Various Films, part 2, New Year Songs & This Week's Statistics

Hello again, my friends! I'm still in a film-watching mood, trying to fill the blanks in a year full of great films. You seemed to enjoy the last time I shared my impressions of some of these films with you, so, let's do it again!

There is not much time to write, being in the middle of the holidays, so today, we will be talking about only two films, one gay-themed and one not. We'll start with the latter.

22 July

Paul Greengrass is an English director who made a series of good documentaries for British TV and then exploded into the film scene with a number of based-on-true-facts movies that have a documentary-like authenticity. Among them: Bloody Sunday, winner of the top prize at the Berlin Film Festival, United 93, giving him an Oscar nomination for Best Director, and Captain Phillips, which gathered six Oscar nominations. He also made three of the "Bourne" films, among them, the most successful, The Bourne Ultimatum (three Oscar wins.)

His latest, 22 July, returns to the based-on-true-facts movies. For those of you who don't remember, on 22 July 2011 one of the worst terrorist attacks ever that traumatized Europe happened in Norway. There were over seventy dead and more than two hundred seriously wounded, the majority of whom were teenagers. The terrorist responsible for this awful carnage was an extreme-right-winger, one of those who wants racial purity in the Western World.

The movie is extremely timely, especially today with the troubling rise of the extreme right all over the Western World. Greengrass' creative choice to use Norwegian actors speaking in English was criticized by many but, in my opinion, it's for the best: the use of Norwegian actors allows for increased authenticity, while the use of English language allows for the film's reach to be universal.

The film examines the case from all possible fronts; the preparation of the attacks, the attacks themselves, the aftermath, the trial - and we get to see the point of view of all the protagonists; the terrorist, the victims, their families, the terrorist's defendant, the government.

The film moves at a terrific pace (kudos to the director and to the editor) - making the experience feel visceral. The cinematography is amazing, capturing the big picture as well as the minute details. So is the screenplay. The actors are all superb. I really recommend this film to everyone - it works on so many levels; as a re-enactment of a painful piece of recent history; as an edge-of-your-seat adventure; as a look in the mind of a monster; as a tale of inner strength and perseverance on the part of the victims; and finally, as the decision of a government to uphold the law and safeguard its democracy, despite the strong emotional drive to treat such a terrible criminal as less than human. A wonderful film...

This is the movie's trailer:

Here's the film's main cast talking about the movie:

The other movie I will talk about is gay-themed and also has a date as a title: It's called 1985 and is directed by Yen Tan. The movie manages to do something special: it mixes all the tropes of a gay-themed movie; the closeted youth leaving for the big city and returning after a few years to come out to his parents; the deeply religious small town; the confused parents, trying to understand; the deadly and ever-present (at the time) ghost of AIDS; the former girlfriend; the bullied teen - and comes up with something fresh. Not an easy task, believe me - we've seen too many mediocre and bad movies telling these stories.

The artistic choice to film in black and white strips the film of sugar-coated nostalgia and firmly places it in reality. The good actors help sell the film with their amazing performances: Cory Michael Smith (Carol), Virginia Madsen (Oscar-nominated for Sideways), Michael Chiklis (The Wire), Jamie Chung (Big Hero 6), and the film's discovery, the very talented young actor, Aidan Langford.

It's a gentle and sensitive film, while at the same time being grounded and reflective. I recommend it to those who remember 1985, as well as to those who don't.

This is the movie's trailer:

OK, we're done with the movies. What about the songs? Well, it's already New Year's Eve as I'm writing this so today's songs will orbit around this subject. Let's begin with something great, U2 and New Year's Day:

Abba follows, with Happy New Year:

A Great Big World gave us This Is The New Year:

B.B. King is all about Bringing In A Brand New Year:

... While Van Morrison reminds us of the Celtic New Year:

I couldn't find the original Funky New Year by the Eagles, so here's the Candyman Funked Up Edit:

The Great Lake Swimmers explain how we are Gonna Make It Through This Year:

... While The O'Jays sing a song with a very long title, called ‎Christmas Ain't Christmas, New Years Ain't New Years Without The One You Love:

