Another year, another awards season. The one happened recently, so here\u2019s some quick thoughts on the champions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
– Best Motion Picture \u2013 Drama (Oppenheimer<\/em>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Correct. Hands down. The deserved winner, the best. Masterful cinematography, fantastic acting plus a genius soundtrack. \u2018Nuff said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n – Best Motion Picture \u2013 Musical\/Comedy (Poor Things<\/em>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n A deserved win, even though Barbie<\/em> would’ve got my vote. Eccentric, abstract and utterly insane, which is only what you’d expect from a maverick like Yorgos. Definitely one of Stone\u2019s finest performances. Stone\u2019s Bella Baxter could\u2019ve been very hollow and cringey is less talented hands, but she imbues the role with a delicate mix of heart and pathos. Mark Ruffalo is also suitably whacky and off the wall considering his tendency to go for more strait-laced projects. Impressive stuff. Willem Defoe also has sufficient time to channel his Lighthouse<\/em> eccentricity, which is a very welcome addition to the chaos too. Impressive stuff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n – Best Director- Motion Picture (Christopher Nolan, Oppenheimer<\/em>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n YAAAASSSS. YAAAASSS. Heck yeah. I\u2019m happier than Spongebob was in The Spongebob Squarepants Movie<\/em> when he thought he got the managerial job at the Krusty Krab 2. And with that niche reference, let\u2019s move on. This is Nolan\u2019s sixth nomination, and it\u2019s his…first win. Madness. Utter madness, I tell you. He should\u2019ve one years ago. Oppenheimer<\/em> is probably his most awards-y film yet though, considering how much biopics are generally favoured by those big cheese awards dudes. But yep, go Nolan go, in Nolan we trust etc. WOOOOO.<\/p>\n\n\n\n – Best Performance by a Female Actor \u2013 Motion Picture, Drama (Lily Gladstone, Killers of the Flower Moon<\/em>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gladstone was far and away my favourite part of Scorsese\u2019s latest, so it\u2019s great to see her get some deserved recognition. Greta Lee was pretty stellar too though, but there were some all-round strong performers in this category, so it was always going to be a tough choice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n – Best Performance by a Male Actor \u2013 Motion Picture, Drama (Cillian Murphy, Oppenheimer<\/em>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n GO CILLIAN GO. Murphy\u2019s played many smaller roles in Nolan\u2019s oeuvre, and it\u2019s great to see him get the gong for his greatest performance yet. If they gave out awards for one scene alone, then it would also have to be given to Murphy. The moment in the auditorium where we watch Oppenheimer slowly crumble behind the scenes as he faces an eager, stomping crowd is absolutely masterful with its subtle, emotive sound design, and stands out as one of Nolan\u2019s finest scenes, which is no small achievement. The whole scene is particularly impressive considering Oppenheimer\u2019s apparent emotional absence here in the American Prometheus<\/em> biography on which much of the movie is based, and how Nolan has instead used this moment to portray Oppenheimer\u2019s angst with minimal dialogue and terrifying imagery. Here\u2019s hoping the actor and director will continue to collaborate in the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n – Best Performance by a Female Actor – Motion Picture, Musical\/Comedy (Emma Stone, Poor Things<\/em>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Stone had already exhibited plenty of talent in Yorgos’ previous work The Favourite<\/em>, and has been let loose in his latest bizarre entry. Rolling around through a steampunk worldscape, Stone delivers a mesmerising performance full of tragedy, anger and deadpan wit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n – Best Performance by a Male Actor \u2013 Motion Picture, Musical\/Comedy (Paul Giamatti, The Holdovers<\/em>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Haven\u2019t seen The Holdovers<\/em> yet, but apparently it\u2019s pretty good. I haven\u2019t seen a whole lot of these, so I need to fix that. William Defoe definitely should\u2019ve got a nomination here for his performance in Poor Things<\/em>, though; he\u2019s great in everything, but he put in a particularly powerful performance here as Bella Baxter\u2019s eccentric inventor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n – Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role \u2013 Motion Picture (Da\u2019Vine Joy Randolph, The Holdovers<\/em>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n As above. My Oppenheimer<\/em> bias makes me lean towards Emily Blunt here, but again, I need to watch more of the film nominated in this category<\/p>\n\n\n\n Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role – Motion Picture (Robert Downey Jr, Oppenheimer<\/em>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Super hyped to see RDJ get this one, and it’s nice to see him switch to a pantomime villain role after all his good guy performances in the MCU. Strauss is mesmerising throughout, even when he gets taken down by the brilliant Rami Malek in the final scenes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n – Best Picture \u2013 Animated (The Boy and the Heron<\/em>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n I\u2019ve heard the latest Studio Ghibli film is great, so I need to see it. I feel like Spider-Man<\/em> deserved this one, but, once more, I need to see more of these. I\u2019m glad The Super Mario Bros Movie<\/em> didn\u2019t win, anyway. Not that I hated it, it\u2019s just nowhere near award-worthy. And apparently Wish<\/em> was horrifically bad. But haven\u2019t seen that yet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n – Best Picture \u2013 Non-English Language (Anatomy of a Fall<\/em>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Really disappointed that Past Lives<\/em> didn\u2019t get the gong here, as that was easily one of my favourites from last year, but hopefully it gets more love at the Oscars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n – Best Score \u2013 Motion Picture (Ludwig G\u00f6ransson, Oppenheimer<\/em>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n GO G\u00f6ransson GO. The composer is quickly building his reputation as a musical maestro, which has certainly been boosted by taking over Hans Zimmer\u2019s role as Christopher Nolan\u2019s regular muse. There are some absolute classic tracks on display throughout the director\u2019s latest, with \u2018Can You Hear the Music\u2019 standing out as one of the big bangers (no bomb puns intended). But don\u2019t forget about other genius compositions like the harrowing concluding piece \u2018Destroy of Worlds\u2019, as well as the tension-ridden \u2018Colonel Pash\u2019. Yikes, that last one was tense (in a good way, of course).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Best Song \u2013 Motion Picture (\u2018What Was I Made For?\u2019, Barbie<\/em>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Barbie had to take this award home with its stellar zingers, and it seems appropriate that \u2018I\u2019m Just Ken\u2019 didn\u2019t get the win. After all, he\u2019s just Ken. Anywhere else he\u2019d be a ten (etc.). But Billie Eilish\u2019s soulful tune definitely deserved the prize, with the song poignantly embodying Barbie<\/em>\u2019s emotional heart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n – Best Cinematic and Box Office Achievement (Barbie<\/em>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is a new category this year, and Barbie<\/em> was a deserving winner for its box office success, although it\u2019s a shame that it couldn\u2019t have got a joint award with Oppenheimer<\/em> for the Barbenheimer phenomenon, a double hit of financial success that boosted the film industry and then some. Still, I\u2019ll take it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n TV (Round-up)<\/p>\n\n\n\n I\u2019m mostly here to look at the film awards, but I\u2019ll take a quick looks at the TV gongs. The Best Drama Series award should\u2019ve gone to The Last of Us<\/em> in my humble opinion, but then I haven\u2019t seen any of Succession<\/em> yet (*gasp* horror, I know), but the final season of that show was apparently great, so I\u2019ll let that go. Likewise, I haven\u2019t seen The Bear<\/em>, which got the award for Best Musical\/Comedy Series, but apparently that\u2019s good too (this is fun, isn\u2019t it?). I was really happy to see Beef<\/em> get the Best Limited Series prize, though. That show felt like a breath of fresh air, and I\u2019ve never witnessed tension and chaos quite like it. Woop. Likewise with Ali Wong deservedly getting the award for Best Female Actor in a limited series. She was a brilliant performer, defying the already worn \u2018strong female character\u2019 schtick by portraying a complicated, flawed individual striving for petty revenge. And once again for Steven Yeun bagging Best Male Actor in a Limited series. It\u2019s really great to see Beef<\/em> get all the recognition it has justly earnt. I feel like Bella Ramsay and Pedro Pascal should\u2019ve won the Best Performances on Television awards, but, like I said, I haven\u2019t seen Succession<\/em> yet, so I could be wrong. My TV viewing generally isn\u2019t wide enough to give an opinion on the other awards, so I\u2019ll be giving those a hard skip. Very professional, yep.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Another year, another awards season. 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