Another Round

Danish director Thomas Vinterberg’s (The Hunt) intoxicatingly good film takes us on the journey of four Danish schoolteachers who make a pact to keep their blood alcohol content at a constant level in the hope it will improve the quality of their lives. The idea is that a constant, low-level buzz releases stress.

Mads Mikkelsen (TV's Hannibal) plays Martin, a listless history teacher whose marriage and job are on the brink of crumbling. He and his scholastic buddies decide to test a hypothesis: that the body’s natural alcohol content is a couple drinks too low. Pretty soon the students in his dead-silent classes perk up with Dead Poet's Society enthusiasm and his marriage has a rise. In fact, all of the men's lives take a turn to the positive.

Spoiler alert: absinthe is almost always a bad idea. The original Danish title of Another Round is Druk, so it's not shocking that the sense of an impending crash pairs with every moment of +.05% BAC success. However, I still found surprise and delight in the final arc of the film.

Vinterberg said the idea came from when he and co-writer Tobias Lindholm looked at how many accomplishments in world history had been achieved by people who were drunk. 

The final scene lands midair, suspending us in the moment. It's magical, high-craft cinema and it's why the director of a Danish, international film landed one of the five Best Director slots at this year's Oscars — besting Regina King, Aaron Sorkin and Spike Lee.

In a nutshell: Smart, highly-crafted and ultimately moving. Anyone who complains every movie is a remake or a cliche needs to see this. 

Award potential: Nominated for Best International Feature Film and Best Directing. The buzz is that it's a lock for International Feature.

Find it: Currently streaming on Hulu.

The Ten Buck Review: Worth ten bucks.

Watch the 8 Best Picture nominees — from your couch

Eight films made the cut as a nominee for Oscar's prestigious Best Picture and this year there is no stinker in the bunch. Or should I say "no Joker in the bunch." Every film on this list is ten-buck worthy and (streaming on your TV by Friday of this week. Seven of them are on your TV as I write this, no joke. Enjoy!

Judas and the Black Messiah

Offered a plea deal by the FBI, Bill O'Neal (LaKeith Stanfield) infiltrates the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party to gather intelligence on Chairman Fred Hampton (Get Out's Daniel Kaluuya). If you think it sounds more like an undercover rat and gangster thriller than a Black Panther biopic, you are correct.

Nominated for: Best picture, supporting actor (2), 0riginal screenplay, and cinematography

Streaming on: Netflix

Mank

Director David Fincher (Se7en, Zodiac, The Social Network) tells the bittersweet story of fabled '30s screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz and the creation of Hollywood's most honored film, Citizen Kane. This black-and-white film is for cinephiles and insomniacs only, but I loved it and Amanda Seyfried's (Les Miserables, Mamma Mia) performance too.

Nominated for: Best picture, director, actor, supporting actress, cinematography, production design, score, sound, costume design, and makeup and hairstyling.

Streaming on: Netflix

Minari

A Korean American family moves to an Arkansas farm in search of its own American dream in this beautifully paced film. Golden Globes’ rule to exclude non-English language films from competing for Best Drama Film, relegating this to just Best Foreign Feature Film, has certainly raised its chances of winning here.

Nominated for: Best picture, director, actor, supporting actress, original screenplay and score.

Streaming on: VOD (Rent it on Amazon, Apple, Google Play, Vudu)

Nomadland

This unforgettable (but slow-paced) journey features the story of a woman (Frances McDormand) who embarks on a journey through the American West after losing everything during the recession. It's a well-timed film starring one of our best actresses with only one way to go on the front-runner list. It's a beautiful film that stays with you days after the ride.

Nominated for: Best picture, director, actress, adapted screenplay, cinematography and editing.

Streaming on: Hulu

Promising Young Woman

Newcomer director Emerald Fennell and actress Carey Mulligan (An Education) lead this energetic black-comedy revenge story that is the buzziest film of the year.

Nominated for: Best picture, director, actress, original screenplay and editing.

Streaming on: VOD (Rent it on Amazon, Apple, Google Play, Vudu)

Sound of Metal

Sound is my favorite 2020 movie and the film I'd most likely see again in a theater one day. It follows the story of a punk-metal drummer who is losing his hearing. Writer-Director Darius Marder (The Place Beyond The Pines), actor Riz Ahmed (Nightcrawler), and supporting actor Paul Raci don't miss a beat. It's a frontrunner for Best Sound (which it will win).

