Movie(s) I Watched This Week (2/24/25 - 3/2/25)

PRE-ROLL

• the Oscars were last night!

  • I found it to be one of the most enjoyable telecasts in recent memory??? Conan did a fantastic job hosting, bringing his trademark mix of absurdity and sincerity to the evening. a lot of great, dumb bits. I had a blast. I hope they bring him back.

  • the opening number of Wizard of Oz-themed songs was nice, the James Bond In Memoriam sequence was fine, the Quincy Jones song was cute (two songs from The Wiz in one evening!). I land in the camp that yes, having musical performances on the Oscars can be Fun when done well!

  • i’m thrilled that FLOW won, i’m thrilled (!!!!!!!!) that NO OTHER LAND won, i’m elated that outside of Supporting Actress and Best Song, EMILIA PEREZ was blanked. not a lot of totally egregious winners, so that’s something!

  • more thoughts on ANORA below, but i’m just gonna take this as a belated win for Sean Baker’s previous film RED ROCKET and call it a day. what a year for the movies!

  • actually scratch that, June Squibb should host next year.

• I am fully obsessed with director Francis Ford Coppola’s social media response to his Razzie Award nominations for MEGALOPOLIS (one of my favorite movies of 2024, to be clear). it is, as the kids say, King Shit.

• Nathan Fielder is back with Season 2 of “The Rehearsal” arriving in late April. Season 1 is one of the greatest pieces of television I’ve ever seen. I can’t wait to see what mania he has planned.

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THE MOVIE(S)

• ANORA (2024, dir. Sean Baker). rented on Fandango at Home.

  • i didn’t have a ton of free movie-watching time this week, but i did find time to rewatch ANORA on Saturday night in preparation for its likely Oscar domination (and I was right!). my thoughts on the movie haven’t changed too much; I still find it to be a disappointingly muted version of Baker’s usual output, still curiously chronicling the lives of people rarely captured in American cinema, but here sapped of any style or personality or energy that has previously made his work so exciting. a lot happens in ANORA, but i found little propulsive energy or perspective throughout to really care about all that was going on.
    I definitely found a greater appreciation for the performances this time around, especially Mikey Madison, who, if anything, won that Oscar for taking a very thin character on the page and injecting her with charm and presence and life. my supporting actor MVP for the film is Karren Karagulian (a Sean Baker mainstay), who plays the straight man here with gusto, and I’m kinda sad he wasn’t chosen as the go-to Supporting Actor for the film’s awards run.
    I suppose it’s only fair that Baker - genuinely one of the most exciting contemporary American directors - found his way to mainstream success with his most “accessible” feature, and if it took him making this thing to be able to get up on the stage of the Dolby Theatre and passionately advocate for the theatergoing experience, then I guess it was worth it at the end of the day. where does Sean Baker go from here? couldn’t tell you, but I hope he continues to keep things intimate, quirky, risky, curious, and above all else, independent.

what did you think of the Academy Awards? favorite moments? things you wished happened? what was longer; THE BRUTALIST, or Adrien Brody’s speech? until next time!

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