‘Oppenheimer’ won the most Oscars at the 96th Academy Awards including ‘best picture’.

Hollywood’s biggest night, the 96th Academy Awards (aka the Oscars) took place on March 10, 2024. ‘Oppenheimer’, Christopher Nolan’s blockbuster biopic about a man who invented the first nuclear weapon came into the evening with 13 nominations, the most among all the other nominated films this year. It went home as the biggest winner too with 7 wins unsurprisingly, including the coveted best picture honour.

‘Oppenheimer’ has been the heavy favourite and clear frontrunner after a long awards season that began few months ago to celebrate the best of 2023 films. The film had swept all the top prizes from Golden Globes, BAFTA, Critics Choice, PGA, DGA, SAG and various other associations that handed out awards annually. Hence, the film winning best picture at the Oscars last evening was no surprise at all. I personally do not really enjoy the film. I find it too long and has too much talking. I wasn’t engaged to the story unfortunately. Preferred Christopher Nolan’s other past works more such as ‘The Dark Knight’, ‘Inception’ and ‘Interstellar’.

As for the acting races, before the Oscars, the race was seemingly over for supporting actor and supporting actress categories. Robert Downey Jr. and Da’Vine Joy Randolph made clean sweep respectively at all the major televised awards. As for lead actor, Cilian Murphy slowly raced to the front despite losing Critics Choice to Paul Giamatti. He has an advantage by starring in a likely best picture winner and ride on the movie’s momentum at the awards season. He ended up prevailing at the Oscars too. He is a good actor by the way.

As for the lead actress, it was all about the battle between the two ‘Stones’; Emma Stone and Lily Gladstone. Both won at Golden Globes, and then Emma won at Critics Choice and BAFTA, but then Lily won at SAG. Hence, the race is too tight to call leading up to the Oscars. In the end, Emma Stone won and that’s her second best actress win at the Oscars. That’s impressive! Her film ‘Poor Things’ also did surprisingly well at the Oscars by winning 4 awards (becoming the second film with most wins for the night…only behind ‘Oppenheimer’ with 7 wins). Now, it makes me want to watch ‘Poor Things’.

Japanese animated film ‘The Boy and the Heron’ won animated feature over ‘Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse’, another favourite in the category. On other hand, ‘Godzilla Minus One’ made history by becoming the first ever Godzilla film to win an Oscars (the film won best visual effects). I haven’t watch ‘Godzilla Minus One’ yet (I need to watch it!).

Here below are the full list of winners for the 96th Academy Awards:

Best Picture

“American Fiction,”

“Anatomy of a Fall,” 

“Barbie,” 

“The Holdovers,” 

“Killers of the Flower Moon,” 

“Maestro,” 

“Oppenheimer,” (WINNER)

“Past Lives,” 

“Poor Things,” 

“The Zone of Interest,” 

Best Director 

Justine Triet — “Anatomy of a Fall”  

Martin Scorsese — “Killers of the Flower Moon”  

Christopher Nolan — “Oppenheimer” (WINNER)

Yorgos Lanthimos — “Poor Things” 

Jonathan Glazer — “The Zone of Interest”  

Actor in a Leading Role 

Bradley Cooper — “Maestro”  

Colman Domingo — “Rustin” 

Paul Giamatti — “The Holdovers”  

Cillian Murphy — “Oppenheimer” (WINNER)

Jeffrey Wright — “American Fiction”  

Actress in a Leading Role 

Annette Bening — “Nyad”  

Lily Gladstone — “Killers of the Flower Moon”  

Sandra Hüller — “Anatomy of a Fall”  

Carey Mulligan — “Maestro” 

Emma Stone — “Poor Things” (WINNER)

Actor in a Supporting Role

Sterling K. Brown — “American Fiction”  

Robert De Niro – “Killers of the Flower Moon”  

Robert Downey Jr. — “Oppenheimer” (WINNER)

Ryan Gosling — “Barbie”  

Mark Ruffalo — “Poor Things”  

Actress in a Supporting Role 

Emily Blunt — “Oppenheimer”  

Danielle Brooks — “The Color Purple”  

America Ferrera – “Barbie”

Jodie Foster — “Nyad”  

Da’Vine Joy Randolph — “The Holdovers” (WINNER)

Da’Vine Joy Randolph wins Best Supporting Actress for “The Holdovers” at the 96th Annual Oscars held at Dolby Theatre on March 10, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Rich Polk/Variety via Getty Images)

Adapted Screenplay

“American Fiction,” written for the screen by Cord Jefferson (WINNER)

“Barbie,” written by Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach

“Oppenheimer,” written for the screen by Christopher Nolan

“Poor Things,” screenplay by Tony McNamara

“The Zone of Interest,” written by Jonathan Glazer

Original Screenplay

“Anatomy of a Fall,” screenplay by Justine Triet and Arthur Harari (WINNER)

“The Holdovers,” written by David Hemingson

“Maestro,” written by Bradley Cooper and Josh Singer

“May December,” screenplay by Samy Burch; story by Samy Burch and Alex Mechanik

“Past Lives,” written by Celine Song

Cinematography 

“El Conde” – Edward Lachman

“Killers of the Flower Moon” – Rodrigo Prieto

“Maestro” – Matthew Libatique

“Oppenheimer” – Hoyte van Hoytema (WINNER)

“Poor Things” – Robbie Ryan

Original Song 

“The Fire Inside” from “Flamin’ Hot,” music and lyric by Diane Warren

“I’m Just Ken” from “Barbie,” music and lyric by Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt

“It Never Went Away” from “American Symphony,” music and lyric by Jon Batiste and Dan Wilson

“Wahzhazhe (A Song For My People)” from “Killers of the Flower Moon,” music and lyric by Scott George

“What Was I Made For?” from “Barbie,” music and lyric by Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell (WINNER)

Costume Design 

“Barbie” – Jacqueline Durran

“Killers of the Flower Moon” – Jacqueline West

“Napoleon” – Janty Yates and Dave Crossman

“Oppenheimer” – Ellen Mirojnick

“Poor Things” – Holly Waddington (WINNER)

Sound

“The Creator,” Ian Voigt, Erik Aadahl, Ethan Van der Ryn, Tom Ozanich and Dean Zupancic

“Maestro,” Steven A. Morrow, Richard King, Jason Ruder, Tom Ozanich and Dean Zupancic

“Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One,” Chris Munro, James H. Mather, Chris Burdon and Mark Taylor

“Oppenheimer,” Willie Burton, Richard King, Gary A. Rizzo and Kevin O’Connell

“The Zone of Interest,” Tarn Willers and Johnnie Burn (WINNER)

Original Score 

“American Fiction” – Laura Karpman

“Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” John Williams

“Killers of the Flower Moon” – Robbie Robertson

“Oppenheimer” – Ludwig Göransson (WINNER)

“Poor Things” – Jerskin Fendrix

Live Action Short Film

“The After,” Misan Harriman and Nicky Bentham

“Invincible,” Vincent René-Lortie and Samuel Caron

“Knight of Fortune,” Lasse Lyskjær Noer and Christian Norlyk

“Red, White and Blue,” Nazrin Choudhury and Sara McFarlane

“The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar,” Wes Anderson and Steven Rales (WINNER)

Animated Short Film 

“Letter to a Pig,” Tal Kantor and Amit R. Gicelter

“Ninety-Five Senses,” Jerusha Hess and Jared Hess

“Our Uniform,” Yegane Moghaddam

“Pachyderme,” Stéphanie Clément and Marc Rius

“War Is Over! Inspired by the Music of John & Yoko,” Dave Mullins and Brad Booker (WINNER)

Documentary Feature Film 

“Bobi Wine: The People’s President,” Moses Bwayo, Christopher Sharp and John Battsek

“The Eternal Memory”

