On the 2024 Oscars

 

The Pics 

Barbenheimer

• In my (cinephilic) opinion, Barbenheimer was the best thing to happen to the movie industry in years - and also the most misunderstood. It was such a joyful throwback to the days when summer blockbusters were a unifying cultural experience in a tangible, corporeal way. This wasn't just an internet phenomenon - Barbenheimer plans came up in pretty much every July and August conversations that my wife and I had when we went out with friends. On the day we watched the movies, we spent the day in downtown Austin, and everywhere we went out to eat, we overheard Barbenheimer conversations at most of the other tables. And of course, that's to say nothing of the actual experience of seeing the sea of pink in the theaters. It was the kind of communal experience that a been a casualty of the technological advances in the entertainment industry. 
• When it was first announced that Barbie and Oppenheimer would be released on the same day, I made plans with my wife to go to the movies that Friday and flip a coin to see which movie we got to see. Later, I thought I was streets ahead when I thought to just plan a whole day out of seeing both movies. My bubble burst when I went to an Oscars party last year, and one of the other guests mentioned his double-feature plan unprompted. That's when I knew this was going to be a touchstone moment in pop culture.
• So, how exactly did Barbie + Oppenheimer become Barbenheimer? A lot of the focus was on the juxtaposition between the visual style and tone of the two films. I saw suggestions should schedule more "his and hers" paired releases. This would be a mistake - the best part about Barbenheimer was the fact that it was organic, and any attempt to try to reverse engineer that energy is destined to end in disappointment.. Some people attributed it to Barbie's unprecedented marketing campaign, but to me that felt more reactive than proactive; it seemed like the studio started pouring money into marketing only after they realized what they had brewing. Here's the real lesson that the industry should (but won't) take away from Barbenheimer: audiences don't want a parade of IP Zombies and labyrinthine franchises. We want challenging, thought-provoking films from visionary directors who are given carte blanche to bring their passion projects to life. The fact that we were getting not one, but two such films in the same year day felt unthinkable a year ago; hopefully it's not a blip.
• The reason why I have always admired and cherished Christopher Nolan is that he manages to produce movies that are equal parts entertaining and intellectual, and he makes them from within the major studio system. He hoodwinks executives into greenlighting smart movies, like a sort of Trojan horse. It felt like Greta Gerwig was doing the same thing when she snagged the job of directing Barbie, and she pretty much confirmed as much in her Rolling Stone interview. Barbenheimer weekend felt like a passing of the torch. 

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On the 2023 Oscars

The Pics 

Elvis

• I cannot believe this movie was nominated for best picture. All year assumed all of the Oscar buzz about this movie was just click-bait. Whoops.
• The framing of the movie - recounting Elvis's life from the perspective of his craven manager - didn't work for me. In theory, I think telling the story from the perspective of supporting characters can be interesting. When the movie started, it immediately reminded me of Citizen Kane, a movie that I cherish. For me, the genius of Citizen Kane is the way each new narrator peels away another layer from the mystique of the titular enigma. Unfortunately, this device is misguided for a movie which tells Elvis's story in a very linear manner and mechanical manner. Colonel Parker perspective never made me view Elvis or his story differently, and the movie never succeeds in making him a compelling character in his own right.
• I thought the debut of Elvis's (in)famous hip gyrations was depicted quite well. In particular, I think Baz Luhrmann deserves a lot of credit for directing all the actresses in the scene. None of the teenage girls in the audience came to that concert planning to release budding sexual tension; instead, Elvis (unwittingly) summoned the holy spirit, serving as an outlet for feelings that they never knew they possessed. The shrieking felt truly involuntary.
• To its credit movie acknowledges how much Elvis borrowed and profited from the Black gospel music. But the movie asserts that the Black community viewed this relationship completely uncritically, and if anything was honored to have a white man bring their music to the mainstream. Perhaps this is true, but it feels dubious. 
• I appreciate that Austin Butler manages to go beyond doing an impression of Elvis - he really captured the physicality of the legend. Unfortunately, I don't think this script gives him much chance to capture Elvis's interior.
• This is the absolute worst performance of Tom Hanks's career. His speech pattern is way too goofy for a supposedly sinister villain, and his accent changes in every scene.

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On the 2022 Oscars

For the second straight year I barely watched any movies. I only went into theaters three: once in the Summer when I thought the pandemic was winding down (LOL), and once for what I (correctly) suspected would be the crown jewel of the cinematic calendar, and once to see Spiderman in IMAX. So for the second straight year, my opinions are strong, but quite limited.

The Pics

Don't Look Up

• I thought this movie did exactly what it wanted and needed to do - it made me laugh out loud because the plot was both completely outlandish and infuriatingly believable. The best way I can describe it is a poor man's Dr. Strangelove.
• I can't say I am surprised by the negative critical reviews. Don't Look Up unapologetically indicts the neoliberal worldview shared by (what seems like) the vast majority of film critics. 

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On the 2021 Oscars

Because of the pandemic, I barely watched any (new) movies this year, and I do not remember the last time I was less invested in the ceremony. Hopefully we can go back to the cinemas in 2022. Please go get vaccinated.

The Pics

Palm Springs: The only movie that I truly loved in 2020. The idea of a shared time loop feels like the start of a new era for the entire genre. I would give it all of the awards if I could. I wrote more about it here.

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On Quarantine and Chill

When life gives you quarantine, make chill. At least, that's been the motto for much of the world for the last however many months it's been. As bad as the epidemic has been for the world, the silver lining (and to be clear, it's a very small silver lining) has been the chance to catch up on and expand my pop culture literacy. Here are my thoughts on what I've been watching during the quarantine, in no particular order.

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On my 2019 College Football Bar Crawl

Last year, I wrote about my experience visiting different college football bars in San Diego throughout the fall. TLDR: In 2018, I was inspired by the Athlon Sports Cover 2 podcast's annual college football in which they map out their dream road trip: pick one game to see every week, under the constraint that you can't see the same game twice. That fall I decided to visit a local watch party for a different college football team every week, and I had so much fun with the project that I decided to do it again the following year. Here's how it went down in 2019.

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On the 2020 Oscars

Last year, for the first time in years, I didn't get around to watching all of the Oscar nominees - but I still got all but one of them. This year, due to a combination of being crazy busy, general apathy, and the inexplicable decision to push the ceremony to the second weekend of February, I didn't even get close to seeing all the movies! I never mustered up much energy to see Ford v Ferrari, Joker, or Jojo Rabbit, and I didn't see Parasite until two days before the ceremony. Similar deal for all of the other awards. In other words, take my entire ballot with a grain of salt.

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On the 2010s movies and TV shows

On the 2010s in movies
Every February I rank the movies that defined the past calendar year. With the decade coming to a close, it felt natural to do the same exercise for the entire 2010s - and to throw in the defining TV shows for good measure. I don't have the energy to do more than write a long list, but I've linked to everything I've written in the past. But before that, some FAQs:

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