Snugglecub – Page 2 – Academy Award Best Picture Winners

1944 – Cary Grant

1944 – Cary Grant

None but the Lonely Heart

So I have to start off by saying that I am a Cary Grant fan. He was handsome, charming, and always very likeable, even when he is playing a character that is less than likeable. I always love watching him on the big screen. But I’m sorry to say that I didn’t fully buy his performance in this movie. Oh, his acting was fine, but he played his part the same as he plays his part in every movie. He basically played himself, and while that usually works for him, I don’t think it did here.

The biggest and most obvious problem was that he played the part of a Cockney man, and he tried his best with the difficult accent, but he just didn’t have it. It was distractingly bad. Sometimes he wasn’t even trying. He just spoke in his American accent and that was that. But even that was inconsistent. He kept waffling back and forth between that and a slightly British accent. Aside from that, I don’t really think he looked the part. He was too handsome. I think the role would have benefited from a man with a more rugged, worn down look. Even in the beginning of the movie, when Ernie Mott was a homeless tramp, he looked little more than a shave away from being dashing and debonair.

But what I liked about his performance was the emotional drama that he nailed. He was able to do the love scenes and the angry scenes, the gut-punch scenes, and the light-hearted scenes, all with equal skill. His final scene was where he learns that the woman he has fallen in love with has decided to return to the mobster who tore them apart. The utter devastation on Grant’s face was heartbreaking to watch because of his focused intensity.

The other thing I liked with his natural chemistry with Ethel Barrymore, the woman who played his mother. Their difficult relationship was probably one of the more interesting aspects of the film. Ernie apparently had a history of being a shiftless wanderer who thought little of responsibility, a clear disappointment to his long-suffering mother. But the dynamics of their relationship changed when he made the effort to turn his life around and work, helping her in her store. And it was nice to see that change in the way he and Ethel played their parts.

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever – Character Posters

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever – Cast Photos

Dominique Thorn as Ironheart / Riri Williams

Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Valentina Allegra de Fontaine

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

Cast Photos

Character Posters

30 – Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

So, coming off of one of my least favorite MCU films, which I still liked, the filmmakers had the difficult task of completely reimagining the lead role. The tragic death of Chadwick Boseman was a great loss, not only to the MCU, but the world. And I think they handled it beautifully and respectfully. They honored the actor by not simply replacing him with another actor. They re-wrote the story, acknowledging the death of the character, as well as Boseman, making the way in which those who loved him dealt with the loss one of the major themes of the movie. It was wonderful and sad, and brings a tear to my eye just watching it. I grieve right along with the characters in the story.

But then they doubled down on the theme of loss and grief by killing off Queen Rmanda, played by Angela Basset, who I love every time I see her in a movie. She is such a great actress, and while her character’s death was powerful and emotional, I am sad she is no longer a part of the franchise. And who has to endure all this loss more than anyone? Shuri, awesomely played by Letitia Wright. She did such a fantastic job! And I think that when she took on the role of Wakanda’s protector, the Black Panther, she really stepped up to the plate. But I also liked the way in which she did it. When you watch her in the exciting action sequences, you can tell that though she has the super strength, she is not as experienced a fighter as T’Challa. She barely survives her final fight with Namor.

And speaking of Namor, he is portrayed as a villain, of sorts, but not really. He is the leader of the under-water kingdom of Talokan. They are a people of water-breathing, blue-skinned warriors who also have vibranium, and have developed a society completely set apart from all surface dwellers. But the need to keep their society secret is what drove Namor and his people to acts of terrorism. Once humans had learned how to detect the rare metal, it would only be a matter of time before Talokan was found. And I liked that Namor was different than the people he ruled. Due to the conditions of his birth, he didn’t have blue skin, and he also had wings on his ankles, giving him the ability to fly, just like in the comic books. And he hated humans, too.

And the final new major player in the narrative was the young college student that invented the vibranium detector, Riri Williams, played by Dominique Thorn. Riri is supposed to be like Tony Stark intelligent, and has built her own technologically advanced Iron-Man-like suit of armor. But again, I liked that they didn’t over-do it on her suit’s abilities. She wasn’t as insanely powered up as Iron-Man was, but given time, it would be believable if she got there.

