Flee

2021 Oscar nominee Riz Ahmed (Sound of Metal) is a producer of the Danish animated documentary Flee, which has been nominated across categories for this year's Academy Awards: Best Documentary, Best Animated Feature and Best International Feature Film.

Director Jonas Poher Rasmussen's film tells the story of Amin, a young refugee fleeing his home in Afghanistan to Denmark. It's a story of perseverance and hope that will surely impact even the least emotional viewers.

Amin and friend Rasmussen's story is filled with enough suspense to make you forget you are watching an animated film. The animation, of course, hides the identity of the Aghan refugee but serves as a thrilling storytelling device that stretches the format into new directions and will surely push both documentary and animated crafts forward.

His story begins with his 1980s childhood which comes to an abrupt end when the Soviets invade and then leave his country. The rest you'll have to see for yourself. 

In a nutshell: Told inventively, it's an intimate story you'll unlikely forget.

Award potential: Uniquely nominated already for Best Documentary, Best Animated Feature and Best International Feature Film Academy Awards.

Where to see it: Available to stream on Hulu or rent or purchase on VOD.

The Ten Buck Review: Worth ten bucks.

Who Gets An Oscar Nomination Tomorrow?

With a record of 78.7% accuracy at predicting nominees, here are my predictions for the streamiest Oscar race ever with titles that sound like another decade. Expect Dune to land 11 nominations, followed by Jan Campion's Power of the Dog with 10 and Belfast and West Side story with 8. 

BEST PICTURE

Belfast
CODA
Don’t Look Up
Drive My Car
Dune
King Richard
Licorice Pizza
Tick, Tick … Boom!
The Power of the Dog

West Side Story

Spoiler: Nightmare Alley, Lost Daughter

BEST DIRECTOR
Paul Thomas Anderson, Licorice Pizza
Kenneth Branagh, Belfast
Jane Campion, The Power of the Dog
Steven Spielberg, West Side Story
Denis Villeneuve, Dune

Spoiler: Adam McKay (Don’t Look Up), or Ryusuke Hamaguchi (Drive My Car)

BEST ACTOR
Bradley Cooper, Nightmare Alley
Benedict Cumberbatch, The Power of the Dog
Andrew Garfield, Tick Tick Boom!
Will Smith, King Richard
Denzel Washington, The Tragedy of Macbeth

Spoiler: Jude Hill (Belfast), or Leonardo DiCaprio (Don’t Look Up)

BEST ACTRESS
Olivia Colman, The Lost Daughter
Penélope Cruz, Parallel Mothers
Lady Gaga, House of Gucci
Emilia Jones, CODA
Nicole Kidman, Being the Ricardos

Spoiler: Kristen Stewart, Spencer

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Bradley Cooper, Licorice Pizza
Ciarán Hinds, Belfast
Troy Kotsur, CODA
Jesse Plemons, The Power of the Dog
Kodi Smit-McPhee, The Power of the Dog

Spoiler: Jamie Dornan, Belfast

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Caitríona Balfe, Belfast
Cate Blanchett, Nightmare Alley
Ariana DeBose, West Side Story
Kirsten Dunst, The Power of the Dog
Judi Dench (Belfast)

Spoiler: Marlee Matlin (CODA) or Rita Moreno (West Side Story)

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
CODA
Drive My Car
Dune
The Power of the Dog
The Lost Daughter

Spoiler: The Tragedy of Macbeth

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Being the Ricardos
Belfast
Don’t Look Up
Licorice Pizza
Parallel Mothers

Spoiler: C’mon Cmon, King Richard

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Belfast
Dune
Nightmare Alley
The Power of the Dog
The Tragedy of Macbeth

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Cruella
Dune
Nightmare Alley
The French Dispatch
West Side Story

Spoiler: House of Gucci

BEST FILM EDITING
Belfast
Dune
No Time to Die
The Power of the Dog
West Side Story

BEST MAKEUP & HAIRSTYLING
Cruella
Dune
House of Gucci
The Eyes of Tammy Faye
West Side Story

Spoiler: Coming 2 America, Nightmare Alley


BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
Don’t Look Up
Dune
Parallel Mothers
The Power of the Dog
The French Dispatch

BEST ORIGINAL SONG
“No Time to Die," No Time To Die
“Just Look Up,” Don't Look Up
“Beyond the Shore,” CODA
“Be Alive,” King Richard
“Your Song Saved My Life,” Sing 2

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
Belfast
Dune
Nightmare Alley
The French Dispatch
West Side Story

BEST SOUND
Dune
No Time to Die
Spider-Man: No Way Home
Tick, Tick … Boom!
West Side Story

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Dune
No Time to Die
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
Spider-Man: No Way Home
The Matrix Resurrections

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
Encanto
Flee
Luca
The Mitchells vs. the Machines
Raya and the Last Dragon


BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
Ascension
Attica
Flee
Summer of Soul
The Rescue

BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE
A Hero (Iran)
Drive My Car (Japan)
Plaza Catedral (Panama)
The Hand of God (Italy)
The Worst Person in the World (Norway)

BEST ANIMATED SHORT
Bestia
Namoo
Step Into the River
The Windshield Wiper
Us Again

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT
Águilas
Coded: The Hidden Love of J.C. Leyendecker
Day of Rage
The Queen of Basketball
Three Songs for Benazir


BEST LIVE-ACTION SHORT
Frimas
Please Hold

Tala’vision
The Long Goodbye
When the Sun Sets

Nightmare Alley

Step this way, folks for director Guillermo del Toro (The Shape of Water, Pan's Labyrinth) and his latest fairy tale. This time it's a 1930s back-road carnival filled with freaks and literal geeks — it's right up his own alley.

Del Toro’s (The Shape of Water, Pan's Labyrinth) latest is a tale of a carnival grifter, magically pulled from a 1946 novel and a 1947 noir film of the same name.

Somewhat mysterious drifter and wannabe grifter Stan (Bradley Cooper) stumbles upon a depression-era carnival filled with a world of carny characters in a set designer's wet dream. He meets a carnival manager (Willem Dafoe), a clairvoyant (Toni Collette), her mentalist husband (David Strathairn) and a lightning rod love interest (Rooney Mara). In his follow up to The Shape of Water, del Toro has found some new monsters; it's just not always clear who they are. In a clearly distinct second act, we meet one more character, Dr. Lillith Reader, played by a silkly suave Cate Blanchett that could have been in a 1930's noir.

But it's Cooper that steals almost every non Blanchett-scene, however. With a transition from folksy everyman to overconfident grifter to (something else I won't say), this is easily his widest trajectory on film and his best performance. He puts it all out there. The film's powerful final moment will be on his Oscar clip.

While the dark beauty of this film captured my interest early on, I wasn't sure if I was going to like this film at around the first 10-minutes, which celebrates a lot of the grotesque. I was also thrown by two distinct parts that felt like two different genre films. However, i got pulled into where each scene was going next. 

What a magic trick.

In a nutshell: A dark faiy tale, shown expertly and sometimes noir-beautifully. It's not a perfect film, but it's Bradley Cooper's best role.

Oscar potential: It's peaking at the right time to shake up the nomination list that had previously left it out. I think Cooper will surprise and break into the acting nominations. Blanchett's role was hot stuff, but it bordered on parody and will get misses. It's a long shot for Best Picture and Guillermo will be back another day.

Where to watch it: Currently in theatres and on HBOmax.

The Ten Buck Review: Worth ten bucks.