The Final Season of “Succession” Arrives with a F***ing Bang (Season 4 Premiere Review)

Succession is my latest obsession. For years, I’ve been hearing all sorts of talk around every corner of the internet about how incredible it is, how it outpaces nearly every other HBO original series, and how it elevates every single one of its performers to the next level of their acting careers. In the second week of March, with three weeks until the premiere of the fourth and final season, I decided I would stop missing out. I pressed play, and my perception of what makes a dramatic series succeed irreversibly changed.

Image courtesy of Warner Bros

On average, I watched two episodes a day, somedays so much as five. I became enthralled with its characters and fascinated with its penchant for playing out its biggest drama off-camera, instead primarily dealing with the way the characters react to these events. It’s something I’ve never seen before, and it’s one of the things that sets Succession apart from the rest in an incredibly unique way.

The final season premiere turned into an event. Even though I had just finished the show-stopping third season two days before, it felt like I had been waiting far longer to see how it would all resolve. And just like that, it’s back to live TV again — no more binging, no more auto-play that would resolve the previous episode’s cliffhanger in an instant. We have to wait a week to see how it all turns out, and that’s part of what makes shows like this work so well. They make you wait, they make you theorize, and they make you excited to see more.

Spy Comedy “Operation Fortune” Entertains Despite No Surprises (Review)

I have a special relationship with Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre. It was originally slated for release in January 2022, before a standard push-back two months to March. Then, for seemingly no reason whatsoever, it was “indefinitely delayed”…a sentencing with the potential to kill a film’s release entirely. I was assigned the review for SiftPop in December 2021, and I have been eagerly awaiting the film ever since.

It would eventually come out that Operation Fortune was locked back in the vault for a bit due to the presence of some notably Ukrainian bad guys, and its release may have seemed in poor taste (or, at the very least, badly-timed) due to the inception of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began to dominate headlines on nearly every major news site.

But now, a year later, Operation Fortune, the latest from action director Guy Ritchie, is finally in theaters. Comparatively, a year’s delay isn’t too much (The King’s Daughter, the last film to feature William Hurt, was finally released in 2022, a full eight years after it was filmed), but I didn’t let the delays hinder my excitement. I like Guy Ritchie, and the cast seemed like nothing to scoff at. I kept my faith, and I was rewarded for it.

Rowan and Davis Discuss the 95th Academy Awards

In the latest episode of Runtime, Babe, Rowan and Davis discuss their experience with this year’s Oscars ceremony, analyzing each category and nominee and recapping notable moments and wins!

Don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast and give us a rating on Apple Podcasts!

2023 Academy Awards Nomination Breakdown: Best Picture (Part Two)

The Academy Awards are airing live on March 12, and for the first time, I have set out to break down every nominee in every category in order to assess, as accurately as I can, who and what has the best chance of winning. Today I will finish by discussing the nominees for Best Picture!

The Fabelmans

“A coming-of-age story about a young man’s discovery of a shattering family secret and an exploration of the power of movies to help us see the truth about each other and ourselves.”

An emotionally resonant journey that brings us through the early life of famed filmmaker Steven Spielberg, The Fabelmans shows us a fictionalized version of how the man himself became one of the most accomplished directors of all time. Through the perspective of budding moviemaker Sammy Fabelman, we get a very personal look at his family life, school days, and direct inspirations (including some anecdotes lifted straight from real life!). Movies are dreams that you never forget, and I won’t be forgetting this one anytime soon.

Everything Everywhere All At Once

“An aging Chinese immigrant is swept up in an insane adventure, where she alone can save what’s important to her by connecting with the lives she could have led in other universes.”

What more can be said about Everything Everywhere All At Once? I’ve seen it five times, and it gets better with every viewing. This is a story about aging, immigration and human connection, done beautifully with the backdrop of an insane multiversal war. This film doesn’t stop for a second over its two-and-a-half-hour runtime, and whether that’s to your liking or your distaste, it commands an undeniable respect for its scale and vision.

