Oppenheimer wins 7 Oscars (Best Picture) (film & awards)

[T'Chenka]

Film Discussion & Awards Season Discussion

I'm pretty into films and awards season, and I like to discuss upcoming awards as well as years past. The thread about Joker is showing me that others like to discuss as well. Here's a thread for that. This also for discussing movies in general, as long as they're well made or half-decent. Fast & Furious 9 and badly written comedy / action can be discussed if you really want to, but intended the focus here is more on film: acting, directing, screenplay, editing, pacing, score, plot, cinematography, etc.

Discussion of 2024 movies
Will Dune: Part Two win Best Picture? Which films do you think will be big players this year? Will Sing Sing go far and maybe win it all as the pundits are predicting, or is that premature? Will Conclave, Queer, Blitz, Flint Strong get into Best Picture? Will Coppola's new film Megalopolis be a dud?

Discussion of 2023 movies
Did Oppenheimer deserve to win Best Picture over Barbie, Poor Things, Killers Of The Flower Moon, Anatomy Of A Fall? Did Killers Of The Flower Moon deserve zero Oscar wins (including Actress)? Do you think Anatomy Of A Fall would have defeated The Zone Of Interest for International Feature if France had submitted it to the Oscars? Should Past Lives been nominated in more than 2 categories?

Discussion of 2022 movies
Did Everything Everything All At Once deserve to perform so strong at the Oscars? Should Babylon and the performances from Babylon have been nominated in the bigger categories? Which awards were you disappointed about the results of?

Discussion of 2021 movies
Did you find The Power Of The Dog leading the pack all year to be boring? Were you happy with CODA winning Best Picture? Were you annoyed at some of the extremely well made films like The Greeen Knight, Spencer, The Humans all getting zero nominations for technical categories?

Discussion of 2020 movies
Did you find Nomadland leading the pack all year to be boring? Should The Father have won instead? Were you annoyed that Another Round didn't get into Best Picture? Was Mank under-nominated?

Discussion of 2019 movies
Did 1917 deserve to win Best Picture or at the very least Director over Parasite? Did Marriage Story deserve more Oscars than the one it got? Did The Irishman winning zero Oscars sit well with you? All 5 directing nominees were men, but did all 5 deserve to be nominated over Greta Gerwig for Little Women?

[T'Chenka]

Gonna leave some stuff here, just for reference:


- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

2023 films - Oscars - Best Picture nominees
- American Fiction
- Anatomy Of A Fall [Anatomie D'Une Chute]
- Barbie
- The Holdovers
- Killers Of The Flower Moon (apple)
- Maestro (netflix)
- Oppenheimer (winner)
- Past Lives
- Poor Things
- The Zone Of Interest

2022 films - Oscars - Best Director/Screenplay (but not Picture) nominees
- May December (netflix in North America)

2022 films - Other notable films

- (documentary) 20 Days In Mariupol
- A Thousand And One
- All Of Us Strangers
- (documentary) American Symphony (netflix)
- Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret
- BlackBerry
- The Boy And The Heron
- The Color Purple
- The Creator
- Creed III
- Dream Scenario
- Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves
- Elemental
- Fallen Leaves [Kuolleet Lehdet]
- Godzilla Minus One
- Guardians Of The Galaxy: Vol. 3
- How To Have Sex
- The Hunger Games: The Ballad Of Songbirds And Snakes
- Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny
- The Killer (netflix)
- Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning
- Monster [怪物]
- Napoleon (apple)
- Nimona (netflix)
- Nyad (netflix)
- Origin
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem
- The Peasants [Chłopi]
- Perfect Days
- Priscilla
- Robot Dreams
- Rustin (netflix)
- Rye Lane
- Society Of The Snow [La Sociedad De La Nieve]
- Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse
- The Taste Of Things [La Passion De Dodin Bouffant]
- They Cloned Tyrone (netflix)
- Wonka

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

2022 films - Oscars - Best Picture nominees
- All Quiet On The Western Front [Im Westen Nichts Neues] (netflix)
- 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

2022 films - Oscars - Best Director/Screenplay (but not Picture) nominees
- Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (netflix)
- Living

