Happy Oscar Day! I don't know what they're going to do to top last year's very exciting show, but I can't wait to find out!
So I made it to the theaters twice this year! I'm slowly easing my way back into theater life, however, it's hard when so many films are available to stream now! The industry sure is changing! I think overall 2022 was a great year for movies. There were outrageous movies like The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent (hilarious!), cute family films like The Rise of Gru (adorable!), and socially impactful movies like Till (heartbreaking). And of course, there are Kim's Top Ten. Warning: possible spoilers ahead!
10. She Said
I think the investigative journalism genre is underappreciated. All the Presidents Men, Spotlight, The Post, and now She Said. Every time I see these types of movies, I can't help but have great respect for journalists. It makes me so mad at those people who scream "fake news!" about publications like the New York Times. Do these people even know how journalism works? The writers don't just pull stuff out of their ass. They don't make up stories and insert their opinion wherever they want! They investigate the hell out of their stories and make sure to have hard evidence to back it up. If they don't have enough evidence, or if they can't get a source to go on the record, they won't publish. It's as far away from fake news as you can get. She Said tells the story of the two New York Times journalists, Megan Twohey and Jodi Kantor, who broke the Harvey Weinstein story and ignited the #MeToo Movement. It's a riveting film, and makes me appreciate journalists even more than I already do. P.S. Rot in hell, Weinstein!
9. Decision to Leave
I am shocked that this was not nominated for Best International Film. Admittedly, I haven't seen any of the nominated films for international feature except for All Quiet on the Western Front, but I find it hard to believe that Decision to Leave isn't as good or better than them. The film is about a detective who falls in love with the widow of the dead victim he is investigating. Things get dicey when the widow becomes a suspect. The artistic choices made storytelling-wise in this film were super unique. There were times when I wasn't sure if what I was seeing was actually happening in the story, or if it was the main character's internal thought process. The effect made everything kind of ethereal and surreal. I totally dug it!
8. Turning Red
So cute! It was like this movie was made especially for me. I, too, was a nerdy Asian kid with misfit friends obsessed with boy bands! It cracks me up that this film was in any way thought to be controversial because it is a metaphor for periods. Come on! A little kid is not going to understand what a period is, and they would not make the connection that that's what turning into a red panda means. They will just see a cute and funny movie about a middle school girl who turns into a red panda. It's a sweet family oriented film that's TOTALLY appropriate for all ages! It's my pick for Best Animated Film, but I don't think it's going to win.
7. Spoiler Alert
For some reason, I thought Spoiler Alert was a romantic comedy. I was completely unprepared to be bawling for the final 15 minutes of the film. Good lord! Talk about tearing at my heartstrings! Spoiler Alert tells the story of Michael's long term relationship with his boyfriend, Kit. After 14 years of being together...spoiler alert...Kit is diagnosed with cancer. Listen, I did not shed one single tear during The Fault in Our Stars. In fact I rolled my eyes through that whole movie and thought the emotions were completely contrived. Spoiler Alert on the other hand - THIS is how you tell a dying of cancer relationship movie and truly destroy people.
6. Elvis
I admit - I am bias. I love Baz Lurhmann so Elvis popping up on my top ten list should be a surprise to exactly nobody. The Best Actor race is a really good one this year! I don't think Austin Butler will win, but that doesn't mean his performance as Elvis wasn't PHENOMENAL! We all know what Elvis looks and sounds like, and Austin managed to be spot on while not doing simply an imitation. He added depth and soul to Elvis that I don't think other actors who have played Elvis did as well. I appreciated that Baz acknowledged in the film that Elvis was highly influenced by black artists, and pretty much stole from them. In the white washing of history, that detail tends to get left out of Elvis's story. In typical Baz fashion, Elvis is flashy, in your face, and over the top. It's everything I expect and adore from Baz!
5. The Menu
As a self declared foodie, I was highly offended and felt personally attacked by this movie. Just kidding! Of course I wasn't! I thought it was a brilliant satire on foodie and fine dining culture. It's an extremely dark comedy about a world renowned chef who has invited a special hand picked group of people to his restaurant on a secluded island for an explosive once in a life time dining experience. The guests think they're going to enjoy an exclusive tasting menu, but they soon realize the chef wants to give them so, so much more than over contrived, deconstructed, pretentious food. He wants to show them the complete ridiculousness of their snooty, pompous behavior, for which they will pay...with their lives!
4. Bullet Train
I mean.... This was just pure spectacle! I'm aware Bullet Train is more Fast and the Furious and less Citizen Kane. But I love Fast and the Furious and I hate Citizen Kane! Sometimes all you want is mindless entertainment and this movie delivers that and nothing more! I was smiling and laughing through the whole thing! The more and more ridiculous it got, the more I enjoyed myself. Bullet Train is non stop action and comedy! Everyone in the film is great! I just finished binge watching Atlanta (which I highly recommend by the way) and although Brian Tyree Henry isn't nominated for this role, I'm so happy to see him nominated for Causeway, and I think he's great in Bullet Train. I also feel the need to call out Michael Shannon who is hilariously deranged in this movie!
