Category Archives: Uncategorized
Flash Movie Review: Weapons
YOU WOULD HAVE THOUGHT I WAS being handed the keys to the fortress. I remember I was in the early years of elementary school when one summer I was handed my own set of house keys. Two keys, one silver colored the other brass, were dangling from a dark silver ring. I was told the silver colored ring was to unlock the downstairs door that opened into the building’s lobby; the brass colored ring was to be used to open the front door to our apartment. Up until this time, I had no need for a set of keys because there was always someone home to let me in. You see, in front of the lobby door there was this rectangular metal wall panel that had black buttons going down in a row on the left side. Each button had a black and white label next to it that had the name of the family who lived in that apartment. When someone pressed our button, a bell would sound in our home. I usually ran to be the first in the hallway, to ring the answer button on a small metal box that was attached to the wall. The button would unlock the lobby door for the guest, waiting to get inside downstairs. I loved opening our front door and going over to the bannister that wound down flights of stairs in a sort of square pattern. Barely tall enough to lean over the bannister, I could see all the way down to the ground level’s tiled floor. All I would see usually of the visitor was a gripped hand on the polished wood bannister making its way up to our floor. THE REASON I GOT MY OWN set of keys that summer was because when the new school year was starting in the autumn, no one was going to be home to let me in for lunch. With both parents now working outside of the home, I would have to let myself in, go to the refrigerator where there was a plate inside that had either a bologna sandwich on rye bread or a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on white bread. I would usually add some potato or corn chips to the plate and pour myself a glass of grape juice. I would sit with a snack tray in the living room, so I could watch television while I was eating. For dessert, I would often take a couple of cookies from the pantry or an apple from the refrigerator. When done, I would rinse the plate and glass in the kitchen sink, wash my hands, finish whatever show I was watching on TV, then walk back to school before the one pm bell sounded for the start of afternoon classes. I felt like such a grownup, unlocking and locking our front door, placing my key ring in my left front pants’ pocket each time. However, that was nothing compared to what the young boy in this suspenseful horror film had to do. APPROXIMATELY TWO IN THE MORNING ALL but one student of the same class leave their homes, never to return. The parents and townsfolk have a multitude of questions for the teacher and principal. With Julia Garner (The Fantastic Four: First Steps, Ozark-TV) as Justine, Josh Brolin (Brothers, Dune franchise) as Archer, Alden Ehrenreich (Beautiful Creatures, Solo: A Star Wars Story) as Paul, Cary Christopher (Intuitions, Days of Our Lives-TV) as Alex, and Benedict Wong (The Martian, Doctor Strange franchise) as Marcus; this really is not your typical horror film. There were only three or four scenes that had blood and violence; the rest of the film was filled with excellent story telling and thrilling suspense. I thought the cast was outstanding and was stunned to find out who was the actor playing one of the characters when I saw their name in the ending credits. The running time flew by since I was quickly absorbed by the story being told in this complete well done picture. The director absolutely has a knack for telling and creating this type of story, and I cannot wait to see what else we are in store for with his creativity.