2022 films - Other notable films

- Aftersun
- [documentary] All The Beauty And The Bloodshed
- Argentina, 1985
- Barbarian
- The Batman
- Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
- Bones & All
- Decision To Leave
- Empire Of Light
- [documentary] Fire Of Love
- Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio (netflix)
- Morbius
- [documentary] Navalny
- Nope
- The Northman
- Push In Boots: The Last Wish
- The Quiet Girl
- RRR
- The Sea Beast (netflix)
- The Son
- Till
- The Whale
- The Woman King

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

2021 films - Oscars - Best Picture nominees
- Belfast
- CODA (apple +) (winner)
- Don't Look Up (netflix)
- Drive My Car [ドライブ・マイ・カー]
- Dune
- King Richard
- Licorice Pizza
- Nightmare Alley
- The Power Of The Dog (netflix)
- West Side Story

2021 films - Oscars - Best Director/Screenplay (but not Picture) nominees
- The Worst Person In The World
- The Lost Daughter (netflix)

2021 films - Other notable films

- A Hero [Ghahreman] (amazon prime)
- Annette (amazon prime)
- Being The Ricardos (amazon prime)
- Compartment No. 6 [Hytti nro 6]
- C'mon C'mon
- Cruella (disney +)
- Cyrano
- Encanto (disney +)
- Eternals (disney +)
- Flee
- Happening [L'Evenement]
- In The Heights
- Last Night In Soho
- Luca  (disney +)
- Mass
- Nitram
- No Time To Die
- Nobody
- Pig
- Raya And The Last Dragon  (disney +)
- Red Rocket
- Spencer
- Spider-Man: No Way Home
- Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings  (disney +)
- The French Dispatch
- The Green Knight
- The Hand Of God (netflix)
- The Harder They Fall (netflix)
- The Humans
- The Last Duel
- The Matrix Resurrections
- The Mitchells vs The Machines (netflix)
- The Novice
- The Suicide Squad
- The Tragedy Of Macbeth (apple +)
- Tick, Tick... Boom! (netflix)
- Titane

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

2020 films - Oscars - Best Picture nominees
- Judas And The Black Messiah
- Mank (netflix)
- Minari
- Nomadland (winner)
- Promising Young Woman
- Sound Of Metal (amazon prime)
- The Father
- The Trial Of The Chicago 7 (netflix)

2020 films - Oscars - Best Director/Screenplay (but not Picture) nominees
- Another Round
- Borat: Subsequent Moviefilm (amazon prime)
- One Night In Miami (amazon prime)
- The White Tiger (netflix)

2020 films - Other notable films
- Ammonite
- Bad Boys For Life
- Bill & Ted Face The Music
- Birds Of Prey (Harley Quinn)
- Cherry (apple+)
- Da 5 Bloods (netflix)
- Emma.
- First Cow
- Greyhound (apple+)
- Hamilton
- Happiest Season
- Hillbilly Elegy (netflix)
- I'm Thinking Of Ending Things (netflix)
- Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (netflix)
- Mulan
- Never Rarely Sometimes Always
- News Of The World
- Nine Days
- On The Rocks (apple+)
- Onward
- Palm Springs
- Pieces Of A Woman (netflix)
- Possessor
- Relic
- Sonic The Hedgehog
- Soul (disney+)
- Tenet
- The Devil All The Time (netflix)
- The Gentlemen
- The Hunt
- The Invisible Man
- The King Of Staten Island
- The Midnight Sky (netflix)
- The United States vs Billie Holiday
- The Way Back
- Wolfwalkers (apple+)
- Wonder Woman 1984

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

2019 films - Oscars - Best Picture nominees
- 1917
- Ford V Ferrari
- Joker
- Jojo Rabbit
- Little Women
- Marriage Story (netflix)
- Once Upon A Time In Hollywood
- Parasite [Gisaengchung] (winner)
- The Irishman (netflix)

2019 films - Oscars - Best Director/Screenplay (but not Picture) nominees
- Knives Out
- The Two Popes (netflix)

