***Official Academy Awards Discussion Thread*** - Anora is the Big Winner (2 Viewers)

[Ilov80s]

Also I didn’t find Barbie “woke”. It’s Barbie, how feminist can it even be? Sure it’s pro women but she’s also the actual symbol of what so much of feminism was built around fighting against. It shows a world dominated by women that treat the men horrible and portrays the male characters sympathetically. The males are actually the ones oppressed in the Barbie world. In the end she chooses to live in a real imperfect world instead of her fake girl power utopia.

 

[krista4]

Also I didn’t find Barbie “woke”. It’s Barbie, how feminist can it even be? Sure it’s pro women but she’s also the actual symbol of what so much of feminism was built around fighting against. It shows a world dominated by women that treat the men horrible and portrays the male characters sympathetically. The males are actually the ones oppressed in the Barbie world. In the end she chooses to live in a real imperfect world instead of her fake girl power utopia.

I'd better bite my tongue on all of this, but I will say that I was shocked to see some of the posts here. It's definitely interesting to see the takes of people like @CletiusMaximus whose posts I generally agree with. Makes me rethink my view of the movie, but even so I tend heavily toward the @hagmania side of the debate and also to your analysis above. Just a good reminder of how our differing experiences can color our perspectives on what we're viewing.

Whatever the "message" of this movie, I think Margot Robbie's performance was brilliant and should have been acknowledged. I'm also, as many seem to be, perplexed by the "shoe-in" that Robert Downey Jr is, and while I think it was a good performance Ryan Gosling's was loads better to me. As for Gerwig, I don't think it was a monumental feat of directing, certainly nothing nearing what Nolan did. I haven't looked at screenwriting, but if she were part of that I'd definitely think she should be nominated.

ETA: I said I was biting my tongue and then wrote two paragraphs.

 

[landrys hat]

Godzilla Minus One snags the first nomination in the monster's 70-year cinematic career, but imo it's a snub to not be nominated for Best International or Best Picture.

Whoa. 98% on RT.

This movie kicks ***. Watch it if you haven't!

Simple, meaningful message underscoring a great monster flick.

My favorite from 2023 and it's being re-released this Friday - Godzilla Minus One Minus Color (in black and white).

 

[rockaction]

Also a weird year to take a shot at the popularity of the awards given the biggest favorite made a billion dollars.

Not really.

People might have seen the movies, but that doesn't mean they want the awards shows. Slight uptick this year, but generally down below peak watching. That's my prediction.

 

[rockaction]

It’s far from surprising that young boys and men would be resistant to Barbie. Next you are going to tell me your young nephew doesn't’ listen to Taylor Swift. Young boys and young men tend to have some protective sense of their manhood and strongly resist things that seem “girly”. I know I did. I would hardly even listen to female singers as a teen because I thought that meant the music was soft or fake.

That's a whole lot of projection there. I was quite surprised by their responses. I figured it would be a fun movie. I didn't take their responses as being protective of their manhood. I think any time you hear that a movie has a drinking game to the word "patriarchy," young men won't be inclined to see it. And yeah, I think they dislike Taylor Swift and her continued world domination tour.

Almost not to mention that saying that they shouldn't protect their precarious status (where they see campuses with 60-40 splits at least) is tone deaf at best.

They've come of age in a much different environment than you did or I did (I'd imagine my environment was always more progressive just based upon where I lived). They might think that Barbie is meant for STEM candidates and older women. They might find it overkill. In fact, if I get a chance to ask again, I'll ask why next time, instead of getting simple "**** nos!" That might illuminate the discussion.

All I know is that I was open to seeing it and now you'd have to effectively chain me to the chair. My nephew looked at me as if I'd lost a steady orbit or something when I asked.

Oh, he doesn't like movies and saw Opphenheimer and thought it was great, for whatever that is worth.

 

[krista4]

All I know is that I was open to seeing it and now you'd have to effectively chain me to the chair. My nephew looked at me as if I'd lost a steady orbit or something when I asked.

Oh, he doesn't like movies and saw Opphenheimer and thought it was great, for whatever that is worth.

This all seems a little odd to me. Your movie-watching is somewhat tied to what these kids think? That's really hard for me to imagine given what I know of you! You seem usually to take in many perspectives but be "your own man" for lack of a better word (and knowing that my implying you aren't in this respect could be problematic).

 

[krista4]

I mean, I'm saying that I don't put much stock in what these guys might find attractive, for better (Oppenheimer) or worse (Barbie), and I'm surprised that you would put a lot of weight on that.

 

[rockaction]

Your movie-watching is somewhat tied to what these kids think?

Whoops. No. Whether I saw it or not was determined by reviews and what people wound up saying about it. I was asking them and they'd seemed to divine the same thing.

This was me before the reviews and cultural "excitement" that went into the movie. Right in my own words, no less!

Oppenheimer - New Christopher Nolan movie

I thought I’d get a thread going for what looks like the movie event of the summer in my eyes. The book that it was based on (American Prometheus) was amazing. Who’s going? What format are you seeing it in? Was just looking for some tickets for Friday afternoon (off work and kid in camp) and...

forums.footballguys.com

After all of the reviews and stuff came in, I was a little less enthusiastic, so to speak.

 

[rockaction]

But yeah, you're right. I'm not letting twenty-one year olds be the final arbiter of any decision I make, never mind spending four hours of my time on something. (And then debating it!)

If that was the impression I gave, then that's just poor writing.

 

[krista4]

But yeah, you're right. I'm not letting twenty-one year olds be the final arbiter of any decision I make, never mind spending four hours of my time on something. (And then debating it!)

If that was the impression I gave, then that's just poor writing.

Regarding your prior post, I was talking about what you'd posted about Barbie, not Oppenheimer. That was based on your saying you were open but your nephew objected, but now I see that you had not made a causal connection between his objections and your reticence. and I mistakenly believed you had. Not poor writing but poor reading on my part.

 

[Eephus]

But yeah, you're right. I'm not letting twenty-one year olds be the final arbiter of any decision I make, never mind spending four hours of my time on something. (And then debating it!)

