Each year, a handful of movies are made in a way that is less interested in audience consumption or interest and more in earning awards. The term for this is “Oscar bait.” The 2023-released movie most associated with this term is Bradley Cooper’s (A Star Is Born) sophomore directorial effort, Maestro. It will earn a few Oscars. Cooper might even earn one for Best Director. He’s likelier to earn one for Best Lead Actor for portraying the title character, Leonard Bernstein.
Category Archives: Josh Hamilton
Eighth Grade (2018)
Director Bo Burnham’s full-length feature debut, Eighth Grade, is a movie that feels very real in the time and age it was filmed. For a movie to feel this authentic, the individual writing the story and the person behind the camera must be entuned to the nuances and have experienced first-hand what his protagonist has experienced. Burham, at age 28 at the time of this film, isn’t so far removed from the experience that he can give his characters full life and meaning. Still, he is skilled enough to tell a story that is presented in a way that can successfully capture those emotions, progress a storyline, and make an end product that feels both rewarding and entertaining. While I didn’t love this film (I much more preferred the similar Mid90s, which was also about a character around or near 8th grade and released at around the same time as this film), it is an essential watch for persons in the age of 12 to 15 range and also caregivers of children of that age, or even slightly younger and slightly older.