Nominated for: Best picture, actor, supporting actor, original screenplay, sound and editing.

Streaming on: Amazon Prime

The Father

Anthony Hopkins and Olivia Coleman star in this empathetic film about aging and dementia. I can't wait to see it Friday.

Nominated for: Best picture, actor, supporting actress, adapted screenplay, production design, film editing

Streaming on: VOD, starting Friday March 26

The Trial of the Chicago 7

The 8th nominated film follows an infamous trial of seven charged with conspiracy arising from counterculture protests. Sacha Baron Cohen is a standout in his role as left-wing provocateur Abbie Hoffman. If it feels like a TV show not a movie, well, Aaron Sorkin wrote the screenplay and directed this film.

Nominated for: Best picture, supporting actor, original screenplay, cinematography, song and editing.

Streaming on: Netflix




Bonus Features

Soul

Likely winner of Best Animated Feature: Soul. Pixar Animation Studios takes you on a journey from the streets of New York City to the Great Beyond and it's beyond great. My soul was touched by very few 2020 films in 2020. Sound of Metal, Nomadland, Da 5 Bloods — and this.

Nominated for: Best picture, animated feature, original score, sound

Streaming on: Disney+

Another Round

Likely winner of Best International Feature Film: Another Round. Only five directors get nominated each year, and Thomas Vinterberg did for this intoxicatingly good Danish film about a group a group of middle-aged teachers who make a pact to keep their blood alcohol content at a constant level each day in the hope it will improve the quality of their lives.

Nominated for: Best international feature film, director

Streaming on: Hulu

Who Gets An Oscar Nomination Tomorrow?

With a record of 78.7% nominations accuracy, here are my predictions for the most unusual, streamiest Oscar race ever. Mank, which won't win any in April, gets 13 nominations across all categories. 

Best Picture
The Father
Judas and the Black Messiah
Ma Rainey's Black Bottom
Mank
Minari
Nomadland
One Night in Miami
Promising Young Woman
Sound of Metal
The Trial of the Chicago 7

Spoiler: News of the World
Shocker: Da 5 Bloods

Best Director
Lee Isaac Chung, Minari
Emerald Fennell, Promising Young Woman
David Fincher, Mank
Aaron Sorkin, The Trial of the Chicago 7
Chloé Zhao, Nomadland

Spoiler: Darius Marder, The Sound of Metal
Shocker: Spike Lee (Da 5 Bloods), Paul Greengrass (News of the World), Regina King (One Night in Miami)

Best Actor
Riz Ahmed, Sound of Metal
Steven Yeun Aman, The Mauritanian
Chadwick Boseman, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom
Anthony Hopkins, The Father
Gary Oldman, Mank

Spoiler: Delroy Lindo, Da 5 Bloods , Steven Yeun, Minari
Shocker: Ben Affleck, The Way Back

Best Actress
Andra Day, The United States vs. Billie Holiday
Viola Davis, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom
Vanessa Kirby, Pieces of a Woman
Frances McDormand, Nomadland
Carey Mulligan, Promising Young Woman

Spoiler: Sophia Loren, The Life Ahead
Shocker: Yeri Han, Minari

Best Supporting Actor
Sacha Baron Cohen, The Trial of the Chicago 7
Daniel Kaluuya, Judas and the Black Messiah
Leslie Odom Jr., One Night in Miami
Paul Raci, Sound of Metal
David Strathairn, Nomadland

Spoiler: Chadwick Boseman, Da 5 Bloods
Shocker: Frank Langella or Mark Rylance, The Trial of the Chicago 7

Best Supporting Actress
Maria Bakalova, Borat Subsequent Moviefilm
Olivia Colman, The Father
Jodie Foster, The Mauritanian
Amanda Seyfried, Mank
Youn Yuh-jung, Minari

Spoiler: Glenn Close, Hillbilly Elegy
Shocker: Olivia Cooke, Sound of Metal

Best Adapted Screenplay
The Father
Ma Rainey's Black Bottom
News of the World
Nomadland
One Night in Miami

Spoiler: First Cow
Shocker: The Mauritanian

Best Original Screenplay
Mank
Minari
Promising Young Woman
Sound of Metal
The Trial of the Chicago 7

Spoiler: Judas and the Black Messiah
Surprise: Da 5 Bloods

Best Documentary Feature
Crip Camp
Collective
My Octopus Teacher
Time
The Truffle Hunters

