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This could be helpful for anyone interested in catching this year's slate ahead of the ceremony in March.
https://afpljournal.com/2024/01/23/oscar-nominees-2024-where-to-watch/
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Who would've thought that some of them are pretty good?
Award shows are my favorite form of celebrity performance, and it's way more fun when you've seen a bunch of the nominees. The applause, the random camera shots on A-Listers, the snubs... you can read it all on their faces.
Jan 25, 2024
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This is the first year I’m actually watching the nominations (Starting with best picture and I’ll see how many others I get to). Usually if I’ve seen a nominated movie it is by coincidence. I watch movies for the art not the charts what can I say?
Anyway here are my reviews this far:
Barbie w/ sunnythoughts https://open.spotify.com/episode/0ZALjQfQB41KcWWgMbgYvm?si=bJ2i72O3Rzuk-7QLo5z-WQ
Poor Things: https://boxd.it/5KQjtJ
The Zone of Interest: https://boxd.it/5KJFVL
Killers of the Flower Moon: https://boxd.it/5KJFVL
Feb 7, 2024
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I know I sound mental but I'm crazy about the Oscars. Listen… go back to the 1999 Oscars telecast when Whoopi Goldberg was the host—the one where she came out dressed as Queen Elizabeth the 1st—and tell me that wasn't the most fabulous situation to ever happen in the known universe. I don't care if the movies up for nominations are abysmal. I don't care if you don't like awards-bait dramas shot in black-and-white. I don't care if you're so bored that you drop dead in the middle of your living room! Turn the dial to ABC and suck it up, the future of cinema depends on it because the Oscars are the engine that drives promotion and gets movies greenlit. I think I'd be a great producer on the team for the broadcast itself… I care deeply about preserving the glamour and spectacle of the event. I know exactly who should host (I'm not telling), I know precisely which rules should change to make it more entertaining, and I have great ideas for stunts to pull before and during the broadcast. I also think the Academy should start owning how wrong they are when they vote by creating a new honorary Oscar called a Legacy Award, which can go to any person, film, or talent associated with a movie that has grown to become a classic in the eyes of the world since its eligible year. They could present an Oscar to Drew Barrymore for her performance in Scream—she'd have a breakdown! It would be incredible—or give Oscars to the entire cast and crew of movies like Rocky Horror Picture Show, Election, The Shining, or Showgirls. People would argue about it nonstop and it would be great for ratings. I'm running away with myself now… this is how I get. Point being: watch the stupid fucking Oscars. It's the least you could do. Someone will figure out how to make it fun eventually.
Mar 3, 2022
Top Recs from @seanf
Apr 27, 2024
Mar 2, 2024
When Terry Hayes’ debut novel I Am Pilgrim burst onto the scene a decade ago, it seemed to announce the arrival of a major new talent in the thriller scene. I absolutely loved the book and was very excited to see what he would come up with when his next title, The Year of the Locust, was announced for release in 2016. Unfortunately, the year came and went without the book, as did several more, making it seem as if it might never be published. Lo and behold, 8 years later, it’s finally here, and as it turns out it was worth the wait.
The book is written from the perspective of Kane, a Denied Access Area spy for the CIA. His job is to get into the places that Americans aren’t supposed to go and get back out again without being caught, and he is one of the best in the business. When we meet him, he is being sent to the borderlands of Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iran to try to gather information about an increasingly powerful terrorist group known as the Army of the Pure. Intel has suggested that they are planning a major attack that will endanger countless people around the world and so it is imperative that he can learn more about the organization so they can be stopped before it is too late. Of course, with these kinds of missions there is a lot that can go wrong, and Kane finds himself in some very bad scenarios, with only his wits and training to help him survive.
Written in a conversational tone and short, punchy chapters (some barely a page long), the novel’s roughly 800 pages fly by. Kane is an easy character to like, and the book can sometimes feel like he’s a friend telling you a story. That story happens to be relentlessly suspenseful though, filled with some of the tensest moments of any book I’ve read in years. I would frequently find myself feeling a palpable sense of relief at the conclusion of a mission, having been every bit as invested in its outcome as the characters involved. Speaking of which, while Kane is the star, the other characters are equally enjoyable to spend time with and help to further draw in the reader.
Hayes has clearly done his homework when it comes to spycraft, providing fascinating insights into that world throughout. Everything is so convincing that it can be hard to tell what’s in actual use or the author’s invention, and while it is all thoroughly explained it never gets boring.
The finale takes the story into some truly surprising territory that readers will never see coming and which raises the stakes to truly astronomical levels. Parts of it require some suspension of disbelief, but Hayes pulls off the shift so well that most readers won’t have any problem going along for the ride. 10 years between books is a long time to wait, but when the result is this thrilling, inventive, and even surprisingly emotional it seems like it paid off. Though, it’s still very early into the year, I’d be surprised if I read a more entertaining book than this one in 2024. ★★★★★
Feb 5, 2024