3 1/2 stars
Flash Movie Review: Oscar Telecast
THIS WAS NEW TERRITORY FOR ME. Having not been in this situation before, I must tell you it was disconcerting for me. All day this past Sunday, I did not think about the telecast, except that it was starting at 6pm CST. For some reason, I assumed it would begin at 7pm, so I had to speed up to get all my tasks that needed to be done for the day. The one thing I did not want to happen was to rush to finish something just a minute before the Oscar Ceremony started. I have my rituals; my clothes for the workday are laid out, I am dressed in my lounging clothes, and I go to the bathroom a few minutes before the start time. If I had any concerns or worries, the first 10 minutes of the show obliterated them. I could not think of a better way to open the show with a message of love to Los Angeles than having the powerhouse singers Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande performing. Right after the first note was sung, I was transported into the lights and glamour of Hollywood and movies. My concerns about not seeing, for the first time, all the nominated films went from boiling over in my head to a quiet slow simmer. I was settled into a state of comfort and peace, able and willing to sit however long it would be until the end of the show. IT WOULD BE NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE FOR anyone to follow that opening, but whoever came up with the idea of host Conan O’Brien doing a comedy bit based on the film The Substance, I tip my hat to them. It was a wonderful way to move the audience along to the next segment of the show. I thought he did an excellent job of hosting, though there were a few things that were a bust for me. His singing about wasting time and being late could have been deleted, in my opinion. His humor has a sly edge to it where it gives one a moment’s pause at time, but I appreciated that he did not take the easy way of cracking jokes about the latest winner. What I thought was a nice touch was the way they introduced some of the nominees by having individuals connected to their movie introduce them or just have the presenter talk about each one; it made it more personal and interesting to me. Also, Conan kept things moving along between segments. THE MAJOR DISAPPOINTMENT I HAD WAS the tribute to Quincy Jones. Of all the music and songs, he was involved with, I do not understand why they chose a song from the film The Wiz. He produced the song for the film version of the Broadway production. The wrong choice to sing this song was Queen Latifah. I absolutely enjoy her singing voice, but she has a jazzier lower registered voice that was not suited for this song. Along with her outfit, she could have easily done the song “Don’t Bring Me No Bad News” from The Wiz and would have presented it better. The tribute I found touching came from Morgan Freeman talking about his friend Gene Hackman. And with that in memoriam segment I am glad they simply did a musical accompaniment. Outside of that the telecast had few surprises. There was Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal teaming up which was cute, but for me the bigger surprise was having Mick Jagger as a presenter. He truly seemed touched by the crowd welcoming him. By the end of the telecast, I was aware there was a little regret for not being able to have seen all the nominated films, but I felt this might be the wave of the future. Of course, I hope the writer and director of Anora is right when he pleaded for filmmakers to make more films for the theater and asked the public to support movie theaters. I hope this will be the case and I know I will be doing my part to see more films at the theater this year. Because when push comes to shove, I enjoy watching the Oscar telecast having seen all the nominated films beforehand. Wish me luck for next year’s telecast.
Flash Movie Review: Oscars 2025
IT IS HARD TO BELIEVE I have been posting movie reviews for nearly fourteen years. I remember the first year I set out a goal to post one movie review each day for the entire year. Back then my reviews were shorter in length, but I did it, an entire year of movie reviews. Along with the reviews each year I made my predictions of who and what would win the Oscar award. Though, I was making predictions much earlier than 2011. I believe I mentioned in one of my earliest reviews how making Oscar predictions was a tradition in my family. We would all gather around the television set with our list of predictions and begin to check off the ones we got correctly. At the end of the telecast, each of us would count our wins to see who was the winner amongst us. It is such a fond memory; there was no competition between any of us and we just enjoyed being together to watch the show, with our assortment of snacks and drinks. The only thing the winner would get was bragging rights; but it never lasted long since our movie loving family would be immediately back in the hunt to see the next great picture. WHEN THE COVID PANDEMIC HIT AT the end of 2019, things began to change. I remember looking out the bedroom window and seeing no sign of human life. There were no cars on the road, the grocery store parking lot was completely empty, and no one was walking down the sidewalks. It was eerie to the point where I felt we were in an apocalyptic movie; it felt so unreal to me. No one was going to the movies; several around me were closed, and movie studios started focusing on streaming services. Our cable bill soared with all the services even though we do not have all of them. When the time came when it was relatively safe to go back to movie theaters, I would wear a safety mask and sit in the last row off to the side away from everybody. That everybody at first was sometimes only me or a few others brave enough to venture out. With my work schedule and the theaters reduced times, I had a tough time trying to find a movie that would fit in with my schedule. Add in the writers’ strike and it got even more challenging to try and find a decent film to watch. I tried my best but the