Nomadland was added to the AP best films and National Society of Film Critics 2020, and as well as beingan Oscar contender will now be available for viewers to watch starting February 19, 2021. Movie-goers can either visit the big screen available anywhere movie theaters are open, or opt for a stay-at-home watch.
PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN
Ben Browning, Ashley Fox, Emerald Fennell and Josey McNamara, Producers
A total of 6 nods for “Mank” were announced during the nomination ceremony for the 78th Golden Globe Awards. The film about “Citizen Kane” available on Netflix is now leading the most nominations for the company, with no other streaming service (Disney+, HBO Max, Amazon Prime or Apple TV+) coming close. Last year Netflix dominated at the Globes and it appears they will follow the same lead, commanding a total of 42 nominations (22 in the film category and 20 for television series).
Co-writer Herman Mankiewicz landed a nomination for best film (drama). Best actor for Gary Oldman. Best director for Jack Fincher. Best supporting actress for Amanda Seyfried. Best score and best screenplay for Jack Fincher.
“Despite a stressed pandemic year, there is a comfort of sorts in embracing traditions, perhaps it is a hopeful sign that we will get out of this eventually,” Oldman said in a statement. “The Golden Globes are such a sign of both tradition and normal.”
The 78th Golden Globe Awards is set to be hosted by comedians Tiny Fey and Amy Poehler on February 28, 2021, and will be telecast live on NBC at 5 p.m.
A hall of mirrors, not only of reflections on “Kane” and “Mank” but this very moment in time
Seeing “Mank” on netflix, in painstakingly low tech black and white on and ancient 2004 vintage plasma flat screen many coincidences seemed to converge and collide.
In the final sequences of Mank as the epilogue divulges the Oscar win for best screenplay and indicates that “Citizen Kane” was the final film written by Herman J. Mankiewicz, while as is part of Hollywood history and lore, it was the first by Orsen Wells, as a director and actor.
And Mank was released a day after it was announced that Warner Bros. would begin releasing all its films (the next 17, at any rate) simultaneously on HBO max and in theaters. For many, particularly those in the movie theater business, this was seen as a possible death knell for live cinema.
And, taking this thread further, “Mank” also touches on the fact that Citizen Kane, which in many ways marks the birth of modern filmmaking, was only released at all due to legal maneuvering by RKO Radio Pictures, and Orson Wells only had the contract allowing him full autonomy because of his status as a radio star…
Radio, in other words, was present at the inauguration of modern cinema while Streaming attends the death of the movie theater experience, for the time being, at any rate.
And while these various technical marvels, the luxurious, sensual and powerfully stimulative immersion in a dark theater, on the one hand, and the inconsistent and convenient yet ever evolving systems of today both share, as a prerequisite to all creation the written, spoken and word and the imagination the imbues its invocation.
A movie for the ages and a single man’s creative life that was fulfilled through it’s creation
Adding to the layers of what seems like uncanny timing, “Citizen Kane” inspirational subject in real life, William Randolph Hearst, was at the time of the film’s initial release, rich on the level that would compare to Bill Gates or Jeff Bezos today, but was a newspaper Publisher. Newspaper publishing is yet another storytelling technology that, already at that time was considered on its way out, and in “Mank” there is even a scene where Hearst touts “Talkies”, movies with sound and dialog, as the technology that would captivate the future.
Implying, inadvertently perhaps, that we are at a similar crossroads of change, and that, while streaming, digital publishing and beyond may be “the future”, the light of good works, and of a great story well told, will shine into eternity, as will “Citizen Kane” and the man who originally conceived it: Mank.
At the beginning of the year, Netflix dropped a beautiful and major bombshell, that they will be premiering a brand new movie every week of 2021. That means, thee will be appropxiately, it appears, upwards of 71 new movies with all the various genres covered! (action, sequels, dramas, musicals and more).
If you are not new to the platform, 2021 is streaming gold for Netflix (with 42 total Golden Globe nominations). With Bridgerton, Lupin, The Dig, Below Zero, Night Stalker and we are only barely into February.