“Four Daughters,” Kaouther Ben Hania and Nadim Cheikhrouha

“To Kill a Tiger,” Nisha Pahuja, Cornelia Principe and David Oppenheim

“20 Days in Mariupol,” Mstyslav Chernov, Michelle Mizner and Raney Aronson-Rath (WINNER)

Documentary Short Film 

“The ABCs of Book Banning,” Sheila Nevins and Trish Adlesic

“The Barber of Little Rock,” John Hoffman and Christine Turner

“Island in Between,” S. Leo Chiang and Jean Tsien

“The Last Repair Shop,” Ben Proudfoot and Kris Bowers (WINNER)

“Nǎi Nai & Wài Pó,” Sean Wang and Sam Davis

International Feature Film 

“Io Capitano” (Italy)  

“Perfect Days” (Japan)  

“Society of the Snow” (Spain)  

“The Teachers’ Lounge” (Germany) 

“The Zone of Interest” (United Kingdom) (WINNER)

Animated Feature Film 

“The Boy and the Heron,” Hayao Miyazaki and Toshio Suzuki (WINNER)

“Elemental,” Peter Sohn and Denise Ream

“Nimona,” Nick Bruno, Troy Quane, Karen Ryan and Julie Zackary

“Robot Dreams,” Pablo Berger, Ibon Cormenzana, Ignasi Estapé and Sandra Tapia Díaz

“Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse,” Kemp Powers, Justin K. Thompson, Phil Lord, Christopher Miller and Amy Pascal

Makeup and Hairstyling 

“Golda,” Karen Hartley Thomas, Suzi Battersby and Ashra Kelly-Blue

“Maestro,” Kazu Hiro, Kay Georgiou and Lori McCoy-Bell

“Oppenheimer,” Luisa Abel

“Poor Things,” Nadia Stacey, Mark Coulier and Josh Weston (WINNER)

“Society of the Snow,” Ana López-Puigcerver, David Martí and Montse Ribé

Production Design 

“Barbie,” production design: Sarah Greenwood; set decoration: Katie Spencer

“Killers of the Flower Moon,” production design: Jack Fisk; set decoration: Adam Willis

“Napoleon,” production design: Arthur Max; set decoration: Elli Griff

“Oppenheimer,” production design: Ruth De Jong; set decoration: Claire Kaufman

“Poor Things,” production design: James Price and Shona Heath; set decoration: Zsuzsa Mihalek (WINNER)

Film Editing

“Anatomy of a Fall” – Laurent Sénéchal

“The Holdovers” – Kevin Tent

“Killers of the Flower Moon” – Thelma Schoonmaker

“Oppenheimer” – Jennifer Lame (WINNER)

“Poor Things” – Yorgos Mavropsaridis

Visual Effects

“The Creator,” Jay Cooper, Ian Comley, Andrew Roberts and Neil Corbould

“Godzilla Minus One,” Takashi Yamazaki, Kiyoko Shibuya, Masaki Takahashi and Tatsuji Nojima (WINNER)

“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3,” Stephane Ceretti, Alexis Wajsbrot, Guy Williams and Theo Bialek

“Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One,” Alex Wuttke, Simone Coco, Jeff Sutherland and Neil Corbould

“Napoleon,” Charley Henley, Luc-Ewen Martin-Fenouillet, Simone Coco and Neil Corbould

(Images in this post are from various online sources)

‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’ sweeps at the 95th Academy Awards.

A24’s sleeper hit, ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’ is indeed winning almost everything everywhere all at once (just as the movie’s title) at the 95th Academy Awards held yesterday on March 12, 2023. The multiverse sci-fi, comedy and drama film won 7 Oscars out of the 11 nominations it received and became the biggest winner of the evening.

The awards ceremony hosted by Jimmy Kimmel for the third time took a little over three and a half hours and went smoothly this year without any unwanted moments (no slapping incident, no wrong announcement of winner, etc). It was such a good show and I’m very excited and happy for most of the result this year, particularly to EEAAO’s sweep as I admire this film and it is certainly one-of-a-kind that truly deserves best picture.

Here are the full list of winners for the Hollywood’s biggest annual film awards, the 95th Academy Awards:

Best Picture: “Everything Everywhere All at Once”

Best Actress: Michelle Yeoh, “Everything Everywhere All at Once”

Best Actor: Brendan Fraser, “The Whale”

Best Director: Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert, “Everything Everywhere All at Once”

Best Original Song: “Naatu Naatu,” “RRR”

Best Documentary Feature: “Navalny”

Best Adapted Screenplay: “Women Talking”

Best Original Screenplay: “Everything Everywhere All at Once”

Best Costume Design: “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”

Best International Feature: “All Quiet on the Western Front”

Best Supporting Actor: Ke Huy Quan, “Everything Everywhere All at Once”

Best Animated Feature: “Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio”

Best Visual Effects: “Avatar: The Way of Water”

Best Cinematography: “All Quiet on the Western Front”

Best Supporting Actress: Jamie Lee Curtis, “Everything Everywhere All at Once”

Best Film Editing: “Everything Everywhere All at Once”

Best Score: “All Quiet on the Western Front”

Best Sound: “Top Gun: Maverick”

Best Production Design: “All Quiet on the Western Front”

Best Makeup and Hairstyling: “The Whale”

Best: Documentary (Short Subject): “The Elephant Whisperers”

Best Short (Animated): “The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse”

Best Short Film (Live Action): “An Irish Goodbye”

You can see the full nomination list for the awards in my previous blog post that also comes along with my final prediction. Out of the 23 categories, I correctly predicted in 17 of them. That’s 73.9% accuracy. Not bad. Not bad. Will try to aim for higher accuracy next year.

All of the awards that EEAO won are above-the-line categories, taking home best picture, director, screenplay (original), acting (lead actress, supporting actor, supporting actress) and film editing. The Daniels (Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert) won three Oscars each at the ceremony as they co-write, co-direct and co-produce (together with Jonathan Wang) EEAAO. I’m so happy that they called out Michelle Yeoh’s name when announcing the best actress winner too. She truly deserves it. I’m so proud to be Malaysian at that moment and she did mention Malaysia and KL too in her acceptance speech while mentioning about her mother watching the ceremony live in their country. She became the first Asian to win the Oscar for Best Actress, the first Malaysian to win an Academy Award in any category, and the second woman of color to win Best Actress after Halle Berry in 2002. A huge congratulation to Michelle Yeoh!

Out of the 10 nominated films in best picture, 5 films went home empty handed that evening. They are ‘Elvis’ (quite unexpected as I was expecting this film to take home at least few Oscars like best actor and best costume design), ‘The Banshees of Inisherin’, ‘Triangle of Sadness’, ‘The Fabelmans’ and ‘Tar’. It is very unlikely especially in recent years that Academy would let a film to make major sweep for their awards but it does finally happen this year with EEAAO’s dominance.

‘All Quiet on the Western Front’ ended the evening with second most wins at 4 (international feature, cinematography, score and production design). I never thought it won for production design as I felt it was actually the weakest among the nominees in that category. What a surprise. Well, luckily, the movie didn’t perform here as well as in the BAFTA as I don’t really enjoy the film and was quite perplexed on how it could win so many awards at the BAFTA earlier including best film. The Academy made it right. All the 4 acting winners at the Oscars also matched up with the result at the SAG awards and not the BAFTA (and I’m very happy for it!).

Once Jamie Lee Curtis won in the tight supporting actress race (she isn’t even affected from the vote splitting with her co-star Stephanie Hsu who is also nominated in the same category) in the earlier part of the ceremony, I knew it will be a big night for EEAAO and a win for Michelle Yeoh for best actress is very likely. I still prefer Angela Bassett to win though for her performance in ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’.

Alright. That’s the wrap for the Hollywood awards season honouring the best of films released in 2022. It concludes with the 95th Oscars that made history in several categories and delivered one of the most satisfying results in a long time. What a year!

(Images in this post are from various online sources)

My final prediction to the 95th Oscars.

