One of the greatest X-Files episodes of all time, plus one of the most disturbing hours of television you are ever going to see is up next in the X-Files rewatch. This episode was not repeated after its initial broadcast because of the content. This is “Home.”
Mayberry it is not, even with a sheriff named Andy Taylor and a deputy named Barney.
The Peacock family has to be one of the most horrific TV show characters/antagonists in television history. Yet they held some tightly believed ideals about family that, while perverted and creepy, actually present the concept of family in the highest regards. Mrs. Peacock loved her boys and was proud as their mother, despite the horrors they engaged in.
The use of the song “Wonderful, Wonderful” during the murder scene of Sheriff Taylor and his wife by the Peacock boys is forever etched into my brain and I cannot hear that song even today without picturing the episode. Johnny Mathias, the song’s singer, did not want his version of the song on the episode because of the violence involved, so a cover version was recorded.
There was such an isolation to this setting that one could understand Mulder and Scully’s decision to not wait for backup when they believed that there was a kidnap victim inside the Peacock house.
That house, by the way, is just as unsettling as everything else on the show. The mood of the episode was just tremendously disturbing and the entire episode had plenty of moments that led to a moment of disgust. For example, when Mrs. Peacock said that she was hungry and one of her boys put some bread into his mouth and fed it to her like a bird… seriously, my own stomach turned a bit.
The episode stirred up controversy, but it remains one of the best X-Files monster-of-the-week episodes of the series’ run.
The conclusion of the season three finale brought some weird truths to light only to pull them away at the end. In all honesty, the X-Files seemed to only dole out a few nuggets at a time when dealing with the show’s mythology and also change many of the things that we knew before.
The episode was tense, but the use of Samantha Mulder as a ‘clone’ at these farms in Canada with the bees was really one more idea that tried to use the disappearance of the girl. It did not seem to make a lot of sense. Mulder’s sister always felt like a MacGuffin that the series just tossed out when it needed a boost.
The alien bounty hunter was all over this episode too as he tracked down Mulder and Jeremiah Smith as well as, for some reason, let Scully live, twice and healed Mulder’s mother.
It is a decent episode, but it did not feel as if it measured up to the season three finale. One wonders at this point in the series, did the writers and creators of the show know what their overall mythology was or did they just add and adjust as needed with little plan to ever give out the truth?
The death of X was dramatic and powerful, but it seemed as if he was replaced as an inside informant before the episode ended with the arrival of Marita Covarrubias at the SRSG.
Twin Peaks takes a real step from the Laura Palmer mystery into what sure felt like a series of dull and uninspiring storylines.
James rode his motorcycle and met a woman named Evelyn Marsh. I legit hate this storyline.
Nadine is interested in high schooler Mike.
Catharine has some new manipulations
The mayor’s brother gets married again- played by Tony Jay.
David Duchovny comes to town as DEA Agent Dennis/Denise Bryson
Windham Earle makes a chess move.
Dick brings Little Nicky for a malt; Andy tags along.
Betty Briggs is not upset that her husband disappeared in the woods last episode.
Audrey was on screen for three seconds dancing with Cooper at the wedding.
Seriously, this was very dull for most of the episode. It was odd to see David Duchovny show up in drag, but it is less of a shock these days as it would have been back in the 1990s.
There was an interesting scene between Hank and Ben Horne. Horne is very eccentric at this point, watching old home movies and making shadow puppets with his hands.
This was a huge step down from previous Twin Peaks episodes.
Season five continues to put the David-Maddie relationship on the back burner and focus on the cases with only a few references to the “Spaceman.”
This episode dealt with plastic surgery, and made me think about the episode from season two, The Lady in the Iron Mask. This time there was a man who had been horribly disfigured by a plastic surgeon that he wanted to find details to sue him. This is why he hired David and Maddie.
David did not want to take the case. This led to an interesting discussion of vanity between Dave and Maddie that continued to inform on their characters.
Of course, as any Moonlighting case, things are never exactly what you see and it leads to a wild, cartoonish chase scene.
There was a chainsaw too.
This episode did feel as if the writers were trying to reach back before the whole Dave and Maddie thing to capture some of the old magic of the show, and they did a fairly decent job of it. This had that same feeling of the third season, but the tension between Dave and Maddie was not here. I liked this episode, but you can see how it is just not quite the same.
After a series of excellent monster-of-the-week episodes, The X-Files came back to the governmental conspiracy mythology with a vengeance with the final two episodes of season three. While “Wetwired” was not as directly involved as it seemed, it did turn out to be a connected show where as “Talitha Cumi” expanded the mythos dramatically.