Mary Chapin Carpenter sings about New Year's Day:

A Long December is by the Counting Crows:

Sugarland gave us Maybe Baby (New Year's Day):

Death Cab For Cutie sing about The New Year:

Snoop Dogg and Marty James sing about New Year' Eve:

Pale Waves also sing about New Year' Eve:

Yet another song called New Year' Eve is by MØ:

Here's Ella Fitzgerald with What Are You Doing New Year's Eve?:

This is Taylor Swift and New Year's Day:

Next Year is by the Foo Fighters:

Next Year is also by Two Door Cinema Club:

The gone-too-soon Jeff Buckley gave us New Year's Prayer:

Nothin' New For New Year is performed by Harry Connick, Jr. and George Jones:

Same Old Lang Syne is by Dan Fogelberg:

It's Just Another New Year' Eve is by Barry Manilow:

Happy Xmas (War Is Over) by John Lennon & The Plastic Ono Band may not have the New Year in its title but it's there in the lyrics:

There's another group of songs that are not necessarily about the New Year but they have years as their title. After Beatle John, it's appropriate that we listen to Paul McCartney and Wings and their song Nineteen Hundred and Eighty-Five:

The Beatles' close friend, Nilsson, gave us the autobiographical 1941:

1984 would surely be one of the years mentioned - and who better to write a song about it than David Bowie:

One of The Who's masterpieces is the rock opera, Tommy. In it is the song 1921:

... For the 1975 adaptation of Tommy to film, the song was moved 30 years to the future, in 1951:

In their monumental album, A Night At The Opera, Queen included '39:

We travel 60 years to the future, with the amazing Prince and 1999:

These next two years have both been important in my life. First, let's listen to 1972 by Josh Rouse:

... Then, there's James Blunt's 1973:

So far we've been revisiting past years. How about a trip to the future, with Zager & Evans' In The Year 2525:

Auld Lang Syne is the traditional song most people associate with this day. I chose a few versions of the song. Here's an acapella version with the wonderful harmonies by the Beach Boys:

Unfortunately, Jimi Hendrix's amazing version of Auld Lang Syne is nowhere to be found, so we skip it.

Aretha Franklin & Billy Preston give Auld Lang Syne a Soul spin:

This is Auld Lang Syne combined with People and stage banter by Barbra Streisand:

Here's a dance version of Auld Lang Syne (The New Year's Anthem) by Mariah Carey:

... And I left Bing Crosby's more traditional-sounding Auld Lang Syne for last:

Now, let's continue with our statistics; the number of visits this week rose by 32%, even though there was no new material since last weekend. People found the time to revisit older stories, like George Maharis, Peter Straker, Dave Clark, Tevin Campbell, Simon & Garfunkel, Chris Bell, Freddie Jackson, Joe Jackson, and Luther Vandross were among the week's most popular stories.

As far as countries are concerned, the United States, Russia, Australia, and the Netherlands see their all-time rates rise, while France and Cyprus experience minor losses: As a result, Australia overtakes Cyprus and lands on the ninth position on the all-time chart. The rest of the major players kept their percentages stable.

Here are this week's Top 10 countries:

1. the United States

2. Russia

3. the United Kingdom

4. Australia

5. Germany

6. Canada

7. France

8. Greece

9. the Netherlands

10. Brazil

Here are the other countries that graced us with their presence since our last statistics (alphabetically): Albania, Angola, Argentina, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Benin, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Bulgaria, Cape Verde, Chile, Colombia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Ecuador, Egypt, Estonia, Finland, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Lebanon, Lithuania, Malaysia, Mexico, Moldova, Montenegro, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Norway, Pakistan, Peru, the Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Republic of Congo, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, Taiwan, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Ukraine, the United Arab Emirates, Venezuela, Vietnam, and Zambia. Happy to have you all!

And here's the all-time Top 10:

1. the United States = 32.6%

2. France = 17.4%

3. the United Kingdom = 11.4%

4. Greece = 8.2%

5. Russia = 2.6%

6. Germany = 1.9%

7. Canada = 1.9%

8. Italy = 0.93%

9. Australia = 0.84%

10. Cyprus = 0.84%

That's all for today, folks. Till the next one!

