Cashless Society

Ah, I was looking at it frome a much narrower perspective (Picture + Director nomination, produced outside of US/UK)

I'm surprised at how many people don't take the voting power of the new members into consideration of their predictions. Poor Things would have never received a nomination just a decade ago. The international section really loves Lanthimos. Can't wait for the 20-year retrospective on this, when people start asking what the Academy was thinking giving Oppenheimer all these awards when better films existed alongside it. I get the feeling that the new batch of members aren't at all concerned with the whole spread the wealth outlook. Also, where any of this year's nominees as hyped as EEAAO? Because hype can get you additional awards, deserved or otherwise. I've been waiting to write of the BAFTAs as a precursor ever since they announced that the winners are determined by a small select jury. Last year seemed like the start of it and yet somehow they bounced back.

But Cannes has proven to be the most significant this decade (Parasite, Drive My Car, Triangle of Sadness and now Anatomy of a Fall).

Now that I've watched most of the nominees, here's my ballot if I was a member of the Academy: Best Picture 1. Anatomy of a Fall 2. Killers of the Flower Moon 3. The Zone of Interest 4. Barbie 5. Past Lives 6. American Fiction 7. Poor Things 8. The Holdovers 9. Oppenheimer 10. Abstain Best Director: Winner: Justine Triet - Anatomy of a Fall Runner-up: Martin Scorsese: Killers of the Flower Moon Best Actor: Winner: Cillian Murphy - Oppenheimer Runner-Up: Paul Giamatti - The Holdovers Best Actress: Winner: Lily Gladstone - Killers of the Flower Moon Runner-Up: Sandra Hüller - Anatomy of a Fall Best Supporting Actor: Winner: Ryan Gosling: Barbie Runner-up: Robert De Niro - Killers of the Flower Moon Best Supporting Actress: Winner: Danielle Brooks - The Color Purple Runner-up: Da'Vine Joy Randolph - The Holdovers Best Original Screenplay: Winner: Justine Triet - Anatomy of a Fall Runner-up: Celine Song: Past Lives Best Adapted Screenplay: Winner: Jonathan Glazer: The Zone of Interest Runner-up: Greta Gerwig & Noah Baumbach- Barbie Best Animated Feature: Winner: The Boy and the Heron Runner-up: Spiderman: Across the Spiderverse Best International Feature: Winner: Society of the Snow Runner-up: The Zone of Interest Best Original Score: Winner: Ludwig Göransson - Oppenheimer Runner-up: Robbie Robertson - Killers of the Flower Moon Best Original Song: Winner: Wahzhazhe - Killers of the Flower Moon Runner-up: I'm Just Ken - Barbie Best Sound: Winner: Willie Burton, Richard King, Gary Rizzo & Kevin O'Connell - Oppenheimer Runner-up: Abstain Best Production Design: Winner: Jack Fist & Adam Willis - Killers of the Flower Moon Runner-up: Sean Price, Shona Heath & Zsuzsa Mihalek - Poor Things Best Cinematography: Winner: Rodrigo Prieto - Killers of the Flower Moon Runner-up: Edward Lachman - El Conde Best Makeup & Hairstyling: Winner: Ana López-Puigcerver, David Martí & Montse Ribé - Society of the Snow Runner-up: Nadia Stacy, Mark Coulier & Josh Weston - Poor Things Best Costume Design: Winner: Jacqueline Durran: Barbie Runner-up: Jacqueline West: Killers of the Flower Moon Best Film Editing: Winner: Laurent Sénéchal - Anatomy of a Fall Runner-up: Thelma Schoonmaker - Killers of the Flower Moon Best Visual Effects: Winner: Takashai Yamazaki, Kiyoko Shibuya, Masaki Takahashi & Tatsuji Nojima - Godzilla Minus One Runner-up: Abstain (I haven't seen the other nominees)

Does that really matter? KotFM loosing out in a competitive field shouldn't have that much of an effect on her chances. And apparently Leo has been doing more campaigning for Gladstone than for himself, so that probably a benefit for her.