Spoiler: The Painter and the Thief, Welcome to Chechnya
Shocker: Dick Johnson Is Dead, The Mole Agent

Best International Feature
A Sun (Taiwan)
Another Round (Denmark)
Collective (Romania)
I'm No Longer Here (Mexico)
Two of Us (France)

Spoiler: Quo Vadis, Aida? (Bosnia and Herzegovina)

Best Animated Feature
A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon
Onward
Over the Moon
Soul
Wolfwalkers

Spoiler: The Croods: A New Age
Shocker: The Willoughbys

Best Cinematography
Judas and the Black Mesiah
Mank
Minari
News of the World
Nomadland

Spoiler: The Trial of the Chicago 7
Shocker: Tenet The Trial of the Chicago 7

Best Costume Design
Emma
Ma Rainey's Black Bottom
Mank
News of the World
Promising Young Woman

Spoiler: Ammonite
Shocker: Mulan, The United States vs. Billie Holiday

Best Film Editing
The Father
Mank
Nomadland
Sound of Metal
The Trial of the Chicago 7

Spoiler: News of the World
Shocker: Promising Young Woman, Tenet

Best Makeup and Hairstyling
Emma
Hillbilly Elegy
Ma Rainey's Black Bottom
Mank
Pinocchio

Spoiler: Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey
Shocker: Birds of Prey

Best Original Score
Mank
The Midnight Sky
Minari
News of the World
Soul

Spoiler: Tenet
Shocker: Da 5 Bloods

Best Original Song
"Hear My Voice" (The Trial of the Chicago 7)
"Husavik" (Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga)
"Io Si (Seen)" (The Life Ahead)
"Never Break" (Giving Voice)
"Speak Now" (One Night in Miami)

Spoiler: "Turntables" (All In: The Fight for Democracy)
Shocker: “Rain Song” (Minari

Best Production Design
The Father
Mank
Ma Rainey's Black Bottom
News of the World
Tenet

Spoiler: Judas and the Black Messiah
Shocker: One Night in Miami

Best Sound
Mank
News of the World
Nomadland
Soul
Sound of Metal

Spoiler: Ma Rainey's Black Bottom
Shocker: Tenet

Best Visual Effects
Mank
The Midnight Sky
Mulan
The One and Only Ivan
Tenet

Spoiler: Birds of Prey
Shocker: The Invisible Man

Best Animated Short
If Anything Happens I Love You
Out
The Snail and the Whale
To Gerard
Yes-People

Spoiler: Kapaemahu


Best Documentary Short
Colette
A Concerto Is a Conversation
Hysterical Girl
A Love Song for Latasha
What Would Sophia Loren Do?

Spoiler: Do Not Split

Best Live-Action Short
Two Distant Strangers
Feeling Through
The Human Voice
The Letter Room
The Van

Spoiler: The Present

Does Borat win a Golden Globe in crazy 2021—yes. Here's how many

The Hollywood Foreign Press is an odd group with not one voter that overlaps with Oscars and votes on films all-over-the-place; Working Girl, Mrs. Doubtfire and The Hangover have actually won Best Motion Picture Comedy/Musical, and The Martian won despite not being a comedy or very good. 

Next year, I'll probably add that the Borat guy and his films won 3-5 awards in 2021. Most of the best performances this year are by people with many trophies on their shelf already — except Sacha Baron Cohen and Chadwick Boseman.

But rest easy, The Ten Buck Review has an 82% correct prediction rate that could help you win your awards pool (or at least look really darn smart during the telecast). Here's what's gonna happen:

Best Motion Picture – Drama
The Father
Mank
Nomadland
Promising Young Woman
The Trial of the Chicago 7

Winner: The Trial of the Chicago 7

Upset: Nomadland

Odds are 50/50 in Vegas on these two. The ability to award both with a Nomadland directing win gives an edge to the still relevant riot film.

Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy
Borat Subsequent Moviefilm
Hamilton
Palm Springs
Music
The Prom

Winner: Borat Subsequent Moviefilm

Upset: Palm Springs

I can't believe it either, but it's the most likely outcome.

Best Director – Motion Picture

Emerald Fennell, Promising Young Woman
David Fincher, Mank
Regina King, One Night in Miami
Aaron Sorkin, The Trial of the Chicago 7
Chloé Zhao, Nomadland

Winner: Chloé Zhao (Nomadland)

Upset: Anyone else. It's a top film of the year with a female director.

Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama

Riz Ahmed, Sound of Metal
Chadwick Boseman, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom

Anthony Hopkins,  The Father
Gary Oldman, Mank 
Tahar Rahim, The Mauritanian

Winner: The late Chadwick Boseman

Upset: Anyone else.

Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama
Viola Davis, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Andra Day, The United States vs. Billie Holiday 
Vanessa Kirby, Pieces of a Woman 
Frances McDormand, Nomadland
Carey Mulligan, Promising Young Woman

Winner: Carey Mulligan

Upset: Anyone else.

This would be a closer race if Davis and McDormand didn't have a full awards shelf. And Mulligan kills it in Promising Young Woman.

Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy 

Sacha Baron Cohen, Borat Subsequent Moviefilm
James Corden, The Prom
Lin-Manuel Miranda, Hamilton
Dev Patel, The Personal History of David Copperfield
Andy Samberg, Palm Springs

Winner: Sacha Baron Cohen 

Upset: Andy Samberg

Yes, we are living in crazy times.

Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy
Maria Bakalova, Borat Subsequent Moviefilm
Kate Hudson, Music
Michelle Pfeiffer, French Exit
Rosamund Pike, I Care a Lot
Anya Taylor-Joy, Emma

Winner: Maria Bakalova 

Upset: Anyone else

It's getting crazier. I don't think it's Michelle Pfeiffer's year to come back. Anya Taylor-Joy has a better chance for Queen's Gambit.

Best Actor in a Supporting Role in Any Motion Picture
Sacha Baron Cohen, The Trial of the Chicago 7
Daniel Kaluuya, Judas and the Black Messiah 
Jared Leto, The Little Things
Bill Murray, On the Rocks 
Leslie Odom, Jr., One Night in Miami 

Winner: Maria Bakalova 

Upset: Daniel Kaluuya

This is where Sacha may be the front runner who doesn't win. Kaluuya or Odom Jr. can take this one.

Best Actress in a Supporting Role in Any Motion Picture 

Glenn Close, Hillbilly Elegy 
Olivia Colman, The Father
Jodie Foster, The Mauritanian
Amanda Seyfried, Mank
Helena Zengel, News of the World

Winner: Olivia Colman

Upset: Amanda Seyfried

Close may not have an Oscar, but she has Golden Globes so I disagree with Vegas. This is where either Mank or The Father finally win. Olivia will lose the TV actress award to her co-star who played Diana.

Best Original Score – Motion Picture 

The Midnight Sky, Alexandre Desplat 
Tenet, Ludwig Göransson 
News of the World, James Newton Howard 
Mank, Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross 

Soul, Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross, Jon Batiste 

Winner: Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross, and Jon Batiste for Soul

Upset: Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross for Mank 

These guys are competing against themselves. Mank is edgier, but Soul has the edge.

Best Original Song – Motion Picture

"Fight for You” from Judas and the Black Messiah - H.E.R., Dernst Emile II, Tiara Thomas 
“Hear My Voice” from The Trial of the Chicago 7 -  Daniel Pemberton, Celeste
“Io Si (Seen)” from The Life Ahead  – Diane Warren, Laura Pausini, Niccolò Agliardi 
“Speak Now” from One Night in Miami – Leslie Odom Jr, Sam Ashworth 
“Tigress & Tweed” from The United States vs. Billie Holliday – Andra Day, Raphael Saadiq

Winner: "Speak Now” from One Night in Miami

Upset: Anyone else

This is where we award Leslie Odom Jr.

Best Screenplay – Motion Picture 

Emerald Fennell, Promising Young Woman
Jack Fincher, Mank
Aaron Sorkin, The Trial of the Chicago 7
Florian Zeller, Christopher Hampton, The Father
Chloe Zhao, Nomadland

Winner: Aaron Sorkin

Upset: Anyone else

I'm pretty sure they've already engraved this one.

Best Motion Picture – Animated
The Croods: A New Age
Onward
Over the Moon
Soul
Wolfwalkers 

Winner: Soul

Upset: Anyone else

Sorry not sorry Wolfwalkers and gorgeous Over the Moon, this film almost made me cry.

