95th Academy Awards (2023 ceremony for 2022 films)

[Tallguy 3,376]

Maverick is a work of art.

 

At the same time, it's not the greatest movie ever made.

[HunterTech 987]

1 hour ago, Nick1Ø66 said:

 

Yeah. This is really condescending and insulting.  A lot of us here follow more than "Hollywood" in terms of what we watch. We're also simply able to fully enjoy a purely cinematic experience without worrying about how much of a work of art it is. In any event, no one called Maverick a "work of art"...though I'd have no issue with someone who did if that's what they thought. It's a beautiful movie.

 

Unbelievable. Check yourself.

 

Except did I say that I was specifically talking about the people here? Granted, I did likely partly base the words on some of what was said here, but it doesn't take much observation to see that a lot of people in different circles discuss it as if it's the only film that existed to counteract the MCU having such a strong chokehold on the movie industry. Which sure, it managed to topple the mouse in their year of various misfires, but it had too much prior history attached for it to feel like the little film that could (which obviously isn't an attitude everyone shares about it). It just reminds me too much of the common discussion around film/TV scores, as if it's only the big projects where any of those efforts matter.

 

This is a strangely antagonistic response for an opinion that wasn't really targeting anyone super specific. So now that someone actually called it a work of art, am I still that out of it for what I'm saying here? Especially towards someone who openly watches enough films that the chance to underwhelm is high? I enjoyed the damn film enough to see it twice, so I'm just confused at this point.

 

(Also, someone wasn't fully reading if they missed me starting off the statement by saying that it wasn't something I knew for certain was the case, so I guess I needed to be more specific in my statement about over hyping a product.)

[Nick1Ø66 4,689]

1 hour ago, HunterTech said:

Except did I say that I was specifically talking about the people here?

 

Don't play that game. If you weren't referring to people here, then why bring up the "type of people who Maverick made an impression on" in the first place? You made your comment immediately after half a dozen people praised the film here, and told Jay to "lower his expectations" accordingly. If you had simply given your opinion of the movie, we wouldn't be having this conversation. But you stereotyped, in a condescending way, the type of people you think like Maverick.

 

You knew what you were doing, and you're not confused. Next time, stick to critiquing the art, not the people who like it.

 

[HunterTech 987]

Dude, I'm just a regular user like everyone else. To accuse me specifically of playing some game (which I'd be too stupid to properly pull anyway) is making me wonder if this is verging on breaking the rules about harassing a user. It's all way too sudden.

 

Top Gun Maverick was made for everyone, so to suggest it's implausible that some could over hype it in such a specific manner is absurd.

[Nick1Ø66 4,689]

Good grief. Someone calling you out on an insulting, BS comment isn't harassment.

 

No need to reply.

[HunterTech 987]

1 hour ago, Nick1Ø66 said:

Good grief. Someone calling you out on an insulting, BS comment isn't harassment.

 

No need to reply.

 

I would have no issues with critiques against my writing approach if the tone didn't seem so confusing. I really don't understand how saying that a few have put the movie on a high pedestal because it's so anti what modern mainstream filmmaking has become is insulting. It's basically an observation based on what the forum discusses much of the time. The wording may be malformed (and I probably wasn't being truthful about who it might've been aimed towards), but at no point did I write anything with the veneer of those around me being lesser for thinking such. Jay had simply expressed surprise over much attention being made towards one kind of film, so I simply was going off that. I'm not great at recognizing the room in which I'm in sometimes.

 

People have issues with how worked up some can get in our current climate over misunderstandings, yet I would've expected you to be one of the last to pull that sort of stunt. Are we now going to devolve into walking on eggshells simply to discuss how the public might perceive a product? I just don't get how we got here.

[Nick1Ø66 4,689]

On 1/3/2023 at 6:46 PM, HunterTech said:

I really don't understand how saying that a few have put the movie on a high pedestal because it's so anti what modern mainstream filmmaking has become is insulting.

 

Mate, you and I are fine, I don't hold grudges online. But that's not what you said initially. So we're clear, here's what you said...

 

 

On 1/3/2023 at 4:06 PM, HunterTech said:

I can imagine the people on whom it (Maverick) made most of an impression are those who essentially only follow Hollywood in terms of current movies.

