The Oscars

[LennG]

Am I that old, or has the movie industry done a complete turnabout?

I am a huge fan of The Oscars and never miss the telecast even though it is way over long, boring in many areas and is sometimes even a political statement. I think this is the first time I will watch this telecast not having seen any of the 10 movies nominated for best picture. In fact, I can go so far as to say I never even heard of most of them. Then I can move on to the best actor and actress category and again, out of the 10 nominated people, I think I know maybe 3-4 names, all the rest are complete unknowns to me.
I can truthfully say I do not go to movies in a theater anymore, but I try to keep up with what's around. Not anymore.
Is it me or has the movie industry just been turned upside down and has a bunch of no-names there instead.

Gosh how we all miss the Gene Hackmans of the past.

[TDToomer]

Am I that old, or has the movie industry done a complete turnabout?

I am a huge fan of The Oscars and never miss the telecast even though it is way over long, boring in many areas and is sometimes even a political statement. I think this is the first time I will watch this telecast not having seen any of the 10 movies nominated for best picture. In fact, I can go so far as to say I never even heard of most of them. Then I can move on to the best actor and actress category and again, out of the 10 nominated people, I think I know maybe 3-4 names, all the rest are complete unknowns to me.
I can truthfully say I do not go to movies in a theater anymore, but I try to keep up with what's around. Not anymore.
Is it me or has the movie industry just been turned upside down and has a bunch of no-names there instead.

Gosh how we all miss the Gene Hackmans of the past.

Did you make an attempt to see any of these movies? If not then you missed out because they were fantastic. I can't speak highly enough about Anora. What Sean Baker did with only $6 million is astonishing. It's filmed on location in throughout Brooklyn so you will recognize many places. Mikey Madison deserved her Best Actress win.

If you have a strong stomach then see The Substance. Demi Moore was great and it shows the dark side about vanity and aging in Hollywood. A Real Pain was also great. Kieran Culken deserved his win basically playing his character from Succession if Roman Roy never had wealth and power. But I though his Succession brother Jeremy Strong should have won for playing notorious lawyer Roy Cohn in The Apprentice.

I was rooting for Chamalet to win for A Complete Unknown but that was because I didn't get around to seeing The Brutalist which I will eventually.

Emilia Perez is controversial and I won't get into why but is definitely worth watching though mostly subtitled. I was surprised it didn't win for Foreign Film.

If you like Blockbusters there was Dune part 2 and Wicked up for multiple award taking the technical ones.

As for the broadcast itself I think Conan did a fine job and the songs and dances were good. I liked the Bond tribute with Diamonds Are Forever.

Back to your first question it's usually the young people who complain about the Oscars not nominating what they watched like Marval movies and other CGI monstrosities that are style over substance. When I was a kid I groaned at seeing movies like Gahndi, Out of Africa, Places in the Heart sweep all the awards over my favorite silly comedies and action movies.

As for not knowing many of the actors who were nominated how else are they supposed to get noticed if only legacy actors get recognized? It's better than the Grammies where an indie artist has no chance at any of the big award and when they do win (Arcade Fire) the Kayne's of the music world lose their minds.

[LennG]

I am glad that you enjoyed all those movies. I probably will like Anora, but after that, there isn't one that even interests me. And no, I made no effort to see any of them. As I said, I do not go to theaters anymore to pay ridiculous prices to see something I probably will not like. I LOVE movies. I watch probably over 10 a week on many cable or other outlets, some good, some bad, some excellent. I could probably go on Jeopardy and win a game if it were based on movies from the 1930s, 40s, and early 50s. I know the actors, directors, second bananas, cinematographers, musical directors and even gowns by.
But I am completely lost to this generation of movies, and those that play in them.
Even with losiackman, there are enough top-notch actors and actresses still out there who should be brought in to just be acknowledged. We have the Dustin Hoffmans, the Tom Cruises, the Tom Hanks, and many others who have been around for many years. It was nice seeing Morgan Freeman, but there should be more of an effort to honor those who paved the way for today's crowd. If you noticed when Goldie Hawn was on, they couldn't pair her with her husband Kurt Russell, they had to pair her with some younger dude. They used to always honor some actor or actress, or even a director for past greatness, the Irving Thalberg Award, now they do nothing even remotely like that.
All this garners weaker and weaker ratings
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2025/mar/4/viewership-97th-academy-awards-flops-7/

Conan was OK, but OK just seems to be par these days.

IMVHO, the Academy caters to the younger, the foreign, the minority filmmakers, sort of bending over backwards to put them in the spotlight, even if they do not deserve it.

Well, I've said enough. I watched the show, didn't even doze off once, but att his rate it will be lucky if it makes it to its 100th anniversary.

[LennG]

So you have a problem with Foreign filmmakers and films made by people of color. Wow just wow. That is some Xenophobia you got there. 

I won't even honor that with a response.
Talk to yourself from now on.

[DaveBrown74]

Anora.

Excellent movie. Great acting. My wife and I enjoyed it. I recommend it.

[TDToomer]

I won't even honor that with a response.
Talk to yourself from now on.

You don't have to. You already said the quiet part out loud.

[DaveBrown74]

You don't have to. You already said the quiet part out loud.

I don't think he was saying what you're implying he was saying.