21 year olds already have an outsized influence on which movies get made in the first place (or at least what the industry think that key demographic will want to see)

 

[rockaction]

Regarding your prior post, I was talking about what you'd posted about Barbie, not Oppenheimer.

Oh yeah, I know that. If you click on the link, you'll find me excited to see Barbie because I thought Gerwig would be really subtle and funny. Hearing the Indigo Girls all over the place and catching bits and pieces of it, and then reading the reviews left me less than excited to see it.

And I'm not commenting on the merits of the film. I haven't seen it. I'd have to see it to really get into the nuts and bolts of it. I just know what's going on in the cultural milieu, and that's enough to deter me from spending a lot of time with it.

 

[rockaction]

Don't forget, Barbieheimer was the same weekend, so the discussion naturally went to both in the Oppenheimer thread.

 

[Eephus]

It's cool that Wim Wenders' Perfect Days was nominated for Best International Film. The legendary director has been nominated three times previously for documentaries but this is his first non-fiction feature to receive a nomination. Win or lose, it's wonderful (wenderful?) for him to be recognized for his accomplishments over a long career.

 

[Ilov80s]

Also a weird year to take a shot at the popularity of the awards given the biggest favorite made a billion dollars.

Not really.

People might have seen the movies, but that doesn't mean they want the awards shows. Slight uptick this year, but generally down below peak watching. That's my prediction.

I just think we go through this every year. Name something other than football that haven’t seen their ratings absolutely collapse compared to 10-20 years ago. Last years Oscars were the most watched non NFL primetime broadcast of 2023. So by that measure nobody wants the NBA Finals or World Series or 60 Minutes or Yellowstone either.

 

[Ilov80s]

Seems like a good year for the Oscars. The 2 most talked about and close to, if not actual, highest grossing movies of the year got lots of nominations. Even if we look at it socially. Yes one of those movies is controversial among some for saying patriarchy too much, the other is a good old fashioned WW2 movie.

 

[rockaction]

Yes one of those movies is controversial among some for saying patriarchy too much

Not a controversy in my world. Nor, if I were to get down to brass tacks, in anybody else's I know. I was merely explaining our absence at the ticket window. In fact, the only controversy is that the participants in the movie are upset they didn't get more nominations come award season.

Let's not manufacture my righteous outrage. I haven't spent more than two minutes thinking about it until the news headlines pop up that the cast is upset they're not more heavily nominated, making the outrage du jour all theirs. As far as social critiques go, I'm leaving that bit of late-stage capitalism to the cast. They seem to have started a harangue that just won't quit.

 

[Bracie Smathers]

I love Greta Gerwig as a director. I had to see Barbie based on my love for Gerwig, Gosling, and Robie.
The film was terrible.
It was brilliant marketing tailored to an audience that predominantly played with Barbies so it was basically a pre-built franchise who would flock to the theatres, and it worked. Bravo to the marketing staff at Matell.
The social commentary would corral in those who loved boy bands and Hallmark stereotypically non-sexually threatening male characters.
Gosling explains it perfectly in this clip.
LINK

 

[Ilov80s]

Yes one of those movies is controversial among some for saying patriarchy too much

Not a controversy in my world. Nor, if I were to get down to brass tacks, in anybody else's I know. I was merely explaining our absence at the ticket window. In fact, the only controversy is that the participants in the movie are upset they didn't get more nominations come award season.

Let's not manufacture my righteous outrage. I haven't spent more than two minutes thinking about it until the news headlines pop up that the cast is upset they're not more heavily nominated, making the outrage du jour all theirs. As far as social critiques go, I'm leaving that bit of late-stage capitalism to the cast. They seem to have started a harangue that just won't quit.

I wasn’t referring to you. When Barbie came out, there was a lot of what I think was very manufactured outrage or mocking of it for clicks and views.

I also think the outrage about the nominations is faux as well. Also for content. We live in such a dumb internet world where everyone has to have a new story everyday. I am sure we all agree how tiresome it is. Sure Gosling and a couple others made some comments that they were disappointed but of course they are. Just like football players might be disappointed if their QB doesn’t make the Pro Bowl or something. That’s a normal reaction but the machine can’t help itself with making it some grand social commentary.

 

[Ilov80s]

Has anyone seen Society of the Snow on Netflix? I saw it got 2 Oscar nominations and I’ve really good things. It’s about the 72 Andes flight disaster which I’ll be honest isn’t something that I’m excited to watch but it sure seems like it’s quite a well made movie.

 

[ChicoCat]

Finally saw The Barbies movie. It was good; but as a 49 year old white man....I'm not sure it was written for me. I'm fine with that. The surface message tells me that we "should all be cooler to one another"....but I'm fine with there being a deeper message for the intended audience that I don't have clue about. Kind of got that same sentiment from Jordan Peele's "Get Out".

 

[KarmaPolice]

And modern blockbusters continue to be either woke or have Nazis as the bad guy in their plot. I suppose this will set another year record for nobody watching the awards.

I asked my nephew—who shows no signs of politics—if he was going to see Barbie. (He's seen Oppenheimer.) "**** no," he replied. That was what his friends said, too. I'm not making this up. I was stunned. I figured it was a feel-good movie everyone could see.

They're feeling it. The young men are hating it. Wokey McWokerson, no matter how well it was done.

I'll show myself out now.

I see the discussion advanced far beyond this, but I was just wanting clarification because I didn't see it in here - did your nephew say that it was woke that was the reason for the avoidance, or just the very base reaction that young men wouldn't be interested in Barbie in general?

Our internet is crap, so I started but haven't gotten through more than about 20min, so I don't have a strong opinion yet. about the movie besides my usual Ryan Gosling man crush.

 

[rockaction]

did your nephew say that it was woke that was the reason for the avoidance, or just the very base reaction that young men wouldn't be interested in Barbie in general?

