2022-2023 Film Awards Season

[Kasey]

Although I greatly disliked EEAAO when I watched it, I appreciate that it was the most unusual and challenging of the nominated movies, and because of that, I hope it wins. Michelle Yeoh was indeed great, although so was Cate Blanchett, so I can see them being tight up till the event itself. Having seen both "The Whale" and "Elvis", I want Fraser to take it, as I think his role was more challenging and he was fully immersed in it. Butler was good in my mind, but not great.

 

[clairecloutier]

Seems like a lot of this year's nominated films are getting very mixed reviews from FSU folks. Which doesn't exactly increase my interest in most of the movies!

P.S. I want to see Women Talking, as I recently read Sarah Polley's memoir and generally liked (though didn't love) her screenplay for last year's Little Women remake. I also want to see She Said, and the Quiet Girl movie from Ireland sounds interesting. Beyond that, not feeling too intrigued by recent films.

 

[Vash01]

Finally watched Top gun Maverick. I liked it on my tiny dvd player screen. It must be 10x better in a cinema hall.

 

[VGThuy]

Seems like a lot of this year's nominated films are getting very mixed reviews from FSU folks. Which doesn't exactly increase my interest in most of the movies!

P.S. I want to see Women Talking, as I recently read Sarah Polley's memoir and generally liked (though didn't love) her screenplay for last year's Little Women remake. I also want to see She Said, and the Quiet Girl movie from Ireland sounds interesting. Beyond that, not feeling too intrigued by recent films.

Hey, did Sarah Polley do a screenplay for a Little Women remake? I know Greta Gerwig wrote and directed the popular remake from a few years ago that got a few Oscar nominations.

 

[made_in_canada]

Hey, did Sarah Polley do a screenplay for a Little Women remake? I know Greta Gerwig wrote and directed the popular remake from a few years ago that got a few Oscar nominations.

I don't think she actually did. She was attached to Little Women as a writer and potential director before Gerwig but had to back out because of a bad concussion that left her unable to work.

 

[clairecloutier]

I don't think she actually did. She was attached to Little Women as a writer and potential director before Gerwig but had to back out because of a bad concussion that left her unable to work.

Yes, you're right, @made_in_canada. I had just remembered from Sarah Polley's memoir that she started writing the Little Women screenplay. But I guess she didn't finish it.

It's interesting, because I'm reading Little Women out loud now with my kids, and while it's fresh in my mind, I should rewatch the Gerwig movie to see how much dialogue she used and what plot changes she made. (I know the Winona Ryder version so well that I don't have to rewatch that one to know the changes they made! )

 

[screech]

Another win for Michelle Yeoh, this time at the Independent Spirit Awards. These awards have adopted gender neutral categories:

Best Lead Performance: Michelle Yeoh. She won over Cate Blanchett, Andrea Riseborough, and Paul Mescal, of the fellow Oscar nominees
Best Supporting Performance: Ke Huy Quan. He won over fellow Oscar nominees Jamie Lee Curtis and Brian Tyree Henry.
Breakthrough Performance: Stephanie Hsu
EEAAO also won best picture, director, screenplay and editing

For your Oscars pools, the current odds at GoldDerby have changed a smidge:
Best Picture: EEAAO at 6/1, with Banshees second at 15/2
Director: Daniels at 16/5, with Spielberg second at 19/5
Actress: Michelle Yeoh at 10/3 with Cate second at 71/20
Actor: Austin Butler at 7/2, with Brendan Fraser a virtual tie at 71/20
Supporting Actress: Angela Bassett at 71/20 with Kerry Condon second at 37/10
Supporting Actor: Ke Huy Quan at 31/10, with Brendan Gleeson second at 4/1

 

[Vash01]

I watched Tar today. Had mixed feelings, but when I saw Cate Blanchett for the first 15 minutes, I thought - just give her the Oscar. That feeling persisted till the end. It is a 'Wow!' Performance. I have not seen EEAAO yet, so perhaps I should withhold my judgment.

Now about the movie.

Why did they show so many credits at the start (and the main credits at the end)? In a way that was good because often people Walk out of the theatre as soon as the end credits start (I stay in almost till the end). So it is good to acknowledge the unknowns who contributed to the movie.