Finally, the 95th Academy Awards is around the corner. It will be happening this evening in the US (will be on Monday’s morning in Asia due to time difference). I’m a keen follower of the Oscars (Hollywood’s biggest awards and one of the world’s most famous awards) every year. For this 95th edition, I have watched 7 out of the 10 nominated films in the best picture category. That’s considered a lot.

After over two months of reviewing results from the precursor awards (Golden Globes, Critics Choice, BAFTA, SAG, PGA, DGA, WGA, Independent Spirit, etc) and observing the recent momentum, here comes my final prediction for all the 23 categories for the Academy Awards this year before the ceremony takes place in less than a day.

(Image source: Deed News)

Best Picture

“All Quiet on the Western Front,” Malte Grunert, Producer

“Avatar: The Way of Water,” James Cameron and Jon Landau, Producers

“The Banshees of Inisherin,” Graham Broadbent, Pete Czernin and Martin McDonagh, Producers

“Elvis,” Baz Luhrmann, Catherine Martin, Gail Berman, Patrick McCormick and Schuyler Weiss, Producers

“Everything Everywhere All at Once,” Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert and Jonathan Wang, Producers

“The Fabelmans,” Kristie Macosko Krieger, Steven Spielberg and Tony Kushner, Producers

“Tár,” Todd Field, Alexandra Milchan and Scott Lambert, Producers

“Top Gun: Maverick,” Tom Cruise, Christopher McQuarrie, David Ellison and Jerry Bruckheimer, Producers

“Triangle of Sadness,” Erik Hemmendorff and Philippe Bober, Producers

“Women Talking,” Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner and Frances McDormand, Producers

Will win: Everything Everywhere All at Once

Should win: Everything Everywhere All at Once

Opinion: Out of the 10 nominated films above, I didn’t watch ‘The Banshees of Inisherin’, ‘Women Talking’ and ‘Triangle of Sadness’. Several films may be the underdog and pulls of a shocking upset (The Banshees of Inisherin, The Fabelmans, Top Gun Maverick and All Quiet on the Western Front) to the clear frontrunner, EEAAO. Some said EEAAO is a polarizing film and may not be relevant to the more traditional styles of the voters but I still think it will still stay on top on preferential ballot system.

Best Director 

Martin McDonagh (“The Banshees of Inisherin”) 

Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert (“Everything Everywhere All at Once”) 

Steven Spielberg (“The Fabelmans”) 

Todd Field (“Tár”) 

Ruben Östlund (“Triangle of Sadness”)

Will win: Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert (“Everything Everywhere All at Once”) 

Should win: Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert (“Everything Everywhere All at Once”) 

Opinion: The famed director, Steven Spielberg may pull off an upset here if the Academy is truly wasn’t keen on EEAAO. However, it is really undeniable to ignore how amazing the Daniels are when they can pull it off from their crazy vision in EEAAO and then even made it a masterpiece.

Best Lead Actor

Austin Butler (“Elvis”) 

Colin Farrell (“The Banshees of Inisherin”) 

Brendan Fraser (“The Whale”) 

Paul Mescal (“Aftersun”) 

Bill Nighy (“Living”) 

Will win: Austin Butler (“Elvis”) 

Should win: Brendan Fraser (“The Whale”) 

Opinion: It’s between those two. Colin Farrell may pull off an upset if there’s significant splitting of votes between Brendan and Austin. Austin put a lot of effort on his role as Elvis but I still find his performance not memorable. However, I do felt the Academy loves to reward actor portraying as someone famous in a biopic.

Best Lead Actress

Cate Blanchett (“Tár”) 

Ana de Armas (“Blonde”) 

Andrea Riseborough (“To Leslie”)

Michelle Williams (“The Fabelmans”) 

Michelle Yeoh (“Everything Everywhere All at Once”)

Will win: Michelle Yeoh (“Everything Everywhere All at Once”)

Should win: Michelle Yeoh (“Everything Everywhere All at Once”), Cate Blanchett (“Tár”) 

Opinion: This is a two-person race as well (Cate and Michelle). While many said that Cate’s performance is the best even for the entire past decade, I find that her movie ‘Tar’ is very boring and slow and is made solely as a show-off to Cate’s acting capabilities. Yes, Cate is wonderful in it but she has already won two Oscars and will have many more Oscar-bait roles in the future. Michelle’s performance in EEAAO is equally outstanding and it’s about time for the Academy to make history by rewarding the first ever Asian woman as best actress not solely because of her race but because of her performance and legendary career from Asia to Hollywood over the span of few decades.

Best Supporting Actor

Brendan Gleeson (“The Banshees of Inisherin”) 

Brian Tyree Henry (“Causeway”) 

Judd Hirsch (“The Fabelmans”)

Barry Keoghan (“The Banshees of Inisherin”) 

Ke Huy Quan (“Everything Everywhere All at Once”) 

Will win: Ke Huy Quan (“Everything Everywhere All at Once”) 

Should win: Ke Huy Quan (“Everything Everywhere All at Once”) 

Opinion: It will be very shocking if others beside than Ke Huy Quan win this. He is the favourite from the very beginning of the awards season. Similarly to Michelle, he is phenomenal in EEAAO.

Best Supporting Actress

Angela Bassett (“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”) 

Hong Chau (“The Whale”) 

Kerry Condon (“The Banshees of Inisherin”) 

Jamie Lee Curtis (“Everything Everywhere All at Once”) 

Stephanie Hsu (“Everything Everywhere All at Once”)

Will win: Kerry Condon (“The Banshees of Inisherin”) or Angela Bassett (“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”) 

Should win: Angela Bassett (“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”) 

Opinion: This is a very tough race. Angela won Golden Globes and Critics Choice. Kerry won BAFTA. Jamie Lee won SAG. I have a feeling that Academy would want to reward ‘The Banshees..’ a trophy and this category may be their pick. On the other hand, I still feel that Angela has the edge to pull this off. Jamie Lee is unlikely to win as her performance isn’t really that spectacular and that she would suffer vote-splitting with her co-star, Stephanie who is also contending from EEAAO.

Best Adapted Screenplay

“All Quiet on the Western Front,” Screenplay by Edward Berger, Lesley Paterson & Ian Stokell

“Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery,” Written by Rian Johnson

“Living,” Written by Kazuo Ishiguro

“Top Gun: Maverick,” Screenplay by Ehren Kruger and Eric Warren Singer and Christopher McQuarrie; Story by Peter Craig and Justin Marks

“Women Talking,” Screenplay by Sarah Polley

Will win: “Women Talking,” Screenplay by Sarah Polley

Should win: “Women Talking,” Screenplay by Sarah Polley

Opinion: Should be an easy call. The only category to reward ‘Women Talking’. It all depends on whether the Academy are really mad in love with ‘All Quiet…’ like the BAFTA. If that’s the case, ‘All Quiet…’ may win this and even the best picture.

Best Original Screenplay

“The Banshees of Inisherin,” Written by Martin McDonagh

“Everything Everywhere All at Once,” Written by Daniel Kwan & Daniel Scheinert

“The Fabelmans,” Written by Steven Spielberg & Tony Kushner

“Tár,” Written by Todd Field

“Triangle of Sadness,” Written by Ruben Östlund

Will win: “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” Written by Daniel Kwan & Daniel Scheinert

Should win: “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” Written by Daniel Kwan & Daniel Scheinert

Opinion: No one can overpowers the originality of EEAAO script. ‘The Banshees…’ may pull off an upset here since these two are quite neck-to-neck in this category.

