(When there are less than three movies, or none, in a defined genre, I consider those to be Oscar minor genres. And I combine all of them into just one comparative review rather than write multiple, very short essays. So here are this year’s “minor” genres with a discussion of this year’s and last year’s candidates.)
Crime: We only had two “crime” movies this year, but both of them were very good. Killers of the Flower Moon (4*) tells the awful tale of the murder of possibly more than a 100 Osage Native Americans as white men moved into their Oklahoman territory, married their women, and then killed them off in order to acquire their oil rights during the oil boom of a century ago. With Lilly Gladstone, Leonard DiCaprio, and Robert De Niro, the movie relates the “greed, romance mystery told with elegance, respect and grace…But the reason it didn’t win any Oscars is because it’s just too damn long!
The Anatomy of a Fall (4*) is a fun mystery from France that quickly shows Samuel’s death, but then “What isn’t clear is whether it was an accident, a suicide or a murder.” The film adds important clues incessantly and it is your job to figure it all out. But there is enough ambiguity that you will be pondering the possibilities even after the film ends. As the movie itself suggests, pay attention to the motives!
I can also recommend all three crime movies from the 2023 Oscar series. The Batman (4.5*) has a more human scale approach to the Gotham crime-fighter – he doesn’t save the world, just a group of orphans. Glass Onion (4*) is sequel to the terrific Knives Out and also stars Daniel Craig as a goofy, but brilliant detective who solves a murder among wealthy tech titans on a private island. And if you want true crime, on a very big scale, take a look at Argentina, 1985 (3.5*) about the “disappearances” of tens of thousands of people under the Argentine juntas of the 1980s.
Five crime movies to keep your interest in deviant behavior moving along.
Horror: Horror movies are not something the Oscars usually recognize. The genre is, typically, a training ground for actors and not something seasoned filmmakers engage in. There weren’t any in films on last year’s list, nor the year before.
This year, though, two of our films fall into this genre and they lie at opposite ends of the ratings spectrum. Godzilla Minus One (4*) was at the top of the audience ratings and I liked it enough to give it one of my higher ratings of the year. The monster’s path of destruction is huge and the VFX to show it are very well done, but I think the only reason it is in this category is because it involves a monster. In reality though, Godzilla may kill people, but he never eats them and so there is certainly none of the gore you usually associate with the genre.
If you really want the gore part of “horror” then go for El Conde (1.5*), a farcical view of the Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet as a vampire. Done in black & white, your imagination turns the flowing blood into red, and there are rivers of it. Frankly, this kind of gore even in service to a political message about elites, doesn’t really excite me very much. But, if blood is your cup of tea, then how about a smoothie?
Musical: Just one this year, The Color Purple (3*), and it didn’t even make my recommended list. But, in fairness, I faulted the movie as a drama, not as a musical. I found inconsistencies in tone and gaping holes in the plot that the rookie filmmakers – they are mostly from the TV world – couldn’t quite manage into a coherent whole. But it does work better as a musical. Danielle Brooks, who received a Supporting Actress nomination dominated every scene she was in with some well executed lines and a surprising voice. Couple that with some very good musical choreography and it definitely makes for a better musical than a drama.
Unfortunately, I can’t recommend Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio from last year either. While the stop-motion animation is as good as it gets, the nine songs were just not memorable. So the Oscars hasn’t delivered good musicals recently.
Mystery: Killers of the Flower Moon (4*) is the only film in this genre this year. Although it doesn’t really seem to me to qualify as a mystery – it is more of a drama – it is a good movie full of intense emotions and interpersonal conflict. My only complaint, and probably the reason it didn’t win any Oscars, is that it is just too damn long. But if you have the patience, there is plenty of emotion to chew on as this tale unwinds the way whites married and murdered Osage Native Americans in the Oklahoma of the 1920’s.
Last year’s Glass Onion (4*) is a great mystery as Daniel Craig as Benoit Blanc solves a murder mystery among a set of tech titans on a private island. As with the earlier Knives Out, this mystery is a lot of fun.
Sports: And just one entry in this genre, Nyad (3*). Despite possessing all the usual characteristics of a sports film – early success, deep challenges, near failure, and then a terrific comeback, I found the film lacking in sympathetic characters and without a really interesting story. Jodie Foster and Annette Bening did some great acting, but they couldn’t save a weak script and lackluster direction. (And there weren’t any Sports movies in last year’s slate.)
Western: I usually think of “westerns” as films occurring in the Wild West of the last half of the 1800s. But for some reason, Killers of the Flower Moon (4*) is also categorized as a “western” even though it takes place in Oklahoma during the 1920s. Whatever! Anyway, it is also listed as a “Crime” movie so see my comments there. (No Westerns last year though!)