There's a chance Marty could go 0-10 on back-to-back films at the Oscars? For me, it's been undeniable since the start of the awards season. Oppenheimer is well liked with no clear challenger and it doesn't seem to be polarising Academy members, so a CODA/Power of the Dog scenario is unlikely to happen here. Hasn't he been getting away with this since the Star Wars sequels?

That's kinda how it goes at the Emmy's. Usually the score wins during a show's early seasons, and I don't think a show has won it more than twice, after that it's completely forgotten about.

Perhaps it's just a less offensive way saying Technical Craft? I can kind of see voters getting bored listening to variations of a score (even though it's good) compared to something different

Looking at the nominees, the key word here appears to be Cinematic. If it really was about box office, then Fast X, The Little Mermaid and Quantumania would also be nominated. I think this award is meant to tell studio big wigs that films don't necessarily have to be assembly line productions to be financially successful, giving filmmakers artistic freedom can also do that.

A pretty fun flick, although it may be too meta for its own good.

In which Nolan hijacks The Facebook Movie, while incorporating some Malick elements here and there. If you're fan of Nolan's filmography, you'll have a blast seeing Oppenheimer. (I saw this in digital imax, where there were no sound issues). The issues I had where the same issues I've had with his previous films: Noaln still tries to be as literal as possible, delivering the message with the subtlety of a sledgehammer. Perfunctory editing, jumping from one scene to the next to get to the story moving quickly, while not giving the scene time to breathe and for the audience to digest. Nolan still doesn't know how to write and properly film intimate relationships. On the positive side, the performances were top notch, they should really make an Oscar category for best ensemble or best casting. And Göransson's score was exceptional, exceeding beyond the many technical components of the film (except maybe the acting) without completely drowning everything out. I'd be surprised if Göransson doesn't win all the awards for his score.

That Greg would end up taking over Waystar Royco. The timeline of the show is really wonky, but 18 months would be sometime in season 2. At that point Roman and Kendall were vying it out to see who would be Logan's number 2 in the proxy war, and Shiv rejoined the company. I could definitely see the underlining as Logan putting in a note to revisit whether Kendall should still be running the company. Given everything that went down during season 3, the document may have slipped his mind.

I was listening to this one podcast which says that Logan, in terms of character, resembles Redstone more than Murdoch. I'm pretty sure that was a wink to the fan theory that was popular during the early seasons. Really? To me it looks like he clearly intended to underline it but his poor health makes it look like he's scratching it out halfway. It's also hilarious that Kendall is intact, but Logan Roy is scratched out. Yep, I wonder who he'll turn to once Hugo is gone. Nah, Greg always improves his station with every passing season, he's the Bronn of this show.

I see what you're saying, but I wouldn't say it's "pretentious hack" category. Rather that, similar to M. Night, having too much success early in his career has now left him in a state of "can I still live up to this reputation?" phase. Where now he’s overdoing it. M. Night got over this hurdle after the Will and Jaden vehicle that crashed and burned and no one in Hollywood was willing to finance his films any longer. I wonder what it would take for Aronofsky to get over his hurdle.