This year's Oscar shortlists, part 3 & This Week's Statistics

This year's Oscar nominations will be soon upon us. In most categories, the voters are free to vote for any eligible film they choose but there are a few categories that, for various reasons, merit special treatment. For these categories, shortlists were created, which were announced on December 17. Among them are the music categories. Like we did last year, I will play for you all the eligible songs and scores that are available on Youtube. I will also mention which films made it to the other shortlists. I will present the lists in order of likelihood (in my opinion) for the film to proceed to a nomination. Then, on January 22, you will know whether I was right or not. Let's go!

Sade

These are the last five songs in the Oscar shortlist. They may not have much of a chance to make it to the nominations' stage but each is a good song in its own right.

A few months ago, if someone had told you that two Best Original Song contenders would be (at least partially) sung by the directors of the films for which they were composed, your first thought probably would have been something like: "I can't wait to hear Clint Eastwood's wistful piano ballad about a mule." Thankfully, Boots Riley had a better idea. The frontman of the incendiary Oakland hip-hop group The Coup long before he was a filmmaker, Riley knew that exactly what Sorry to Bother You needed to sound like and that his voice has to come through it in more ways than one. Riding a crunchy guitar riff and a hook that's as catchy and propulsive as anything in The Coup's deep back catalogue, OYAHYTT captures the revolutionary fire that burns throughout the year's best anti-capitalist satire. Even before Lakeith Stanfield shows up in the second half ("I got a bullet and I'm willing to bang / Get your ass so benedict you're willing to get slain"), this song already boasts more raw energy than the rest of the tracks combined.

This is OYAHYTT by The Coup ft. Lakeith Stanfield from the movie Sorry to Bother You:

After a seven-year hiatus, the incomparable Sade returned to the studio to soundtrack two different movies this year. And while The Flower of the Universe was a highlight of A Wrinkle in Time, the Academy chose to overlook that proud and achingly beautiful ode from a parent to their child in favor of the slinky original slow-jam that Sade contributed to Steve McQueen’s Widows. While it might not boast the same emotional backbone that made Sade's other new tune such a powerful return, The Big Unknown is still a vintage tune from someone whose voice is hot enough to make even the most basic melody catch fire. Taking its cues from the wistful heist thriller that inspired it, The Big Unknown is equal parts sexy and wounded; it's a song about the refusal to surrender, but Sade's immaculate vulnerability graces every line with a soft touch of desperation. Widows proved to be surprisingly divisive, but everyone can agree that Sade deserves to be on that Oscar stage.

This is Sade with The Big Unknown from the movie Widows:

Quincy Jones might be 85 years old, but - to the surprise of absolutely no one - the iconic titan of the music industry still knows how to write a good song. Joined here by Chaka Khan and hitmaker Mark Ronson, the producer delivers a casual and catchy (if kinda repetitive) funk bop about his refusal to throw in the towel. Built atop a snappy groove and chock full of bouncy horn parts (not to mention the hottest sax riff on the Oscar shortlist), Keep Reachin' is the best part of the middling documentary that inspired it, and plenty inspirational in its own fun way.

Here's Keep Reachin' by Quincy Jones, Chaka Khan, and Mark Ronson from the movie Quincy:

Any and all new music from South London singer-songwriter Sampha is a reason to celebrate, even if the thin and directionless Treasure feels like a b-side that was rightly left off his essential 2017 debut LP, Process. This pretty (if fittingly anxious) song finds a proper home on the soundtrack for Beautiful Boy, as Sampha's breathy vocals flutter above an erratic Nils Frahm-like piano melody, the brewing chaos underneath his words helping to evoke the instability of addiction and the tumult of going through it together. Much like the movie that inspired it, however, Treasure doesn't really go anywhere so much as it runs out of gas, its touching search for catharsis frustrated by a clear lack of direction.

