The 97th Academy Awards

I was super excited for this year's Oscars. Not only because I was watching it with a bunch of other film losers at the TIFF Lightbox, but because we were finally free of Jimmy Kimmel. Before I get into the actual films, I wanted to put in a formal request for a Conan O'Brien re-up next year. I'm not saying we need him there forever, but the jokes were actually funny, so I would like to see him take the stage again. I'm actually devastated I wasn't a conscious being when he was the Late Night host because I would've eaten that up.

DISCLAIMER: Unfortunately, I did not watch all of the nominations, so sorry in advance if I skipped your fave.

Anora

For those of you who don't follow me on Letterboxd, I still don't have a solid rating for this film. Was it my personal Best Picture? No. But, what I do know is that I had fun and even though I would've loved to see Cynthia Erivo earn her EGOT, Mikey Madison absolutely deserved Best Actress. There were some missed opportunities for Anora's character to be explored more, but Mikey's charisma sold me. I am IMMEDIATELY moving Once Upon a Time in Hollywood to the top of my watchlist, and I cannot wait to see what she does next!

I don't mind Sean Baker taking editing (even though the photocopying scene in Conclave is Oscar-worthy), but the direction should have gone to Nickel Boys or Dune: Part Two (more on both of those later).

Both Mikey and Sean expressed their respect and gratitude for the sex workers they worked with during the process of making the film. The stigma that surrounds this profession is CRAZY, and I'm glad we have a film with a sex worker protagonist other than Hustlers (a good film and an even better article, but I fear there is more to sex work than roofieing customers for money). There is no other job that 'taints' your reputation quite like it, especially for women. Not to mention, the working conditions are abysmal. Clubs are taking whatever they want and getting away with it because sex work isn't considered respectable enough to care about. Sex work is real work, which means sex workers deserve worker's rights. Samantha Sun's Ted Talk delves more into this, and I encourage you to watch it.

The Brutalist

Believe it or not, I watched The Brutalist in theatres (shoutout to Nia for coming with me). I thought the first half was solid, but they lost me after the intermission. I know the #real film people are obsessed with this movie, and I get it (kind of), but there was no reason this film had to be that long. I'm not against a lengthy film (literally about to rewatch Oppenheimer), but this one truly did not need to be. Additionally, while Adrian's performance was spectacular, I had absolutely no interest in his character.

I have a love-hate relationship with Adrian Brody. I love him because he's an incredible actor and stars in like every single Wes Anderson film and I love Wes Anderson. But at the same time, I cannot STAND him. About halfway through the show, I asked myself: why was Adrian Brody not banned from attending the Academy Awards for a decade, but Will Smith was? I know the kiss with Halle Berry was 20 years ago, but I fear that's not an excuse for him facing zero repercussions for sexually assaulting a presenter. Not to mention, he has not (publicly) apologized for that ever.

Oh, and don't even get me started on that speech. Telling them to turn off the music after seeing several of his colleagues get their mics MUTED for speaking for a much shorter period of time. I also didn't care for the world peace bit either. We already got that STELLAR acceptance speech from the team behind No Other Land (which I need to watch ASAP), and Adrian added nothing of substance to the conversation. He was just another white man taking up space for the sake of it.

Conclave

I saw Conclave the night before the Academy Awards with my mom, and I'm so glad we got to see it in theatres because what an EXPERIENCE!!! It was a little slow in the beginning, but I was SAT for the cardinal tea. Though I would've much rathered Sing Sing to take best adapted screenplay, Conclave should've taken best score and (hot take) best supporting actress. Zoe Saldaña had a great acting performance, but Emilia Perez is a musical and well, I fear the vocals were not eating. However, Isabella Rosellini absolutely DEVOURED her role as Sister Agnes. That photocopying scene is my favourite in the entire film, but her presence elevates every single one she's in. Isabella is truly the heart of Conclave. Best believe my long overdue Blue Velvet watch is OTW.

