Don't Bogart My Blog: Movies Update: Oscar Nominations, 'Bad Boys for Life' and More

January 17, 2020

By Kyle Buchanan

Hey, film buffs!

I feel I’ve just barely begun processing Monday’s Oscar nominations — that J. Lo snub still stings — and yet this go-go-go awards season offers no respite. On Saturday, the Producers Guild of America will pick its top film, a choice sure to attract scrutiny since last year, the PGA Awards gave us the first hint that “Green Book” would go all the way. On Sunday, the Screen Actors Guild will hand out its trophies, offering the last opportunity for someone else to sneak in and break up the Phoenix-Zellweger-Pitt-Dern foursome.

And then, in the middle of next week, the Sundance Film Festival begins. That’s a whole lotta festival to throw into the most crowded corridor of awards season, but I try to make Sundance my priority: After talking about the same big films for the last few months, I’m eager to be introduced to brand-new stories, actors, and directors. Sundance is the first place I can go to find out what 2020 is going to be like as a cinematic year, and I’ll keep you filled in on what I learn.

In the meantime, this weekend’s movies offer some big-budget choices shoved off to January — Robert Downey Jr.’s troubled “Dolittle” and the years-late threequel “Bad Boys for Life” — as well as the acclaimed, animated “Weathering With You.”

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Clockwise from top left: Andrew Cooper/Sony; Netflix; Neon; Francois Duhamel/Universal Pictures; Center: Niko Tavernise/Warner Bros.

The Carpetbagger

The Five-Way Race for Best Picture Begins

When it comes to Oscar’s top prize, this is the most wide-open competition in years. Which film has the right factors to go all the way?

By Kyle Buchanan

MOVIE REVIEWS

Universal Pictures

‘Dolittle’ Review: Baa, Humbug

Robert Downey Jr. plays the doctor turned animal whisperer in this dreary and misbegotten adventure.

By Manohla Dargis

Ben Rothstein/Sony Pictures

‘Bad Boys for Life’ Review: In a Minivan, but Still Riding

After probably years of high-powered agent, studio and management negotiations, the boys are back.

By Glenn Kenny

Alexander Nemenov/Greenwich Entertainment

‘Citizen K’ Review: Trying to Pin Down a Russian Oligarch

A detailed documentary on Mikhail Khodorkovsky proves slightly unsatisfying.

By Ben Kenigsberg

GKIDS

‘Weathering With You’ Review: Letting the Sun Shine In

In the latest from the director of the hit anime “Your Name,” two teenagers find mysterious rays of hope amid catastrophe.

By Manohla Dargis

Lionsgate

‘Intrigo: Death of an Author’ Review: Many Mysteries, Fewer Thrills

An author and a wannabe meet on a private island in a film based on a tale by Hakan Nesser.

By Glenn Kenny

Oscilloscope

‘VHYes’ Review: Channel Surfing and Self-Soothing

This visually exhausting parody of 1980s late-night television offers little more than a collage of meaningless nostalgia.

By Jeannette Catsoulis

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ANATOMY OF A SCENE

anatomy of a scene

How ‘Uncut Gems’ Creates Action Thrills at a School Play

Josh and Benny Safdie narrate a sequence from their film, featuring Adam Sandler.

by mekado murphy

NEWS & FEATURES

Clockwise from top right: RKO Pictures, via Getty Images; Columbia Pictures; Wilson Webb/Sony Pictures

Really Seeing Marmee: Oh, How ‘Little Women’s’ Matriarch Has Changed

In early screen adaptations, the character was so wan, one actress wondered why she was even there. Recent adaptations have looked at the pivotal figure in terms of how society values women.

By Kathryn Shattuck

Columbia Pictures

Martin Lawrence on Explosions On and Offscreen

The actor and comedian, whose new film is “Bad Boys for Life,” looks back on his career.

By Mekado Murphy

Warner Bros

Film Forum Asks, What Is the Experience of Black Women in Film

With over 60 movies and special events, this series tells the history of how they told their stories, both overtly and subversively.

By Nicole Herrington

Oscar Nominations 2020: ‘Joker’ Leads With 11 Nods; Three Others Get 10

“The Irishman,” “Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood” and “1917” each received 10 nominations. Black actors and actresses were largely overlooked.

By Brooks Barnes and Nicole Sperling

Niko Tavernise/Warner Bros.

2020 Oscar Nominations: Full Ballot

See this year’s Oscar nominees and make your picks.

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STREAMING

Amazon Studios

Streaming Movie Review

‘Troop Zero’ Review: A New Generation of Underdogs

This film about a makeshift scouting troop hits familiar beats, but is elevated by its cast.

By Lovia Gyarkye

Andrew Cooper/Sony Pictures

‘Parasite,’ ‘Joker’ and Other 2020 Oscar-Nominated Movies to Stream

Most of the top contenders are available from the comfort of your couch. Here’s a guide to help you get a jump on the field.

By Scott Tobias

Netflix

Streaming Movie Review

‘A Fall From Grace’ Review: A Trope-Filled Thriller From Tyler Perry

Even with Netflix’s backing and a supposedly suspenseful premise, his latest movie is, once again, about a sad, downtrodden woman.

By Candice Frederick

CRITICS’ PICKS

critic’s pick

‘Parasite’ Review: The Lower Depths Rise With a Vengeance

In Bong Joon Ho’s new film, a destitute family occupies a wealthy household in an elaborate scheme that goes comically — then horribly — wrong.

by manohla dargis

critic’s pick

‘Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood’ Review: We Lost It at the Movies

Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt star as midlevel entertainment industry workers whose relationship forms the core of Quentin Tarantino’s look at the movie past.

by a.o. scott