[Weekly Update] March 28, 2022

Waited for the Oscar so I can make this update. Didn't expect to be using this update image, though. But I mean, it is the only news people seem to care about. And it's probably the only thing people remember from this year's Oscar.

CHANNEL UPDATE

• Next video is coming along slowly but surely. I do wish I have a bit more time to develop the idea, but hopefully it's not bad as a prove of concept.
• Drive My Car won Best International Film. Guess I'm talking about it next.
• Work on our Malaysian Cinema video has begun. I still have quite a few films to go over, but so far, I'm loving the films I'm seeing.
• Finally, we are currently holding a poll on which Toho monster series we'll be talking about this summer. Check the last post and cast your vote!

MEDIA TALK

• Let's talk about Academy Award.
• No, I'm not talking about Will Smith. Also I won't talk about every film and every award, mainly because I didn't watch all of the films.
• Anyway, when watching the Oscar, I generally have two mindsets in me: What I expect to win, and what I hope will win.
• Best Visual Effects winner, Dune, for example, is one of those where my hope, my expectation, and the outcome all line up. Its strong and consistent art direction and commitment towards fantasy realism help it stands out from the competition. Admittedly the competition isn't that fierce.
• Same goes to Best Sound, which also goes to Dune.
• Now, Best Costume Design, which goes to Cruella, is one where I was hoping for, but not the one I was expecting. Admittedly I should've seen this one coming, considering how modern fashion driven this award has been. Still, I was fully expecting Dune to win, and was ready to be salty. But say what you will about Cruella as a film, its fashion design really is eye catching.
• And if I want to be salty, I can still complain about how Last Night in Soho wasn't nominated for Best Costume Design.
• Best International films is one where I hope Drive My Car would win (and it did), but had no expectations. For me, it was a toss up between this and Flee.  I'm glad Drive My Car won. But I would've been happy if either of them won.
• Speaking of Flee, it is pretty disappointing that it didn't win Best Animated Feature. The award goes to Encanto, which is the most expected result, yet also the most disappointing for me.  If you follow me on social media, you'd probably know I don't have a high opinion on Encanto. I thought it is very safe, very formulaic, and stuffed with exposition. But I'm fully aware I'm in the minority here, and considering the competition is between this, Luca, and Raya... yeah Encanto is totally worthy of the award.
• Best Original Screenplay goes to Belfast. This is a fun category for me, because I agree with pretty much all of the nominations, and would be happy if any of them win. Being a fan of Kenneth Branagh's (somewhat eccentric) works, I'm glad he got the award.
• And finally, Best Picture goes to CODA. It's the most expected and the least satisfying outcome for the award. Although competition isn't all that fierce to begin with, and we all know what kind of films the Academy loves, it is still... Kinda lame.

Well, that's the update. A bit of a shorter one, partly because I'm still busy but also because... It's the Oscar, no one has anything to say about the Oscar except how it is irrelevant.

Part of it is because, this year especially, most of the films are not going to affect people's day to day life. It's not like when Lord of the Rings were nominated and won, and people were witnessing history being written into stone. I really doubt anyone of us would be craving to rewatch CODA any time soon.

The only few films that will truly leave a legacy, in my eyes, would be Dune and Don't Look Up (in a Idiocracy sort of way). It speaks to the state of the award, but also just the general state of cinema as an art form.

Anyway, I'll see you in a few days with a new video!