The Cinephile's Aisle
Two film haters and a microphone covering cinema classics, box office blockbusters, and everything in between!
The Cinephile's Aisle
Episode 9: "Bait, Buzz, and Snubs"
Ofili and Steve react to the 96th Academy Awards nominations.
Find us on Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube at @CinephilesAisle.
Welcome back, ladies and gentlemen, to another episode of uh Cinefalzio.
Ofili:TCA, TCA.
SPEAKER_00:That's us. How are we doing?
Ofili:Um doing okay. It's been a cold, cold Illinois winter. We've had multiple days that are colder than Alaska, apparently. I actually do not know that, but I have for the first time in my life, I have seen minus 20, which is insane.
SPEAKER_00:Minus 20 Celsius.
Ofili:Uh Habibi, I really don't know if it's Celsius or Fahrenheit with the brush. Like I just I'm not really paying attention to that anymore. I remember when I first came to what's it called? When I first came to America, you know, I was very, you know, type A about like, oh my god, we need Fahrenheit back home, you know, that and that. But I I think I only did that for like two years. Then I believe I switched. I don't know if I switched back. So I'm thinking I am Celsius right now.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, I think I think that's the exact same story for me. I switched to obviously I was Celsius for the first couple years. I switched to Fahrenheit and I was like, I'm not I'm not about to let these people change me.
Ofili:Yeah, my bad. I I think I'm in Fahrenheit, yeah. So it was minus 20 Fahrenheit.
SPEAKER_00:Minus 20 Fahrenheit. That's crazy.
Ofili:Yeah, you know, it's I'm not gonna lie, dog. Like it's only so long that you can like you know hold on, basically.
SPEAKER_00:That's fair. Yeah, it's at one point that one that one and 24 hour clock are the two things I'm still holding on to. Because I've changed to pounds, I've changed to miles, you know. I don't even think I ever use meters to measure my height. I think I've always been feet, but 24 hour time and Celsius, I'm still holding on to those two.
Ofili:I think I think 24 hour time you're being an attention seeker, so like that's not an attention seeker is crazy.
SPEAKER_00:I think you're being a big attention seeker because I say heal I'll die on because what is like how is 13? If you ever see the time 13 something, it makes sense. But if you see 153 and there's no a.m. attached to it, what time is it?
Ofili:You look outside the window. No, no, no, truly, truly look outside the window.
SPEAKER_00:Okay, let's say let's say you get an email saying this meeting will be held at 7 at 7. Like you get an email saying this meeting tomorrow will be held at 7.
Ofili:What job do you work that requires you to be working at 7 p.m.? That that is part of your argument. It can easily be 7 p.m.
SPEAKER_00:I have no job that requires me to work at 7. My time, my work times are 8 to 6. So I have 7 is an off time.
Ofili:So the thing is, most people work a work time that is 8 to 6, similar to you, or 9 to 5.
SPEAKER_00:Okay.
Ofili:You understand?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah.
Ofili:You know, we can even stretch it. Maybe it's it's 10. Uh we can stretch it, we can make it, we can bring it up, brother.
SPEAKER_00:My point is if if you get an email saying it's 7, you know I'm right. There's no indicator of if it's ante or post meridium or whatever. So you don't know you don't know when that is. But if it says 19 at 7 p.m.
Ofili:I need you to understand that social norms dictate that a.m. is the is the time for meetings. Either way, it's it's unless it's something weird, like it's oh, it's 4 a.m. And you're gonna know it's the meeting is at 4 p.m. If they say the meetings are at 4, you know it's at 4 p.m. Yeah, and also, you know, you know the craziest thing now these days, we have these things called calendar invites, so you don't even really need to do that math, you know? Someone just sends you a link or adds it to your calendar. Uh Philly, how's your week? This I'm just here, uh and interested in your 24-hour clock logic, but you know, it's okay. Um my week has been okay. I'm trying to recollate the things I've watched this month. It's not been a great month for me. The highlight has definitely been Anatomy of a Fall and Society of Snow.
SPEAKER_00:Okay. When they were reading these nominations, I'm like, damn, I need to I need to catch up on a lot of things.
Ofili:Really? It's been a it's been a decent period of time, let me say it like that. It's been it's been decent, bro.
SPEAKER_00:Well, my week was my week was good, you know. The cold that swept over the country has affected me uh a little negatively, I will say, mentally. I don't know. I you would think you think like seasonal this affective disorder is over, and then like you get a huge wave of snow that's just like bro, we haven't even started.
Ofili:I'm sorry, mixed to you. We you need to I'm sorry for interrupting you, but you need to explain to me how would seasonal affective disorder be over in January.
SPEAKER_00:That's my point, because it wasn't cold at all. So I thought, okay, maybe the past, you know, the little depression that I've seen is the is the end of it all. I was not expecting that Christmas snow at all. It took me a couple of things.
Ofili:I didn't even know it snowed on Christmas. I'm sorry about that. That sounds horrible.
SPEAKER_00:It's cow. But we're good. We're good. I turned off all the lights. Light therapy on very underrated. And we're back.
Ofili:Um Did you did you say you turned on all the lights?
SPEAKER_00:Turned on, yeah.
Ofili:Hmm, that's interesting.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, light therapy is the cure for seasonal affected disorder. No, I absolutely did not learn that. I learned that from a past woman. Shout-out woman, all the women that know things.
Ofili:Shout out all the women that know. Well, what about the women that don't know things?
SPEAKER_00:I'm sorry, no shout-outs for them. You can get the shout out to other days. That's wild. Read a book or something.
Ofili:Read a book. So you only value women when they contribute to your life?
SPEAKER_00:Um, moving on.
Ofili:Oof. Crazy, Steve. Way to start this episode, dog.
SPEAKER_00:Moving on.
Ofili:Um I don't know what's so funny to you, man. Like, why are we high right now?
SPEAKER_00:I can hear the replies I'm going to get when my friends would listen to that part. Oh, cool. It's all good. Um, I've been watching a lot though. The good part of being snowed in is you just sit in front of your TV and watch anything. I think I've realized that you know how when people are sad, they put on a sad movie or listen to sad songs to make them sadder. I don't do my brain doesn't do that. Maybe music. Yeah, I'll listen to sad music when I'm sad. But when I'm like down, I don't listen to I don't watch sad movies. If I'm watching a sad rom or a sad film, it's typically because I just want to feel something. I'm likely in a good mental space. I know myself well enough not to watch that because it will affect me.
Ofili:But the problem here, Steve, is that I know you're a liar because we've discussed and we have we have bonded over watching normal people when we're in horrible mental states.
SPEAKER_00:Not a coincidence. I I would not do that, I don't do that to myself. After my breakup, I did not I stay, I was watching normal people leading up to my breakup. After the breakup, I stopped watching it and just looked for something else. So that's interesting. But if I if I'm watching a string of very shitty movies, that's how you know that I'm in a down place. Like if if if if I'm sad, I would just put on the worst film you've ever seen and then follow it up with an even worst movie, and this just goes on and on and on. So needless to say, my recent have been Now You See Me, Lucy. Do you remember Lucy from like 20?
Ofili:Yeah, I remember Lucy with Scarlett Johansson where she be she like ate something and she basically ended up being a computer. She ended up as AI.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, exactly. So stuff like that. That's what I've been spending my time doing. And it's been great, it's been terrific, you know. I think it's a fun time. Yeah. Two brain cells amongst the entire cast, and there you go, having a great time.
