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Post by ThirdMan on Mar 9, 2023 20:07:36 GMT -8
Yeah, Women Talking looks like those sequences from the Handmaid's Tale show where the women are sent away to some desolate area to perform manual-labour as punishment for not being fully subservient in their handmaid role. Those were the elements that most compelled me to stop watching that series, above and beyond the sometimes silly, overwrought melodrama.
I probably should've watched All Quiet On The Western Front by now, but I can't muster the interest to indulge conventional war pics these days, as the subject has been beaten-to-death.
My Top 3 would probably be the same as yours, based on the six I've seen (Tar and Banshees are about equal to me, with both being very good).
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Post by Jeremy on Mar 10, 2023 9:14:54 GMT -8
Yeah, Women Talking does give off some Handmaid's Tale vibes - probably unavoidable, as Atwood drew inspiration from the sort of Christian fundamentalism that's associated with the Amish community. But beyond that, I found the film to be generally shallow and tonally one-note, not to mention visually stagnant. (It's still a notch better than She Said, another bland Oscar-bait drama whose title it is invariably going to get confused with.)
I'd recommend at least watching the first 15 minutes of All Quiet on the Wester Front, which comprise the best part of the film and offers some impactful commentary about the toll of war with a minimum of dialogue. The rest of the film is fine, but not must-watch by any stretch. (There are whispers that the film could pull an upset and win Best Picture on Sunday, though I remain skeptical - Everything Everywhere looks like a decent bet at this point.)
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Post by Jeremy on Mar 10, 2023 14:25:51 GMT -8
Oh yeah, let's do some predictions:
Best Picture: EEAaO Best Director: Daniels, EEAaO1 Best Actor: Brendan Fraser, The Whale Best Actress: Cate Blanchett, Tar2 Best Supporting Actor: Ke Huy Quan, EEAaO Best Supporting Actress: Kerry Condon, Banshees of Inisherin Best Animated Feature Film: GDT's Pinocchio Best Animated Short Film: The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, and the Horse3 Best Cinematography: All Quiet on the Western Front Best Costume Design: Elvis Best Documentary Feature: Navalny4 Best Documentary Short Subject: Stranger at the Gate5 Best Film Editing: EEAaO Best International Feature Film: All Quiet on the Western Front Best Live Action Short Film: Le pupille6 Best Makeup and Hairstyling: The Whale Best Original Score: Babylon7 Best Original Song: "Lift Me Up," Black Panther: Wakanda Forever8 Best Production Design: All Quiet on the Western Front Best Sound: Top Gun: Maverick Best Visual Effects: Avatar: The Way of Water Best Adapted Screenplay: Women Talking9 Best Original Screenplay: EEAaO
1. I assume they'll be named individually, but it would be amazing if the Oscar just goes to "Daniels." 2. Basically a tossup between Blanchett and Yeoh. I'm hedging my bets and going for the long-term awards favorite, but presuming EEAaO will have a largely good night. 3. The only film in the category I haven't yet seen, but has the biggest names backing it (it's produced by JJ Abrams, and made for Apple TV+). 4. The Oscars won't want to pass up the chance to knock Putin, I assume. 5. This sounds like the most political film in the category, so it's probably gonna win - though word on the street is that it's awful. 6. I know nothing about any of the films in this category, but this is the only nominee whose producers (including Alfonso Cuaron!) have blue names on Wikipedia. 7. This film is about music, right? 8. A parting gift to Chadwick Boseman, particularly motivated after that Best Actor mix-up a couple years ago. 9. There's a lot of talking. Which is kind of the thing with screenplays, isn't it?
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Post by ThirdMan on Mar 10, 2023 19:34:02 GMT -8
I kind of feel like the older voters in the Academy will have found EEAaO too frenetic and/or silly, and Banshees will win Best Picture. But I'm pulling for the former.
EEAoO will almost certainly win Best Film Editing, though, as this is a rare instance in recent memory where MOST editing actually corresponds with "best". And I do hope that Michelle Yeoh wins Best Actress, as this may be her only genuine shot at it (Blanchett will surely be nominated another half-dozen times before her acting career is over), and I think the level-of-tonal-difficulty was a bit higher than that of Blanchett's work, which was well within her wheelhouse.
I'll try to give the first 15 minutes of AQotWF a look, after I watch, uh, the Puss In Boots sequel and Violent Night (both of which I just picked up from my library). Heh.
