Extra Crunchy - The 98th Academy Awards

In this Extra Crunchy episode, the Time Crunched Critics dive into the 98th Academy Awards Ceremony — sharing their thoughts on the ceremony as a whole, sharing movie reviews of (almost) all films nominated, breaking down nominees and winners of major awards, and sharing their favorite highlights from the night. Are any of these nominated films worth the watch? Did the Academy get it right? 

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Hi everyone, welcome back. We're your Time Crunch critics, and today's episode is extra crunchy.

SPEAKER_00 0:05

Rather than our usual weekly crunch, we're diving deep into the 98th Academy Awards, the ceremony itself and the films nominated.

SPEAKER_01 0:15

Well, we better get started. We don't want anyone to cut us off.

SPEAKER_00 0:18

Yeah, or turn the lights out on us. Get to it. Welcome to Time Crunched Critics.

SPEAKER_01 0:31

We're two TV lovers who watch a little too much TV, so you don't have to.

SPEAKER_00 0:36

We're here to give you our honest reviews on what's a worthwhile watch and what you can safely skip.

SPEAKER_01 0:41

Because we know what it's like to be crunched for time.

SPEAKER_00 0:49

Alright, before we dive into the films and the awards, let's just briefly talk about our overall thoughts of the award ceremony itself. What did you think of Conan as host?

SPEAKER_01 1:01

Yeah, I thought Conan did fine. I mean, normally I don't have huge expectations from any of the hosts, but um I've always liked Conan. I think he does a good job.

SPEAKER_00 1:10

Yeah, I think he did a fine job. I don't think this was like his funniest hosting gig, but I don't think the Oscars needs to be super funny. That's not what I'm watching for. I thought he was he did he did a fine job.

SPEAKER_01 1:23

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:23

What did you think of the opening bit with the movies?

SPEAKER_01 1:26

The opening bit was was o was okay. I feel like they've done that type of thing a couple different times, but it's usually pretty funny.

SPEAKER_00 1:33

It's i think that's entertaining. That's the part that can be funny.

SPEAKER_01 1:36

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:37

And should be, and I appreciated it.

SPEAKER_01 1:39

I feel like some of the other bits are or or skits or um whatever, not not quite necessary.

SPEAKER_00 1:45

Yeah, that brings me kind of to my next question for you, which was just the the pacing and the structure of how they did the awards. I did feel like overall, they didn't feel like super long to me. I mean, I would watch the Oscars if they were 10 hours long. You know, I would watch it, but I didn't feel like super long to me, but the pacing felt weird at times. I feel like they gave too much time to the presenters and not as much time to the speech, to the speeches, the people who won the awards. I feel like there were a lot of weird skits and bits throughout that aren't necessary, but also weren't funny.

SPEAKER_01 2:27

Sure.

SPEAKER_00 2:28

They were really long.

SPEAKER_01 2:29

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 2:29

The bridesmaids cast coming out and presenting for sound. I don't even know what they presented for. It was it was kind of random, but I love seeing them. They're all really funny, but that bit was very long.

SPEAKER_01 2:41

Yeah, I mean it was fun seeing them together and it's having nostalgia. It's like, oh, that movie's pretty old now. And yeah, um, you know, they're all very funny women, but yeah, maybe maybe do without the jokes and give give time elsewhere.

SPEAKER_00 2:54

Yeah, yeah. So overall, that was probably my biggest gripe was just the the too many bits and attempts to be funny from the presenters and not enough time to to just let the people speak and give their speeches.

SPEAKER_01 3:07

For me, it it felt a little longer than I remember, but I I don't mind. Like I I know how much you love the Emmys and over the years we've kind of these aren't the Emmys. Sorry. I know I know I'm half sick. I know how much you love the Oscars, and over the years we kind of make it a a thing. And you know, when you add in a little bit of the red carpet and watching all the Oscars live, like it kind of adds up, I feel time-wise. I do feel like they they have swung in. I I feel like before, maybe I'm not remembering this right, but I feel like early on they gave too much time to the award winners, and people thought it was boring, right? So they started adding in all these skits and you know, just kind of more entertainment to keep people engaged, and now I feel like they've swung too far in the other direction and they need to kind of find a happier balance. Because yeah, I mean, I I'm not watching everyone's speech, uh, but I feel like some are pretty inspirational, and it's definitely a big deal to the people winning. And so I feel like if you're gonna have a long show, you might as well give more time to that rather than a skit that yeah, it's not too funny.

SPEAKER_00 4:15

Yeah, it really this award ceremony is so prestigious, and it's what these artists probably shoot for for their entire career. And it really is an honor, and I would totally rather listen to speeches and let these people have their moment. And if they're a little bit boring, then you know, I don't know, go to the bathroom or look at something on your phone. But I just feel like we should just give these people their moment. And uh and a lot of the speeches were really good. Speaking of speeches, I think there were there were a couple speeches this year at this year's Oscars that I feel like are noteworthy. Like if you don't want to go and watch the entirety of this ceremony, because it is long, I think there are like the highlight reels, the things you can Google or YouTube. Definitely look up the opening bit. I just think that's always fun to do. Definitely look up the performance by the Sinners group uh for they were nominated for best song. They performed I Lied to You, and that was a really great performance. I would also say there were a few standout speeches. I really liked Jesse Buckley's speech for best actress, Michael B. Jordan's speech for best actor, Autumn Gerald Archapah for best cinematographer, and I thought that the filmmakers behind Mr. Nobody Against Putin for Best Documentary had a good speech too. There were some others too sprinkled in there in moments, but I would feel like if you're gonna look up any speeches, check those ones out.

SPEAKER_01 5:46

You know what else was a good highlight reel?

SPEAKER_00 5:48

What?

SPEAKER_01 5:48

Matt Berry just announcing things.

SPEAKER_00 5:50

Oh my gosh, yes. How could I how how did I not write that down? Okay, Matt Berry, who is from our favorite, one of our favorite shows, What We Do in the Shadows, and he was like yes, he is a good singer, but his character, Laszlo, I think I've said this before, is just like one of the best characters ever written and acted and everything. I love him so much. And then to hear him narrating everything at the Oscars, I was like, oh my gosh, this is amazing.

SPEAKER_01 6:18

Yeah, and someone put together a highlight reel of him just pronouncing things, which is you know, probably not worth your time to look up, but it's it's funny.

SPEAKER_00 6:26

Very good.

SPEAKER_01 6:27

I thought the stage was pretty cool too. Like just a random, random shout-out.

SPEAKER_00 6:31

What we like to do every year is of course we print out or write out who the nominees are for each award, and Mike and I each make our pick based on who we think is going to win, not necessarily on who we want to win. We really try to make our best prediction on who we think will win, and we tally it up at the end of the night and see who's the winner, and we did that this year, so we'll share that with you. Who do you think won? Me or you, Mike?

SPEAKER_01 6:58

Well, I betted the wrong horse this year.

SPEAKER_00 7:01

Certainly did.

SPEAKER_01 7:02

I uh you know, to be honest, I haven't seen all of the movies that were nominated, but um, I was kind of going off of a hunch and my hunch was way off. And so uh spoiler alert, I did not I did not win.

SPEAKER_00 7:14

We're gonna go through the main awards and talk about the nominees who won. We'll talk about the movies as we go and let you know if they're worth your time or not, okay? The first award that we're gonna talk about is Supporting Actress. The nominees for supporting actress were Amy Madigan for Weapons. This was my pick. Elle Fanning for Sentimental Value, that was Mike's pick. Inger Ibstotter Lily's, I hope I pronounced that correctly, she was in Sentimental Value, Unmi Masaku for Sinners, and Tayana Taylor for one battle after another. The winner was Amy Madigan for Weapons. This was really well deserved. Her performance as Aunt Gladys in Weapons was an absolute standout. And before I get into the movie, I just want to say her speech was really gracious. It was the perfect length. She thanked her hubby Ed Harris, who I didn't even realize she was married to Edward. Oh, interesting. Yeah. And this was an interesting thing that I learned that she was nominated for an Oscar 40 years ago and she lost. So this is her second nomination and her first win. But apparently, that gap, that 40-year gap between the two nominations, is the longest gap that any actor or actress has experienced between nominations. Let's just talk about weapons quick.

