Thunderbolt

   For the first time since the Academy Awards expanded to ten Best Picture nominees, I’ve seen all of nominees before the awards ceremony. There is a common theme that connects all of these films: family and community. Here are my feelings in order of preference.  Sinners. On paper the logline already sounds like a cool horror movie: Twin brothers return to their home town to open a juke joint and wind up spend the night fighting vampires. On celluloid, this epic examination of the Jim Crow era south an so much more a cool horror movie. Writer, director, producer Ryan Coogler’s work on Sinners has taken him to another level. With this film, he joins the ranks of Spielberg and Nolan as a filmmaker who can open a movie on name alone and provide an awe inspiring cinematic experience. Michael B. Jordan's is flawless as twin brothers Smoke and Stack. The nuances he gives to each character, and the skill required to play opposite of himself in multiple scenes i...

By all accounts, Jonathan Glazer's The Zone of Interest is a work of beauty. It's impeccably shot, has outstanding, compelling lead performances by Christian Friedel and Sandra Hüller, and contains some of the most remarkable sound design in a live action movie you will ever experience (Tarn Willers and Johnnie Burns, who did the sound design, deservedly won this year's Academy Award for Best Sound). However, this story about a German family living during the second world war is deceptive.  On the surface, it's a family drama. The film opens with a family on a lovely picnic. They are a loving bunch, and have moved up to some success. The are light moments around the dinner table, the celebration of the father's birthday. there are quiet, romantic moments between the husband and wife. there is a scene of suspense when the father must rush to get two of his kids out of immanent danger. There is even some sadness when the father is promoted and must leave the family at...