Brendan Fraser has the Girth

by Cláudio Alves

As one of the world's foremost The Whale haters, I was ready to despise whatever Brendan Fraser was up to in Killers of the Flower Moon. Indeed, part of me relishes how many have turned against our current Best Actor champion, eviscerating him for going ridiculously over-the-top in his brief scenes as William Hale's attorney. And yet, some of the criticism feels unfair, failing to recognize the character's purpose within the film's sprawling canvas and bizarre tonal twists into dark humor. After despising his lauded work under Aronofsky, I now find myself an unlikely Fraser apologist. 

I'm not alone in this, of course. Apple defends him with an appeal to literary authority, and Martin Scorsese has recently said that what the actor did with the role was perfect. In the master's own words, he had that girth...

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Review: "Killers of the Flower Moon" is a Monument of Sorrow

by Cláudio Alves

Killers of the Flower Moon starts in death, but not of flesh or person. The Frontier is no more, the West has been won, and the Track of Tears travailed when the Osage tribe gathers to mourn a way of life. Their traditions, their beliefs, their language are moving into the twilight, so they bury a sacred pipe and give themselves a symbol to weep over and express unsurmountable grief. As if listening to the lament, the earth responds. Black oil bursts from the ground, a geyser of wealth for the People from the Middle Waters brought to this Oklahoma barrenness after settlers pushed them asunder and away from the Great Plains. A pittance place once thought worthless reveals itself a treasure, and, overnight, the Osage Nation becomes the richest per capita population in the world.

So starts Martin Scorsese's latest opus, a title that, even within the context of his hallowed filmography, feels like a monumental achievement…

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Cannes: Scorsese triumphs again with "Killers of the Flower Moon"

Elisa Giudici reporting from Cannes

Leonardo DiCaprio & Lily Gladstone in "Killers of the Flower Moon"

Dear Martin Scorsese, why did you shy away from the main competition for the Palm d’Or? Needless to say, someone with your career and pedigree has almost nothing to lose even when pitted against younger, eager colleagues at a festival. And Killers of the Flower Moon is exactly the kind of movie that is sure to impress. First of all, it is carried with the energy and politics you would expect from someone younger than Scorsese. His trademark intensity is present again. He's ardent to share the forgotten history of how a group of white men in the 1920s orchestrated a slow genocide of the Osage tribe -- at attempt to eradicate them from a land filled with oil. It is not a war but a vicious scheme because the Osage tribe was given the land before its real value was discovered.

As a result, the young USA decides to play nice with the native people, at first, making them immensely wealthy...

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Yes No Maybe So: "Killers of the Flower Moon"

by Cláudio Alves

Ahead of the film's Cannes premiere, Apple TV has released the teaser for Martin Scorsese's Killers of the Flower Moon. The historical crime drama cum Western epic has been intensely anticipated by film lovers everywhere, making itself the hottest ticket at the Croisette, where it'll screen out of competition. With an exclusive theatrical release scheduled for October before dropping on the streaming service sometime afterward, the picture is well positioned to be one of the awards season's strongest contenders, with many predicting it in early prognostications. Though, when faced with the wonder of Scorsese's cinema, awards talk feels superfluous.

Not all filmmakers slow down in their twilight years, as is the case of this auteur. Indeed, in a recent interview, Scorsese talked about his sense of mortality, how the possibilities of the seventh art keep expanding to him, and there's not enough time to explore them all. It's too late. Following the superb Silence and The Irishman, Killers of the Flower Moon looks like the work of a master who still has much to show us…

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Ranking Roger Deakins' Oscar Nominations

by Cláudio Alves

Roger Deakins on the set of EMPIRE OF LIGHT | © Searchlight Pictures

Since two categories merged into one, no director of photography has amassed as many Oscar nominations as Roger Deakins. The British cinematographer earned his 16th nod this year for Sam Mendes' Empire of Light, having previously won for 1917 and Blade Runner 2049. His career spans continents and six decades, encompassing projects as varied as a Marvin Gaye video clip and pioneering work in animated cinema. What started as an early interest in the possibilities of digital filmmaking has turned into a veritable pursuit of innovation, bringing classic technique to virtual spaces. A visionary, a pioneer, a living legend, Roger Deakins is one of a kind.

To celebrate the master, let's look back at his many Oscar nominations, ranking them along the way. After all, in times of awards fever, everyone loves a good list…

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