The pandemic has turned the yearly ritual of film awards ceremonies a
molehill out of the mountain they once were. With major Hollywood
studios shelving multi-million dollar prestige movies, except for
Christopher Nolan’s “Tenet” that was largely dismissed as a flop, it has
been left to less costly and nominally “indie” films such as “Nomadland”
and “Minari” to fill the gap. Both had full-page ads in the N.Y. Times
usually reserved for films made by Stephen Spielberg, Martin Scorsese,
Quentin Tarantino, et al, with fawning articles over their stars Frances
McDormand and Steven Yeun. Instead of A-listers like Scarlett Johansson
or Brad Pitt chatting it up with late-night TV show hosts, we see
McDormand and Yeun on the guest sofa.
Having seen these films and others in the same vein (“The White Tiger”,
“First Cow”, “The Nest”), my reaction has been lukewarm at best. At our
yearly New York Film Critics Online virtual awards meeting, not a single
one of these overrated works got my vote. Alongside my arch-contrarian
colleague Armond White, my votes went for the far more obscure but
groundbreaking films that would have never been the beneficiary of a
full-page ad in the N.Y. Times. While Armond tilts rightward, my
preference is for films that challenge political or dramatic
conventions. My picks below reflect my tastes as well as my critical
judgement. If you have found my reviews useful in the past, then I would
urge you to check them out. All are available as VOD on Amazon Prime and
all the other usual sites.
full:
https://louisproyect.org/2021/02/26/a-cineastes-picks-for-the-best-films-of-2020/
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