Dinner at Home, Awards Season Movies on Screen | Takeout & Talk Ep. 4
Before we get started, film critic Manuel Betancourt tells me he likes to plate his delivery orders so that it feels like he’s officially having dinner, not takeout. So he’s transferred his butter chicken and plain naan from Mr. Masala in Los Angeles into a beautiful white dish, and his Dr. Pepper is now in a tall glass.
I, on the other hand, decided to keep my beef rice bowl from San Francisco’s Purple Rice in the paper container it arrived in, mostly out of habit - this is certainly amongst my favorite places to order from, and the packaging is designed for easy consumption.
Though I’ve known Betancourt, now an assistant editor for Documentary Magazine, for about eight years, this is the first time we’re dining together. But it’s definitely not the first time he and I have spoken about movies and culture. So I figured he’d be the right person to help me (and by extension, us) plan out our next few weeks of film viewing.
We prioritized films that are currently on the awards circuit, meaning those that are either critically-acclaimed or highly-publicized because of the teams attached to them and are now being honored by Hollywood. Manuel and I spoke just days after the 83rd Golden Globe nominations were announced, which saw Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another lead the charge with a whopping nine nominations.
Although we don’t spend too much time talking about the Leonardo DiCaprio-led film, Manuel gives this film an ‘A’ letter grade. “This is CINEMA,” he says. “There’s a final sequence where Paul Thomas Anderson makes driving through the hills of California the most exciting, thrilling, and anxiety-inducing movie sequence of the year - it’s fantastic. It’s the one movie that I feel like everybody should be watching.”
Competing against DiCaprio for the Best Actor Golden Globe is Timothée Chalamet for his role in Marty Supreme, which is loosely based on the real life story of table tennis legend Marty Reisman. Betancourt says the film is very much a familiar-feeling sports movie because of its training montages, championship sequences, and rival introductions. But because it’s the work of director Josh Safdie of Uncut Gem fame, he says you spend the entirety of the movie “stressed out, and it doesn’t let up, but in a very enjoyable way.” Betancourt also praises Chalamet’s performance, noting that he’s a “magnetic, charismatic” actor who’s operating in a league of his own.
Among this year’s Best Actress Golden Globe nominees are two singer-performers in completely different types of musicals. The first is Kate Hudson from Song Sung Blue, which tells the true story of a Neil Diamond tribute band. Betancourt says he knew very little about the film, which co-stars Hugh Jackman, before screening it. “I go into the movie ready to have this feel good, indie movie, and for the first third of the movie, that’s what I’m getting - kind of heartwarming.” But then Betancourt says an unsuspecting plot point completely derails the experience, so much so that he stopped in his tracks and wondered, ‘Did I just see that?’ Additionally, he finds that Kate Hudson is capital A “ACTING” as opposed to approaching the role a bit more effortlessly. I note that she probably thought this was her awards vehicle destined for the Oscars. Unfortunately, it might not get there.
It also doesn’t help that she’s up against Amanda Seyfried in The Testament of Ann Lee. It’s a historical musical drama that details the life of Ann Lee, who started a Shakers religious cult in the 18th century. Betancourt says the film “makes such great use” of Seyfried’s talents, even if moviegoers wouldn’t think to put Lee’s troubled story to song. But he says, against a gorgeous backdrop, there’s a lot of “movement choreography” that’s evocative of the time period. And at the heart of it, he says, is Seyfried’s “angelic” voice where you can feel her character’s heartache. He encouraged folks to watch this particular film on the big screen.
Although this next film might not be available in theaters nationwide, Betancourt is a big fan of the South Korean black comedy No Other Choice, which is vying to be the Asian country’s entry for the Oscar’s Best Foreign Film category. The movie, which is based on a 1990s thriller novel, is about a recently-laid off gentleman played by Best Actor nominee Lee Byung-hun of Squid Game fame, who takes matters into his own hands to regain his employment. Betancourt describes the film as “very labyrinthian, very funny, very twisty-and-turny and walking in its own lane.”
And finally we talk about James Cameron’s third installment in his Avatar series, Avatar: Fire and Ash. Betancourt and I immediately bonded over the fact that, even though we’ve seen the previous two films, we still couldn’t name three characters, despite knowing that it features actors like Kate Winslet, Zoe Saldaña, and Sigourney Weaver. But that doesn’t stop Betancourt from praising the multi-hyphenate director for some of his choices. “James Cameron can direct an action sequence like no one else can.” And even though we might not dwell on the film and its story afterwards, we both admit being in awe of Cameron’s cinematic achievement.
“Even until you said Pandora, I forgot that’s what [the Avatar world] was called - that’s how invested I am.”
Other films Betancourt recommends include Ryan Coogler’s Sinners, Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein, and Yorgos Lanthimos’s Bugonia.
If you loved Manuel’s takes on this awards season’s movie contenders, be sure to check out his books, The Male Gazed and Hello Stranger.