2023 Academy Awards Nomination Breakdown: Best International Feature

The Academy Awards are airing live on March 12, and for the first time, I have set out to break down every nominee in every category in order to assess, as accurately as I can, who and what has the best chance of winning. Today I will be discussing the nominees for Best International Feature!

All Quiet on the Western Front

“Paul Baumer and his friends Albert and Muller, egged on by romantic dreams of heroism, voluntarily enlist in the German army. Full of excitement and patriotic fervor, the boys enthusiastically march into a war they believe in. But once on the Western Front, they discover the soul-destroying horror of World War I.”

The third adaptation of All Quiet on the Western Front — and by far the most technically advanced — is a haunting juxtaposition between the needless loss of life in wartime and the bureaucracy that acts too slowly to make change happen when it needs to.

Argentina, 1985

“In the 1980s, a team of lawyers takes on the heads of Argentina’s bloody military dictatorship in a battle against odds and a race against time.”

As hammy and procedure-ish it can feel, Argentina 1985 is an excellently rare exhibition of a systematic success and triumph over oppression. A competent script, beautifully naturalistic performances and a compelling score are just the icing on the cake.

2023 Academy Awards Nomination Breakdown: Best Production Design & Sound

The Academy Awards are airing live on March 12, and for the first time, I have set out to break down every nominee in every category in order to assess, as accurately as I can, who and what has the best chance of winning. Today I will be discussing the nominees for Best Production Design and Best Sound!

All Quiet on the Western Front

Best Production Design & Best Sound

Nearly everything nominated for Best Production Design this year is a period piece, which requires a definite skill in bringing everything to life, something that the All Quiet team excels in. The sound gets progressively louder, and bolder, as the weight of the characters’ situation sets in — after all, this is war; it isn’t pretty nor calm, and the sound sets out to hammer that home in a brutal and merciless fashion; whether it’s artillery falling, comrades shouting, or auditory death and destruction, there’s no break from the carnage.

Avatar: The Way of Water

Best Production Design & Best Sound

An alien planet such as Pandora takes several villages to bring it from concept to screen, and the visual factor is paramount, beyond even the effects. In Avatar’s case, inspiration can be taken from our world, especially in the depictions of the new Na’vi cultures that will have major roles going forward in the future of this franchise. The auditory elements are also incredibly important, as this is an entirely fictional world — every sound we hear is engineered, especially considering that the world is built from the ground up from scratch.

Read my review of Avatar: The Way of Water here.

2023 Academy Awards Nomination Breakdown: Best Documentary Feature

The Academy Awards are airing live on March 12, and for the first time, I have set out to break down every nominee in every category in order to assess, as accurately as I can, who and what has the best chance of winning. Today I will be discussing the nominees for Best Documentary Feature!

All That Breathes

“Against the darkening backdrop of New Delhi’s apocalyptic air and escalating violence, two brothers devote their lives to protecting one casualty of the turbulent times: the bird known as the black kite.”

I know they never nominate documentaries for cinematography awards, but All That Breathes stunned me on a visual level I was not prepared for. It’s more of an experience than anything else — the story feels secondary, even molded by the camera’s eye, as we’re taken for a ride that can be best described as a stellar visual treat, with a heartbreaking story to ground it in the real world, beyond the bounds of the screen.

All the Beauty and the Bloodshed

“Following the life of artist Nan Goldin and the downfall of the Sackler family, the pharmaceutical dynasty who was greatly responsible for the opioid epidemic’s unfathomable death toll.”

We’ve gotten to the point where documentaries are incorporating news-worthy events I was actively plugged into — in this case it’s the trials involving the Sackler family and their bankruptcy bid for their company, Perdue Pharma — and All the Beauty and the Bloodshed weaves these modern events into the story of Nan Goldin and her active protest against the Sacklers. All the Beauty and the Bloodshed is a devastating takedown, showcased within a powerful personal story that speaks to both the enduring horror of controlled addiction and the perseverance of the human spirit. This is undoubtedly one of the best documentaries I’ve ever seen, and would be my personal favorite of this year’s Oscar nominees if it weren’t for Navalny.

