Attack-Free Unpopular Opinion Thread

[baby doll]

The Artist is a great movie and one of the better Oscar winners of the past two decades.

Go on.

[PURPLE]

It's much easier to be a better Oscar winner than it is to be a great film. I mean, you're competing against Green Book.

[megladon8]

I was unaware of the backlash against Green Book until the Oscars.

[Spinal]

Is backlash the right word? I mean, it opened to mixed reviews and weak box office.

[megladon8]

Yeah just didn’t know what else to call it.

It wasn’t a movie I ever looked deeply into. From the peripherals I thought it was supposed to be good, and the BP non wasn’t a surprise.

[Spinal]

Not sure how unpopular this opinion is, but Tina Fey's sense of humor seems to have now been entirely consumed by her sense of smugness. Amy Poehler is still funny every once in a while. Maya Rudolph is moderately funny.

[Ezee E]

Not sure how unpopular this opinion is, but Tina Fey's sense of humor seems to have now been entirely consumed by her sense of smugness. Amy Poehler is still funny every once in a while. Maya Rudolph is moderately funny.

Maya's Lady gaga voice sounded very close to Gaga.

[Morris Schæffer]

The Artist is a great movie and one of the better Oscar winners of the past two decades.

I love it, and agreed with its Oscar win.

[MadMan]

Yeah I also loved The Artist. My #1 of that year (Drive) wasn't even nominated.

[Irish]

I think somebody mentioned The Narrow Margin (1952) earlier in the thread.

It's playing today at 2pm ET on TCM if ya wanna catch it.

(Also, pretty sure they remade this in the 80s with Gene Hackman in one of the roles??)

[Morris Schæffer]

I think somebody mentioned The Narrow Margin (1952) earlier in the thread.

It's playing today at 2pm ET on TCM if ya wanna catch it.

(Also, pretty sure they remade this in the 80s with Gene Hackman in one of the roles??)

Yeah, Narrow Margin, I saw that. M. Emmet Walsh too. And JT Walsh in a brief role as the unfortunate friend of Anne Archer. Some good stuntwork towards the end.

[Yxklyx]

I think somebody mentioned The Narrow Margin (1952) earlier in the thread.

It's playing today at 2pm ET on TCM if ya wanna catch it.

(Also, pretty sure they remade this in the 80s with Gene Hackman in one of the roles??)

There's a frame in the original (during a fight) in which two of the main actors look like Harvey Keitel and Mads Mikkelsen. Sorry I didn't take a screenshot when I had a chance. I always thought David Clarke (1908-2004) looked a bit like Keitel or maybe I'm thinking of another famous actor.

[Skitch]

Any movie released in any form or format should be eligible for Oscar awards in that calendar year.

[Irish]

The Narrow Margin was a recent rewatch.

Gotta thank you for mentioning this one. I wouldn't have watched it otherwise and it's a helluva good movie!

[Milky Joe]

Videogames are more interesting than movies now

[Skitch]

Videogames are more interesting than movies now

I don't know if I agree or not, but you go boy!

[Philip J. Fry]

Any movie released in any form or format should be eligible for Oscar awards in that calendar year.

This shouldn't be an unpopular opinion.

[baby doll]

Any movie released in any form or format should be eligible for Oscar awards in that calendar year.

One of the main purposes of the Oscars is to promote movies so that more people pay to see them in theatres. I don't see what the point is of handing an Oscar to a Netflix original when the company makes its money from subscriptions unless they're going to give the film a theatrical release as well.

[Irish]

Videogames are more interesting than movies now

Sometimes I think this is true but I also find that I need to constantly shift my perspective to make it true --- "videogames" aren't a monolith that "movies" are.

(Certainly, triple-A games from major publishers---the ones pumped out like clockwork, like EA sports games or the annual COD---aren't categorically more interesting than other media.)

[baby doll]

Italian Baroque music and 19th century English literature are more interesting than movies now.

[Irish]

One of the main purposes of the Oscars is to promote movies so that more people pay to see them in theatres.

Therein lies the conflict --- promotion as an art or as a business?

(The theatrical angle seems vestigial, a remnant and limitation of a century old technology. Who cares where people pay as long as as they pay?)

[Skitch]

This shouldn't be an unpopular opinion.

Here we go

One of the main purposes of the Oscars is to promote movies so that more people pay to see them in theatres. I don't see what the point is of handing an Oscar to a Netflix original when the company makes its money from subscriptions unless they're going to give the film a theatrical release as well.

Because the highest filmmaking award for the best movie should go to the best movie. Not the best movie that makes money for the one particular system of money making. The current Oscars are the highest form of artistic blasphemy and hypocrisy. Most current evidence is their most recent attempt at a popular picture or whatever nonsense social media killed before it began.

[baby doll]

Therein lies the conflict --- promotion as an art or as a business?

I think we should put quotations marks around "art" in this conversation, since the real purpose of honouring "important" middlebrow projects like Green Book is to make the industry look respectable (i.e., less crass and money- and ego-driven than it actually is). Sometimes it works out that the movie that wins the Oscar is actually a great film (The Deer Hunter, Amadeus, The Last Emperor), but that's incidental.

[Irish]

Because the highest filmmaking award for the best movie should go to the best movie. Not the best movie that makes money for the one particular system of money making. The current Oscars are the highest form of artistic blasphemy and hypocrisy. Most current evidence is their most recent attempt at a popular picture or whatever nonsense social media killed before it began.

OTOH, by championing Netflix or Amazon, you're also championing vendor lock-in and platform exclusives (similar to videogames), which are anti-consumer, anti-democratic*, and should be an anathema to anyone who loves the art form.

* one of the things I've always loved about the movies is their democracy --- you buy one ticket and it's as good as any other. Seating was first come, first serve. Showtimes were set and available to anyone. There's no class system there and no exclusivity. Recent trends, which include streaming, violate that history.

[Philip J. Fry]

I like Big Mouth, but I don't see how people consider it in the top echelon of current animated shows. I mean, when it's funny, it's funny, but a lot of the time it feels more mean-spirited and crass than funny or clever.