Streaming is looking like a permanently dominant dissemination method for visual content going forward, as, in addition to Netflix, HBOmax is getting all of the WB theatrical slate based on the initial North American debut schedule, while Disney is going full bore with a string of Star Wars and Marvel spin offs. A slew of books are also getting film treatment including best selling titles: The Girl on the Train, The Woman in the Window, Munich, The Last Letter from Your Lover.
Below are some of the upcoming releases with trailers for the next two months:
Sam Levinson teams up with Zendaya and John David Washington for an achingly romantic drama in which a filmmaker (Washington) and his girlfriend (Zendaya) return home following a celebratory movie premiere as he awaits what’s sure to be imminent critical and financial success. The evening suddenly takes a turn as revelations about their relationships begin to surface, testing the strength of their love. Working with cinematographer Marcell Rev, Levinson creates a film of rare originality; an ode to the great Hollywood romances as well as a heartfelt expression of faith in the medium’s future.
THE DIG:
As WWII looms, a wealthy widow (Carey Mulligan) hires an amateur archaeologist (Ralph Fiennes) to excavate the burial mounds on her estate. When they make a historic discovery, the echoes of Britain’s past are illuminated in the face of its uncertain future.
BELOW ZERO:
A Spanish gritty action thriller movie (Bajocero) that has English voice-over features is set when a prisoner transfer van is attacked. The cop, Martin, who is in charge must fight those inside and outside while dealing with a silent foe: surviving the icy temperatures.
NIGHT STALKER
This historical limited series is a documentary that follows the young detective Gil Carrillo and legendary homicide investigator Frank Salerno as they work expeditiously to catch the “Night Stalker”. Beneath the sunlit glamour of 1985 LA lurks a relentlessly evil serial killer. In this true-crime story, two detectives won’t rest until they catch Richard Ramirez, who was eventually arrested for his terrible crimes.
I CARE A LOT:
A crooked legal guardian who drains the savings of her elderly wards meets her match when a woman she tries to swindle turns out to have equally shady ties of her own. Starring Rosamund Pike, Eiza Gonzalez, Dianne Wiest, Peter Dinklage, Chris Messina, and Isaiah Whitlock Jr.
PENGUIN BLOOM
Penguin Bloom tells the true story of Sam Bloom (Naomi Watts), a young mother whose world is turned upside down after a near-fatal accident leaves her unable to walk. Sa m’s husband, (Andrew Lincoln), her three young boys and her mother (Academy Award-nominated Jacki Weaver), are struggling to adjust to their new situation when an unlikely ally enters their world in the form of an injured baby magpie they name Penguin. The bird’s arrival is a welcome distraction for the Bloom family, eventually making a profound difference in the family’s life.
THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN
A bright city, a dull morning and a curious girl on the train. When a voyeuristic divorcee fixates on the lives of a perfect couple from afar, she soon gets embroiled in a murder mystery that unfolds revealing truths about her own life. Get on board a thrilling experience with Parineeti Chopra, Aditi Rao Hydari, Kirti Kulhari and Avinash Tiwary. Catch Ribhu Dasgupta’s The Girl On The Train on 26th February, only on Netflix.
A hall of mirrors, not only of reflections on “Kane” and “Mank” but this very moment in time
Seeing “Mank” on netflix, in painstakingly low tech black and white on and ancient 2004 vintage plasma flat screen many coincidences seemed to converge and collide.
In the final sequences of Mank as the epilogue divulges the Oscar win for best screenplay and indicates that “Citizen Kane” was the final film written by Herman J. Mankiewicz, while as is part of Hollywood history and lore, it was the first by Orsen Wells, as a director and actor.
And Mank was released a dat after it was announced that Warner Bros. would begin releasing all its films (the next 17, at any rate) simultaneously on HBO max and in theaters. For many, particularly those in the movie theater business, this was seen as a possible death knell for live cinema.
And, taking this thread further, “Mank” also touches on the fact that Citizen Kane, which in many ways marks the birth of modern filmmaking, was only released at all due to legal maneuvering by RKO Radio Pictures, and Orson Wells only had the contract allowing him full autonomy because of his status as a radio star…
Radio, in other words, was present at the inauguration of modern cinema while Streaming attends the death of the movie theater experience, for the time being, at any rate.