Best Cinematography 

“All Quiet on the Western Front”, James Friend

“Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths,” Darius Khondji

“Elvis,” Mandy Walker

“Empire of Light,” Roger Deakins

“Tár,” Florian Hoffmeister

Will win: “All Quiet on the Western Front”, James Friend

Should win: “All Quiet on the Western Front”, James Friend

Best Documentary Feature Film 

“All That Breathes,” Shaunak Sen, Aman Mann and Teddy Leifer

“All the Beauty and the Bloodshed,” Laura Poitras, Howard Gertler, John Lyons, Nan Goldin and Yoni Golijov

“Fire of Love,” Sara Dosa, Shane Boris and Ina Fichman

“A House Made of Splinters,” Simon Lereng Wilmont and Monica Hellström

“Navalny,” Daniel Roher, Odessa Rae, Diane Becker, Melanie Miller and Shane Boris

Will win: “Navalny,” Daniel Roher, Odessa Rae, Diane Becker, Melanie Miller and Shane Boris

Opinion: No ‘should win’ as I have not watched any of these documentary films.

Best Documentary Short Film 

“The Elephant Whisperers,” Kartiki Gonsalves and Guneet Monga

“Haulout,” Evgenia Arbugaeva and Maxim Arbugaev

“How Do You Measure a Year?” Jay Rosenblatt

“The Martha Mitchell Effect,” Anne Alvergue and Beth Levison

“Stranger at the Gate,” Joshua Seftel and Conall Jones

Will win: “The Elephant Whisperers,” Kartiki Gonsalves and Guneet Monga

Opinion: No ‘should win’ as I have not watched any of these documentary short films.

Best Film Editing

“The Banshees of Inisherin,” Mikkel E.G. Nielsen

“Elvis,” Matt Villa and Jonathan Redmond

“Everything Everywhere All at Once,” Paul Rogers

“Tár,” Monika Willi

“Top Gun: Maverick,” Eddie Hamilton

Will win: “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” Paul Rogers

Should win: “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” Paul Rogers

Best International Feature Film 

“All Quiet on the Western Front” (Germany) 

“Argentina, 1985” (Argentina) 

“Close” (Belgium)

“EO” (Poland) 

“The Quiet Girl” (Ireland) 

Will win: “All Quiet on the Western Front” (Germany) 

Opinion: No ‘should win’ as I have only watched ‘All Quiet…’ out of the five nominees. It’s a lock for ‘All Quiet…’ as it also competes in best picture category.

Best Original Song 

“Applause” from “Tell It Like a Woman,” Music and Lyric by Diane Warren

“Hold My Hand” from “Top Gun: Maverick,” Music and Lyric by Lady Gaga and BloodPop

“Lift Me Up” from “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” Music by Tems, Rihanna, Ryan Coogler and Ludwig Goransson; Lyric by Tems and Ryan Coogler

“Naatu Naatu” from “RRR,” Music by M.M. Keeravaani; Lyric by Chandrabose  

“This Is a Life” from “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” Music by Ryan Lott, David Byrne and Mitski; Lyric by Ryan Lott and David Byrne 

Will win: “Naatu Naatu” from “RRR,” Music by M.M. Keeravaani; Lyric by Chandrabose  

Should win: “Hold My Hand” from “Top Gun: Maverick,” Music and Lyric by Lady Gaga and BloodPop

Best Production Design 

“All Quiet on the Western Front,” Production Design: Christian M. Goldbeck; Set Decoration: Ernestine Hipper

“Avatar: The Way of Water,” Production Design: Dylan Cole and Ben Procter; Set Decoration: Vanessa Cole

“Babylon,” Production Design: Florencia Martin; Set Decoration: Anthony Carlino

“Elvis,” Production Design: Catherine Martin and Karen Murphy; Set Decoration: Bev Dunn

“The Fabelmans,” Production Design: Rick Carter; Set Decoration: Karen O’Hara

Will win: “Babylon,” Production Design: Florencia Martin; Set Decoration: Anthony Carlino

Should win: “Babylon,” Production Design: Florencia Martin; Set Decoration: Anthony Carlino

Best Visual Effects

“All Quiet on the Western Front,” Frank Petzold, Viktor Müller, Markus Frank and Kamil Jafar

“Avatar: The Way of Water,” Joe Letteri, Richard Baneham, Eric Saindon and Daniel Barrett

“The Batman,” Dan Lemmon, Russell Earl, Anders Langlands and Dominic Tuohy

“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” Geoffrey Baumann, Craig Hammack, R. Christopher White and Dan Sudick

“Top Gun: Maverick,” Ryan Tudhope, Seth Hill, Bryan Litson and Scott R. Fisher

Will win: “Avatar: The Way of Water,” Joe Letteri, Richard Baneham, Eric Saindon and Daniel Barrett

Should win: “Avatar: The Way of Water,” Joe Letteri, Richard Baneham, Eric Saindon and Daniel Barrett

Opinion: One of the easiest picks this year.

Best Animated Feature Film 

“Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio,” Guillermo del Toro, Mark Gustafson, Gary Ungar and Alex Bulkley

“Marcel the Shell With Shoes On,” Dean Fleischer Camp, Elisabeth Holm, Andrew Goldman, Caroline Kaplan and Paul Mezey

“Puss in Boots: The Last Wish,” Joel Crawford and Mark Swift

“The Sea Beast,” Chris Williams and Jed Schlanger

“Turning Red,” Domee Shi and Lindsey Collins

Will win: “Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio,” Guillermo del Toro, Mark Gustafson, Gary Ungar and Alex Bulkley

Should win: “Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio,” Guillermo del Toro, Mark Gustafson, Gary Ungar and Alex Bulkley

Opinion: Also another one of the easiest and obvious picks this year.

Best Animated Short Film

“The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse,” Charlie Mackesy and Matthew Freud

“The Flying Sailor,” Amanda Forbis and Wendy Tilby

“Ice Merchants,” João Gonzalez and Bruno Caetano

“My Year of Dicks,” Sara Gunnarsdóttir and Pamela Ribon

“An Ostrich Told Me the World Is Fake and I Think I Believe It,” Lachlan Pendragon

Will win: “The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse,” Charlie Mackesy and Matthew Freud

Opinion: No ‘should win’ as I have not watched any of the nominated animated short films above.

Best Costume Design 

“Babylon,” Mary Zophres

“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” Ruth Carter

“Elvis,” Catherine Martin

“Everything Everywhere All at Once,” Shirley Kurata

“Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris,” Jenny Beavan

Will win: “Elvis,” Catherine Martin

Should win: “Elvis,” Catherine Martin

Best Live Action Short

“An Irish Goodbye,” Tom Berkeley and Ross White

“Ivalu,” Anders Walter and Rebecca Pruzan

“Le Pupille,” Alice Rohrwacher and Alfonso Cuarón

“Night Ride,” Eirik Tveiten and Gaute Lid Larssen

“The Red Suitcase,” Cyrus Neshvad

Will win: “An Irish Goodbye,” Tom Berkeley and Ross White

Opinion: No ‘should win’ as I have not watched any of the live action shorts above.

Best Makeup and Hairstyling 

“All Quiet on the Western Front,” Heike Merker and Linda Eisenhamerová

“The Batman,” Naomi Donne, Mike Marino and Mike Fontaine

“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” Camille Friend and Joel Harlow

“Elvis,” Mark Coulier, Jason Baird and Aldo Signoretti

“The Whale,” Adrien Morot, Judy Chin and Anne Marie Bradley

Will win: “Elvis,” Mark Coulier, Jason Baird and Aldo Signoretti

Should win: “Elvis,” Mark Coulier, Jason Baird and Aldo Signoretti

Best Original Score 

“All Quiet on the Western Front,” Volker Bertelmann

“Babylon,” Justin Hurwitz

“The Banshees of Inisherin,” Carter Burwell

“Everything Everywhere All at Once,” Son Lux

“The Fabelmans,” John Williams

Will win: “All Quiet on the Western Front,” Volker Bertelmann

Should win: “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” Son Lux

Best Sound

“All Quiet on the Western Front,” Viktor Prášil, Frank Kruse, Markus Stemler, Lars Ginzel and Stefan Korte

“Avatar: The Way of Water,” Julian Howarth, Gwendolyn Yates Whittle, Dick Bernstein, Christopher Boyes, Gary Summers and Michael Hedges

“The Batman,” Stuart Wilson, William Files, Douglas Murray and Andy Nelson

“Elvis,” David Lee, Wayne Pashley, Andy Nelson and Michael Keller

“Top Gun: Maverick,” Mark Weingarten, James H. Mather, Al Nelson, Chris Burdon and Mark Taylor

Will win: “All Quiet on the Western Front,” Viktor Prášil, Frank Kruse, Markus Stemler, Lars Ginzel and Stefan Korte

Should win: “Top Gun: Maverick,” Mark Weingarten, James H. Mather, Al Nelson, Chris Burdon and Mark Taylor

That’s all for my final prediction. I wonder how many of my predictions above are correct after the awards ceremony.