I felt that the movie had a weak start, weak ending, but everything in the middle was good. What an odd composition!

The first three scenes were interview/meeting of some kind. I thought they could have broken up that sequence, although individually they all were well done.

I felt they could have given more screen time to the relationship between Lydia and Sharon. I would have liked to see more of Petra- Lydia and Sharon both spending time with her.

All the music rehearsals were interesting to me because I know very little about that part of music, though I love classical music and used to go to live concerts before 2020.

I was confused toward the end. After the massage Lydia goes Outside and throws up. I have no clue about what happened there, but after that she is able to pick up conducting.

The end felt abrupt. The last part could have been longer, smoother, and more convincing. Her recovery/transformation felt either rushed or not clear enough.

This is a character based movie. Cate Blanchett totally owns the screen and carries the movie. The supporting cast did well, but none of them had a big enough role (except Sharon/Nina Hoss) to be worthy of a Supporting Oscar.

Overall, I enjoyed this movie, despite some Of my negative comments.. A lot of credit should go to Blanchett. Will she win her third Oscar?

8/10.

 

[Vash01]

Next in line - The Fabelmans is on its way to my home.

I am trying to see as many BP nominated movies as possible.

 

[screech]

Next in line - The Fabelmans is on its way to my home.

I am trying to see as many BP nominated movies as possible.

I have a list of all the movies that have won 'best picture' at the oscars, and have a goal of seeing all of them. I haven't made much of a dent - I've seen 32 of the winners all the way through (and 5 more I've seen 'most' along with many others where I've seen bits).

 

[allezfred]

If the nominated Irish actors etc do not come home laden down with Oscars it will be because of racism against kind hearted Irish people!

 

[pat c]

If the nominated Irish actors etc do not come home laden down with Oscars it will be because of racism against kind hearted Irish people!

Spoiler: Don't you Mean

kind hearted irish people with no fingers compared to wiener fingers and conductor fingers.......it's all about the fingers.

 

[VGThuy]

If the nominated Irish actors etc do not come home laden down with Oscars it will be because of racism against kind hearted Irish people!

Haha! I am rooting for Colin Farrell, but in the other categories, I’m rooting for the Asian-Americans… and an Malaysian-born Hong Kong international star.

 

[Kasey]

I just watched “The Whale” again. What a devastating performance by Fraser. Amazing.

 

[NinjaTurtles]

I watched Tar today. Had mixed feelings, but when I saw Cate Blanchett for the first 15 minutes, I thought - just give her the Oscar. That feeling persisted till the end. It is a 'Wow!' Performance. I have not seen EEAAO yet, so perhaps I should withhold my judgment.

Now about the movie.

Why did they show so many credits at the start (and the main credits at the end)? In a way that was good because often people Walk out of the theatre as soon as the end credits start (I stay in almost till the end). So it is good to acknowledge the unknowns who contributed to the movie.

I felt that the movie had a weak start, weak ending, but everything in the middle was good. What an odd composition!

The first three scenes were interview/meeting of some kind. I thought they could have broken up that sequence, although individually they all were well done.

I felt they could have given more screen time to the relationship between Lydia and Sharon. I would have liked to see more of Petra- Lydia and Sharon both spending time with her.

All the music rehearsals were interesting to me because I know very little about that part of music, though I love classical music and used to go to live concerts before 2020.

I was confused toward the end. After the massage Lydia goes Outside and throws up. I have no clue about what happened there, but after that she is able to pick up conducting.

The end felt abrupt. The last part could have been longer, smoother, and more convincing. Her recovery/transformation felt either rushed or not clear enough.

This is a character based movie. Cate Blanchett totally owns the screen and carries the movie. The supporting cast did well, but none of them had a big enough role (except Sharon/Nina Hoss) to be worthy of a Supporting Oscar.

Overall, I enjoyed this movie, despite some Of my negative comments.. A lot of credit should go to Blanchett. Will she win her third Oscar?

8/10.

Spoiler: Spoiler

I was confused toward the end. After the massage Lydia goes Outside and throws up. I have no clue about what happened there, but after that she is able to pick up conducting.

The masseuse that makes eye contact with her, that in some ways chooses her, has the number 5 on her robe. Mahler No. 5 being the elusive piece she did complete conducting in Berlin. No. 5 being the score book missing from her home. The manager confirming if she is choosing masseuse 5 makes her ill.

