Five New Movies with Oscar Buzz

Yes, I already have my ticket for the opening night of The Last Jedi. But that is still four days away. Meanwhile, it's December and I am trying to see two movies a week just to keep up. I have seen five films that have Oscar buzz. Here are some mini-reviews:

Pixar rarely misfires, ok Cars1, 2, 3, but otherwise, I generally really like their films. Their newest film, Coco, however, was fraught. Would Pixar be accused of cultural appropriation or, even worse, just get it all wrong? But, no, the reception has been amazing and everyone thinks they got it just right. Coco tells the story of a Mexican family, living and dead, at the time of the Dia de los Muertos (The Day of the Dead). Coco is both heartwarming and weird since half the family is dead, but it does do a good job of dealing with the subject of death. And the animation is pretty wonderful. This should win the Best Animated Film at the Oscars.

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri certainly wins the prize for best movie title of the year. The really exciting thing is that it stars Frances McDormand. Yes, she has been nominated for 5 Oscars and won once (Fargo), but I think she is under-appreciated. She is up there with Meryl Streep. One reason McDormand is under-appreciated is that she doesn't often star in a film. In Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, she has a great role and as usual she shines. The amazing supporting cast includes Woody Harrelson, Sam Rockwell, Peter Dinklage, Abbie Cornish, and Lucas Hedges. This is not a happy movie. The three billboards draw attention to the fact that McDormand's daughter was raped and murdered and that no one has been arrested. And the appearance of the billboards leads to a series of unfortunate events.

Lady Bird could have been just another coming of age movie. There are a million of them. But this one was written and directed by the great Greta Gerwig, and stars Saoirse Ronan. Gerwig is well known for her acting but this is the first film she has directed. Ronan is only 23 but has been nominated for two Oscars for Atonement when she was 13, and recently for Brooklyn. In Lady Bird, she plays a high school senior trying to figure out her life. Laurie Metcalf (Roseanne) plays her mother, Beanie Feldstein, her best friend, and Lucas Hedges (yes, he's also in Three Billboards) as her love interest. Lady Bird is an amazing film. The screenplay is great and all the characters mesh together in a wonderful way.

What does one say about this movie? It sounds ridiculous but The Disaster Artist is a funny, entertaining movie. It tells the true story of Tommy Wiseau, a mysterious and very strange person who made one of the worst films of all time, called The Room. He is played by James Franco, who also directs. Franco has played his share of strange roles so this one fits. His real-life brother Dave plays Tommy's friend who is a wannabe actor. There are a lot of laughs particularly here in Louisiana, because Tommy constantly claims to be from New Orleans even though he has an unplaceable European accent. Make sure you stay to the end of the credits to see the scene where James Franco as Tommy talks to the real Tommy. So bizarre...

Mudbound is a Netflix movie so you don't need to leave your house to see it. It is set before, during, and after World War II in middle of nowhere Mississippi. That is enough to make Mudbound frightening, but it gets worse, much worse. This movie tells the story of two poor families, one white and one black, struggling to survive as farmers. Bad as the white family's life is, the black family's life is far worse. There is no redemption here. The cast is very good and full of people you recognize but cannot place including Jason Clarke (Zero Dark Thirty), Garrett Hedlund (Tron: Legacy), Carey Mulligan (The Great Gatsby), Rob Morgan (Stranger Things), and Jason Mitchell (Straight Outta Compton). This is a good film, particularly the friendship between Hedlund and Mitchell, who both served in WW II, but don't watch this movie if you are depressed.