“Wetwired” dealt with the use of subliminal signals over the television to lead to a form of mind control. The best part of the episode was seeing how the signals affected Scully, turning her paranoid and angry at Mulder, whom she believed was betraying her.
When Mulder tracked Scully down at her mother’s house, Scully confronted Mulder at gunpoint about how he did not trust her, and he delivered one of my favorite lines of the series when he said, “You’re the only one I trust.” Gillian Anderson gave a great performance as the unhinged Scully.
We also learned (at least, I do not recall it coming up before) that Mulder is red-green color blind, which kept the signals from turning him into a crazed killer.
In Talitha Cumi, we meet Jeremiah Smith, played by Roy Thinnes, who has apparent healing powers and an ability to shapeshift. We discover that the alien bounty hunter from earlier in the series was out to kill all the different version of Jeremiah Smith that were out there.
This is the dramatic end to the show, leaving a cliffhanger over the summer until the beginning of season four.
Mulder’s mother had a stroke just after a confrontation she had with the Cigarette Smoking Man. We learned that she had a connection to him in the past, and that one of the weapons capable of killing the alien bounty hunters was hidden in a summer home of the Mulders.
I swear, every time Mulder has CSM pushed against the wall with a gun to his head, I want him to finish the creep off. How would everything have been different if he had taken care of the bastard?
The show still referred to him as Cancer Man a couple of times, and I believe the episode with the actual guy who could see cancer comes in season 4. That is my guess as to why they removed that tag from CSM.
Two very good episodes that concluded an excellent season of TV from the X-Files. Season three is definitely the best season of the show so far, and is arguably the best season of the series.
Okay, I am a day late for that, as yesterday was the Ides of March, but it’s fun anyway. Welcome back to the EYG Comic Cavalcade #86 as we are piloting our way to number 100, only a few months or so away. With fifty issues of EYG Comic Catch-Up as well, that would be our 150 Legacy issue. Lots of excitement around here.
At my school, speaking of piloting, we are piloting a new curriculum for potential purchase next year. It is CKLA, from Amplify and in the 8th grade section, they have a sci-fi unit where they focus on Gris Grimly’s Frankenstein. Unfortunately, I am in 7th grade so I can not teach this graphic Novel, but I did order it from Amazon anyway. It arrived this week and it was a beautifully illustrated book. I also picked up Gris Grimly’s Edgar Allan Poe book, Tales of Death and Dementia. Both are very cool addition to the graphic novels in my collection.
Other books read this week:
Zorro: Man of the Dead #1-2. Fun new series from Massive Publishing. I had picked up issue #2 a few weeks ago and have been holding on to it until #1 came in. It came in this week and so I was able to read it and I enjoyed the new take on a present day Zorro very much. Sean Gordon Murphy and Simon Gough was the creative team behind these first two issues.
Blue Book: 1947 #1-2. Another book that I had to wait for was the new series based on the ‘true’ stories of UFOs from James Tynion IV and Michael Avon Oeming. I enjoyed the first volume of this book from Dark Horse and I discovered the second one was out a few weeks ago and was able to get both issues this week. 1947 is a big year in the mythology of UFO fans so I am excited to see where this goes. We get some examples of men in black in these issues (and that is not Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones).
Amazing Spider-Man #45. Written by Zeb Wells and art by guest artist Carmen Carnero. Cover art (gold medalist) by John Romita Jr., Scott Hanna and Marcio Menyz. Spider-Man is back trying to help out Mary Jane’s Aunt Anna Watson, who had lost her mind from the poisoned pills from the X-Men. Pete comes across Sandman in the mental institution too and Sandman gives Peter a hint that something Sinister was coming for Spider-Man.
Headless Horseman Halloween Annual. I had ordered this back last year, but it was missed. When we discovered that it was not ordered, we were able to get it into my pull list fairly quickly. This is a fun anthology book featuring several horror tales that deal with beheading. Another good Dark Horse book this week. I need to watch out for Dark Horse more than I have.
The Immortal Thor #8. “The Last Judgment” Written by Al Ewing and with art by Ibraim Roberson. Alex Ross did the cover art (silver medal). Thor faces off with his mother Gaea looking for answers about Toranos. He’s not pleased with the answers.
House of Slaughter #21. “The Butcher’s Wife: Part One“. Written by Tate Brombal and illustrated by Antonio Fuso. Cover art by Nimit Malavia & Werther Dell’edera. The houses meet with the Old Dragon and it gives Jace a target.