2019 films - Other notable films
- A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood
- A Hidden Life
- Ad Astra
- Avengers: Endgame
- Blinded By The Light
- Bombshell
- Booksmart
- Clemency
- Crawl
- Dark Waters
- Dolemite Is My Name
- Fighting With My Family
- Frozen II
- Harriet
- Honey Boy
- Hustlers
- I Lost My Body [J'ai Perdu Mon Corps]
- John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum
- Judy
- Just Mercy
- Klaus
- Late Night
- Long Shot
- Luce
- Midsommar
- Missing Link
- Monos
- Queen & Slim
- Pain & Glory [Dolor Y Gloria]
- Portrait Of A Lady On Fire [Portrait De La Jeune Fille En Feu]
- Richard Jewell
- Rocketman
- Shazam!
- The Farewell
- The Last Black Man In San Francisco
- The Lighthouse
- The Peanut Butter Falcon
- The Report
- Toy Story 4
- Uncut Gems
- Us
- Waves

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

2018 films - Oscars - Best Picture nominees
- A Star Is Born
- Black Panther
- BlackKklansman
- Bohemian Rhapsody
- Green Book (winner)
- The Favourite
- Roma (netflix)
- Vice

2018 films - Oscars - Best Director/Screenplay (but not Picture) nominees
- Can You Ever Forgive Me?
- Cold War [Zimna Wojna]
- First Reformed
- If Beale Street Could Talk
- The Ballad Of Buster Scruggs (netflix)

2018 films - Other notable films
- A Quiet Place
- At Eternity's Gate
- Avengers: Infinity War
- Blindspotting
- Burning [Beoning]
- Capernaum [Capharnaum]
- Eighth Grade
- First Man
- Free Solo
- Hereditary
- Incredibles 2
- Leave No Trace
- Mary Poppins Returns
- Never Look Away
- Shoplifters [Manbiki Kazoku]
- Sorry To Bother You
- Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse
- Upgrade
- Widows

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

2017 films - Oscars - Best Picture nominees
- Call Me By Your Name
- Darkest Hour
- Dunkirk
- Get Out
- Lady Bird
- Phantom Thread
- The Post
- The Shape Of Water (winner)
- Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

2016 films - Oscars - Best Picture nominees
- Arrival
- Fences
- Hacksaw Ridge
- Hell Of High Water
- Hidden Figures
- La La Land
- Lion
- Manchester By The Sea
- Moonlight (winner)

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

2015 films - Oscars - Best Picture nominees
- The Big Short
- Bridge Of Spies
- Brooklyn
- Mad Max: Fury Road
- The Martian
- The Revenant
- Room
- Spotlight (winner)

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

[progressive85]

A Quiet Place was wonderful.  This year's movies overall were not very memorable.  I think its going to be another boring season.

[T'Chenka]

A Quiet Place was wonderful.  This year's movies overall were not very memorable.  I think its going to be another boring season.

Parasite is really really good and a future classic, but it hasn't been seen by hundreds of thousands of people yet. Not so artsy that it would turn people off, though it is a bit of a thinking man's movie. Highly recommend it.

Midsommar was also great, but it's a horror movie that isn't scary, somewhat artsy and 2.5 hours long. Obviously not for everyone, but I strongly recommend it if the previous sentence didn't turn you off.

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

The only film I've seen so far that feels like a strong best picture contender is Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and that's largely because Hollywood loves movies about Hollywood (The Artist is among the most glaring examples of this causing weird Oscar results).  And that's a shame because Booksmart, Pet Sematary, Ready or Not, The Lighthouse, Joker, Us, Child's Play, and Toy Story 4 were all much better movies.  

Alas, I'm pretty sure that aside from a Best Actor nomination for Phoenix's performance in Joker and a Best Animated Film win for Toy Story 4, none of those films are going to get nominated for anything above-the-line  

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood was basically 1/3 self-indulgent snoozefest, 1/3 perfectly serviceable (but decidedly inoffensive) "Movie about Movies," and then 1/3 great film that kept reminding me of how much I wished the film's B-plot about the Manson family was the main focus of the movie (although the parts with DiCaprio's character trying to shoot that one guest villain scene in some western TV pilot were perfect).  Honestly, it's one of Tarantino's weaker outings.