‘Everything Everywhere All At Once’ making sweep at PGA and SAG in the past weekend!

It’s less than 2 weeks away to the Oscars and we are now in the midst of plenty of major precursor awards from the critics and the guilds in recognizing the best of Hollywood films released in 2022. In fact, most of the precursor awards have passed including the Producers Guild of America Awards (PGA) and Screen Actors Guild Awards (SAG) which took place just in the past weekend.

‘Everything Everywhere All At Once’ made history as the first ever film to win 4 awards at the SAG. Before the ceremony, the film has 5 nominations in 4 categories and won in all the 4 categories including the coveted best cast ensemble award. Actors do really love and adore this film, particularly its cast. Who doesn’t love them? Michelle Yeoh, Ke Huy Quan, Jamie-Lee Curtis, Stephanie Hsu and several others including the legendary 94-years old James Hong. The acceptance speech at the final award (cast ensemble) which is turned into a tribute to James Hong is momentous. James himself was quite funny too on his speech.

Very well deserved win to everyone (well maybe except for Jamie-Lee Curtis as the other nominees in her supporting actress category are more superior than her in terms of performances). The film really wins everything everwhere all at once! Haha (except for BAFTA where it only managed to win editing to everyone’s shock!. British academy had poor taste in judging films). It is also very rare seeing that the 4 acting winners at the BAFTA are totally different with the 4 acting winners at the SAG. It’s going to be an exciting race at the Oscars. Close calls in all the acting categories except for maybe the supporting actor where Ke Huy Quan is the most solid frontrunner.

I’m so happy for Michelle Yeoh. She deserved this lead actress award and need to win this to stay on the race to win best actress at the Oscars. Her main competitor, Cate Blanchett had beaten her in many previous major precursor awards. Let’s hope the momentum stays on for her to become the first ever Asian to win best actress at the Academy Awards. I knew; many are saying Cate’s performance in ‘Tar’ is the best. I personally felt both Michelle Yeoh and Cate Blanchett are equal in their respective performances. After that, I am thinking who is overdue and in need of this recognition? Cate has won Oscars twice and she would have many more future opportunities to get awards. That’s not the case for Michelle. This is her once-in-a-lifetime chance. Hence, I’m rooting for her (also partly because she is a Malaysian and I’m of course supporting my own country along the way!).

I like the way this year’s SAG Awards is being presented. The ceremony was available for live streaming on YouTube so everyone is able to watch it easily online. No commercial ads. No music playoff to cut short the time for the award’s winners to speak. Clips of all nominees are presented. And lastly…the result are so much more exciting and great!

Here’s below the result only for the film categories for the 29th Screen Actors Guild Awards (didn’t bother the television categories as I do not watch any US television series):

Motion Picture Cast

Babylon
The Banshees of Inisherin
WINNER: Everything Everywhere All at Once
The Fabelmans
Women Talking

Male Actor in a Leading Role — Motion Picture

Austin Butler, Elvis
Colin Farrell, The Banshees of Inisherin
WINNER: Brendan Fraser, The Whale
Bill Nighy, Living
Adam Sandler, Hustle

Female Actor in a Leading Role — Motion Picture

Cate Blanchett, Tár
Viola Davis, The Woman King
Ana de Armas, Blonde
Danielle Deadwyler, Till
WINNER: Michelle Yeoh, Everything Everywhere All at Once

Male Actor in a Supporting Role — Motion Picture

Paul Dano, The Fabelmans
Brendan Gleeson, The Banshees of Inisherin
Barry Keoghan, The Banshees of Inisherin
WINNER: Ke Huy Quan, Everything Everywhere All at Once
Eddie Redmayne, The Good Nurse

Female Actor in a Supporting Role — Motion Picture

Angela Bassett, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Hong Chau, The Whale
Kerry Condon, The Banshees of Inisherin
WINNER: Jamie Lee Curtis, Everything Everywhere All at Once
Stephanie Hsu, Everything Everywhere All at Once

Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture

Avatar: The Way of Water
The Batman
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
WINNER: Top Gun: Maverick
The Woman King

Brendan Fraser also needed this best actor win to stay in the race for the Oscars as Austin Butler had prevailed at the Golden Globes and the BAFTA. So for best actor it will be battle between Brendan and Austin. Colin Farrell has lost a lot of momentum at this point. For best actress, it’s just between Cate Blanchett and Michelle Yeoh (sorry for the other nominees!). Supporting actor is likely a lock for Ke Huy Quan. Supporting actress is a bit more crowded with a three-way race between Kerry Condon, Angela Bassett and Jamie-Lee Curtis (I’m still picking Angela Bassett for the Oscars win).

A24 dominated the SAG this year (as both ‘The Whale’ and ‘Everything Everywhere All At Once’ are from A24 studio). ‘Everything Everywhere All At Once’ is now a clear frontrunner for best picture at the Oscars after winning SAG ensemble on top of the previous major win at Producers Guild of America Awards (PGA), Directors Guild of America Awards (DGA) and Critics Choice Awards. It is also set to win at the upcoming Writers Guild Awards (WGA) and Independent Spirit Awards which are to be held on this coming weekend.

(Images in this post are from various online sources)

93rd Academy Awards: Surprises in lead acting categories while ‘Nomadland’ took best picture and director as expected.

The 93rd Academy Awards (aka the Oscars) concluded a moment ago and I am glad that I was able to find an online platform to watch the live broadcast of the whole ceremony that ran a little over 3 hours. ‘Nomadland’ took the top honor by winning the best picture. The movie which I find mediocre also won for best director and best actress. Here are the full list of winners along with my opinions for several categories (the winners are in bold):

Best Picture
The Father
Judas and the Black Messiah
Mank
Minari
Nomadland
Promising Young Woman
Sound of Metal
The Trial of the Chicago 7

Opinion: Expected. ‘Nomadland’ have had a clean sweep in the major precursor awards in this category. I don’t get the hype of this movie and I also do not enjoy it thoroughly (I find it dull). I would have prefer ‘The Father’ or ‘Minari’.

Best Actor
Riz Ahmed, Sound of Metal
Chadwick Boseman, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Anthony Hopkins, The Father
Gary Oldman, Mank
Steven Yeun, Minari

Opinion: Wow…I’m actually very happy for Anthony Hopkins. His performance in ‘The Father’ is fantastic and I’m glad that he won it which may came as a shock to many people. First, he won it before. Secondly, many felt that this should be awarded to Chadwick Boseman posthumously. Fortunately, most Academy members didn’t think that way (same goes to me). Hopkins delivered the best performance out of the five.

Best Actress
Viola Davis, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Andra Day, The United States vs. Billie Holiday
Vanessa Kirby, Pieces of a Woman
Frances McDormand, Nomadland
Carey Mulligan, Promising Young Woman

Opinion: Looks like BAFTA is a good indicator for the outcome of lead acting categories at the Oscars. Anthony Hopkins and Frances McDormand both won at the BAFTA and the result repeated itself at the Oscars. It is still quite a shock here since many are predicting Carey Mulligan to win (including myself). Frances is good but I don’t think she deserved to win three best actress Oscars for her performances which look more or less the same. Even the legendary Meryl Streep only had won two before (and one supporting). I felt it was too much for Frances.