Wicked

Questionable colour-grading aside, I really enjoyed Wicked the first, second and third time I saw it in theatres. So much work went into the set, and the results were INSANE. The award for best set design was definitely deserved. Also, slay Paul Tazewell for being the first Black man to win best costume design. He ate DOWNNN. I CANNOT wait to see the looks in For Good!!!

I made peace with Ariana losing the Oscar weeks ago, but I still held the tiniest shred of hope the Academy would come correct. Not only did she perfectly embody Glinda, but "No One Mourns the Wicked" is the best Ariana performance I've ever seen, and I've been a fan of her since 2010. I mean, if they were going to award a supporting actress for a musical, why not give it to the nominee with the superior musical talent?

Nickel Boys

Ummmmm, why was this film not widely available until two seconds before the Oscars? If you haven't seen it, it's on Prime so go watch it IMMEDIATELY. After reading the book, I have a new appreciation for this movie. I already thought it was excellent, but now that I'm familiar with the source material, the artistic choices are just that much more phenomenal. I mentioned earlier that direction should've gone to either Dune: Part Two or Nickel Boys, and the same goes for best cinematography. I don't know how Nickel Boys wasn't nominated in either category when it arguably has the best of both. This film deserved better.

Dune: Part Two

Did the Academy not watch this or like...? Seriously, why was this not a front-runner for Best Picture? Anyways, Dune: Messiah is coming and WILL be seeking reparations for whatever this mess was.

A Complete Unknown

I'm still not completely sure how I feel about this film, but Timotheé Chalamet was truly fantastic as Bob Dylan. I'm so happy he won the SAG because he deserved something to recognize all of the time and energy he put into becoming Bob Dylan. As I'm writing this, I just realized this scenario is basically a repeat of the 2023 Oscars when Austin Bulter lost to Brendan Fraser, except that race was much tighter. However, I have been campaigning for Colman Domingo to win best actor since I saw Sing Sing at TIFF in 2023. Again, Adrian was excellent, but Colman was otherworldly.

Sing Sing

Sing Sing getting snubbed for best picture was CRIMINAL. Emilia Perez was nominated (and stole best original song), but Sing Sing wasn't... Make it make sense.

A Real Pain

Most of the Academy voters clearly skipped The Apprentice because Jeremy Strong acted circles around the other nominees. I would've liked to see Clarence Maclin in this category, too. But, like, we all knew it was going to Kieran Culkin, so it is what it is, I guess.

Flow

Not everyone gets Memoir of a Snail like I do, and it shows. This loss was almost as painful as Puss in Boots: The Last Wish. I actually really liked Flow, but I liked Memoir of a Snail and The Wild Robot more.

BTW, The Substance, Nosferatu, and I'm Still Here are included in the films I have not watched. While I physically cannot watch horror films, I am looking forward to seeing I'm Still Here.

Additional thoughts:

• I admit I am a fraudulent cinephile. There are countless essential movies I have not seen, and I promise I will eventually see them. I barely recognized anyone during In Memoriam, which devastated me. The audience's reactions told me there were some greats whose work I was unfamiliar with. I've tasked my mom with compiling a list of movies I need to watch to avoid this in the future.

• The orchestra ate DOWN.

• The Bond tribute was ridiculous but wonderful at the same time. Like a Doja Cat appearance in 2025?!?

• Real cinema might be returning.

• We need to stop muting people's mics, especially if they are first-time winners or winners of a minority group. If the time situation is that serious, we can cut host bits instead.

Oscar's at TIFF Lightbox

I thought watching the Oscars in a theatre surrounded by others just as excited as I was would be the best night ever. I was wrong. The hosts were NOT good, there were several technical errors which resulted in a terrible lag, and the people next to me were SO annoying. This one person kept saying Timotheé Chalamet looked disgusting. By the grace of God, I kept my composure because I had some words for them. Next year, I will go back to watching The Oscars from the comfort of my home with my family, who is nowhere near as invested as I am.

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