I think it was about the wokeness, but I didn't press him. I will say that he's usually not a base reaction guy like that, so I figured it was something else. What that was I don't think I'll ever know. The general reaction was that I'd lean he wasn't going due to wokeness. It was a vehement "**** no!"

I could have just been reading into it. Maybe I'll ask him when he comes around next.

I also should see the movie to make sure I'm not a victim of manufactured outrage passing off as earnest reviews.

 

[Ministry of Pain]

Barbie was a movie and not a film.
Barbie wasn't a very good movie, I tried to watch the first 10-15 minutes and quickly got bored plus I'm not the target audience
I could appreciate the visuals and whatnot but the story was of no interest
My wife also stopped watching this about an hour into it

-I have been SMH at the Academy Awards dating all the way back to when they started handing out the trophy based on lifetime or multiple other roles they never won.
Tops on my list is Robin Williams, should have won on several previous occasions but they wait until GWH which he does that role in his sleep as a favor to Damon and Affleck and they hand him the trophy. He should have won for Good Morning Vietnam and I'm OK that Douglass won for Wall Street, but he does those types of roles rather easily.

Then they give Jamie Foxx the trophy for doing an impersonation when if they were going to hand him one, try Collateral Damage where he is thrown into a wild night as a cab driver and not knowing WTH was going on around him, much better piece of acting.

And then they started giving movies like "Crash" the Academy Award for Best Film and after that, just give it whatever makes the most money at the BO as far as I'm concerned, it's got so much social justice in it now, I don't even care to watch most of the movies that are released and even when I do I find myself turning them off at different points.

I did see a good movie recently that I'd like to share beacause I'm ranting about how much i hate them all but I truly enjoyed the Leftovers...sorry the Holdovers. Giamatti is cast perfectly, does some tricks with his eyes and is as ugly as a mud fence, honestly it wasn't a stretch role for him but he brings this mother-clucker to life and the woman who plays the head cook had me teary eyed during her scene where it starts around a record player which I could identify with immediately, especially on Christmas and she has one of the more simple lines you will read in a script and by god she delivers it in a way that sends chills down your spine only to be moved once again when the scene shifts to the kitchen and I promise I'm not giving anything away

This is the same director that did Sideways so you know he and Giamatti have that comfortability with each other, allowing the artistic process to flow and I can only imagine what it was like on set as you had a wide range of actors and most of them didn't have Giamtti's resume prior to this movie and he does a lot of the heavy lifting but he is aided greatly with this actress who I believe won the Golden Globe, in fact I'm sure of it. I would encourage you to watch this on a relatively quiet evening. If the options are go the County Fair or watch this movie, then you might want to pick carnival rides, this is a film when you want to just sit and relax. Most people under 70 are going to be bored to tears, already had a couple of folks tell me they couldn't finish it.

I thought it was incredible and I was almost on the edge of my seat a couple times.
If you enjoyed Dead Poet's Society a long time ago, you might like this.
Some of the messages involving entitlement and the wealthy buying their children's way into Ivy League schools is relevant today even though this is set in 1970.
I like films set in the 70s, no cell phones and this film does an incredible job of making you feel isolated in the snow over the holidays.

 

[Ilov80s]

And then they started giving movies like "Crash" the Academy Award for Best Film and after that, just give it whatever makes the most money at the BO as far as I'm concerned, it's got so much social justice in it now, I don't even care to watch most of the movies that are released and even when I do I find myself turning them off at different points.

Crash is god awful and I hated it when I saw it then. It was such obvious pandering, terrible terrible. But it's not new for Hollywood to reward a "message picture". Some have held up and some haven't. Are the recent winners really some extreme social justice movies? Since Crash, I think there are maybe 3 winners out of 17 that are definitely built around an issue one could call social justice. Movies that are now deemed classics like In the Heat of the Night and Midnight Cowboy faced similar detractors at the time. I am sure a lot of people didn't like the message of "The Gentleman's Agreement" and thought that was going too far in 1947. IMO, it's more same as it ever was than anything new. If you want to knock the state of movies in the 2010s, it should be for domination of comic book and played to death IP.

 

[Ilov80s]

Also I won’t say who now commented on the Barbie thing on Twitter. Probably just looking to somehow stay relevant. It got 8 noms. It’s about a doll. Why is this where some professional attention getters are choosing to stir the pot? I just can’t with people and sadly it pulls away all the attention from so many deserving movies and artists.

 

[bigbottom]

For what it's worth, I thought Robin Williams was amazing in Good Will Hunting and deserving of the award. Agree with some of the other things you said, though, including the Crash criticism. By the way, MoP, if you are good with slower, deliberately paced movies, you may enjoy Past Lives. I thought it was phenomenal.

 

[Ilov80s]

For what it's worth, I thought Robin Williams was amazing in Good Will Hunting and deserving of the award. Agree with some of the other things you said, though, including the Crash criticism. By the way, MoP, if you are good with slower, deliberately paced movies, you may enjoy Past Lives. I thought it was phenomenal.

I agree there. Past Lives is for sure in contention for my favorite movie of the year. Crazy it was Celina Song's debut feature as a writer and director. It's so well done, so mature.

 

[Ministry of Pain]

For what it's worth, I thought Robin Williams was amazing in Good Will Hunting and deserving of the award. Agree with some of the other things you said, though, including the Crash criticism. By the way, MoP, if you are good with slower, deliberately paced movies, you may enjoy Past Lives. I thought it was phenomenal.

I don't think he is bad at all in GWH, I'm just not a huge fan of the film overall and felt of the 4 times they nominated him it was the weakest of the four.
Denzell Washington is another actor that should have won for other roles and he did win an Oscar for Glory way back Best Supporting Actor but it sort of was campaigned and then Training Day is not my favorite movie although I know many really enjoy the film. I just never bought Washington as a thug, vs say his work in Man on Fire where I think he should have been handed the trophy for that one. much better movie IMHO.

-It's not that I crave slow films but I like movies that are not in a hurry and allow you to take in the cinematography if it's one of those kinds of films. I like period pieces mostly because it eliminates a lot of modern tech stuff that IMHO takes me out of a lot of movies and films.

