Chiwetel Ejiofor – This Had Oscar Buzz

262 – Inside Man

We return to the filmography of Spike Lee this week with his biggest box office success, 2006’s Inside Man. With a star-packed cast led by Denzel Washington as a hostage negotiator, Clive Owen as the bank robber opposite him, and Jodie Foster as a nefarious fixer, Lee took a standard crime thriller and made it his own to instantly rewatchable results. While the film generated the kind of “you know what was a good movie? Inside Man!” year-end critical reassessment we often talk about, it wasn’t enough to result in the snowball effect that leads to Oscar nominations.

This episode, we talk about how Lee elevates the film with his stylistic trademarks and the film’s twinship with 2006’s Best Picture winner The Departed. Topics also include Foster’s return this season with Nyad, Owen’s post-Oscar nomination slump, and Universal’s 2006 Oscar slate of The Good Shepherd and Children of Men.

Topics also include Washington’s aughts Tony Scott collaborations, whatever the hell is going on over at Gladiator 2, and the Streep/Gummer split.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Google Podcasts | RSS

238 – Mary Magdalene

We talk about awards hopes thwarted by release date pushes, and this week is the mother of all of them. Originally intended as Garth Davis’ speedy follow-up to Lion for Thanksgiving 2017, Mary Magdalene cast Rooney Mara as the biblical woman and Joaquin Phoenix as Jesus. The film reexamines Mary Magdalene role among the disciples and how history has viewed her, and attempts a feminist perspective to biblical narratives. But shortly after it wasn’t announced for any fall festival lineups, the film was pushed to Easter 2018. When the Weinstein expose arrived, the film was then caught in US distribution limbo, arriving on schedule overseas but not seeing (few) American theatres until 2019.

This episode, we talk about Davis’ success with Lion in the 2016 season and our hopes for his upcoming Satires Ronan starrer Foe. We also discuss Joe’s Catholic upbringing and knowledge, how Jesus would’ve handled social media, and the chances Mara would have had in the Best Actress race had the film arrived in its original season.

Topics also include Phoenix’s whole vibe, MANY music references, and Hot Judas.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Google Podcasts | RSS

236 – Secret In Their Eyes

After The Secret in Their Eyes won Argentina and director Juan José Campanella the 2009 Best Foreign Language Film Oscar, an American remake emerged with primo screenwriter and director Billy Ray attached. Dropping the The faster than a gritty reboot, the American Secret In Their Eyes not only drew top stars but, in adaptation, turned the original’s reflection on military rule into a post-9/11 set thriller of institutional corruption. With an awards friendly cast of headliners of Chiwetel Ejiofor, Nicole Kidman, and And-credit Julia Roberts, the film’s grim but tepid examination of morals deflated by the search for justice met an indifferent critical response after skipping the fall festival season.

This episode, we talk about Billy Ray’s work as a franchise screenwriter and trio of directorial efforts, including his sensational, underrated debut Shattered Glass. We also talk about the original’s Oscar win over early season Cannes-certified films The White Ribbon and A Prophet, the headliner’s television misfires, and actor Joe Cole’s dual villain roles as A Nose and Marshall Mathers.

Topics also include Laura Linney in an upcoming “Catholic 80 for Brady,” the strong run of recent International Feature winners, and Julia Roberts’ bangs.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Google Podcasts | RSS