 

I'm sorry, that's condescending. Especially coming straight on the heels of a lot of folks here praising it. You said nothing about "anti-modern mainstream filmmaking". You just drew assumptions, and made generalizations of the type of people who were impressed with the film.

 

I get your feelings about the film in terms of the broader social conversation about it. I understand the issue. But that's a separate conversation. So either you weren't clear in your initial comments, in which case you're clarifying them now, or you were clear and now want to re-characterise them.

 

In any event, let's leave it at that, it's boring. Again, I just think as a policy we should criticise the art, and not make assumptions about why people like or don't like it. The former is the basis for legit debate, the latter only acrimony. 

 

[HunterTech 987]

I see. My public conversational skills tend to not be the best, so I certainly am getting how my words can be perceived in that manner. Truthfully, these past few days have been a muddled exercise in conflating a few subjects/discussions, so I should take that as a sign to slow down more and being careful about what I write.

[Naïve Old Fart 9,498]

@Nick1Ø66,

now that is a damn good avatar!

My favourite Rush album 

[mrbellamy 6,272]

I'm not even a big fan of the first Top Gun and as far as I was concerned Maverick was just gonna be a filler Tom Cruise sequel until the next M:I. I also ignored Joseph Kosinski's other movies because I didn't think too much of TRON: Legacy so I really wasn't expecting to see it at all. The reviews made me give it a shot and I ended up seeing it twice and it's the only 2022 movie I got on Bluray, I loved it.

 

The movie actually reminds me less of modern blockbusters and more of 80s and 90s Tom Cruise films. That's the thing I couldn't get over. Like it obviously is a great action movie but they really save those key sequences and build up to them while the rest of it just feels like a $40 million drama in such a refreshing way. Sure you've got the crusty by-the-book military guys, the band of young recruits, the predictable romantic subplot, the connection between the mentor and one special student, these are all pretty cliche but the movie really makes me buy into those cliches and delight in them. The climax and resolution also pushed all the right buttons for me, in some ways I saw coming and others I didn't. I hesitate to call them "twists" but it definitely swerves the action in ways that feel exactly right. 

 

There is just something so fantastic to me about how it has the pace and tone of the kinds of comfort food, middlebrow dramas Cruise used to make, which is entirely out of place both in today's blockbusters (which rarely have time to slow down for anything) and dramas (which have gotten moodier than ever.) If direction is "tone management" as the Coen Brothers like to say, Kosinski honestly gets an A+, not for having the most brilliant vision, but for knowing exactly how finely to slice some good ol Hollywood cheese, which feels like a lost art unless you're James Cameron. Not what I expected from this movie at all! But that's why it makes sense to me in an Oscar lineup. 

[Jay 37,287]

It turns out my local cinema has 8 movies I wouldn't mind seeing on the big screen this weekend - Titanic, EEAAO, Top Gun Maverick, RRR, Puss In Boots The Last Wish, Ant-Man, Cocaine Bear, Operation Fortune.

Choices, choices!

[Nick1Ø66 4,689]

28 minutes ago, Jay said:

It turns out my local cinema has 7 movies I wouldn't mind seeing on the big screen this weekend - Titanic, EEAAO, Top Gun Maverick, RRR, Puss In Boots The Last Wish, Ant-Man, Cocaine Bear, Operation Fortune.

Choices, choices!

 

Which movie should Jay see this weekend? He'll abide by the result. Wrong answers only.

1. Titanic
2. Maverick
3. RRR
4. Puss in Boots
5. The Last Wish
6. Ant-Man
7. Cocaine Bear
8. Operation Fortune
9. Choices, Choices!

 

[LSH 968]

What's RRR?

[Jay 37,287]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RRR_(film)

[Jurassic Shark 12,030]

16 minutes ago, Nick1Ø66 said:

Pussy in Boots

 

This!

[mstrox 6,647]

Why do they call it Top Gun when it’s not about guns it’s about planes

[enderdrag64 624]

1 hour ago, mstrox said:

Why do they call it Top Gun when it’s not about guns it’s about planes

[mstrox 6,647]

Top Model is t about planes and neither should top gun be. It should be about Gun.

[Smeltington 1,436]

RRR was bonkers, HUGELY entertaining and over the top. Great movie to see in the theater.