"Past Lives" I recall seeing that name at the GG a few weeks back. BTW-I thought the host was funny and the show was pretty good
It's been nominated for a couple Oscars, think I can rent it on Prime, will add it to the list and TY.

 

[Terminalxylem]

Hopefully Emma Stone wins best actress for Poor Things, and It also deserves an award for the visuals, either cinematography, visual effects, costumes, and/or makeup/hairstyling.

But it‘s also kinda woke

 

[KarmaPolice]

And then they started giving movies like "Crash" the Academy Award for Best Film and after that, just give it whatever makes the most money at the BO as far as I'm concerned, it's got so much social justice in it now, I don't even care to watch most of the movies that are released and even when I do I find myself turning them off at different points.

Crash is god awful and I hated it when I saw it then. It was such obvious pandering, terrible terrible. But it's not new for Hollywood to reward a "message picture". Some have held up and some haven't. Are the recent winners really some extreme social justice movies? Since Crash, I think there are maybe 3 winners out of 17 that are definitely built around an issue one could call social justice. Movies that are now deemed classics like In the Heat of the Night and Midnight Cowboy faced similar detractors at the time. I am sure a lot of people didn't like the message of "The Gentleman's Agreement" and thought that was going too far in 1947. IMO, it's more same as it ever was than anything new. If you want to knock the state of movies in the 2010s, it should be for domination of comic book and played to death IP.

I read the back and forth this morning and was chewing on them a bit at work today. I guess I end up more in your camp - there has always been an element of social and political messaging in movies, and even more likely to be in art house fare that would tend to be these type of award winners. That is nothing new. IMO what has changed is us and our society - mainly we now have the ability to get bombarded with social and political messages all day. I just don't get it when I read opinions like MoP's and others who feel like the most movies have it in it, or they have the feeling of never being able to escape it. However, I am an absolute social media hermit, so I don't encounter this stuff much at all. When the PSF was still alive I encountered people there who claimed to have dropped NF for basically a 5sec clip of a show. However, after thinking about it - if you encounter it all day at work, on SM, wherever - and your tv show or movie you are trying to chill to becomes the 100th time you have to hear something, I get it more.

Like Krista said above, we all bring our own experiences and baggage to these movies. It's a reason I love talking to people about them - to hear their reactions and interpretations of them. Like you hinted at - none of this is helped by online culture just being about getting clicks and attention, where outrage and being offended gets a lot of both.

 

[KarmaPolice]

did your nephew say that it was woke that was the reason for the avoidance, or just the very base reaction that young men wouldn't be interested in Barbie in general?

I think it was about the wokeness, but I didn't press him. I will say that he's usually not a base reaction guy like that, so I figured it was something else. What that was I don't think I'll ever know. The general reaction was that I'd lean he wasn't going due to wokeness. It was a vehement "**** no!"

I could have just been reading into it. Maybe I'll ask him when he comes around next.

I also should see the movie to make sure I'm not a victim of manufactured outrage passing off as earnest reviews.

This is where I am. I also think I made a mistake waiting too long to see it. Now the background reactions are with me, and when we started it up I will admit that I felt myself looking for it.

 

[Ministry of Pain]

And then they started giving movies like "Crash" the Academy Award for Best Film and after that, just give it whatever makes the most money at the BO as far as I'm concerned, it's got so much social justice in it now, I don't even care to watch most of the movies that are released and even when I do I find myself turning them off at different points.

Crash is god awful and I hated it when I saw it then. It was such obvious pandering, terrible terrible. But it's not new for Hollywood to reward a "message picture". Some have held up and some haven't. Are the recent winners really some extreme social justice movies? Since Crash, I think there are maybe 3 winners out of 17 that are definitely built around an issue one could call social justice. Movies that are now deemed classics like In the Heat of the Night and Midnight Cowboy faced similar detractors at the time. I am sure a lot of people didn't like the message of "The Gentleman's Agreement" and thought that was going too far in 1947. IMO, it's more same as it ever was than anything new. If you want to knock the state of movies in the 2010s, it should be for domination of comic book and played to death IP.

I read the back and forth this morning and was chewing on them a bit at work today. I guess I end up more in your camp - there has always been an element of social and political messaging in movies, and even more likely to be in art house fare that would tend to be these type of award winners. That is nothing new. IMO what has changed is us and our society - mainly we now have the ability to get bombarded with social and political messages all day. I just don't get it when I read opinions like MoP's and others who feel like the most movies have it in it, or they have the feeling of never being able to escape it. However, I am an absolute social media hermit, so I don't encounter this stuff much at all. When the PSF was still alive I encountered people there who claimed to have dropped NF for basically a 5sec clip of a show. However, after thinking about it - if you encounter it all day at work, on SM, wherever - and your tv show or movie you are trying to chill to becomes the 100th time you have to hear something, I get it more.

Like Krista said above, we all bring our own experiences and baggage to these movies. It's a reason I love talking to people about them - to hear their reactions and interpretations of them. Like you hinted at - none of this is helped by online culture just being about getting clicks and attention, where outrage and being offended gets a lot of both.

Easy there, I didn't say ALL movies, we're talking about the Academy Awards and yes campaigning is a BIG part of what happens around Hollywood leading up to the awards which i'm sure many in here are aware of especially those who might live in the Los Angeles area which is like night and day when we talk movies and movie houses vs most other parts of the country I visit.

It was special to go see a film at the Arclight or Mann's and I did see some films out there that were plenty SJW and that's fine. I can see them coming a mile away now and usually just avoid them. I saw the original Color Purple in 1985, I was 11-12 yrs old and thought it was incredible and on a level that was above my pay grade at the time but felt special to watch it on screen. And I believe they just released another one that I was not about to see unless I could stream it for free and apparently so did a lot of others and it was not mentioned for most of the award shows so critics didn't seem to think it was a necessary film. I heard just a few little sound bites about why this one was needed and it didn't do much other than make me want to watch the '85 film on my new 65 inch OLED.

