Hi everyone! Welcome to this week’s installment of Tom’s Top 3 Tuesdays, where I highlight three pieces of content (Podcasts/Shows/Songs/Articles/etc.) that I found interesting or noteworthy from the prior week.
Let’s get into it:
[Movie] Nickel Boys
This movie blew me away.
I was looking forward to this film for a while, but I just never got around to watching it because a lot of bigger, buzzier movies came out around the same time. It was worth the wait, let me tell you.
An adaptation of the Colson Whitehead novel of the same name, this movie tells the heartbreaking story of two boys at a reform school in the Jim Crow south. You can check out the trailer here:
Despite being nominated for Best Picture, this film has been rather polarizing—not for its plot, but for its style. It uses the technique of alternating first person POV, which at first can feel dizzying. I thought it was artfully shot, and I found it sitting with me hours after seeing the film.
I don’t think it will win any Oscars, but I hope it gets the love it deserves.
[Podcast] The Big Picture - Best Picture Power Rankings and the Winners and Losers of Movies in 2024
After watching Nickel Boys on Sunday, I immediately thought back to this wonderful interview with its director, RaMell Ross. It feels tucked away (not even marketed in the title of the podcast), but you can find it if you skip ahead, or at least stick around, until about the 1:23:00 mark.
RaMell just seems like a cool dude. He played basketball at Georgetown University before getting an MFA in photography from RISD. He now teaches visual arts at Brown. Oh, and on the side, he occasionally directs Oscar nominated movies.
The story of the movie coming to be, and hearing about RaMell’s influences and motivations, was all incredibly interesting for me. If you’d like to hear more of a critical take on the film, you can also check out The Big Picture’s most recent episode (WARNING: there are spoilers in that episode).
[Movie] Flow
This movie has been making waves recently (pun intended), even taking on Inside Out 2 and The Wild Robot in the race for best animated feature.
It wasn’t the best movie I’ve seen, but it was certainly unique. Made by a small Latvian team, Flow follows the misadventures of a small charcoal cat, as it navigates the post-flood, human-less landscape with an unlikely crew of animals.
Most notably, this film has no dialogue.
I thoroughly enjoyed my time at the theater, and how could I not. Look at this little guy:
That wraps up this edition of Tom’s Top 3 Tuesdays. If you made it to this point, please drop a 1️⃣, 2️⃣, or 3️⃣ in the comments to let me know what you found most interesting/useful. And as always, please like and consider sharing with a friend who you think would enjoy! I’ll be back next week. ✌️