[Jay 37,287]

We had a snowstorm on Saturday so I didn't have a chance to go out, and then it turns out all the theaters near me that were showing Top Gun on Friday and Saturday no longer were on Sunday.  Weird.  Oh well.

[mstrox 6,647]

They must have gotten my letters

[Jay 37,287]

So who wants to make predictions for this weekend's ceremony?

[Knight of Ren 785]

Hi there, I did a short video briefly analyzing the 5 nominees in the category of Best Original Score for this Sunday's Academy Awards! The video is in spanish but I added english subtitles, so if you're interested, feel free to check it out and leave your thoughts on it!

 

 

What is your favorite of the 5 nominees? Who do you think will win? Is there any score you think should be on this list? I hope you enjoy it!

[JNHFan2000 2,944]

1 hour ago, Knight of Ren said:

Hi there, I did a short video briefly analyzing the 5 nominees in the category of Best Original Score for this Sunday's Academy Awards! The video is in spanish but I added english subtitles, so if you're interested, feel free to check it out and leave your thoughts on it!

 

 

What is your favorite of the 5 nominees? Who do you think will win? Is there any score you think should be on this list? I hope you enjoy it!

Great video.

 

I myself feel only The Fabelmans is right on this list.

I can live with Banshees being here. But the rest I did not like.

The Batman and/or Avatar are far better choices. 

[Jay 37,287]

My thoughts on the Original Score category

 

 

All Quiet on the Western Front = have not seen the movie, have not heard the score

Babylon = have not seen the movie, have not heard the score

 

The Banshees of Inisherin = Good movie!  I thought the score was VERY VERY good in it!  Super effective, and nice and different that it wasn't cliched Irish music but something far more interesting.  Been meaning to check out the music outside the film, but haven't yet.

 

Everything Everywhere All at Once = LOVED the movie, my favorite of the year.  Don't really remember anything specific about the score in the film at all >shrug< Have not been compelled to listen to it outside the film in the slightest

 

The Fabelmans = The movie was OK, but it was perfectly scored.  John Williams did his John Williams thing, and it was just what the film needed.  Even the sparse spotting is perfect for what the film is; It's mostly carried by period music.  My favorite cue is unreleased and I can't believe the FYC album was just the OST tracks, so frustrating.

 

 

 

So, who do I WANT to win?  The Fabelmans, but I'd be happy with Burwell winning too because he did something that really made me take notice, and elevated the film.

 

Who WILL win?  Really hard to say this year.  JW might have some momentum with all the interviews, general buzz about his career and that he's still in competing categories, etc.  But EEAAO is likely to win all the major categories, and the random people who vote on these things might just be checking that off too.  Curious to find out how it goes down in 2 1/2 days.

 

[TheUlyssesian 2,473]

I think Babylon is vomitive trash and the score is just as bad and grating. 

 

Haven't seen All Quiet.

 

Banshees is a decent movie but the score is milquetoast. 

 

Everything Everywhere is okay but the score is unremarkable. 

 

The Fabelmans is a masterpiece. And the music itself is superb - even though there is little of it and it is used sparingly.

 

Who should win? Need I say it.

 

Who will win - This is a fairly open category. I think anything apart from Banshees can win. Though All Quiet and Babylon and Everything have a better chance than Williams. 

[Jay 37,287]

I keep forgetting about Babylon's chances.

 

FWIW, the betting sites are saying Babylon's going to win

 

Babylon -175
All Quiet on the Western Front +175
The Fablemans +1000
The Banshees of Inisherin +2300
Everything Everywhere All At Once +2900

https://www.vegasinsider.com/awards/odds/oscars/

 

Babylon -225
All Quiet on the Western Front +175
The Fabelmans +1000
Everything Everywhere All At Once +2000
The Banshees of Inisherin +2800

https://sportsbook.draftkings.com/leagues/academyawards/academy-awards?category=audio

[TheUlyssesian 2,473]

1 hour ago, Jay said:

I keep forgetting about Babylon's chances.

 

FWIW, the betting sites are saying Babylon's going to win

 

Babylon -175
All Quiet on the Western Front +175
The Fablemans +1000
The Banshees of Inisherin +2300
Everything Everywhere All At Once +2900

https://www.vegasinsider.com/awards/odds/oscars/

 

Babylon -225
All Quiet on the Western Front +175
The Fabelmans +1000
Everything Everywhere All At Once +2000
The Banshees of Inisherin +2800

https://sportsbook.draftkings.com/leagues/academyawards/academy-awards?category=audio

 

Its worth putting money on Everything and Fabelmans. A lot of money could be made if they win.