I have gotten bored of the basic blockbusters be it Marvel, most new Star Wars releases, pop films like Barbie, Swift tours
-I follow the directors and some actors/actresses that I will watch chew gum on film for 20 minutes, we all have our favorites.

I watched Heat (1995) from Michael Mann the other night and I hadn't seen it uncut and uninterrupted in a very long time, was happy it still holds up after almost 30 years.

 

[KarmaPolice]

Lastly, did anybody expect a Barbie movie in 2023 to not have social/political commentary in it? That is baked into my not getting the frustrated reactions as well. I have a higher tolerance for it if I am expecting. What I am also expecting due to the writers behind it is that commentary will be delivered with some irony and sarcasm as well.

Dammit, I have to knock this out tonight.

 

[KarmaPolice]

And then they started giving movies like "Crash" the Academy Award for Best Film and after that, just give it whatever makes the most money at the BO as far as I'm concerned, it's got so much social justice in it now, I don't even care to watch most of the movies that are released and even when I do I find myself turning them off at different points.

And then they started giving movies like "Crash" the Academy Award for Best Film and after that, just give it whatever makes the most money at the BO as far as I'm concerned, it's got so much social justice in it now, I don't even care to watch most of the movies that are released and even when I do I find myself turning them off at different points.

Crash is god awful and I hated it when I saw it then. It was such obvious pandering, terrible terrible. But it's not new for Hollywood to reward a "message picture". Some have held up and some haven't. Are the recent winners really some extreme social justice movies? Since Crash, I think there are maybe 3 winners out of 17 that are definitely built around an issue one could call social justice. Movies that are now deemed classics like In the Heat of the Night and Midnight Cowboy faced similar detractors at the time. I am sure a lot of people didn't like the message of "The Gentleman's Agreement" and thought that was going too far in 1947. IMO, it's more same as it ever was than anything new. If you want to knock the state of movies in the 2010s, it should be for domination of comic book and played to death IP.

I read the back and forth this morning and was chewing on them a bit at work today. I guess I end up more in your camp - there has always been an element of social and political messaging in movies, and even more likely to be in art house fare that would tend to be these type of award winners. That is nothing new. IMO what has changed is us and our society - mainly we now have the ability to get bombarded with social and political messages all day. I just don't get it when I read opinions like MoP's and others who feel like the most movies have it in it, or they have the feeling of never being able to escape it. However, I am an absolute social media hermit, so I don't encounter this stuff much at all. When the PSF was still alive I encountered people there who claimed to have dropped NF for basically a 5sec clip of a show. However, after thinking about it - if you encounter it all day at work, on SM, wherever - and your tv show or movie you are trying to chill to becomes the 100th time you have to hear something, I get it more.

Like Krista said above, we all bring our own experiences and baggage to these movies. It's a reason I love talking to people about them - to hear their reactions and interpretations of them. Like you hinted at - none of this is helped by online culture just being about getting clicks and attention, where outrage and being offended gets a lot of both.

Easy there, I didn't say ALL movies, we're talking about the Academy Awards and yes campaigning is a BIG part of what happens around Hollywood leading up to the awards which i'm sure many in here are aware of especially those who might live in the Los Angeles area which is like night and day when we talk movies and movie houses vs most other parts of the country I visit.

It was special to go see a film at the Arclight or Mann's and I did see some films out there that were plenty SJW and that's fine. I can see them coming a mile away now and usually just avoid them. I saw the original Color Purple in 1985, I was 11-12 yrs old and thought it was incredible and on a level that was above my pay grade at the time but felt special to watch it on screen. And I believe they just released another one that I was not about to see unless I could stream it for free and apparently so did a lot of others and it was not mentioned for most of the award shows so critics didn't seem to think it was a necessary film. I heard just a few little sound bites about why this one was needed and it didn't do much other than make me want to watch the '85 film on my new 65 inch OLED.

I have gotten bored of the basic blockbusters be it Marvel, most new Star Wars releases, pop films like Barbie, Swift tours
-I follow the directors and some actors/actresses that I will watch chew gum on film for 20 minutes, we all have our favorites.

I watched Heat (1995) from Michael Mann the other night and I hadn't see it uncut and uninterrupted in a very long time, was happy it still holds up after almost 30 years.

I took the bolded to mean that you see it in most movies as I said. Sorry if that wasn't your intent or I misinterpreted.

 

[Andy Dufresne]

Movies have always had a social commentary element. Intolerance, Rules of the Game, Metropolis,...I could go on and on.

The issue today is that it finds it's way into movies where it doesn't belong and feels forced.

As far as Barbie goes, I thought it was dull and sophomoric. But then, I think that of most comedies so it's not like it stood out that way either.

 

[Ministry of Pain]

And then they started giving movies like "Crash" the Academy Award for Best Film and after that, just give it whatever makes the most money at the BO as far as I'm concerned, it's got so much social justice in it now, I don't even care to watch most of the movies that are released and even when I do I find myself turning them off at different points.

And then they started giving movies like "Crash" the Academy Award for Best Film and after that, just give it whatever makes the most money at the BO as far as I'm concerned, it's got so much social justice in it now, I don't even care to watch most of the movies that are released and even when I do I find myself turning them off at different points.

Crash is god awful and I hated it when I saw it then. It was such obvious pandering, terrible terrible. But it's not new for Hollywood to reward a "message picture". Some have held up and some haven't. Are the recent winners really some extreme social justice movies? Since Crash, I think there are maybe 3 winners out of 17 that are definitely built around an issue one could call social justice. Movies that are now deemed classics like In the Heat of the Night and Midnight Cowboy faced similar detractors at the time. I am sure a lot of people didn't like the message of "The Gentleman's Agreement" and thought that was going too far in 1947. IMO, it's more same as it ever was than anything new. If you want to knock the state of movies in the 2010s, it should be for domination of comic book and played to death IP.

