Hello and welcome back to another week here at 1guysmindlessmoviereviews.com. It’s almost Oscar night, in fact, by the time you read this, we will merely be days away from one of the biggest nights in Hollywood. Not only is it the biggest awards program of the season, but it also signifies the end of awards season. After March 2nd, we can go back to watching whatever we want instead of the Oscar bait movies… or is that just me? If you want more information on the upcoming award show, check out their homepage here. Since I hadn’t done a marathon for a while, I figured I would celebrate with a couple of movies nominated for an Academy Award. One that seems to be picking up steam (Conclave), and one that seems to have peaked during the Golden Globes. So, without further ado, let’s get into the Mindless Movie Marathon.
Conclave
Director: Edward Berger
Writer: Peter Straughan and Robert Harris
Starring: Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow, and Isabella Rossellini
Ok, up first on is “Conclave”. This one has a lot of buzz surrounding it and if you’re interested in seeing it before Sunday, you are in luck because it’s still available to stream on Peacock for now. “Conclave” is a superbly made conspiracy thriller directed by Edward Berger (who also did “All Quiet on the Western Front”) and has a fantastic cast.
After the Pope dies, Cardinal Lawrence (Fiennes) is in charge of the proceedings where the new Pope will be selected. As Cardinals from all over the world settle into The Vatican the politics start almost immediately with a few front-runners having their own agenda. As each day goes on and the Cardinals are sequestered from the outside world, more conspiracies and accusations come forth and change the whole outcome.
Earlier when I mentioned how phenomenal the cast was, I wasn’t joking. Not only is Fiennes great as Lawrence, but Tucci as Bellini and Lithgow as Tremblay just put these three amazing actors on the screen together and it just made for riveting dialogue throughout. The biggest crime here was the little amount of Sister Agnes (Rossellini) that we got to see. She had a little, but very powerful role and I would have loved to see it fleshed out a little bit more.
Overall, this was a fantastic film and I highly recommend anyone take the time to see it. Personally, I hope it wins the Oscar for Best Picture or at least a win for Fiennes for Best Actor. But even if they can’t pull out a win, they have a win in my book. I give this movie an 8 out of 10. I would have given it a nine, but I didn’t like the ending as much as the rest of it.
A Different Man
Director: Aaron Schimberg
Writer: Aaron Schimberg
Starring: Sebastian Stan, Renate Reinsve, and Adam Pearson
Now, onto the next movie of the marathon. I have a wildly different opinion of “A Different Man”. Streaming on Max right now, this movie centers on Edward (Stan) who is an aspiring actor. He’s suffering from a facial disfigurement and that holds him back from doing what he really wants.
After he goes through a procedure, he heals up and in a short amount of time, looks like he never had the disfigurement at all. This gives him the confidence to do all of those things and go out with the woman he likes (Ingrid played by Reinsve). In his mind, things are starting to look up. He even gets the role in Ingrid’s play about a man very much like he used to be.
But, everything starts to turn when Oswald (Pearson) comes into his life. Oswald is inflicted with the same facial disfigurement that he used to suffer through, but somehow this guy is uber-confident and has no issues making friends and having a good time. Edward slowly starts to wiggle back into the life he used to have as he makes increasingly more and more poor decisions resulting in hospitalization and prison.
Honestly, I know the movie has a good meaning and that Edward should have been happy with what he had when he had it, but I didn’t enjoy how the movie played out and how uncomfortable it was at times. Stan did a really good job in that role, but the story itself is what needed the work. I only give this movie a 5 out of 10 because it let me down and could have been so much more.
Ok, that’s it for another one of my Mindless Movie Marathons. Have you seen either of these two movies? Do you feel the same way about them as I do or is your opinion flip-flopped? Let me know in the comments what you think about them.
Now, it’s onto the Academy Awards… ok, not really (maybe one day) but I will be there on Sunday night watching on Hulu and I hope you are too. That’s it for now and I will see you next week for another mindless movie review of some sort.
I’m excited for the Academy Awards!!