Don’t call it a comeback.
No seriously…..don’t. I have no idea if this post is a one-off or a tentative return to the world of pop culture blogging. The myriad reasons that I went on a “temporary break” that turned into nearly a year-long hiatus haven’t changed, but I have missed this. So no labels.
But whatever this, I couldn’t let the Academy Awards happen without me saying something. It’s just how I’m built. So since there is a lot of ground to cover and I don’t have much time to do it, here are my very efficient, one-sentence thoughts about all of this year’s Best Picture contenders:
- Bohemian Rhapsody – A good performance (Rami Malek as Freddie Mercury) in a very mediocre movie.
- Black Panther – The most fun I had at the theater this year – Wakanda forever! (Full review can be found here – remember when I reviewed movies?)
- The Favourite – Not as funny as I was expecting and definitely won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, but filled with strong female performances.
- BlacKKKlansman – I hadn’t watched a Spike Lee joint in a while, but I really enjoyed BlacKKKlansman – depressing this story is still so relevant, but uniformly great performances from the cast.
- Green Book – I ride or die for Mahershala Ali, but this movie is problematic.
- Vice – I’m usually here for whatever Adam McKay is laying down and this is no exception – I enjoyed his storytelling and I’ll be damned if Christian Bale didn’t become Dick Cheney.
- A Star is Born – Frankly I think this one is overrated, but I’ll admit “Shallow” is a banger.
- Roma – Still sitting in my Netflix queue since subtitles requires a level of focus that I have not been capable of lately.
As for the actual Oscar ceremony, I’m not even sure I’m going to watch this year. This isn’t a year where I have strong feelings one way or another about the movies nominated – I don’t hate anything with the passion that I previously did War Horse or Extremely Loud & Incredible Close nor was I enchanted with anything quite like the years Moonlight and Birdman won. Basically I have no real rooting interest and the Academy has really gone out of their way to make the ceremony unwatchable – no host, constantly changing their mind about what will or will not be in the telecast – so I think I may just watch Twitter for the highlights. I am far more invested in the season finale of True Detective, which will be airing at the same time (side bar – we all think Amelia is dodgy, right?).
Have thoughts about this year’s Best Picture nominees? Share them in the comments.
And forever long this lasts…….it’s good to be back.
As Heather's World Turns 