I read the back and forth this morning and was chewing on them a bit at work today. I guess I end up more in your camp - there has always been an element of social and political messaging in movies, and even more likely to be in art house fare that would tend to be these type of award winners. That is nothing new. IMO what has changed is us and our society - mainly we now have the ability to get bombarded with social and political messages all day. I just don't get it when I read opinions like MoP's and others who feel like the most movies have it in it, or they have the feeling of never being able to escape it. However, I am an absolute social media hermit, so I don't encounter this stuff much at all. When the PSF was still alive I encountered people there who claimed to have dropped NF for basically a 5sec clip of a show. However, after thinking about it - if you encounter it all day at work, on SM, wherever - and your tv show or movie you are trying to chill to becomes the 100th time you have to hear something, I get it more.

Like Krista said above, we all bring our own experiences and baggage to these movies. It's a reason I love talking to people about them - to hear their reactions and interpretations of them. Like you hinted at - none of this is helped by online culture just being about getting clicks and attention, where outrage and being offended gets a lot of both.

Easy there, I didn't say ALL movies, we're talking about the Academy Awards and yes campaigning is a BIG part of what happens around Hollywood leading up to the awards which i'm sure many in here are aware of especially those who might live in the Los Angeles area which is like night and day when we talk movies and movie houses vs most other parts of the country I visit.

It was special to go see a film at the Arclight or Mann's and I did see some films out there that were plenty SJW and that's fine. I can see them coming a mile away now and usually just avoid them. I saw the original Color Purple in 1985, I was 11-12 yrs old and thought it was incredible and on a level that was above my pay grade at the time but felt special to watch it on screen. And I believe they just released another one that I was not about to see unless I could stream it for free and apparently so did a lot of others and it was not mentioned for most of the award shows so critics didn't seem to think it was a necessary film. I heard just a few little sound bites about why this one was needed and it didn't do much other than make me want to watch the '85 film on my new 65 inch OLED.

I have gotten bored of the basic blockbusters be it Marvel, most new Star Wars releases, pop films like Barbie, Swift tours
-I follow the directors and some actors/actresses that I will watch chew gum on film for 20 minutes, we all have our favorites.

I watched Heat (1995) from Michael Mann the other night and I hadn't see it uncut and uninterrupted in a very long time, was happy it still holds up after almost 30 years.

I took the bolded to mean that you see it in most movies as I said. Sorry if that wasn't your intent or I misinterpreted.

I could understand why you think that, appreciate you letting me clarify.

-there are a couple scenes in Holdovers, again I will focus on the GG winner for BSA and the first time we see her is in the kitchen and she's smoking a cigarette and there's another scene where Giamatti visits her at her apartment or space at the school and she is again just sitting there on the couch in her robe smoking a cigarette watching the Newlywed Game, she doesn't have to say much to communicate with us as the audience. I was really drawn into her character in this movie and what she experiences with her son.

I'm sure some would say it has certain messages in it and it absolutely does but I felt they did a great job balancing and not being heavy handed, respecting your audience to form their own opinions or come up with their own ideas after watching your film.
Maestro as an example felt very heavy handed, it bored me after a while.
What next? Barry Manilow and his challenges being a gay musician? "Mandy" coming soon to a theater near you.

 

[simey]

Has anyone seen Society of the Snow on Netflix? I saw it got 2 Oscar nominations and I’ve really good things. It’s about the 72 Andes flight disaster which I’ll be honest isn’t something that I’m excited to watch but it sure seems like it’s quite a well made movie.

I saw it. I saw the movie "Alive" back in the early 90s, which is based on the same true story, and I think "Society of the Snow" is the better of the two.

 

[Dan Lambskin]

For what it's worth, I thought Robin Williams was amazing in Good Will Hunting and deserving of the award. Agree with some of the other things you said, though, including the Crash criticism. By the way, MoP, if you are good with slower, deliberately paced movies, you may enjoy Past Lives. I thought it was phenomenal.

I agree there. Past Lives is for sure in contention for my favorite movie of the year. Crazy it was Celina Song's debut feature as a writer and director. It's so well done, so mature.

Might be the most boring movie I’ve ever seen

 

[bigbottom]

For what it's worth, I thought Robin Williams was amazing in Good Will Hunting and deserving of the award. Agree with some of the other things you said, though, including the Crash criticism. By the way, MoP, if you are good with slower, deliberately paced movies, you may enjoy Past Lives. I thought it was phenomenal.

I agree there. Past Lives is for sure in contention for my favorite movie of the year. Crazy it was Celina Song's debut feature as a writer and director. It's so well done, so mature.

Might be the most boring movie I’ve ever seen

I’m not surprised that there are people who would feel that way.

 

[dickey moe]

Has anyone seen Society of the Snow on Netflix? I saw it got 2 Oscar nominations and I’ve really good things. It’s about the 72 Andes flight disaster which I’ll be honest isn’t something that I’m excited to watch but it sure seems like it’s quite a well made movie.

It was excellent.

 

[IvanKaramazov]

did your nephew say that it was woke that was the reason for the avoidance, or just the very base reaction that young men wouldn't be interested in Barbie in general?

I think it was about the wokeness, but I didn't press him. I will say that he's usually not a base reaction guy like that, so I figured it was something else. What that was I don't think I'll ever know. The general reaction was that I'd lean he wasn't going due to wokeness. It was a vehement "**** no!"

I could have just been reading into it. Maybe I'll ask him when he comes around next.

I also should see the movie to make sure I'm not a victim of manufactured outrage passing off as earnest reviews.

This is where I am. I also think I made a mistake waiting too long to see it. Now the background reactions are with me, and when we started it up I will admit that I felt myself looking for it.

Same. Barbie is the sort of easy pop-culture movie that I would tend to watch when I'm bored and feel like watching something fun and mindless. But knowing that it's ideologically contentious ruins that for me and makes me not want to bother. If I want to watch something with a "message," there's a ton of better stuff out there. I'm not looking for that in a two-hour toy commercial.

 

[Joe Schmo]

For what it's worth, I thought Robin Williams was amazing in Good Will Hunting and deserving of the award. Agree with some of the other things you said, though, including the Crash criticism. By the way, MoP, if you are good with slower, deliberately paced movies, you may enjoy Past Lives. I thought it was phenomenal.

