The run-up to the OSCARS 2023

[Chris Knipp]

A Critic's Choice. Justin Chang ranks and describes the ten 2023 Best Picture nominees.

Here they are. Read the article by Chang, LA Times critic, HERE. Confirms my view that Everything, Everywhere is vastly overrated lately.

1. Tar
2. The Fabelmans
3. Women Talking
4. Triangle of Sadness
5. The Banshees of Inishirin
6. Avatar; the Way of Water
7. Top Gun; Maverick
8. All Quiet on the Western Front
9. Everything, Everywhere, All at Once
10. Elvis

[Chris Knipp]

Catching up: shortlisted documentaries.
Just some brief comments. This is a work in progress.



BAD AXE
THe title is the name of a remote northern 3,000+ population largely Trump supporter Michigan town. The filmamker David Siev who grew up here came back from NYC and moved in with parents and siblings to escape the pandemic, or share the lockdown, with his mixed Cambodian-Mexican-American family of origin whose members collaborate in running a restaurant called "Rachel's." His father is a childhood refugee from the Cambodian Killing Fields, his mother Mexican-American. One sister's husband is white, the other's husband's adopted black raised by a white couple. David turns his camera on the family. The film follows the tumultuous year 2020, month by month, including the George Floyd-Black Lives Matter demos, even in this small town, leading to a confrontation with skull-mask-wearing armed white suprematists, repeated menace from what turn out to be members of a terrorist cell who wind up bing arrested by the FBI, anti-Asian slurs prompted by Trump's calling COVID "Kung Flu," and finally the election of Joe Biden. And so the film is an astonishingly vivid mirroring of America at the period it covers. You can say the filmmaking is messy and reads like a home movie, that the score is loud and crude, but you can't get away from how central this material is to the American experience at this moment. And what an engaging, beautiful, sometimes embarrassing family this is.

NOVALNY
You probably know what this is. He is the prominent would-be Russian rival to Putin who Putin (or somebody) attempted to kill by poisoning but who miraculously survived, and went back to Russia, and was put into jail. Novalny is cool, so is his wife. The whole sequence of events is like a political thriller. It is also sometimes amusing. For me this is not as interesting or as important a theme as the threat to the Amazon rainforest (TERRITORY), climate change and the undermining of the natural world (ALL THAT BREATHES), discovering the legacy of slavery and racism in America (DESCENDANT), the opioid crisis and the culpability in it of the billionaire ackler famiily (ALL THE BEAUTY AND THE BLOODSHED), Biden's disastrous, abrupt withdrawal from Afghanistan (RETROGRADE), even maybe the stunning art of David Bowie (MOONAGE DAYDREAM. Sometimes it's a question of how beautifully made these documentaries are. NOVALNY is a conventionally slick and competent film, but there is nothing distinctive about it; it could just be an episode of some TV news feature series episode. BAD AXE may be home-movie-ish and raw, but Chun Siev and his family are vital and unique as well as emblematic, and hence memorable.




A HOUSE MADE OF SPLINTERS
I recently reported on this as part of the SF Jewish series WinterFest: it's by the maker of the previous award-winning THE DISTANT BARKING OF DOGS (which I liked better) by the risk-taking Danish documentarian Simon Lereng Wilmont, also made in Ukraine, about a sort of halfway house for children rescued from dangerous families hopefully awaiting adoption. It is touching and beautifully and delicately made, also a little bit sentimental and more conventional and less risk--taking than DISTANT BARKING.

HIDDEN LETTERS
About a secret language subjugated Chinese women used to communicate among themselves, a language now just barely saved from dying out.

THE JANES
Abouta band of women in Chicago who conspired to help women have abortions, and enabled thousands of them.

LAST FLIGHT HOME
About a family and a dying man whose remarkable life they celebrate. (I could have watched this film but avoided it because it sounded depressing.)