SPEAKER_01 8:36

Weapons is a horror thriller centered on a sinister figure connected to the disappearance of multiple children. You can watch it currently on HBO Max.

SPEAKER_00 8:45

The glows for weapons is Amy Madigan's performance as Aunt Gladys. Sh standout. Amazing. So good. The storytelling is really wonderful. They do it from multiple perspectives. So it's this character's, it's in chronological order. Like this character is going through this, this character is going through this, this character's going through this, and it makes you it gives a lot of time to each character, so you feel like you really get to know them and feel for them and understand them. But then also it expands the story and keeps it progressing. So just I really liked the storytelling approach to it. And I was constantly entertained. I was never bored. It demands your full attention and it's great.

SPEAKER_01 9:27

Don't most horror thrillers like take your attention anyway?

SPEAKER_00 9:31

No. Oh, okay. No. This one was was really good the the whole way through. I think the only grow that I had for this one was I wish that this ending was a little bit more satisfying, maybe. I mean, it doesn't have a quote unquote happy ending. That would be the only thing. But I don't think you always need to have a happy ending. I was just trying to like think of something that I could say that maybe didn't sit so perfectly. But I guess that would be like the grow. But I honestly think that this was really well done. I thought the story was told great, acted great. And I would recommend this for anyone who appreciates like horror fans, obviously. Because it's gory and there are some jump scares and it's a little haunting and freaky. So you have to be a fan of the horror. But I think this one's more character-focused and slow to build, but great payoff. And it's not, it's not slow. It's just it builds, it's layered.

SPEAKER_01 10:27

I think for me, I might stick with Conan O'Brien's adaptation of it.

SPEAKER_00 10:31

Yeah, I think I can honestly say I don't think you'd like weapons. I do think you'd like sinners, and we'll talk about that.

SPEAKER_01 10:37

Yeah, we'll we'll get to that. That's a different that's a different horror.

SPEAKER_00 10:41

Yes, but I don't I don't think weapons is for you, it's not for everybody, but I truly loved it, and I will watch it probably every September, October. It's gonna go into my Do you pencil it in? Well, you know, my spooky season when I like to go back and watch all my movies. This is this is uh one to add, so check it out. Like we said, it is streaming on HBO Max. The next award we will cover is Supporting Actor. The nominees were Benicio Del Toro for one battle after another. This was Mike's pick, Jacob Ilordi for Frankenstein, Delroy Lindo for Sinners, Sean Penn for one battle after another, this was my pick, and then Stellan Skarsgard for Sentimental Value, and the winner was Sean Penn for one battle after another.

SPEAKER_01 11:30

I got the movie right.

SPEAKER_00 11:31

For anyone who is keeping score, Jennifer is two for two, Mike is oh for two. But honestly, Sean Penn, he absolutely deserved this win. He was incredible in one battle after another. Truly, he was grotesque yet effective. He was like funny in a weird way. It was dark. I he just played it so well. I don't have anything to say about his acceptance speech because he was not at a ceremony to accept the award. But he has been pretty open over the years about his complicated relationship with the Academy, so that explains his absence. Kieran Culkin accepted the award on his behalf and basically said, Sean Penn could not be here tonight, or rather, he doesn't want to be here, so I'm accepting this award for him. So that was a speech. So let's talk about one battle after another since we're here.

SPEAKER_01 12:21

Alright, one battle after another. Uh, it's an action drama thriller. The IMDB summary is when their enemy resurfaces after 16 years, a group of ex-revolutionaries reunite to rescue the daughter of one of their own. It's streaming on HBO Max and YouTube.

SPEAKER_00 12:38

We both watched this one, so we both can talk about it. I thought that the performances across the board were really standout. They had a great ensemble. I think they won for best casting as well. Yeah, sure enough. So, yeah, great ensemble. I do think that it was exhilarating at times and it was funny at times, and there were some really cool like cinematography shots, like that chasing scene and the car scene and the drive. Like there are some standout moments, and like overall, I was uh I was pretty entertained.

SPEAKER_01 13:06

I feel like this movie I was pleasantly surprised by, and yeah, I I enjoyed it.

SPEAKER_00 13:11

I think the gross for this one was it did feel a little too long and at times dense, maybe towards the beginning part felt a little boring and dense to me.

SPEAKER_01 13:21

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 13:22

I do feel like it's kind of a complicated story, and I was a little confused at like some of the stuff that was happening, but it didn't give me a happier good feeling. And even the ending wasn't especially like I was like, oh, really? You know, that would be my grow, I guess.

SPEAKER_01 13:39

I didn't realize it was adapted from a book.

SPEAKER_00 13:41

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 13:41

Thomas Pynchon. So I you know, I'm not a super well-read, but I know his name for sure. And I didn't realize that that's this is where it came from.

SPEAKER_00 13:51

Are you familiar with Paul Thomas Anderson who wrote and directed this one? He has a fan base, and this is very much like a Paul Thomas Anderson, all his best things wrapped up into this film, is what I read. Huh. Some people say.

SPEAKER_01 14:05

So I mean I'd have to look it up, but I um I I do feel like, yeah, that chase scenes definitely sticks out for sure. But yeah, I can't say that I recall any of his other work.

SPEAKER_00 14:15

So some of the movies that Paul Thomas Anderson has done is There Will Be Blood, Licorice Pizza, Phantom Thread. Oh, I remember Phantom Thread getting a bunch of love. The Master, Boogie Knights, Magnolia, Punch Drunk Love. Hey, you love Punch Drunk Love.

SPEAKER_01 14:32

Well, Punch Drunk Love, Magnolia, Boogie Boogie Nights. Yeah, yeah, these are some some some classics.

SPEAKER_00 14:37

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 14:38

So I guess I know them better than I thought.

SPEAKER_00 14:40

I agree. I was like pleasantly entertained and impressed by this one. And it did, it was nominated for 13 awards. Oh boy. And it won six. So it had it won Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adaptive Screenplay, Best Supporting Actor was Sean Penn, like we talked about, best film editing, and best casting, which was the new award for this year.

SPEAKER_01 15:03

Yeah, that's that's interesting because you know I'm not super up to date with all the movies that came out this year, but even though I enjoyed watching it, I wouldn't have pegged it for, you know, a 13 nominate, you know, 13 award nominations. Um, although I did enjoy it.

SPEAKER_00 15:19

Since we just talked about supporting actor, I just wanted to talk about Frankenstein because Jacob Ilordi was nominated for Frankenstein for Best Supporting Actor, and he lost. But I did watch Frankenstein, and I think it's worth mentioning. This one was directed by Guillermo del Toro. You have heard his name before. He's been on the Oscar circuit before. He did The Shape of Water.

SPEAKER_01 15:44

A few that I've seen, even though it's not, you know, my favorite genre.

SPEAKER_00 15:47

Yeah. He did Crimson Peak, which I actually really liked. I liked Crimson Peak better than The Shape of Water. But, anyways, he did Frankenstein. This the genre of Frankenstein would be gothic horror drama fantasy. The IMDB summary reads: A brilliant but egotistical scientist brings a creature to life in a monstrous experiment that ultimately leads to the undoing of both creator and creation. This one is streaming on Netflix. This one is based on Mary Shelley's novel. Her novel has been adapted into many attempts at Frankenstein. So this is just like one of many, right?