I agree there. Past Lives is for sure in contention for my favorite movie of the year. Crazy it was Celina Song's debut feature as a writer and director. It's so well done, so mature.

Might be the most boring movie I’ve ever seen

That would be The English Patient

 

[Ilov80s]

I think it was about the wokeness, but I didn't press him. I will say that he's usually not a base reaction guy like that, so I figured it was something else. What that was I don't think I'll ever know. The general reaction was that I'd lean he wasn't going due to wokeness. It was a vehement "**** no!"

I could have just been reading into it. Maybe I'll ask him when he comes around next.

I also should see the movie to make sure I'm not a victim of manufactured outrage passing off as earnest reviews.

This is where I am. I also think I made a mistake waiting too long to see it. Now the background reactions are with me, and when we started it up I will admit that I felt myself looking for it.

Same. Barbie is the sort of easy pop-culture movie that I would tend to watch when I'm bored and feel like watching something fun and mindless. But knowing that it's ideologically contentious ruins that for me and makes me not want to bother. If I want to watch something with a "message," there's a ton of better stuff out there. I'm not looking for that in a two-hour toy commercial.

the themes imo are not at all contentious
1. It’s better to live in the real world that’s imperfect and painful than it is to live a perfect fake prebuilt existence
2. Any society that emasculates men or makes women into secondary citizens is bad, both genders should have power and respect in the world
3. The expectations on women in society are often impossible to live up to

None of that imo is a remotely controversial.

 

[bigbottom]

I think it was about the wokeness, but I didn't press him. I will say that he's usually not a base reaction guy like that, so I figured it was something else. What that was I don't think I'll ever know. The general reaction was that I'd lean he wasn't going due to wokeness. It was a vehement "**** no!"

I could have just been reading into it. Maybe I'll ask him when he comes around next.

I also should see the movie to make sure I'm not a victim of manufactured outrage passing off as earnest reviews.

This is where I am. I also think I made a mistake waiting too long to see it. Now the background reactions are with me, and when we started it up I will admit that I felt myself looking for it.

Same. Barbie is the sort of easy pop-culture movie that I would tend to watch when I'm bored and feel like watching something fun and mindless. But knowing that it's ideologically contentious ruins that for me and makes me not want to bother. If I want to watch something with a "message," there's a ton of better stuff out there. I'm not looking for that in a two-hour toy commercial.

the themes imo are not at all contentious
1. It’s better to live in the real world that’s imperfect and painful than it is to live a perfect fake prebuilt existence
2. Any society that emasculates men or makes women into secondary citizens is bad, both genders should have power and respect in the world
3. The expectations on women in society are often impossible to live up to

None of that imo is a remotely controversial.

Finally watched Barbie and yes, these seemed like the predominant themes to me. I can absolutely see someone not being interested in seeing a movie based on a girl’s doll, but I’m having a hard time wrapping my head around anyone being outraged, offended or even annoyed by the themes.

As for the awards, I haven’t seen all the other performances so I can’t say whether on not Margot was snubbed. What I can say is that I thought she was very very good and turned in a way better performance than Ryan Gosling or even America Ferrera.

Edit: By the way, I am a big Will Ferrell fan and this is the first time I thought he really detracted from a film.

 

[Mr. Mojo]

And then they started giving movies like "Crash" the Academy Award for Best Film and after that, just give it whatever makes the most money at the BO as far as I'm concerned, it's got so much social justice in it now, I don't even care to watch most of the movies that are released and even when I do I find myself turning them off at different points.

Crash is god awful and I hated it when I saw it then. It was such obvious pandering, terrible terrible. But it's not new for Hollywood to reward a "message picture". Some have held up and some haven't. Are the recent winners really some extreme social justice movies? Since Crash, I think there are maybe 3 winners out of 17 that are definitely built around an issue one could call social justice. Movies that are now deemed classics like In the Heat of the Night and Midnight Cowboy faced similar detractors at the time. I am sure a lot of people didn't like the message of "The Gentleman's Agreement" and thought that was going too far in 1947. IMO, it's more same as it ever was than anything new. If you want to knock the state of movies in the 2010s, it should be for domination of comic book and played to death IP.

Good points there.

Birdman is my choice for the worst Best Picture of the 2000s.
Obnoxious characters, annoying soundtrack, lame finish. I could go on and on. It takes a lot more than just good acting to make a good film.

 

[Keith R]

I think it was about the wokeness, but I didn't press him. I will say that he's usually not a base reaction guy like that, so I figured it was something else. What that was I don't think I'll ever know. The general reaction was that I'd lean he wasn't going due to wokeness. It was a vehement "**** no!"

I could have just been reading into it. Maybe I'll ask him when he comes around next.

I also should see the movie to make sure I'm not a victim of manufactured outrage passing off as earnest reviews.

This is where I am. I also think I made a mistake waiting too long to see it. Now the background reactions are with me, and when we started it up I will admit that I felt myself looking for it.

Same. Barbie is the sort of easy pop-culture movie that I would tend to watch when I'm bored and feel like watching something fun and mindless. But knowing that it's ideologically contentious ruins that for me and makes me not want to bother. If I want to watch something with a "message," there's a ton of better stuff out there. I'm not looking for that in a two-hour toy commercial.

the themes imo are not at all contentious
1. It’s better to live in the real world that’s imperfect and painful than it is to live a perfect fake prebuilt existence
2. Any society that emasculates men or makes women into secondary citizens is bad, both genders should have power and respect in the world
3. The expectations on women in society are often impossible to live up to

None of that imo is a remotely controversial.

Finally watched Barbie and yes, these seemed like the predominant themes to me. I can absolutely see someone not being interested in seeing a movie based on a girl’s doll, but I’m having a hard time wrapping my head around anyone being outraged, offended or even annoyed by the themes.

As for the awards, I haven’t seen all the other performances so I can’t say whether on not Margot was snubbed. What I can say is that I thought she was very very good and turned in a way better performance than Ryan Gosling or even America Ferrera.

