Long time readers of mine probably know that I have a real soft spot for movies that tell the more personal stories surrounding World War 2. They can take place on the battlefield, deal with the horrors of the Holocaust, or share one of the many great efforts of resistance. There are so many inspiring stories that came out of such a profoundly dark and deadly conflict.

There should be no doubt about the subject of writer-director Jonathan Jakubowicz’s biographical wartime drama “Resistance”. In it Jessie Eisenberg plays the famous mime Marcel Marceau who has a young man saved the lives of many children as a member of the French Resistance. The first trailer shows off a convincing period style and the story itself is naturally compelling. Eisenberg’s accent is a bit iffy, but not enough to quell my enthusiasm. I’m really anxious to give this a shot.

“Resistance” is slated for a March 27th release. Check out the trailer below and let me know if you’ll be seeing it or taking a pass.

Any (and I do mean ANY) time a Wes Anderson movie is announced I’m instantly onboard; curious, enthused, and anxious for any glimpse into what the brilliantly idiosyncratic filmmaker is up to. The unique style, the daffy humor, the feast of striking eye candy is all guaranteed. And while I know Anderson isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, I find his movies to be delightful.

Which brings us to the long awaited first look at “The French Dispatch”, Anderson’s tenth film and yet another another star-studded affair. As with his others, Anderson writes and directs this story of an American journalist based in a fictional French city who creates a magazine called The French Dispatch. It seems as if the film focuses on the three short stories published in the Dispatch‘s final issue.

The trailer reveals what looks like a Wes Anderson movie on steroids. It’s all but impossible to discern what all is shown and it’s main emphasis seems to be on the peculiar filmmaking style Anderson has become known for. I do wish the trailer wasn’t quite so hyperactive. On the other hand, I absolutely love it.

“The French Dispatch” is set to release July 24th. Check out the trailer below and let me know if you’ll be seeing it or taking a pass.

Can you believe Oscar season has come and gone? The last big show reflecting on a great 2019 movie year took place last night at the Dolby Theater in Hollywood. This year was one of the better years for nominees which made watching even more fun. Sure there were snubs and oversights but there always are. But 2020’s batch of nominees were a fantastic improvement from recent years.

So how did the show go? Who won and who didn’t? Did they get more right than wrong? As always here are a few Random Thoughts from the 2020 Academy Awards.

• This was the second year without a host but that really didn’t save any time. They ended up throwing in several weird things like people presenting presenters and out-of-the-blue musical numbers that chewed up a lot of air.
• The show did feature the non-hosts combo of Steve Martin and Chris Rock. While I kinda like the no hosts format those two were really fun.
• There was so much online negativity going into this year’s show (the bulk of it undeserved). Overall the Academy not only chose some good nominees but many of their winners were so deserving.
• “The Irishman” was the only film out of the 9 Best Picture nominees not to get a single Oscar. Each of the other 8 got something. Not a big surprise but a shame.
• What a night for “Parasite”. It takes home the big prize – Best Picture. There was so much shock and awe on social media but this was a two-picture race and “Parasite” had been surging. It was a surprise but not a huge one.

• That wasn’t the only big win for “Parasite”. It also took home Best Director, Best International Film, and Best Original Screenplay. All well deserved.
• Was Spike Lee saying “Pong Joon-Ho”?
• Speaking of “Parasite”, it made quite a bit of history. It is the first Korean film to win Best Foreign Language/International Film. Even bigger, it became the first foreign language film ever to win Best Picture.
• “1917” didn’t fare quite as well. The visceral World War I movie did pick up three Oscars for cinematography, sound mixing, and special effects. But the one-time front-runner didn’t win any of the bigger prizes.
• Boy the Academy’s theme for the night was glaringly obvious – girl power. But applauding themselves as forward thinkers and taking shots at the Oscars does nothing if they’re dead silent the rest of the year. Just sayin’.
• Consider this my obligatory mention of “A Hidden Life”. It was the best film of the year and should have been represented. There, I said it.
• “American Factory” wins Best Documentary and I can’t help but wonder if it got an Obama bump. It’s a pretty good doc but “Honeyland” and “For Sama” were considerably better. And don’t get me started on the glaring omission of “Apollo 11”.
• There was practically no drama in any of the acting categories this year. All four winners have pretty much swept the awards season.
• Brad Pitt takes home the Oscar for Supporting Actor to no one’s surprise. It was the right choice and Pitt was great in “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”.
• Speaking of Pitt, he had been killing it with all of his speeches but last night he looked tired and very “blah”.
• Laura Dern wins Supporting Actress for “Marriage Story”. It’s the only Oscar the film would win on the night. And what a tender moment thanking her parents.