Best Motion Picture – Foreign Language 

Another Round

La Llorona

The Life Ahead
Minari
Two of Us

Winner: Minari

Upset: Another Round

The controversy over a foreign language film not being allowed to compete for Best Picture (same as last few years for Parasite and Roma), should put Minari on top.

It's been a crazy year. This show will add to that.

The Life Ahead

While scanning films available on Netflix, I wasn't expecting to find a brand-new tearjerker starring the legendary Sophia Loren. Lucky me.

The Life Ahead is a remake of Academy Award Best Foreign Film-winner Madame Rosa (French, 1979). This time the action takes place in a seaside town of Italy with Loren as Rosa, an Auschwitz survivor and retired prostitute who reluctantly takes in a 12-year old street kid after he snatches her purse.

In her first film in more than ten years, Loren, 86, offers her seasoned charisma to an unglamorous role. She has her son to thank for casting her as such a grounded character. He directed this film.

The story is a familiar, predictable one as you might have already guessed, but I enjoyed the comforting rhythm of an old-fashioned film with a picturesque setting and bona fide movie star. The bond that grows between Rosa and the boy is the stuff grand movies are made of.

In a nutshell: A melodrama set in the sunset of Italy that borders on trite, but Sophia Loren.

Award potential: Sophia Loren has but a possible chance at a Best Actress nomination but it's a long shot. Unlike Oscars-favorite Diane Warren who wrote a song for it, Io Si (Seen). Expect Warren's 12th nomination come March. The film did not make the shortlist of 12 films eligible for Best Foreign Language Film.

The Ten Buck Review: Worth ten bucks.

Judas and the Black Messiah

Black Panther Fred Hampton was just 21 years old when he was killed during a police raid in 1969. This awards-season drama is based on those true events but don't expect a prestige historical snoozer — it's a riveting popcorn thriller too.

Judas and the Black Messiah focuses on two complicated men — the Messiah Fred Hampton, the chairman of the Panthers' Illinois chapter and the Judas William "Wild Bill" O' Neal a crook enlisted to infiltrate the Chicago group. Like any good gang or gangster movie, the tension builds as the rat gets closer in and closer to getting caught.

The film delivers a pair of powerful performances by Daniel Kaluyaa (Get Out) as Hampton and LaKeith Stanfield (Sorry To Bother You) as O'Neal. Jessie Plemons (The Irishman) and Martin Sheen (The Departed) round out the cast as an FBI agent and J. Edgar Hoover.

Director Shaka King keeps the story to a tight moment in time and brings it to life in classic cinematic fashion. This was a fantastic film to find for free on HBOmax.

In a nutshell: It's hard to balance important history with cinematic thills, but this solid film pulls it off.

Award potential: Expect it to make the Best Feature Film list. Same for Best Actor. Kaluyaa lights up the screen with personality and will likely get an nod next month.

The Ten Buck Review: Worth ten bucks.

Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar

Kirsten Wiig and Annie Mumolo created one funny, Oscar-nominated screenplay for Bridesmaids. Now they've written three films in one. One of them is funny.

Hidden from the mysterious trailer tease, the film is one part Austin Powers silly sinister evil-doer flick with Wiig as a Dr. Evil type and Jamie Dorman (Fifty Shades of Grey) in the Rob Lowe part. (Sorry I'm not kidding.) Its second part is an unnecessary comedy musical. See The Prom. And the final part is a female Stepbrothers, with Barb and Star exchanging similar thoughts on women named "Trish" and "culottes" the way Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly's characters discussed "guacamole."

Those first two films-in-one are tired, unfunny, unwatchable eye-rollers. That third bit is often hilarious and I laughed a lot. I wish the film had been just that.

When they land in Florida for their girl's trip, Barb and Star note that the air smells different here. "It smells like Red Lobster." There is a definite charm here but it's no Ted Lasso. Their earlier film, Bridesmaids, had a more thoughtful take on friendship (mixed with gross-out comedy) so it's disappointing that this follow-up does not come close to that level of smart comedy.

It's currently on VOD. I won't blame you if you rent this movie during a pandemic just for some laughs, but I can't recommend you pay $20 bucks for this either. It's a third of a movie and worth about a third of ten bucks.

Simply put: A disappointing comedy from the Bridesmaids team, but a third of this is a complete hoot. If you loved MacGruber and Holmes and Watson, you'll probably be fine with this.

Award potential: Maybe a Razzie.

The Ten Buck Review: Not worth ten bucks.