roadblocks that were set up made it nearly impossible for me to see my usual number of movies. Things came to a head this year when the Oscar nominations came out. Some films only played for one week in 2024 to be considered by the academy and never came back to the theaters, others went to a streaming service we do not have in our package, or the films did not last long for me to try and find a place to see them that was agreeable with my workload. As of today, when I look at all the nominations, for most of them I have only seen two out of five nominees for each category. It is heartbreaking and upsetting to me. The most I have seen for one category is for best picture; I have seen five out of ten of the nominated movies. Because of this situation, for the first time in my life, I cannot make my predictions. I am not alone in this within the family. Hopefully, this is not a prelude for what is in store for the future. I hope things change where there will be more opportunities throughout the year to see movies. SPEAKING OF CHANGE, ISN’T THAT WHAT life is about, it is always changing. At the end of this month, I will be retiring from my day job, after having been with the company for over thirty years. Part of me is anxious, nervous, and excited. You see, I have been working since I was thirteen years old, and the idea of waking up without a schedule is frightening to me. I am a structured person, having always lived with schedules for everything. However, with my upcoming retirement, I am hoping to break that “habit” and try to experience more living in the moment. With that being said, I want you to know my reviews may not always be on a consistent schedule as they have been. There is going to be a lot of traveling coming up, so there may be a few weeks out of the year when I will not be able to post a review. Or, where I normally post reviews Monday through Wednesday, they may now come on different days and times. Until I settle into the next chapter of my life, I do not know how everything will fall into place, and I am okay with it. I just want to experience waking up without an alarm clock blaring in my ear and see how the day moves me. Of course, I am hoping I will have more opportunities to see movies at the theater, but I cannot put anything down yet as a must do schedule. So please bear with me as I navigate this unfamiliar environment in store for me. As I have said before, I appreciate each one of you taking the time to read my reviews and communicating with me. Enjoy the Oscars telecast; I hope it will be an exciting and fun show this year. All the best to you.
Flash Movie Review: Woman of the Hour
IT IS NOT LIKE I STUDIED FOR it or practiced it over and over again; it is just some feeling that directs my interactions with the world. Let me give you an example. I had an indoor gym set that essentially consisted of one weight stack, one bench, and various attachments to work the different muscle groups. One of my exercises on it was a lat pulldown, pulling a bar suspended above my head down until my arms formed a 90-degree angle. One day, I started to close my eyes and turn my face away from the weight stack in front of me as I pulled down the bar. I cannot tell you why, though it was odd, but it was something I started doing every time I did this exercise. After one week of doing this, the next time I went to start the routine by standing to reach the bar and bringing it down, the cable snapped. I was stunned. Because t had just grabbed the bar, there was little force, and the frayed cable end flopped down onto the bench that was between my legs. It suddenly occurred to me that if I had been sitting down exerting force by pulling down on the bar, that cable would have snapped right into my face. The crazy part was after I replaced the broken cable and sat to do the pulldowns, I was not aware at first that I did not close my eyes or turn my face away. I have no explanation. THIS SAME, LET ME CALL IT, phenomenon of feeling or sense happens with people. A friend of mine introduced her boyfriend to me after they had been dating for a few months. When I shook his hand in greeting them, I got a bad feeling. It was not something physical per se, more like a sense of dread, ache or ickiness. Every time we got together, I always had this bad feeling around him. I did not want to upset my friend while she was dating this man. However, as they started to settle into being a couple, some things started coming out. It turned out he was controlling and preferred having things his way. Whenever he did not get his way, he would pout and stew about it. Gratefully, my friend did not put up with such behavior for too long, though she went longer than I would have gone. So, you see, there is just something inside of me that protects me and helps me make decisions so I can avoid getting into a bad/uncomfortable situation. I know other people have this ability and you can see for yourself how it helps the main character in this crime mystery drama. TRYING TO BREAK INTO SHOW BUSINESS, an aspiring actress agrees to go on a televised dating show. She does not realize that her instincts just might save her life. With Anna Kendrick (Pitch Perfect franchise, Up in the Air) as Sheryl, Daniel Zovatto (Don’t Breathe, The Pope’s Exorcist) as Rodney, Tony Hale (Quiz Lady, Arrested Developments-TV) as Ed, Nicolette Robinson (One Night in Miami, Day of the Fight) as Laura, and Pete Holmes (Home Sweet Home Alone, Crashing-TV) as Terry; this film based on a true story was Anna’s directorial debut. She did an excellent job for her first time, building up tension while not showing graphic violence. Because of the script, I did not get a strong connection to the characters, and maybe that was done on purpose to focus more on the women, for the period of time the story was set in. The fact this was based on a true story made me sit and wonder what things must have been like back then; it was such a sad and crazy story. By the time the movie ended, I had the feeling that Anna could easily make a career out of being a film director.