Ultimate Black Panther #2. Written by Bryan Hill and featuring art by Stefano Caselli. Caselli & David Curiel did the cover art. There is a traitor inside Wakanda, and T’Challa has received a prediction for his future involving a woman of energy bearing him a child. It does not look to be Okoye. Hiya Storm.
Fishflies #5. Written and drawn by Jeff Lemire. Bug is captured in a cellar by brother and sister Butch and Betty Bracken, and they seem to have experience in killing these things. Can Bug escape with Francis or will the dastardly twins kill another bug?
Dark Ride #11. Written by Joshua Williamson and art by Andrei Bressan. Cover art (Bronze medal) by Andrei Bressan & Adriano Lucas. The penultimate issue sees Sam finding his daughter, but discovering that his and Halloween’s father had something even more dangerous in motion. Dark Ride is heading for a fiery conclusion next month for sure.
Avengers: Twilight #4. “The Firefighters” Written by Chip Zdarsky and drawn by Daniel Acuna. Cover art was by Alex Ross. Thor is back! So is the head of Tony Stark. With a new team of old Avengers heading into the Raft to try and find and free anyone they could, the new Avengers are out in the world looking for them.
No/One #8. Written by Kyle Higgins & Brian Buccellato and art by Geraldo Borges. Ben Kern is ready to stop his running, in the most final way he could. Can No/One stop him from making a mistake? Only two more issues to go. I also love the companion podcast of Who is No/One featuring Rachael Leigh Cook and Patton Oswalt.
Black Widow & Hawkeye #1. “Broken Arrow: Part 1” Written by Stephanie Phillips and with art by Paolo Villanelli. Stephen Segovia & Jesus Aburtov did the cover art. Natasha and her new symbiote (not sure where that came from) is out looking for Clint Barton on behest of Bobbi Morse. They think he may be dead. On the contrary…
Spider-Gwen: Smash #4. Written by Melissa Flores and penciled by Enid Balám. David Nakayama did the cover art. This made last week’s Spider-Gwen Giant Size issue make much more sense as this issue leads directly into it. Making Em Jay a Carnage is still rather odd. I do like the inclusion of Dazzler.
Transformers #6. Written and drawn by Daniel Warren Johnson. As it seemed that they were preparing to kill Optimus Prime (I was having horrible flashbacks to Transformers: The Movie from the theater- a transcended moment in a lot of our lives), strange things happen. I am not really sure what happened except Sparky made some kind of sacrifice to save and fix Optimus. I have no idea how he knew what to do or how it worked, but it was definitely a boss move sand was pretty cool. I just am going to try not to think too much about it.
Napalm Lullaby #1. Written by Rick Remender and art and cover art by Bengal. A brutal and new series from Image that was a bit tough to follow. It seemed as if the beginning part was borrowing an origin from Superman. Still it is intriguing and I hope to be more into it as we progress. I do like the design of these characters.
Fall of the House of X #3. “The X Deaths of Dr. Statis” Written by Gerry Duggan and art by Lucas Werneck & Jethro Morales. Pepe Larraz & Marte Gracia did the cover art. This was a satisfying issue with Dr. Statis seemingly paying a price for his horrible acts during this Orchis storyline. Nice to see Firestar back and safe too. However, the cover does seem to indicate that Wolverine would have some role to play in this issue, and he is not to be found.
Other issues this week: Night People #1, Dead X-Men #3, What If… Venom #2, Ghost Rider: Final Vengeance #1, The One hand #2, Power Pack: Into the Storm #3, and Symbiote Spider-Man 2099 #1.
This was the second film I saw today that I disagreed with the Rotten Tomatoes score. Arthur the King, the new dog movie starring Mark Wahlberg, had a 65% on Rotten Tomatoes, but I did not find it as enjoyable as that.
According to Rotten Tomatoes, “Over the course of ten days and 435 miles, an unbreakable bond is forged between pro adventure racer Michael Light (Mark Wahlberg) and a scrappy street dog companion dubbed Arthur. Based on an incredible true story, ARTHUR THE KING follows Light, desperate for one last chance to win, as he convinces a sponsor to back him and a team of athletes (Simu Liu, Nathalie Emmanuel, and Ali Suliman) for the Adventure Racing World Championship in the Dominican Republic. As the team is pushed to their outer limits of endurance in the race, Arthur redefines what victory, loyalty and friendship truly mean.“
I really felt as if this film was pushing the boundaries of emotion manipulation with the times it put the dog in jeopardy, and the fact that this dog somehow followed this group of people across some brutal environments because Michael gave him some meatballs was just too much to believe. Yes, it is a true story, but I find it difficult to swallow.