Best Director
Lee Isaac Chung, Minari
Emerald Fennell, Promising Young Woman
David Fincher, Mank
Thomas Vinterberg, Another Round
Chloé Zhao, Nomadland

Opinion: Good. More Asian filmmakers should be recognized (and not just Black or woman or LGBT). Without Chloe’s direction, ‘Nomadland’ would not even be in the spotlight in this awards season.

Best Supporting Actress
Maria Bakalova, Borat Subsequent Moviefilm
Glenn Close, Hillbilly Elegy
Olivia Colman, The Father
Amanda Seyfried, Mank
Yuh-Jung Youn, Minari

Opinion: Very happy for Yuh-Jung Youn. She deserved it. She also gave the best (and most hilarious) speech for the evening despite not being well versed in English. Such a lovely person. I would want her to become my grandma…haha. Poor Glenn Close…lost again at the Oscars. She needs to get into a brilliant film and win best actress soon.

Best Supporting Actor
Sacha Baron Cohen, The Trial of the Chicago 7
Daniel Kaluuya, Judas and the Black Messiah
Leslie Odom Jr., One Night in Miami
Paul Raci, Sound of Metal
Lakeith Stanfield, Judas and the Black Messiah

Best International Feature
Another Round
Better Days
Collective 
The Man Who Sold His Skin
Quo Vadis, Aida?

Best Animated Feature
Onward
Over the Moon
Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon 
Soul
Wolfwalkers

Opinion: No surprise here. ‘Soul’ had a clean sweep just like ‘Nomadland’ in this awards season. A simple yet thought-provoking film, ‘Soul’ captivated me and is no doubt the best animated film in 2020.

Best Documentary Feature
Collective
Crip Camp
The Mole Agent
My Octopus Teacher
Time

Best Original Score
Da 5 Bloods
Mank
Minari
News of the World
Soul

Opinion: ‘Soul’ winning score is expected. As soon as the movie started, I already knew this score is going to get some trophies. The score is simply amazing.

Best Original Song
“Fight for You,” Judas and the Black Messiah
“Hear My Voice,” The Trial of the Chicago 7
“Husavik,” Eurovision Song Contest
“Io Si (Seen),” The Life Ahead
“Speak Now,” One Night in Miami

Best Original Screenplay
Judas and the Black Messiah
Minari
Promising Young Woman
Sound of Metal
The Trial of the Chicago 7

Opinion: Didn’t watch ‘Promising Young Woman’ but I have heard of the many positive words for the daring debut of the writer of this film (who is also the film’s director) with her unconventionally wild and fresh script.

Best Adapted Screenplay
Borat Subsequent Moviefilm
The Father
Nomadland
One Night in Miami
The White Tiger

Opinion: Some predicted ‘Nomadland’ to win in this category too but I’m rooting for ‘The Father’. Looks like most Academy members had the same opinion as mine. The screenplay for this film is beautiful!

Best Cinematography
Judas and the Black Messiah
Mank
News of the World
Nomadland
The Trial of the Chicago 7

Opinion: Most predicted ‘Nomadland’ too but ‘Mank’ prevailed in the end. Well, I agree too as I believe there are a lot more works on black-and-white film in terms of capturing the light to complement and enhance the film. On the other hand, lighting work from ‘Nomadland’ mostly comes from the nature itself only (the beautiful backdrop sceneries) and doesn’t require much effort.

Best Makeup and Hairstyling
Emma
Hillbilly Elegy
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Mank
Pinocchio

Best Costume Design
Emma
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Mank
Mulan
Pinocchio

Best Film Editing
The Father
Nomadland
Promising Young Woman
Sound of Metal
The Trial of the Chicago 7

Opinion: Would have prefer ‘The Father’ but ‘Sound of Metal’ is fine for me too.

Best Sound
Greyhound
Mank
News of the World
Soul
Sound of Metal

Opinion: It is so obvious that the movie centered on sound (and even part of its title is called ‘sound’) will win this.

Best Live-Action Short
Feeling Through
The Letter Room
The Present
Two Distant Strangers
White Eye

Best Animated Short
Burrow
Genius Loci
If Anything Happens I Love You
Opera
Yes-People

Best Documentary Short
Colette
A Concerto is a Conversation
Do Not Split
Hunger Ward
A Love Song for Latasha

Best Visual Effects
Love and Monsters
The Midnight Sky
Mulan
The One and Only Ivan
Tenet

Opinion: Expected. The visual effects of ‘Tenet’ are splendid especially on its extensive use of backward shots which are critical to the story of the film (which also got the audiences confused too..haha).

Best Production Design
The Father 
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Mank
News of the World
Tenet

Opinion: Not much to comment but I have read many positive words on the production values in ‘Mank’ which delivered successfully to match the look and feel of the old Hollywood era intended in the film.

That’s all; the conclusion of the awards season for Hollywood films in 2020. Congratulations to all the winners! Most of the results are very much predictable while there are still some surprises especially in the lead acting categories as mentioned earlier. I find it weird that the Academy decided to announce best picture winner first before the best actor and actress categories. The arrangement felt weird.

(Images in this post are from various online sources)

Joe Biden defeats Donald Trump to become the next US president.

The US presidential election was held several days ago and yet there are still no declaration of winner up until a couple of hours ago due to the record turnout of voters and delayed processing of mail-in ballots. The neck-to-neck battle between the two competitors, the incumbent President Donald Trump from Republican Party and former Vice President Joe Biden from Democratic Party in the tallying of votes also saw it impossible to forecast the assured winner in the early results.

• 

After multiple days of delay, things finally settled down when Joe Biden is declared the winner after winning the state of Pennsylvania, giving him enough majority of the electoral votes to become the next President of the United States of America. While vote counting is still underway for several states, Biden had already collected 279 votes as of now, more than the required 270 to get to the White House. With the current statistics, he could even get beyond 300 votes in the final tally. A huge congratulation for Biden to win the presidency and it is quite a relief that he successfully defeated Donald Trump in the race.

Donald Trump on the other hand did not admit defeat, but instead, kept ranting on his social media page that he won the election by a lot and that there are many frauds in the vote counting that led to his loss. He insisted he will proceed to challenge the election result but I don’t see that it will end with any positive outcome for him. I think he should just concedes his defeat and pass the presidency to Biden gracefully. No second term for you, Trump. The Americans have decided and voted. Even I as an outsider would prefer Biden to take the post and lead USA to greater height again. Trump’s attitude and his handling of major issues like the on-going coronavirus pandemic is very bad.

If things go as planned with the result now clear after the prolonged vote count that Biden has won majority of the electoral votes, he will be officially inaugurated as the 46th President of USA in January 2021 while Kamala Harris will be the Vice President (taking over incumbent Vice President, Mike Pence). Biden will be the oldest President when inaugurated at age 78 while Harris will be the first female, first Black and first South-Asian Vice President in the history of the United States. Wow…

• 

By the way, my Facebook home page is flooded with a lot of congratulatory message for Biden now! Looks like it’s a great news for most people.

• 

Okay…that’s about it…this should be the end of the political drama in the US. Time to return to the political drama in my own country, Malaysia…haha

(Images in this post are from various online sources)

Its a long weekend, thanks to the Polling Day yesterday.

Yesterday was the Polling Day for Singapore. All Singaporeans head out to vote for their choice of government for the next five years yesterday. As expected, the ruling party, People’s Action Party (PAP) won and Lee Hsien Loong will continue to be the Prime Minister (it would be his last stint as Prime Minister…he has been holding on to this position for 16 years now). Out of 93 seats contested in the Parliament, PAP won 83 while the remaining 10 were won by the main opposition party, Worker’s Party (WP).