2 ¾ stars
Flash Movie Review: Officer Black Belt
BESIDES WANTING TO BE A TOUR guide, dancer, and a window washer when I was a little boy, I also wanted to be a ninja. I remember the first time I saw Brue Lee as Kato in the Green Hornet, with his quick moves and high kicks; I was mesmerized. By the time his movie, Fist of Fury, came out, I was convinced if I learned his moves a/k/a martial arts, I would no longer have to be afraid of anyone. A period of time took place where I was constantly seeing martial arts moves in television shows and films. I became obsessed with those metal star weapons that both villains and heroes would throw during fight scenes. The points were razor sharp and would lodge into anything from flesh to walls. One of my comic books had an advertisement in back for a martial arts handbook; I sent away for it. When the book arrived, I would hole up in my bedroom and study the various poses and moves over and over. My problem was I never knew if I was getting good because I did not have someone to practice with. I could kick a pillow across the room, but there were times I would lose my balance and fall on top of my bed. I needed to find an actual class. ONE SUMMER VACATION FROM SCHOOL, OUR community center offered a martial arts class. I was so excited and pleaded to be signed up for it. On the day of the first class there were fourteen of us signed up. I guess I was not the only one with the idea of becoming a ninja. We spent the entire class learning how to tumble and fall; I hated it. Though the mats we practiced on were cushy and thick, I still did not like the feeling of falling. I was always hesitant with my movements. Eventually, I got good enough to the point where I was not being corrected all the time by the instructor. It was after our third lesson that we saw demonstrations of trips and stances. One boy in our class thought he was better than the rest of us. He would walk up and surprise the less agile or weak students with a foot trip or headlock. I thought he was just a mean bully. No one wanted to tattle on him for fear he would do something worse to them. He was the opposite of why I wanted to take martial arts class. I did not want to use it to show off or tease anyone. I was thinking more on the lines like the main character in this action, comedy crime film. ALWAYS ONE TO HELP SOMEONE IN need, a young martial artist decides to enlist to become a martial arts officer, to help fight crime. He soon discovers it will take more than his fists to help a victim. With Kim Woo-bin (Master, Our Blues-TV) as Lee Jung-do, Ren Hanami (Goodbye Earth-TV, Queen of Tears-TV) as Yu-Jin in the English version, Kim Seong-gyoon (The Neighbors, Target) as Kim Seon-min, and Lee Hae-young (The Matchmakers-TV, Kill Boksoon) as Lee Sang-woo; I liked the idea of the story but felt the script was poorly written. The fact the story took the viewers to a deep dark side of crime on the streets, I thought the element of humor was not a good fit. Kim Woo-bin had the stance, looks and capabilities for the role, but the script predominantly kept his character on one level. The fight scenes were exciting and well-choregraphed, and several scenes had blood and violence. Overall, the story followed a generic template, not offering anything new for the viewer. Because this was a Korean made film, I wonder if the goal was to try and emulate a Hollywood blockbuster. Sadly, it never hit its mark. Korean was spoken with English subtitles; I saw the English version.
