiexiera and Guy Mossman’s moving documentary Speak. (A). By telling the behind-the-scenes stories of a quintet of top-ranked students in the national speech and debate category called “original oratory” in which they deliver the teenage equivalent of TED Talks, viewers get an insider look at the purpose and passions of the next generation. Chronicling nearly a year of one of the world’s largest and most intense public speaking competitions also means a fascinating glimpse into the family dynamics, lives and loves and heartland hobbies driving these talented young people. Snippets of some of the subjects’ best original works prove very inspiring. The race to the championship may not match the pace or profit of high school sports, but the impact proves undeniable after watching these kids in action.
In the grand cinematic tradition of voyeurs becoming involved with their subjects, two unlikely men assume the archetypal roles in Carmen Emmi’s Plainclothes (B). Set in ‘90s New York, a working-class undercover officer (Tom Blyth) is tasked with entrapping and apprehending gay men, only to find himself drawn to one of his targets, portrayed by Russell Tovey. The acts of surveillance – especially footage in VHS and CCTV forms – add texture to Emmi’s creative and intimate camera work. Blyth is the fascinating find here; he’s absorbing to observe when both stoic and displaying utter yearning. There are lovely set pieces ranging from a matinee movie palace to a botanical garden greenhouse adding atmosphere to the furtive romance. Despite good performances, some plot elements feel routine, and the central leads’ familial stakes are largely given short shrift. Overall it’s a good watch.
The honey and apples fall fabulously far from the family tree as 39th generation ex-Orthodox Jew Rabbi Amichai Lau-Lavie radically reinvents religion and ritual in Sandi DuBowski’s Sabbath Queen (B+). Spanning more than two decades, with animation filling in some of the ancestral details, this entertaining and insightful documentary chronicles the nonconforming descendent of the Chief Rabbis of Israel as he questions conventions at every stage of his journey. Sampling elements from all walks of life, faith and identity, Amichai leverages his drag queen persona, life as a queer bio-dad and his role as a crusader for human rights in his quest to keep faith fresh and relevant. The thesis includes notions that sacred prayers for peace and protection and entreaties to “Preach, gurl!” all have worth on a walk of faith, but the film often pierces deeply into long-standing norms. At first the protagonist’s bucking of tradition seems to ruffle the feathers of the elders, and soon the doc showcases encounters in Israel with people who deeply disapprove of him and don’t hold back about their disdain for his lifestyle and approach. Viewers won’t agree with every nuance of the subject’s iterative approach to identity and inclusiveness, but tracing his path proves fruitful and fascinating.
SEE IT: This recommended documentary makes its Atlanta premiere at Atlanta Jewish Film Festival February 23 at 4:45pm at Plaza Theatre Atlanta:
