Of those films nominated for best pic which would you have liked to see win? It was another weak year for film imo. I saw a few of the noms and can say I couldn't see anything else winning. Sure Top Gun Maverick was a fun fan favorite that made 1.5 billion at the Box Office but those films never win best pic. Banshees of Inshiren I liked but that was the most anti-climatic ending to a good film I think I've ever seen. All Quiet on the Western Front was in theatres for a weekend and not put in major theatre chains like AMC/Regal by Netflix. Nobody saw it and shouldn't have been even given the noms due to it. The Oscars have always been political. I'm glad Short Round, Jamie Lee Curtis and a genre film won best pic...that almost never happens. Better than last year when what Coda won? Another film no one saw, won't be remembered and really won for social political reasons imo.

I watched The Whale last night and thought it was a really good film. Brendan Fraser really did deserve Best Actor and definitely was his best performance since Gods and Monsters IMO. I always liked Aronofsky as a director with Requiem for a Dream being his best but Pi, Black Swan and The Wrestler also being solid films. Noah was ok at best but Mother! was terrible. The Whale perhaps has put him back on track.

The Whale really has me thinking which for me exemplifies a good film. I should probably start a new post but I've kinda fallen in love with this thread. The story is rather simple which is probably why it wasn't nominated for Best Pic but it's the acting performances that really elevate it. Fraser even with fat suit and make-up which is flawless really is great in it and sells the film. The supporting cast is really solid also, there are no subpar performances in the film. Which got me thinking about Aronofsky, he always gets great performances out of his actors. In Requiem for a Dream, it's easily Jared Leto, Ellen Burstyn and Jenifer Connolly's best parts of their careers. Burstyn was robbed of the Oscar that year due to politics and given instead to Julia Roberts for Erin Brockovich. In The Wrestler it's easily Mickey Rourke's best and the same for Natalie Portman in Black Swan both winning Best Actor and Actress. Anyways it surprised me and I recommend, gonna give it a rewatch soon since I have it on a 2 day rental.

What bothers me most is the erasing of masculinity due to toxic masculinity and the erasing of traditional feminity. Yes, I believe there's such a thing as toxic masculinity but Hollywood has gone overboard turning most males into weak indecisive cucks and the women into masculine roles. Disney Marvel/Star Wars is the chief offender of this. Have you seen the trailer for Ghosted? I don't wanna see a 5'2 110 pound Anna de Armas beat up 200 pound men 3 at a time protecting a bitch-made Chris Evans. I've seen this film at least 5 times the past 5 years. Most women want to see masculine men in film also, they don't want to watch this crap either. Hollywood's forced gender reversal is tired.

You make some good points Zed. I don't have a problem with films with strong female characters when done right. I love The Descent and rewatch it just about every October, think Neil Marshall is a great director. Also love Sigorney Weaver in Alien franchise, Linda Hamilton in Terminator films and Uma Thurman in Kill Bill but it's undeniable the trend Hollywood has taken lately in de-masculatng males in film of late imo. And you're right I don't have to watch, I usually see a trailer I think is rubbish propaganda and say PASS!

You're a good dude Zed, don't go to Ukraine unless called upon. I don't support or care for Putin and Russia but don't volunteer.

I tuned out on Marshall after that Hellboy remake. I will say the best Game of Thrones eps were directed by him.

Read the books in high school, saw the P.J. films in cinemas, the 1st 2 on opening night...that being said I'm not a superfan. I didn't even try bothering with The Rings of Power. I saw what was coming from a mile away.

The liberals don't want to ban books, they're just rewriting them.

I guess you haven't heard about Ian Fleming's 007 Bond series being rewritten/edited to eliminate what they deem racist and misogynistic content?

I enjoy debating with you Zed, honestly. I've found most conspiracy theorists were correct only suppressed especially since 2020.

...and mate, stop watching MSNBC, they're just as bad as FOX, CNN and the BBC combined. Western mainstream news is all taken from AP. The West is just as propagandized as North Korea at this point. Find Independent news sources, hell Jimmy Dore is a better news source than that crap.

I wanna see Chris Pratt recast in the next Black Panther sequel!...also MLK is now looked down upon cause he preached equality not equity so I don't think they'd care.

That last statement isn't progressive at all Zed...I find it disappointing to say the least. Chalk it it up to drunk posting, I know since I often find myself there of late.

"Never go full retard"... Tropic Thunder was the last great classic comedy made by Hollywood. The genre has been dead to me ever since.

Lol...thanks for the like earlier, it made me feel better. I know you can take punches as good as ya give em Nicko.

The BBC deciding to cast a Rwandan actor as Achilles in their version of Troy a few years ago seemed a bit ridiculous as well...they consider that point in time the change over from myth to history but hell that's a stretch from Brad Pitt just a decade earlier.

This thread has truly taken a life of it's own branching out in all sorts of direction.

Yeah I didn't watch that crap either instead I watched a YT watch party of the Oscars where they gave you updates of the awards and ripped on Jimmy Kimmel for not being funny and acting like a jackass which I fully expected.

This thread was a good time, it reminded me of the HB. Most of the regulars here got involved at some point. By the time I replied to someone there were already 2 or 3 new posts. It's always fun conversing with you Zed, you make your points while talking shit seem effortless.