Although I am not a Singaporean, but I do pay a little bit of attention to this election. It was a long day yesterday as the voting period was extended to 10pm. Early results only came in after 12am and the final official results were only revealed when clock almost strikes 4am. I was already asleep that time but was woken up by my landlord (staying in next room) who I believed raised up his phone volume to the highest to listen to the latest election results.

Singapore’s general election is not as exciting as the one in Malaysia. PAP never lost and ends every elections with big wins with very little competition by the opposition parties. While for Malaysia, it is more of a neck-to-neck battle between the opposition and the government that will get us anxious and eagerly watching closely for the election’s outcome.

PAP won with a clear mandate as usual but there is an obvious sign of increasing support to the WP. PAP’s overall popularity vote also dropped from 69.86% to 61.24% which is the lowest since 2011 general election. I also noticed that PAP only won slightly above 50% in many of the constituencies as the opposition had shown a stronger showing by gaining above 40%. The increase of support for the opposition signifies that PAP cannot be too comfortable from now on and that many Singaporeans may have not approve to the way the government handled issues especially the most recent Covid-19 matters. Some also criticized the move to hold the election at this time now during the pandemic which is quite unsafe although the deadline to do so hasn’t come yet.

On the other hand, I also think that there were too many opposition parties here in Singapore. Acting alone will not lead you to anywhere. It would be more effective if all opposition parties joined forces (just like in Malaysia) to give a stronger fight as one.

Okay…enough of me talking about the politics of Singapore. It’s not even my country (I was just residing here for work). It’s just me sharing a bit of my view on the election; a perspective from an outsider.

I took the opportunity to enjoy this 3-day long weekend break which is rare. Unfortunately, the borders have not been opened yet. If not, I would have seize the chance to return to my home at KL for a slightly longer stay or took a short trip to other parts of Malaysia. All that is not possible, thanks to the present Covid-19 pandemic. It’s still on-going after over half a year. That’s frustrating.

(Images in this post are from various online sources)

Very excited with ‘Parasite’ winning best picture at the 92nd Academy Awards!

‘Parasite’, a South-Korean film last year that receives huge critical acclaim and international buzz and is my best film in 2019 made history by becoming the first ever foreign language film to win the coveted ‘best picture’ prize at the 92nd Academy Awards (Oscars)! Before the awards ceremony, I have looked into the major precursor awards and I have been thinking that ‘Parasite’ has been doing quite well but not to the point that it can manage to pull off this huge best picture win.

Deep down in my heart, I still wish for it to win despite knowing that ‘1917’ film is the frontrunner (I also love 1917 and placed it as my 2nd best film in 2019). My wish came true. I was so excited when ‘Parasite’ name is called during the revealing of the best picture’s envelope a moment ago. History is made!

The film is also the biggest winner of the night with 4 wins including best director, best international feature film and best original screenplay. Even Bong Joon-Ho (the director of ‘Parasite’) had told us that he thought he was done for the day at the acceptance speech for his win in the international feature film category (previously known as best foreign language film). I didn’t expect he would go up on stage two more times later. What a great result and the film totally deserves it! It is a masterpiece and it marks a huge step forward for South Korean films, or in more general, Asian film industry. Asian talents and films do deserve more attention in Hollywood.

World War I film, ‘1917’ lost out in best picture and best director categories but still managed to score 3 wins in other categories (sound mixing, cinematography and visual effects). I’m surprised for this movie to prevail in visual effects category. Among all the nominees, ‘1917’ has the least amount of work in visual effects and yet it won.

Each of the 9 best picture nominees won at least an Oscar in the ceremony except for ‘The Irishman’. The 4 acting champs (Joaquin Phoenix, Renee Zellweger, Brad Pitt, Laura Dern) from the previous major precursor awards (Golden Globes, Critics Choice, SAG & BAFTA) repeat in the Oscars with no surprise.

Here below is the full list of winners for the 92nd Academy Awards (Oscars 2020) honoring the best of films in 2019:

Best Picture
Ford v Ferrari
The Irishman
Jojo Rabbit
Joker
Little Women
Marriage Story
1917
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Parasite

Best Actress
Cynthia Erivo, Harriet
Scarlett Johansson, Marriage Story
Saoirse Ronan, Little Women
Charlize Theron, Bombshell
Renée Zellweger, Judy

Best Actor
Antonio Banderas, Pain and Glory
Leonardo DiCaprio, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Adam Driver, Marriage Story
Joaquin Phoenix, Joker
Jonathan Pryce, The Two Popes

Best Director
Martin Scorsese, The Irishman
Todd Phillips, Joker
Sam Mendes, 1917
Quentin Tarantino, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Bong Joon Ho, Parasite

Best Supporting Actress
Kathy Bates, Richard Jewell
Laura Dern, Marriage Story
Scarlett Johansson, Jojo Rabbit
Florence Pugh, Little Women
Margot Robbie, Bombshell

Best Supporting Actor
Tom Hanks, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
Anthony Hopkins, The Two Popes
Al Pacino, The Irishman
Joe Pesci, The Irishman
Brad Pitt, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

Best Animated Feature
How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World
I Lost My Body
Klaus
Missing Link
Toy Story 4

Best Animated Short
Dcera (Daughter)
Hair Love
Kitbull
Memorable
Sister

Best Original Screenplay
Knives Out
Marriage Story
1917
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Parasite

Best Adapted Screenplay
The Irishman
Jojo Rabbit
Joker
Little Women
The Two Popes

Best Live Action Short
Brotherhood
Nefta Football Club
The Neighbors’ Window
Saria
A Sister

Best Production Design
The Irishman
Jojo Rabbit
1917
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Parasite

Best Costume Design
The Irishman
Jojo Rabbit
Joker
Little Women
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

Documentary Feature
American Factory
The Cave
The Edge of Democracy
For Sama
Honeyland

Documentary Short
In the Absence
Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone (If You’re a Girl)
Life Overtakes Me
St. Louis Superman
Walk, Run, Cha-Cha

Sound Editing
Ford v Ferrari
Joker
1917
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

Sound Mixing
Ad Astra
Ford v. Ferrari
Joker
1917
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

Best Cinematography
The Irishman
Joker
The Lighthouse
1917
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

Best Film Editing
Ford v Ferrari
The Irishman
Jojo Rabbit
Joker
Parasite

Best Visual Effects
Avengers: Endgame
The Irishman
The Lion King
1917
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

Best Makeup and Hairstyling
Bombshell
Joker
Judy
Maleficent: Mistress of Evil
1917

Best International Feature Film
Corpus Christi
Honeyland
Les Misérables
Pain and Glory
Parasite

Best Original Score
Joker
Little Women
Marriage Story
1917
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

Best Original Song
“I Can’t Let You Throw Yourself Away,” Toy Story 4
“(I’m Gonna) Love Me Again,” Rocketman
“I’m Standing With You,” Breakthrough
“Into the Unknown,” Frozen II
“Stand Up,” Harriet

(Images in this post are from various online sources)

 

BAFTA is over, which means Oscars is on this coming weekend!

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts has just revealed the winners for 2019 films in its awards presentation (British Academy Film Awards 2019 or commonly known as BAFTA) on last evening. ‘1917’ became the biggest winner by sweeping 7 out of 9 awards it is nominated in, including the top prize; best film. The film also won best British film, best director, best cinematography, best production design, best sound, and best special visual effects. Very impressive run there!

Now, the film is the frontrunner to win best picture in the Academy Awards this coming weekend. It has already won Golden Globes-best motion picture drama, Producers Guild Award (PGA), Directors Guild Award (DGA), and now best film at BAFTA. It is my second favourite film to win as my top preference is still ‘Parasite’ but the language barrier is certainly a hindrance to many traditionalist Academy voters.

