KK

One of the brilliant things LOTR is how well spotted it is. Both Shore and Jackson found ways to not only make all the complex plot devices and characters feel like one cohesive whole, but find beautiful key moments that elevate both the score and the what's happening on screen to create truly cinematic moments (a sad rarity these days). What do you think are some of the best spotted scenes in the trilogy? One obvious suggestion: Along with pretty much most of the first act of FOTR, the score really manages to elevate about 20min of massive exposition dump into beautifully sculpted storytelling. The way he manages to make all these different cuts feel like one cohesive set-piece is a masterclass in shaping momentum. And I love how the score so delicately dances around the mentions of the Ring and the doom it portends in the "Keep It Secret, Keep it Safe" scene that follows. It all feels so deliberate, like days were spent pouring over what beats to hit, shape and lead up to. So many fantastic scenes like this (Mirror of Galadriel, Court of Meduseld, etc). What are some of your favourites?

I thought the opening (up till Spielberg’s name pops up) of this trailer looked quite handsome and even managed to get me somewhat excited. Once the dancing all kicked in, I was less taken with it.

Yup. If they kept Best Picture last, the takeaway narrative is that "first woman of colour director's feature film bags all the major wins". Now the narrative is "celebrated deceased Black actor gets snubbed".

He really is. And deserves the Oscar for sure. But cue the #OscarssoWhite... They shouldn't have messed with the presentation formula.

Damn...Boseman didn't get it... Hopkins and Ahmed were my favourites in the category...but this is not gonna play well....

I'm all for honouring Boseman, but I think they've kind of botched the momentum of the whole ceremony with this weird reshuffling. McDormand was a surprise! She joins Streep and Day-Lewis in the triple Oscar acting category. Good for her!

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Wait...they're doing Best Picture?

This is pretty lame.

I like Batiste. His stuff was the best music in the film anyway.

Nomadland

Most of them seem to be at the train station. Others are at the Dolby Theatre, and some are video-conferencing in.

I'm surprised. Thought Nomadland was a shoo-in for this.

Youn Yuh-Jung adding some very much needed life to this bore of a ceremony. I love her.

Indeed. I thought last year was their all-time low. The Oscars needs the promp and fills, not just an endless barrage of speeches. And they definitely need a host. But I guess that they got to put all this together as seamlessly as they did is pretty impressive, given everything.

They've been pretty predictable throughout. Most of us have been spot on across the categories, but I am officially behind because I voted for Time for Best Documentary.

That's a very Malick thing to do. The film pulled a lot from his DNA.

Paul Raci was excellent. But so was Kaluuya! I say it's a deserved win.

Happy for Zhao's win. Second Asian director to win Best Director in a row. Also, did they cut out the Best Costume winner speech? That doesn't seem right.

I'm surprised at how long they're letting these speeches go. And the Oscars definitely needs a real host I think. I'd put Sound of Metal, Minari and The Father as my top 3, above Nomadland. Lol woops, just seeing this. Looks like they really cut down everything else in the ceremony to give more airtime for speeches...makes the whole thing rather dry.

All the Best Picture nominees this year were better than Tenet (even the dull-as-dishwater Sorkin flick). This is no classic. And Nolan's films have gotten plenty of recognition by the Academy and he'll land his Oscar win eventually. Let's not paint him as some victim. He's the current king of Hollywood...not some undiscovered genius. Ever since they expanded the Best Picture list to 10-ish films, a big budget tentpole picture like Tenet gets nominated every year. This year being the only exception, because no major blockbusters were really released. And Tenet was shite.

Last year's ceremony was indeed a bore. But I will be watching tomorrow nonetheless, in the spirit of tradition and having a day to just indulge in celebrating movies. And Tenet not being nominated in most categories is one of the rarer instances of how sensible the jury and their criteria are for identifying good movies, if anything.

It's certainly a lot harder. And not because of the actual quality of the music, but the way music and films are consumed today. In the age of ADHD franchise movies and meandering hours of streaming miniseries, there just aren't as many truly "cinematic" moments that land and resonate with the public consciousness in a widespread way. There aren't anymore E.T. flying bicycles, Psycho shower scenes, Arabian deserts in 70mm, flying plastic bags in 90s suburbia or giant Balrog fights. It's in those moments that film music is elevated to "all-time" status. No matter how good or bad the music might be on its own, it is inherently tied to how it creates "moments" with the film it scores. And even when modern films get close to achieving these moments, they drown it with sound effects, visuals or whatever that it just doesn't register in memory. There are exceptions of course, but consumption culture has really shortened the shelf-life of contemporary art (across most mediums). That's why 100 years from now, we'll still be touting on about John Williams and Beethoven, but will likely not remember anybody working today. And again, that has less to do with the actual musicianship of these composers and more to do with the world in which they create their music.

That's kind of what I love about it. The way he plays with these Bollywood tropes, often flipping them on their heads.

Nonsense!