[Glóin the Dark 1,218]

I've seen six of the Best Film nominees. Since I'm not likely to see any more (at least, not before the results), here's my personal ranking:

 

1. Tár
2. The Banshees of Inisherin
3. Women Talking
4. All Quiet on the Western Front
5. Everything Everywhere All at Once
6. The Fabelmans

[Nick1Ø66 4,689]

3 hours ago, Jay said:

All Quiet on the Western Front = have not seen the movie, have not heard the score

 

Best movie of the year, IMO. But it's incredibly intense, probably the most visceral war film (so much so that it's ultimately an anti-war movie) I've ever seen, so if you're not into that you probably won't enjoy it.

[Jay 37,287]

11 minutes ago, Glóin the Dark said:

I've seen six of the Best Film nominees. Since I'm not likely to see any more (at least, not before the results), here's my personal ranking:

 

1. Tár
2. The Banshees of Inisherin
3. Women Talking
4. All Quiet on the Western Front
5. Everything Everywhere All at Once
6. The Fabelmans

 

Banshees a better film than EEAAO? Interesting!

[Nick1Ø66 4,689]

2 minutes ago, Jay said:

Banshees a better film than EEAAO?

 

YES!!!!

 

Though "better" is pretty subjective.  They're so different it's almost pointless to compare them. If like Banshees better b/c it's more my kind of film than EEAAO (which I enjoyed also).

[Glóin the Dark 1,218]

23 minutes ago, Jay said:

Banshees a better film than EEAAO?

 

It's not even close for me. I need to watch Everything Everywhere All at Once for a second time, but I found it overly sentimental for my tastes and can't see that changing an awful lot.

 

The more difficult choice was between The Banshees of Inisherin and Tár.

[Brando 1,856]

Did you guys enjoy All Quiet on the Western Front? It's playing at my local theater and if you guys enjoyed it, I might go see it since I'll be by myself tonight.

[Knight of Ren 785]

Definitely recommend All Quiet on the Western Front, especially if you can watch it ona big screen with a great sound system. In my country it was released directly to Netflix, and while it's not a perfect film, it's an intense and immersive experience that definitely benefits from the cinematic viewing experience. The war sequences are some of the most brutal I've seen in the genre, and it's up there on my favorite picks for the Oscars alongside Tár and Babylon.

[Jay 37,287]

That's too bad; It's playing at all the cinemas near me right now

[Loert 2,510]

The only thing I liked about AQotWF was the cinematography. I really didn't like the ending; in fact, the more I think about it the less I like it.

 

But in terms of pure cinematic experience it is pretty effective.

 

For the record, here's a list this year's "Oscar movies" I've seen and my brief thoughts:

 

The Banshees of Inisherin - liked it very much, the nature shots of Inisherin Inishmore are beautiful and you really do feel like you're there with the characters. The story is a slow burn but worth the ride.

Elvis - I'm a great admirer of Baz Luhrmann and Elvis did not disappoint. Though I definitely got more out of it on my second watch. It's a lot to take in. Butler's performance was incredible of course, especially in the Vegas scenes. The shot of the Lisa Marie flying up into the shadows of the clouds is my favourite shot this year.

The Fabelmans - quite a subdued film. It's very much a home video for cinema, so I wasn't quite sure how I was supposed to understand the film if I'm honest. But it was pleasant. And the music ain't so bad, either.

Tár - as someone who loves classical music I guess I am slightly biased to this film. I do think it's a masterpiece. But I have to say, after my first watch I felt like my memory had been wiped of the last 2 and a half hours. It's filled with layers upon  layers of symbolism, you can analyse it until you're blue in the face and you still probably won't uncover half of its real meaning...so it's the kind of film that you can't hope to begin to fully understand on first watch (unless your IQ is 200). But it's a very rich film, in many different ways. It was the only film this year that I couldn't stop thinking about after finishing watching it. I honestly believe it's genius and I do hope it wins Best Original Screenplay, at least, in addition to Best Actress (Blanchett pretty much has it in the bag). Tár is true árt. (Tár? Árt? Get it?)

