Film 2474 - Sinners

Intro: It was only a matter of time before I gave this one another go. Especially after I spent months listening to the "Rocky Road to Dublin” song from its soundtrack.

Film 2474: "Sinners" (2025), Ryan Coogler
Watched: From the projector
Language: English
Watched with: No one
Thoughts: I like it the first time around, but this time I loved it.
There's a lot to take in when you watch "Sinners". It's a vampire story, a horror movie, a musical, it's set in a historical setting, and it focuses on racial issues (of the African-Americans mainly, but the Irish as well). In many ways, this film reminded me of "Get Out": a social commentary of the African-American experience framed in the horror movie genre, where the scary elements of the plot are hightened by the horrors of reality. And interesting enough, both movies won the Oscar for Ogiginal Screenplay.
On top of a great story, "Sinners" fetures an amazing cast of talents: Wunmi Mosaku gives possibly her best performance so far and Jack O'Connell is delisiously evil, while Delroy Lindo finally get his first Oscar nomination as the old town harmonica player. Leading them all, Michael B. Jordan plays both twins Elijah and Elias, in a dual performance that secured him the Oscar for Best actor. Now, don't get me wrong, I think it was about time Jordan finally got some award recognition and he 100% deserved the win, but I can't not awkclnoledge the fact that Timothée Chalamet's strange Oscar campaign definitely worked in his advantage. It's possible that, without the theater and ballet controversy, Chalament could have won instead as he was predicted as the favourite to win in the category for at least half of the award season. That said, I'm glad Jordan won instead: it might look like a "quieter" performance in a way - especially compared to Chalament's on in "Marty Supreme" - but it is indeed a great one. Playing twins, there was definitely a challenge there in differentiating both characters in a way that would make them both stand out and Jordan absolutely succeded. Especially watching the movie this second time around, I noticed the different mannerisms, the different way he carries himself depending on which character he's playing, details I didn't notice before as I was more focused on following the overall story and keeping up with the dialogues (yes, I struggled a bit with all the different accents).
All in all, I think "Sinners" is the perfect example of what great movies can do: transport you to somewhere different you've never been before, tell you a compelling story you can fully immerse in, trascend you into someone else's life for a couple of hours making you feel what they feel and go through. It's magical. And that's why I love movies so much.
Film 2377 - Sinners
Film 2474 - Sinners
Cast: Michael B. Jordan, Hailee Steinfeld, Miles Caton, Jack O'Connell, Wunmi Mosaku, Jayme Lawson, Omar Benson Miller, Delroy Lindo.
Box Office: $370 million
Worth a watch?: Look, it might not be your cup of tea and it's absolutely fine. Personally, I loved it: it's a feast for the eyes and ears (the soundtrack by Ludwig Göransson is crazy good), it's an original story full of creativity and meaning that goes beyond the expected and seens before "it's a vampire story". There's so much more to this film, it's shot beautifully, all the performances are top notch and Ryan Coogler's vision really comes to life here.
Give it a go and see how you feel!
Awards: The movie received so many accolades, I'll list them like this for convenience. In

bold the wins.

Oscars
Best Picture
Best Director
Best Actor (Michael B. Jordan)
Best Supporting Actor (Delroy Lindo)
Best Supporting Actress (Wunmi Mosaku)
Best Original Screenplay
Best Casting
Best Cinematography
Best Film Editing
Best Costume Design
Best Makeup and Hairstyling
Best Original Score
Best Original Song (for "I Lied to You")
Best Production Design
Best Sound
Best Visual Effects

BAFTAs
Best Film
Best Director
Best Actor in a Leading Role (Michael B. Jordan)
Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Wunmi Mosaku)
Best Original Screenplay
Best Cinematography
Best Production Design
Best Costume Design
Best Makeup and Hair
Best Editing
Best Original Score
Best Sound
EE Rising Star Award (Miles Caton)

Golden Globes
Best Motion Picture – Drama
Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama (Michael B. Jordan)
Best Director
Best Screenplay
Best Original Score
Cinematic and Box Office Achievement
Best Original Song (for "I Lied to You")

Actor Awards
Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture (Miles Caton, Buddy Guy, Michael B. Jordan, Jayme Lawson, Delroy Lindo, Omar Miller, Wunmi Mosaku, Jack O'Connell, and Hailee Steinfeld)
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role (Michael B. Jordan)
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role (Miles Caton)
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role (Wunmi Mosaku)
Outstanding Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture

Grammy
Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media
Best Score Soundtrack Album for Visual Media
Best Song Written for Visual Media (for "I Lied to You")
Best Song Written for Visual Media (for "Pale, Pale Moon")
Best Song Written for Visual Media (for "Sinners")
Best Instrumental Composition (for "Why You Here / Before The Sun Went Down")

Key word: Blues.
Trailer
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Bengi

Film 2377 - Sinners

Intro: Probably one of the cinematic event of the year, Niamh went to see it and liked it so much she wanted to bring me as well. And off we went, of course.