3. The Woman King
I will never forgive the Academy for leaving out this film COMPLETELY. No Best Actress for Viola Davis - who, by the way, is INSANELY good! - no Best Director, no Best Costumes, no Best Production Design, no Best Hair and Make Up. Like...did you guys even SEE this movie? Listen. There have been many movies made about slavery in the American South, but I have never seen a movie about slavery told from the other side of the ocean. I have never seen what the rich African nation who sold slaves to the Europeans looked like. I have never heard their stories of struggle, battle, and social and political reform. Now I have! I have been DYING for films like this. Show me stories from history that I have never seen before! There's such a rich tapestry of stories in all of human history, and yet the (white male dominated) industry keeps showing us the same things over and over. Like, I don't need another WWII movie told from the European side of the war. I don't need another film about white men making films. Enter: The Woman King! Such a breath of fresh air!
2. Tár
Brilliant! The Best Actress win is definitely a showdown between Cate Blanchett and Michelle Yeoh. I want Michelle Yeoh to win, but if Cate Blanchett wins, I can't say she didn't deserve it. Her performance was electric in this film. This movie is long and slow. I won't lie. It's kind of boring too. But it stuck with me long after I finished watching it and I'm still thinking about it now. It's a film about abuse of power, and I found it extremely interesting that the film centers around a woman abusing her position of power in the way men have done for so many years. It goes to show that abuse is abuse, and unacceptable in any form, no matter who it's coming from. Cate Blanchett plays Lydia Tár, a brilliant conductor whose critically hailed career descends when controversy regarding her and one of the musicians in her orchestra arises.
1. Everything Everywhere All at Once & The Banshees of Inisherin
That's right! It's a tie! I kept going back and forth between these two movies, struggling so hard to pick which one I liked better, and then I thought "Screw it! It's a tie!" It's my list, I can have a tie if I want! These two films couldn't be any more different from one another. One of them is fast paced and loud, the other is slow and understated. One tells the story of a middle aged immigrant woman, Evelyn, trying to navigate her mediocre life in modern day America, the other tells the story of a middle aged man trying to navigate a deteriorating friendship in 1920's Ireland.
I think both leads in each of these films should win the Best Actor and Actress categories. I've been saying this for years: Colin Farrell is an underrated actor. He's so, so, so good, but I feel like people have never moved past his "bad boy" phase back in the early 2000's. But he's so much more than that! His performance in Banshees is heartbreaking and delicate and restrained and even funny at times. He does so much with the tiniest subtleties! His character in Banshees is so terribly tragic! I felt for him! I hurt when he hurt! I cried when he cried! I was with him through his journey.
And Michelle Yeoh - GODDESS. Do you guys know Michelle Yeoh has been around FOREVER and is a huge - ginormous! - movie star in China? She is a big freakin' deal, and a part of me is a little annoyed that people are acting like she's just now being discovered and appreciated for her talent. As if you're movie star official only when you become a movie star in America. As if the 25+ films she's made in Asia meant nothing. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad she's finally getting the adoration she's been long overdue for, but don't act like Michelle Yeoh fever is just a passing trend. Homegirl has been a part of my life (and a BILLION other Asians people's lives) for as long as I can remember watching movies!
Everything Everywhere is like a kick in the balls followed by a lobotomy and an acid trip! It's non-stop action and spectacle. But there's a lot of heart in it too. The first time I watched it, I was just trying to process it all! There's SO MUCH to take in! But the second time I watched it, I picked up on the overlying message, which is, no matter who you are, where you came from, what experiences you had, what universe you're living in, the most important thing is to love. Love each other, love your family, be kind to one another, and understand that we're all navigating our own universes and fighting our own battles. The most moving part about Everything Everywhere is that after experiencing so many possible alternate lives she could have lived, Evelyn chose to live the "worst" version of her life because in that life, she has her daughter. Awww!
On the opposite side of the cinematic tone spectrum, we have The Banshees of Inisherin. What a gorgeous little film. We follow Padraic in his simple small town island life in Civil War era Ireland. Every day he has a beer at the local pup with his best friend Colm, played brilliantly by Brendan Gleeson. Out of nowhere, Colm decides that he doesn't want to be friends with Padraic anymore. No explanations, no debate, nothing. He flat out says, "I just don't like you anymore." Padraic spends the remainder of the film trying to figure out why, and trying to rekindle their friendship. Colm's resistance escalates to an obscene level, to the point where the two former friends basically go to war. Meanwhile, as all of this is happening, Padraic's sister is getting ready to leave their hometown and go to the mainland. I was captivated by the film from the beginning. First of all, the scenery is breathtaking! Secondly, Colin Farrell's performance ripped my little heart apart! It's a sad movie, but very good. I loved every second of it.
I think Everything Everywhere is going to win Best Picture tonight. I haven't seen a movie that creative in a long time, and I think it has a good shot!
My thoughts on the rest of the Best Picture nominations:
Top Gun Maverick - I enjoyed it! Super fun, nostalgic, and just makes you want to jump up and cheer!
Women Talking - Didn't see it
Triangle of Sadness - I love how it started, I loved the idea of it and the social commentary on class hierarchy, but they lost me at the end.
The Fabelmans - It was cute but...I don't know...I feel like a Steven Spielberg film about Steven Spielberg's journey into filmmaking is so masturbatory.
All Quiet on the Western Front - Gorgeously shot film, and heartbreakingly sad.
Avatar: The Way of Water - Didn't see it
Who are you rooting for tonight?
No Clerks 3?
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