SPEAKER_01 16:26

Yeah, I mean, this is just the classic story that I mean you you know about since you're a kid, right?

SPEAKER_00 16:31

Frankenstein's the So I watched this one and my glows, I would say it has a lavish production design, very classical gothic atmosphere. Really, they did it well on the artistic side. It looks really visually appealing and just like well done.

SPEAKER_01 16:49

Yeah, I watched parts of it with you and I agree. It was it was interesting.

SPEAKER_00 16:52

Yeah, I like how the portrayal of the creature or the monster in this. I like this portrayal. He was really empathetic and human, I guess. I think Jacob Bellordi did a good job. I I am kind of surprised that he got nominated for a best supporting actor, to be honest. But I do think he did a good job. I really liked the second half a lot. My grows were, it felt a little bit too long, and the first half was very slow. I feel like you have to be really patient with it as the story kind of builds. There were just some times where I just wasn't as invested and I kind of was like, oh, I'm gonna do something on my phone or something. So it didn't, it didn't like captivate me and grab my attention the way that I would have wanted something like that to. But I would say that if you are a fan of obviously the story of Frankenstein, I think this is a great adaptation. I think prestige horror and like literary adaptations and uh uh in general, you might be a fan of this. And I think that if you like Guillermo del Toro and his approach to monsters, like how kind of in the shape of water, it was like a romantic-y approach. I feel like this has that kind of lean. Um, I think you'd you'd like this one, and it's on Netflix. This one um had nine nominations, including Best Picture, which actually was surprising to me. But the wins were concentrated in visual and transformation crafts. It won for best costume design, best production design, best makeup and hairstyling. Like, yeah, I agree with all of that.

SPEAKER_01 18:27

Those period pieces, like they I mean, it's usually you gotta give them credit for you know the work that goes into getting everything just right.

SPEAKER_00 18:34

Yeah. And I will say, even though this is kind of like gothic horror genre, something like this, like you'd be able to watch, Mike. It's not jump scary.

SPEAKER_01 18:44

Yeah, I was playing Zelda at the time.

SPEAKER_00 18:46

It's honestly, it's honestly more like reflective and heartbreaking than it is frightening and spooky and scary.

SPEAKER_01 18:53

I mean, I even remember reading the book in high school.

SPEAKER_00 18:55

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 18:56

So I'm familiar with the story enough to know that it's probably not gonna be something I'm too turned off by.

SPEAKER_00 19:02

Yeah. The next award that we're gonna talk about is Lead Actress. The nominees were Jesse Buckley for Hamnet, this was my pick, Rose Byrne for If I Had Legs, I'd kick you. This was Mike's pick, Kate Hudson for Song Sung Blue, Renee Rensiv, I hope I'm saying that right, Sentimental Value, and Emma Stone for Bugonia. And the winner was Jesse Buckley for Hamnet. I am kicking butt on these. So she played Jesse Buckley played Agnes Shakespeare, who is William Shakespeare's wife in Hamnet, and she was definitely the emotional center and driving force of the film. She played the role in a really raw, overwhelming, super like intense, but also quiet. It was very unforgettable. I watched this one, you did not, Mike. You didn't watch it, right? No, I didn't. Yeah. Um but she there was a lot going on. I mean, she gave there was childbirth scenes and moments multiple times, and then obviously grieving the death of her her son. She really just portrayed motherhood, and I would assume how motherhood was back then too, like in in those times. She just did it so it just felt so honest and real. It didn't feel performative. I don't, she just like really deserved this win.

SPEAKER_01 20:18

So did you like this one? Because I I feel like it won some awards um pre you know prior to the Oscars, but to me, you know, just the the sound of it, it sounds a little boring. Maybe it's maybe it's good. I, you know, I didn't didn't watch it, but yeah.

SPEAKER_00 20:34

So this one is a biography, drama, history, romance, which all of that right there is not something that I tend to w want to watch.

SPEAKER_01 20:42

Right.

SPEAKER_00 20:42

So I went into it, kind of not wanting to see it, but knowing that I should watch it for the pod.

SPEAKER_01 20:50

For the people.

SPEAKER_00 20:51

The the summary, I'll just read it quick. After losing their son Hamnet to a plaque, Agnes and William Shakespeare grapple with grief in 16th century England. A healer, Agnes must find strength to care for her surviving children while processing her devastating loss. This one is currently streaming on Peacock, and you can rent and buy it in other places. But to answer your question, Mike, it was boring for me. It was a little i I mean, it's intentional, but it was very subdued.

SPEAKER_01 21:20

So it focuses on the wife.

SPEAKER_00 21:22

Yeah, I mean, so it opens up with h her meeting William, right? How their relationship started, and then she gets pregnant, and then she has she birth a child, and then he's a struggling artist trying to write, and you know, he's not like William Shakespeare yet, right? And then it's just kind of their life, and then they have more kids. It's like it's it's a little boring. I mean, it's just the story of of them. But then big stuff happens that's pretty profound, sprinkled in, and then of of course the grief the grief part happens like I feel like it's more than halfway through the film. And that's like w in the summary, that's the thing that it's about. But it's like it takes so long to get there. Sure. To get to the death. So I think it was intentional. I think it I think it could be really slow for some people. Like for me it was slow, but I could see some people really appreciating it because the glow was it was gorgeous cinematically, right? I mean, it was just like the set design, the costume, the period piece, like how the actors looked, how they acted. Everything was it looked so wonderful.

SPEAKER_01 22:30

So I have to have to ask that with between this one and Frankenstein, like one of our complaints about period pieces lately is that it has a certain gloss to it. Did these these feel glossy?

SPEAKER_00 22:40

Frankenstein felt more glossy than this. Oh, really? This one feels very, very natural. Didn't I wasn't I talking to you about it? How I really appreciated how the actors I mean, of course, that they didn't have makeup on and they looked, but they're even their hair was greasy sometimes and things were gross. Like they it was perfectly what it should have been for that time period.

SPEAKER_01 23:00

But Frankenstein wasn't?

SPEAKER_00 23:02

No, I thought I think Frankenstein had a little bit more gloss, if I'm gonna be honest.

SPEAKER_01 23:05

Because I feel like Yermal del Toro is like a kind of a master of uh creatures and things.

SPEAKER_00 23:10

He is, he is, but it's it's it's pretty. I don't know. I you should watch Frankenstein. Okay. You'll see what I mean. But but yeah, for Hamnet, it looked really good, it looked really real and authentic, and the acting was superb, everyone did great, and I think the biggest grow was that yeah, it was slow, but then also it was so emotionally hard as a mom to watch. It was heavy and it's sad.

SPEAKER_01 23:38

Right.

SPEAKER_00 23:39

It's like devastating. So, you know, I knew that going into it, so I could handle it. But I wouldn't say this is like a feel-good movie, but I don't know. Maybe if you went through some really strong grief like this, maybe you could glean some hope from it with how it ends, it's really beautiful, kind of them accepting it finally, and how he pours his grief into writing Hamlet and what happens in Hamlet, and they like act out Hamlet, and Agnes is watching and kind of confronting, I think, her grief in real time and letting finally letting go of the ghost of her child. I could see how that could be kind of hopeful and maybe motivating for someone who's maybe going through something, but it just also was sad. Beautifully done. She deserved the best actress for this hands down. I do want to say her acceptance speech, I really liked it. I mentioned it at the top of the episode, but she dedicated the award to the beautiful chaos of a mother's heart. Her remarks felt really genuine, and I liked the length of her speech. That was one I'd watch. But while we're talking about the lead actress category, so I mentioned some other actresses in here and some movies that I want to make sure we talk about because they're not really mentioned again. First, let's just talk about if I had legs, I'd kick you. This was one that Rose Byrne was nominated for. That was your pick. Amazing performance, and both you and I did watch this film.

