Sunday aired this year’s Academy Awards broadcast.
By Sunday evening, I had seen 9 of the 10 pictures nominated for best picture.
I’ve been cheering for the movie that has been steamrolling to the best picture win since I saw “Everything Everywhere All at Once” Easter Sunday 2022. It easily became one of the top 10 films I’ve ever seen, with a plot that on paper some boil down to dealing with laundry and taxes. The directors, known as the Daniels, take something so mundane as an audit on a family laundry basis and spread to the concept of a threat to the multiverse until all that’s left in the way of the destroyer is the least likely hero. And from there becomes an assault on the senses, as something small and mundane becomes a chaotic mess, filled with inventive choreography and set pieces. You will never look at a fanny pack the same way after this movie, that’s or sure.
There are moments in the film that are laugh out loud funny, cringe inducing, and terrifying, but at it’s core is a film that resonates about the importance and strength of family. That it has a mostly Asian-American cast is also a highlight, and Ke Huy Quan (Short Round from “Indiana Jones Temple of Doom” and Data from “The Gooines”) getting his best supporting actor statuette was definitely a big smile moment for me for an actor who was in a lot of my favorite movies growing up getting recognized for a phenomenal role in this picture.
There were a few others in the best picture race I liked this year – “The Fabelmans,” “Top Gun: Maverick” and “Banshees of Inisherin” all were among some of my favorite watches last year.
I am still chipping away at documentary features this year. Only two of the five were accessible on streaming services I’m currently subscribed to, with Navalny being the one that was just jaw dropping for this journalist.
Animated features, it was another year where there wasn’t a bad film in the bunch. I know some people will have critiques on “The Sea Beast’s” animation and story, but it definitely deserved the space next to “Turning Red,” “Marcel the Shell with Shoes On,” “Puss in Boots: The Final Wish “and “Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio.”
Many of the best picture nominees are available at Cole Library this year, so if you don’t have access to streaming, there’s a chance to pick them up there.
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About the Contributor
Nathan Countryman, Editor
Nathan Countryman is the Editor of the Mount Vernon-Lisbon Sun.