Amph The 2019 Oscars

I maintain my position that watching every Oscar winner is a losing proposition because, at the absolute minimum, you have to watch The Greatest Show on Earth.

Like there are probably some other stinkers in there, too, but the hell if I'm going to try and find out.

 

I liked the post after "proposition"

 

really thought you would be better at math.

 

Let's just be thankful that the Oscars weren't around in 1915.

 

guess i was just supposed to know all that.

 

\begin{proof} exists in the amsthm class for a reason, man.

 

Does that actually mean anything in English?

 

I think it would be fun to limit it to just the BP winners. You know, figure out which is the absolute worst of the winners. I know a lot of people throw it to the Greatest Show on Earth, which I haven't seen, but I can't fathom how it could possibly be worse than Around the World in 80 Days which is one of the worst movies I've ever seen, full stop. The best thing about watching that movie was that the DVD had the Georges Melies Trip to the Moon on it as a bonus feature and I'd never seen it before. It's quite brilliant. It does Around the World in 80 Days no favors to reference Trip to the Moon at the beginning, let me tell you.

 

Two of the Best Documentary shorts are on the Netflixs - "End Game" and "Period. End of Sentence". Period is interesting that it's about trying to distribute and education about period sanitary napkins and they set up a shop to make it. It's also made by a legit charity called The Pad Project and at only 25 minutes it's informative and has some actual funny asides in it. Various men being clueless and awkward about what it is about and also one seller compares the napkin to a man who is ugly but is useful and everyone laughs and then they sell out quickly. Just make sure if you watch it to fiddle with them language and subtitle settings! Cuz when it started playing it was subtitles and (fairly bad) actor overdubbing, plays better in original language and subs.

End Game is really heavy hitting, wouldn't call it a downer really cuz it has a very gentle tone but definitely heavy. It's about people moving into hospice living who are terminal and how individuals and families deal with it, it's probably one of the longer shorts at 40 minutes but it's really moving and heartfelt. Especially the doctor who says he has seen people move into death and, as he tells a patient, nobody actually seems scared or angry at the moment. There's a family that is dealing with their daughter passing away and how the doctors are asking them if they can study her after she passes and it's a hard decision for them. But even if all that death, it's not a sad movie but more contemplative and emotional. I'd pin this one as the one to win, unless Kobye Bryant has a dark horse Dear Basketball doc short again that'll sweep the prize.

Semi-related, this is an interesting article from last year on how best picture votes are tabulated. basically it's the Most Liked movie not technically the most #1 votes with a weighted ballot of all 9. Pertinent snippet:

Here's why that ordering is important: When Rosas and fellow PwC accountants Kimberly Bourdon and Mark Lobel sort the best picture ballots, they place them in stacks based on members' No. 1 votes. They then eliminate the movie with the fewest first-place votes, giving those votes to each ballot's second-ranked film. The process continues — smallest stacks eliminated, votes redistributed to the next choice down — until one movie has more than 50% of the vote.

That's the best picture winner. And, more often that not, that movie is the one that placed second or third on hundreds of ballots. (Rosas passes when asked how often a movie pulls in 50% of the vote when ballots are first counted.)

So, in theory, if Roma and A Star is Born alternate for the #1 spot but if everyone puts, say, Black Panther as their #2 pick, that'll win best picture.

still have to see Bohemian Rhapsody for best picture, just started it now. Freddie Mercury walking to the stage, whooo

As for the Whiskey Cavailer post-game show, I'll check it out. I kinda like wrong headed dramedy trainwrecks and it looks like one and, hey, I like Lauren Cohan. I guess that means not a Jimmy Kimmel after the Oscars special. But I would think this show will still go 3 hrs and 40 minutes anyway so it probably won't start till really late.

 

“Show your work.”

 

How is it that the freaking Academy can manage to use instant runoff voting but our government can't?

 

It's Academy Awards weekend! Every year two of our friends fly in from Austria for the weekend to binge-watch nominated films and then watch the Oscars with us. Then they fly back to Vienna on Monday.

Tonight's costume drama double feature: The Favourite and Mary Queen of Scotts

 

I believe it's tradition. "about one a week" means on average one a week. There are 52 weeks in a year. So:

554/52=10.65 years, or 10 years, 34 weeks.

@tom didn't know you planned to skip about 86 films, or 15.52%


(this of course all ignores that the 554 will grow over the next decade)

May I have a gold star, Professor @Ramza sir?

 

Lies. I honestly consider "Quiz Show" a classic.

 

I'm really bummed about this one...

Oscars: Kendrick Lamar and SZA Will Not Perform ‘Black Panther’ Song (EXCLUSIVE)

 

That's too bad. I'm also sad Trip a Little Light Fantastic didn't get a nom. Place Where the Lost Things Go is great and a tear-jerker, but I wanted to see lots of dancing

 

@solojones

It was part of my American History class curriculum for years. I haven't shown it for awhile. Might be good to pull it out again and show it at the end of the year. I always get a kick out of the fact that the kids find it amusing just how much the country was in shock that most popular game show on TV at the time was rigged. Kids today assume everything is rigged and now are more surprised when it's not! LOL!!

And too bad about Lamar and KMZ not playing together at the Oscars. I wasn't going to watch the Oscars as quite frankly I have not watch award shows in years but that would be one part of it I would have pull up on YouTube.

 

Kendrick and SZA is exactly what the Oscars need right now. Something to give them a little street cred. Too bad.

 

watched Bohemian Rhapsody, best thing about it is the music (which is apparently a remix of Malek and voice over artists). Standard celeb biopic stuff really, I liked it but nothing too hard to hate. It looks good but Bryan Singer makes good looking movies anyway. Wasn't in love with a lot of it but there are some moments where it soars. The band members seem a bit more active in the film which is good since it's just not Freddie Mercury centric as it has some cool stuff about nattering at each other being in a band but that also has the odd sheen of official Queen Band produced bio as well so they don't come off very badly and more like go-getter sidekicks. The cheesy moments, of which there are many, are sort of good for a wry laugh, but actual great stuff in the film is them at the farmhouse making the title song (there's a fantastic cut from the song being released to a year later rocking it on stage) and the final Live Aid performance is so dangblasted good. The only real character moment I liked, aside from some band snarking, is when Freddie is signaling to his soon to be ex wife from across the way with the light on, isolated by drugs, booze and fame. Once again, standard drugs do in insane talent story stuff but it was heartfelt. But, yah, holy cats, that Live Aid ending performance is fantastic. The movie too darn long and could have used some trimming but don't lose a frame of them making the song and the finale, so great.

 

I will definitely be tuning into the Oscars as I have for as long as I can remember. And I'm really curious on how the show it open, should there be no surprise host. The open of the Oscars was something I was always looking forwards to, especially with Billy Crystal as he would to a medley of all the notables films of the year. I'd suspect, if there's no surprise host, the show will start off with a musical number and then just go into the first award.

At any rate, I'll be rooting for Black Panther in every award it's nominated and I certainly hope it takes the prize for one of them.