SPEAKER_01 25:06

If I had legs, I'd kick you. It's a psychological drama and dark comedy. The IMDB summary is while trying to manage her own life and career, a woman on the verge of a breakdown must cope with her daughter's illness, an absent husband, a missing person, and an increasingly fraught relationship with her therapist. You can watch it now on HBO Max. So, Jennifer, what did you think of this one?

SPEAKER_00 25:30

Glows. Rose Burns. Her performance was amazing. She just-if she would have won for this, I would have been just as happy as I was for Jesse Buckley. Phenomenal. I really thought that the storytelling and the camera work was really unique. They did a lot of really, really like extreme close-ups on characters' faces and kind of on Rose a lot the whole time. And and it was, it was intentional to kind of make you really feel like you were in her mind and and going through what she was going through. And I thought that was really unique. But this kind of ties into my grow. It was very stressful and claustrophobic feeling. I I wouldn't say I was like entertained by this movie. I was stressed out.

SPEAKER_01 26:14

With Habnant and If I had, like I said, kick you, the two lead actresses were, you know, were nominated for best actress, and their story revolves around the trials and tribulations of motherhood, basically.

SPEAKER_00 26:27

Yeah, like she had mounting responsibilities, sleep deprivation, emotional isolation.

SPEAKER_01 26:33

Yeah, and I feel like you know, I I picked her to win because I feel like if the point was to, you know, her life and what she was going through you know was stressful, and that came across easily in the in the performance. And the whole movie was like that. But was I in the mood for that as a like a movie watcher? Not necessarily, but did I, you know, feel the stress and anxiety that you know comes from being a mother, being a parent, you know, not only with an average kid, but also with someone with a you know disease that requires additional care and you know, absent absent father, you know, that has you know a larger set of stressors. But I I yeah, I wasn't quite sure of what my my takeaway was supposed to be from watching it.

SPEAKER_00 27:20

Yeah, it's not a feel-good movie. I wouldn't say it's entertaining.

SPEAKER_01 27:23

I would say not everyone has not everything has to be, like we said earlier.

SPEAKER_00 27:27

But I mean, I I really think this was more about the art than anything. And I mean, and just the way that it was made was so artistic. Like I said, with the the claustrophobic close-ups was one, but then they had this relentless sound design from medical machines or screaming in the background and overlapping voices, and it all just really built and it made you feel like you were in her brain and experiencing what she was experiencing, and so it really worked, but it was very stressful.

SPEAKER_01 27:57

Yeah. And Corinne O'Brien's in it. Conan O'Brien's in it.

SPEAKER_00 28:01

I I mean in a funny way, but uh yeah. But you see, I went into it thinking like it's it's one of the genres that's like dark comedy. I would not even say it was like a dark comedy. I thought it would have more comedy, but it doesn't, you know, it it's just dark. But I do think it's very artistic, and I could see why she was nominated. I think also because some people care about this, but I feel like the story didn't really have any resolution or clarity, and it's open to interpretation and debate, like how it ends or what happened. That might be something that some people don't like. Some people like resolution and clarity. Some people really like the debate and the open for interpretation and the ambiguity. So take that for what it is. But I think if you really like a psychologically intense, character-driven drama about motherhood or burnout or mental health or all of the above, check this one out. Also, I want to talk quickly about Song Sung Blue because Kate Hudson was nominated for her as a lead actress for her role in this movie as well. So we'll talk about it here. I can't remember. Did you watch this with me or did I watch it by myself?

SPEAKER_01 29:05

I didn't. I I was kind of interested in it.

SPEAKER_00 29:08

Yeah. Um, I think I might have watched this one on like my walking pad one day.

SPEAKER_01 29:12

Yeah. I mean, everyone's I mean, most people are familiar with Neil Diamond. He's from Milwaukee, you know, a city I'm pretty familiar with.

SPEAKER_00 29:19

Neil Diamond is from Milwaukee.

SPEAKER_01 29:21

You watched the movie, didn't you?

SPEAKER_00 29:23

I don't think Neil Diamond is from Milwaukee. The cover band is. This is a biography, drama, musical. The IMDB summary is a Milwaukee husband and wife Neil Diamond Tribute Act experiences success and heartbreak as they navigate love, music, and personal loss. This one is currently streaming on Peacock. And like many of the other films this year, I probably would not have watched this if it wasn't for this podcast. And I kind of turned it on with intention that, eh, it's probably just gonna be like your run-of-the-mill musical biopic. And you know, it was, but it was good. I was entertained. Did you have anything you wanted to add?

SPEAKER_01 30:09

Yeah, so I've got a question. So what's I didn't so it's about Neil Diamond, it's about a tribute band. So that's the part I didn't understand. So because I saw that it took place in Milwaukee and I was like, oh, Neil Diamond's from Milwaukee, but I apparently that is that is not at all correct. Correct. And so this is about a tribute band.

SPEAKER_00 30:28

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 30:29

So it's not your typical like there's been a lot of musical um biopics, biopics that have come out recently. And you know, some I enjoy, but now you know, after the tenth one, it's like yeah, maybe something different. Yeah. Which is why, like, even though I I probably would have enjoyed watching this, I like wasn't rushing to.

SPEAKER_00 30:49

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 30:50

Um, but then you know, the Milwaukee Time kind of makes it a little bit more interesting for me. But it's not, but it's not about Neil Diamond.

SPEAKER_00 30:57

No, so uh okay, so this is actually a biopic on a couple, they actually there was a documentary about them, and this biopic is kind of the film version of that, right? So it's a true story. Mike and Claire Sardina, they are a couple, um, a Milwaukee couple who they were like a tribute act, they were called Lightning and Thunder, and they performed all over Milwaukee. They were really big, eventually, like people loved them, and it really just began as this they kind of just had a meet cute, and she mentioned, hey, you could do Neil Diamond, you could do an act like that, because when you're a musician, sometimes you're not always getting booked. And one of the things that was a realization that was happening for him is that nostalgia pays, and people were booking Elvis impersonators and Patsy Klein impersonators, and it was like, Well, what could I do? And so Neil Diamond came to the table and they kind of joined together and did this, and then they fall in love and end up getting married and have a life together, but then other tragedy happens that I did not know anything about, and I'm not gonna spoil it, but Well, why would you?

SPEAKER_01 32:08

Like, this is a tribute to Neil Diamond, it's not Neil Diamond itself.

SPEAKER_00 32:12

What?

SPEAKER_01 32:13

Like, why would you know anything about it?

SPEAKER_00 32:15

Because they're from Milwaukee, and there was a whole documentary about them, but I had never heard of them. I didn't know anything about these people being from so close to Milwaukee. So there's stuff that happens in their life and and they show it, and it's it's it's good. It um I mean there's some melodrama and some stuff happening, but it's more than just the music, but the music is really good. So I will say that the glows for this one were the musical performances. I think Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson did a really good job, and I think that the covers and the versions that they did were really good. I would totally listen to the soundtrack, you know, on Spotify or something. I think Kate Hudson's performance in general was a huge glow. Obviously, she got nominated. I could understand why. She was the emotional anchor of the film, and there's some like heavier dramatic stuff that happens in the second half of the movie, so it really showcases her acting chops there. I think she did a really good job. But she was really sweet and charming and charismatic and but not super polished. She has like super thick Wisconsin accent, which it was almost laughable listening to it because to me it's really thick, and I know we're from Wisconsin, and I'm like, I'm sure I have a thick accent too. But hers is was so thick, but I I do know people who talk like that. Yeah, I mean, it was I was like, yeah, this this fits. Um, but no one else in the film really had a strong Wisconsin accent, so it was interesting. I think that the biggest grow for me though was that okay, there were two things. So it was like a stereotypical bio biopic. It didn't feel too special or different, right?