Ofili:I think you have you had a ball. That's just how it is.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah.
Ofili:Happy that you're back.
SPEAKER_00:Uh yesterday the Academy, as they always do, decided to shock some members of the film work.
Ofili:No, I wanna be honest with you, Steve. I really don't want us to get into that. Okay. Like I know this this isn't okay, so for the listeners, this is gonna be an Oscar recommend uh not recommendations, but um reaction reaction episode. So we're just gonna be focusing on what the norms were, who we think is going to win, how we feel about everything. And you know, yesterday there was a bit there's like a massive amount of outrage. I feel like a decent amount of it was performative because I feel like a lot of people did not watch the majority of the movies that uh have been nominated. Yeah, and I think people are also um they're confusing a commercial success with a great movie. Wad, what, what, what, what so Steve, you can you can start your take, then I will like like I I can we can do it this way that I read what the nominees are for each category, but I I want you to start your take that before we dive into what we're gonna dive into.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, I there was an episode that we did where we're talking about people's reactions to you know sex scenes and you know saying basically calling for more censorship in film. And you had said in that episode, you know, we just want people to watch more movies. And I think times like this, sure, the Oscars are you know they're pretty small, it's just 23 awards. I think it's one of the smallest out of all the major ones. Absolutely. It's usually the same films, you know. I've been tracking the Oscars for some time now, it's typically around 30-something movies or even less that get nominated all the time. It's usually the same main one, so it's pretty small, right? But even at that, people don't watch closed movies, like you're the normal person or the average person, I mean I say normal, right, is not seeing up to 10 films a year, let's be honest, you know. And they're seeing the ones that are in their face, they're seeing the ones with the most marketing, the ones with uh their favorite characters or favorite actors in them. And so come awards season time, uh those are the films that they're looking to get represented to get some uh positive reinforcement, I guess, that they had a good year for film. No offense to people obviously that aren't watching more movies, but if you're not watching more, like you can't be disappointed when like one or two or four.
Ofili:When you don't know what it's being what it's losing up, losing against or being compared against.
SPEAKER_00:It's that simple. It really is that simple. And so that's how I want to start this. I wasn't outraged by anything. The I had the few a few um performances that I wanted to get nominated, but that was my those are my dark horses, and I knew they weren't they weren't going to get nominated, you know.
Ofili:I only have one fight, so okay, yeah. So I think just to like transition this a little bit into like what we're about to do. So we're gonna start off not in the right order, but just to like go straight into what the predominant beef has been. And it's for the best actress category, yeah. And people are upset. The nominees for best actress are Annette Benning for Niad, Lily Gladstone for Killers of the Flower Moon, Sandra Huller for Anatomy of a Fall, Carrie Mulligan for MyShow, Emma Stone for Poor Things. Yeah. Now, people are upset that a big name is missing, and that is Margot Robbie. And I tell you, I don't know how Margot Robbie is getting into this. I'm not even gonna lie. I don't know how her performance in Barbie is getting into this. What do you think?
SPEAKER_00:So I'm I'm a little disadvantaged here because I haven't seen Nayad and Natsumi overall. So I can't speak to Sandra and Annette Benning. Yeah, I can speak to both of those because I haven't seen them. But you know, when I made my draft, Sandra has been nominated in almost every major award show this this season. So I knew she was a luck. The three locks, I didn't even know Lily was a luck because Lily wasn't nominated for Lily's my pick, by the way, but I didn't know she was a luck because she wasn't nominated for no Lily Gladstone is easily the pick.
Ofili:Yeah, yeah. Problem is there's there's a there's a different problem that I have with like the the outrage around Lily Gladstone and like the subsequent like comments that she's put up. But let's let's talk about this. Yeah, I think who who do you think is not meant to be in this group?
SPEAKER_00:The the the Naya, that's why I don't know her name. Annette Benin, she's not been on the circuit as much as compared to the rest of them. Yeah, I'm not saying she's not meant to again, I haven't seen it. I get that performances that I've seen, you know, the three Lily, Emma, and Carrie, I think that's deserved. I think that all three of them are deserved. I personally would even pick Greta Lee before Margot Roby, and I would also pick Tiana Taylor for 1001 before Margot Roby. So it's like, sure, you take out Annette Benin and maybe put in Margot Roby, but personally I would have Greta Lee before Margot Roby. I would have Tiana Taylor before Margot Robey. And yeah, so I think if you're saying who wasn't meant to be, my pick would be Annette Benning.
Ofili:I'm right here beside you, bro. I think I tweeted about this, and I don't think I tweeted that it is Annette Benning that's meant to be out because you know I'm not I don't know, I've turned down my hating. Because truly, Naya to me, oh my god. Naya to me was one of those like movies that were kind of so not soulless, but it was made for award season.
SPEAKER_00:Award bait, Oscar Bait, yeah.
Ofili:It was Oscar Bait, yeah, and you know, it got the Oscar nominee, it got it got a couple of Oscar nominees, so respect to them that did their job, but like I it wasn't a film that I particularly enjoyed. Okay, but I don't think it's not it's not a story for me, I guess. It wasn't just a film that I particularly enjoyed. Same thing with like Asteroid City, it wasn't a film I particularly enjoyed, but I see that it is something good.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, I I don't think you're alone in thinking that as well, so you know, but if you take out Annette Benny, who are you replacing her with?
Ofili:Oh, easily past lives Greta Lee. Like Greta Lee. I was like, the outrage for Barbie is insane. Because honestly, in the last three years, I don't even think Barbie is even her best cameo.
SPEAKER_00:Barbie, are we talking Babylon? Is Babylon is in the run there?
Ofili:Babylon is like the easiest, like one of the most insane performances from her.
SPEAKER_00:If they need to be outraged, that's where the outrage should come from, you know.
Ofili:That's where the outrage should come from. But again, the problem is people are not watching the long movies. That's why people didn't watch Killers of a Flower Moon. They didn't watch it because it's a long film.
SPEAKER_02:Mm-hmm.
SPEAKER_00:Mm-hmm.
Ofili:Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:But yeah. So that's my general review to that. But we can go through the categories, I guess.
Ofili:So we've got okay, so the next category, we're gonna go from the actual uh order. So Best Picture. We have American Fiction, Anatomy of a Fall, Barbie, The Holdovers, Killers of the Flower Moon, Maestro, Oppenheimer, Past Lives, Poor Things, and The Zone of Interest.
SPEAKER_00:Okay, so reaction. I've seen seven out of ten. Haven't seen American Fiction, haven't seen Anatomy of a Fall, and I haven't seen the zone of interest.
Ofili:I have no idea. No one has seen zone of interest. I don't know why it's here. No one has seen zone of interest.
SPEAKER_00:I'll be honest and say when I when the list was coming, I kept I was like not expecting, but I was half hoping for Ironclaw. And not because it's really I don't think it's really good. I'll explain. You know how there's obviously Oscar bait movies, you should we just call Nyad, you know. Maestro is Oscar Bait if we're being honest. It's good.
Ofili:Maestro is 100% Oscar Bait.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, it's good, but it's Oscar Bait.
Ofili:I don't know about that, but it's 100% Oscar Bait.
SPEAKER_00:We haven't had the Maestro episode, that's why we haven't shared our opinions because I watched it after you talked about it, and my opinions differ so much from yours.
Ofili:But the problem is, Steve, at the end, I was right.
SPEAKER_00:You were right in what sense?