Finally got around to watching Drunken Angel, the first collaboration between Kurosawa and Mifune. Exciting to see Kurosawa still working out some his visual style and also venting out some of his frustration during the occupation period. Mifune's performance was great, and I would have loved to see him in a suave James Bond type role. All Quiet on the Western Front, and I was rather disappointed in the film. A lot of the scenes were very perfunctory and had almost no emotional impact on me, so when key moments occurred, it felt meaningless and somewhat manipulative. It also felt as if the film was manufactured to win awards by utilising Hollywood style filmmaking in what is supposed to be an antiwar film and was only helped by the story not providing an opportunity for elaborate grandiose scenes. I would recommend giving Come and See a watch for those who haven't seen it, as it actually succeeds where this fails. Living was a good watch, although completely unnecessary if you've already seen the original masterpiece. The Whale was pretty much the most try-hard movie of the awards season, which I suspect is why it got such a limited number of nominations. Fraser and Hong Chau deliver performances that rise way above the lacklustre material they were given to work with. Sadie Sink on the other, lacks the experience of the former two and looked really terrible, it's one of those characters where defenders will claim "she's a teenager, that's how they behave" as a way to excuse such terrible writing. And the final scene was one of the most comical things I've seen in a while. I almost fell off the couch at how pompous the whole thing played out. I wonder if the editor turned to look at Aronofsky and dared to ask him, "are there really no better takes of this scene?" Aftersun was the best of the bunch I saw. It's like the type of movie Sofia Coppola tried to make with Somewhere, but it actually succeeds. I loved that there was no need for the dad to do a monologue about depression and dissatisfaction with life, instead it's all just shown visually and with Paul Mescal's subdued yet brilliant performance. Oddly enough, some of the visual style reminded me a lot of Spring Breakers.

I agree on the less villainous part.

Okay, would it make them conflicted?

But would that make the conflict morally ambiguous or would it make turn the audience against Daemon instead?

What's wrong with characters acting stupid?

I can definitely see Aegon throwing his brother a huge party, calling him a badass etc. I'd be interested to see if this provides a genuine bonding moment between the two before the events at Rook's Rest make Aemond revert back to wanting to be king. Not that I disagree with you, but I was under the impression that @Rockroi was referring to his lack of confidence due to his inexperience in dealing with such matters which is in turn due to his age. The actor's performance gave off the feeling that, internally, the Luke had to keep reminding himself of what he should do/say and keep the promise made to his mother as, again, he's not a natural at this. This portrayal is very consistent with how "a little kid" who is really trying would approach the situation.

I really enjoyed this change as it is a solid way of telling the audience that dragons don't just do whatever their rider tells them and have a mind of their own (providing some context for the fight between Vermithor, Tessarion and Seasmoke). As for the lack of agency bit, I think this was done for narrative progression. Aemond is probably going to get worse from here on out, it would be more interesting to have him start out at a point where audiences can root for him until certain events make them turn against him á la Walter White as opposed to him being straight up villainous from the start of the war. Personally, I think demanding that every action be dictated by a characters agency is overblown and quite often leads to boring and deterministic storytelling. Having spontaneous events allows for better story avenues and exploration of character interiority based on reactions to the event. The writers could explore both the shame and pride Aemond might feel by telling everyone that he deliberately killed Luke and how every action he takes on from this point forward is him living up to this image of ruthlessness. Alternatively, he could be a sort of Jaime figure where everybody immediately assumes that the action was deliberate and now has to ruefully have to live with it and perhaps him attending the Battle Above the God's Eye is his more of a suicide mission (not unlike how some people over here interpret Daemon's motivations for doing so as well, which would neatly tie up their parallel narratives). But that still doesn't mean he's having an affair with Helaena. That's progress. Why should the show portray it this way to the viewers?