And of course, I loved that they didn’t ignore the other characters that returned from the first Black Panther movie. Characters like Okoye, Nakia, M’Baku, and Everett Ross all had their own story lines that developed their characters. Even Killmonger had a great scene, And they weren’t just there. They had things to do to move the story along, and they all had to deal with the loss of King T’Challa. And they were joined by a few new characters that were really cool. For example, we meet a few more members of the all-female special forces of Wakanda, the Dora Milaje, like Ayo, and her lover, Aneka, played by Florence Kasumba and Michaela Coel,. And the dangerous character of Valentina Fontaine, played by Julia Louis-Dreyfus was great.

I have to say, one of my favorite parts of the movie was Namor. I loved that they based the culture of Talokan after Aztek. It gave them a fresh and unique look that was just really cool. And Tenoch Huerta Mejia was pretty captivating on the screen. He really sold the part and though he was often portrayed as the bad guy, I don’t think he was. A lack of communication and mistakes were made on both sides of the conflict, and it was easy to see his side of it.

Top 10 Favorite Parts

T’Challa’s funeral. Ramonda’s too, for that matter. Very respectfully done.
Namor’s raid on the U.S. Navy vessel.
The first meeting between Namor, Ramonda, and Shuri on the beach at night.
The escape from Riri’s workshop and the fight on the bridge between Okoye and Attuma
Shuri’s private meeting with Namor in Talokan. It is where I really learned to like the character of Namor.
Namor’s attack on Wakanda and Ramonda’s death was a thrilling spectacle.
Shuri cracks the secret of replicating the heart-shaped herb, all of which Killmonger burned in the first movie.
Shuri’s meeting with Killmonger on the Ancestral Plane
The epic battle on the Wakandan ship in the Atlantic Ocean, and Ironheart fighting Namor in the sky.
The final fight between Namor and Black Panther on the beach. Shuri really kicks butt!

Thor: Love and Thunder – Character Posters

Thor: Love and Thunder – Cast Photos

Natalie Portman as the Jane Foster / The Mighty Thor

Vin Diesel and Bradley Cooper as Groot and Rocket

Thor: Love and Thunder

Cast Photos

Character Posters

29 – Thor: Love and Thunder

I’ll start this off by saying that I enjoyed watching this movie, but when compared to the rest of the MCU movies, it is one of my least favorites, and I know exactly why. In fact, there are two reasons, and both are incredible missed opportunities. This movie could have been awesome, but instead it was just good. Not even great, just good. First they had Christian Bale, a great actor playing the dark, heavy, and dramatic part of Gorr the God Butcher, but they massively underutilized him. In fact we see him kill only one God in the entire film, so he never really seems like much of a threat. Second, Director Taika Waititi tried to capitalize on the success of the comedic Thor Ragnarok, and failed. Instead of a clever comedy, he made a goofy romp that seemed to be geared to an audience under ten years old. And goofy is exactly the right word.

Chris Hemsworth did his best with the silly script, and I’ll be the first to admit that as completely unnecessary as it was, the naked Thor scene was… gorgeous to watch. But it was juvenile humor and didn’t serve the story or any of the characters in any way. The screaming goats were only mildly amusing, and eventually became just annoying. The entire opening sequence featured the Guardians of the Galaxy as so weak and ineffectual that they couldn’t save the poor alien people from the bad guys without the silly and destructive antics of Thor.

But there were two other characters/subplots in the film that I actually really liked. The first was that of Jane Foster becoming a version of Thor. Her character arch is actually pretty interesting. She has cancer, and when she wields Thor’s reconstructed Mjolnir, it heals her illness and allows her to fight as a superhero, but at the same time, it destroys her body’s ability to fight the cancer when she is not using the hammer. It was an interesting dichotomy, and I thought they did a fair job with the subplot.

The other thing I liked was the character of Zeus. Personally, I though Russell Crowe played it perfectly. He played it goofy, just like the rest of the cast, but not over-the-top. And he was given moments, when not in front of the masses, when he showed that he was both aware of the seriousness of the God Butcher situation, and his reasons for his plan of inaction. I ultimately liked his character, and enjoyed watching Crow on the screen.