Ofili:Killian Murphy's awards were safe. His awards they were safe, they went home with him that night, and very likely at the end of the Oscar March, they're gonna go home with him again.
SPEAKER_00:They're safe from they're safe from Bradley, sure, but we we were not expecting Paul Germati to have the run he's running. He's been winning, he's been winning, you know.
Ofili:He's been winning in a very weird way, and I don't know how to say it without being kind of um kind of mean about it, but I really feel there is like a hold Paul Gemati has on guys in their like late 20s to early 30s, that's and it's like a special like set of white dudes that you can you can just tell that like they love seeing Paul Germatti on screen. Yeah, doesn't matter how much of a dick he is or how much weight he is, to them, he's like some poor misunderstood character that deeply resonates with them. And for me, throughout that movie, I just couldn't believe that that the kid was 18 or 19.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, same with the chops that he did, he cooked, he cooked. So when I said I had two dark horses, Dominic Cessa was one of them. I told Pete, I told my friend for me personally, huh? Like, love love Randolph, love Jamati. You know, they're getting awards rightfully. So Cessa was a very performance in that film, bro.
Ofili:He was so good.
SPEAKER_00:Obviously, Randolph's was more subtle. Cecil Cessa's was in your face. Randolph's is you know very she carried she's the soul of the film, if you will. It doesn't work without her, blah blah blah. But Cessa man, I'm sorry, I couldn't that was his first role ever.
Ofili:I know, I I heard he like actually snuck on.
SPEAKER_00:Mm-hmm. He was just he like I guess they were shooting it at the school that he went to, and so he just auditioned, he just went on the like got into the audition just because he was around, and that's it.
Ofili:Best actor, Bradley Cooper for Maestro, Coleman Domingo for Russia. Sorry, no, no, no. You didn't say your pick. Who's your pick for best picture? Oh, my pick for best picture was Oppenheimer. It was very easy. I I told you, it's safe. He's taking that home again. Okay. Oppenheimer. So now, you know, best actor, Coleman Domingo, Bradley Cooper, Paul Giamatti, Kellian Murphy, and Jeffrey.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, so I've been tweeting that I want Coleman Domingo to win this. Because I've seen I haven't seen the movie, but I've seen clips. And he just looks like he he's acting off. It's like an act, it's a real sure. I saw a tweet saying that it was eliminated by uh Sterling Brown. So I guess I need to see it to make my verdict. But he's been my pick prior to award season. Obviously, having followed award season very closely, I think it would be stupid to bet against Killian. I think this is Killian's to-dos. And I rewatched Oppenheimer was back for a limited reissue in IMAX, which is the last time we're gonna see in Animax for a while. So I had to rewatch it, and I wish I could take back a lot of things I said in our Oppenheimer episode, because the first time I saw it, I was watching it from the very technical perspective. So like I said numerous times, it changed my life because I'd never seen any film like that ever. Um, but this time I was following the story and I understood the story a lot more, and I understand now why you had that medium write-up after you saw it, because this is really, you know, again, I was looking at it from the palm and the story and the making and the wars. This time I just approached it from Oppenheimer, which is what I was supposed to do, and the way he really embodies the character, you know. I read a I read a little bit of Hindu Hindu text that influenced Nolan's writing of the film, and Jesus Christ, like yeah, it's it's a broken man. He's really it's really a film about a broken man. The bomb is really a film about a broken man, the bomb is just a supporting character, the whole really it's it's a literary element.
Ofili:Yeah, do you understand?
SPEAKER_00:Like, I'm telling the story to the people that could honestly have been any other thing, like Nolan could have chosen any other thing, and it wouldn't have taken that much. Technically, it would have changed the film, but the story has not like the bomb has barely nothing to do with it, you know.
Ofili:Like, I need you to understand, like, one of the most insane things about Oppenheimer is that after immediately after that bomb is made, he spends so much of his time trying like begging them not to use it. Yeah, then he goes on spending the rest of his life advocating and like being anti-wars, anti-bombs. So he's literally paying spending the rest of his life like paying penance.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah.
Ofili:Yes, yes, and the way he looks in that scene where he's older, they give him a medal, and you can just still see like the shock in him. Man, I'm not gonna lie. Killer Murphy did a great one with that.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, I think this is this is his to lose. I can't really say much to any of the.
Ofili:I don't even think it's his to lose. I think if they award anyone else, it would simply be a robbery.
SPEAKER_00:Mm-hmm. I agree. It cannot be Giamatti, I'm sorry. I don't know.
Ofili:It cannot be Giamatti, bro. And like I love Jeffrey Wright's performance, but it just it was a great performance, I'm not gonna lie. It would have been a strong oh no, Jeffrey Wright for uh American Fiction. For American Fiction, sorry. Yeah. It would have been a great performance, I think, in any other year. Yeah, but not in the year that you have Killian Murphy, not that year. I'm so sorry. Um okay, so now uh moving on, we're going to best supporting actor. And I want you to who really made the film out of these guys? Who do you think really made the film? I know you haven't seen American fiction, so you don't really know Sterling K. Brown's character. In my opinion, he like if you took the if you took him out of the film, it didn't change the story a ridiculous amount.
SPEAKER_00:Okay.
Ofili:Um De Niro in Killer of the General.
SPEAKER_00:I know the answer you're going for. I know the answer. I'm just asking, I just want to know. Okay.
Ofili:I'm not, I'm not like, you know, I'm not I'm actually not trying to set you up. Okay. Mark Ruffler and poor things. Who do you think was the most pivotal?
SPEAKER_00:Pivotal to the film? I'm going to answer your question, but pivotal to the film doesn't equate best supporting performance.
Ofili:That is true. But I'm saying their performance was so impactful.
SPEAKER_00:I think it's Ryan Gosling. Really? I think it's Ryan Gosling. Because it's if it's a if it's a if there's two answers to that question, it's Ryan and De Niro. But if it's a one pick one person whose role was most pivotal, Barbie is because so much of the film is. I mean, one statistically, he had the most screen, like in terms of relative to the runtime, um screen time out of the supporting.
Ofili:Out of everyone else, yeah.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. But the story also is obviously, you know, very woman-centric. It's about womanhood and all of that. But it's juxtaposed a lot against Ken, you know, um the Barbies fighting over the Ken's, the Barbies going into the real world, and Ken going into the real world and being having a life-changing experience, all of that. Like he the story kind of doesn't work without that aspect, not just Ryan, just the Ken aspect of it all. Because yeah, yeah. But then you also look at De Nero, Killers of the Flower Moon, and the story also kind of rests on him a little bit. So yeah, who's your who's your pick or who's your answer to that?
Ofili:Okay, my my problem is is the same thing as yours. So I think the problem with killers of the flower moon is that I wish I know man, I know DiCaprio is a male lead, but I wish he was like the supporting actor because he would have cleared. His performance would have cleared. But De Niro's performance in this is absolutely insane, especially when he shows no remorse at any point until the end. Like you truly hate him. Yep. You truly hate him, and it's it's a great one, but again, Robert Downey Jr.'s performance to me was so T T, bro. Like he almost went toe-to-toe with Kalim. Yeah. My favorite scene is that scene where he's kind of found out, like you know, the big unraveling scene. Yeah. That the guy is having, and he's like, Yeah, you kind of set everything up, and he's like, Yeah, I basically did. And it's like, oh yeah, like that's what you get for embarrassing me, and blah blah blah. And like right before Rami Malik scene comes in and just like crashes everything. But that scene where he's doing the big reveal felt very much like a who'dun it, and you know how I feel about those, but it just felt like so much better acting than a who done it has ever had.