Anyway, I'll end by saying that if you have any interest in seeing a smart, unpredictable, and extremely entertaining horror comedy whose satire about income inequality is (despite the dumbed down, spoiler-laden trailers) in the same ballpark as Get Out's satire of limousine liberal racism, you should really check out Ready or Not.  It's one of the real hidden gems of 2019 (I was lucky enough to go in blind because I was bored and there was nothing else remotely interesting playing nearby).

[Progressive Pessimist]

I expect a lot of accolades for 'The Irishman.' Other than that and 'Once Upon a Time In Hollywood,' I can't think of too many shoo-ins for awards season yet, this year. It's still early though, and this time of year is when most awards season films come out too, so it might be too early to speculate still.

[Mr. Smith]

The Goldfinch shouldn't be overlooked here.

[Landslide Lyndon]

The Goldfinch shouldn't be overlooked here.

The Goldfinch was trashed by critics and bombed at the box office. It might pick up a few Razzie nominations.

[UWS]

I think Star Wars The Rise of Skywalker too will be nominated fir awards like best sound, for example like The Force Awakens.

[T'Chenka]

I think Star Wars The Rise of Skywalker too will be nominated fir awards like best sound, for example like The Force Awakens.

Some chance to ne nominated:
- Best Score
- Best Sound Mixing
- Best Visual Effects
- Best Production Design

Long shot but not totally impossible to be nominated:
- Best Original Screenplay
- Best Cinematography
- Best Editing
- Best Sound Editing

[T'Chenka]

I expect a lot of accolades for 'The Irishman.' Other than that and 'Once Upon a Time In Hollywood,' I can't think of too many shoo-ins for awards season yet, this year. It's still early though, and this time of year is when most awards season films come out too, so it might be too early to speculate still.

I think it's pretty safe to say that Marriage Story is getting nominated. Many many people that have seen it claim that it's got a good shot at Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actress, Best Original Screenplay and Best Director. Reviews in general have been extremely good as well. The type of film and style are very Academy-friendly as well, and it was one of the two People's Choice Award runner-up films at the Toronto International Film Festival (tied for second place with Parasite).

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

I think Star Wars The Rise of Skywalker too will be nominated fir awards like best sound, for example like The Force Awakens.

Some chance to ne nominated:
- Best Score
- Best Sound Mixing
- Best Visual Effects
- Best Production Design

Long shot but not totally impossible to be nominated:
- Best Original Screenplay
- Best Cinematography
- Best Editing
- Best Sound Editing

- I have a pretty hard time seeing another Star Wars movie come anywhere close to repeating A New Hope’s feat of earning a screenplay nod, plus it’d be contending in the best adapted screenplay category.  Best Editing is probably too much of a reach given how that has been increasingly treated as pseudo-above-the-line award by voters trying to find another place to vote for there preferred BP winner (why, IDK, but it seems to be a trend).  

- A Best Cinematography nod is always a possibility with a film like Star Wars - especially given the tendency of the Oscars to sometimes treat this as a second Best Visual Effects category (ex: Avatar and Gravity’s otherwise inexplicable wins) - but it largely depends on the strength of the field.  The field doesn’t seem weak enough this year on paper, although it’s also not strong enough for me to rule out the possibility before Star Wars: Episode 2019 has even come out, especially when I’ve yet to see so many of the top contenders like 1917 and The Irishman.

What I can say is that a Best Cinematography win is highly unlikely at best, 1917 will probably be tough to beat here if Mendes actually made a good war film in one long tracking shot and even if the film is a dud quality-wise, voters may still want to reward the technical achievement of doing a war movie - of all things - in one shot.  Now, if 1917 is “only” a few long tracking shots seamlessly made to look like a single one, that’s another story since Birdman, The Haunting of Hill House, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and season one of True Detective would’ve all beaten 1917 to the punch by over a year (albeit in different genres).  Plus, there’s also The Irishman if voters want to go the “second Best Visual Effects category” route.

- Otherwise, I completely agree with your assessment of Star Wars’ chances.  

- Btw, could you remind me what the difference is between sound mixing and sound editing?  I always forget this and end up getting them confused.  IIRC, one is sound effects during filming and the other is sound added in post, but I could be misremembering.  

