The movie that captures this moment perfectly? Emilia Perez!​

​

First things, first: I liked this movie. But then I listened to a podcast review and all 3 commentators hated it!

​​​

​

 

 

 

 

​

I object to a lot of the criticism (e.g., they "shortcut" the multiple medical procedures and recovery period she would've needed -- if you wanted a movie that long, The Brutalist awaits!) But I understand some of it. Is this a musical? I have been living in a musical-centric world since November of 2006. This didn't feel like one. I loved what they presented (particularly the nominated song El Mal) and some of the rhythmic pieces were truly creative. Is this an incarnation of Narcos/Breaking Bad? Or is it Transparent: South of the Border? Given the cancellations of Jeffrey Tambor and Karla Sofia Gascon, albeit for very different reasons, maybe this is the closer representation. But the fact that Emilia Perez was so celebrated by critics, but then reviled by the Allies community because they didn't come correct -- that's the strange bedfellow's spectre that describes our world. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ahhhh...that's better. Let's talk movies!

This Year's Fun Facts:

​

• First time since 1969 that two musicals are nominated for Best Flick (conceding that Transparent: Down Mehiko Way is a musical). Wicked and Emilia Perez are the first duo of musicals since Oliver! and Funny Girl.

• The average age of a nominee is over 50 years (still young from my gray dudgeon, particularly because Isabella Rossellini still looks better than me).

• ​Conan O'Brien will host for the 1st time! He hosted the Emmy Awards in 2002 and 2006. Guessing he won't be using an air-disaster spoof this time around.

• All five Best Director nominees are first-timers.

  • The last time? 1998: James Cameron (Titanic), Peter Cattaneo (The Full Monty), Gus Van Sant (Good Will Hunting), Curtis Hanson (L.A. Confidential), Atom Egoyan (The Sweet Hereafter), Terrence Malick (The Thin Red Line), and Peter Weir (The Truman Show).

• The Average Length of a Nominated Movie: 149 minutes!

  • 2 and a half hours! Maybe Major League Baseball, who finally woke up in the middle of one of their marathon games on a work night, could pass on some advice. I'd suggest:

    • A pitch clock for the previews. I paid to get in, not to watch 25 minutes of commercials while I'm going through all of the butter-flavored-substance at the top of my salted carb bucket.

    • If you show me, you don't have to tell me. If you tell, me that a building is large, looming and lined, you don't need a dark, slo-mo pan over the thing. I'm just going to get up and consume some more of the mystery-oleo goop, and we know that's the last thing my bucket-shaped body needs.

    • Do something that keeps the audience's attention. Think of it as a way to keep Lauren Bobert out of harm's way.

• SNUBS​

  • Last year was relatively uncontroversial, given a very strong field. I felt all 10 screen plays, 9 of the 10 actors and all 5 directors were deserving. This year?

    • Sing Sing and A Real Pain should definitely have been nominated. Dune (N.B., I'm a geek, so a huge fan of the books and the movies) is an episode. It could wait until the final installment to take another Best Picture nomination. And Emilia Perez clocks in with the lowest Rotten Tomatoes score of all-time for a BP nom. WTH

    • GENUINELY surprised September 5 did not crack the Top 10. It is a fresh retelling of an event that's been covered up like a nun above the Arctic Circle (One Day in September, Munich, Visions of Eight) and has intense drama, even though we all know the outcome. You have my sympathies, Mr. Fehlbaum et al.

    • Reminder to the Snubbees: finishing 6th or worse is a reflection of the competition, not a Jersey Salute from the Academy.​​​

• • [Ed. Note: What is wrong with this country?!? Google search for images with the word snub. SMDH]​