Sophie’s Choice is primarily known for Meryl Streep’s Oscar-winning performance, deemed by many to be one of the best performances by any actor (male or female) of all time. I believed critics and viewers, but I was skeptical that it could top who I’d currently ranked as my #1 Best Actress Oscar winner of all time (that I’d seen): Charlize Theron in Monster. I was wrong, and after finishing Sophie’s Choice, I immediately knew that I’d just witnessed one of the best acting performances of all time.
war
Review: The English Patient (1996)
The English Patient is the kind of romantic, sweeping epic that, were it made by or starring anyone less talented than those involved in the film, would’ve come across as overly cliche and laughable, even when it’s not supposed to be funny. Fortunately, this multiple Oscar winner is excellently done, and can be considered to be deserving of its numerous awards.
Review: Da 5 Bloods (2020)
Da 5 Bloods was a surprise [to me] Spike Lee release. In fact, I hadn’t heard anything about it until it was released on Netflix over the summer, and knew very little until Chadwick Boseman passed away and everyone was talking about his role in the film. Unfortunately, Lee’s latest — released solely on the streaming service and now featuring Boseman’s image on the poster — is mainly a disappointment.
Review: The Cave (2019)
The Cave, like fellow Oscar-nominated documentary, For Sama, is centered on Syrians trying to survive in a war zone. While this one is not autobiographical, it is still impactful, emotional, and harrowing.
Review: For Sama (2019)
For Sama is a tremendous achievement. Filmed and directed by journalist Waad al-Kateab, this powerful, haunting, and real documentary is an intimate look at the female experience of War — in particular, a young mother’s experience in the former bustling town of Aleppo.
Review: Jojo Rabbit (2019)
I had heard many things about Taika Waititi’s latest which, like Thor: Ragnarok and others, he not only directed but stars in — this time, as the one and only Adolf Hitler, but as an imaginary friend of 10-year-old Nazi fanatic Jojo (newcomer Roman Griffin Davis).
Review: 1917 (2019)
Writer-director Sam Mendes (Skyfall, American Beauty) has crafted a war film that, on the surface — and from the trailers — doesn’t seem like anything all that original or different from others of the genre; the story centers on two British soldiers who traverse through no-man’s land to deliver an important message that can save thousands of lives.