SPEAKER_00:Bro, you know, now I'm thinking about it, it could be Robert Downey Jr.
Ofili:I think it I think it should be him. Genuinely think it should be him, but I don't know if they will do that to him or they will give De Niro for the times that they've snubbed him in the past. Yeah, Oscars say they don't do that, but they do, we know they do, we know they do, bro.
SPEAKER_00:That's their go-to. Um, but that's an interesting, that's a very no not there's not too much talk about that because I guess everyone that anyone expected to get nominated got nominated except Charles Melton, which I'm very happy. No one's happier than I am that Charles Melton is not nominated for that. Because I just think whilst that movie was being heavily carried by the acting, I think Charles is how do I put this? Because Julianne Moore and Natalie Portman are so so good in it. Um, everyone else is elevated in it. I personally didn't think Charles Melton got all that, like has I think he did, I think he did a great job.
Ofili:I'm I'm not gonna lie. He did a great job. I don't think he did an Oscar-worthy job. Do you get me? I think he did a great job. I think he got his Gotham award, I think he got like two other awards. Good job. Yeah, good job, dude. But like we're hyping it up a little bit more. It's getting like that sexual abuse tax, that real life story tax, also.
SPEAKER_00:Thank you. So yeah, I'm good with this.
Ofili:But the thing is, I think also the Academy was not gonna be the ones to like let you make a movie about how these actors take themselves too seriously, you know, go and embody and do some very shady things in the name of method acting, yeah, you know, then get in, then give you an award for it. Like, no, no, come on, come on. I know how that works. Be happy that you made money with that. Like that's that's how it is. For the actresses in supporting role category, we have Emily Blunt for Oppenheimer, Danielle Brooks for the color purple, America Forever for Barbie, Jody Foster for Niad, and Devine Joy Randolph for the holdovers. And this is interesting because I remember when we did the predictions, you know, our little prediction tally that we had. I feel like Devine Joy Randolph was my that was my pick. I think we both had her as the pick based on like the performance and the holdovers. But I don't know, man. Emily Blunt Oppenheimer, she is as locked as they come, like no, I know that she's as locked as they come, but like Emily Blunt and Oppenheimer, like Oppenheimer's wife, that lost like it wasn't even like the the debate, that old smile scene that she had. Yeah, it was so cooked. It was so cool.
SPEAKER_00:It was good, it was really good. Um, and in a lot of years, you know, she would have more of a shout, she would have at least one of the other winds, you know, globes, um critics, something else. She would have something else.
Ofili:She'd have something else for sure.
SPEAKER_00:But Randolph, like I had said earlier in this episode, she's the heart of the holdovers and the soul of it, and it's just flows to her. And so it's a tough year, but true to our hating gene, someone there's a sneak. I'm not gonna say names, but there's a sneak. There's a very big sneak, so it's okay, but there's a sneak.
Ofili:I think that's interesting that you would say that because for me, she she's a Of films that get nominated, I feel like it gets to a point where you see that like some movies are not nominated because of the quality of the film. It's more so that the Oscars feel we have to have this kind of film nominated.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, but if you're making that I don't think you know who I'm talking about.
Ofili:I know who you're talking about. Because but you don't know who I'm talking about. Okay, so you're talking about America Forever and Boss.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, but I'm talking about the color purple and Nyak. Oh, okay, okay. No, I don't think Brooks is a sneak or a Naya. I haven't seen Naiat, so I can't think I can't take that.
Ofili:But I just feel like the film was not good enough to get the nominations that it's getting. Oh, I see what you're saying. As a whole. I think the color purple also is very much leaning on the cultural impact of the previous color purple. Interesting.
SPEAKER_00:Because Danielle Brooks, so I'm not hating on that.
Ofili:But yeah, for actors in supporting role, definitely locked in at Divine Joy Randolph. I really think Emily Blunt would have had a better shout in another year. In another year for sure. Um I've watched the new color purple. I don't know. I don't know what to say. I haven't seen it, so I have, and I think maybe it's just like I've just kind of like phased out of those.
SPEAKER_02:Mm-hmm.
Ofili:Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:That's fair.
Ofili:Yeah, I think that's it. I think it might be might just be a personal taste thing now that I've just kind of phased out from certain kinds of films like that.
SPEAKER_00:More than fair. Is there any other categories that pique your interest?
Ofili:The next category, of course, animated feature film. So we we kind of know this one is locked in. But I feel like you are gonna have a problem with where it's going.
SPEAKER_00:What what what what what lock are you saying?
Ofili:Okay, let me let's let me go through the nominees. So the first one is the Boy and the Heron, Hayamiyozaki, and Toshio Suzuki. Then there's Elemental by Peter and Denish Ream. Then there's Namona with Nick Bruno, Troy Quayne, Karen Ryan, Julie Zachary. Then there's Robot Dreams, Pablo Berger, Ivon Cormenesa, Ignacia Stape, and Sandri Tapi Diaz. And lastly, and obviously the least, Spider-Man.
SPEAKER_00:Obviously, the least is insane. Okay.
Ofili:Spider-Man across the Spider-Verse.
SPEAKER_00:Okay. Um, so I can hear shouts for the boy and the heron. I can hear that, you know. Um I feel like how how when was Miyazaki's last feature? I don't know whenever that was, but it seemed like a lot of people were very excited for him to or expanding the studio to put out, yeah, um, a new film that was by him. I just think, you know, Spider-Man across the Spider-Verse achieved superseded almost every metric, you know.
Ofili:Critically are we talking about commercial successes again?
SPEAKER_00:No, critically, commercially, like in terms of the film itself, you know, because the yardstick wasn't even an animated film. The yardstick was the first one into the spider-verse. So that's what people were comparing it against. And you know, the story, the music, everything held up.
Ofili:You know what's interesting? I feel like the music was actually a sore point for me when I watched it. Especially towards the end. The score didn't flow continuously, and that's why it felt like the film ended, like there were so many points of tension in like the last 20 minutes based on the score. It just made it feel like the film ended where or like it's meant to end. Like, oh, like this is alright, we're about to get to the end of the film now. Oh, we're about to get to the end of the film now. Oh, it's still going for another five minutes. Oh, it's still going for another 10 minutes. Like, do you get what I mean? It's because of how the score just kind of felt, like it was just like point of tension sounding, and like, okay, this is the climax. This is like this, not the climax, but this is the end. So I really didn't like that part.
SPEAKER_00:Is there is there some world that exists in which that was intentional? Like, is there a possibility that the filmmakers knew what they were doing and that was entirely intentional?
Ofili:I'm just saying, I think a lot of- I'm not saying it's an accident. Even if it was a directorial choice, I'm just saying it's one I didn't enjoy. Oh, okay.
SPEAKER_00:Okay, okay, sure. I just don't want us to judge you know something that we took away from a film if that was creative direction, if that was the purpose of that decision. But for me, I just think a lot of the reviews I've seen point to oh, this is not a full film. A film has a setup, um, a middle and a clock and a conclusion or whatever. This has no, it just ends. There's no and I'm like, you can't judge it based on that because that was the intent. Like it was a part one, you know. Maybe a lot of people did not know that before going in and they were caught by surprise.
Ofili:I just feel like judging it so do you believe that we should not give awards to movies that are part one and part two? Like we should wait until part two.