1 ¾ stars
OSCAR TELECAST 2024
THIS PAST SUNDAY, EVERYTHING WAS GOING well until it was not. I had my usual chores of laundry and meal planning for the week, besides running to the health club for a pre-Oscars workout. My morning went as planned; I worked out first then came home to make lunch. It was sometime around 2 pm, when I sat down to read the Sunday newspapers, I discovered the Oscars’ telecast was starting one hour earlier. Already having pushed the clock ahead one hour and now the show was starting an hour earlier, I was cramped for time. Suddenly, I was behind schedule; I still had to bake a dessert and prep dinner so it would be ready to go into the oven. My stress level skyrocketed as I raced around the house trying to finish everything I had planned for the day. With ten minutes to spare, I washed the last of the dishes and was brushing my teeth. The television was already turned on to the station that was telecasting the show, but I had to miss watching the red-carpet arrivals. I was glad I had earlier set up both segments to be recorded. Gratefully, I sat down with my predictions list and a pen a couple of minutes before the main show began. KNOWING THE HOST WAS JIMMY KIMMEL brought a sense of comfort. There was not the usual anxiousness about how a new host would manage the responsibilities. Jimmy is dependable, funny, quick on his feet and does not come with an agenda; exactly what a host should be. His opening skit, sitting with Barbie, was the perfect icebreaker that created a lighthearted show. The monologue went on a little longer than it needed to, in my opinion. Most of his jokes landed, but not all. However, I thought the playing back and forth with people he called out in the audience went without a hitch. Each celebrity did an excellent job keeping things fun and light. I absolutely loved the way the producers had groups of past acting winners come out and each one introduced a nominee; I thought it was a wonderful idea, especially if one of the presenters was familiar with their assigned nominee. It was such a touching and loving gesture. In the past, I would sometimes get upset with the Academy’s picks, but this year none of the winners disappointed me. The only surprise I felt was in the best actress category, simply because there was so much talk about it. Jimmy’s skit with John Cena was a perfect moment; it was a funny bit, plus it certainly had people talking about it for a couple of days, besides seeing clips plastered all over social media. The producers knew what they were doing. I enjoyed all the song nominations and especially appreciated that the artists came and performed their songs on stage. TIME PASSED BY QUICKLY FOR ME, thanks to the even and steady pacing of the show. Nothing felt rushed, nor did I feel anything dragged on too long. My only complaint was about the last awards presentation. I thought Al Pacino was intoxicated or mentally impaired, the way he handled his category of best motion picture. With no mention of the nominees (granted we saw clips throughout the show), opening the envelope and simply saying he sees Oppenheimer, it was such a letdown moment, anticlimactic. I came to find out it was not his fault; it was the producers who made the decision not to announce the nominated films to save time. They were afraid the show was running late and chose to eliminate the listing of best picture nominees. Such a poor decision, in my opinion, and disrespectful to the nominees and the audience. Except for that mishap, I was pleased how well the show went off and even more pleased I was not made to stay up so late that I would be a zombie at work the next day.
Flash Movie Review: Oscar Predictions 2024
WE BOTH FELT THE SAME WAY about the current situation with the Oscar nominations. Ever since streaming came up alongside movie theaters, our joy in watching the Academy Awards telecast has lessened. I was telling my relative how I loved hearing the nominations being announced then checking off how many of them I had already seen. Those that I had not yet seen came to the forefront of my movie viewing jaunts. It was nothing for me to go to a movie theater and watch three nominated films in a row, so I could check them off the list when I returned home. By the time of the awards show, I had seen every nominated movie, and I had all my top choices picked. Now I must traverse in a much different landscape. Some films are produced and shown only on a company’s streaming service. With the variety of streaming services available, they start to add up to more than any cable bill I ever had before; it is crazy. I cannot justify signing up for every streaming service being offered that shows movies. And let us face it, not every movie coming out on streaming is a winner. MAYBE I AM MORE NOSTALGIC THIS year, but I am a little sad that I have not seen every nominated picture. I would have thought the streaming companies that have an Oscar nominated film would allow it to be released at the theaters, even if it were for a brief time, but alas no such luck. The yearly contest among the relatives has been retired for the past couple of years because I am not the only one who was not able to see all the nominees. With this in mind, I was thinking about my predictions, and I have decided I am going to follow the rule on some of the testing we were required to do in our school years; it is better to guess an answer than skip the question. So, please keep in mind the only categories where I have seen all the nominees are Best Actor, Best Supporting Actress and Best Makeup and Hairstyling. With the remainder, it runs the gamut from seeing only one nominee in a category to all but one. I will try to do my best and as always, list what I think should get the award compared to what the Academy will do. Let us all hope that we have a fun and exciting show to watch this year. Good luck.
