“Forgotten Hollywood”- 21st Century 50 Fav Films (#14, #13)…
Manny P. here…
“`Let us continue our peak at my favorite fifty movies since 2000. Buzz is beginning to generate for soon-to-be-released motion pictures that will be considered the best of 2021. Once I am done with this analysis in October, I intend to hunker down and catch up with this season’s finest cinema so I may make informed selections on my SAG ballot. As always, I will display my vote in an future blog.
“`Now, back to the countdown!
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~ #14 – THE TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7 (2020)
“`The second of three films from 2020 featured on my countdown. A truly wonderful ensemble cast breaks down the protests that took place on the streets of Chicago during the Democratic Convention in 1968. The cast includes Eddie Redmayne, Sacha Baron Cohen, Frank Langella, Mark Rylance, Joseph Gordon Levitt, Yayha Abdul-Mateen II, and Jeremy Strong. There is also a cameo by Michael Keaton who plays former attorney general Ramsey Clark. A typically edgy screenplay from Aaron Sorkin makes this a thoroughly enjoyable flick.
“`The film re-examines the life and times of Abbie Hoffman, Jerry Rubin, Tom Hayden, Fred Hampton, Rennie Davis, David Dellinger, and Bobby Seale; all part of a counter-culture that protested against the Vietnam conflict and for civil liberties. We are reminded that the Dick Nixon administration always kept an enemies list and a silent majority were always going to have the final word. That said, this motion picture was released on Netflix just as ordinary citizens were once again taking to the streets in search of justice for George Floyd.
“`Nominated for six Oscars, it was recognized as one of the year’s Best Picture nominees. It also garnered nods for Best Original Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Original Song, Best Editing and for Cohen’s performance as Hoffman. Let me additionally recognize the fine work of Langella, who offered with great zeal a grotesque status quo that interprets change as a threat (as he did in Frost/Nixon). Channeling his inner Claude Rains, Langella relishes the opportunity to play memorable villains on screen.
~ #13 – SPOTLIGHT (2015)
“`The fifth of six movies that were awarded a Best Picture Oscar on my countdown; the others so far… Chicago, Green Book, The King’s Speech, and Argo. Spotlight follows the Boston Globe’s Spotlight team, the oldest continuously operating newspaper investigative journalistic unit in the United States, and its investigation into cases of widespread and systemic child sex abuse in the Boston area by a number of Roman Catholic priests. It is based on articles by the Spotlight team that earned The Globe the 2003 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service.
“`Just like my previous entry, the film features an ensemble cast, including Michael Keaton (again), Mark Ruffalo, Rachel McAdams, John Slattery, and Stanley Tucci, with Brian d’Arcy James, Liev Schreiber, and Billy Crudup in supporting roles. The production also received a statuette for Best Original Screenplay. It garnered attention for Best Director, Best Editing, and the work of Ruffalo and McAdams.
“`Remarkably, the Archdiocese of Boston and Catholic News Service praised the production for its generally accurate chronicle. Eventually, Vatican Radio announced that clerics in Rome had been recommending the film to each other.
“`It was recently voted the 88th best film since 2000 in an international critics poll conducted by the BBC. On my similar list, I rank it #13.
Until next time> “never forget”
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