The Oscars...

[GuiltyCowboy]

I've always liked the Oscars. It's never been about the 'best' anything; it's a marketing exercise. And that's kind of interesting in itself: it's always been an evening when the (American) film industry elevates what it believes to be the most important kinds of stories at the moment.

So, does anyone here have any interest in films? Who's your shout for the winners - or should be winners - tonight?

It's an unusually strong year. The Secret Agent, One Battle After Another, Sirat, Sinners, It Was just An Accident, Marty Supreme...all extremely good films, all original (even if the PT Anderson is 'inspired' by Pynchon), all very much worth the price of admission.

 

[Trionyx]

Sorry, GC, but I find the whole Oscar thing tedious and boring. I like good movies, just not the rah-rah, self-congratulatory BS that comes with the show.

 

[MelissaBaby]

I highly recommend Train Dreams, it's one of the most beautiful films I've seen in years.

 

[TheRedChamber]

I'm not one for star worship and I much prefer reading personalized lists of the best movies from critics I like rather than the anonymous mass voting of the Oscars. I've never put much weight on them.

 

[Comshaw]

I highly recommend Train Dreams, it's one of the most beautiful films I've seen in years.

Absolutely. Since it's about my neck of the woods and since I was raised around loggers, I am admittedly a little biased. Okay, a lot biased. But I think this movie is fantastic. I hope it does well in the popularity contest of the Oscars.

Comshaw

 

[ElectricBlue]

I'm not one for star worship and I much prefer reading personalized lists of the best movies from critics I like rather than the anonymous mass voting of the Oscars. I've never put much weight on them.

The voting is from members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, not the public. For example, Cinematography is awarded by fellow cinematographers.

 

[SimonDoom]

The only nominated movie I've seen is Sinners. I thought it was good, not great. Interesting, and Michael B. Jordan is a charismatic actor. The music is good and the movie looks good.

I general, I think the quality of nominated and winning movies over the last decade hasn't been that great. There's never been a greater divergence between what people like and what the Academy thinks is worthy.

I haven't watched an Oscars ceremony in years.

 

[TheRedChamber]

The voting is from members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, not the public. For example, Cinematography is awarded by fellow cinematographers.

I know but I still don't know any of them from Adam.

 

[GuiltyCowboy]

The only nominated movie I've seen is Sinners. I thought it was good, not great. Interesting, and Michael B. Jordan is a charismatic actor. The music is good and the movie looks good.

I general, I think the quality of nominated and winning movies over the last decade hasn't been that great. There's never been a greater divergence between what people like and what the Academy thinks is worthy.

I haven't watched an Oscars ceremony in years.

It’s not uncommon that I hear this opinion - movies aren’t that great these days (often accompanied with an insistence that tv is amazing) - and whenever I ask the person expressing that opinion about which movies they’ve been watching, it turns out they’re watching truly awful films, and very few of them

Essentially: ‘the food’s terrible and the portions are tiny’, ‘well, whaddya expect? You’re eating airplane food’.

I figure the best thing to do is to get them excited about checking out some good recent films. That’s all you can do.

Because cinema is still the place where the very best storytellers work with the very best actors and the very best craftsmen to create extraordinarily rich, complex and original stories.

And, just so you know, Sinners has made $360m at the box office and One Battle After Another $210m. And that’s only about 20-30% of what they’ll earn in total. So, let’s be clear: the Oscars are awarding exactly what people like to watch.

So, anyway, here’s my shot:

Personally, I’d argue that The Secret Agent is the best film of the year. Hands down. It’s so, so good. Sirat is one of the most ‘holy shit!’ cinema experiences I’ve had in a long time. Read nothing about it beforehand and just go see it. One Battle After Another is a wry, and very clever, romp that every American should see - and it includes a sequence the likes of which has never been captured on screen before. And that’s just three possibilities. And just from the last 6 months.

Others have mentioned Train Dreams, which is a great shout. Sinners is pretty good, as you say. It Was Just An Accident is phenomenal - when was the last time a shot of the back of someone’s head froze your blood? Sentimental Value is worthy of a night’s entertainment.

Treat yourself. Watch good films.