Replies

Before this thread disappears entirely into archived memories, some scorekeeping and a request for recommendations.

Of the ten films nominated this year for Best Picture, it seems clear that the most watched by freepers (based on this and other recent movie threads) are Dune, West Side Story and Belfast. All three are generally liked though there are dissenters on the first two; just about everyone who has seen Belfast likes it.

A lot of us are hotwired to be on WokeWatch whenever movies come up for discussion. Of this year's Oscar nominees, the one that triggers the culture war flamethrowing is The Power of the Dog. I'm not going to comment because I've not seen it. In fact, I don't think I'm eligible to see it because I've not seen Brokeback Mountain either, and I'm pretty sure that's a required prerequisite. Those who follow the gay cowboy genre can weigh in, but it's not my thing. By most accounts, it's well acted, but I need more than that to watch it.

On political issues, the tricky one is Don't Look Up. The people responsible for this film were at great pains to advertise that it's meant to be a parable on global warming. On that score, it's a complete miss. The thing is, global warming is nowhere mentioned in the film, which is actually a reasonably funny sendup of big tech, social media and the mindless NPC behavior of the social media junkies. Had the Don't Look Up team tweaked it a bit and presented it as a parody of Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, etc. -- and feckless politicians -- we'd all be cheering it. But a top ten movie? No, not in my book.

The other eight nominees, as far as I know, are reasonably solid films. Few of us seem to have watched them. (Maybe just not yet, because they may not have rolled around for free on the streamer which many are allowing to control their viewing.) I've seen Coda, Drive My Car, Don't Look Up and Dune, and Belfast is on my list. I'm prepared to defend all of these from a culture war perspective. That said, none of my personal favorite 2021 films made the list, which just goes to show that the Academy still has some work to do if it wants to catch up to me, quality wise.

One of the most frequently repeated freeper comments, here and on other threads, is that many of us are increasingly finding foreign films better than what Hollywood is churning out. I think the Academy will adapt. Parasite (a Korean film) won Best Picture a couple of years ago; I've not yet seen that, but Drive My Car (a Japanese film) is this year's Best Picture entry in the Asian lane, and it's very good. (I strongly recommend seeing this in the theater if possible. It demands close attention and complete absorption into the film, and that's hard to maintain over three hours from the coach potato position.) Hollywood is feeling some pressure from the furriners, and that's all to the good.

So for the culture warriors: overall, the ten Best Picture nominees are not a bad list of films, even if it doesn't include my 2021 favorites. Whether the Academy is deliberately responding to criticism and shifting gears, I don't know -- time will tell -- but the list could have been a LOT worse. See: 2022 snubbed list

The IndieWire list is films that had some serious critical buzz but that were entirely snubbed by the Oscars. The sleazy, porny films were ignored. The really weird freakshow films were ignored. The weirdness for the sake of weirdness films struck out, as did militant feminist and BLM fare. With the arguable exception of The Power of the Dog, the Academy's list is pretty mainstream. I'd give the Academy a B, mainly because they left my picks off the list.

If you asked me to recommend a top ten list for 2021, I'd start with After Yang (to be released March 4), Old Henry (now streaming), and Montana Story (Bleeker Street; release tbd). I would also list The Most Reluctant Convert: the Untold Story of C.S. Lewis, CODA, The Dig, I'm Your Man and Drive My Car as honorable mentions. These may not all be to your taste, but they're not woke trash. And I would rate them as at least somewhat culturally conservative.

Forget the list of Oscar nominees. I'd like to think we can do better than the Academy voters.

What are your recommendations for 2021 movies? My guess is that most of us haven't been back to the theaters, haven't seen any new movies, and won't see any of them until Netflix or Amazon or another streamer delivers them to your tv. But if you have seen some new films, what do you recommend? There are plenty of golden oldies, but what are the best of the new crop?