Great crop of nominees this year. A banner list. I saw them all but the Julianne Moore movie since I cannot stand even 1 second of looking at her nasty face.


Birdman is one of the best movies I've ever seen. Glad it won.

Yup! Due to my efforts, thankfully!

He fell asleep though.

Never saw it. I suspected it would win because it's about those in that profession. I really wanted The Imitation Game to win. I thought it was the best movie I saw this year.

Aside from that I am so glad Eddie Redmayne won best actor. I just wish his co-star also won. Julianne Moore winning, I was wtf?

Do you feel that way about Clint Eastwood?

I have never cared less about the oscars than this year.

I see it as a peer review system—not what is most popular. ( even if some overlap at times) Most industry awards are like that. They have them in advertising where the annual winners often lose the accounts afterwards. LMAO

I LOVED the watercolor/photo graphics they did for that segment of the show.

I was really surprised at how beautiful her voice was compared to usual numbers.

Goes in DC.

Its almost like all the Lady Gaga outfits and stunts where just an act!

Here's the talent:

<iframe width="600" height="450" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/HmtOEEaQJZM" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

<iframe width="600" height="450" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/oj0YjGKqauw" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

<iframe width="600" height="450" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/RH0-L1yHFGA" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2hfvib

I found it interesting that she's the first person I can recall who sang the songs with Julie's enunciations and phrasings.

Full performance, no embedding.

http://jezebel.com/lady-gaga-solves-...und-1687385358

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/zeD-8oVc6O8" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Birdman is on my list now. I'll just try to forget the clown who made it.

Yeah, me too. She absolutely nailed that last nite. Sounded more like Julie Andrews than Julie Andrews.

The guy is a pill, there's an extra on Children of Men lauding itself to the heavens for being a call to arms on the imminent apocalypse of global warming.

Children of Men is a Cuaron film.

But yeah, I've suffered through that 40 min bonus feature too. So. Much. Zizek.

Yes. All of them, and folks in the music industry (all entertainers pretty-much) should just do their trade then go away. They all lead lives that are so far from reality that even they should understand they're views are skewed..

If they want to make a politically interesting movie/song, go for it, just leave it at that.

What's interesting is how these political speeches in recent years seem to have eroded/muddled whether they are talking about society or their trade.

For instance Arquette's equal pay screed. Who was that for? What action was it seeking to initiate?

Her industry, from set and crew right on up, not just the stars, is one of the worst in the country for wage inequality. But at least from the box office side, that's just a fiscal reality of meritocracy.

But if she's talking about society in general, what was the impetus? I admit I might not be aware of how much Boyhood is about mom's money troubles. But it didn't seem like a message movie until Arquette made it one.

It seems like we are entering an era where statements don't have to have gravitas or substance or coherence. Just a set of code words that indicate you are down.

Acceptance speech 2016 - "Gay people, single mothers, the homeless, good night . . . "

Next day, a wall of buzz about the pressing issues Acceptance Speech brought to prominence. Social media high fives itself endlessly for being down with Acceptance Speech's message.

The reason people do that is strictly money. They don't actually care about those causes. They're just appealing to a demographic. This is especially true in the case of the MLK movie and the Glory song. It's masterfully executed.

Arquette's speech was especially amusing considering THE MOVIE WAS ABOUT A BOY.

To her credit, she was probably drunk

The irony is that Hollywood is still racist as ****.

The cast of Birdman was ALL WHITE.

They are forced to be racist sexist and classist. The ticket buying public demands it. They only buy tickets to white man action movies.

Will Smith, Denzel Washington, Eddie Murphy and Samuel L Jackson say hello.

In fact I'm pretty sure Focus is about to be a huge hit. Granted a large part of that is because of the pretty white woman in it. LMAO

The Oscars are the vocational equivalent of the Walmart employee of the month.

Just have to ignore the far Left political bullshit or just stop seeing movies entirely. I don't pay to see movie like "Selma" or "Brokeback" or Michael Moore docs. But I won't swear off movies either.

Ayup!

I went to look up who made Birdman, due to preceding posts, and look at what came up in the listing at Fortune magazine:

Birdman is one of the lowest-grossing Oscar Best Picture winners ever
Only one film from the past four decades made less money at the box office on its way to a Best Picture Oscar.
http://fortune.com/2015/02/23/birdma...-winners-ever/

I know these are peer generated awards and not necessarily what is most popular among the people but I thought it was interesting. Maybe the Oscars will give it a bump which happens.

The last highest-grossing film that won Best Picture Oscar was in 2003—The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. $500 million.

From same Fortune article
 

Apparently American Sniper got a bump from the nomination with most of it coming post nomination:

Actually it was more about her characters poor choice in men. All 4 men she hooked up in the movie were losers.

2 alcoholics, 1 who wanted her to ditch her kid to pay more attention to him and Ethan Hawkes father was sort of a drifter loser for years.

I am going to see Whiplash as a result of the Oscars. Never heard of it earlier.

