I could've been somebody, instead of a bum, which is what I am.
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Babe 1995
I'm generally not in the habit of tracking down talking pig movies, but the Best Picture project has taken me to some unusual places, and as talking pig movies go this one is perfectly fine.
This website is full of gushing reviews for this heartwarming children's flick, a typical reaction to movies of this ilk (although its cumulative review score here is actually pretty low), and I'm thinking it was just that kind of reaction that garnered it an Oscar…
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American Sniper 2014
What’s the difference between glorifying someone who decides to kill people for reasons that make sense only to them and glorifying someone who's paid by the U.S. military to do so? The fact that in the latter case, the government says it’s OK to kill certain people in a particular situation? That’s a distinction, but it's not enough of one for me. As a director, Clint Eastwood has rarely made bad movies, and this is a quality film as well,…
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1917 2019
I didn't drink the Kool-Aid, and that made all the difference. I was aware of the hype surrounding this film -- oners! told in real time! -- but never really paid attention to it. The worst thing about film hype is that it leaves me going too far in the other direction ("Really? That's it?"). That's probably what happened to me with fellow Best Picture nominee "Parasite," for instance. But because I watched "1917" in a relatively hype-free environment, I…
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Gone with the Wind 1939
We, as a society, cannot address our problems with race by hiding our problems with race. This movie is a specific example of that problem, and it should not be canceled by our indignant, easily outraged culture. I'm not here to defend the film. I fully respect anyone's desire to criticize the picture, ignore it, write it off the face of their own personal earth. But it should not be canceled.
The problem with "GWTW," as I see it, isn't…