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Post by Jeremy on Mar 11, 2023 20:06:19 GMT -8
The new Puss in Boots just arrived on Peacock as well - I'm tempted to check it out again. With some time to reflect, it's probably edged out Marcel as my favorite of the Animated Feature nominees (as well as being my favorite film in the whole Shrek franchise). I kind of feel like the older voters in the Academy will have found EEAaO too frenetic and/or silly, and Banshees will win Best Picture. But I'm pulling for the former. Not trying to tempt fate, but it would be a major upset if EEAaO doesn't win Best Picture at this point. It's already swept the top awards from the PGA, DGA, WGA, and SAG. Only four other films in history have managed this ( American Beauty, No Country For Old Men, Slumdog Millionaire, and Argo), all of which went on to win Best Picture. I assume the silliness of the film will probably turn off some older voters, but the film's emotional core has made it a crowd-pleaser, so a lot of Oscar voters should be receptive to it (plus having a largely nonwhite cast doesn't hurt either). As for Best Actress - I agree a Yeoh win would be more exciting, since Blanchett already has a couple of Oscars under her belt. Just a question of how much love one film can get in one night. (Would be hilarious if Andrea Riseborough upsets both of them for a film no one on the planet has seen, but that's probably not in the cards.)
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Post by ThirdMan on Mar 12, 2023 2:15:15 GMT -8
The new Puss in Boots just arrived on Peacock as well - I'm tempted to check it out again. With some time to reflect, it's probably edged out Marcel as my favorite of the Animated Feature nominees (as well as being my favorite film in the whole Shrek franchise). I kind of feel like the older voters in the Academy will have found EEAaO too frenetic and/or silly, and Banshees will win Best Picture. But I'm pulling for the former. Not trying to tempt fate, but it would be a major upset if EEAaO doesn't win Best Picture at this point. It's already swept the top awards from the PGA, DGA, WGA, and SAG. Only four other films in history have managed this ( American Beauty, No Country For Old Men, Slumdog Millionaire, and Argo), all of which went on to win Best Picture. Oh, OK. I'd stopped checking in on the recent awards/guild wins. EEAaO would definitely appear to be the favourite, if it won all of those.
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Post by guttersnipe on Mar 12, 2023 10:07:36 GMT -8
I usually try to watch all the Best Picture nominees in advance of the ceremony. However, I simply could not work up the time, motivation, or interest to spend 3.5 hours wearing fake glasses over my real glasses in order to watch James Cameron's latest adventures of the Blue Man Group. But! I did watch the other nine Best Picture nominees, and shall now rank them accordingly: Are you obligated to watch it in 3D? Because I saw it on day one where it continuously occupied eight screens, but only two were 3D and one was IMAX (I kind of assumed this particular gimmick had run its course in the days of William Castle, but I never really claimed to have my finger on the pulse of the zeitgeist). Anyway, impressive coverage! Personally I've done much more in-year homework than usual prior to the event, but even so there's still only a couple of categories where I've seen more than one entry (if any), so I have precious little observational skin in the game. And I don't know if it's a vissicitudes of internationality thing, but if I were into creating Venn diagrams I'd make one reflecting the fact that I haven't met a single person IRL who's seen the favourite (I haven't even spotted it screening anywhere, even once), but there sure is buzz for Aftersun, which has one nomination tonight.
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Post by Jeremy on Mar 12, 2023 14:10:45 GMT -8
Not trying to tempt fate, but it would be a major upset if EEAaO doesn't win Best Picture at this point. It's already swept the top awards from the PGA, DGA, WGA, and SAG. Only four other films in history have managed this ( American Beauty, No Country For Old Men, Slumdog Millionaire, and Argo), all of which went on to win Best Picture. Oh, OK. I'd stopped checking in on the recent awards/guild wins. EEAaO would definitely appear to be the favourite, if it won all of those. Okay, so I was listening to the latest Ankler podcast, and Richard Rushfield pointed out that - while EEAaO does seem to have the most support for "best" overall (i.e. will appear as #1 on most voters' lists), the Oscars' use of ranked-choice voting could complicate matters, particularly since there will doubtlessly be a number of voters who put it near the bottom. Whereas a film like Banshees of Inisherin is likely to be in most everyone's Top 3 picks, being a more broadly appealing prestige pic overall. All that is to say that EEAaO remains the favorite, but there is rational reason to anticipate an upset. Again, not trying to tempt fate. Are you obligated to watch it in 3D? Because I saw it on day one where it continuously occupied eight screens, but only two were 3D and one was IMAX (I kind of assumed this particular gimmick had run its course in the days of William Castle, but I never really claimed to have my finger on the pulse of the zeitgeist). Truth told, I actually did have some plans to see Avatar with my brother early in its theatrical run, back when it was playing in a variety of formats, but scheduling issues got in the way, and took a while to clear up. Every showing at my local theater for the past six weeks has been in 3D, and I simply cannot content with that, especially since I was never much of an Avatar fan to begin with. Thanks. I still haven't seen Aftersun yet either - I believe the DVD should be dropping any day now. Had completely forgotten the lead actor had gotten a nomination in what's effectively an Elvis vs. Whale race.
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Post by ThirdMan on Mar 12, 2023 14:43:09 GMT -8
Let's be honest here: while I'm sure this doesn't necessarily apply to some of guttersnipe's (film buff?) friends, I would imagine a fair number of folks wouldn't see EEAaO simply because they got word that a good chunk of it is subtitled.