Meh. All he did was lean his head on his shoulder and garble in heavy English that nobody could understand. Plus I don't like Hawking or his acolytes so that movie was blah. The lead actress was very good however.

This is some heavy cynicism. Damn.

I don't think it was the best movie, I just thought his acting was the best. I love his acting anyway. Then again, I love British accents. I liked the Imitation Game more than The Theory of Everything, but I was curious about Hawking's personal life.

The movie just came out in Oct so it's not goi to have a big box office. It's been gaining steam and obv last night helped dramatically


I feel a profound sense of sorrow for any loser over age 20 who actually went to any LOTR movie.

Yeah, I don't see many movies, and Birdman looks like one I'd like to see, but you're right you just have to move passed the folks who make them.

I'd also like to see "Into The Woods" and "The Grand Budapest Hotel" too. They both look awesome..

Screw that. I want to see them in the scenes/movies that are the reason I care they are dead. Not some watercolor drawing.

I'm going to schedule guy's night out with the son during next year's Oscars....

You put a microphone in front of me and a BILLION people are going to hear my words, I'm going to say something other than thanking the wife and parents.

If anyone is swayed in their beliefs because the person doing the swaying is an actor, that's on them..

I liked GBH a lot, but I'm a sucker for Wes Anderson's attention to detail. I'd say it suffers compared to his other works in terms of plot, so if you aren't enamored of the look of his films, you will probably end up wondering why you watched.

I rarely get angry at movies, not matter what I just got ~2 hours with the phones off.

I'd say if you enjoyed Moonrise Kingdom at all you'll have enough fun with GBH

I get pissed at endings.

I wanted to see that when it first came out but due to my travel schedule never got the time. Then it left the cinemas. It's right up my ally, especially with the art direction or set design and costumes. Looks very visual.

If you want that, it would seriously lengthen the Oscar ceremony which has had complaints in the past of being too long.
I'm sure that audience were already familiar with the works of those people anyway.

Every movie that was in the category with it for best picture was better imo. I wish I wouldnt have wasted my money on it.

It's definitely a movie that you'd like, based on your postings here. It's hilarious and I'm glad I finished it because the first 20 min I couldn't wait to turn it off. It was sorta slapstick with funky music, but then it really picks up steam.


I never saw Imitation Game. Is that the movie where the Brits discriminate against the girl who's smarter than all the boys, and the gay who's smarter than all the straights - who overcome it all to defeat the Nazis?

Hey, I'm a lover not a hater...

Well, sorta...but it wasn't the Brits that discriminate against the girl. It was more her own parents. Yes, it is agay who cracks the code, but it's awesome how he comes to figure it out. ( unless that was just for drama ) It's still an excellent story. Much better than The Theory of Everything, which was good but The Interview was riveting.

I like history-based films, creative non-fiction as well as historical fiction. They usually get me motivated to study an era or event to check out more since these can use artistic license for dramatic effect.

What?!

Oops! Good catch. I meant the The Imitation Game. For some reason I keep calling it that, even here in person. Probably because it starts and ends with an interview. ( well really it's an interrogation or police questioning)

Then what the gay part for? Is it part of the story or unnecessary?

It is part of the story—that story. It's true about the guy's life and what happened to him later despite his massive contribution to the war effort.

Besides every film director puts his stamp on a story.

A little analysis that doesn't spoil too much

<iframe src="//player.vimeo.com/video/119754714" width="500" height="281" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen allowfullscreen></iframe>

He basically came up with the idea and built the first computer. Invented a mathematics solution that's still used today. Saved MILLIONS of lives when he broke the enigma code.

As payback for his contribution to making the world a better and safer place he was chemically castrated by his government because he was a pervert, you know gay. Yeah, I'd say its relevant to telling his story.

So wait, this movie was made about a man and the argument is that the movie was made about a man?

CP is a trip sometimes.

Anyone else watching tonight??

Congratulations to Joe Burrow's brother

I liked Anora. Had sort of a In Bruges vibe to the 2nd half of that movie, very funny.

A shoutout to the sex worker community????

Woof…..


<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Mikey Madison won the Oscar for best actress and gave a shout out to the sex worker community.<br><br>“I just want to recognize and honor the sex worker community. Yes. I will continue to support and be an ally. All of the incredible people, the women that I’ve had the privilege of… <a href="https://t.co/zTeaps4qgP">pic.twitter.com/zTeaps4qgP</a></p>&mdash; Variety (@Variety) <a href="https://twitter.com/Variety/status/1896406647901241639?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 3, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

The show is now for weirdos.

The Oscars have been garbage for a very long time, but when they did absolutely nothing about Will Smith assaulting Chris Rock, they reached a new low. Smith should have been taken out in handcuffs.

Last night's show wasn't too bad regarding political statements/theater. A few digs here and there.
I haven't seen any of the movies that were up for awards last night. I've been meaning to watch Dune 2 but haven't gotten around to it.

