I thought last night’s Academy Awards were great. I mean, my picks were terrible…14-9. I made a few stupid blunders. Granted, not seeing most of the movies probably hurt me (I saw six movies that were nominated…only two of the Best Picture noms). I will do better next year, although I probably say that every year.
I said this last year, but I need to say it again: have Jimmy Kimmel host every year. People love to complain about him, but I think he does a fantastic job. He makes fun of the whole thing, but also has a tremendous amount of respect. I thought one of his best jokes was about the length of movies nowadays. I am getting old. I cannot sit through a 2.5-hour movie without going to the bathroom. I used to just not get a drink, so I could maybe make until the end, but that does not work. Now I say screw it, and buy a drink, and plan on going halfway. Weirdly though, at Dune Part Two I drank a large Coke, and never needed to pee. WEIRD. I believe any movie over two hours should have an intermission.
Back to the Oscars. The two best moments were John Cena being naked, and the Danny DeVito/Arnold Schwarzenegger Batman joke. I thought the acceptance speeches were good, Jonathan Glazer’s speech, and the director of 20 Days in Mariupol (Mstyslav Chernov) saying he wished he didn’t have to make the movie if it meant Russia did not invade…those were the best two. I loved the introductions for the best performance awards with an actor who won previously (including last year’s winner).
My biggest takeaway from the show was that there were a bunch of great movies this year. I need to watch them. There have been years when I have almost no desire to see the majority of winners and nominees. I think I will start with Poor Little Things this week sometime, then hopefully watch The Holdovers. I believe in myself!