2023 Academy Awards Nomination Breakdown: Best Picture (Part One)

The Academy Awards are airing live on March 12, and for the first time, I have set out to break down every nominee in every category in order to assess, as accurately as I can, who and what has the best chance of winning. Today I will start discussing the nominees for Best Picture!

Triangle of Sadness

“Models Carl and Yaya are invited for a luxury cruise with a rogues’ gallery of super-rich passengers. At first, all appears Instagrammable, but the cruise ends catastrophically and the group find themselves marooned on a desert island.”

As one might expect, Triangle of Sadness is nowhere near subtle with its messages. Everything has a point — the repeating motif of buzzing flies, the lavish production design, and the incessant use of the cell phone camera shutter sound effect, among pretty much everything else — which is impressive, to say the least. Though that care on the production side is present throughout the entire film, that effort becomes more noticeable as the events progress, eventually escalating to the ridiculous and absurd heights I expected from a two-and-a-half hour awards contender. Is it this year’s Parasite? Well, you don’t win the Palme d’Or for nothing, but it seems like these days you’re most likely to win if you’re a movie about how terrible and crazy rich people can be — especially when they come into direct conflict with those of a lower tax bracket. It can be tough to categorize exactly what the film’s attitude towards its characters is, but what’s crystal clear is that they don’t deserve salvation. It does not reject capitalism or socialism, but doesn’t endorse them either, giving us a statement beyond the par-for-the-course conclusion that “rich people are awful.” Despite how viscerally uncomfortable and explicitly gross it can get, that’s the way the world works…and we all know how difficult that is to change.

Read my review of Triangle of Sadness here.

Avatar: The Way of Water

“Set more than a decade after the events of the first film, learn the story of the Sully family (Jake, Neytiri, and their kids), the trouble that follows them, the lengths they go to keep each other safe, the battles they fight to stay alive, and the tragedies they endure.”

It would be hearsay to claim that Avatar: The Way of Water is not incredibly beautiful to look at. Every frame is rendered meticulously, and because most of what we’re seeing on-screen is composed entirely of visual effects, it’s unequivocally awe-inspiring. I also had the opportunity to see it in 3D, a medium I’m not always the biggest fan of — in fact, I was worried about subjecting myself to it for the three and a half hours this movie runs — but it seemed effortless more than anything else, like the 3D is a natural part of the world that Cameron has created. The biggest letdown was an issue that plagued the first Avatar as well: I couldn’t, for the life of me, care about most of these characters. They’re not developed nearly well enough, despite the inordinate amount of time we spend with them. For example, Jake Sully and Neytiri’s children are a major focal point of the film, and I couldn’t tell you any of their names without looking it up. The Way of Water’s story, by itself, is very interesting, but the characters are still not compelling enough to merit my investment. You’d think that after a cumulative six hours with them, I would have more of a stake in this world, but the sad truth is that the more there are, the harder it is to care. Regardless, Avatar: The Way of Water is a visual spectacle on every conceivable level, yet there’s still something lacking here in the human (or, in this case, the Na’vi) factor. Unfortunately, it’s just about as testosterone-fueled and vaguely offensive as the original, and absolutely more indulgent than it should be. A solid 192 minutes is still 192 minutes.

Read my review of Avatar: The Way of Water here.

2023 Academy Awards Nomination Breakdown: Best Original Score & Original Song

The Academy Awards are airing live on March 12, and for the first time, I have set out to break down every nominee in every category in order to assess, as accurately as I can, who and what has the best chance of winning. Today I will be discussing and/or showcasing the nominees for Best Original Score and Best Original Song!

Original Score

All Quiet on the Western Front

The score for All Quiet on the Western Front, much like the rest of the film, is haunting and unexpectedly violent. From the moment that the young protagonists are marching off to war, the unexpectedly harsh sounds of a harmonium are blown in our face, signifying that the characters have a very different idea of where they are going, and we as the audience are well aware of that. Composer Volker Bertelmann has said that his score was influenced by the “head-banging element” of Led Zeppelin, masterfully creating a further contrast between intention and appearance.