Of course, the action sequences were great to watch. The MCU has never failed on that point. The CGI was seamless and the cast was perfect. There was plenty to like in this movie. But I just can’t get past the goofy humor. I mean, the final climactic battle, itself, was a silly, battle. Gorr sends a host of shadow demons to stop Thor and Jane. In order to get past them, Thor imbues a group of children with his power. So now we have a bunch of kids, most of whom are around ten years old or so, and have no battle experience at all, one of whom is wielding a magically enhanced stuffed animal as her weapon, defeating horrible shadow monsters. I’m sorry, but that’s just stupid.

And there were a couple of post-credit scenes that were interesting, but they didn’t really have much impact on the overall MCU tapestry that we’ve all come to love because of the Infinity Saga. So Jane Foster makes it into Valhalla, and Zeus sends Hercules to kill Thor because Superheroes have replaced the gods in the minds of mortals. But who knows if we will ever see Hercules again in the MCU. I hope we do, but the scene felt a little like a throw-away. So would I call this a low point in the MCU? Yes. But as I stated, I do enjoy watching the movie. The visuals and the action sequences alone (except for that final fight) were worth the price of admission. So this movie wasn’t a ten. I’d still say it was a seven. This movie had the potential to be so good, but the ball was just dropped. If you have Christian Bale, USE HIM! And it’s ok to be comedic, but leave out the juvenile humor. It just dumbs down the narrative.

Top 10 Favorite Parts

Gorr kills his own god, Rapu, with the Necrosword.
Gorr attacks New Asgard and creates the shadow demons.
Thor reunites with Jane Foster as the Mighty Thor
Thor, Valkyrie, and Jane begin their quest and arrive at Omnipotence City.
Gorr terrorizes the children while trying to talk to them.
Thor presents his case to Zeus, and… the flick. “You flicked too hard, damnit!”
Thor and Jane reconcile, and Thor learns of her cancer.
The battle where Gorr captures Thor, Valkyrie, and Jane, and tries to get Thor to summon the Bifrost.
Gorr reaches Eternity and wishes for the life of his daughter, rather than the death of all the gods, but both Gorr and Jane die.
Thor becomes a father to Gorr’s daughter, Love, and the two become a fighting pair of heroes.

1944 – Alexander Knox

1944 – Alexander Knox

Wilson

This is actually the third time I have had to watch this movie, and while I can appreciate what it has to offer in terms of storytelling, and subject matter, I just find it to be a bit of a dull movie. And unfortunately, I think a certain amount of that is due to the performance of Alexander Knox, and the way he played the part. I’m not exactly sure why he was nominated for Best Actor. But I have to get over my own opinions, because I suspect I might be missing something. I’m sure I don’t have all athe facts. Here’s what I mean.

Knox played a well known and well beloved public figure, Woodrow Wilson, the 28^th President of the United States. The film follows his political career, starting with his time as Governor of New Jersey, and ending with his departure from office after his second term as Commander in Chief. During that time, he became widowed and re-married, passed many beneficial laws and legislation, kept the US out of WWI until the time was right, and dealt with the aftermath of the war, including being a key figure in crafting and signing the Treaty of Versailes, among other things.

Obviously, the monumental historical events that took place in the narrative were much closer to the hearts of viewers in the 1940s. Those audiences may have even been familiar with the real Wilson. Maybe Knox, to his credit, played the part exactly as he needed to. But I just found that the character’s supreme emotional stabiliity bordered on emotionless and stiff. I imagine he had to be realistically accurate to the actual President. For for my tastes, he was gentle and mild to the point of ridiculousness. He was just… dull to watch on the screen.

But was his steady, rational, Rock of Gibraltar performance enough to earn him a Best Actor nomination? I’m not so sure. Maybe I’d have a different opinion if I had actually lived through the Wilson Administration. Still, there were two scenes that stood out to me as good, or at least more interesting than the rest. One was where he told off the German Ambassador and went to war. The other was where he yelled at the French diplomat for going back on his word about German land rights. Knox was good, especially in those scenes… but I wouldn’t call him great.