First 2022 Oscar Nomination Predictions

For fans of Gaston Speaks, have no fear! We will be recording our annual Oscar nomination predictions for our ongoing series, Andrew Really Really Likes Awards Shows. But, the Oscar season is an ongoing behemoth that goes through many different stages. Right now, most of the film festivals have happened, and we only have a few unseen contenders left to join the race. Starting at the end of the month, and through Christmas, the critics groups across the country will bring an avalanche of honors, followed by the guilds, and then the Oscars. Before the avalanche, I wanted to give you all a snapshot of where the Oscar race currently stands heading into the thick of awards season, and utilize Off the Shelf as an extension of our Gaston Speaks series. 

Best Picture

Belfast

CODA

Don't Look Up

Dune

King Richard

Licorice Pizza

Nightmare Alley

Parallel Mothers

The Power of the Dog

The Tragedy of Macbeth

Other Contenders - tick, tick...boom!, Spencer, Flee, West Side Story, The Lost Daughter, Passing, Being the Ricardos, C'mon C'mon, The Hand of God, A Hero, The Harder They Fall, House of Gucci

Commentary - The Academy has moved back to a solid ten nominations, a welcomed change. The early contenders including Kenneth Branagh's Belfast, Jane Campion's The Power of the Dog, Will Smith's passion project King Richard, and Denis Villeneuve's Dune feel set to sweep a lot of the major awards. They have the critical support and the Oscar buzz coming out of the summer and fall film festivals. CODA was a Sundance favorite, with a beating heart that might be too much for voters to ignore. The Tragedy of Macbeth is Joel Coen with Denzel Washington and Frances McDormand. That combination, along with great reviews, will get voters' attention. Paul Thomas Anderson's latest Licorice Pizza is earning him career-best reviews, and his last effort, Phantom Thread, was a last minute breakthrough contender. The last several years a foreign language entry has made the cut. It is about time that a Pedro Almodovar film gets a Best Picture nomination, and Parallel Mothers is apparently fantastic. Finally, sight unseen, I am still betting on Guillermo Del Toro and Adam McKay to come through with Nightmare Alley and Don't Look Up. Both are Academy Award winners, and their recent efforts have received a lot of support. 

Best Director

Paul Thomas Anderson "Licorice Pizza"

Kenneth Branagh "Belfast"

Jane Campion "The Power of the Dog"

Guillermo Del Toro "Nightmare Alley"

Denis Villeneuve "Dune"

Other Contenders - Reinaldo Marcus King "King Richard", Adam McKay "Don't Look Up", Pedro Almodovar "Parallel Mothers", Joel Coen "The Tragedy of Macbeth", Paolo Sorrentino "The Hand of God", Lin-Manuel Miranda "tick, tick...boom!", Pablo Larrain "Spencer", Aaron Sorkin "Being the Ricardos", Asghar Farhadi "A Hero", Steven Spielberg "West Side Story", Sian Heder "CODA", Maggie Gyllenhaal "The Lost Daughter", Rebecca Hall "Passing", Mike Mills "C'mon C'mon", Ridley Scott "House of Gucci"

Commentary - The Director's Branch is a notoriously contrary group of voters. They almost always  pick a surprise on Oscar morning. Also, since the expansion of the Best Picture field, director has become tied less to Best Picture, compared to the actors and the writers. That's why, despite it being a top Best Picture contender, I have a sneaking suspicion that King Richard's director Reinaldo Marcus King will be left out for a more visually driven contender. All of that being said, right now, there are three contenders that feel really strong heading into the thick of Oscar season. Jane Campion returns after almost a decade with The Power of the Dog, Kenneth Branagh creates his most personal film to-date in Belfast, and Denis Villeneuve proves that Dune is no longer the "unfilmable" behemoth many thought it to be. Those last two slots though have a lot of contenders (as you can see in the "Other Contenders" section). Right now, I am sticking with two previous favorites of this branch. First is Guillermo Del Toro, who won this award the last time he had a major film in contention. The other is Paul Thomas Anderson. The first reviews of Licorice Pizza have painted this film a masterpiece, and the directors branch has liked his past work.  

Best Actor

Benedict Cumberbatch "The Power of the Dog"

Leonardo DiCaprio "Don't Look Up"

Andrew Garfield "tick, tick...boom!" 