Saw that the year it won for best movie. Watched it, looked at my wife and said "WTF"?

The last movie I enjoyed that won for best movie was "Greenbook" some years back.

If I try to even think of a movie that was released in the past year right now all I've got is that new Captain America movie that is about a guy who isn't the same Captain America in the Avengers but I guess uses his shield or something.

Also, why does Deberg hate sex workers?

I don’t. It’s just a weird thing to give praise to.

Conan is just a different level type of entertainer. They haven’t had a host since Billy crystal that can command an audience in the same way. I usually do not watch but watched it purely for him and fast forwarded through most of the other bits

Unfortunately the movies aren’t the same caliber. This modern era, we don’t have the same caliber of movie stars and all the different formats have made for some great movies… but nothing that stands out as generational. Anora for example was a great movie, but not one we’re going to revisit even a few years from now.

Maybe it’s a sign we’re moving in the right direction. Think we’re finally all Marveled out and last night they didn’t give the very best awards to wicked and A complete unknown. And instead rewarded complete originality. I love Dylan but biopics too often get over rewarded even though they’re not nearly as original. The big winners were the brutalist and anora which are a little boring Oscar’s wise, but at least the writing and performances were highly original.

Unfortunately I think dune 2 was squeezed out for that reason. I saw that in the theater and it was an absolute spectacle

I recently noticed that Dune Part 2 is on Netflix now. If you've never read the book or if the book isn't terribly important to you, you'll likely enjoy it. But if you love the book and were finally hoping for a faithful, competent adaptation, you'll be really pissed off. I personally hated it so much that I haven't been to movie theater since I saw it.

Not familiar with anything else that was nominated. Haven't watched the Oscars in years. No plans to ever watch it again.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">2 reasons not to watch the Oscars <a href="https://t.co/ySIc9k3LMr">pic.twitter.com/ySIc9k3LMr</a></p>&mdash; JohnRocker (@itsJohnRocker) <a href="https://twitter.com/itsJohnRocker/status/1896337591701840267?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 2, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

I read the book back in high school, eons ago and have forgotten most of the details, but remember the basic story line.
I saw the original Dune movie with Kyle MacLachlan and it was absolutely horrific.
When I saw the new Dune, I was like well this is better than the first attempt! :)

It wasn't praise, it was support.

Her words “ I just want to recognize and honor the sex worker community”

Maybe it was a poor choice of words? But whatever….

The Covenant is supposed to be really good.

The ironic thing is that the '84 movie doesn't butcher the book anywhere near as bad as the new one does. It was poorly made, poorly directed, had terrible special effects, had miscast/bad actors in crucial roles, and threw in some stupid shit, but overall it stuck to the story fairly well.

I actually think more highly of the '84 movie after seeing the latest one. THAT'S HOW MUCH I HATED IT. :#

There's a thread in the Media forum where I discuss at length why Dune Part 2 sucks every dick in the universe. I really don't want to relive that here anymore than I already have.

I personally don't think it's an erosion of quality. I think all of the different ways to consume media mean we have so many options, outside of big marvel style tent poles, that we don't have the same shared cultural experience that we used to. If Anora came out in 1999 and got the wide release of American Beauty, it might be more of what you would call generational. Also, I think that awards are more likely to reward movies that are challenging than they used to be. Those movies are also likely to be more divisive. Finally, technology advances in home viewing have killed the big awards movie. Basically, the market for big time blockbuster movies that have heart, but don't piss too many people off has dried up. Those types of movies go to streaming and the effects showcases go to the theater. Or if they go to a theater, it's with a limited run because people just don't go.

I think there was a very significant erosion in quality especially with Covid forcing producers to embrace the new reality of movie theaters. Great scripts dont always get matched with the best directors who pump $ into a star studded cast. So the market was flooded with marvel movies and sequels and kids movies.Agreed there were still great films from independent directors and it’s good to see the industry embrace them, but it feels like we’re finally hitting that happy medium again where a producer can get behind an original movie without the blockbuster gimmicks. I feel like this year was a really good step in the right direction for movies even if the top billing at the Oscar’s was a little underwhelming.

And credit to the Oscar’s for leaning into that. They seemed to very intentionally reward originality. Dune 2 was your Oppenheimer spectacle. A complete unknown was your standard overrewarded biopic like the overrated Elton John/queen movies (shame, since the complete unknown is legitimately good). Wicked is kind of that Barbie blockbuster. Anora and the brutalist are way more of a gimmick free movie which is a little refreshing.

Yes you’re right. The only big budget movies in the best picture category this year were Dune 2 and Wicked. Both established name IPs already. Everything else is basically an Independent film or low budget.

Foe the most part, People only go out to movie theaters anymore for the big budget
Blockbusters.

I’ve never read the books so that would make sense. I thought it was incredibly directed with musical scores and everything, but yeah that would be frustrating if it veers way too far off course.

Have you watched the Max prophecy show? I’ve found it incredibly boring but imagine it’s much closer to the books.