Honey, at least the Tom Cruise movie made it

Here we go again. Another slate of Oscar nominations and the general public are left scratching their heads wondering what the heck are these movies and who the hell has seen them? Even I, deeply into film and of the independent variety that make up most of the tiles, haven’t seen most of them. For Best Picture I’ve seen The Banshees of Inisherin (fun, dark Irish humor but overrated), Triangle of Sadness (something of a con job) and The Fabelmans (self-indulgent and somewhat overrated). I would like to see many more but living in Windsor, well... I’m dying (actually, a bad pun) to see Bill Nighy (Best Actor) in Living though I recently caught the Japanese 1952 original Ikiru (Akira Kurosawa) which was sad and sentimental; will Living, uh, live up to it? Ditto for one my favourite contemporary actresses – scratch, she IS my favourite – Cate Blanchett (Best Actress) (pictured) in Tar. I’ve never been an Elvis fan so any piece of art even remotely related to Mister tacky Shades and Sideburns (oh oh, I’m creating enemies) won’t find me a fan, despite the artistic merit. I still don’t understand why Aftersun (Paul Mescal, Best Actor) which I’ve seen, attracts the plaudits it does. It’s a very competently made first feature by Charlotte Wells, sweet and sentimental but, sorry, not a lot more. I am still looking forward to seeing The Whale (Brendan Fraser, Best Actor; Hong Chau, Best Supporting Actress) and it apparently is coming soon to my local theatre, the  Cine Albéniz, a wonderful art house in Málaga, Spain, near where I’m wintering. Much is being made of Michelle Williams (Best Actress) in The Fabelmans. She’s a wonderful actress but I saw nothing outstanding about the performance. I haven’t even seen Tar and I bet Blanchett has her beat by miles. I can’t believe Ruben Ostlund (Triangle of Sadness) is up for Best Director. Having made respected and probing films like Force Majeure (2014) and The Square (2017) he embarrassed himself with this.  I’m sure All Quiet on the Western Front (Best Picture) is deserving of great accolades. But having read the book in high school (one of the best books I’ve ever read) and being tired of war – all wars – I’m not inclined to see it. I don’t know where to even begin to see Everything Everywhere All at Once (various nominations). I’ve never heard of To Leslie (Andrea Riseborough, Best Actress) or Causeway (Brian Tyree Henry, Supporting Actor). But at least the masses were represented to some degree – Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (Angela Bassett, Supporting Actress), Avatar: The Way of Water (Best Picture) and Top Gun: Maverick (Best Picture). If it was a peoples’ choice award I know which would win – that starring Mister Scientology and wannabe fighter pilot himself, Tom Cruise. My choice for Best Picture? Tar, and I haven't even seen it. Ha.