Will Smith "King Richard"

Denzel Washington "The Tragedy of Macbeth"

Other Contenders - Bradley Cooper "Nightmare Alley", Peter Dinklage "Cyrano", Clifton Collins Jr. "Jockey", Joaquin Phoenix "C'mon C'mon", Cooper Hoffman "Licorice Pizza", Javier Bardem "Being the Ricardos", Simon Rex "Red Rocket", Jude Hill "Belfast", Timothee Chalamet "Dune", Adam Driver "House of Gucci", Daniel Craig "No Time to Die"

Commentary - A veteran-heavy race, Best Actor is shaping up to be a battle of the acting juggernauts. Will Smith plays Venus and Serena William's father in King Richard, and is apparently a knock-out. Denzel Washington plus Joel Coen plus Shakespeare just screams: ninth acting Oscar nomination. Benedict Cumberbatch plays the bad guy in The Power of the Dog, is receiving rave notices. Andrew Garfield is playing Jonathan Larson, and early reviews have rocketed him into the top five. Finally, despite the film being a sight unseen, I don't ever bet against Leonardo DiCaprio, who looks to have another rollicking good time in Adam McKay's Don't Look Up opposite Jennifer Lawrence. 

Best Actress

Olivia Colman "The Lost Daughter"

Penelope Cruz "Parallel Mothers"

Nicole Kidman "Being the Ricados"

Frances McDormand "The Tragedy of Macbeth" 

Kristen Stewart "Spencer" 

Other Contenders - Alana Haim "Licorice Pizza", Jennifer Lawrence "Don't Look Up", Lady Gaga "House of Gucci", Tessa Thompson "Passing", Jennifer Hudson "Respect", Jessica Chastain "The Eyes of Tammy Faye", Rooney Mara "Nightmare Alley", Cate Blanchett "Nightmare Alley", Rachel Zegler "West Side Story", Emilia Jones "CODA", Sandra Bullock "The Unforgivable"

Commentary - This is my confession: I have never particularly liked Kristen Stewart. Maybe it is the horror of the Twilight series that turned me off of her acting, but, despite some excellent projects since that series, I still struggle watching her perform. Spencer is set to change that, and she could win her first Oscar for playing Princess Diana in Pablo Larrain's latest biopic. She will face off against British royalty Olivia Colman, who is fresh off an Emmy win where she upset her co-star Emma Corrin, who ironically, also played Princess Diana. Penelope Cruz is an Oscar winner, and knocks it out of the park yet again in a Pedro Almodovar film. Frances McDormand won her third Best Actress Oscar just last year for Nomadland, and is coming for her fourth Oscar in Tragedy of Macbeth opposite Denzel Washington. Finally, I was saving a slot for Jennifer Lawrence, who is still in my sixth slot for the unseen Don't Look Up. But, after the initial SAG screening reactions, it looks like Nicole Kidman gives a knockout performance as Lucille Ball in Being the Ricardos. Oscar voters love their biopics, and Kidman is a previous winner. 

Best Supporting Actor

Willem Dafoe "Nightmare Alley"

Jamie Dornan "Belfast"

Ciaran Hinds "Belfast" 

Troy Kotsur "CODA"

Kodi Smit-McPhee "The Power of the Dog"

Other Contenders - Jon Bernthal "King Richard", Jesse Plemmons "The Power of the Dog", Richard Jenkins "The Humans", J.K. Simmons "Being the Ricardos", Robin de Jesus "tick, tick...boom!", Jared Leto "House of Gucci", Al Pacino "House of Gucci", David Alvarez "West Side Story", Corey Hawkins "The Tragedy of Macbeth", Jonah Hill "Don't Look Up", Idris Elba "The Harder They Fall", Ben Affleck "The Tender Bar", Colman Domingo "Zola", Jason Isaacs "Mass", Reed Birney "Mass", Mary Rylance "Don't Look Up", David Strathairn "Nightmare Alley"

Commentary - This race feels like the most up in the air heading into the thick of Oscar season. The only two that seem really solid right now are Ciaran Hinds for Belfast and Kodi Smith-McPhee for The Power of the Dog. Two scene-stealing performers in Best Picture frontrunners. While Jamie Dornan has not received as high of marks as his co-stars for his performance in Belfast, that film is so buzzed right now, and he is working the campaign circuit. Those two things always help in a close or toss-up race. CODA is the little film that could, and Troy Kotsur is a beating heart on screen. Finally, sight unseen, Willem Dafoe has racked up a lot of Oscar nods recently and he is once again taking on a big role, this time in a Guillermo Del Toro film. It feels like an Oscar nomination to me. 

