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Best Picture

Again, a shift towards popular movies. But these are all brilliantly done. I do hope it increases viewership for the awards program. No, there's nothing in it for me. I am just tired of the "I never watch it" and "movies are too long" tropes. It's a beautiful art form that we invented right here.

This year's crop is nearly all "BPW" -- Best Picture Worthy. Only Past Lives, still wonderful and well acted, seems to fall short of the longevity and greatness one would expect to enter a pantheon with Godfather, Casablanca and Rocky

  • Oppenheimer

    • I heard people kvetch about the physics and the physicists. I heard tales of woe about committing more than 3 hours to a movie. Then I saw the movie and wondered what people were prattling on about, until I realized that hadn't actually seen it. This is a work of art that will still be talked about decades from now. The only downside to this movie is that it will stop 6 or 7 other BPW candidates from carting off a trophy.

  • Killers of the Flower Moon

    • I loved this story. Like the Tulsa massacre (briefly mentioned in the movie), I did not know this history, so glad to have had my eyes opened. There is some brilliant acting and beautiful scenery, but it is a bit jumbly for my taste. I think Scorsese had a lot to handle here and let some things slide that he shouldn't have.

  • Poor Things

    • This is a brilliant film that deserves your full attention. Yes, it is quirky. Also disturbing. But funny (if darkly so) and visually compelling. Without saying too much, I will add uplifting to the modifiers here, in the hopes that you'll put it on and stick with it. I wish it could win Best Pic. I'm holding out hope for Emma Stone to at least win Best Actress.

  • Barbie

    • I enjoyed this much more than I expected to, having only delved into the world of dolls every so briefly and, even then, limited my exposure to Big Jim with the Kung Fu grip

  • Maestro

    • It is always a challenge to put on a film about so well-known a figure as Bernstein. It was done nicely in last year's Elvis. This one was even better.

  • American Fiction

    • Both laugh-out-loud funny and touching. This has a thoughtful expose on the problems caused when people try too hard to "correct" racism; issues of aging; and difficult but typical family dynamics. This was one of my favorites in a year with a lot of favorite-worthy films!

  • Anatomy of a Fall

    • Brilliant move around a simple plot. A struggling couple with a disabled son. Did the father take his own life, or did his wife do it for him?

  • The Holdovers

    • I love this movie and expect to watch it every Christmas. It would struggle to get the top award most years, but I'm glad it is in this category.

  • The Zone of Interest

    • Resets the standard for Holocaust films. The center focus on the day-to-day lives of the Auschwitz overlord and his family; the beauty of their garden; the struggles with career management; and other mundane things we all grapple with, and the horror of the death and destruction just meters away. It is staggering to be chilled by a movie like this without seeing a bullet to the head or the agonized face of a mother about to lose her children.

  • Past Lives

    • This looked like a straight play to me. I'm ok with that when the writing is great -- and, like Fences a few years back, it is. Surprised that it didn't get any acting nods, but a touching film worth your time.

Best Picture 2024.jpg
RIP
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