[T'Chenka]

Btw, could you remind me what the difference is between sound mixing and sound editing?  I always forget this and end up getting them confused.  IIRC, one is sound effects during filming and the other is sound added in post, but I could be misremembering.  

Sound Editing is the creation of sounds... think about creating the T-Rex roar for Jurassic Park or the lightsaber sound for Star Wars.

Sound Mixing is putting all the sounds for a movie together, how loud and quiet each sound is (including the score and sound from the set from microphones like talking, doors closing), and how left-speaker / right-speaker / advanced surround sound details everything is .

Sadly and pathetically, the Academy voters don't even seem to know the difference. They gave Bohemian Rhapsody the award for Sound Editing over A Quiet Place and First Man. They gave Bohemian Rhapsody the award for Sound Mixing over Roma. It's so cringe and facepalm worthy, but I guess the Academy just doesn't care. I consider being nominated as one of the five films up for each of those awards to be an equal or greater honor than actually winning the award at this point.

[Orser67]

Of the moves I've seen from OP's post, I'd tier them as:

Very good:
A Star is Born, The Favourite, Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse, Sorry to Bother You

Good:
Black Panther, BlackKklansman, Vice, Infinity War, Eighth Grade, First Man, Can You Ever Forgive Me, If Beale Street Could Talk (which, btw, I liked a lot more than Moonlight), The Ballad Of Buster Scruggs, Avengers: Endgame, Dolemite Is My Name, Rocketman, Eighth Grade, Cold War

Ok:
Bohemian Rhapsody, Incredibles 2, Leave No Trace

A few others I liked: "Love, Simon," "Mid-90s," "Support the Girls", "Isle of Dogs"

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

For what deserved to win/be nominated in 2018, my thoughts:

Best Picture
1) Hereditary
2) BlacKkKlansman
3) Boy Erased
4) Detainment (this may be the best short film ever made, the only other one I've seen that comes close is Everything Will be Okay)
5) Can You Ever Forgive Me?
6) Green Book
7) Eighth Grade
Paddington 2
9) A Star is Born
10) Christopher Robin (I saw this one on Amazon Prime and was sobbing like a baby for much of the runtime, by time it got to the heffalump trap scene I almost had to shut the movie off because the first half was so sad).

Best Actor
1) Ely Solan - Detainment
2) John David Washington - BlacKkKlansman
3) Christian Bale – Vice
4) Bradley Cooper - A Star is Born
5) Lucas Hedges - Boy Erased

Best Actress
1) Toni Collette - Hereditary
2) Melissa McCarthy - Can You Ever Forgive Me?
3) Lady Gaga - A Star is Born
4) Elsie Fisher - Eighth Grade
5) Saoirse Ronan - Mary Queen of Scots

Best Director
1) Ari Aster - Hereditary
2) Joel Edgerton - Boy Erased
3) Spike Lee - BlacKkKlansman
4) Bradley Cooper - A Star is Born
5) Vincent Lambe - Detainment

Best Adapted Screenplay
1) Spike Lee, David Rabinowitz, Charlie Wachtel, and Kevin Willmott - BlacKkKlansman
2) Joel Edgerton – Boy Erased
3) Nicole Holofcener and Jeff Whitty – Can You Ever Forgive Me?
4) Rhett Reese, Ryan Reynolds, and Paul Wernick - Deadpool 2
5) 
Simon Farnaby and Paul King - Paddington 2


Best Original Screenplay
1) Brian Hayes Currie, Peter Farrelly, and Nick Vallelonga – Green Book
2) Bo Burnham - Eighth Grade
3) Ari Aster - Hereditary
4) Vincent Lambe - Detainment
5) Paul Schrader - First Reformed

Best Supporting Actor
1) Russell Crowe - Boy Erased
2) Richard E. Grant - Can You Ever Forgive Me?
3) Alex Woolf - Hereditary
4) Timothée Chalamet - Beautiful Boy
5) Daniel Kaluuya – Widows (the bowling alley scene alone was a masterclass in acting).