SPEAKER_00:No, no, no, that's not what I'm saying. No, I'm saying people are judging it based on saying that you can't say you can't say this is better than that because it's not even a full film, like it's half a movie, so you you can't say that. And I'm like, that's stupid, it's a full film, you know. The fact that it's spoken of and the fact that the concluding parts of that, you know, story are set in another film doesn't negate it being its own standalone film, which it is, you know. So I just think if you're if you're judging it harshly based on other metrics, fine, but not based on the fact that to you the story didn't complete. The story that I set out to accomplish was completed. Another character was introduced, another storyline was introduced that's not going to be completed. But the story of, you know, across the spider-verse, which is to introduce the spider-verse and to, you know, or not introduce because they already did that, but to take us across and like see, you know, introduce these other characters, these other Spider-Man and this coalition or whatever, that was accomplished. Um, the boy and the Heron is a good shout. I'm seeing Elemental tonight. I don't know. I guess I'll see that. You haven't seen Elemental yet? No, I'm watching it. It's a fun time. It's a fun time. Okay. Nimona, um, good shout, not winning, but good shout.
Ofili:I haven't seen Robot Dreams, and that's the only thing on this list that I haven't seen.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah.
Ofili:I saw Nimono after our first episode or second one where you talked about it and you talked about the controversy around it. And I'm gonna tell you something, Steve.
SPEAKER_02:What are you gonna say?
Ofili:You know, I know it is a lot of times it comes it comes across like I'm just hating.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah.
Ofili:But I think I have to say that I am always ethical with my hating. With my critical analysis, I don't think I'm ever biased.
SPEAKER_00:Okay.
Ofili:It is simply not a good film. It is simply not a good film. Mamona is simply not a good film.
SPEAKER_00:Well, you can be wrong, and in this case, you are wrong. Okay, brother. I'm sorry to be the one to tell you that you are wrong, but the proof that it's a good film, it's so many animated films came out last year that were not nominated. This is one of the ones that the Academy thought was good enough to be part of the Best Five. Um, not that the Oscars are by you know the objective objectivity police or anything, but it was good. Like it's the controversy surrounding it doesn't negate that. It's a good it's an okay story, it's not nothing new, but it's a good film, good animation style too.
Ofili:I think it's a decent animation style, but it feels like it should have gone straight to Walmart. I'm I'm just being dead ass. It feels like it should be in those five dollar bins at Walmart, then you stumble upon it when you're looking for a kid to uh a film to watch with your kids. It doesn't feel like it's a it's a movie to be critically acclaimed.
SPEAKER_00:It reminded me of Big Hero Six, I'm not gonna lie, and that one the Oscar for animated features. So that's interesting because I feel like that wasn't even my letterbox review. I said like gay hero six, because that's like all through I was watching it, all I could think of was Big Hero Six.
Ofili:That's interesting. I don't appreciate you doing that to Big Hero Six because that was one of my favorite films when I was growing up. You know.
SPEAKER_00:So who'd your pick?
Ofili:Oh my pick is easily the boy and the heron. Easily the boy and the heron.
SPEAKER_00:I think I'm sticking with um plus also half the country saw the dubbed version, or the what do you call it? Yeah, the dubbed version, which is not good, is it?
Ofili:Half the country saw the dubbed version of the boy and the heron?
SPEAKER_00:Uh-huh.
Ofili:Yeah, but it's kind of obvious because like, you know, even Bong Jun-hu said it during his speech that Americans really hate subtitles. Like, I feel like the only time that we as a community were like, okay, we're gonna watch a film with subtitles was that movie with John Krasinski and Emily Blunt. Quiet Place. Quiet Place and Acquire Place Part 2. And we did that because we were like, okay, this is a movie about, you know, it's the sign language, it's inclusive, it's supportive, you know, we're gonna do that.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, I just I'm always uh I I stick subtitles, like I try to avoid dubs as much as I can, and there was only the dub version I was playing in the theaters next to me.
Ofili:So I think the dub version was pretty good though, still.
SPEAKER_00:It was, it was, because it wasn't a dub of the original, it was like shot with the voice cast, like the yes, it wasn't just like a simple dub, it was it was an English version, essentially.
Ofili:Yes, thank you.
SPEAKER_00:It was an English short film.
Ofili:Yeah, yeah. So I'm still sticking with Across the Spider-Verse and writing riding with that until the end, but this is an interesting one that's gonna go on, and I feel like there's gonna be a snub here. There's gonna be a crazy snub here. So the next one is cinematography, and the nominees are El Conde or El Conde by Edward Klackman, Killers of the Flower Moon, Maestro, Oppenheimer, and Poor Things. I think the snub is gonna be Oppenheimer.
SPEAKER_00:What are you what do you mean by that?
Ofili:I think they're not gonna like Oppenheimer deserves to win and they're just not gonna give it to him.
SPEAKER_00:If Oppenheimer doesn't win, I might be done, you know, with this whole with whatever it is I enjoy about you know rewarding films. I might just stick to watching.
Ofili:I'm being very serious. I really think Oppenheimer might just not win.
SPEAKER_00:Very interesting. And you I'm guessing Killers of the Flower Moon then.
Ofili:I think they might either give it to Killers of the Flower Moon or they might give it to poor things. And it depends. If everyone's done crying about Maestro and how much better Maestro deserved, like they might feel guilty and give it to Maestro, but Maestro 100% does not deserve this. 100%. I don't care how many years. I think a tricky part or a part of the people spent learning how to be a conductor.
SPEAKER_00:I think a part that people I don't want to say mix-up because people are intelligent. I just think like sometimes people um tend to get film editing with cinematography a little bit mixed up because you know, you're editing the shots and you're editing the cut, like you're cutting the different shots and the different whatever and stitching them together. And so what people I'm saying all this to say I don't particularly think Maestro has that great cinematography. I think it's good. I think there's there's you know, because it it trans it does a transition, or not transition, but it does like some black and white in some place, and they look really good, and then there's color and there's just like some grading or whatever, and it looks like a shadow film. I can't I don't know if it was shadow film, but it looked like it was. So it's it's great, but the editing is what I thought was really good for Maestro, especially when we have Bernstein, the conductor, and not the other versions of it.
Ofili:But you know what's interesting is that Maestro wasn't nominated for film editing.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, exactly. I tweeted that. That's what I'm saying. Like it's so weird that you know that's not and then the whole thing.
Ofili:Because the whole thing about Maestro is that it was shot and edited in a non-traditional biopic style. So them not getting nominated kind of means they failed at the main thing that they were trying to do. I again, ethical hating. I'm not the one hating this time, I'm just pointing out facts.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, I think Hoytev and Hoitem, I just looked them up. I don't think he's won an Oscar for cinematography, which is insane to me. His pictures are very, very pretty and all. Um, but I think this is it, this is his time. The the way the the way that camera, like first of all, the whole you know, color for Oppenheim, for Robert, you know, black and white for second point of view, brilliant, you know. Um, and in cases where they're together, where it's both Oppie and other people and the story is being told, that's your way of telling whose side the story is being told. I saw this clip on Twitter where they're at the table scene where they're talking about Russia has a bomb, and the way the camera is an extra character, it's not for most of the film, you know. Some of the film is visual effects, some of the film is just good old acting, but some of it, the camera actually is an added character, and you know, the color might be one example, but the way we're flashing between scenes, the angles that we're looking at people from, it's just it's just brilliantly done. I think it was a lot of intent that he put into this. It's not like he's not interstellar done character, no, but he's done a bunch of stuff where you see him go crazy with the camera, but this one just seems a lot more intentional. I don't think it's I don't think that snob thing is going to happen here. I think this is one of the more like people are projecting it to win what seven. I think if any of those seven or eight, whatever, fall out, I don't think cinematography is going to be one of them. I think this is really almost as locked as they come. I think the the fault like the snobs will come in the acting categories. The technicals, sound, score, cinematography, those are as lucked as they come. I'll be very disappo like very surprised for any of those three to not go to Oppenheimer.