The end felt abrupt. The last part could have been longer, smoother, and more convincing. Her recovery/transformation felt either rushed or not clear enough.

I didn’t interpret her as recovered - she is ‘cancelled’ so much that her career hits a low where her only option is to take a gig at a video game convention. She has to wear metronome headphones to sync with the video game screen visuals, becoming the “robot” conductor she demonizes repeatedly earlier in the film.

 

[jenny12]

I’ll do a little will Win/ Should win (IMO, of course) for a few categories for Sunday’s Oscars:

Best Picture:
Will Win: Everything Everywhere All At Once

Should Win: Same

Even if Tar was my personal favorite of the year, I feel EEAAO was the most creative film and is the type of movie that should be rewarded.

Best Director:
Will Win: The Daniels (EEAAO)

Should Win: Same

Best Actor:
Will Win: I think it’s going to be close between Austin Butler and Brendan Fraser but I think Brendan Fraser will get it in a close one

Should Win: Paul Mescal (Aftersun was one of the most moving films I’ve seen in a while and much of that was due to Mescal’s moving, subtle performance)

Best Actress:

Will Win: Michelle Yeoh

Should Win: This is a tough call for me between Cate Blanchett and Michelle Yeoh. Both great performances. I might personally give the edge to Cate Blanchett as I feel her performance was more unique and her choice were more interesting but I’d be glad to see Michelle Yeoh win.

Best Supporting Actor:
Will Win/Should Win: Ke Huy Quan

It will (hopefully) be a great moment when he wins

Best Supporting Actress:
probably the toughest category but I’m going with Angela Bassett will win. I personally liked Hong Chau’s performance in The Whale the best (as much as I didn’t like that movie) but I think Angela Bassett will finally get her Oscar.

 

[Cachoo]

Ah the “blood sport” of Oscar campaigns—the accepted kind and the “no no’s” (Andrea.) NYT gifted:

Inside the ‘Blood Sport’ of Oscars Campaigns (Published 2023)

War rooms. Oppo dumps. Eight-figure budgets. How the quest for awards-season glory got so cutthroat.

www.nytimes.com

 

[Vash01]

Fabelmans dvd has arrived. Plan to watch this weekend. I know Banshees is on its way but I will be away all of next week, so it will be a while before I can watch it. Now EEAAO is the last major movie to see. Will see Whale after that.

 

[Vash01]

Watched Fabelmans last night. I got Very bored, but then it picked up, and became quite interesting. Had a great uplifting ending.

The dvd had some extra material, like Spielberg's interview. He said he and Kushner were talking about a movie like this, and Spielberg started writing it in 2020 when everything was closed due to YKW.. I was surprised that it really is autobiography of Steven Spielberg (although his name is not Fabelman). Earlier, I had read that it was autobiographical, but I had assumed that it was remotely so. Apparently the events in this movie really took place.

Apparently Kushner is also Jewish. That brought to mind another Kushner but he belongs in the PI forum.

Michelle Williams was fabulous as the mother (Mitzi). Why is she not a front runner for a supporting Oscar?

The characters were well developed.

Loved watching the song Kalinka in a different way.

One delightful thing for me was that the family moves from NJ to Phoenix. This was a very old Phoenix, in the 1950s and 1960s. Later they move to LA and the mother says she misses the 'dry heat'. I know exactly what she means.

Spielberg said the beating he received in LA by other boys at school was real, and the antisemitism in LA was much worse than in Arizona.

My only complaint is the movie moves at snail's pace. I will watch it again to fill in the details I may have missed.

7.5-8.0/10

 

[Seerek]

It looks like Navalny is the heavy favourite for best documentary (makes sense for a number of timely reasons). I kinda hoped a bigger push was made for A House Made of Splinters, but apparently there simply weren't the resources to campaign.

One other note on the Best Feature Doc nominees: All That Breathe's director was only 24 when he filmed it.

 

[Cachoo]

It looks like Navalny is the heavy favourite for best documentary (makes sense for a number of timely reasons). I kinda hoped a bigger push was made for A House Made of Splinters, but apparently there simply weren't the resources to campaign.

