🏆 Happy Thursday! Three days until the Oscars and my eventual meltdown.
Today’s recommendation is for a heart-pounding police procedural thriller that you can watch in just 86 minutes.
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Today's movie //
Streaming on Hulu
The Guilty
A detective, who was recently demoted to desk work as an emergency dispatcher, answers a call from a panicked woman who has been kidnapped. Set only in the police station and told through a series of phone calls, we watch as he tries to save a woman’s life and maybe uncover something even darker. [Trailer]
Why you should watch it: Making a compelling police procedural movie is difficult. Few directors can pull it off well — previous recommendation Zodiac is a great example of a successful one. However, The Guilty is able to keep your attention by being completely efficient with its time. There isn’t a moment to rest as the mystery unfolds and more complications arise. Also, by keeping in one setting and only through phone calls, you feel claustrophobic — like you’re the 911 operator taking the call.
Directed by Gustav Möller
Runtime 86 mins
Year 2018
Genre Crime Thriller
📺 Buy or rent: Prime Video // iTunes // YouTube
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Best Picture nominees
Every week, I’ll take a genre, director, or actor you want to see more of and give you three movies to get started with that aren’t available for streaming just yet or I’ve recommended in the past. Today is the rest of this year’s Best Picture nominees.
Why do the Oscars matter? The Best Picture category at the Oscars is supposed to be a capsule of the prior year in cinema. This year, more than many years this decade, does just that with what was nominated and what wasn’t. Here are the next five in order of preference. For the first half, check out Monday’s newsletter.
⭐️ Once Upon a Time in Hollywood: There are some directors that the Oscars like to just reward over and over. Of his last four movies, three of them have been nominated for Best Picture. However, this is probably the closest he’s come to winning this category. It’s no wonder since it’s his most accessible movie and rooted in a personal journey — the themes largely encompass aging in one’s career. But what makes it most enjoyable is it’s a pitch-perfect romp through 70s Hollywood. [Trailer // Full review]
📺 Buy or rent: Prime Video // iTunes // YouTube
🍀 The Irishman: Another surefire Oscar favorite Martin Scorcese also turns in some of his most personal work as the epic — epically long — The Irishman dives into the theme of aging. While the movie often feels long and unwieldy, it is by design. The movie is framed by Robert DeNiro’s character looking back at his life in his old age. And what happens when old people ramble? They skip around, fall into tangents, and speak for too long. [Trailer // Full review]
🐰 Jojo Rabbit: We were fortunate this year to have so many nominees that I genuinely like. If there is a line I had to draw between the good and bad movies, it’d go right through Jojo Rabbit. I think Taika Waititi is one of the most interesting directors working today and Jojo Rabbit puts his offbeat style and humor to good use. However, I have reservations about the messaging and character development that keeps me from loving it. [Trailer // Full review]
📺 Buy: Prime Video // iTunes // YouTube
🏁 Ford v Ferrari: If the Academy loves something unabashedly, it’s dad movies. They’re often based on a true story, with compelling scenes of action, and movie stars that they can say, “oh I know that guy” to. Ford v Ferrari fits that bill and then some. What it lacks in originality it makes up for in craft. The racing sequences are awe-inspiring assaults on the senses. [Trailer]
📺 Buy or rent: Prime Video // iTunes // YouTube
🃏 Joker: Black Panther broke the superhero movie glass ceiling last year be nabbing a Best Picture nomination. Whether or not Joker would have received one anyway is up for debate, however, it feels very much like an Academy movie. Older voters don’t like to be challenged. The movie has a clear message that is delivered a little too overtly. Joaquin Phoenix gives a good but unnecessarily larger than life performance that detracts from the good craft the movie has. [Trailer // Full review]
📺 Buy or rent: Prime Video // iTunes // YouTube
Thanks for reading! Please continue to share the newsletter with your fellow movie lovers. Have a terrific weekend!
See you next week!
Karl (@karl_delo)