This is Sampha and the song from Beautiful Boy called Treasure:

An amusing and adorably twisted send-up of the "I Want" songs that bedrock every animated musical ever made, A Place Called Slaughter Race finds little Venellope von Schweetz (Sarah Silverman) trying to become the center of her very own musical number. Following the advice of the Disney princesses she's just met, the glitchy little girl stares into a reflective pool of water and reveals her greatest dream: To live in a hyper-violent dystopian video game called "Slaughter Race." It's a fun bait-and-switch that allows Silverman - and Gal Gadot, among a small chorus of other voices - to sing a cutesy tune about "fallen wires, dumpster fires, creepy clowns, and burning tires" but the joke wears thin, and it lacks a power chorus worthy of the classic songs it's meant to parody.

Here's A Place Called Slaughter Race, written by multi-Oscar winner Alan Menken, together with Phil Johnston and Tom MacDougall, for the movie Ralph Breaks the Internet:

As far as Best Score is concerned, Nicholas Britell is not only shortlisted for his score in If Beale Street Could Talk but also for his vibrant score in Adam McKay's Vice. Could Britell end up with 2 nominations? It's unlikely but not impossible. Here's an excerpt:

We have mentioned Steven Spielberg's Ready Player One when we were discussing the visual effects' shortlist. Here it is again, shortlisted for Alan Silvestri's score:

James Newton Howard is an Oscars' veteran (8 nominations, no wins). Did you know that he also used to be in Elton John's backing band, as well as being Barbra Streisand romantic interest for a while? Now you do. This year, he's been shortlisted for his score for Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald. This is The Thestral Chase scene:

If Brian Tyler receives a nomination for his score for the very successful romantic comedy, Crazy Rich Asians, it will be his first. Here's the Love Theme from the movie:

Last on the shortlist is the score for a very intelligent and funny British political comedy called The Death of Stalin. The music in Armando Iannucci's film is composed by Christopher Willis. These are the End Titles:

Here are the final shortlists. They involve the shorts. Here they are, alphabetically:

Animated Shorts

Age of Sail

Animal Behaviour

Bao

Bilby

Bird Karma

Late Afternoon

Lost & Found

One Small Step

Pépé le Morse

Weekends

Documentary Shorts

Black Sheep

End Game

Lifeboat

Los Comandos

My Dead Dad’s Porno Tapes

A Night at the Garden

Period. End of Sentence.

’63 Boycott

Women of the Gulag

Zion

Live-Action Shorts

Caroline

Chuchotage

Detainment

Fauve

Icare

Marguerite

May Day

Mother

Skin

Wale

Now, let's continue with our statistics; the number of visits this week were more or less stable. The new material worked well - and so did older stories: George Maharis, Peter Straker, Dave Clark, Tevin Campbell, Simon & Garfunkel, Chic, and Rock Hudson were among the week's most popular stories.

As far as countries are concerned, there's a saying in football (soccer): the Germans never give up fighting even if they're behind in the score and the game is almost over. Such is the case here: they had a really good week and they've overtaken Canada in the process, reclaiming the sixth position on the all-time chart. However, the difference between Germany and Canada is just 42 visits, so this is far from over. Australia is also doing well and challenging Cyprus for the ninth position on the all-time chart. The United States is still doing great, consolidating its position at the top of both charts. Also, welcome to Thailand. The rest of the major players suffered minor losses.

Here are this week's Top 10 countries:

1. the United States

2. Germany

3. the United Kingdom

4. Australia

5. Greece

6. Canada

7. France

8. Thailand

9. Russia

10. Brazil

Here are the other countries that graced us with their presence since our last statistics (alphabetically): Angola, Argentina, Austria, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus, Belgium, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brunei, Bulgaria, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Estonia, Finland, French Polynesia, Ghana, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Kenya, Kuwait, Lebanon, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Malta, Martinique, Mauritius, Mexico, Mongolia, Morocco, Myanmar (Burma), Nepal, the Netherlands, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Panama, Peru, the Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Tunisia, Turkey, Uganda, Ukraine, the United Arab Emirates, Venezuela, Vietnam, and Zambia. Happy to have you all!