One other note on the Best Feature Doc nominees: All That Breathe's director was only 24 when he filmed it.

24! Impressive—that is a lovely film. Almost like a quiet meditation on the importance of looking out for others—in this case injured birds.

 

[peibeck]

Hey, did Sarah Polley do a screenplay for a Little Women remake? I know Greta Gerwig wrote and directed the popular remake from a few years ago that got a few Oscar nominations.

"Women Talking" is definitely not related to "Little Women," but Sarah Polley did get an Oscar nomination for Adapted Screenplay. It's currently free to view on Amazon Prime for a limited time (maybe just through Sunday 3/11?). It's about a group of women in a religious cult and circumstances which propel them to discuss leaving.

I just watched "The Fablemans" and found the first half really engaging. Once the action moves to California it really began losing my interest. I know a lot of people online were unhappy with Judd Hirsch's Oscar nod, but I loved his brief appearance. I felt all over the board about Michelle Williams performance, incredible in places, but at other times I felt like she was still channeling Gwen Verdon in that "Fosse" tv biopic.

 

[peibeck]

If the nominated Irish actors etc do not come home laden down with Oscars it will be because of racism against kind hearted Irish people!

They can hug their BAFTAs in consolation if that happens.

 

[VGThuy]

"Women Talking" is definitely not related to "Little Women," but Sarah Polley did get an Oscar nomination for Adapted Screenplay. It's currently free to view on Amazon Prime for a limited time (maybe just through Sunday 3/11?). It's about a group of women in a religious cult and circumstances which propel them to discuss leaving.

I just watched "The Fablemans" and found the first half really engaging. Once the action moves to California it really began losing my interest. I know a lot of people online were unhappy with Judd Hirsch's Oscar nod, but I loved his brief appearance. I felt all over the board about Michelle Williams performance, incredible in places, but at other times I felt like she was still channeling Gwen Verdon in that "Fosse" tv biopic.

Thanks for letting me know Women Talking is available to stream on Amazon Prime. I was familiar with the movie and it’s nominations, unlike a certain Marky Mark…

https://twitter.com/jordanjwoodson/status/1632167135937019904?s=46&t=9WHk9QrGzfu1bxzQGUPkbQ

I’ve loved Polley’s work for a while.

 

[allezfred]

They can hug their BAFTAs in consolation if that happens.

The BAFTAs are kind of like the Australian or US Opens in tennis - not the same prestige as an Oscar.

 

[Spikefan]

We had planned to get more watched before tonight but it did not happen. We did see EEAAO last night, I enjoyed it and cried during some scenes. DH thought it was terrible, I thought it was beautifully bizarre. I will be cheering for it tonight.

 

[VGThuy]

The BAFTAs are kind of like the Australian or US Opens in tennis - not the same prestige as an Oscar.

I missed it when the BAFTAs used to take place AFTER the Oscars and was much less used or seen as a “precursor” to Oscars. Their older choices were so interesting and different. Then BAFTA got in on the film awards “season” and American studios starting uniforming their film release schedules to ensure films were eligible for awards consideration for both awards in the same year, and awards campaign PR teams and such started to court BAFTA voters too.

 

[Vash01]

It looks like Navalny is the heavy favourite for best documentary (makes sense for a number of timely reasons). I kinda hoped a bigger push was made for A House Made of Splinters, but apparently there simply weren't the resources to campaign.

One other note on the Best Feature Doc nominees: All That Breathe's director was only 24 when he filmed it.

I love documentaries. Will look for the nominees. CNN had showed Navalny but I saw only a part of it.

 

[allezfred]

I knew that SNL has been unfunny for decades, but when did it become borderline racist?

https://twitter.com/x/status/1634780374285926400

 

[Cachoo]

I knew that SNL has been unfunny for decades, but when did it become borderline racist?

https://twitter.com/x/status/1634780374285926400

This sucked. But the Waffle House sketch was a hoot. I’ve heard about that place after midnight. And I enjoyed Bowen Yang’s Straight Male Friend last week. And the Please Don’t Destroy guys are fun.

The Time critic wrote if you could watch only one more Oscar nominated movie then choose “All the Beauty and the Bloodshed.” It opens on HBOMAX on 3/19 and is about one artist’s efforts, through protests, to make the Sackler family accountable for their evil.