SPEAKER_01 33:51

Well, I mean, honestly, the different part for me is that it's about an impersonator.

SPEAKER_00 33:54

That's true. It wasn't about Neil Diamond himself.

SPEAKER_01 33:57

Like some biopics are like Bob Marley or And I'm like, I'm I'm so thrown off by that because you thought it was about you thought it was about Neil Diamond this whole time. Yeah, because like that's you know, there's been so many the Bob Dylan movie, the Queen Dylan, that's what I was thinking. But this one, impersonator.

SPEAKER_00 34:14

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 34:15

That actually makes me want to watch it a little bit more.

SPEAKER_00 34:17

You I think you'd like it. Yeah. I do think you'd appreciate it.

SPEAKER_01 34:19

But anyway, keep keep going. I'm I'm distracted.

SPEAKER_00 34:22

But I do think that the acting across the board was really uneven.

SPEAKER_01 34:25

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 34:26

I do think Kate Hudson was great. I think that Hugh Jackman was great, Hugh Jackman was great, even though I don't particularly like love him. Um, he did great. There were some of the other actors in it though, some characters that really pulled me out of it. I hated that. And it's like this is an Oscar-nominated film. This woman is nominated for a lead actor award for this film, and some of the side acting was just so it's like monarch. Yeah, yes, it is. But I do think that overall I was like entertained and enjoyed it enough. I do think that if you like music forward type of biographical dramas, go see this one. There's emotions in it. Neil Diamond, if you love his music, you're gonna love this. And hey, if you're a fan of Milwaukee or Wisconsin, like this has a little bit of Wisconsin love in it.

SPEAKER_01 35:16

So it's an interesting call because, like, you know, I know a lot of Neil Diamond's songs. I don't know if I'd call him my favorite musician ever, but I'd certainly watch a biopic about him. But would I watch a biopic about his impersonators? I don't know. We'll see. That's that's throwing me for a loop. I'm just gonna have to watch it now.

SPEAKER_00 35:34

One last movie that I want to talk about that was kind of covered in the lead act lead actress section is Bugonia.

SPEAKER_01 35:43

All right, so this is a dark comedy sci-fi movie. IMDB tagline reads Two conspiracy-obsessed young men kidnap the high-powered CEO of a major company convinced that she is an alien intent on destroying planet Earth. It is currently streaming on Peacock.

SPEAKER_00 36:01

Glows. What were your glows of uh Bugonia, Mike?

SPEAKER_01 36:04

I liked it. I don't know if I'd put it up for best picture necessarily, but I enjoyed watching it for sure. I mean, I feel like it's a story that definitely can can happen. Like it seemed pretty realistic, and uh I was certainly invested on where it's going because it seems like they could take it right from the headlines. And then, you know, I don't want to s spoil too much about it, but certainly the end caught me for a loop. The glows were that it was realistic portrayal of, you know, you can like I said, you could see it happening in the headline, and this is a movie portrayal of it, and you know, I it it was it was gripping from that sense. Of conspiracy culture, you mean conspiracy culture, like they represented conspiracy culture.

SPEAKER_00 36:45

Well, they did this is something like it's very timely and relatable and valid. I'm not a conspiracy theorist, but like I don't know, lately I'm going down that roll.

SPEAKER_01 37:00

I feel like some parts were a little bit like over the top for me. Like I I I don't care to watch that, you know, that type of thing. You know, I don't um don't love a kidnapping, you know, obviously not a kidnapping, I don't love an abduction. Um and so it wasn't wasn't my favorite, you know, themes, but I enjoyed the movie.

SPEAKER_00 37:21

All right. So my glows were I agree with you. I think that they did a good job of exploring conspiracy culture, and they also touched on capitalism and like corporate greed and stuff like that. There were a few timely themes weaved in that I thought that they did a good job with, and I really loved the performances of Emma Stone and Jesse Plemens, and I actually think Jesse Plemens should have been nominated for his performance in this. I'm like shocked that he wasn't.

SPEAKER_01 37:52

Yeah, I was saying I usually like most of most of his work.

SPEAKER_00 37:56

But because I will say, like, Emma Stone was so good in this, and she did a great job because she had to kind of be a villain, but then also you had to have like sympathy for her. She was kind of bouncing between two different types of characters because she was kidnapped and was playing into both for this to figure out how she could get free and stuff. She did that really well. She shaved her head. I mean, she really committed.

SPEAKER_01 38:17

Well, she didn't shave her head for the role she did, though.

SPEAKER_00 38:20

She agreed to shave her head for the role, she was committed. But I feel like Jesse Plemens, I almost feel like he should have been a nominated before she did. So the fact that she was nominated, I'm like, how did Jesse Plemens not get nominated? But if he had been nominated and she wasn't, I'd be like, Oh yeah, I could I could understand that. Does that make sense?

SPEAKER_01 38:39

Yeah, I definitely like him as an actor.

SPEAKER_00 38:40

Their performances were great, and the brother or his his cousin or brother, the other actor, was really great too and sweet. And it definitely had a distinct like visual tone and language and artistry that it was going on, and it was very like absurd, very interesting.

SPEAKER_01 39:01

Well, I mean, all the things you read about the conspiracy theorists, you know, you imagine these people now have all the power over the movie, right? And it's it's that kind of absurdity.

SPEAKER_00 39:11

Yeah, and I do think the grows, there were some moments where it was a little slow for me. Um, like I wasn't like it wasn't like gripping, thrilling the whole time through. There were moments that were kind of longer, and I think that might be the only grow. Honestly, I loved the ending, and I loved where it went, and I like this is one I'd watch again, and I think that says a lot about a film.

SPEAKER_01 39:34

Yeah, I enjoyed the ending as well. I mean, I will say that some parts, you know, were a little bit too over the top for my liking, but that's just my my personal taste. Um like too gory or I don't know if gory is the word, but there's definitely uncomfortable.

SPEAKER_00 39:49

Yeah, there's definitely discomfort and there is gore and some blood and stuff. More towards the end, not so much throughout the whole thing, but yeah, there's discomfort for sure. I think that this is a good one for anyone who's a fan of his work. And if you kind of like a really dry, strange comedy vibe mixed in with the little thriller. I mean, because Jesse Plemen's character, there were moments there was like some funny in it, but it was very dry.

SPEAKER_01 40:17

See, I was taken out of the comedy by the fact that like I feel like that person is is real. Right.

SPEAKER_00 40:24

Like this is But it's like you almost want to laugh at them because it's so absurd how they are.

SPEAKER_01 40:30

But uh like I said, I just I feel like you could take that movie out of a headline.

SPEAKER_00 40:36

It's an interesting type of comedy there. But yeah, it's strange and weird, but uh it was it did have a bunch of nominations for like best picture, best actress, best original score, and best production design. It lost in all of those though.

SPEAKER_01 40:54

Yeah, I mean, I I don't know if there was this year if there was a true best picture from my point of view. Um, but I don't know. That being said, I don't know if I'd put this one in the in the running though. Um I I enjoyed watching it, but I don't know if it stands out as uh best picture.

SPEAKER_00 41:10

Definitely not compared to centers, but we'll get there. All right, we are gonna move on to the next award lead actor. The nominees were Timothy Chalamet from Marty Supreme. This was Mike's pick, Leonardo DiCaprio from one battle after another, Ethan Hawk from Blue Moon, Michael B. Jordan from Sinners, that was my pick, and Wagner Mora from The Secret Agent. And the winner was Michael B. Jordan for Sinners. Another win for me.

SPEAKER_01 41:43

Yeah, I don't know what I was thinking.

SPEAKER_00 41:46

This was so well deserved. Mike, you did not see Sinners, but I promise you, I do think you could handle it, and I think it's so worth it, and I will watch it with you.

SPEAKER_01 41:55

I think that's my big takeaway from the Oscars this year, is that this movie with the music and the the few clips I saw about it, even though horror is not my preferred genre, it it seems worth the watch.