Film 2377: "Sinners" (2025), Ryan Coogler
Watched on: At the movies
Language: English
Watched with: Niamh
Thoughts: One of the most interesting movies I've seen so far this year: what a ride.
Although I have to admit the story takes its time to get to the juicy part, it definitely is a good ride. Yes, the first hour sees no vampire showing up whatsoever - and for a second there I was starting to think we were never getting there - but once things start to happen and everything gets in motion, it is a pleasure to watch. One of the highlights for me (watching this mvovie in Ireland) was the "Rocky Road to Dublin" musical number: very unexpected, extremely well executed and somehow perfectly fitting in the story.
The cast is solid, I'm a sucker for Michael B. Jordan (with whom I share my birthday Feb. 9, 1987) and he's great here, as usual. I wish Hollywood would give him more chances like this one and, to be honest, more awards. Wunmi Mosaku was a marvellous surprise, she's a scene stealer. I saw her before in "His House" and "Loki" and she's so magnetic you can't take your eyes off of her. Happy to see Hailee Steinfeld in something new for her, she's so talented, but she needs more projects like this one.
Overall, an amazing cinematic experience.
Film 2377 - Sinners
Film 2474 - Sinners
Cast: Michael B. Jordan, Hailee Steinfeld, Miles Caton, Jack O'Connell, Wunmi Mosaku, Jayme Lawson, Omar Miller, Delroy Lindo.
Box Office: $365.9 million
Worth a watch?: It takes a moment to get to the horror bits (the movie is 137 minutes long), but once it gets there there's no turning back. Not your usual Hollywood scary movie, but a well made, constructed and narrated story, with an amazing cast and stunning visuals. I hope it gets its flowers at the Oscars (but the ceremony is still so far away...).
Awards: /
Key word: Juke joint.
Trailer
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Bengi

Film 2343 - Nosferatu

Intro: Back from Italy after the holiday break, Niamh and I had this movie planned for as soon as we got back to Dublin.

Film 2343: "Nosferatu" (2024), Robert Eggers
Watched on: At the movies
Language: English
Watched with: Niamh
Thoughts: I was excited to see this movie, but not as excited as Niamh was.
I wasn't exactly sure what to expect, which I think didn't make me too entusiastic about watching this movie to begin with. What excited me the most, though, was it's cast: with Nicholas Hoult, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Willem Dafoe all in lead and supporting roles and none other than "It" itself Bill Skarsgård in the titular role, definitely "Nosferatu"'s star factor was playing a big role.
What hurt the chances of me liking and enjoying this movie experience, though, were two factors. Firstly, an external one: the movie theater we were in had no heating on and we ended up watching the movie wearing our jackets all buttoned up. It maybe (unintentionally) mimicked this film's atmosphere, but it wasn't at all pleasent and actually made imèatient to leave ("Nosferatu" is 132 min long...).
Secondly, I couldn't understand a single thing Bill Skarsgård says. The tone of his voice playing this character and especially the accent made impossible for me to grasp just a couple of words here and there, to the point I eventually gave up trying to understand what "Nosferatu" was saying. Which obviously made it kind of hard for me to understand what was going on with his character in general and especially with his relationship to and with Lily-Rose Depp's Ellen. To the point that I had to go and read the plot of this movie on Wikipedia to get a better sense of what I just watched.
So, maynly for these two reasons, i can't say I enjoyed watching "Nosferatu" as much as I was expecting to.
That said, it's undeniable that this movie has a clear point of view, is masterfully crafted and well acted and has a great sense of style and it's visually compelling. I particularly loved the gloomy atmosphere, the cinematography and costumes and the actor's perfromances. I think Robert Eggers once again proves that he has a really interesting point of view and his film are more and more becoming recognizable in terms of their clear style and visual, estethic and directing.
Also, I want to mention that I enjoyed Lily-Rose Depp's performance, this is the first time I see her act and she didn't disappoint (although I think this could have been another role Anya Taylor-Joy would have killed had she collaborated with Eggers once more after "The Witch" and "The Northman").
Cast: Bill Skarsgård, Nicholas Hoult, Lily-Rose Depp, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Emma Corrin, Willem Dafoe.
Box Office: $172.2 million (so far)
Worth a watch?: Visually intriguing, extremelly well crafted and directed, I'm sure "Nosferatu" won't disappoint the fans of the original (although I didn't watch it so take this with a pinch of salt). Some may require subtitles to understand what Bill Skarsgård is saying.
Awards: Nominated for 4 Oscar: Cinematography, Production Design, Costumes and Makeup and Hairstyling. 5 BAFTAs nominations for Cinematography, Production Design, Costumes, Make Up & Hair and Original Score.
Key word: Plague.
Trailer
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Bengi