Highlights:

• Remains
• All Quiet on the Western Front
• Paul

Babylon

Justin Hurwitz’s juxtaposition of hyper swing and smooth jazz is not only aesthetically pleasing, but also beautiful to listen to, even on their own. Musical motifs, especially Manny and Nellie’s theme (various renditions of which are repeated throughout the film) are ever-present, and even harken back to Hurwitz’s themes from La La Land — which is sensible, especially considering the structural thematic parallels that are even stronger.

Highlights:

• Voodoo Mama
• Manny and Nellie’s Theme
• Finale

2023 Academy Awards Nomination Breakdown: Best Makeup and Hairstyling

The Academy Awards are airing live on March 12, and for the first time, I have set out to break down every nominee in every category in order to assess, as accurately as I can, who and what has the best chance of winning. Today I will be discussing the nominees for Best Makeup and Hairstyling!

All Quiet on the Western Front

War takes a toll on a person, and All Quiet on the Western Front exemplifies that with both intense depictions of the battles themselves and the emotional and physical toll that comes with them. Aside from being a period piece — and, thus, obligated to accuracy when it comes to period styling — All Quiet commits to visualizing the descent of its central characters into very different versions of themselves as they endure more and more horrors of war. It’s terrifically effective, if a little terrifying in it of itself — it makes you wonder about how you yourself would be affected by a war like this, should you ever be so unlucky to fight in one.

The Batman

The Batman is my favorite nomination in this category — not in terms of overall quality (but I think it might crack that as well), but it’s largely because of the service it does for the superhero genre in terms of proving that technical prowess don’t need to be over-the-top to be excellent representations of their craft. In The Batman, Colin Farrell becomes the Penguin with flawless makeup and prosthetics that not only completely hide the actor’s identity, but make him fit in with the brutal, lived-in world of this Gotham City. Most of the other makeup and hairstyling is more under-the-radar, but if you want a better example of the great work that this team’s done, look up the deleted scene with Barry Keoghan’s Joker. Now that’s terrifying.

Read my review of The Batman here.

2023 Academy Awards Nomination Breakdown: Best Animated Short

The Academy Awards are airing live on March 12, and for the first time, I have set out to break down every nominee in every category in order to assess, as accurately as I can, who and what has the best chance of winning. Today I will be discussing the nominees for Best Animated Short!

The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse

“The unlikely friendship of a boy, a mole, a fox and a horse traveling together in the boy’s search for home.”

A hodgepodge of fortune cookie slips and inspirational sayings isn’t a terrible way to shape a story, but it’s far from ideal. Granted, this is based on a children’s book, and that’s pretty much exactly what I would expect from a straight adaptation. The animation, on the other hand, is flawless and imperfectly perfect, and it’s always nice to hear the comforting voices of Tom Hollander, Idris Elba and Gabriel Byrne.

The Flying Sailor

“The Flying Sailor is based on the Halifax explosion of 1917 when two ships collided in the Halifax Harbour causing the largest accidental explosion in history. Among the tragic stories of the disaster is the remarkable account of a sailor who, blown skyward from the deck of a British cargo steamer, flew 4km before landing completely unharmed, but naked except for his boots.”

I’m not sure how convincing this is as a contemplation of life, the universe and everything, but The Flying Sailor is so gorgeously animated and well-structured that a nomination seemed inevitable. The fact that it’s based on a true story is only more impressive, and its poetic nature is even more potent when put into a real-world existential perspective.

Introducing RUNTIME, BABE

It is our pleasure to introduce you to Runtime, Babe: a brand-new podcast from Lenient Critic founder Rowan Wood and his partner Davis Mathis!

Co-hosts Rowan Wood (occasional film critic and general enthusiast) and Davis Mathis (aspiring TV writer) take you on a journey of fun, horrible nonsense as they dive into all things movies and television.

Cover art by Claire Mitchell

You can listen to Runtime, Babe on all notable podcast streaming platforms, with new episodes premiering Fridays at midnight! Our latest episode (and recommended starting place) is an in-depth review of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and a discussion of our Letterboxd ratings systems!

Davis and Rowan express their disappointment in a review for Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, as well as discuss movie social media site Letterboxd and why they love using it.

Don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast and give us a rating on Apple Podcasts!