And while these various technical marvels, the luxurious, sensual and powerfully stimulative immersion in a dark theater, on the one hand, and the inconsistent and convenient yet ever evolving systems of today both share, as a prerequisite to all creation the written, spoken and word and the imagination the imbues its invocation.
A movie for the ages and a single man’s creative life that was fulfilled through it’s creation
Adding to the layers of what seems like uncanny timing, “Citizen Kane” inspirational subject in real life, William Randolph Hearst, was at the time of the film’s initial release, rich on the level that would compare to Bill Gates or Jeff Bezos today, but was a newspaper Publisher. Newspaper publishing is yet another storytelling technology that, already at that time was considered on its way out, and in “Mank” there is even a scene where Hearst touts “Talkies”, movies with sound and dialog, as the technology that would captivate the future.
Implying, inadvertently perhaps, that we are at a similar crossroads of change, and that, while streaming, digital publishing and beyond may be “the future”, the light of good works, and of a great story well told, will shine into eternity, as will “Citizen Kane” and the man who originally conceived it: Mank.
Two huge and highly awaited projects are live this weekend and offer a varied experience. They also have nearly nothing directly to do with each other, or the holidays. Perhaps that’s a plus as we still have weeks before the full-on holiday festivities hit a peak.
Another two are also non-holiday but each of these projects has something special, perhaps for a different audience, and are also each highly anticipated, by the appropriate group of fans, nonetheless.
Alien Worlds (Season 1) is here for anyone that imagines humanity as a Multi-planetary species (looking at you, Elon)
Applying the laws of life on Earth to the rest of the galaxy, this series blends science fact and fiction to imagine alien life on other planets. The 4-episodes of this docuseries approaches each episode like a separate chapter focusing on a different world a.k.a. exoplanet and explores the likelihood of life being present on any of them.
This explorative and visually stunning exercise in “what if” takes on the idea that, with at least thousands if not millions of planets in the universe potentially harboring some form of life, what form might that life take? Taking this leap of faith into the question of, not only are there aliens somewhere in the universe, but positing the follow-on query; “where are they and what might they be like and even look like”.
This may not be a journey everyone is ready to take. But if you enjoy stimulation for your imagination and want to join in the speculative scientific thought experiment, maybe this series if perfect for you!
Selena continuation digs into the drama of a superstar destined to shine only briefly, but who will never be forgotten
The first is, of course, Selena: The Series, which has been in the works for an incredible two years. Fans of season one have been looking forward to this, of course. The possibility for new fans to watch both seasons is also a tantalizing binge option as well.
The continuation of the story Selena Quintanilla, and in particular her rise to music-super-stardom is being played by Christian Serratos – yes, The Walking Dead star (who is also a Twilight cast member extraordinaire).
Mank: The movie behind the making of the greatest movie ever made
Second huge release is the Mank which is directed by David Fincher of Social Network and Fight Club fame. It’s hard to imagine awards shows passing up the chance to laud this legendary director taking on a story about, well the most legendary film production and film script ever: Citizen Kane.
Herman “Mank” Mankiewicz, played by Oscar-winner Gary Oldman, is a journalist-turned-screenwriter and as the titular character we see how the tortured genius behind Citizen Kane grappled with the drama of filmmaking during Hollywood’s golden age. The project gives Fincher a chance to make a movie inside another and reference what’s been called the greatest film in the history of cinema.
New series debuts today: Detention (Season 1)
On Saturday, December 5 we’ll be able to see a first glimpse of this high school horror drama, based on the eponymously titled videogame.
Made by Netflix in collaboration with the Taiwanese broadcaster Public Television Service, Detention is the first Mandarin series that Netflix has collaborated on and will be aired first on an episodic basis by PTS before streaming live on Netflix.
The synopsis for Detention has been provided by Netflix:
Detention: The Series starts at Greenwood High School in the 1990s. Yunxiang Liu (played by Lingwei Lee), a transfer student, steps into the forbidden area on the campus by accident, where she encounters the ghost of Ruixin Fang (Ning Han). Fang later unveils the hidden history and trauma over the past 30 years, and how a group of young students and teachers were persecuted as they fought for freedom in the era of censorship. Their stories keep coming back to the school like haunting nightmares, waiting to be told and revealed.
The series will be available to stream on a weekly basis each episode becoming available shortly after the original airing on PTS.