Best Adapted Screenplay

Sian Heder "CODA"

Maggie Gyllenhaal "The Lost Daughter"

Guillermo Del Toro and Kim Morgan "Nightmare Alley"

Jane Campion "The Power of the Dog"

Joel Coen "The Tragedy of Macbeth"

Best Original Screenplay

Kenneth Branagh "Belfast"

Adam McKay and David Sirota "Don't Look Up"

Zach Baylin "King Richard"

Paul Thomas Anderson "Licorice Pizza"

Pedro Almodovar "Parallel Mothers"

Film Review: Dune

Many great novels have been labeled "unfilmable". Hollywood, from its inception, has pulled its stories from great novels, and many have been successes. Some of the greatest films of all time have captured the hearts and spirits of their original source, and some, like The Godfather, have vastly improved on their novel beginnings. However, classics like The Great Gatsby, Ulysses, Watchmen, and Frank Herbert's Dune have all received that infamous, and yet incredibly accurate, label of "unfilmable" (HBO's limited series Watchmen proved to be fantastic, although it must be said, it didn't really utilize the original graphic novel's material). In 1984, the great David Lynch attempted to film Dune, and while time has softened its initial reaction, most moviegoers and critics have labeled it a failure. 

So fast forward to 2021, and Warner Bros decides to try to revive Dune again, and maybe learn from the mistakes of the past. Putting Denis Villeneuve at the helm was a great start for the film. He already has a few excellent science fiction projects under his belt (Arrival and Blade Runner 2049), and also has shown his ability to build quality human-centered dramas (Prisoners, Sicaro, and Incendies). In particular, his work on Arrival and Blade Runner 2049 showcased his ability to blend stunning visuals with think-piece science fiction stories with a high level of success. You can now add Dune to that growing list. 

Villeneuve and his team have crafted a visually stunning sci-fi epic, whose aesthetic is able to overcome some of the more heavy narrative moments. Greig Fraser's beautifully dark cinematography, combined with an excellent visual effects palate, creates an eerie aesthetic that matches its storyline. Fraser has done some excellent work over the last two decades, but has only managed one Oscar nomination, for his work on Lion in 2016. I believe Dune will earn him a second, well-deserved nomination, and potentially, his first win. Hans Zimmer score is dramatic, and combined with Fraser's cinematography, helps the viewer completely immerse into the world they have created with Villeneuve. I watched Dune on HBO Max, and am clamoring for a return to the theater to see it in its full intended glory. While streaming has upended the release strategy for film studios, Dune is a film that begs to be seen on a bigger screen, and proves the continued necessity of the theatrical experience. 

Its casting is a mix of frustration, intrigue, and false advertising. Every actor in this film is either a movie star, an award winning thespian, or in most cases, both. There is not one bad performance in the film, but I would argue that Oscar Isaac, Stellan Skarsgaard, and Josh Brolin are underutilized, despite their obvious talents. Also, despite being top-billed, Zendaya and Javier Bardem, both award-winning actors, have few moments on screen. Their stories are clearly expanding in Part 2, which, thanks to box office success, is happening. However, this false advertising is frustrating, especially for a fan of both performers. That being said, the main focuses of the film, Timothee Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, and Jason Momoa, all rise to the occasion. Momoa is surprisingly good, and adds some needed humor to a dense story. Chalamet is still an odd choice as a lead Hollywood actor, but he proves he can carry dramatic heft. Of the bunch, it is Rebecca Ferguson's role as Jessica that stands out as the best of the group. She stole every scene she was in, and brings a combination of strength and vulnerability that provides a thriving screen presence. 

The one area that almost threatens Dune's success is its dense and obtuse storyline. At times, the narrative, and the combination of little dialogue and sometimes confusing science fiction tropes, makes you want to pause the movie and take a break (maybe it was better to watch it on HBO Max after all). However, despite its narrative and casting issues, Dune still succeeds at an extraordinarily high level. It deftly builds a new cinematic world that thankfully will continued to be explored. Part 1 is clearly intended as a prologue to a greater story, and Part 2 promises more action. I am personally looking forward to seeing what comes next. 