Ofili:I definitely think so. I definitely on the same page.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah.
Ofili:But moving into another category, I don't want to get I feel like it kind of okay. I'm gonna skip the category that I want to talk about right now because I feel like it might seem a bit too much like I'm dogging on Barbie. Because this is in the costume design category.
SPEAKER_00:Oh, costume design is not Barbie.
Ofili:That's what I wanted to say. I it's not like I'm dogging on Barbie, but like it's not Barbie. What do you think it is?
SPEAKER_00:What do you think it? I'm I personally think it's should be poor things. I think I think it should be poor things. Yeah, I think it's poor things. I think it should be poor things. I think it should be poor things. Um, if anything, you know, forget you know the rest of the cast. Great, you know, costume design. Just Emma Stone herself.
Ofili:Like Emma Stone herself. Literally, like her costumes transitioning as she's transitioning through her like sexual liberation.
SPEAKER_00:Freaking hell. Speaking of added characters, that's an added character. That right there, you know. And it's like it represents her growth.
Ofili:It literally represents her growth. It is literally representing her growth. Yeah, no, it's yeah, no. There's a there's a like her fit had a coming of age.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, oh yes, yes, Offini, yes. They were growing with her. She was growing because it's growing, like for the most part, it's all adult dresses, right? So, like, you know, how much can you do with that? But at the same time, you can literally can tell the kind of like the dressing when she's a child and when she's younger, versus like in that dance, that ball thing that they were at that they had to dance in. I think she had a yellow dress on, and I'm like, wow, okay, this is symbolizing the level that she's gotten into. But then that had nothing on when she was married to that rich asshole, and she had like this really green, flowy dress that was very much like first lady or like you know, man.
Ofili:People need to watch poor things.
SPEAKER_00:I think I'm like, how do you even do this?
Ofili:I don't know how that's it feels like that skipped through a lot of people.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah.
Ofili:Yeah. It's just Barbie was nice though.
SPEAKER_00:You know, Barbie was cool, they had some nice fits in there, you know, yeah.
Ofili:Oh man, never bring up that roller skating thing. That was one of my that was that that area was one of the worst things for me.
SPEAKER_00:And I don't want to make it sound like I'm not, you know, I think Killers of the Flower also had really good caution design. You know, I wouldn't be the most disappointed person if that wins, especially because of the way the like the natives, their dresses and the scarf. Like it's the the scarf is a very key element to this theory. You know, she talks about how this scarf has become a target on our backs and whatnot. And the dressing just feels very natural. Like you see India, or I don't know if I can call them that, like Native Americans. You see them portrayed in other forms of art, and then you see this, and it doesn't feel like a film, it just feels like more like a documentary of some sort, and that's because like you know, all of that is customer.
Ofili:You know, that's I think that's one of the things that Mike made me when I when I look back on last year, I feel a little bit sad that we didn't do an episode focusing on Teleza of the Flower Moon because there was so much to talk about when we finally got to see it.
SPEAKER_00:I mean three and a half hours, there's so much.
Ofili:We would I know I understand it's three and a half hours, but there was so much to talk about regarding that film. Like, I think we could even do a character study on DeVito's character alone, De Niro's character alone.
SPEAKER_00:Very complicated, I will say. Very complex.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah.
unknown:Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:Definitely a bad guy. I think another character study that would be interesting is um DiCaprio because that's the one that had discourse, you know. People were arguing if he was a the protagonist, not even a protagonist, the protagonist of the film. People were arguing about if it was the villain, if it was the hero.
Ofili:I hated how like there was a subsection of film twitter that kind of turned him into this sort of take an advantage youth character guy. Like, you know, at one point they were talking like he's mentally like stunted. I was like, no.
SPEAKER_00:I think I saw it tweeting that. I think I did. And I was like, no, he's that's that's his uncle, like he didn't know what he was doing.
Ofili:Yeah, I'm like, this is like now you're you're infantilizing him basically, just so that you don't have to feel bad that yeah. He wasn't like the smartest of guys, but he knew absolutely what he was doing.
SPEAKER_00:What was going on, yeah. And some of the hits, it seemed like he called them himself, like he decided he decided how they were going to go down. Yeah, yeah, exactly. So he entirely knew us, and I felt like he was a villain.
Ofili:Um there was nothing will nothing will like shape my view. Like that scene where she sends the doctors away because she's scared. Yes, and he like lays it in on her. It's so much it's not as directly racist as wait, sure. I'm being serious, it's not as directly racist as that Adam Driver scene in The Black Klansmen, but man, that scene made me think, yeah, the captain is calling people the yen word behind me.
SPEAKER_00:I freaking die because we're using Adam Driver.
Ofili:Yo, like that made me feel like the cap yeah, he got all racist, bro. Like, no way. It made me look through his phonography. I was like, has he worked under a black director? Like, would he? Oh my god.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, though I that have seen it hurt because you know, she you could tell she just needed to be comfortable and she needed someone that she could trust, and she thought that was her husband, and you know, turned out to be the devil all along.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:Um, yeah, I think the killers of arm that's masterful storytelling. The carper though, he had some character development at the end. I think that's why people are more sympathetic towards him because towards the end, he's turning a new leaf almost.
Ofili:I think my problem with him was that he almost completely doubled down. Do you get me? It was so easy for his uncle to talk to him and him to like almost shut this whole yeah, you get me.
SPEAKER_00:It wasn't until his kid died that it was like, okay, yeah, no, I'm going to I owe this, you know.
Ofili:Exactly. Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_00:But good, good, good film. But yeah, no, Port Thanes is my pick for that. I'm surprised we didn't see anything about Napoleon. Oh no, sorry about the people.
Ofili:How do I say this about Napoleon without sounding like a hater? There was just way too little exposure, bro. I could not see in the film.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah.
Ofili:I could not see what was going on.
SPEAKER_00:I'm glad things like that don't get rewarded anymore, bro. Bro, I'm like, what is going on? Dark dark as a color equates dark as a theme style or film style. And it's like, bro, let's just see. You can make it a Nora without us being feeling like we're blind, bro. Like, let's just see.
Ofili:And like I I wore my glasses, I changed seats, like I got closer to the screen. I was like, what's going on?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. It is what it is. Yeah.
Ofili:But the next category is directing, which I feel like we're on the same page with that one. I feel like if Nolan doesn't win, it feels kind of weird. Yeah.
unknown:Yeah.
Ofili:I also think that like it's not simply that Oppenheimer is such a is a much better directed film than Anatomy of a Fall or Tillers of the Flower Moon. I think it it's a great film, but it's also elevated by the fact that I think they're gonna do that thing where they didn't award Nolan for like his previous great film. Okay, I agree. I feel like that tax is coming in. Yeah. Because almost all of his previous films are getting more acclaim as they grew like you know as time goes on.
SPEAKER_00:Yes.
Ofili:Like even Tenet, everyone was talking shit about.
