Inclined to Opine

Every year, I see more and more articles on how viewer numbers for the Oscars have fallen yet again, and I have no trouble believing this to be true. It seems the Academy is so focused on shortening the ceremony and, I assume, cutting costs, that they are chipping away at all the elements that distinguished the Oscars from any other award show. If we want to learn who won, we read it in the news; if we want to hear the speeches, we find them online a few hours later; even the drama is captured by following live on social media. So what sets the Oscars apart (or used to!) is the sense of grandeur and spectacle, the celebration of film, the over-the-top-ness. All the things that were lacking in this year's ceremony. I see the idea behind having one of the nominated songs as an opener and Beyoncé's neon yellow rendition was a showstopper, but I found myself feeling thrown into the proceedings without a preamble, missing the film montages of old to get the excitement going. And the...

Here are my personal picks for this year’s Oscars along with the number of nominated films I managed to watch from each category: - Film: CODA (9/10) - Director: Kenneth Branagh, not even because I’m biased but because it was a breath of fresh air. (4/5) - Actor: Andrew Garfield, though I’d be ok with Benedict Cumberbatch. (5/5) - Actress: Jessica Chastain (4/5) - Supporting Actor: Troy Kotsur with Ciarán Hinds a very close second. (5/5) - Supporting Actress: Jessie Buckley (5/5) - Animated film: The Mitchells vs the Machines but more importantly, NOT Encanto! (2/5) - Original Score: The Power of the Dog though Dune is pretty awesome too. (5/5) - Song: Be Alive (4/5) - Adapted Screenplay: CODA (5/5) - Original Screenplay: Belfast (3/5) - Cinematography: Dune (5/5) - Costume Design: Dune (3/5) - Film Editing: tick, tick…BOOM! because it’s such an integral part of the storytelling. (5/5) - Production Design: Nightmare Alley, literally the only good thing about the film! (5/5) Let’s see j...

This is going to be a difficult film to review without spoilers so let's just go ahead and say that, if you haven't watched it and want to, you should stop right here! Parallel Mothers started off well enough. An interesting take on the babies switched at birth trope, I was enjoying how the main character slowly starts suspecting something is amiss then battles her conflicting feelings when deciding what to do about it. The blow of finding out what happened to the other baby was well set up and made us viewers understand her dilemma. Her next step, of taking in the other mother and involving her in the baby's life made sense and seemed a fair compromise, given she wasn't ready to disclose her secret yet. But then the film lost me. Why the need to create a romantic relationship between the two mothers?? I don't care if they're both women, a 40 year-old and a vulnerable 18 year-old who is dependant on the former for work, food, and home is creepy! But then even th...