ACTRESS IN A SUPPORT ROLE:
MY CHOICE: Da’Vine Joy Randolph—The Holdovers
ACADEMY PICK: Da’Vine Joy Randolph—The Holdovers
ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE (INCOMPLETE)
MY CHOICE: Robert Downey Jr—Oppenheimer
ACADEMY CHOICE: Robert Downey Jr—Oppenheimer
ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE: (INCOMPLETE)
MY CHOICE: Carey Mulligan—Maestro
ACADEMY CHOICE: Lily Gladstone—Killers of the Flower Moon
ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE:
MY CHOICE: Paul Giamatti—The Holdovers
ACADEMY CHOICE: Cillian Murphy—Oppenheimer
BEST DIRECTOR: (INCOMPLETE)
MY CHOICE: Christopher Nolan—Oppenheimer
ACADEMY CHOICE: Christopher Nolan—Oppenheimer
CINEMATOGRAPHY: (INCOMPLETE)
MY CHOICE: El Conde
ACADEMY CHOICE: Oppenheimer
COSTUME DESIGN: (INCOMPLETE)
MY CHOICE: Barbie
ACADEMY CHOICE: Poor Things
FILM EDITING: (INCOMPLETE)
MY CHOICE: Oppenheimer
ACADEMY CHOICE: Oppenheimer
MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING:
MY CHOICE: Poor Things
ACADEMY CHOICE: Poor Things
WRITING (ADAPTED SCREENPLAY): (INCOMPLETE)
MY CHOICE: Barbie
ACADEMY CHOICE: Oppenheimer
WRITING (ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY): (INCOMPLETE)
MY CHOICE: Past Lives
ACADEMY CHOICE: The Holdovers
VISUAL EFFECTS: (INCOMPLETE)
MY CHOICE: Godzilla Minus One
ACADEMY CHOICE: MISSION IMPOSSIBLE-DEAD RECKONING PART ONE
ORIGINAL SONG: (INCOMPLETE)
MY CHOICE: What Was I Made For—Barbie
ACADEMY CHOICE: What Was I Made For—Barbie
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM: (INCOMPLETE)
MY CHOICE: The Boy and the Heron
ACADEMY CHOICE: Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE: (INCOMPLETE)
MY CHOICE: Oppenheimer
ACADEMY CHOICE: Oppenheimer
BEST PICTURE: (INCOMPLETE)
MY CHOICE: Oppenheimer
ACADEMY CHOICE: Oppenheimer
Well, there you have the choices for this year. To tell you the truth I am not noticeably confident since there were several films with multiple nominations that I have not seen this past year. I am grateful after the pandemic and the writers’ strike; we were able to get enough films to be nominated. I hope everyone has a wonderful time watching the show and let us hope next year will provide even better and more film choices for us to see. Be well and thank you.
Oscar Telecast 2023
MY PACING WAS ON TRACK AS the clock was ticking away the minutes. I was having a good day, working out in the morning and doing chores after lunch. I purposely ate dinner early because I wanted to be able to stretch out on the sofa during the telecast. A diet element I have done for years is to wait two hours after eating before laying down. It also is a good policy for digestion. While eating dinner, I went over my list and the one I printed out for all the nominations. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I felt good because I had seen more films than last year. Granted it was not up to pre-COVID times where I saw every film, but at least I was going in the right direction. I had a couple of quick things to do before settling down and gratefully I finished everything on my to-do list five minutes before the show was to begin. I THOUGHT THE OPENING FOR THE Oscar telecast was fun without being too long. Having Jimmy Kimmel parachute down from the rafters was a perfect ending to the opening and a perfect way to start the show. In my opinion, Jimmy could easily reach the status of a Bob Hope or Johnny Carson, regarding being the host. I would have no objection in fact, if Jimmy was made the permanent host; he was excellent. Most of his jokes landed and were smart and topical. He was never mean spirited when he would throw out a dig/zinger at a celebrity. I thought the pacing of the show kept a steady pace. For the most part speeches were shorter than I remember and noticeable to me was the fact that more of them were truly heartfelt, without the addition of political/cause comments. Being a fan of music, I always appreciate when the best song nominees are there performing. The day before the show, I had heard Lady Gaga was not going to be available to perform her song because of filming commitments. It was a surprise to me when she appeared on stage stripped down with no announcement. But did she ever sing her heart out with her song; I thought it was a fantastic performance. Watching the performance of the song Naatu Naatu from the film RRR, I cannot wait to see this movie. AS FOR THE WINNERS, I WAS pleased with who received the Oscar. I especially loved the acceptance speeches from Ke Huy Quan, Jamie Lee Curtis, Brendan Fraser and Michelle Yeoh. I had tears in my eyes. Speaking of winners, it was good to see the return of all the categories; I felt it was the right thing to do. Let us face it, we all know the Oscar telecast can go on for hours; it is a fact. But cutting out categories was not the way to save time. This production had no