Edit: By the way, I am a big Will Ferrell fan and this is the first time I thought he really detracted from a film.

I liked the movie quite a bit (though I think it botched the landing). I'm not especially upset Robbie didn't get a nom. She was very good at being plastic and then evolving, but it's the type of role I feel many others could pull off. I've only seen one other nominee's film and I absolutely would not bump Lily Gladstone to make room for her.

 

[bigbottom]

I think it was about the wokeness, but I didn't press him. I will say that he's usually not a base reaction guy like that, so I figured it was something else. What that was I don't think I'll ever know. The general reaction was that I'd lean he wasn't going due to wokeness. It was a vehement "**** no!"

I could have just been reading into it. Maybe I'll ask him when he comes around next.

I also should see the movie to make sure I'm not a victim of manufactured outrage passing off as earnest reviews.

This is where I am. I also think I made a mistake waiting too long to see it. Now the background reactions are with me, and when we started it up I will admit that I felt myself looking for it.

Same. Barbie is the sort of easy pop-culture movie that I would tend to watch when I'm bored and feel like watching something fun and mindless. But knowing that it's ideologically contentious ruins that for me and makes me not want to bother. If I want to watch something with a "message," there's a ton of better stuff out there. I'm not looking for that in a two-hour toy commercial.

the themes imo are not at all contentious
1. It’s better to live in the real world that’s imperfect and painful than it is to live a perfect fake prebuilt existence
2. Any society that emasculates men or makes women into secondary citizens is bad, both genders should have power and respect in the world
3. The expectations on women in society are often impossible to live up to

None of that imo is a remotely controversial.

Finally watched Barbie and yes, these seemed like the predominant themes to me. I can absolutely see someone not being interested in seeing a movie based on a girl’s doll, but I’m having a hard time wrapping my head around anyone being outraged, offended or even annoyed by the themes.

As for the awards, I haven’t seen all the other performances so I can’t say whether on not Margot was snubbed. What I can say is that I thought she was very very good and turned in a way better performance than Ryan Gosling or even America Ferrera.

Edit: By the way, I am a big Will Ferrell fan and this is the first time I thought he really detracted from a film.

I liked the movie quite a bit (though I think it botched the landing). I'm not especially upset Robbie didn't get a nom. She was very good at being plastic and then evolving, but it's the type of role I feel many others could pull off. I've only seen one other nominee's film and I absolutely would not bump Lily Gladstone to make room for her.

Oh for sure on Gladstone. And I wouldn’t bump Sandra Huller either - she turned in an amazing performance in Anatomy of a Fall.

 

[Dan Lambskin]

And then they started giving movies like "Crash" the Academy Award for Best Film and after that, just give it whatever makes the most money at the BO as far as I'm concerned, it's got so much social justice in it now, I don't even care to watch most of the movies that are released and even when I do I find myself turning them off at different points.

Crash is god awful and I hated it when I saw it then. It was such obvious pandering, terrible terrible. But it's not new for Hollywood to reward a "message picture". Some have held up and some haven't. Are the recent winners really some extreme social justice movies? Since Crash, I think there are maybe 3 winners out of 17 that are definitely built around an issue one could call social justice. Movies that are now deemed classics like In the Heat of the Night and Midnight Cowboy faced similar detractors at the time. I am sure a lot of people didn't like the message of "The Gentleman's Agreement" and thought that was going too far in 1947. IMO, it's more same as it ever was than anything new. If you want to knock the state of movies in the 2010s, it should be for domination of comic book and played to death IP.

Good points there.

Birdman is my choice for the worst Best Picture of the 2000s.
Obnoxious characters, annoying soundtrack, lame finish. I could go on and on. It takes a lot more than just good acting to make a good film.

Since I’m bored

2000 - Gladiator- good, deserved it

2001 - a beautiful mind - good, I like moulin rouge and LOTR better but no complaints

2002 - Chicago - good, could argue Gangs or LOTR but again no complaints

2003 - LOTR - good, maybe more of a series achievement award

2004 - million dollar baby. Meh, but that was a weak crop of films

2005 - crash - I actually liked it, I know most dont. Another weak set of films imo

2006 - the departed. It’s good, not sure I feel it’s best picture worthy when compared to some of the all time greats but the best of the bunch that year

2007 - no country for old men . Yeah deserves it although there will be blood was also a masterpiece. Arguably better than any of the other winners I listed

2008 - slumdog millionaire - meh. Another week year

2009 - the hurt locker - sucked. I think almost any other nominee would have been a better choice

2010 - Kings Speech - never seen it, looked boring. Inception or Toy Story 3 for me

2011 - the artist- never seen it. Didn’t see too many on that list. Tree of life for me I guess

2012 - Argo - it was fine. No other nominees I feel strongly about

2013 - 12 years a slave - sucked. Should have been wolf of Wall Street. American hustle also better. Even Gravity was better

2014 - birdman - sucked. Weak year

2015 - spotlight- never seen it. Looks like all the other nominees sucked or I didn’t see them

2016 - moonlight - never seen it . Don’t think I saw many of the nominees either

2017 - shape of water - finally a good movie wins again. Thank god they didn’t give it to Get Out (sucked)

2018 - green book - never seen it, weak crop

2019 - parasite - good, deserving. Lots of other good films (Irishman, Jojo rabbit, joker, Hollywood)

2020 - nomad land don’t think I’ve seen a single nominee. Promising young woman is on my list

2021 - coda - never seen it. Nightmare Alley or Dune for me

2022 - everything everywhere- sucked. Banshees was the best imo. Elvis or Triangle of sadness better too

But yeah birdman probably the worst of the bunch

 

[IvanKaramazov]

Since I’m bored

(snip)

Wow. Out of this group, No Country For Old Men is the best winner by far (IMO). LOTR was good, but like you said, the award for Return of the King was really an award for the trilogy. Parasite was also very good, and Departed was okay. I'm not a fan of any of the other films on this list.