Best Supporting Actress
1) Amy Adams – Vice
2) Claire Foy - First Man
3) Milly Shapiro - Hereditary
4) Margo Robbie - Mary Queen of Scots
5) Olivia Colman - The Favourite (this was a supporting role imo)

[Progressive Pessimist]

I forgot to comment on 2018. I found most of the movies nominated to be overrated. Especially 'A Star is Born,' 'Bohemian Rhapsody,' and 'Roma.'

'Boy Erased,' 'First Reformed,' 'Thoroughbreds,' and 'The Old Man and the Gun' were underrated for that year. I also wanted to include 'A Simple Favor,' one of the most unique films I've ever seen for its ability to seamlessly blend the comedy and thriller genres, was also very underrated. But I don't think it's a film that screams "deserves awards recognition."

The biggest snub was definitely 'Won't You Be My Neighbor' in the best documentary category. That probably would have won. It at least should have. And that's not just because it was probably my favorite movie of 2018.

[T'Chenka]

JOJO RABBIT (no spoilers)

This movie lacks truly top-tier directing, cinematography, acting, score, and the script isn't perfectly paced. This is not an "artistic masterpiece". All of the things I just mentioned are actually pretty good, but not at that very top level.

That being said, this was a DAMNED good film and I absolutely loved it. People worried that this film is offensive need to go see it. It's great, and it's message is great. Thomasin Mackenzie has a long career in Hollywood ahead of her - she upstaged both Johansson and Rockwell. BIG recommendation for anybody reading this to go and check this film out. Best Picture nomination is expected and it better not get overlooked.

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

Saw three Oscar contenders over the weekend: Jojo Rabbit*, Parasite, and Where is My Roy Cohn?

- Where is my Roy Cohn? is definitely a contender for a best documentary nomination, but I was disappointed that I didn’t learn more about him.  However, the film does a better job than most docs or biopics of seamlessly weaving together all the key points in Cohn’s life without it feeling like checking off boxes.  I may’ve simply known too much about him going in to get the full effect.  3/5

- Parasite: It was good and I’m glad I saw it, but I also think this movie has been waaaaaaaaaay overhyped.  It’s really good, has some great twists, interesting social commentary about human nature, and was surprisingly funny.  Without spoiling anything, I’ve never heard of a home invasion film being done in anything remotely like what Parasite does, so that was good.  With an aggressive campaign, it should be able to get a BP nomination (probably not a win), has a shot at a Best Director nomination due to its passionate fanbase, and will definitely get a nomination (*maybe* even a consolation win, but I doubt it) for best original screenplay.  I could also see a nomination for best editing, but that feels like a longshot.  

Ultimately, Parasite is a good film, but I was hoping for a classic and it just isn’t.  It’s a smart, creative, well-made thriller with a good sense of humor and there’s no shame in that.  3.5/5 (it probably deserves a better rating, but the #InstantClassic hype probably set me up for disappointment when it turned out to be “only” a good movie).  

- Jojo Rabbit: This was an excellent movie.  It has some problems (such as the mom - who just doesn’t work at all as a character - and MacKenzie’s character who feels more like a plot device than an actual person), but this was a great movie.  Definitely a contender for BP and has an outside shot at winning although the (grossly unfair) Green Book comparisons may keep it from actually winning.  Best Director and Best Supporting Actor (Watiti) nominations are both possible, but really feel like long-shots (especially the latter), definitely a lock for Adapted Screenplay (which will probably come down to this and The Irishman competing for the win).  

The kid who plays the lead gives an absolutely amazing performance that runs the full emotional gauntlet flawlessly and while he certainly deserves a Best Actor nomination (maybe even a win), I highly doubt he’ll be nominated  Hopefully this is a star-making role because this kid has truly amazing emotional range.  His performance alone is more than worth the price of admission.  Sam Rockwell (gets a good character arc) and Stephen Merchant (really creepy) are also quite good in smaller parts, as is the kid who plays Jojo’s best friend.  Thomasin Mackenzie was good, but her character was really more of a plot device.  

This is a hilarious, well-made, first rate movie with a great message.  Also, it’s not really about WWII/the Nazis so much as it is about a 10 year old German boy coming of age during that period.  5/5

*A really good movie and one that - unlike the deeply offensive Holocaust/death camp “comedy” Life is Beautiful - understands the difference between making a comedy set in Nazi Germany (you have to tread lightly, but it can absolutely be done and isn’t an inherently offensive concept) and a comedy about the Holocaust (which is unacceptable, period, end of story regardless of the film’s merits or lack thereof).  