I wonder of of this episode would be better received if there wasn't an expectation of an episode 9 event like its predecessor. This episode had a very washed out/desaturated look to it to emphasise the passing of Viserys. I wonder how effective it was given the season long complaints about the self-serious and dour tone that the show has adapted. I actually liked that the the small council already having planned for Viserys' death, after all, if the audience has been going on about when exactly is he going to die, why wouldn't the characters in universe do the same and act accordingly? And Alicent now knows she's been left out of this gentleman's club, and so seeks to gain agency by taking command of how the blacks should be dealt with. Somehow Alicent still believes that a war can be avoided without assassinating the blacks, but also knows that the blacks aren't going to accept Rhaenyra being passed over, so... right now is not the best time to be compartmentalising different courses of action against your self-righteousness. Who was Mysaria's Brienne waiting for years for Sansa, I mean Talya, to light the candles to signify Viserys' death? The Cargyll's and Criston/Aemond look for the Prince in the degenerate slums of Flea Bottom, only for him to be hidden in a clean and honourable establishment. Don't think I didn't notice what you were doing with the imagery there Sara and Clare. When found out, Aegon wants his mother, but when told that he's being delivered to his grandfather, Aegon makes a run of it. When Criston tells him that he's being delivered to his mother, he complies without hesitation. What does everyone here make of that? I'm of the opinion that Helaena believes that the beast beneath the boards is Aegon, given her refusal to look at him during the coronation, while she stared straight at the Red Queen, which I also interpret as her preferring death over continuing to live with the greens. As for Rhaenys at the end of the episode, I dunno, the only thing that came to mind was how ridiculous the whole storming of the dragon pit event is, as mentioned in the other thread. Other observations: There are two among the captain of the City Watch that remain loyal to Daemon. I'm assuming one of them goes by the name Blood? I like the idea of maybe having Aemond using the Battle of Rook's Rest as a cover to take out Aegon. Are the green agents really incognito when looking for Aegon? Particularly Aemond and his eyepatch and platinum hair? How much did the conversation between Alicent and Rhaenys play a factor in Rhaenys deciding not to incinerate all the greens? Otto meeting up with Mysaria incognito and yet he still has on his hand of the king lapel pin. SMH, these greens are pathetically incompetent. Gave it a 7/10.

Nope, after the boy informs her of Viserys' death, Talya informs Alicent who in turn informs her father. It is while Alicent is away that Talya lights the candles in the room. Mysaria to Otto:

Well, one has an eyepatch while the other doesn't. After finding out about Viserys' death (Talya lighting the candles in his room), Mysaria spotted an opportunity and opted to kidnap Aegon the Elder and ransom him in exchange for the crown putting an end to Fight Club: Kids Edition. Why would anybody punish Criston for this specific deed? But she's been a coupster since the middle of episode 5.

It's not like studios in previous decades had to account for social media, where employees could very quickly reveal information anonymously. Ser Harold said he's on leave until a new manager was appointed. The greens already have first mover advantage in getting the replacement. What good reason do the greens have for wanting to antagonise him? But you are assuming that society’s cannot be regressive. What do you mean "for no reason"? Alicent has been distant towards Helaena and does not really care for Helaena as a person. In episode 6, Alicent literally keeps at arms length to Helaena during their conversion. During the conversation, Alicent shows little to no interest to what Helaena is saying and when she speaks, her demeanor is that of someone who is bored and is only tolerating her daughter because its her duty. During Laena's funeral, instead of keeping Helaena company (while her betrothed ridicules her within hearing distance), Alicent is too busy judgmentally staring at Rhaenyra. Alicent hugs Helaena after she finds out about what happened to Dyanna, which is more about her political motivations and comforting Helaena's second. Where was Alicent all the times Aegon continously ignored her, or when Aegon was drunk? Eh, it wasn't that public. Only those in the Red Keep, who knew of Viserys' death, were able to see it. The hanging sent a message to them as to what would happen if they tried to sneak out before Aegon could be crowned. Yes, it does make a difference. Otto wants to assissinate Rhaenyra and her whole clan, Alicent wants to sue for peace. If Otto's people get him, now the greens are comfortable with kinslaying. Which is a problem seeing that Aemond also has ambition for the throne, since the door for kinslaying is open, what's to stop Aemond from killing his brother and nephew(s) land turning this into Hamlet? What if the assassination attemp is a failure? Now you've definitely started a war. If Alicent's people get Aegon first, a you've got the potential to avoid a war, and if not, you can claim that the blacks were the aggressors as you gave them a fair deal for a peaceful transfer of power, which may sway more noble Lords to your cause. Also, doing it Alicent's way was probably a factor in Rhaenys deciding not to kill the greens, had they gone with Otto's decision they'd probably be dead. Why would anyone present for the emergency small council meeting want to punish Ser Criston for acting in a way that benefits them? This is exactly what I was thinking.