I'll Meet You at the Oscars!

 

Actually, no. I won't meet you at the Oscars. I wasn't there. I didn't even watch the Oscars. It's my further devolvement in my interest in movies.

Well, not really. But it does represent my decline in watching award shows. This year, I got the idea that Oppenheimer would clean up, and no mystery was involved. 

And that's what happened, with Oppenheimer winning 7 awards, including Best Picture.

The only real surprises came before the awards when actress Margot Robie and director Greta Gerwig were not even nominated for their work on Barbie. In the awards, it was a bit of a surprise that Lilly Gladstone did not win for Killers of the Flower Moon.

One of the great changes in my life is that, over time, I have seen fewer and fewer films at the movie theatre. The reasons for this are many. My boys are grown, so we don't see that many together (Benjamin has indicated interest in seeing Dune 2 with me, but we have yet to be in the same location to do that). Alison did not grow up going to the movies like I did, which was about one each week. My 68-year-old bladder makes me take more breaks during a film, missing more minutes.

The primary reason, though, is that I am a steamaholic. I spend money on these streaming services, and they get movies so quickly that it makes more sense to see them at home. It's nice seeing them at home with our homemade snacks, our pets, and the coupe de grace—being able to pause during bathroom breaks.

Oppenheimer, for example, can be watched on Peacock. We have yet to do it, partly because it's three hours long. We may have to treat it like a miniseries and watch it over a few days. Oppenheimer is the story of the man who led the invention of the atomic bomb that may someday end us all. Briefly, it is a feel-good story.

I'm going to rate all movies that I haven't seen and my interest in seeing them on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being low and 10 being high.

Oppenheimer is a 9.

From IMDb: A cranky history teacher at a prep school is forced to remain on campus over the holidays with a grieving cook and a troubled student.

It can be seen on Peacock. Pair it with Oppenheimer and make a night of it—or a day—or two days.

My interest? 6.

From IMDb: Auschwitz commandant Rudolf Hoss and his wife strive to build a dream life for their family in a house and garden beside the camp.

It won best sound because despite how idyllic they try to make it, you can hear sounds from the camp that destroy the illusion.

To date, it's only available to rent/buy on services like Prime. Stay tuned.

My interest? 7

Barbie is a great movie, as Barbie becomes more real and aware as the film progresses. I have seen this movie, and it is fantastic, 

It is available on MAX (more commonly referred to as HBO).

From imdb: The incredible tale about the fantastical evolution of Bella Baxter, a young woman brought back to life by the brilliant and unorthodox scientist Dr. Godwin Baxter. 

So...like the Bride of Frankenstein?

It's listed, in part, as a sci-fi epic. Hmmm. I may need to find out more about this.

It's available on Hulu.

My interest? Originally a 4, but now that I've read more about it, I'll bump it to a 6.

Childhood friends are torn apart when one moves from South Korea. Twenty years later, they meet each other again.

It is available on Paramount+, and the fantastically free library service Kanopy.

My interest? 5. On the surface, it's not my kind of movie, but I've heard many good things about it.

From IMDb: A woman is suspected of murder after her husband's death; their half-blind son faces a moral dilemma as the main witness.

A legal drama? I'm in!

It is only available as rent/buy on services like Prime, but I'm sure it will eventually come to something if I'm patient.

My interest? 8.

This is a movie about the musical conductor Leonard Bernstein. I don't know what else to say about it.

It's available on Netflix.

My interest? 1.

I seen this one! It took us two nights, but we did it! It's almost four hours long.

I had recently read the book that it's based on, and it was a pretty good rendition of this horrible incident in American history. Another thing that didn't teach you in high school history class.

The ending was a little strange and not what I would have wanted, but overall, this is a great movie demonstrating the horrors and greed that a dominant culture inflicts on an oppressed culture.

It's available on Apple+.

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I'm bad and forgot to get a picture of American Fiction, a movie about a writer who writes a book that's meant to challenge the media's profiting from Black entertainment. 

It's listed as a dark, high-concept comedy and satire.

It is currently available on MGM+.

My interest? 5.