And here's the all-time Top 10:

1. the United States = 32.5%

2. France = 17.5%

3. the United Kingdom = 11.4%

4. Greece = 8.2%

5. Russia = 2.5%

6. Germany = 1.9%

7. Canada = 1.9%

8. Italy = 0.93%

9. Cyprus = 0.85%

10. Australia = 0.83%

That's all for today, folks. Till the next one!

This year's Oscar shortlists, part 2

This year's Oscar nominations will be soon upon us. In most categories, the voters are free to vote for any eligible film they choose but there are a few categories that, for various reasons, merit special treatment. For these categories, shortlists were created, which were announced on December 17. Among them are the music categories. Like we did last year, I will play for you all the eligible songs and scores that are available on Youtube. I will also mention which films made it to the other shortlists. I will present the lists in order of likelihood (in my opinion) for the film to proceed to a nomination. Then, on January 22, you will know whether I was right or not. Let's go!

Troye Sivan and Jónsi

Yesterday, we spoke of the possibility of Mary Poppins Returns having two songs in the final five but I chose to go with the Dolly Parton song for the fifth place. So, we begin today's list with that song, which has a big possibility of landing in the top 5. Unlike The Place Where Lost Things Go, Trip a Little Light Fantastic is an upbeat group song, a loud and insistently upbeat ode to looking at the bright side of things, in the same vein as Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious but definitely not as good. Like The Place Where Lost Things Go, it is also written by Marc Shaiman (five Oscar nominations, no wins) and Scott Wittman. It is performed by Emily Blunt, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Tarik Frimpong, Pixie Davies, Joel Dawson, Nathanael Saleh, and Leeries. Here it is:

To be honest, I find both possible nominees from Mary Poppins Returns rather underwhelming. Their increased chances of making the top 5 are mostly because of the high visibility of the mother-film, Marc Shaiman's good standing with the Academy and the fact that there exist voting members who are nostalgic of the old musical. Also, Diane Warren's song for RGB is quite generic - and if it wasn't for Warren's reputation and Jennifer Hudson's impressive vocals, the song wouldn't be so high on the list. In fact, I would rather than any of the four songs that I will be now presenting make it in the final five. Starting with a favorite of mine; this is what happens when two gay and talented artists team up to write and perform a song for a gay-themed film: a good song like Revelation happens. The film in question is Boy Erased and the two artists (both extensively profiled in this blog) are Troye Sivan and the heart and soul of Sigur Rós, Jónsi. The song subverts the devotional sounds of Christian rock to create an anthem for those who feel dispossessed by religious doctrine. Singing about liberation (and its lack of hellish consequences) with the same kind of hushed and sacred tone that should be instantly familiar to anyone raised on the likes of Lifehouse and Jars of Clay, Sivan aims his message of freedom and encouragement at the people who most need to hear it, while Jónsi ensures that some ethereal Sigur Rós vibes simmer under the surface. This is Revelation:

When a Cowboy Trades His Spurs for Wings, written for the Coen brothers' western anthology, Ballad of Buster Scruggs, by David Rawlings and Gillian Welch and performed by Willie Watson and Tim Blake Nelson would appear to be the unlikeliest song on the shortlist. Yet, the song is a perfect, harmonica-inflected encapsulation of the Coen brothers' cockeyed worldview: It's funny but not mocking, silly, but not satirical, resigned to death, but not all that sentimental about it. Appearing in The Ballad of Buster Scruggs as a wonderful grace note at the end of the anthology's first story, the song manages to feel like both a winking joke about the old West and also a genuine relic from it.

Now that Jonny Greenwood has firmly established himself as one of the most exciting film composers in the world today, his Radiohead bandmate Thom Yorke is trying to follow suit. So far, so great. The haunting and eccentric score that Yorke composed for Luca Guadagnino's Suspiria remake is a recurring highlight in the movie and makes us optimistic that Yorke and Guadagnino might forge a musical collaboration as strong as the one between Greenwood and Paul Thomas Anderson.