musical numbers except where they belonged in the song category, there were few humor bits to eat up time, and it seemed as all the nominees knew that after 45 seconds the music was starting. So, though it was sad to see, let us say, two people going up to get their Oscars and only one of them gets to talk, it falls on the first speaker to give a short speech; if they do not then it is on them for shortchanging their collaborator. BY THE TIME THE SHOW ENDED, I was fully sated, filled with joy and satisfaction. It was a wonderful telecast with an eye-opening set design and a slew of interesting fashion choices. There is only one complaint I have regarding the show. I would like to know who allowed that guest to sit in the audience with the large, white swirl of fabric around her head?!?! I thought that person was so inconsiderate to choose such an outfit, knowing they would be sitting in a theater without stadium seating at the very least. Shame on them for being rude, just to make some fashion statement. I hope all of you enjoyed the show as much as I did and let us hope that the new year brings us the opportunity to see as many of what will become Oscar nominated movies for next year’s telecast. Happy viewing and see you at the movies!
OSCAR PREDICTIONS 2023
WHEN THE OSCAR NOMINATIONS WERE ANNOUNCED, I had the choice to be either optimistic or pessimistic. As I looked at the categories, I felt excited that I had seen a good portion of the films nominated. It was certainly more than last year’s nominees. On the other hand, I still am not back to my original place of having seen every nominee in the major categories. It used to be where several movies would premiere on the west and east coasts before new year’s eve, then open everywhere in January or February. If that is still in place I have not seen evidence of it, which I believe is one of the reasons why I have not been able to see every nominated film. The other reason is due to the streaming services. Some of the services’ movies get a nomination and the corporation keeps them exclusive to their streaming platform. If I were to add every major streaming service to my television package, I might have to get a second job; it is getting ridiculous with everyone jumping on the streaming bandwagon when they all used to be free on network TV or cable. And I will forgo for now my pros and cons to seeing movies at a theater compared to one’s home. So unfortunately, again I have not seen every movie in the category which puts me at a disadvantage. For the sake of tradition, I will do my best to pick what I think deserves the Academy Award and what the academy will do. I will also note which group is incomplete for me. Enjoy the telecast and remember whatever you eat during the show does not have any calories. Happy Oscar’s Day!
ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE:
MY CHOICE: Angela Bassett—Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
ACADEMY PICK: Jamie Lee Curtis—Everything Everywhere All at Once
ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE (INCOMPLETE):
MY CHOICE: Ke Huy Quan—Everything Everywhere All at Once
ACADEMY PICK: Ke Huy Quan—Everything Everywhere All at Once
ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE (INCOMPLETE):
MY CHOICE: Michelle Yeoh—Everything Everywhere All at Once
ACADEMY PICK: Michelle Yeoh—Everything Everywhere All at Once
ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE (INCOMPLETE):
MY CHOICE: Brendan Fraser—The Whale
ACADEMY PICK: Austin Butler–Elvis
DIRECTING (INCOMPLETE):
MY CHOICE: Steven Spielberg—The Fabelmans
ACADEMY PICK: Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert—Everything Everywhere All at Once
CINEMATOGRAPHY (INCOMPLETE):
MY CHOICE: All Quiet on the Western Front
ACADEMY PICK: All Quiet on the Western
COSTUME DESIGN (INCOMPLETE):
MY CHOICE: Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris
ACADEMY PICK: Everything Everywhere All at Once
FILM EDITING:
MY CHOICE: Everything Everywhere All at Once
ACADEMY PICK: Everything Everywhere All at Once
MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING:
MY CHOICE: The Whale
ACADEMY PICK: All Quiet on the Western Front
WRITING (ADAPTED SCREENPLAY):
MY CHOICE: All Quiet on the Western Front
ACADEMY PICK: All Quiet on the Western
WRITING (ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY) (INCOMPLETE):
MY CHOICE: Everything Everywhere All at Once
ACADEMY PICK: Everything Everywhere All at Once
VISUAL EFFECTS:
MY CHOICE: Avatar: The Way of Water
ACADEMY CHOICE: All Quiet on the Western Front
BEST PICTURE:
MY CHOICE: Everything Everywhere All at Once
ACADEMY PICK: Everything Everywhere All at Once
There you have it, my picks for this year’s Academy Awards. No matter who gets the Oscar, I hope all of us have can have a fun and enjoyable time watching the telecast. Best of luck to you.