There were some dramatic moments in the film, including one stunt with bicycles and a wire that was harrowing. The landscape was beautiful and was shot very well.
I never doubted what was going to happen in the movie. It was very predictable, which is not always a bad thing. Here, it just felt so manipulative that I rolled my eyes more than I should have.
I do love Simu Liu, but his character was really inconsistent throughout the film and it does not do an adequate job of explaining why he is as he is. Some of his scenes are in direct opposition to moments earlier in the film and even Simu’s great charisma could not help these moments.
A major problem I had was not necessarily the direct problem of the movie, but they showed WAY too much in the trailers, including several scenes from the very end of the movie. Any real tension there may have been in the scene was robbed because I knew there were scenes we saw in the trailer that had not yet happened in the movie. Scenes including the end of the race and subsequent after effects. Some films are hurt by their trailers, and, in my opinion, this is one of them.
I think a lot of people will love this movie, but I am not one of them. It was a basic story that we have seen dozens of times with a dog and a manipulative story. Still, it was not an offensive film and families should like it.
After I watched The American Society of Magical Negroes, I looked at the Rotten Tomatoes score. It was hovering around 31%, and I was surprised, because I thought it was much better than that.
According to IMDB, “A young man, Aren, is recruited into a secret society of magical Black people who dedicate their lives to a cause of utmost importance: making white people’s lives easier.“
Justice Smith played Aren and he is really great. The charisma from Smith really carried a lot of this movie. I also enjoyed the performance of David Alan Grier, who played Roger, a member of the Society who recruited Aren. Grier and Smith worked very well together.
The story is pretty basic, and the film did intend to be a commentary on the race relations of the nation. It does have its moments, but it feels too surface for a really difficult issue. It had a lot of potential to really be a satire of the racial division of the country, but the film did not take advantage of its premise. However, Justice Smith did have a monologue in the third act that was probably the best part of the movie and did contain more than the rest of the film.
Overall, I found this to be quite funny at times and I did like Justice Smith very much. It was a creative idea that could have really done more. I did find more enjoyment in the film than parts I felt were lacking, so this is a borderline recommendation.
The third episode of season five of Moonlighting had some decent moments to it. The end chase scene was still a little cartoonish, but it felt less obnoxious than the last time with the hot air balloons. I will say that I laughed when suddenly David and Maddie were on a bicycle built for two from out of nowhere, with little helmets to add to the imagery.
The dialogue between Maddie and David felt more on the nose and like an episode of Moonlighting. Their relationship was still at the center, but it was handled with care and not as if it were the most foulest thing ever. There was a feeling of love, not the anger that seemed to permeate season four of the show. That was a welcome change.
Of course, you could see the twist at the end with Maddie being great at pool coming from a mile away. Cybill Shepherd looked absolutely fabulous in that dress at the end of the episode, however, and it was worth the time to see her looking so gorgeous.
Unexpected background for Agnes though. A football team?
This was a great episode of the X-Files. A monster-of-the-week episode that sees Mulder and Scully in search of Big Blue, a supposed lake monster that is killing humans.
It turned out to be a killer alligator, which, by the way, is one of my biggest fears. We lose Scully’s dog Queequeg to the alligator.
The best part of this episode was when Mulder and Scully wound up stuck on a rock after their boat sinks in the pitch black and they have an amazingly meaningful conversation. Scully compares Mulder to Captain Ahab from Moby Dick. The truth=the white whale.
This scene just makes this episode special. The 10 pages of dialogue for that scene was one of the best Mulder/Scully interactions of the series up to this point.
There was a lot of tension, not only when they were trapped on that rock, but also when the alligator was rushing at Mulder and he unloaded his weapon at the beast. I remember that tension from the first time I watched it.
There was some good humor in this too, as Darin Morgan, who was the writer of all of the classic humor episodes this season, did some touch up here and you can tell.
It is that time of the week. It is NEW COMIC BOOK DAY and that means it is time to give some medals out to the best comic covers of the week.
This week, we have an EYG Hall of Famer with his third (I think) medal and a group that has received their second medal in as many issues.
BRONZE MEDALIST
Dark Ride #11
Cover Art by Andrei Bressan & Adriano Lucas
The Image Comic with the demonic amusement park provided a great cover art with a clearly demonic character. The eyes and the teeth are just astounding.
