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2023 Oscar Picks

I don't always see Oscar-nominated films, but when I do, my opinion is the only one that matters.


Being the busy woman that I am, I did manage to see two of the Best Picture nominations this year.  But can we pause for just a hot minute and talk about the use of the verbiage "Best Picture".  I mean, I love Old Hollywood, but are we still nominating Joan Crawford and Sidney Potier?  Who uses the word "picture" to describe a movie?  Further, do most people say films now?  Or just self-important iconoclasts?  

Okay.  Done with that rant.




Everything Everywhere All At Once is an incredible movie.  For a person who knows nothing of the "multiverse" and even less about martial arts movies, if even a nube like me can enjoy this so can you.

To be honest, I don't remember a whole lot about what happens in "Everything".  The plot is very twisty and strange at times.  It's got a really fast-paced graphic novel aura and it's kinda long.  But what I do remember is a vibe.....a feeling of what's like to stop and think and regret.  A feeling that you need to rush out of that theatre or off that couch and effing DO SOMETHING!    

And for that reason, I believe it is a fine prospect for film of the year.  


The Whale is in a whole other category.  As a matter of fact, it's hard to think about films like these as even being in the same category for awards.  They're both thinky and powerful, for sure, but for as much as "Everything" is huge and over-the-top, The Whale is subtle and poignant.  The Whale is sad.  It breaks your heart.  It's the kind of movie you have to decide if you're emotionally ready to see.  It's an experience that will unleash deep-rooted feelings you didn't even know you were having.  

I felt that The Whale wasn't saying as much about morbid obesity as much as it was about loneliness, social isolation and messed-up and outdated social mores.  

But it seems like the one thing movies I love all have in common is this: they make me want to live.  They make me thirsty for whatever it is in life that I've been missing or may have messed up already.  They tell me I still have time to fix things, to change and to start again.  Long story short: they give me hope. 
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