SPEAKER_00 42:08

Even though I came home and I told you you had to wait till the Academy Awards to be convinced.

SPEAKER_01 42:14

Well, I'll let the you know these are the true true critics, but yes, I should have trusted my wife.

SPEAKER_00 42:19

Michael B. Jordan really, even though I love this movie so much, like his portrayal was what it was such a well-deserved win. He plays twins, so he plays two roles, and it's not even about that he okay, he played two roles, so he had double the screen time and double the, you know, the dialogue and and whatever. It was how he created these two distinct brothers. He had different posture and facial control, and even his dialect like accent was a little bit different, their temperament was different, just the way that he did it. It was just like he not only looked and moved in different ways, but like his soul was different. I just think he just did it so well. It looked like you were really watching two different characters, you know. But he had so much charisma and tenderness, and there's grief and some menace, and he just was really brilliant. I mean, this was just so well deserved. But let's talk about sinners. This lives in the horror action genre, and the IMDB summary is trying to leave their troubled lives behind. Twin brothers return to their hometown to start again, only to discover that an even greater evil is waiting to welcome them back. This one is currently streaming on HBO Max and Amazon Prime. Alright, so I saw this one in the theaters. I was I went in completely blind. I knew it was a horror, but I didn't know in what capacity or like why. The horror twist is is great. It's fabulous. They did it so well. The glows for this one was just the scale and ambition of the performances across the board. Everyone delivered. It was great. The cinematography, so beautiful. The first half of the movie is a little slow. That's that's my grow. I was a little bit like, okay, is this a period piece? What's going on? They're kind of building it, but it was so visually stunning that I was like okay with it being slow because I was just like, wow, this is beautiful. I love these shots. I love what they're doing with this. You know, I was really, it was very artistic. The score is amazing. Yeah, I heard a lot about the music. Oh my gosh, the music is so good. I mean, it's definitely like bluesy. So it's like a set, and like there's a lot of blues music in it, and blues music is a big symbol. There's a lot of themes around it, and ugh, it's just it's so fun. And the genre blending was really great here. You have like a southern gothic musical drama part vampire movie. It was very entertaining, and I loved the ending. I think the only grow for me on this one was that it was a little slow to start to build. It takes a little bit of patience, but I think that on the second watch through I would appreciate it more knowing where it goes. Maybe I'd pay attention a little bit closer to what they're saying to each other, you know what I mean? Whereas at first I was kind of like, okay, well, what is this gonna be about? I don't get it. And so maybe I was a little impatient. That was like the only thing I can think of that I would say as a negative. I think that this would be for anyone of bold genre blending movies, especially with the mix of horror in it. If if you like horror, I think you should definitely see this. But I think even if you're not in love with horror, like if you're open to it a little bit, it's not traditional. It's not a traditional horror film. It's not like too jump scary. Um, there is some gore and it's a little bit haunting, but it's so I just I just want everyone to see it.

SPEAKER_01 45:52

I mean, I feel like that's my big takeaway after watching it is like I should give this movie a shot.

SPEAKER_00 45:56

Yeah. Um and the Academy loved it too. So they had 16 Academy Award nominations. This was a record for any single film. Wow. Mm-hmm. And they won, you know, many of them. They won Best Actor, Best Original Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Original Score. Actually, notable too for the cinematography, which is beautiful, and I mentioned that as a glow. Autumn Durald Arkapah, she is the cinematographer for this, and she won. And she was the first woman to win best cinematographer.

SPEAKER_01 46:30

Wow.

SPEAKER_00 46:31

That was cool to see. She had a great speech too. Look up her speech. She asked all the women to stand, and she said, I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you. And she, I mean, I listened to her speech and I got goosebumps as a woman. So I felt it, and she, yeah, she deserved this win. This movie is beautiful.

SPEAKER_01 46:48

You know, I'm I feel like it was just sweeping up at the Oscars. And I'm surprised that it didn't win best picture.

SPEAKER_00 46:55

I am shocked it didn't win best picture. I mean, one battle after another was really sweeping too, so I'm not that surprised. But Sinners was hands down the better film. I also think that Ryan Kugler should have got best director for this.

SPEAKER_01 47:08

What did he win for?

SPEAKER_00 47:09

He won best screenplay.

SPEAKER_01 47:12

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 47:12

So he wrote it and directed, directed it. So he didn't leave home empty-handed, but he didn't leave home empty-handed, but I do think he should have been best director for sure.

SPEAKER_01 47:21

Yeah, it's surprising that they didn't just sweep.

SPEAKER_00 47:24

There's always the two that battle it out, you know?

SPEAKER_01 47:27

One battle after another.

SPEAKER_00 47:30

While we're talking about the lead actor category, let's just take a moment to talk about Blue Moon because Ethan Hawke was nominated for his role in it. I watched this one again on my own. I didn't find the movie particularly great, but I definitely was mesmerized by his performance, and I can definitely see why he was nominated. I actually didn't even realize it was him when I started watching the movie. His just the way that he held himself and his face and how his hair was and how he clearly was wearing contacts because his eyes were like really dark. But I was like, wait, is that Ethan Hawke? It just yeah, but he did a really, really great job.

SPEAKER_01 48:08

Blue Moon is a biography, comedy, drama, music history movie. And the IMDB summary is Blue Moon tells the story of a lyricist, Lorenz Hart, as he grapples with alcoholism, loneliness, and professional displacement on the up opening night of Oklahoma. Uh it's currently streaming on Netflix.

SPEAKER_00 48:29

Like you said in the summary, it all kind of takes place in one night in the opening night of Oklahoma. This very much feels like a stage play. It's like one set and a lot of monologues and a lot of dialogues. Very heavy on that. It felt like I was watching a play. I think the glow was that Ethan Hawk was fabulous. I didn't, like I said, I didn't recognize him, but he played it so well. He was more than just monologuing and dialoguing. He really captured a lot of like bitterness and the humor and the panic and intellect and everything that this character had. He displayed it so well. It was great. I also loved the set design and the period that it lived in. It looked really cool. It was a place I was like, I want to go sit at that bar and have a drink. I want to go hang out with these people. That's how I felt. It looked and felt great. The grows for me for this one was it's so long. It is very quite boring. It was quite boring for me. Uh it tested my patience. It is very, very monologue, dialogue heavy. Now it's poetic and intellectual in the things that they're saying. Sometimes it's funny and it's like deep and stuff, but it's just a very talk-heavy movie. A lot of talking, not a lot of action. And I also feel like some characters, not Ethan Hawke's characters so much, but some other characters, they were just kind of reading lines, and I felt like they were just reading lines and not really acting. You know what I mean?

SPEAKER_01 49:58

Sure.

SPEAKER_00 49:58

I would say that if you're a fan of theatrical biographies or classic Broadway history or conversational dramas, you'd like this. Like if you are familiar with Lorenz heart and his his works and his life, you might really appreciate this. Because I'm not I wasn't as familiar with everything that he's done, and I went kind of down the rabbit hole on Wikipedia and like the things that he's written and who he's worked with, and I was like, wow, okay. So some people might really dig this and be interested in it.

SPEAKER_01 50:31

You know, I know a thing or two about uh musicals, Oklahoma, etc. I I wonder if I'd like this one.

SPEAKER_00 50:37

No, I don't think you would. I think you would appreciate it, and there would be things, call-outs to things that you recognize, and you were like, oh yeah, I know that who that person is. I don't think there's enough action and plot for you.

SPEAKER_01 50:49

But I mean, I don't know if I'd go into this movie expecting a lot of action and plot. But you know, that being said, it's interesting that there is so much drama behind the musical Oklahoma.