Mel Brooks himself explicitly recognized this distinction when he spoke about how grotesque and offensive Life is Beautiful (a comedy by a gentile writer-Director which posits that you can even make even a Nazi death camp seem like a fun-filled adventure as long as you use the power of imagination and keep your sense of childlike wonder).  Brooks argued that you cannot make a joke about everything and argued some things should be off-limits, especially to those with no connection to the pain the events caused in real life.  He noted that while most Jews would be fine with a post-WWII comedy like The Producers mocking the absurd self-indulgent, decidedly effeminate OTT theatricality of Nazi propaganda and certain fascistic symbols (ex: the de facto dance choreography which was used in Triumph of the Will), that was very different from making a whimsical feel good comedy about Jews trying to survive a death camp (Life is Beautiful).  It’s the difference between mocking the perpetrators of a genocide through satire and trivializing the actual suffering which occurred during the genocide through whimsical feel-goodism.

[Progressive Pessimist]

One more update, I finally saw 'Blindspotting' yesterday. Holy s***! Now this was a snub! This is the other best movie I have ever seen of 2018. It's right up there with 'Won't You Be My Neighbor.'

It's like 'Friday' meets 'Do the Right Thing,' but for this generation. It explores themes of class, criminal justice, culture, gentrification, identity, race, and more all in a very organic way with just as much as humor as there is meaningful, gripping drama. Massively underrated!

[T'Chenka]

One more update, I finally saw 'Blindspotting' yesterday. Holy s***! Now this was a snub! This is the other best movie I have ever seen of 2018. It's right up there with 'Won't You Be My Neighbor.'

It's like 'Friday' meets 'Do the Right Thing,' but for this generation. It explores themes of class, criminal justice, culture, gentrification, identity, race, and more all in a very organic way with just as much as humor as there is meaningful, gripping drama. Massively underrated!

Blindspotting's biggest problem BY FAR is that not enough people have seen it. Great film that I always recommend to others. For whatever it's worth, I have it at #13 on my rankings for 2018 films.

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

One more update, I finally saw 'Blindspotting' yesterday. Holy s***! Now this was a snub! This is the other best movie I have ever seen of 2018. It's right up there with 'Won't You Be My Neighbor.'

It's like 'Friday' meets 'Do the Right Thing,' but for this generation. It explores themes of class, criminal justice, culture, gentrification, identity, race, and more all in a very organic way with just as much as humor as there is meaningful, gripping drama. Massively underrated!

Blindspotting's biggest problem BY FAR is that not enough people have seen it. Great film that I always recommend to others. For whatever it's worth, I have it at #13 on my rankings for 2018 films.

Huh.  I'll have to check it out.

[Landslide Lyndon]

Regarding the awful "Life is Beautiful", I like what Oscar historian Damien Bona said about a decade ago: Benigni is the Richard Nixon of Oscars. If you ask the Acdemy members today, nobody will admit that voted for him.

[Roblox]

I really hope "Parasite" gets nominated for BP, and many other awards. I saw it today and it's the best film of the year.

[T'Chenka]

I really hope "Parasite" gets nominated for BP, and many other awards. I saw it today and it's the best film of the year.

I lurk "r/oscarrace" on Reddit and read all the predictions for who will get NOMINATED (not win the award) for all the categories, and Parasite is looking to do well.

Best International Feature: 99.999% guarantee

Best Picture: extremely good chance

Best Director: very good chance
Best Original Screenplay: very good chance
Best Production Design: very good chance (*** see note at end)

Best Cinematography: good chance
Best Editing: good chance

Best Score: somewhat likely, about 50/50

Best Supporting Actor: unlikely but possible
Best Supporting Actress: unlikely but possible


*** NOTE - They partially built the big fancy house just for this film, though some of it was CGI apparently. They also built the entire street that the sub-basement apartment is on just for this film.

[UWS]

I think Joaquin Phoenix will be nominated for Best Actor for his role as the Joker in Joker.