Trailer Time: Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire

I had a discussion with a good friend of mine about these new Ghostbusters movies.  He said while they are not like the originals, they have much more in common with the cartoon show.  Once he said that, I could see the connection.  This is a good thing as the show was fantastic.

I like that this trailer fleshes out a little more the plot.  I also like the fact that it brings up how putting kids into the Ghostbusting business is inherently dangerous.  But my favorite part was seeing an old character from the originals come back in a way that makes complete sense.

I am really looking forward to this movie.

Thoughts?

Sunday Best: Oscar Nominations 2024

 So the nominees were announced this past week for the 96th Academy Awards.

These awards remain the most prestigious in film.  And while many of you, dear readers, are of the opinion that all awards shows are terrible and should simply be shunned, it is my perpetual hope that Hollywood will reform itself and once again nominate movies that matter.

While there were a few happy nominations, there are a few hopeful signs, but none that make me think that the redemption of Hollywood is just around the corner.  Once again, the elite in the industry will gather together, kick out the homeless from the streets, and congratulate themselves.

The movies nominated for Best Picture are:

"American Fiction"

"Anatomy of a Fall"

"Barbie"

"The Holdovers"

"Killers of the Flower Moon"

"Maestro"

"Oppenheimer"

"Past Lives"

"Poor Things"

"The Zone of Interest"

The top 10 highest grossers for 2023 are:

Barbie

The Super Mario Bros. Movie

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3

Oppenheimer

The Little Mermaid

Avatar: The Way of Water

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania

John Wick: Chapter 4

The Sound of Freedom

I think that it was smart of the Academy to nominate the two top grossing films of the year.  And while this is a year where I hated the highest grossing film of the year, at least the Academy nominated a movie that lots of people saw.

Once again, a lot of these movies have not been seen by the general public.  After Barbie and Oppenheimer, the next highest grossing nominee is Killers of the Flower Moon.  But even Disney's The Haunted Mansion made more money than this.  

So as you can see, there are very few films for viewers at home to root for.

 My own top ten of the year include:

Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning - Part 1

Godzilla Minus 1

John Wick: Chapter 4

Oppenheimer

Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves

The Bank of Dave

Tetris

The Super Mario Bros. Movie

Sound of Freedom

The Flash

So below are my thoughts on some (not all) of this year's nominees.  

BEST PICTURE

I've only seen Barbie and Oppenheimer, so I can't speak much outside of those two.  I think that this is Christopher Nolan's year, although he has made better movies.  

BEST DIRECTOR

Jonathan Glazer, "The Zone of Interest"

Yorgos Lanthimos, "Poor Things"

Christopher Nolan, "Oppenheimer"

Martin Scorsese, "Killers of the Flower Moon"

Justine Triet, "Anatomy of a Fall"

As I said, I think this is Nolan's year.  He is one of the few directors that can draw an audience by his name because his movies are different than most.  

BEST ACTRESS

Annette Bening, "Nyad"

Lily Gladstone, "Killers of the Flower Moon"

Sandra Hüller, "Anatomy of a Fall"

Carey Mulligan, "Maestro"

Emma Stone, "Poor Things"

I haven't seen any of the movies.

BEST ACTOR

Bradley Cooper, "Maestro"

Colman Domingo, "Rustin"

Paul Giamatti, "The Holdovers"

Cillian Murphy, "Oppenheimer"

Jeffrey Wright, "American Fiction"

I've only seen Murphy, who was great.  I think his biggest competition will be Giamatti.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Emily Blunt, "Oppenheimer"

Danielle Brooks, "The Color Purple"

America Ferrera, "Barbie"

Jodie Foster, "Nyad"

Da'Vine Joy Randolph, "The Holdovers"

Of the two performances I've seen, I think Blunt did a much better job than Ferrera.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Sterling K. Brown, "American Fiction"

Robert De Niro, "Killers of the Flower Moon"

Robert Downey Jr., "Oppenheimer"

Ryan Gosling, "Barbie"

Mark Ruffalo, "Poor Things"

I thought both Downey Jr. and Gosling were great in their own unique ways.  The needs of each performance were so different, but the executed them so well.  Of the two, I think I would give Downey Jr. the edge.

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

"Barbie"

"Killers of the Flower Moon"

"Napoleon"

"Oppenheimer"

"Poor Things"

Although I didn't like the movie, I think the costume design for Barbie was excellent.  The movie used the costuming very effectively and were able to translate toy clothes into human dimensions.

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE

"The Boy and the Heron"

"Elemental"

"Nimona"

"Robot Dreams"

"Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse"

I've only seen Spider-Man, but I've heard good things about The Boy and the Heron

BEST ORIGINAL SONG

"It Never Went Away" from "American Symphony"

"I'm Just Ken" from "Barbie"

"What Was I Made For?" from "Barbie"

"The Fire Inside" from "Flamin' Hot"

"Wahzhazhe (A Song For My People)" from "Killers of the Flower Moon"

I wish "Peaches" from The Super Mario Bros. Movie was nominated.  But of the nominees, I think "I'm Just Ken" is the most fun, though "What I was Made For?" will probably win.

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN

"Barbie"

"Killers of the Flower Moon"

"Napoleon"

"Oppenheimer"

"Poor Things"

While I love the effort that goes in to period films like Napoleon and Oppenheimer, I once again have to say that Barbie's production design, especially in Barbieland was to notch.

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

"The Creator"

"Godzilla Minus One"

"Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3"

"Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One"

"Napoleon"

This is a tough one, since most of these movies had excellent effects and used them very well to tell their stories.  But I have to give it Godzilla on this one.  The way the visuals were used was something really special.  

Thoughts?