SPEAKER_00 51:00

Yeah, I will never watch it again. This one was um nominated for best actor in Ethan Hawk and Best Original Screenplay, and it did not win either. Let's just talk about the secret agent quick too, Mike, because Wagner Mara was nominated for Best Actor since we just talked about the Best Actor Award. And we watched the Secret Agent for the first like, I don't know, 40 minutes.

SPEAKER_01 51:26

Well, our goal was to give every movie a shot for 30 minutes. And we we did that with a lot of movies, but not all of them.

SPEAKER_00 51:32

But I watched many all the way through.

SPEAKER_01 51:34

Yeah, you did. I I didn't.

SPEAKER_00 51:36

And the ones that we tried to watch together, we were like, let's at least watch 30 minutes so we can get a feel for it. So let's, even though we didn't finish the secret agent, let's just quickly talk about it, unless you think we shouldn't even talk about it because we didn't finish it. What do you think?

SPEAKER_01 51:50

I mean, I think we should talk about it.

SPEAKER_00 51:51

All right, go ahead and give us the blurbs.

SPEAKER_01 51:53

All right. The secret agent is a political thriller slash historical drama. The IMDB tagline reads, Brazil, 1977, a time of great mischief. It's currently streaming on Hulu and Disney Plus.

SPEAKER_00 52:08

The IMDB summary for The Secret Agent reads, In 1977, a technology expert flees from a mysterious past and returns to his hometown in search of peace. He soon realizes that the city is far from being the refuge he seeks. I'm not really totally sure where to start with this one. The cinematography is very artistic and it was really cool and beautiful and artsy and all the things. And it starts kind of funny. Like the first opening scene is kind of comical and absurd. I I mean, obviously, maybe this isn't obvious, but this is entirely in a different language, so you are reading subtitles. This was also nominated for Best International Feature. It did not win, but it was nominated. Um, so you have to be okay with subtitles or know Spanish or Portuguese or one of the I want to say Portuguese, but you know, I don't know officially. Yeah, so a lot of reading of subtitles, and uh obviously, like reading subtitles for me, if it's worthy of it, I'm okay with it. But something like this was so beautiful and cool and artistic. I kind of was like wanting to really just watch the screen and watch what I was seeing and the storytelling through the storytelling through the lens of the cinematographer, right? So that was kind of annoying, but that's just a language thing, you know, like that happens with international films. I do think that the lead actor was really great. He performed well, and everyone seemed to be performing well. But I think for me, I just I feel like I was either missing something or it was intentionally slow at first, and maybe the second half really builds. But reading this synopsis, like that wasn't what I was getting.

SPEAKER_01 53:48

Right. I feel like you know, it's it's interesting because we threw it on, um, just giving it, like we said, our our 30-minute shot. But it's a two and a half hour long movie.

SPEAKER_00 53:58

It's really long.

SPEAKER_01 53:59

You know, I wouldn't say I was like you said, I don't think it got into the you know what the description Yeah, I don't think it got into the plot the 45 minutes or so that we watched. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 54:11

30, 40. I mean, we watched more than 30 minutes, but not maybe not quite 45, but I don't think it got to the plot yet. It was really just building.

SPEAKER_01 54:19

Maybe there are hints of it. Maybe at the same time, I don't know if I was completely uninterested.

SPEAKER_00 54:24

I wasn't uninterested, but I wasn't sure what was happening, or what the point was.

SPEAKER_01 54:28

You were completely hooked yet. You didn't make you want to leave it on.

SPEAKER_00 54:31

It didn't make me want to or like revisit it the next day.

SPEAKER_01 54:34

Yeah. You know, this is a kind of a longer movie for us. And I mean I don't know. I think now I'm after hearing a couple people talk about it, like I'm kind of half interested in going back and kind of watching how it plays out.

SPEAKER_00 54:49

Maybe we should just finish it because I did hear that the second half is really good.

SPEAKER_01 54:53

Yeah, and especially reading some of these descriptions, like you said, it it didn't get there. There were like there were hints of it, but it didn't quite quite get there in the time we spent with the movie. Um, but maybe we should give it another shot.

SPEAKER_00 55:07

Um, maybe we should. I do think that this one is a slow build, even though we haven't seen the second half. I can honestly tell you it builds slowly. So if you're okay with that, maybe check this out. I think if you like an international type of film, definitely check this one out. I mean, it was nominated for International, Best International Feature. This one is under the political thriller or political cinema kind of genre. I didn't really get that yet, but apparently it goes there. So if you like that, maybe you'd like this.

SPEAKER_01 55:40

Sentimental value.

SPEAKER_00 55:41

I think it was sentimental value. Yep. We both chose the secret agent.

SPEAKER_01 55:46

Yeah. Because we saw it. Sentimental value had a couple of wins. Um but um I think yeah, I'm more probably more interested in finishing out the secret agent if I'm gonna dip my toe in the international.

SPEAKER_00 55:58

The next award that we are gonna talk about is Best Picture. The big one. That'll be the last one. There were a lot of movies nominated for Best Picture.

SPEAKER_01 56:07

Isn't that always the case?

SPEAKER_00 56:09

I feel like it's been growing and growing, yes. Okay, it didn't always used to be.

SPEAKER_01 56:12

Put all the movies in a pile. Pretty much.

SPEAKER_00 56:15

Okay, so we had Bugonia, which we talked about, Frankenstein, which we talked about, Hamnet, which we talked about, and that was your pick for winner. We had One Battle After Another, which we talked about, The Secret Agent, which we talked about, and then Sinners, which was my pick. It's F1, and we will touch on that briefly in a little bit. And then there were also three movies that we did not see: Marty Supreme, Sentimental Value, and Train Dreams. We didn't watch any of these because we're not gonna pay$20 to rent Marty Supreme and we're not gonna pay money to rent Sentimental Value, and Train Dreams just did not really seem like something we we wanted to watch. But not to say that those aren't worth it. We're just being honest with y'all, we didn't watch them.

SPEAKER_01 57:02

So yeah. I think post Oscars, maybe the price will be down.

SPEAKER_00 57:07

Maybe.

SPEAKER_01 57:08

Um, and maybe give it a shot.

SPEAKER_00 57:10

Maybe I was never invested in wanting to see Marty Supreme. I didn't didn't do it for me. It seemed to win a lot of And Train Dreams seems boring too prior awards, though. So that's why. Anyways, that's a lot. That's one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten nominees for best pictures. Who is the winner? Boom bum boom bum boom. That's my drum roll. One battle after another was their winner, which we've already talked about. I think it should have been Sinners. You were thinking Hamnet for whatever reason.

SPEAKER_01 57:41

Well, I was your pick in a pre-Oscar show where we're placing, you know, bets, because I feel like the last award show, Hamnet, won quite a few awards, and this one not so much. But I feel like in this one leading up to Best Picture, I would have picked Sinners because Sinners had, I mean, this is all in my head, of course, but it's like Sinners had a lot of momentum going into that award pick. They were just winning awards left and right.

SPEAKER_00 58:06

Well, so it was one battle. They were both, they were like neck and neck.

SPEAKER_01 58:09

I didn't feel that way, but you're probably right. Um, but I just had the maybe it was because I watched one battle after another, and I didn't watch Sinners, and I was turning around, turning around my point of view on Sinners. So I was like, oh, okay. Sinners is good here, it's good here, it's good here. Yeah, and they're gonna win Best Picture, and so I should watch it. And then they didn't.

SPEAKER_00 58:28

Yeah. So I guess the only movie left to talk about that we watched that was nominated for Best Picture is F1. Well, we gave our 30-minute We literally gave it exactly 30 minutes and I turned it off. So this one is a sports drama action. The IMDB summary is a Formula One driver comes out of retirement to mentor and team up with a younger driver. This one is streaming on Apple TV. This one had some nominations for best picture, best sound, best cinematography, and best film editing, and it did win for best sound. I cannot believe it was nominated for best picture from what I saw. What are your thoughts on what we saw? Your glows and grows? I don't know.