He didn't say he doesn't like foreign movies or movies made by minorities. His point/opinion is that the Academy often goes out of its way to hype up or overrate movies that fit those descriptions. I don't necessarily agree with him, but that is different from saying he has a problem in general with foreign films or films made by minorities. He did not say that.

[TDToomer]

I don't think he was saying what you're implying he was saying.

He didn't say he doesn't like foreign movies or movies made by minorities. His point/opinion is that the Academy often goes out of its way to hype up or overrate movies that fit those descriptions. I don't necessarily agree with him, but that is different from saying he has a problem in general with foreign films or films made by minorities. He did not say that.

Then just call it foreign films not minority filmmakers which is highly offensive. That implies that there is something wrong with a film made by a non-white American which reeks of Xenophobia. This rhetoric should not be normalized regardless of what is happening in our country right now.

But to your point I don't see any favoritism or hyping up of foreign or non-English movies in the main categories. They promote the movies that have already gotten the nominations. The ones with the most nominations will certainly get the most press. But look who won or were the favorites. The Brutalist, Conclave, Anora, Wicked, Real Pain, etc were all American made. All 4 of the actors who won were American born. So why create a controversy that doesn't exist? If anything the Oscars have been accused of being "oscars so white".

One more point to movies being too expensive in the Theater. You don't need to see these Oscar Nominated movies in a theater. I watched 7/10 of the best picture nominees and only paid a movie ticket for 2 of them (Wicked, A Complete Unknown). They can all be found on Netflix, Max or Amazon Prime (for a fee but less than a movie ticket). I watched Anora on a flight.

[Ed Vette]

Then just call it foreign films not minority filmmakers which is highly offensive. That implies that there is something wrong with a film made by a non-white American which reeks of Xenophobia. This rhetoric should not be normalized regardless of what is happening in our country right now.

But to your point I don't see any favoritism or hyping up of foreign or non-English movies in the main categories. They promote the movies that have already gotten the nominations. The ones with the most nominations will certainly get the most press. But look who won or were the favorites. The Brutalist, Conclave, Anora, Wicked, Real Pain, etc were all American made. All 4 of the actors who won were American born. So why create a controversy that doesn't exist? If anything the Oscars have been accused of being "oscars so white".

One more point to movies being too expensive in the Theater. You don't need to see these Oscar Nominated movies in a theater. I watched 7/10 of the best picture nominees and only paid a movie ticket for 2 of them (Wicked, A Complete Unknown). They can all be found on Netflix, Max or Amazon Prime (for a fee but less than a movie ticket). I watched Anora on a flight.

If you met Lenny and knew him, you wouldn't be throwing a label like that at him. One of the finest men I know. An up and coming curmudgeon but we all become that after a certain age.

[LennG]

If you met Lenny and knew him, you wouldn't be throwing a label like that at him. One of the finest men I know. An up and coming curmudgeon but we all become that after a certain age.

What do you mean 'up and coming'? I take pride in already being there. ( I learned a lot from JimV.       

[DaveBrown74]

Watched "The Substance" last night.

I'll give Demi Moore a lot of credit for being willing to do that role, and I do like her, but I personally didn't get what all the hype of that movie was all about. To each his own, but definitely not my cup of tea at all. That's over 2 hours of my life I'd love to get back.

[TDToomer]

Watched "The Substance" last night.

I'll give Demi Moore a lot of credit for being willing to do that role, and I do like her, but I personally didn't get what all the hype of that movie was all about. To each his own, but definitely not my cup of tea at all. That's over 2 hours of my life I'd love to get back.

You need a strong stomach as it is basically a horror movie like what Jeff Goldblum went through in The Fly which still haunts me today. I'll also give Demi a lot of credit for looking so fine at 62. Her character was supposed to be 50.

[DaveBrown74]

You need a strong stomach as it is basically a horror movie like what Jeff Goldblum went through in The Fly which still haunts me today. I'll also give Demi a lot of credit for looking so fine at 62. Her character was supposed to be 50.

I can take gore when the movie itself is good. The Fly was an amazing movie. The Substance isn't even remotely close to something like that.

[Philosophers]

Watched "The Substance" last night.

I'll give Demi Moore a lot of credit for being willing to do that role, and I do like her, but I personally didn't get what all the hype of that movie was all about. To each his own, but definitely not my cup of tea at all. That's over 2 hours of my life I'd love to get back.

I thought The Substance was awful.

My wife and I saw Anora two nights ago.  Absolutely awful.  Terrible storyline plus just watching stupid people make stupid decisions.   

[DaveBrown74]

I thought The Substance was awful.

My wife and I saw Anora two nights ago.  Absolutely awful.  Terrible storyline plus just watching stupid people make stupid decisions.   

We agree on The Substance but disagree on Anora. My wife and I both thought it was very good.

Watched "A Real Pain" and "The Conclave" last weekend. I thought "A Real Pain" was respectable but not great. Kind of a poor man's Woody Allen movie. Two very quirky main characters in a story where comedy and sadness collide. Not bad but I've definitely seen better within that genre. I don't know if Jesse Eisenberg has created/directed other movies, but if that was his first where he wasn't just an actor, that's not a bad debut at all.

"The Conclave" was a serious, well made movie with high level acting and an intriguing plot. My only knock is I thought the twist was kind of unnecessary and didn't really add anything.