Fans of Herbert's work can finally breathe a sigh of relief. Dune is "unfilmable" no more. 

Rating: B+

Dune is currently in theaters, and will be streaming on HBO Max through November 20th. It is coming soon on DVD to the Gaston County Public Library. 

Review by Andrew Pierce

We're Booked Up - All Systems Red

 It's time for another episode of We're Booked Up with Kendall, Andrew, and Angelique! In this episode, we discuss All Systems Red by Martha Wells, the first book in the award-winning The Murderbot Diaries series. It's a fun action-adventure sci-fi series.

Use the player below to listen or look it up on your preferred podcast app. And, after listening, let us know what you think!

For the next episode, we'll be reading The Santa Suit, a heartwarming holiday book from Mary Kay Andrews.

New Mobile App!

GCPL is excited to announce that the myLIBRO mobile app is now available for use!

Patrons can now search the library's catalog, place holds, schedule curbside pickups, and even check out while inside a library! More features are on the way.

Head over to your app store and look for the myLIBRO app today. Setup is easy with your library card but if you have issues, as always, feel free to contact your nearest library location by phone or email us at help@gastonlibrary.org .

 

Outward Bound

 

(First posted on tumblr 11/14/2015)

I found an animation: “The helical model - our solar system is a vortex” by DjSadhu on YouTube here.

The animation can’t be quite right or parts of Earth would never see the sun at all.  Still, the galaxy does rotate and revolve, so nothing is in the same place from moment to moment.  Did I just inadvertently slide left a bit?  Anyway, the vortex image does emphasize two notions:  1) space travel is complicated (aiming to hit a moving target while moving,) and 2) Earth is a living spaceship hurtling through the void. So, why are humans so intent upon breaking the life support system?

Read The Martian first.  Andy Weir stated in an interview that at least one fatal mistake in his Martian engineering has been brought to his attention, but by then, the book was published.  So, as with Verne and Heinlein and Bujold, Asimov and Asaro, suspend your disbelief and enjoy a great adventure as Mark Watney endeavors NOT to become the first person to die on Mars.

I suspect, but do not know, that in addition to a great deal of science geekiness, Weir may also have read Mary Roach’s foray into the inventive minds of NASA scientists working on the very complex challenge of helping the human body survive in outer space.  In Packing for Mars, Roach has collected the ideas, experiments, and potential solutions to problems ranging from welding in freefall to months of isolation, from diet to voiding in a void, and organized them for us with her usual hilarious insight.

Speaking of welding . . . .

Always assuming humans conquer the basic challenges of a human surviving in The Void, what does it take to thrive in freefall?  Weightlessness has been shown to present significant issues including warped bone growth.  Lois McMasters Bujold tackles this scenario in Falling Free by genetically engineering a new type of human being, one so well adapted to freefall that living a meaningful life on a planet is virtually impossible.  What would be most useful to a group of people living their entire lives weightless?  After addressing the bone density and musculature issues, an extra set of hands would really help, wouldn’t it?  Leo is an engineering teacher brought in to instruct the young quaddies in welding.  When the invention of an artificial gravity machine renders the new humans obsolete, the corporation responsible for developing this new form of humanity decides to terminate the experiment.

I wonder how birds handle freefall?  Have to admit thinking I would miss birdsong most in space.

What would I pack for Mars?  A vacuum cleaner.

-- Xina Lowe, Librarian

 

Finding and Remembering North Carolina Veterans with Fold3

Just in time for Veteran’s Day, join SLNC Government & Heritage Library staff for a virtual presentation on Fold3.

Fold3 is an online historical collection and searchable database that focuses on military records from the colonial era through recent conflict periods. Fold3 is accessible via the Gaston County Public Library. For more information please visit our website by clicking https://bit.ly/2ZPgHqV .

During this live educational session, we will focus on Fold3’s key collections and share strategies for searching and finding records that can help with your North Carolina research.We'll take a virtual field trip to the Vietnam Memorial Wall and the USS Arizona Memorial, and we’ll wrap up by showing you how to commemorate a veteran on the U.S. Honor Wall.

Program Details:

Live captioning will be provided.

This program will be recorded and will be available to view after the event is complete on the State Library's YouTube channel, youtube.com/statelibrarync.