SPEAKER_01 59:11

I also in the you know the 30 minutes we watched of it, I don't think it deserved best picture either, but I don't think you know all 12 or whatever nominations would deserve to be up there. I will say that F1, like it it definitely had some cool shots, but I'm just I'm not in I'm not that into motorsports, I guess. And I feel like F1 in particular has has um we've watched a few movies on it, or just like race car type movies, yeah. Yeah, well, and specifically F1, or maybe I have with you because they have the Netflix, you know, document documentary on the actual show. And I've have enjoyed seasons of that, even though I'm not into F1 as a whole. But an you know, another movie, it's not unique anymore. You know, that being said, we didn't watch all of it.

SPEAKER_00 59:59

Yeah, but we didn't really get to the like the younger driver that he mentors, like that wasn't really in the first half an hour.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:05

So the ones we've watched in the past have been based on like real, you know, F1 stories, or certainly the documentary is is about the current F1, you know, season.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:15

Right.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:16

And sometimes that can be interesting, and I have have enjoyed seasons of that, but uh to watch more F1 stuff, I don't know.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:24

Yeah, this was a fictional story, it's not about any real person, but there were F1 people involved in making it. So I read that the practical effects in the real world F1 integration is really strong in this, and the racing sequences and the sound design, I guess, were really like spot on. So those are some good.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:46

I mean, it's close. It seemed cool, but at the same time, it's like, oh, that's what you do when your movie has a lot of money to do that. You know, it's like you you're exp you're kind of expected to have these kind of cool shots and uh these this great sound or these nice visuals.

SPEAKER_00 1:01:02

Yeah, but I do think for me as someone who came into it, just to kind of watch it for this, it's like I found it kind of boring. I don't think this was made for me, so I mean I don't want to go on too much, but it had like some familiar sports movie race car themes initially, like this old man coming back. I feel like we literally watched a movie about this.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:26

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:01:26

Do you know what I'm talking about? What was that movie called? With um the guy who Ford vs.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:30

Ferrari?

SPEAKER_00 1:01:31

Yes. It was like that same idea. I don't know. I was like, is this the same movie? I know it's not, but anyways, I I mean it's not for me. I think this is for people who like racing and cars and that kind of a thing, you'd probably dig this. I think if you're like a fan of Top Gun Maverick or something, you'd like this, you know. I mean, it just feels like it lives in that area.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:54

I mean, I feel to be honest, like I feel like if I had a spare two hours and some popcorn and a beer or two, like I'd probably finish this movie.

SPEAKER_00 1:02:04

But you also grew up in a family who loves racing, and you have some experience.

SPEAKER_01 1:02:09

One half of the family.

SPEAKER_00 1:02:10

But but you have, I didn't.

SPEAKER_01 1:02:13

But to be fair, I'm not a huge fan of motorsports, right?

SPEAKER_00 1:02:15

Yeah, but like I go to your side of the family, and it's like your dad's super into racing, your uncles are into it, cars, everyone talks about cars. So you were kind of primed a little bit, maybe, and to me, I'm like, this is just like I don't like any of this.

SPEAKER_01 1:02:29

So that's definitely true, but I don't feel like that rubbed off on me at all.

SPEAKER_00 1:02:32

Yeah. But I I But maybe you could appreciate it more than me. I don't know. I I like I'm not gonna finish this movie.

SPEAKER_01 1:02:38

No, I know, but I think that you are I think there is a certain appeal. Like, I kind of liked part of the F1 um documentary on Netflix, like a couple seasons, when they make it more just about the racing. Like, I learned something about a sport that I wasn't super into before. But that being said, you know, best picture nominee. I I don't know, I don't know. I mean, just like just a fun night at the movies, like have some popcorn.

SPEAKER_00 1:03:01

Yeah, you you just love your popcorn. Popcorn in your movie.

SPEAKER_01 1:03:05

I feel like a popcorn movie is a very common thing to refer to, but I I definitely would, you know, eat popcorn and watch this movie.

SPEAKER_00 1:03:14

Like we said, we did not watch Marty Supreme, Sentimental Value, or Train Dreams. Marty Supreme didn't win any of the awards it was up for. Sentimental Value won Best International Feature, and Train Dreams did not win any of the awards it was up for either. So I do think you can find Train Dreams on maybe Netflix and Sentimental Value and Marty Supreme. They were both like rent or buy for like 20 bucks.

SPEAKER_01 1:03:41

So but then train dreams, like I don't know if I was ever super interested in watching.

SPEAKER_00 1:03:46

I mean it's like about a logger. I don't understand.

SPEAKER_01 1:03:48

You're not into logging, you're not into F1. I don't know what you're into.

SPEAKER_00 1:03:52

I'm just like not a man, I guess. Sentimental value.

SPEAKER_01 1:03:56

Trains, come on. Um sentimental value. It's not one I gave much thought to at all, but it did.

SPEAKER_00 1:04:05

I feel like it was up for a yeah, I think I'd like to I think I'd like this one. I think that my sister would like this one. I think this one seems like it's there's like a family drama and it's a lot of emotions and dynamics in the family, and I think that resonates.

SPEAKER_01 1:04:25

You watch Sentimental Value, I'll watch F1 and eat all the popcorn. You guys get no popcorn.

SPEAKER_00 1:04:30

Sure. All right, Jacqueline, me and you are watching Sentimental Value. Uh, but we will have to read subtitles for at least hey, I will read a subtitle if it's worth it. If it's worthy of a subtitle, I will read a subtitle.

SPEAKER_01 1:04:44

Then we should read watch Secret Agent.

SPEAKER_00 1:04:46

Yeah, I would finish that one. I would finish Secret Agent for sure.

SPEAKER_01 1:04:50

Well, I will say that um with our our predictions bet, you definitely won.

SPEAKER_00 1:04:55

Yeah, I kicked your butt.

SPEAKER_01 1:04:56

I um, you know, I was making these bets, not knowing all the movies, but just kind of going off of uh, I guess, vibes from earlier award shows. And boy, was I not right.

SPEAKER_00 1:05:09

It's okay. It's okay. It takes time to be as great as me. Oh, okay. I'm such a professional.

SPEAKER_01 1:05:17

Yeah. You might as well be in the academy.

SPEAKER_00 1:05:20

Oh, I'd love that.

SPEAKER_01 1:05:21

We'll go one day.

SPEAKER_00 1:05:22

One day.

SPEAKER_01 1:05:23

You'll sit on the sidelines.

SPEAKER_00 1:05:25

It'll be great. Someday.

SPEAKER_01 1:05:26

You can knit yourself a dress.

SPEAKER_00 1:05:28

Oh, yeah. Crochet. Crochet. I'm sorry, crochet. It is crochet.

SPEAKER_01 1:05:32

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:05:33

All right. Well, thank you everyone for listening. That is a wrap on this extra crunchy Oscars episode. We hope you are able to walk away with an idea of what movies might be for you and what movies might not be. And uh what highlights you should Google from the ceremony itself.

SPEAKER_01 1:05:53

Matt Berry.

SPEAKER_00 1:05:55

If you have any comments, questions, concerns, anything, you can Email us at timecrunchcritics at gmail.com or you can text us through the link in the show notes. We'd love to hear from you.

SPEAKER_01 1:06:08

I also heard that Spotify allows listeners to comment directly really on the podcast. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:06:14

I didn't know that. Well, try it, guys. All you listeners.

SPEAKER_01 1:06:18

Try it out.

SPEAKER_00 1:06:19

Try it out. And we will be back next week with a weekly crunch episode to talk about what we are currently watching. Until then, happy watching.

SPEAKER_01 1:06:31

Bye bye.