The Best Picture of the Year...Not

 

Long time readers of this blog over the past 19 years know that I used to have a very Oscar-eccentric content.   Lots of movie reviews.  Pix for your office pool.  Writing what two Jewish film pros had to say about the nominations and awards while eating pastrami on rye.

We sure did have a lot of Oscar fun.  And then COVID hit and the movie business changed to one where you need a living room couch or recliner.   And the content got darker and darker as if everybody in film production had an axe to grind.  It was no longer about entertainment.

Personally, I couldn't wait to watch on Oscar Sunday.   I'd go see all the nominees before hand.  On the big day, I would make a big slow cooker of chili, invite some friends, and make fun of the idiots on parade.   This year, I was invited to another Oscar event and, frankly, I didn't even realize it was Award Day or Night.

Given all of the above, it was no surprise in this age of nobody cares, a crummy movie like "One Battle After Another" wins the top prize.  Ironically, it was the only nominated feature I saw and I did that the previous night.   I was unimpressed.   The movie was long, boring, self-conscious and full of rotten, hateful characters.  

Just more of the same.   With a sinister politically-oriented POV. this movie seems like it was made just six months ago and produced by Minnesota Governor Tim Walz.  It's all about old revolutionaries who are spiriting illegal immigrants into the country so they can fuck with America.   Meanwhile, the film is set fifteen years in the past so I suppose that makes writer/director Paul Thomas Anderson a genius along with being Maya Rudolph's husband.

Super lib Leonardo DiCaprio plays one of the scumbags who fears his daughter has been abducted by the evil US military as commanded by the always annoying-to-watch Sean Penn.  DiCaprio has to use a password to get recognized by his fellow terrorists and it's "Green Acres Beverly Hillbillies Hooterville Junction."  Why not Petticoat?  That particular plot point bothered me the whole movie.  As if I wasn't already bothered by watching the damn thing in the first place.

All these scumbags arrive at some critical point five or six hours later...or maybe the 2 hour and 45 minute run time was really accurate.  Whatever...it's another demented view of the United States and it's just another black mark on Hollywood.

And the most undeserved Oscar goes to...

LEN'S RATING:  One star.

Dinner last night:  Sandwich.