SPEAKER_00:I'm not liking this revisionism that's going on on Twitter right now. I'm not liking it at all. About Tenet, no, go on, sorry. Oh, what revisionism? People are it's more praise as time passes. More praise, more praise, more praise for it. It's been it was a good film. Like, Steve, what are you talking about? How many times? No, it was he set out, and I put it in the same category as Dunk Kirk in his filmography. It's not a bad film. I don't want people to think I think it's bad. I just think it set out a purpose. I think his filmmaking style is confusing to the lay man.
Ofili:I knew you were gonna come with that elitist thing right now. I knew you were gonna come with that elitist thing right now.
SPEAKER_00:Filmmaking style.
Ofili:Not at all, you have to be smart enough to understand the film.
SPEAKER_00:Not about listeners are lay people, so that's not what I'm talking about.
Ofili:But I'm saying listeners, he said you are all smart people.
SPEAKER_00:He said, put your SATs, put your LSATs, it's a MCAT when you feel like okay, this is not just Nolan's filmmaking style, like this is he's intentionally trying to be confusing or trying to make a very convoluting film for I don't I don't even know what term to use. You saw the video of his of the Peloton instructor saying, What was that? What was that about? Like that was that's how 75-80% of the audience feels leaving the film. You can't say the same for Oppenheimer. People don't leave Oppenheimer saying they're confused, people don't leave Interstellar saying Interstellar maybe a little bit more. No, absolutely.
Ofili:Yeah, like a little bit, but like I think the thing about Interstellar is that I think the thing about Oppenheimer actually is that there are films, like again, like we talked about this, you even referenced this earlier, and I talked about this like in previous episodes. Like you kind of have to take watching films as like knowledge building. It sounds weird, but like the l-like if the more time movies that you watch, the less time as a character becomes such a confusing thing for people. And that's just how I feel because I think I even watch Memories of Murder. The same thing. Yeah, I'm happy that I'm consistent. If there's one thing I am, it is consistent. Like, what what do you mean? If there's one thing I am, it is consistent.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah.
Ofili:And like, example is like Memento that he made, Memories of Murder. Even like you're watching like rom-coms like about time. Do you get me? Like movies where time becomes a character or an important element, yeah. You you kind of get it. Like you it becomes harder to it comes easier to digest some of the ideas of what they're doing with time.
SPEAKER_00:When you see when you've seen a lot more, yeah.
Ofili:Yeah, like once you've experienced more of it. And I think that's like one of the major things. Why people were like, oh, like, you know, oh my god, I'm confused, I'm confused, like, oh, that was what was that? I was like, do you get what I mean?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, yeah, yeah. I do, I do.
Ofili:It's kind of like similar to when people watched Inception and they're like, oh, that was so confusing, that was so confusing. Like, oh, it's a dream within a dream within a dream. What's going on? Like, yeah.
SPEAKER_00:But we but uh again, like similar to that, you understand that uh I don't know, let's not let's not long story short.
Ofili:Like we need a we need an episode that focuses on this topic itself.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, and we're at 30, so I don't wanna oh an hour, so I don't wanna do it.
Ofili:We don't need to extend this a long time.
SPEAKER_00:Well, long story short, um here's my pick. Up um, no longer.
Ofili:Oppenheimer's the pick. Okay. I have one more that I feel like is pretty interesting for me and you, and it is musical score.
SPEAKER_00:Musical score.
Ofili:Original score.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, I'm a little conflicted.
Ofili:We're talking about original score.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, I'm a little conflicted because the ones I even wanted to get nominated, you know, across the Spider-Verse, obviously, did not get nominated. Like the one I was saying, okay, you can, you know, be a toe. Of the ones of the nominees, I don't know why. John Williams love obviously his older work. He's uh he's done a lot, you know. He's like he's gotten to the stage where and I haven't seen Indiana Jones, obviously, so this is just me talking about it.
Ofili:I was gonna say I think you're I think you're about to be on the Indiana Jones more without experiencing it.
SPEAKER_00:This is V V the hitter, obviously, but it's like one of those things where we feel like because someone has done a lot and they've been so good and very accomplished, then everything they do must be good. Like you cannot tell me that the Indiana Jones, the fifth or sixth one, first without Scorsese Oh sorry, still very good is that good, is good enough for you to nominate him over as top five, and especially in a year when music for a lot of films was so so good. So the Barbie, the Barbie score, let's not maybe it's a little juvenile to say it should be nominated, but if we're nominating Indiana Jones, that's also that type of film, like you know, franchise, like big studio, whatever, then why would you what's to say that you can't put in the Barbie score?
Ofili:I told you something crazy.
SPEAKER_00:If you're nominating the Indiana Jones, what's to say we can't put across the Spider-Fest when the scores are really, really good as well.
Ofili:Can I tell you something crazy about the Barbie score?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah.
Ofili:I feel like if Barbie didn't drop an album as part of their marketing, which is essentially the score, I feel like it would have been nominated. Interesting. That sounds weird, but I think what I what I feel with the Academy is that they don't really like when you almost get too much validation and acclaim. Do you get I feel like the Academy, they themselves are hating.
SPEAKER_00:They're trying to be different, yeah.
Ofili:They're trying to be different, and it's like, oh, the album came out and like people loved it, plus they also generated income from that. Yeah, okay, yeah. So that's how I feel. But I think without a doubt, without a doubt.
SPEAKER_00:Without a doubt. This is definitely up in high man. I was listening to the store after I rewatched it. I just bro, as I entered the train, I just put on I hit download because of like service and stuff. I hit download and just closed my eyes and just took it in, bro. He said, Can you feel the music? And I'm like, bro, I can actually feel it. Like you can actually feel I can you hear the music?
Ofili:My guy really I can hear it, I can feel this multiple times. And like I think it's it's the effect of the just that one song, can you hear the music? It really carries you. Carries you so far. Yeah. And it's funny because like I've played it for my aunt and she loves using. No, I'm playing I'm being very serious. Like, she loves using it while she paints. This is so funny. I'm being dead ass. And like there's another thing that's happened, and I don't want to say it because you're gonna I know we're wrapping up the episode now, but I feel like you're gonna have more questions. But I'm just gonna say, I'm just gonna get out and say it. So I think since I was like, since I was young though, like primary school. Yeah. Yeah. I used to listen to was this primary school? Probably secondary school, actually. Secondary school, I used to listen to many men before like football games, you get me, before maybe I'm playing pictures of music or just to just awake the dog in me, you know? Because even if you're having like a you know you're you're having like a mid-game, you can always, always show out if you're if you have dog.
SPEAKER_00:I swear on everything.
Ofili:If you have dog, if you're on a day that like you know your tech isn't kicking like that, you are not enough dog, you can push through. And let me tell you right now, before my runs, I listen to can you hear the music now, bro? What before I play footy, can you hear the music, bro?
SPEAKER_00:You are not a real person.
Ofili:I tell you, man, it like it it opens my blood vessels. Everything is going, everything's flowing, bro. Because I I've I've said this a couple of times to my friends. Like, honestly, if I heard can you hear if this movie came out in undergrad for me, I would have had a 4.0 throughout.
SPEAKER_00:I think you told me that before. I would have had it this plus Adderall, 4.0 throughout. What do you think? I completely agree. Bro, this no, that score has to get um I don't think it's up against the only other one that I that's what I was going to say is the only other score I really really liked was Killers of the Flower, surprisingly.
Ofili:No, Killers of the Flow.
SPEAKER_00:It started off mellow, so I didn't like it, and then there's like you know, there's because it's native, there's like a few drums. Drums are very key.
