Matt at the Movies: The Post-Oscars Blues
Matt at the Movies: The Post-Oscars Blues
Matt wraps-up the Oscars - including the best party in Charlotte - and previews coming attractions for the spring.
Academy Awards Round Up
The Independent Picture House hosted their second annual Oscars gala & fundraiser on March 10th. My awards cohort Dana Gillis joined me and as hard as we tried, neither of us could outshine tIPH’s Brad Ritter in his tuxedo!
There was great food, live music, raffles, film shorts viewings, and even improv between commercials during the live telecast. It was great to talk about movies and get to celebrate the winners with their moving speeches - Dana cried a minimum of three times.
Speaking of my movie muse, she bested me again with her superior Academy Awards ballot guesses, and firmly holds a large amount of real estate in my head until next year. Thanks again to the IPH crew for organizing and carrying out a wonderful event for Charlotte cinephiles.
About the Oscars
Industry insiders thought there could be a big “Barbenheimer bump” to Academy Awards viewership this year, with mainstream flicks nominated alongside arthouse fare, and the excitement of Ryan Gosling performing “I’m Just Ken” during the broadcast. The numbers came in and although viewership was up 4% to 19.5 million viewers, the main 18-49 age demographic actually went slightly down. Some say the earlier one hour start paired with the switch to daylight savings was another factor, but who can tell?
Jimmy Kimmel was funny and steadfast as always hosting. He is easily the most consistent host of these major televised events. He also provided one of the more funny impromptu events of the night as he read a live tweet from former President Donald Trump on air about his “terrible” performance hosting followed up by a lovely prison joke volley back that drew big laughs from the room.
Here at Matt at the Movies, one of the highlights was the acting categories. Each category invited five former winners to speak about this year's nominees. Some were basic and filled with platitudes, but others had genuine connections to their nominees and speeches that came off as heartfelt.
John Mulaney had an insane intro joke where he used Field of Dreams to vamp for two minutes before handing out the Best Sound award.
The real winner (besides Oppenheimer), however, was Ryan Gosling and his performance of “I’m Just Ken.” He took a wonderful comedy bit and enhanced it with his charm, while channeling his inner Marilyn Monroe from “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend”. Kudos to Gosling for running with it and making a memorable moment in Oscar history that everyone seemed to really enjoy.
And the winner is …
The ceremony was act of homage after the months-long coronation of Christopher Nolan and Oppenheimer. After cleaning up during awards season, Oppenheimer led the way with seven wins. Following behind was Poor Things with four and The Zone of Interest with two awards.
The most hotly contested award of the night was between Emma Stone and Lily Gladstone for Best Actress. While Lily was excellent in what seemed more of a supporting role for Killers of the Flower Moon, Emma Stone was transformative as Bella Baxter in Poor Things as she took home the statue. Poor Things also took home make-up, production, and costuming which goes to show a lower budget film with wild ideas can always impress voters.
Martin Scorsese went 0-10 for Killers of the Flower Moon, and is now 0-26 in his last few years of nominations. The film and its pace did not resonate with Oscar voters, which is sad because the production design and score were impeccable. Indie darling Paul Giamatti lost out to Irish actor Cillian Murphy for his portrayal of Robert J. Oppenheimer. Murphy gave a reserved and charming speech and felt very humbled by the honor.
The ceremony itself was a solid production that took around three and a half hours with few bumps in the road. Here is the final list of winners and once again thank you to my dear friend Dana for all her help during our Oscar season.
What to Watch this Spring
The awards season slate of film releases is always rough. It’s affectionately called “Dumpuary” in the industry, but now that spring has sprung things are starting to look more promising at the multiplex.
This is a great time of the year for horror and action films and you can definitely wet your beak with such titles as, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, The First Omen, and the campy Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey 2.
Below are five titles I’m looking forward to over the next couple months to fill that itch between Shōgun episodes, Champions League play, and Charlotte FC matches. Click each title for their respective movie trailers.
Monkey Man (April 5th)
Dev Patel, in his directorial debut, is potentially making a sizzle reel to audition for the role of James Bond with his turn as the lead in this revenge flick. “Monkey Man” comes off as a more grimy version of John Wick.
Instead of fighting to avenge a dog and a car, Dev’s character is out to dismantle systems of corruption and punish men who take advantage of the poor and powerless. Jordan Peele served as a producer, and I have a weird affinity for anything with Sharlto Copey. Filmed in Indonesia and featuring a mostly Indian cast, this has all the makings of the next great action movie.
Civil War (April 12)
After the succession of nineteen states, different coalitions like the Western Forces of Texas and California have banded together to fight against the United States government. We follow a group of journalists who want to cover the action (Kirsten Dunst and Cailee Spaeny) as they enter the treacherous war zone.
Writer/Director Alex Garland, the mind behind great films like Ex Machina and Annihilation, gets to play with a big budget from A24 studios for this epic war film. Many will bicker about the politics of the rebellion, but the idea itself has never been done on such a grand scale. Nick Offerman plays the President and his icy presence sets the tone for what should be a great movie to catch in IMAX.
Challengers (April 26th)
This film was delayed from an earlier release as the lead Zendaya (Euphoria) along with her co-stars Mike Faist and Josh O’Connor were unable to promote during the actors strike in 2023. She plays a former tennis superstar whose career ends after injury and now tries to help her champion husband get back on track which includes facing off against his former best friend.
The film goes from present time to their youths in the tennis circuit that bring up many past indiscretions and feelings which have all the making of a sultry love triangle. Director Luca Guadanino (Call Me By Your Name) has always pushed boundaries with sex, intensity, and relationships. This looks like a steamy story of lust and friendship that could hit big at the box office.
The Fall Guy (May 3rd)
Emily Blunt, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, and Ryan Gosling fresh off his wonderful Oscar performance star is what seems to be a high budget and elevated rom-com action film. The studio’s description lays out a fun idea with Gosling returning to the stuntman status he portrayed in Drive:
“Colt Seavers is a stuntman who left the business a year earlier to focus on both his physical and mental health. He's drafted back into service when the star of a mega-budget studio movie, which is being directed by his ex, goes missing.”
Director David Leitch is this decade's Tony Scott, with such action films as John Wick, Atomic Blonde, and last year’s Bullet Train under his belt. The trailer gives some great Gosling vibes similar to his work in The Nice Guys and features insane stunt scenes which should make for a fun “shut off your brain and enjoy” type night.
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (May 24th)
“Witness me!!!”
George Miller is BACK with his fifth installment in the Mad Max series, with Anya Taylor-Joy taking over as the bad ass Furiosa from the Oscar-winning 2015 film Fury Road. I was a bit skeptical because the practical effects, wild characters (I see you War Boys), and start-to-finish action of Fury Road seem impossible to replicate.
This trailer gives me faith.
Taylor-Joy is an amazing actress who has shown incredible range from The Queen’s Gambit to The Northman to The Menu. She better bring her A-Game to match up to Charlize Theron’s portrayal as she co-stars with a prosthetically-enhanced Chris Hemsworth as her main foil, Dementus. The lore of Mad Max is both hopeless and exhilarating and I can’t wait to see what Miller has in store for this next chapter.
The After-Credits Scene
While the slate seems a little thin now, we have a lot of fun to look forward to in the next couple months. Good luck on your NCAA tourney brackets and your battles with seasonal allergies, and don’t forget to hit the theater for some real gems.
“Oh, what a day. What a lovely day!” See you next time at Matt at the Movies!