• I loved the video montage celebrating music in movies. So many great films and songs represented. But then Eminem came out.
• I don’t want to be hard on the Eminem thing. I could have done without it, but a lot of people enjoyed it so…..
• Speaking of music, Cynthia Erivo was terrific singing her Oscar-nominated “Stand Up”. Too bad the Oscar went to Elton John who sang a song that sounded like every other tune of his.
• How about Taika Waititi winning Adapted Screenplay for “Jojo Rabbit”? I really thought Greta Gerwig would take this category for “Little Women” but I have no problems with Taika.
• Back to Bong Joon-Ho, what an incredibly nice moment during his acceptance speech for Best Director. He honored Martin Scorsese actually bringing tears to the eyes of his fellow nominee.
• Joaquin Phoenix took home the Best Actor Oscar for his brilliant turn in “Joker”. It was a mind-blowing performance and unquestionably the right choice.
• And then Phoenix proceeded to give the worst speech of the night. It was a weird, never-ending ramble about the state of humanity and the injustices of cow’s milk. Even the courteous but dead-silent crowd seemed bewildered. It’s a shame because you could see he was genuinely moved by his win. I wish he would have actually talked about the movie.
• Contrast that with Hildur Gudnadóttir who won Best Score for “Joker” against such legends as John Williams and Randy Newman. Her music was essential to the film, but just as great was her humble, deeply moving speech. Maybe the best of the night.
• Not a great night for Netflix. The streaming giant entered with a whopping 24 nominations. It left with only two awards. Is the Academy still reluctant to award a streaming platform? I don’t know. Maybe it was simply a tough field this year.

• “Cats” had a presence at the Oscars as James Corden and Rebel Wilson came out in full Cat attire stating how they understand the value of good special effects. It was a short but hilarious bit.
• I’ve always appreciated the In Memoriam tributes but how can the Academy keep botching it with terrible omissions and goof-ups. This year saw they completely leaving out Luke Perry, Michael J. Pollard, Tim Conway, and Sid Haig. Sigh…
• Rene Zellweger wins for Best Actress. While “Judy” wasn’t a top-notch movie her performance was very worthy. Her speech started off nice but went on and on and on and on….
• “Ford v Ferrari” quietly won two Oscars last night. It won for Best Editing and Best Sound Editing. That’s some good editing.
• I got a kick out of Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Will Ferrell presenting for Cinematography and Editing. Both were very funny and played off each other very well. Still doesn’t get me excited for their strange “Force Majeure” remake this weekend but I’ll still see it.

And those are a few Random Thoughts about this year’s Academy Awards. What did you think of the winners, the losers, and the show in general. Please let me know in the comments section below. Lets do it again next year.

I’ve had the privilege of guest appearing several times on a terrific local movie show called Tavern Talk by Initial Reaction. A few days ago I was invited by the show’s host Phillip to appear on a special Oscar episode where we talked about this year’s nominees and tossed in a few predictions along the way. We had a great time.

Please check out the show below. I would love to hear your thoughts on our discussion, what we got right, and what we didn’t.

Filmmaker Sally Potter’s new film dropped its first trailer a few hours ago and Bleeker Street could have a winner on its hands. Potter’s last film was the biting and witty satire “The Party”. Her latest “The Roads Not Taken” looks to be going in a much different direction and Potter seems to have some good pieces in place.

The movie features the intriguing match of Javier Bardem and Elle Fanning who play a father and daughter. It looks like Bardem plays a detached writer in the middle of an existential crisis. To make matters worse his declining health adds a layer of what looks like delirium. Meanwhile his loving daughter (Fanning) struggles to connect with her emotional distant father over the course on one single day.

“The Roads Not Taken” is scheduled to hit theaters on March 13th. Check out the trailer below and let me know if you’ll be seeing it or taking a pass.

I feel I say this every time, but it blows my mind that the Fast & Furious movies make up one of the most popular and profitable franchises in existence today. With a total of ten films (so far) and a combined gross of over $5 billion, it’s easily Universal’s biggest franchise. It begs the question, how long can the series keep its head of steam? Well, if the trailer for the latest film is any indication, they still have a lot left in the tank.

“Fast & Furious 9” or “F9” or “F9: The Fast Saga”, whatever they want us to call it, has finally dropped it’s much anticipated first trailer. It’s a solid four minutes of familiar faces, a big new baddie, ridiculously over-the-top car chases, and an interesting surprise at the end. Ultimately it looks like F9 is sticking close to their proven formula which should make franchise fans really happy.

“Fast & Furious 9” is set to hit theaters May 22nd. Check out the trailer below and let me know if you’ll be seeing it or taking a pass.