Date/Time: November 10, 2021, 10:00 am

To register for this free event please visit https://slnc.info/F3GHL

Book Review: The Man They Wanted Me to Be: Toxic Masculinity and a Crisis of Our Own Making by Jared Yates Sexton - 2019

Based on the provocative and popular New York Times op–ed, this memoir alternates between the examination of a working–class upbringing and a cultural analysis of the historical, psychological, and sociological sources that make up the roots of toxic masculinity and its impact on society.

As American society adapts to changing economic and social demands, “traditional” masculine roles that have been mainstream since the Industrial Revolution seem to be increasingly out of step. Faced with unfamiliar challenges in work and relationships, some men struggle to find their place using the roadmap to manhood laid down by their fathers, uncles, grandfathers… etc. These tensions have created resentments in men who remember all-too-fondly the “good old days” of John Wayne and Ronald Reagan as the golden age of masculinity.

This is the backdrop of “The Man They Wanted Me to Be,” by Jared Yates Sexton, a personal journey of a young American male who grew up bombarded by lessons in manhood that never quite seemed to fit, but which the author became adept at performing nonetheless. These acts of manhood served to solidify his stature among the men of his family, up to a point, but the rigorous and unforgiving demands of maintaining that façade held perfection just beyond his reach, and ultimately he always came up short in someone’s eyes.

What this book explores with a clear and unflinching gaze is the ways in which these “traditional” roles can often be a poor fit, and how they limit the potential of so many boys and men, sabotaging not only their lives and happiness, but the lives of those around them, and the families they are trying to build.

The Man They Wanted Me to Be is as thoroughly researched as it is deeply personal. Filled not only with poignant anecdotes, this book presents real statistics, examining how we teach boys what’s expected of men, and the long–term effects of that socialization (which include depression, shorter lives, misogyny, and suicide.)

Part of what makes this book so good, for me at least, is the quality of the writing, and of the story telling. The stories are personal, but also relatable in a way that many men will find familiar, and many women will find illuminating. Sexton’s writing is direct and no-frills, but no less compelling for all that. The author’s voice is one of authority, but not overbearing; he’s simply telling his story the best he can, and his story, in one way or another, touches the stories of us all.

"By carefully and soberly examining his own story, Sexton deconstructs American life and gives many examples of how pervasive toxic masculinity is in our culture." ―Henry Rollins, Los Angeles Times

“Sexton draws on his own boyhood in rural Indiana to challenge social perceptions of masculinity, arguing that narrowly defined gender roles hurt men and women alike.” —The New York Times Book Review, New & Noteworthy

“This book is critically important to our historical moment. It's also really good—and Sexton's voice is unrelentingly present in it. It crackles with intensity and absolutely refuses to allow the reader to look away for even a moment from the blight that toxic masculinity in America has wrought . . . What also makes The Man They Wanted Me to Be work so well is that it's largely a personal story . . . How do we as a culture get past toxic masculinity when, as Sexton suggests, its paragon occupies the Oval Office and its pathology is empowered? Sexton's great book points the way.” —Nicholas Cannariato, NPR

“A real page–turner . . . His lens ranges from micro to macro to capture American progressivism in action, the global labor shift from traditional manufacturing, and roles prescribed to men since the Industrial Revolution that are becoming obsolete. It examines how we teach boys what’s expected of men in America, and the long–term effects of this socialization.” —Jerry Davich, Chicago Tribune

“[Sexton's] honest and heartbreaking account of never quite being able to shed the damaging gender demands he was raised with, along with the cultural and historical context that he provides, provides a blueprint for how men can confront the harm that toxic masculinity has brought them. I don't consider it critical hyperbole to say that a book like this can save lives.” —Erin Keane, Salon

“In this moving memoir of growing up steeped in the toxic masculinity of 1980s working–class rural Indiana, Sexton (The People Are Going to Rise Like the Waters Upon Your Shore) gives an emotionally intimate demonstration of the thesis that 'men have actively overcompensated for their insecurities, so much so that they have endangered themselves, the people they love, and their society as a whole' . . . This thoughtful and powerful consideration of the damage done by traditional masculinity to its ostensible beneficiaries will reward readers’ attention.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“This book exposes the true cost of toxic masculinity—depression, suicide, misogyny, and a shorter lifespan for men—and takes aim at the patriarchal structures in American society that continue to uphold an outdated ideal of manhood.” —Kate Scott, Book Riot