It has been two days since I have seen this movie and yet I still have not come to the point where I can talk about it in a way that makes any sense.

The only way I have been able to describe the movie so far is that it’s a roughly two hour long action comedy drama. The name really fits because it is about everything. Success, failure, choice, the nature of meaning, what we owe to each other, why we are here, who we are, and what makes life worth living. It’s also a generational drama, a wuxia film, and a shameless knockoff of ratatouille.

It’s also a movie that I am afraid of spoiling the plot for you in spite of the fact that I am fairly sure that the film is unique enough that you couldn’t possibly “get it” no matter how much I talk about it.

It’s also the first movie in such a long time where the ideas didn’t fly over peoples heads and so much of the audience was stuck after the credits just trying to recover from the experience while wiping the tears from their eyes.

This film is so far out in front of all other choices that I think it’s pretty safe to say it’s going to be my pick for best film of this decade. And you should try to watch it in theaters while you can.

I know you all got sick and tired of me talking about awards. But straight after the Oscars happen, award pundits rev up their early predictions. So here's a general list of every movie that has general awards buzz. It's not every movie, but it's a lot of the bigger ones.

I'll link a trailer if there is one (or if there is footage), and I'll put the director and what it's about briefly.

Armageddon Time dir. James Grey (autobiographical drama)

Asteroid City dir. Wes Anderson (romantic dramedy ensemble)

Avatar 2 dir. James Cameron

Babylon dir. Damien Chazelle (Hollywood transitioning from silent to sound loosely based on Hollywood Babylon)

The Banshees of Insherin dir. Martin McDonaugh (Irish friends break up)

Bardo (or False Chronicle of Handful of Truths) dir. Alejandro Gonzalez Iñarritu (Mexican history recreated)

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever dir. Ryan Coogler

Blonde dir. Andrew Dominik (Marilyn Monroe dark and twisted biopic)

Bones and All dir. Luca Guadagnino (coming of age romance horror)

Broker dir. Hirokazu Koreeda (family road drama)

Canterbury Glass dir. David O. Russell (period piece comedy)

Cha Cha Real Smooth dir. Cooper Raiff (coming-of-age)

Decision to Leave dir. Park Chan-wook (neo-noir)

Disappointment Blvd dir. Ari Aster

Don't Worry Darling dir. Olivia Wilde (social thriller)

Elvis dir. Baz Luhrmann (Elvis biopic)

Emancipation dir. Antoine Fuqua (slave drama)

Empire of Light dir. Sam Mendes (romantic-drama period piece)

Everything Everywhere All At Once dir. Daniels (action-comedy multiverse of madness)

The Fabelmans dir. Steven Spielberg (autobiographical drama)

The Greatest Beer Run Ever dir. Peter Farrrelly (Vietnam war drama)

The Holdovers dir Alexander Payne (dramedy)

I Wanna Dance With Somebody dir. Kasi Lemmons (Whitney Houston biopic)

The Killer dir. David Fincher (based on the graphic novel)

Killers of the Flower Moon dir. Martin Scorsese (western)

Knives Out 2 dir. Rian Johnson

Next Goal Wins dir. Taika Waititi (sports dramedy)

Nope dir. Jordan Peele (aliens invade)

The Northman dir. Robert Eggers

Poor Things dir. Yorgos Lanthimos (woman changes brains with a baby)

Rustin dir. George C. Wolfe (Bayard Rustin biopic)

She Said dir. Maria Schrader (journalists who uncovered the Weinstein story)

The Son dir. Florian Zeller (based on his play)

Thirteen Lives dir. Ron Howard (based on the rescue mission in Thailand)

Three Thousand Years of Longing dir. George Miller

Till dir. Chinonye Chukwu (seeking justice for Emmett Till)

TÁR dir. Todd Field (German pianist)

The Whale dir. Darren Aronofsky (based on the play, 400 pound man struggles to connect with his daughter)

White Noise dir. Noah Baumbach (based on the novel, college professor existential crisis)

The Woman King dir. Gina Prince-Bythewood (historical epic)

Women Talking dir. Sarah Polley (based on the novel)

You People dir. Kenya Barris (dramedy)

Two nights ago I decided on a whim to watch Jojo Rabbit on Disney+, since I love Taiki Waititi, and I remember hearing good things about it when it was first released a few years ago. But, weirdly, I didn't actually know much about it other than him having directed it.

So imagine my shock, horror, and surprise when I finally started watching it and learned it was a comedy-drama about a Hitler youth!!! I thought it was just about boy scouts or something, similar to Moonrise Kingdom. And I was even more surprised when I almost immediately got over my shock and started enjoying it despite how dark and touchy the subject matter was. It had just the right amount of irreverence for the subject to get me past my initial hesitance, and had enough deeply human, incredibly touching, and painfully poignant moments to get me completely engrossed in it. And by the end I was crying like a baby when he noticed the shoes, and again in the final scenes. (keeping it vague in case others haven't seen it yet)

Several days later and I'm still thinking about it. That's how deeply it affected me. So, needless to say, I highly highly highly recommend watching it, if you haven't seen it yet... especially in light of recent events in Russia and Ukraine, which a lot of the things shown in the movie sadly remind me of.

Has anyone else here seen it? If so, what did you think about it?

p.s. Taika Waititi as Hitler was insanely, darkly hilarious, and the final scene with him was incredibly satisfying. "Fuck off, Hitler!"

I might end up switching things around but these seem pretty solid.

Best Picture: CODA

Best Director: Jane Campion - The Power of the Dog

Best Lead Actor: Will Smith - King Richard

Best Lead Actress: Jessica Chastain - The Eyes of Tammy Faye

Best Supporting Actor: Troy Kotsur - CODA

Best Supporting Actress: Ariana DeBose - West Side Story

Best Original Screenplay: Don't Look Up. Story by Adam McKay and David Sirota. Screenplay by Adam Mckay.

Best Adapted Screenplay: CODA. Screenplay by Sian Heder. Based on the motion picture La Famille Bélier

Best Cinematography: Dune

Best Costume Design: Cruella

Best Film Editing: Dune (Edit: I switched to King Richard)

Best Makeup and Hairstyling: The Eyes of Tammy Faye

Best Production Design: Dune

Best Original Score: Dune

Best Original Song: No Time To Die

Best Sound: Dune

Best Visual Effects: Dune

Best Animated Feature: Encanto

Best Documentary Feature: Summer of Soul

Best International Film: Drive My Car

Best Animated Short: Robin Robin

Beat Documentary Short: The Queen of Basketball (Edit: Switched to Audible)

Best Live Action Short: The Long Goodbye

Hey everyone. I know there's a few people here interested in film, but the majority aren't really. With the Oscars right around the corner, I was curious as to how many of this years nominees you have seen. Here's the Wikipedia page to see the nominees.

I've seen all the Best Picture nominees and most of the acting contenders. Notably I haven't seen Spencer, Parallel Mothers, and The Worst Person in the World which I will try to watch by the time of the ceremony. This year I have seen 4 of the Best Picture nominees in theaters (Belfast, Licorice Pizza, West Side Story and Dune). This is in comparison to last years 0 (obviously) and the year before's 5 (1917, Little Women, Parasite, Joker, and Once Upon A Time Hollywood). The rest I saw through streaming.

If I had to rank this year's Best Picture nominees, this would be the order:

1. West Side Story
2. Licorice Pizza
3. Don't Look Up
4. Belfast
5. Nightmare Alley
6. King Richard
7. Drive My Car
8. The Power of the Dog
9. CODA
10. Dune

What about you guys?