- Are you sure you don't like May December? Are you really, really sure? The evidence in this post suggest otherwise...
- That being said, I'm not sure I liked it all that much either. But 100% agreed that Melton deserves the Oscar. But also not upset at RDJ getting one. Good on him for escaping the Marvel gulag, even if he was one of its architects.
- Paul Giamatti also deserves the Oscar, I agree, but it's Cillian's year. Between him and Jeffrey Wright in American Fiction, I feel like we're entering a golden age of beloved character actors playing depressed teachers and that's giving me hope for the future of cinema.
- Da'Vine Joy Randolph is definitely winning over Blunt, especially after winning the SAG award. Which is, agreed, the right pick.
- I didn't particularly like Anatomy of a Fall, and I'm a little confused what everyone else sees in it. My disappointment probably has to do with that big showy flashback of the argument -- it broke with the otherwise very objective, real-time-feeling movie and gave us something that felt too perfectly and theatrically designed to be a Big Scene. It had characters yelling themes and character analysis at each other, which is something I tend not to like. And because we got the privileged viewpoint/flashback for that scene and that scene only, it made the ambiguity of the ending feel more manufactured than organic. It was the fulcrum of the movie and fell flat for me so the whole thing didn't quite work. That being said, yes, it was a very well made movie, even if my my main takeaway from the whole thing was "damn, French courts have no rules, huh?"
- The Creator's effects were impressive for its budget but man, what a slog of a movie. It really was Concept Art: The Movie.
- I loved Godzilla Minus One but some of the CGI, especially in the Tokyo sequences, were pretty dodgy. As to be expected from a smaller-budget movie. The real deserved winner for this one is Oppenheimer and it's bizarre that it didn't get nominated. But I guess this has become the CGI award.
- While I agree that Oppenheimer isn't Nolan's best movie (still probably Memento), that's how the Oscars work, isn't it? The Departed isn't Scorcese's best, No Country for Old Men isn't the Coens' best either (although I know people disagree).
- I could've used an extra thirty minutes of Oppenheimer. Long live long movies!
Another disorganized thought: I had the same take about the French Courts in AoaF. Every few minutes I was thinking to myself, "There's no way that would be allowed in the United States."
1. Dude. As you say, I'm not really really sure I don't like May December. I mean, it does so many things well. Melton and Portman were just great. Maybe I'm reacting to unsettling it was? But maybe that's a sign of a good movie.
2. See, for me, the Anatomy of a Fall argument scene really worked, for two reasons. First, the characters repeated themsevles--over and over. That's something that--without disclosing too much--I think people do in real-life arguments that movie characters rarely do. Second, I love how Sandra is so resolved and immune to sentimentality. She keeps coming back to, "right, and this was your choice."
3. I love the take on Oppenheimer as best effects. I just love love love Godzilla Minus One and want it to win something.
4. Definitely agree that No Country isn't the Coen Brothers' best movie. I'll publish a ranked list of those probably this summer, but I'll spoil it: Fargo is their best.
I'm choosing to believe the tense choice here was a reference to Interstellar's own chronological creativity.
"See you on March 20th, when we discussed Interstellar (2014)"
It's wild. There was some weird dust falling all over my computer as I was writing. It made it very difficult to edit.
Some disorganized thoughts:
- Are you sure you don't like May December? Are you really, really sure? The evidence in this post suggest otherwise...
- That being said, I'm not sure I liked it all that much either. But 100% agreed that Melton deserves the Oscar. But also not upset at RDJ getting one. Good on him for escaping the Marvel gulag, even if he was one of its architects.
- Paul Giamatti also deserves the Oscar, I agree, but it's Cillian's year. Between him and Jeffrey Wright in American Fiction, I feel like we're entering a golden age of beloved character actors playing depressed teachers and that's giving me hope for the future of cinema.
- Da'Vine Joy Randolph is definitely winning over Blunt, especially after winning the SAG award. Which is, agreed, the right pick.
- I didn't particularly like Anatomy of a Fall, and I'm a little confused what everyone else sees in it. My disappointment probably has to do with that big showy flashback of the argument -- it broke with the otherwise very objective, real-time-feeling movie and gave us something that felt too perfectly and theatrically designed to be a Big Scene. It had characters yelling themes and character analysis at each other, which is something I tend not to like. And because we got the privileged viewpoint/flashback for that scene and that scene only, it made the ambiguity of the ending feel more manufactured than organic. It was the fulcrum of the movie and fell flat for me so the whole thing didn't quite work. That being said, yes, it was a very well made movie, even if my my main takeaway from the whole thing was "damn, French courts have no rules, huh?"
- The Creator's effects were impressive for its budget but man, what a slog of a movie. It really was Concept Art: The Movie.
- I loved Godzilla Minus One but some of the CGI, especially in the Tokyo sequences, were pretty dodgy. As to be expected from a smaller-budget movie. The real deserved winner for this one is Oppenheimer and it's bizarre that it didn't get nominated. But I guess this has become the CGI award.
- While I agree that Oppenheimer isn't Nolan's best movie (still probably Memento), that's how the Oscars work, isn't it? The Departed isn't Scorcese's best, No Country for Old Men isn't the Coens' best either (although I know people disagree).
- I could've used an extra thirty minutes of Oppenheimer. Long live long movies!
Another disorganized thought: I had the same take about the French Courts in AoaF. Every few minutes I was thinking to myself, "There's no way that would be allowed in the United States."
Disorganized responses:
1. Dude. As you say, I'm not really really sure I don't like May December. I mean, it does so many things well. Melton and Portman were just great. Maybe I'm reacting to unsettling it was? But maybe that's a sign of a good movie.
2. See, for me, the Anatomy of a Fall argument scene really worked, for two reasons. First, the characters repeated themsevles--over and over. That's something that--without disclosing too much--I think people do in real-life arguments that movie characters rarely do. Second, I love how Sandra is so resolved and immune to sentimentality. She keeps coming back to, "right, and this was your choice."
3. I love the take on Oppenheimer as best effects. I just love love love Godzilla Minus One and want it to win something.
4. Definitely agree that No Country isn't the Coen Brothers' best movie. I'll publish a ranked list of those probably this summer, but I'll spoil it: Fargo is their best.