2023 Academy Awards Nomination Breakdown: Best Live-Action Short

The Academy Awards are airing live on March 12, and for the first time, I have set out to break down every nominee in every category in order to assess, as accurately as I can, who and what has the best chance of winning. Today I will be discussing the nominees for Best Live-Action Short!

An Irish Goodbye

“In rural Northern Ireland, following the untimely death of their mother, a young man with Down syndrome and his estranged brother discover her unfulfilled bucket list.”

An Irish Goodbye takes the worst emotional pain one can feel — the loss of a loved one — and contextualizes it as the most conflicted mix of “drama” and “comedy” I’ve ever seen. The Academy loves its death and depression, and An Irish Goodbye tackles its subjects with care, respect and good humor, choosing to show the best outcome of an unenviable scenario with the wit and wisdom that befits the Irish.

Ivalu

“Ivalu is gone. Her little sister is desperate to find her and her father does not care. The vast Greenlandic nature holds secrets. Where is Ivalu?”

Ivalu takes a ponderous look at its premise, lacking in dialogue but still attempting a slow build of tension to its subtle climax. Still, the short is beautiful and scenic, showcasing stunning shots of the Greenlandic landscape, but it doesn’t land with the punch you might expect from such a buildup; lacking the depth you might hope from an Oscar-nominated short.

2023 Academy Awards Nomination Breakdown: Best Cinematography

The Academy Awards are airing live on March 12, and for the first time, I have set out to break down every nominee in every category in order to assess, as accurately as I can, who and what has the best chance of winning. Today I will be discussing the nominees for Best Cinematography!

All Quiet on the Western Front

Visually, All Quiet on the Western Front is a harrowing experience, and seeks to assault your senses with the horrors of war up-close. It’s brutal, but it doesn’t revel or enjoy its own brutalities — in fact, it often frames its subjects with plenty of space around them, as if to contextualize them and their story within the largeness of the world they inhabit, and prove how small their lives really are, especially in comparison to those in power who are perpetuating the war for their own gain; another storyline that the film does not dedicate too much time to, but makes sure to emphasize is incredibly valuable when closely examining the Great War.

Bardo, False Chronicles of a Handful of Truths

As indulgent and consistently off-kilter it is, Bardo isn’t a wholly empty experience — though sometimes it does feel like “weird for the sake of weird,” introducing and continuous motifs without a satisfying resolution. By far the highlight is its visual style, which fits in with writer/director Alejandro González Iñárritu’s body of work — through Bardo, he bestows upon the audience imagery such as which I’ve never seen in anything else, and I’m not sure I’ll see anything else like it anytime soon. Once thought to be an awards frontrunner (no doubt spurred on by the success of Iñárritu’s last two films, Birdman and The Revenant), this is Bardo’s only nomination this year, but it’s the one that comes most naturally.

2023 Academy Awards Nomination Breakdown: Best Documentary Short

The Academy Awards are airing live on March 12, and for the first time, I have set out to break down every nominee in every category in order to assess, as accurately as I can, who and what has the best chance of winning. Today I will be discussing the nominees for Best Documentary Short!

The Elephant Whisperers

“The Elephant Whisperers follows an indigenous couple as they fall in love with Raghu, an orphaned elephant given into their care, and tirelessly work to ensure his recovery & survival. The film highlights the beauty of the wild spaces in South India and the people and animals who share this space.”

The Elephant Whisperers is both one of the most adorable and most heartbreaking documentaries I’ve ever seen — the score, cinematography and editing are all top-notch. The documentarians followed around the central family for five years to make the doc, and the dedication shines through with the warmth and happiness that are notably absent from most of the shorts nominated this year.

Haulout

“On a remote coast of the Russian Arctic in a wind-battered hut, a lonely man waits to witness an ancient gathering. But warming seas and rising temperatures bring an unexpected change, and he soon finds himself overwhelmed.”

Haulout is haunting, and very effective — another portrait of how we as humans are failing to prevent the slow decline of our own planet, and one that is shot incredibly well with plenty of food for thought. There is almost no human speech, and manages to say so much with so little in ways that not many films can.