Ofili:Yeah, it's like it's percussion heavy.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, exactly. That's what I was gonna say. So um drum there that's a very key instrument, but it it's accompanying the story really, really well. And then for me, even what justifies its nomination, or if it was to win in an alternate universe, would be that extra what do you call it, the epilogue where they're acting like it's a radio show, and yeah they're like uh Marty himself comes in and is like No, I know what you're talking about. No, you're not that and the use of instruments in that too, I don't know if that counts into the score, but just that whole epilogue scene, and then the scene where we look at them from above and they're dancing around. The music is just beautiful, it's very feels very original. Again, like I said, feels very documentary, and the music is just so inspired and very original. But unfortunately, it should be this is up on how much to lose. Let's do one more though. I want to do production design.
Ofili:Okay, uh production design.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah.
Ofili:Give me a second, let me look at the nominees for that.
SPEAKER_00:Actually, you tell me.
Ofili:Tell me, tell me the.
SPEAKER_00:Okay, production design, Barbie, killers of the flower moon. Sorry, this includes set decoration as well. So production and set decoration. No problem. Barbie, Barbie, Killers of the Flower Moon, Napoleon, Oppenheimer, poor things.
Ofili:The problem with this is that immediately for me, it's like war films always kind of take an edge. They do, right? But Napoleon kind of gets an edge because it's the only film that is you actively see the war scenes. Like Oppenheimer would count, but there are no clips of the planes or any of the war that's actually going on. So Napoleon kind of takes kind of takes it a little bit further, but I feel like I don't know, man.
SPEAKER_00:I really So what I what what what I was going to say is alongside maybe supporting actor, I think this is one of the most evenly balanced um categories because honestly, any of these films could win and I would not be that disappointed. Absolutely, including Napoleon and all the people. Yeah. My pick is a way, I think favorite might be poor things or kill? I don't even know why.
Ofili:I think the favorite is poor things. I think my pick would be Killers of the Flower Man.
SPEAKER_00:My pick is Barbie. My pick is Barbie because bro, how many films cost a nationwide shortage? These motherfuckers cost a nation, like a global shortage of pink, bro. And you know, it's they created a town, basically, they created a Barbie world. That's not easy. That's and it looked so intentional. It looked so I use that word too much, I'm sorry, but it looked so you know, the Casa Mojo Dojo Casa House. Yeah, that's what I was gonna say.
Ofili:Like even when the Barbie world, like the production design is is matching that shift.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, exactly, exactly. So I I I personally think Kreta put a lot of thoughts into this.
Ofili:Um I think the thing is that Barbie already kind of has an edge in this, which is like good for them because you know the whole Barbie world, Barbie dream house world because it has a source material, so you can the source material and it's all world building. Like the way Barbie is, is that it's marketed to kids, or it was an all-time market as a kids in a way that like well, you can't really just have one Barbie, like you have to have a Barbie world, you have to have multiple items. Interesting.
SPEAKER_00:I had not thought of that.
Ofili:So I think Barbie does have the edge there in terms of that, and I think also the way Barbie just again in this way, it just kind of really appeals to nostalgia.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, yeah.
Ofili:So I think they did a great job because they had to, and I think they also should be I think you're right, I think they should be awarded.
SPEAKER_00:I think it was and you know, again, not to say any all of them, anyone could win. Bro, Oppenheimer they created a town in Los Alamos.
Ofili:Exactly. They created a town to mimic the creator town in Los Alamos, like yes, exactly.
SPEAKER_00:And you know, this yeah, no, and Point things as well. It's I don't even know. I could not tell you where Pointings were set because everything is just bro. There's the dog that had the head of a chicken, or the pig that had the head of a chicken, or that city, that fictional city where they were in, like the set just looked so it was perfect.
Ofili:Like it was what I said it was perfect, yeah.
SPEAKER_00:Oh, thank you. That's okay. Yeah, so I you know anyone could win. I would not be that mad. I'm just my pick is far B for that, and I think a lot of people are going to be divided on that one. Because that's a farm one too. Oh my god. But yeah, I think this is a good point to cut it.
Ofili:I think it's a great point to cut it. Alright, guys, thank you for tuning in for another episode of TCA. We look forward to when the Oscars are actually airing and comparing it to comparing our thoughts to how we actually feel then. Do you have any recommendations for films that you're watching now? Something maybe on Netflix, like an easy watch.
SPEAKER_00:I haven't been on Netflix in so long. I might go. I think NAD is on Netflix now, so I think I might go have to pop back up to watch that. Um, recommendations. I'm just doing the Oscar, like the films I haven't seen. So I would say um zone of interest, A24 announced yesterday that they're expanding.
Ofili:Yeah, that's expanded.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, so they're expanding the release to major cities today, i.e. this weekend, and then nationwide next week. So I would say see that as much as you can. For one, we support independent cinema, so try to see that in theaters if you can, but also it's good cinema as well. So, you know, go watch a good film that's nominated for a bunch of Oscars.
Ofili:So I will say, um, just to prop people, Zone of Interest is a film about a German officer whose house kind of shares a wall with Auschwitz. And essentially it's not no day. Oh, yeah, that's what Zone of Interest is. And the thing is that the like there's been a lot of watching this.
SPEAKER_00:I'm watching this.
Ofili:Okay, so there's been a lot of movies about the Holocaust while using showing the brutality of the Holocaust as one of like the major elements, but with this film, you don't really see any of it. All you do is hear, because they share a wall. And it's interesting to me because there is like hearing someone die and seeing them die, where like your brain is making sense that okay, this person is dying, but when you just can only hear the shrieking or the screams, I feel like it might be a bit more of a different experience. And I I don't know. Like, I'm I'm interested in the film, I'm ready to see it because you know, like we said, the limited release was very limited, very, very limited. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So I would say if you're if you don't think you have the stomach, don't watch it. But it is a good film, I will say that. And yes, it's a great film.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, and the expansion, because I know this I was checking the stats and I see we have some listeners in Germany. So the expansion is not just US, next week as well, it expands nationwide in the US and in other countries, it releases in other countries as well. So I guess someone 824 just needed the Oscars to wake them up because they've been sitting on this for a while now. Absolutely once a year. If you're abroad, go see it, it's really good. Um, and yeah, that's my that's my recommendation until next time.
Ofili:Okay. I think for me, I will focus on a slightly different recommendation, something more accessible. I think a great film that you could watch on Netflix right now is Kitchen. That is Daniel Carlo's directorial debut. It is a film that has Kano. Kano is Sully from Kano is Sully from Top Boy, and that if you kind of want like a different vibe to that, the film is a bit futuristic, and it's set in it's about gentrification and what could happen with council flats and just like affordable housing, and there's also um like a post-humous error, like uh there's a vibe to it that's like futuristic and about death and moving on, but I would say it's a great film. I really enjoyed it.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, um, especially like very London-y too.
Ofili:What'd you say?
SPEAKER_00:I said it feels very like mandemi, like UK Mandem Road 9 consists.
Ofili:Yeah, kind of, kind of. So it's I will say that it's it's a good movie for you to like sit down and just watch. Um it's dialogue heavy, but the visuals are pretty good. And there are parts of it that are really fun.
SPEAKER_00:So we'll talk about that on the next episode.
Ofili:Yeah, most likely we'll talk about Kitchen on the next episode. So thank you guys for listening. Hope you have a good time. We're out.
SPEAKER_00:Until next time. Bye.
Ofili:Bye.
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