Aftersun - this film, I think, is another masterpiece, and it was the film which moved me most emotionally out of all the films I've watched this year. It's hard to describe what this film is really, but all I can say is that I was a wreck at the end. But I've probably said too much already!

Living - it was good enough, not much more to say

Argentina, 1985 - as a film about the Trial of the Juntas, it served its purpose, but didn't go beyond that IMO. Nice production value, but other than that it was just OK.

EO - an odd little film, human "realism" through the eyes of a donkey. Or are we all just donkeys? I found it...interesting, more than anything else. The scene with the turbines definitely sticks in your mind. And I thought the music was great. It had the best soundtrack out of all the Oscar films I've watched...apart from The Fabelmans of course.

The Quiet Girl - a simply beautiful film. The story is nothing earth-shattering but the beauty lies in how the story is told. Most cathartic ending this year (with Living a close runner-up). (Btw, the ending reminded me a lot of the ending to

Spoiler

Goodnight Mister Tom

, another beautiful film).

 

If I were to rank the films, it might be something like this:

1. Tár
2. Elvis
3. Aftersun
4. The Banshees of Inisherin
5. The Quiet Girl
6. The Fabelmans
7. EO
8. Living
9. Argentina, 1985
10. AQotWF (I really wanted to like this but I was disappointed)

 

I still would like to see Everything Everywhere, might get a chance this weekend...

 

EDIT: Ended up seeing it...it started out promising but about halfway into the film my patience started wearing thin, and by the end I had stopped caring. Not for me.

[JNHFan2000 2,944]

I think it's so funny to see people praise Tár this mucb. I thought it was a well made film and Blanchett is incredible. But it absolutely bored me to death.

I liked the scene where she was teaching but other than that I wasn't really interested in the whole thing.

 

But that's art for you, everyone's opinion on it is different

[Knight of Ren 785]

Tár is definitely not for everyone, and its slow pace, somber tone and cryptic narrative may throw some people off, but I was hugely captivated by its complex story, and I think it's a film that will definitely benefit from future rewatchs. It improves a lot every time you think a bit more about it and I really like that its ideas aren't throw at the face of the audience, but instead force you to pay attention and think and rethink everything you've just seen to try and comprehend what the movie is trying to tell.

 

I love its atmosphere and mood, and the direction and writing overall, and if you aren't captivated by any of that, certainly Cate Blanchett's masterful interpretation will, which is my opinion who should take the oscar home this weekend (with Ana de Armas being my close second pick).

[Nick1Ø66 4,689]

Everything Everywhere All at Once Passes Return of the King as Most-Awarded Movie Ever

 

I mean, I liked the film and all but...c'mon.

 

Anyway, now I'm definitely rooting against it!

[Faleel 5,340]

Reaction of

@Not Mr. Big

 

[Nick1Ø66 4,689]

Will be interesting to see where his takes Michelle Yeoh's career. She was rumoured to star in a new Star Trek series, but I'm guessing she's priced out of that now.  

[mrbellamy 6,272]

Ever since the 2011-12 season, I have managed to see all the Best Picture noms before the ceremony. A couple times I've done them all in theaters, but not this year bc I watched All Quiet on Netflix. 

 

Top Gun: Maverick is by far the most fun I had watching any of them while The Fabelmans was the warmest emotional experience. I always was gonna be very inclined to loving the latter but those are the two I was most hooked into from beginning to end without forcing it. 

 

Banshees and Tar are two majestic movies but also just so deflating. I'm sure there is a lot to unpack but I just have to be more passionate to do all the required homework assignments a movie like that is giving me to do afterward. They're the kind of thing that I will be compelled to spin again in a decade, especially Tar. 

 

Avatar: The Way of Water and Triangle of Sadness, I thought were too long and broadly speaking had things I was really into and not so much, but generally had a great time. Would have loved Sigourney Weaver and Dolly de Leon both nominated in Supporting Actress! 

 

Everything Everywhere All At Once, I've seen twice. The first time I just had an experience with it where around the first Ratatouille scene, I realized I had not been paying any attention to wtf was happening for 30 minutes lmao. So I thought it ended on a nice note but I wasn't really locked in, it made my brain deactivate which was of course the opposite of what they wanted. I gave it an earnest shot a couple weeks ago and I get the gist now, the metaphors of the world-building but I'm still mixed. I'm not in love with it but I can give it up for a movie that holds magic on other people, it's the dream. The "I would have loved doing laundry and taxes with you in another life" scene, that's great, I'm rooting for Ke Huy Quan like everybody is. 