And on the other end of the spectrum, some people only want to watch "art", and have little time for more over-the-top "entertainment" (I would suggest the film belongs in both categories, but...).
Anyways, if it does win Best Picture, I'm in no way looking forward to the online discourse amongst people who ignored/avoided it to this point about how this wacky family action-dramedy is overrated and whatnot, simply because it's Academy-endorsed.
However, if it wins, it'll be on the short-list of BP winners from the past 20 years that I felt genuinely deserved it (the others being Parasite for 2019 and No Country For Old Men for 2007, and perhaps Moonlight for 2016).
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Post by guttersnipe on Mar 12, 2023 15:55:37 GMT -8
Let's be honest here: if I had friends who baulked at watching subtitled films, they wouldn't be my friends * If I remember my extensive listing from a couple of years ago where I did my own assessment over the ages (on the old forum maybe?), the only times I agreed that the Best Picture was in fact "Best Picture" were The Godfather Part II and No Country (haven't seen CODA yet nor presumably what wins tonight), though I rarely find their choices totally unreasonable. *Having said that, there's not many I would consider "buffs", though one friend and I are so simpatico it's sometimes almost worrying. As I recall, the only films we seriously disagree upon are Harold and Maude (I love it, he doesn't) and Two-Lane Blacktop (vice-versa).
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Post by ThirdMan on Mar 12, 2023 18:08:05 GMT -8
So, guttersnipe, you were in agreement with Godfather Part II winning, but what film did you feel deserved it over Part 1 in 1972? Aguirre? Solaris? Discreet Charm? Last Tango In Paris? Cries and Whispers?
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Post by Jeremy on Mar 12, 2023 19:56:23 GMT -8
Oh yeah, let's do some predictions: Best Picture: EEAaOBest Director: Daniels, EEAaO1Best Actor: Brendan Fraser, The WhaleBest Actress: Cate Blanchett, Tar2Best Supporting Actor: Ke Huy Quan, EEAaOBest Supporting Actress: Kerry Condon, Banshees of InisherinBest Animated Feature Film: GDT's PinocchioBest Animated Short Film: The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, and the Horse3Best Cinematography: All Quiet on the Western FrontBest Costume Design: ElvisBest Documentary Feature: Navalny4Best Documentary Short Subject: Stranger at the Gate5Best Film Editing: EEAaOBest International Feature Film: All Quiet on the Western FrontBest Live Action Short Film: Le pupille6Best Makeup and Hairstyling: The WhaleBest Original Score: Babylon7Best Original Song: "Lift Me Up," Black Panther: Wakanda Forever8Best Production Design: All Quiet on the Western FrontBest Sound: Top Gun: MaverickBest Visual Effects: Avatar: The Way of WaterBest Adapted Screenplay: Women Talking9Best Original Screenplay: EEAaOI got 16 out of 23. Seems like I underestimated EEAaO's strength by a couple of acting awards. Not that I'm complaining. I mean, I'm a little bummed that Tar and Banshees both went home completely empty-handed, but at least they got to lose to some respectable competition.
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Post by guttersnipe on Mar 13, 2023 14:48:40 GMT -8
So, guttersnipe, you were in agreement with Godfather Part II winning, but what film did you feel deserved it over Part 1 in 1972? Aguirre? Solaris? Discreet Charm? Last Tango In Paris? Cries and Whispers? Ah, I actually misremembered that; turns out I do think Part I is film of the year (even though I think Part II is the better film). Incidentally, I think I'm having a slightly different takeaway from Everything's sweep last night in that it's being (unstandably and rightly) championed as a success story for Asian artists and older women, but even without having seen it I appreciate that filmmakers from a music video background can potentially win Best Picture and Best Director(s), because even Fincher and Spike Jonze haven't managed that, and my advocacy of the artistry of the music video industry even predates my feature cinephilia.
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Post by ThirdMan on Mar 14, 2023 10:29:27 GMT -8
I don't think most people would deny that there's certainly artistry in many music videos. But I suspect many folks probably feel that sustaining strong artistic quality over a period of a few minutes is much easier than doing so over a few hours. The same logic may apply, to a bit lesser degree, to short films over feature-length ones.
On a somewhat-related note, I thought the album-length (65 minutes) "film" for Beyonce's Lemonade was very artfully done, but felt that only about four of the twelve songs on the album were actually very good (many of the songs seemed a lot weaker removed from the film's visuals).
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Post by guttersnipe on Mar 18, 2023 14:40:37 GMT -8
I'd like to think so; I think I just feel a certain vindication that a lot of the groundless scepticism I've been in the company of over the years regarding music video directors' feature debuts has been met with Academy kudos (whilst at the same time acknowleding that this accolade is pretty ephemeral and questionable as a qualitative barometer). I understand concerns that the comparative hyper-editing of most music videos is rarely suited to ninety minutes, but if they can make the temporal transition, they often reveal a good eye and a penchant for creative ideas.
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