[Chris Knipp]

BRADSHAW'S OSCAR PICKS
Here are Peter Bradshaw's predictions/comments, published in the Guardian today

Best picture
Will win Everything Everywhere All at Once
Should win Tár
Shoulda been a contender Funny Pages

Best director
Will win Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, Everything Everywhere All at Once
Should win Steven Spielberg, The Fabelmans
Shoulda been a contender Charlotte Wells, Aftersun

Best actor
Will win Austin Butler, Elvis
Should win Bill Nighy, Living
Shoulda been a contender Hugh Jackman, The Son

Best actress
Will win Cate Blanchett, Tár
Should win Cate Blanchett, Tár
Shoulda been a contender Danielle Deadwyler, Till

Best supporting actor
Will win Ke Huy Quan, Everything Everywhere All at Once
Should win Barry Keoghan, The Banshees of Inisherin
Shoulda been a contender Don Cheadle, White Noise

Best supporting actress
Will win Jamie Lee Curtis, Everything Everywhere All at Once
Should win Kerry Condon, The Banshees of Inisherin
Shoulda been a contender Janelle Monáe, Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery

Best animated feature
Will win Pinocchio
Should win Marcel the Shell with Shoes On
Shoulda been a contender Apollo 10½: A Space Age Adventure

Best adapted screenplay
Will win Edward Berger, Lesley Paterson and Ian Stokell All Quiet on the Western Front
Should win Kazuo Ishiguro, Living
Shoulda been a contender Sjón and Robert Eggers, The Northman

Best original screenplay
Will win Martin McDonagh, The Banshees of Inisherin
Should win Todd Field, Tár
Shoulda been a contender Panah Panahi for Hit the Road

Best documentary
Will win Navalny
Should win Navalny
Shoulda been a contender Moonage Daydream

Best international feature film
Will win All Quiet on the Western Front
Should win The Quiet Girl
Shoulda been a contender Saint Omer

Best production design
Will win Florencia Martin, Babylon
Should win Rick Carter, The Fabelmans
Shoulda been a contender Helen Scott, Living

Best cinematography
Will win Roger Deakins, Empire of Light
Should win Roger Deakins, Empire of Light
Shoulda been a contender Kate McCullough, The Quiet Girl

Best makeup and hairstyling
Will win Mark Coulier, Jason Baird and Aldo Signoretti, Elvis
Should win Mark Coulier, Jason Baird and Aldo Signoretti, Elvis
Shoulda been a contender Eryn Krueger Mekash, The Fabelmans

Best costume design
Will win Catherine Martin, Elvis
Should win Ruth Carter, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Shoulda been a contender Monika Buttinger, Corsage

Best editing
Will win Paul Rogers, Everything Everywhere All at Once
Should win Monika Willi, Tár
Shoulda been a contender Matthew Hannam, White Noise

The Oscars ceremony takes place at the Dolby theatre, Los Angeles, on 12 March and will be televised worldwide

[Chris Knipp]

MICHELLE YEOH IS THE FIRST ASIAN WOMAN TO WIN THE BEST ACRESS OSCAR

"Thank you, thank you. For all the little boys and girls who look like me watching tonight, this is a beacon of hope and possibilities. This is proof that, dream big, and dreams do come true. And ladies don't let anybody tell you you are ever past your prime. Never give up."

OSCAR WINS, OSCAR SURPRISES

A tweet:
amil
@amil
Something about the relentlessly long awards season and how predictable these wins have been based on those wins has taken all the surprise, joy and excitement out of tonight. We’ve know[n] who’s going to win for months now. #Oscars
[Some truth in this.]

EEAAO WON 7 OSCARS OF ITS 11 NOMINATIONS WITH 3 ACTING AWARDS
BRENDAN FRASER PUSHED OUT AUSTIN BUTLER IN A CLOSE BEST ACTOR RACE
ELVIS SHUT OUT, NOTHING; DITTO BABYLON
A24 WON 9 AWARDS
BAFTAS ONLY PREDICTED 5 MAJOR CATEGORY AWARDS RIGHT
"RRR" BEST SONG, “Naatu Naatu,” FIRST INDIAN OSCAR WINNER

(For a minute-by-minute account of the evening, see GOLD DERBY)

The Winners:

ANIMATED FEATURE
Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio – WINNER!
Marcel the Shell With Shoes On
Puss in Boots: The Last Wish
The Sea Beast
Turning Red

SUPPORTIING ACTOR
Brendan Gleeson, The Banshees of Inisherin
Brian Tyree Henry, Causeway
Judd Hirsch, The Fabelmans
Barry Keoghan, The Banshees of Inisherin
Ke Huy Quan, Everything Everywhere All at Once – WINNER!

SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Angela Bassett, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Hong Chau, The Whale
Kerry Condon, The Banshees of Inisherin
Jamie Lee Curtis, Everything Everywhere All at Once – WINNER!
Stephanie Hsu, Everything Everywhere All at Once

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
All That Breathes
All the Beauty and the Bloodshed
Fire of Love
A House Made of Splinters
Navalny – WINNER!