 

Women Talking is the sort of movie I always end up watching for Oscars that I inevitably forget about. I really like Sarah Polley, though (LOVE Away From Her) and I wish she were making a movie every other year. It's actually a funnier and more surprising movie than I expected, I was worried it would be misery porn but it's not, really. But it LOOKS like shit! Wtf Sarah! 

 

Elvis, I am NOT a Baz Luhrmann guy but this kinda won me over, I think Austin Butler would be a boring Oscar winner but he is actually really great and deserving (having not seen The Whale...no interest, I was relieved it was left off the BP lineup so I didn't have to see it to continue my streak.) But Butler is able to exist in the zany heightened world of Baz's direction and Tom Hanks's "is it terrible or secretly genius???" performance while also fully grounding it. 

 

And All Quiet is my bottom, MAYBE I would have liked it more if I saw it in a theater, maybe I was just in a bad mood but I really don't know. I don't think so. It truly made me feel like giving up on watching war shit forever but now I am watching Band of Brothers for the first time and it's just reminding me how rich war dramas can be (obviously.)

 

2022 wasn't a big year of favorites tbh, out of the mainstream and award things I saw. I always end up seeing about 40 new releases by the end of the year and then catching up with whatever as life goes on. Aftersun was probably my favorite of the other nominated movies. Three Thousand Years of Longing was my favorite of the movies that got no Oscar nominations. Men and Zemeckis's Pinocchio tied for worst. 

 

My favorite thing about this Oscar race is how close Actor, Actress, and Supporting Actress are, it's been a long time since only one acting category felt wrapped up. Fraser vs Butler and Blanchett vs Yeoh are such a coin flip and I have no idea who's winning Supporting Actress between Bassett vs Condon, and now even Jamie Lee Curtis in the mix. 

[Jay 37,287]

Great post! 

 

Boy, Men really came and went fast didn't it

 

What, did you think of Guillermo Del Toro's Pinocchio? It's easily thr best 2022 film that didn't get a Best Picture mom that I saw

[mrbellamy 6,272]

Really liked it, it's up there for me as well. Actually a few of the biggest problems that I had with the Zemeckis one were things that were handled similarly in the Del Toro but executed so much better.

 

Spoiler

Thinking especially about the ending where they both interpret the "real boy" transformation as a metaphor, but in the Zemeckis one it feels cheap and thrown away, whereas it is so beautifully explored within just those few minutes at the end of the Del Toro.  

 

Also I wish Desplat had been nominated, I wouldn't have minded him getting a third for this. It does seem like the Animated frontrunner, would be very deserving. I also enjoyed Turning Red. 

[Jay 37,287]

Yea, I can't believe neither the score nor any songs were nominated

[Manakin Skywalker 4,891]

2 hours ago, Nick1Ø66 said:

Will be interesting to see where his takes Michelle Yeoh's career. She was rumoured to star in a new Star Trek series, but I'm guessing she's priced out of that now.  

 

That happened years ago, she was in 24 episodes of Star Trek: Discovery according to Wiki (unless that was sarcasm...)

[Not Mr. Big 4,639]

2 hours ago, A Farewell to Kings said:

Reaction of

@Not Mr. Big

 

I just don't get it.  It's like a Rick and Morty episode but even worse because it's 2 and a half hours long

[Nick1Ø66 4,689]

57 minutes ago, Manakin Skywalker said:

 

That happened years ago, she was in 24 episodes of Star Trek: Discovery according to Wiki (unless that was sarcasm...)

No, I’m not talking about that. They’ve been talking about a spin-off show featuring her character.

 

Actually, I don’t think she was that great in Discovery. She’s an excellent actress, but she was just way over the top playing the baddie in that show.

[Glóin the Dark 1,218]

19 hours ago, mrbellamy said:

Banshees and Tar are two majestic movies but also just so deflating. I'm sure there is a lot to unpack but I just have to be more passionate to do all the required homework assignments...

 

My experience has been completely different for both of those films. I found them both enthralling from the first viewing and have seen each of them about seven times now. (For fun, not homework!)