The plaintively beautiful Suspirium plays over the opening credits and sets the tone for the psychological evisceration to come. Running atop a lilting piano melody, and set to incisive lyrics that cut to the heart of Guadagnino's remake, the song is as fragile and tortured as the movie for which it was written, and it only grows more unnerving once a solo flute starts dancing above the closing sections. Here it is:

The last song for today is We Won't Move, an effective showcase for emerging British singer-songwriter Arlissa Ruppert, as well as a galvanizing protest anthem for the climax (and credits) of a movie that more than earns this degree of stoic resolve, The Hate U Give. The song is earnest from its first note to its last and builds rather beautifully as Arlissa plaintive voice starts to echo and reverberate like a full chorus is behind her. This is it:

As far as Best Score is concerned, here are the five runners-up to the five favorites that we presented last time:

Terence Blanchard's score for Spike Lee's BlacKkKlansman has a small chance to make it to the final five. This is Blood and Soil:

In John Krasinski's successful thriller, A Quiet Place, Marco Beltrami's score is important, since dialogue is scarce. Here's a sample:

Alex Garland's Annihilation is a science fiction horror film that was very well reviewed but did so-so at the box-office. Ben Salisbury & Geoff Barrow wrote the film's score:

We have already heard a song from the Coen brothers' Ballad of Buster Scruggs but the film's score by Carter Burwell is also in the shortlist:

Finally for today, a blockbuster: Avengers: Infinity War was the year's most successful film, alongside Black Panther. Alan Silvestri's score is also part of the awards' conversation:

Two more shortlists for today: first, the Visual Effects shortlist. Black Panther, Avengers: Infinity War, First Man, Ready Player One, and Mary Poppins Returns are the favorites for the final five. If any of these fail to make it, then Solo: A Star Wars Story, Welcome to Marwen, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, Ant-Man and the Wasp, and Christopher Robin are waiting in the wings.

Finally, in the Makeup & Hairstyling shortlist the favorites are Vice, Black Panther, and the Swedish film Border. They are followed by Mary Queen of Scots, Suspiria, Bohemian Rhapsody, and Stan and Ollie.

The final part of this story will be presented at the weekend. See you then!

This year's Oscar shortlists, part 1

This year's Oscar nominations will be soon upon us. In most categories, the voters are free to vote for any eligible film they choose but there are a few categories that, for various reasons, merit special treatment. For these categories, shortlists were created, which were announced on December 17. Among them are the music categories. Like we did last year, I will play for you all the eligible songs and scores that are available on Youtube. I will also mention which films made it to the other shortlists. I will present the lists in order of likelihood (in my opinion) for the film to proceed to a nomination. Then, on January 22, you will know whether I was right or not. Let's go!

The favorite in the Best Song category is a song that many of you probably know already: it's Shallow, from the movie A Star Is Born. Written by Lady Gaga, Andrew Wyatt, Anthony Rossomando, and Mark Ronson and performed by Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper, the song is the emotional center of the film and has already been a smash hit in most global markets. Here it is:

Another song that has been a big hit all over the world, coming from a hugely successful film, is All the Stars, from the movie Black Panther. Written by Kendrick Lamar, SZA, Sounwave, and Al Shux, performed by the former two and produced by the latter two, the song is the second favorite. This is it:

This year there were many documentaries that were not only critically acclaimed but also did great at the box-office. RBG was one of the most prominent. The song I'll Fight was written by Diane Warren, who has already received nine Oscar nominations without yet winning. Could this be the one? It is sung by an Oscar winner, Jennifer Hudson. Here it is:

It wouldn't be the Oscars without some old-fashioned musical numbers, would it? Mary Poppins Returns has it covered. The film's songs, written by veteran Marc Shaiman (five Oscar nominations, no wins) with the help of Scott Wittman (lyrics) are good. Maybe not unforgettable - but so few are these days. The one that has the biggest chance to appear on the final nomination list is the ballad, The Place Where Lost Things Go, performed by the film's star, Emily Blunt:

There's another song from Mary Poppins Returns in the shortlist but we'll listen to that next time. The fifth song that I chose, which means that I think it's highly probable for it to be present in the final five, is a song written and sung by two-time Oscar nominee, the fabulous Dolly Parton. The song is called Girl in the Movies and comes from a film called Dumplin', a feelgood movie with mixed reviews. The love for Dolly is strong, the song is quite good, so don't be surprised if it proceeds to the next level. Here it is:

As far as Best Score is concerned, I believe that the odds for the five favorites are very close to each other but the rest are tracking at a distance - which means that there is a strong possibility that the five presented today will be the eventual five nominees. We start off with the score for First Man, Damien Chazelle's Neil Armstrong biopic. The score is by La La Land Oscar winner and frequent Chazelle collaborator, Justin Hurwitz. Here is the score that accompanies the first landing on the Moon:

When Damien Chazelle was gunning for the Oscar with La La Land, his biggest rival was Barry Jenkins with Moonlight. We'll never forget how that battle played out, will we? Anyway, Moonlight's Oscar-nominated composer, Nicholas Britell, also wrote the score for Jenkins' latest, the screen adaptation of the great James Baldwin's novel If Beale Street Could Talk. The track I chose to present is called Agape:

It was a great year for black movies - and the most successful of them all was Black Panther. Ludwig Göransson wrote an amazing score - and I really wouldn't mind if he were the winner come Oscar night. I chose to present Spirit Lifting, vocals by Baaba Maal. This is it:

Marc Shaiman could end up with three nominations this year if both songs from Mary Poppins Returns make the final five, as well as the film's score. It is possible. This is the End Title Suite:

The fifth score presented today is from a movie that I saw recently and talked about it in my previous story, Isle of Dogs. Wes Anderson's intelligent and entertaining movie boasts Anderson's frequent collaborator, Alexandre Desplat, as its composer. Desplat, already a two-time Oscar winner and with seven more nominations, will most probably get his tenth nomination this year. This is the music during the end titles:

Now, let's talk about two more shortlists. This may be the first time ever that there will be only one Best Foreign Language nominee from Europe. So far there have been at least two European nominees every year, while it was not unusual to have all five nominees being European.

The one country that will possibly save Europe from embarrassment is Poland, with ten Oscar nominations, the last of which was a win; the film was Ida by Paweł Pawlikowski. It's the same director that does Poland proud this year with his new film, called Cold War. The film's biggest rival comes from a country that so far had eight Oscar nominations but no wins. This will probably change for Mexico this year with Alfonso Cuaron's Roma. We'll see how the battle of the two black & white movies turns out.

Even if no win comes out of it, this is certainly Asia's year. The other three films that will, in my opinion, complete this year's nomination roster, all come from the biggest continent of them all. Japan is no stranger to the Foreign Language Oscars. It has four wins and eleven more nominations. This year's submission, Shoplifters by Hirokazu Koreeda, will add to that number, with only four countries (France, Italy, Spain, and Germany) above it on the all-time list.

Lebanon has only had one nomination so far, while South Korea has had none. I think it's very possible that they both make the final five, Lebanon with Nadine Labaki's Capernaum and South Korea with Chang-dong Lee's Burning. The other four films in the shortlist fighting for a nomination are (in order of probability): Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck's Never Look Away (Germany), Gustav Möller's The Guilty (Denmark), Cristina Gallego and Ciro Guerra's Birds Of Passage (Colombia), and Sergey Dvortsevoy's Ayka (Kazakhstan).

One more list for today: the Documentary shortlist. As I mentioned earlier, this was a great year for documentaries, both the critics and the cinema-going public found a lot to love. The five that make it to the nominations will probably be the following: Won’t You Be My Neighbor?, Free Solo, RBG, Three Identical Strangers, and Minding the Gap. There are ten more fighting for a place in the sun, which are: Hale County This Morning, This Evening (this has a fair chance of making the five), Shirkers, Dark Money, Crime + Punishment, Of Fathers and Sons, The Silence of Others, The Distant Barking of Dogs, Charm City, Communion, and On Her Shoulders.

That's all for today. More songs, scores, and shortlists coming soon...