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Well, to its credit, it was definitely a better ceremony than last year. But the bar was not very high. For the most part, the hosts were solid, and Smith offered some "had to watch it live" TV drama. Power of the Dog came out surprisingly empty-handed though. It was just Jane Campion's Oscar.

I get it. It's a difficult place to be, and I have a lot sympathy for Smith in this situation.

This speech though... This is good television...Congrats Academy, you got what you wanted!

Apparently Chris Rock and Will Smith haven't seen eye-to-eye for years. Also sounds like Rock was being kind of a dick...I did not get the joke. Clearly designed to provoke Smith. Although throwing a punch is probably not the answer here... Campion learns from her speech's mistake and keeps it simple and classy. Congrats to her on the win.

Nope. It was the real deal...not staged

Oh the sound cutting off wasn't just us? I missed it.

Yikes...that Zimmer moment was a real let-down and a disservice to him. You think Jason Mamoa could have had more ready to say?

Lol I'm confused by this favourite list. How did Minamata even make the list? Also, you can tell by the awkward applauses after these montages that no one cares for them much. Looks like an Irish knockoff of Roma. That should have been Paul Thomas Anderson's Oscar...shame...really thought he was finally going to get it this year

Uhh...how is this speech going on forever into random anecdotes, but Ryusuke Hamaguchi got interrupted 3 times?

Touché.

I also personally preferred Spencer to The Power of the Dog but think all three films this year just showcase his artistry so well, and think he just really deserved the Oscar. Was that Chris Evans intro live? If not, how did he know Troy would win the Oscar ahead of time?

No...but it's Disney. So not a surprise at all. But Flee easily outclasses everything in this category. Just doesn't have the mainstream appeal of a big family movie.

Lol there was room for a big Bond montage and no room for people getting their awards? Okay...that makes sense...

It won't win any of the big ones (Director/Picture), but will sweep the technical categories.

It should have gone to Greenwood's imo. But I guess Dune fits the "Oscar" bill more than many of his past nominations. Surprised to see Greg Frasier take home cinematography, but very well deserved!

Lool. I'm curious how that works when over half of Hollywood is still snapping shots outside the door...

Yes, in front of an audience full of seat-fillers, before the actual industry folk make their way in from the red carpet.

Lol what a terribly underwhelming and unceremonious way to announce that. Jeez.

That poster...does not look good. But hoping Eggers delivers.

EDIT: I'd probably take out Dune or The Power of the Dog in favour of adding Flee to the list.

Flee Truly arresting stuff. One of the most authoritative and earnest portrayals of the refugee experience. Definitely up there with last year's best.

The Sicario-esque music, maybe! The rest of it though, just doesn’t look up to the snuff, even visually.

Sure. Well, in its studio recording there are all these subtle Tibetan bowls, tanburas, specialty instruments, drones and the musicians are recorded in stems which allows more room to mix in certain reverbs and ambience so the whole thing feels really lush and airy, like it's "out of this world", much like the game. This would be hard to replicate live of course, and the fully orchestral version sounds more grounded and exposed, which isn't a bad thing (it's orchestrated well and Wintory is clearly a pro), but it has a different quality to it. The finale cues are the good examples of this I think. More or less, the same musical material, but the feeling is different imo: vs Again, not a bad thing at all, because they're both doing different things. The latter feels a little closer to "conventional" film music, while the former feels more like its own thing.

Drone Mass by Jóhann Jóhannsson Jóhannsson's last substantial work, while not a score, is a beautiful enigmatic offering. Featuring a nice hybrid of strange colourful vocal textures, shifting microtonal drones and some lovely choral cannons. Traveler - A Journey by Austin Wintory Absolutely sublime. Although I think it loses a little of its otherworldly magic in the traditional orchestral setting, it gains other new colours and shades. Apparently Wintory is planning to release the conductor's score at some point too, so looking forward to grabbing that at some point.

Yes, it's an absolutely beautiful work! Some wonderful and strange stuff in there...