Sunday, May 9, 2021

'Knives Out' and 'Mulan' lead thriller and action film nominees at the Saturn Awards



When I promised my readers "another installment of this series about the Action/Adventure movie nominees," 'Birds of Prey' and 'The Flash' lead comic-book and superhero movies and television nominees — DCEU and Arrowverse at the Saturn Awards, I had allowed Deadline lead me astray. The Hollywood trade publication listed "Star Wars Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker," "Tenet," and "Doctor Sleep" as the three most nominated movies, then mentioned "Other noms went to the likes of this year’s Mulan, Birds of Prey and The Old Guard alongside last year’s biggies Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Joker, Parasite and 1917." I checked the nominations of all those movies and found that "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" had seven and both "Birds of Prey" and "Mulan" had six, so I planned my posts accordingly. Deadline ignored "Knives Out" even though it has eight nominations, tied with "Doctor Sleep" for third most nominated movie, so I missed it until I checked its nominations this morning. Naughty Deadline! Bad journalism! *Glare*

Therefore, I am covering "Knives Out" and the rest of the thriller movie nominees along with "Mulan" and the other action/adventure movie nominees today beginning with their nominations from the Saturn Awards website.

Best Thriller Film Release:
Da Five Bloods
The Good Liar
The Irishman
Knives Out
Mank
Uncut Gems
I think this is a really good field of the films I'd likely pick if I were choosing thriller movies from the eligibility period, so I have no complaints. It balances professional and popular choices while including worthy films that the Motion Picture Academy snubbed in addition to Oscar nominees. In addition to "Knives Out," "Mank" has five nominations, "Da Five Bloods" has two, and the rest just the one nomination in this category. If the Hollywood professionals dominated the electorate, they would likely vote for "Mank," as they couldn't resist a good story about Hollywood if all else is equal. Since the fans compose the bulk of the voters, they're going to vote for the most entertaining, and that's "Knives Out," which is my choice.

I have to resist a particular pull to vote for "The Irishman." The restaurant parking lot where witnesses last saw Jimmy Hoffa sits exactly three miles away by car from where I live now and even less as the crow flies. In addition, my wife worked for the Teamsters decades ago. I have connections to the story, but they aren't enough to get me to vote for the movie, which I've heard is a slog. In contrast, watching "Knives Out" was a lot of fun.

Best 4K Film Release:
The Alfred Hitchcock Classics Collection
Apocalypse Now: The Final Cut
Flash Gordon Limited Edition
Jaws 45th Anniversary
Knives Out
Mad Max
War of the Worlds (2005)
That written, I'm probably not voting for "Knives Out" in its nominated home entertainment category. Instead, I'm torn between Hitchcock and "Jaws." I have only the foggiest idea of what the rest of the Saturn electorate will choose, so I won't venture a guess.

Best Action/Adventure Film Release:
1917
Bad Boys for Life
El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie
Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw
The Gentlemen
Mulan
Now for the category I planned on featuring today before I discovered that "Knives Out" had eight nominations. As I opened this entry, "Mulan" has as many nominations as "Birds of Prey" to lead Action/Adventure movie nominees with six, followed by "1917" and "El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie" with two. The rest have only one nomination in this category. The nominees fall in two groups, war movies like "1917" and "Mulan" and crime films for all the rest, although "Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw" has ventured into James Bond territory along with the rest of the more recent "Fast and Furious" movies. "Mulan" is also a fantasy film, making it more distinctive from the rest of the field. I'm going to vote for the professional choice here, "1917," but I have my doubts it will win. I think any of the four crime capers have better shots.

Best Film Presentation on Streaming Media:
Enola Holmes
Extraction
Shirley
The Vast of Night
All of these television movies include one or more of action, thriller, or mystery in their IMDB descriptions, so I'm including them here. My favorite is "Enola Holmes," so I'm voting for it. I consider its main competition to be "Extraction." I don't know which will win.

I'm not reviewing the acting and behind the camera nominations for movies today, so surf over to Star Wars at the 2021 Saturn Awards for Star Wars Day and 'Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark' on Cinco De Mayo plus the horror, independent, and international film nominees at the 2021 Saturn Awards to read those. For the acting nominations for television, click on 'Birds of Prey' and 'The Flash' lead comic-book and superhero movies and television nominees — DCEU and Arrowverse at the Saturn Awards.

Three action and thriller movies have nominations for Best Film Composer, "1917," "Knives Out," and "Mank." I begin with Jos Slovick - I Am a Poor Wayfaring Stranger | 1917 OST.


That's haunting.

Next, Knives Out! (String Quartet in G Minor).


That's fun and lively, while still mysterious. I can understand why it earned a nomination.

I conclude by recycling from Oscar nominated scores and songs for National Film Score Day with Welcome to Victorville from "Mank."



Welcome to Victorville · Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross

Now that I've listened to all the scores, I think I'll vote for "Parasite." I listened to that soundtrack all the way through and enjoyed it thoroughly.

I have now completed examining all the movie nominees, including the TV movies. I'll continue with the television nominees in future posts, but I may not complete the series before I vote. The deadline is the 14th and I have other topics I want to write about more first. After all, this blog is a hobby, not a job.

Previous entries about the 2021 Saturn Awards

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