Here below is the full list of winners for the 2020 British Academy Film Awards:

BEST PICTURE
X – “1917”
“The Irishman”
“Joker”
“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”
“Parasite”

BEST DIRECTOR
X – Sam Mendes, “1917”
Martin Scorsese, “The Irishman”
Todd Phillips, “Joker”
Quentin Tarantino, “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”
Bong Joon Ho, “Parasite”

BEST ACTOR
Leonardo DiCaprio, “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”
Adam Driver, “Marriage Story”
Taron Egerton, “Rocketman”
X – Joaquin Phoenix, “Joker”
Jonathan Pryce, “The Two Popes”

BEST ACTRESS
Jessie Buckley, “Wild Rose”
Scarlett Johansson, “Marriage Story”
Saoirse Ronan, “Little Women”
Charlize Theron, “Bombshell”
X – Renee Zellweger, “Judy”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Tom Hanks, “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood”
Anthony Hopkins, “The Two Popes”
Al Pacino, “The Irishman”
Joe Pesci, “The Irishman”
X – Brad Pitt, “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
X – Laura Dern, “Marriage Story”
Florence Pugh, “Little Women”
Margot Robbie, “Bombshell”
Margott Robbie, “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”
Scarlett Johansson, “Jojo Rabbit”

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Susanna Fogle, Emily Halpen, Sarah Haskins, & Katie Silverman, “Booksmart”
Rian Johnson, “Knives Out”
Noah Baumbach, “Marriage Story”
Quentin Tarantino, “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”
X – Bong Joon Ho & Han Jin Won, “Parasite”

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Steven Zaillian, “The Irishman”
X – Taika Waititi, “Jojo Rabbit”
Todd Phillips & Scott Silver, “Joker”
Greta Gerwig, “Little Women”
Anthony McCarten, “The Two Popes”

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
X- “1917”
“The Irishman”
“Joker”
“Ford v Ferrari” (“Le Mans ’66”)
“The Lighthouse”

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
“The Irishman”
“Jojo Rabbit”
“Judy”
X – “Little Women”
“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”

BEST FILM EDITING
“The Irishman”
X – “Ford v Ferrari” (“Le Mans ’66”)
“Jojo Rabbit”
“Joker”
“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”

BEST MAKE UP & HAIR
“1917”
X – “Bombshell”
“Joker”
“Judy”
“Rocketman”

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
X – “1917”
“The Irishman”
“Jojo Rabbit”
“Joker”
“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”

BEST SCORE
“1917”
“Jojo Rabbit”
X – “Joker”
“Little Women”
“Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker”

BEST SOUND
X – “1917”
“Joker”
“Ford v Ferrari” (“Le Mans ’66”)
“Rocketman”
“Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker”

BEST SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS
X – “1917”
“Avengers: Endgame”
“The Irishman”
“The Lion King”
“Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker”

BEST CASTING
X – Shayna Markowitz, “Joker
Douglas Aibel & Francine Maisler, “Marriage Story
Victoria Thomas, “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”
Sarah Crowe, “The Personal History of David Copperfield”
Nina Gold, “The Two Popes”

BEST ANIMATED FILM
“Frozen 2”
X – “Klaus”
“A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmaggedon”
“Toy Story 4”

BEST DOCUMENTARY
“American Factory”
“Apollo 11”
“Diego Maradona”
X – “For Sama”
“The Great Hack”

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
“The Farewell”
“For Sama”
“Pain and Glory”
X – “Parasite”
“Portrait of a Lady on Fire”

BEST BRITISH FILM
X – “1917”
“Bait”
“For Sama”
“Rocketman”
“Sorry We Missed You”
“The Two Popes”

BEST DEBUT BY A BRITISH WRITER, DIRECTOR OR PRODUCER
X – “Bait”
“For Sama”
“Maiden”
“Only You”
“Retablo”

BEST BRITISH ANIMATED SHORT
X – “Grandad Was a Romantic”
“In Her Boots”
“The Magic Boat”

BEST BRITISH LIVE-ACTION SHORT
“Azaar”
“Goldfish”
“Kamali”
X – “Learning to Skateboard in a War Zone (If You’re a Girl”)
“The Trap”

RISING STAR AWARD
Awkwafina
Jack Lowden
Kaitlyn Dever
Kelvin Harrison Jr.
X – Micheal Ward

There is obviously no more competition in the four acting categories. Joaquin, Renee, Brad and Laura can start practicing their Oscar acceptance speech already. They have sweeping all the major precursor awards. I’m quite surprised seeing ‘1917’ winning best special visual effects too. It means the film really getting a lot of love, more than what we have expected earlier.

I’m also surprised to see a much lesser known animated film ‘Klaus’ (didn’t watch it yet) winning best animated film over hot favourite like ‘Toy Story 4’. It may stage similar upset in the coming Oscars. I’m also surprised that Awkwafina is not winning the Rising Star Award. She deserves it more than anyone else in that category. I can say that British Academy is still not too fond to reward people of different colour yet.

(Images in this post are from various online sources)

Critics’ Choice Movie Awards 2020; Same acting champs from Golden Globes and ‘Once Upon A Time In Hollywood’ took home best picture.

We are seeing major televised film awards on every weekend now (except Chinese New Year weekend on 25th and 26th), leading to the Academy Awards (aka Oscars) on 9th February 2020. For the last weekend, the Critics’ Choice Awards 2020 was held and here below is the full list of winners in film categories:

Best picture – “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”

Leading Actor – Joaquin Phoenix, “Joker”

Leading Actress – Renée Zellweger, “Judy”

Supporting actor – Brad Pitt, “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”

Supporting actress – Laura Dern, “Marriage Story”

Young actor/actress – Roman Griffin Davis, “Jojo Rabbit”

Acting ensemble – “The Irishman”

Director (tie) – Bong Joon-ho, “Parasite”, Sam Mendes, “1917”

Comedy – “Dolemite Is My Name”

Original screenplay – Quentin Tarantino, “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”

Adapted screenplay – Greta Gerwig, “Little Women”

Cinematography – Roger Deakins, “1917”

Production design – Barbara Ling, Nancy Haigh, “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”

Editing – Lee Smith, “1917”

Costume design – Ruth E. Carter, “Dolemite Is My Name”

Hair and makeup – “Bombshell”

Visual effects – “Avengers: Endgame”

Animated feature – “Toy Story 4”

Action movie – “Avengers: Endgame”

Sci-fi or horror movie – “Us”

Foreign-language film – “Parasite”

Song (tie) – “Glasgow (No Place Like Home)” (from “Wild Rose”), “(I’m Gonna) Love Me Again” (“Rocketman”)

Score – Hildur Guðnadóttir, “Joker”

It is a joke seeing ‘Once Upon A Time In Hollywood’ winning best picture at the Critics’ Choice. It doesn’t even has the highest critics score from Rotten Tomatoes or Metacritics when compared to the other nominated films. I find the movie too long and boring and don’t see how critics view it as the best film of 2019. That’s crazy. Best picture should goes to ‘Parasite’.

As for the acting champs, they are basically the same group of people winning at the Golden Globes the weekend prior. So, it is now obvious that these 4 people will go on to win the same at the coming SAG, BAFTA and OSCARS. There wouldn’t be any surprise anymore since they are the frontrunners who are way ahead of the others.

This Critics’ Choice also dropped out major hints that ‘Joker’ is going to win also for score, director will be fight between Sam Mendes and Bong Joon-ho (sorry for the others), and Roger Deakins is going to win cinematography again for his work in ‘1917’. ‘Parasite’ is a lock for foreign language film win while it is also now among the frontrunners for best picture (together with ‘Once Upon A Time In Hollywood’, ‘1917’ and ‘The Irishman’). However, it looks like Hollywood is still not ready to have a foreign film winning their coveted best picture prize although it is highly deserving.

Next awards will be the Screen Actors Guild Awards 2020 to be held in the coming weekend.

(Images in this post are from various online sources)