LIVE-ACTION SHORT
An Irish Goodbye – WINNER!
Ivalu
Le Pupille
Night Ride
The Red Suitcase

CINEMATOGRAPHY
All Quiet on the Western Front – WINNER!
Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths
Elvis
Empire of Light
Tár

MAKEUP AND HAIR
All Quiet on the Western Front
The Batman
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Elvis
The Whale – WINNER!

COSTUME DESIGN
Babylon
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever – WINNER!
Elvis
Everything Everywhere All at Once
Mrs Harris Goes to Paris

INTERNATIONAL FILM
All Quiet on the Western Front – WINNER!
Argentina, 1985
Close
EO
The Quiet Girl

DOCUMENTARY SHORT
The Elephant Whisperers – WINNER!
Haulout
How Do You Measure a Year?
The Martha Mitchell Effect
Stranger at the Gate

ANIMATED SHORT
The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse – WINNER!
The Flying Sailor
Ice Merchants
My Year of Dicks
An Ostrich Told Me the World Is Fake and I Think I Believe It

PRODUCTION DESIGN
All Quiet on the Western Front – WINNER!
Avatar: The Way of Water
Babylon
Elvis
The Fabelmans

ORIGINAL SCORE
All Quiet on the Western Front – WINNER!
Babylon
The Banshees of Inisherin
Everything Everywhere All at Once
The Fabelmans

VISUAL EFFECTS
All Quiet on the Western Front
Avatar: The Way of Water – WINNER!
The Batman
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Top Gun: Maverick

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
The Banshees of Inisherin
Everything Everywhere All at Once – WINNER!
The Fabelmans
Tár
Triangle of Sadness

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
All Quiet on the Western Front
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery
Living
Top Gun: Maverick
Women Talking – WINNER!

SOUND
All Quiet on the Western Front
Avatar: The Way of Water
The Batman
Elvis
Top Gun: Maverick – WINNER!

ORIGINAL SONG
Applause, Tell It Like a Woman
Hold My Hand, Top Gun: Maverick
Lift Me Up, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Naatu Naatu, RRR – WINNER!
This Is a Life, Everything Everywhere All at Once

EDITING
The Banshees of Inisherin
Elvis
Everything Everywhere All at Once – WINNER!
Tár
Top Gun: Maverick

DIRECTOR
Martin McDonagh, The Banshees of Inisherin
Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, Everything Everywhere All at Once – WINNER!
Steven Spielberg, The Fabelmans
Todd Field, Tár
Ruben Östlund, Triangle of Sadness

LEAD ACTOR
Austin Butler, Elvis
Colin Farrell, The Banshees of Inisherin
Brendan Fraser, The Whale - WINNER!
Paul Mescal, Aftersun
Bill Nighy, Living

LEAD ACTRESS
Cate Blanchett, Tár
Ana de Armas, Blonde
Andrea Riseborough, To Leslie
Michelle Williams, The Fabelmans
Michelle Yeoh, Everything Everywhere All at Once – WINNER!

BEST PICTURE
All Quiet on the Western Front
Avatar: The Way of Water
The Banshees of Inisherin
Elvis
Everything Everywhere All at Once - WINNER!
The Fabelmans
Tár
Top Gun: Maverick
Triangle of Sadness
Women Talking

SEE BRENDAN FRASER'S EMOTIONAL SPEECH

[Chris Knipp]

Lady Gaga extended closeup the evening's "one true cinematic moment"

"(The Tom Cruise action vehicle did give rise to the one true cinematic moment of the broadcast itself: the extended closeup of Lady Gaga as she performed the film’s Best Original Song nominee, 'Hold My Hand,' which she co-wrote with BloodPop.)" - Richard Brody, New Yorker commentary on the 2023 Oscars.

[Johann]

I enjoyed the Oscars this year.
"Everything Everywhere" did in fact sweep, leaving Elvis, Tar and the Fabelmans in the dust.
I chalk it up to all those young Academy voters.
All Quiet on the Western Front also did very well- gotta see it.

[Chris Knipp]

It seems the average age is still in the sixties. So I don't know how EEAAO won so big, it must be something I'm missing. For me, it was a slog.

[Johann]

Maybe this years winners were a backlash in-joke: only in a multi-verse would these people win...