Flash Movie Review: Where the Crawdads Sing
NO MATTER WHERE OR WHEN SHE was seen, she always had on a scarf or rain bonnet. She wore each of them the same way whether it was a blistering hot summer day or a frigid, wintery one. Sometimes, I would see her wearing both. I knew she lived in the neighborhood but had no clue where exactly. She walked with an odd limp that caused her to shift her weight from side to side. It looked like she could almost tip over, except she always had a shopping cart with her, which I assumed she could use to balance herself if she felt like she was toppling over. There was one distinct feature that stuck out for me; she had a marking on the side of her face that could have been a scar or a birthmark. I was never close enough to her to see what it could be. The other thing I remembered about her was the fact she was always alone, whenever she was out in the neighborhood. I had no idea if there were family members living with her or she was all by herself. Taking these things into account, I do not know how many of these things helped contribute to the reputation she had or more precisely was given. People thought she was a “witch.” NOW I DO NOT KNOW IF people thought she did spells and incantations over a black cauldron like what has been depicted in movies and television; but I think they thought she was different from anyone else they knew. Maybe that was the reason why I never saw anyone near her; people were afraid. There were several kids in the neighborhood who would call her names; but only if they were across the street from her, in case she was going to do something to them. It was not until I started high school that I noticed she was no longer seen walking around the neighborhood. It was at that time that I started going to a new doctor for my yearly physical. From our conversations about the neighborhood, I found out he was a distant relative of that “witch” woman. The little he shared about her with me was enough to set me reeling. It turned out she was a Holocaust survivor, having lost her parents and siblings during the war. The doctor said Nazi doctors performed experiments on her while she was being held in a concentration camp. It was horrifying to hear this news and it occurred to me no one in the neighborhood had a clue about it. Instead of finding out and talking to her, people shunned her for her “differences.” It was a similar scenario for the main character in this mystery thriller drama. ABANDONED AT AN EARLY AGE, A young girl must raise herself in the marshlands of the Deep South. The townsfolk, who did not trust her, looked to her as the prime suspect when a dead body turned up in town. With Daisy Edgar-Jones (Pond Life, Cold Feet-TV) as Kya Clark, Taylor John Smith (Lost Child, Wolves) as Tate Walker, Harris Dickinson (Beach Rats, The Kin’s Man) as Chase Andrews, David Strathairn (Nightmare Alley, L.A. Confidential) as Tom Milton and Michael Hyatt (The Little Things, Snowfall-TV) as Mabel; this movie based on the bestselling book was beautifully filmed. I thought Daisy and David Strathairn did a wonderful job of acting. Having not read the book, I found myself attracted to the story; however, there were times where I felt I was not getting all the details out of the scenes. Several of them felt like snippets of a story. I can only imagine the book being better at giving the details and emotions of each character. Normally not a fan of jumping back and forth in time, I did not mind how it was done in this film; they were longer in duration and relevant to what was currently taking place in the story. This was a good try by the writers, but with more effort, this could have been a better movie.
2 ½ stars
moviejoltz 