SILVER MEDALIST
The Immortal Thor #8
Cover Art by Alex Ross
This the third medal awarded to the EYG Hall of Famer Alex Ross. Ross is the preemptive cover artist and he has been doing covers for Marvel including Fantastic Four, Avengers: Twilight, and Thor. This one is different than his normal cover with more of the vines taking the main section of the cover.
GOLD MEDALIST
Amazing Spider-Man #45
Cover art by John Romita Jr., Scott Hanna & Marcio Menyz
This is the second issue in a row where Amazing Spider-Man cover artists Romita Jr., Hanna & Menyz received a medal. Last time it was a bronze. This one is a gold! Beautiful image of Spidey in the rain looking the worse for wear. The shadows are just a perfect addition to the image.
The fish-out-of-water feel of Blackthorne continues to be very interesting as he is trying to comprehend aspects of the Japanese culture that he just cannot grasp. The way they both dealt with the differences and the unintended slights was fascinating, and it was clearly leading to a connection between the characters.
Blackthorne has realized that everything he believed about his deal with Toranaga may not have been what he expected. Still, his instruction on the use of his ship’s cannons impressed the Japanese.
Lord Ishido sent his warrior, Jozen, to check in on Toranaga, to see if he were preparing for war. Jozen’s presence has been a challenge for the people in place, but Nagakado, Toranaga’s son, wound up attacking him with the cannon.
The brutal imagery of the victims of the cannon attack was amazing. The horror was impressive for a TV show.
There were also some tense stand offs between Blackthorne and Omi, whose initial confrontation at the beginning of the series still plays into this feud.
It is going to lead to a terrible situation, a declaration of war. What will happen next? What will Toranaga think when he discovers what his son has done? All pretty great questions and I am looking forward to finding out what is next.
The third episode of the new Walking Dead spinoff arrived Sunday night, but I could not watch it then because of the Academy Awards. So I watched it on Monday.
Rick and Michonne are really great together. I honestly did not see that much of the couple since they were not together as much during the time in which I was watching The Walking Dead. However, they really do have that chemistry where you believe that they could do anything.
Janus’s comment about how she was more concerned with them together because they could maybe do anything was very appropriate.
The potential escape attempt that Rick backed out of shows how far down he has fallen. This was the guy who was unafraid to take on the Governor or Negan, but he has been so beaten down that he can not see a way out of his current situation without losing everything.
Michonne has not lost that focus and I have to say that I gasped loudly when Michonne grabbed Rick and threw them both out of the helicopter during the terrible rain. What a shock. It was something that Michonne would do. Past Rick too.
I do think that next episode is going to really set the stage for what’s to come.
So the Oscars were last night, and I wanted to see how well I did. Here was the list of nominees, and my original picks for who should win and who will win. I will add the who did win section with some thoughts.
BEST PICTURE
American Fiction Anatomy of a Fall Barbie The Holdovers Killers of the Flower Moon Maestro Oppenheimer Past Lives Poor Things The Zone of Interest
SHOULD WIN: Oppenheimer
WILL WIN: Oppenheimer
WHO DID WIN: Oppenheimer
Not a surprise.
BEST DIRECTOR
Jonathan Glazer, The Zone of Interest Yorgos Lanthimos, Poor Things Christopher Nolan, Oppenheimer Martin Scorsese, Killers of the Flower Moon Justine Triet, Anatomy of a Fall
SHOULD WIN: Christopher Nolan
WILL WIN: Christopher Nolan
WHO DID WIN: Christopher Nolan. Nolan was another fairly obvious pick.
BEST ACTRESS
Annette Bening, Nyad Lily Gladstone, Killers of the Flower Moon Sandra Hüller, Anatomy of a Fall Carey Mulligan, Maestro Emma Stone, Poor Things
SHOULD WIN: Emma Stone
WILL WIN: Lily Gladstone (I’ve got a feeling on this one. I could see Emma Stone winning easily too)
WHO DID WIN: Emma Stone. I should have stuck with my gut, but I thought Lily Gladstone had the momentum.
BEST ACTOR
Bradley Cooper, Maestro Colman Domingo, Rustin Paul Giamatti, The Holdovers Cillian Murphy, Oppenheimer Jeffrey Wright, American Fiction
SHOULD WIN: Paul Giamatti
WILL WIN: Cillian Murphy
WHO DID WIN: Cillian Murphy.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Emily Blunt, Oppenheimer Danielle Brooks, The Color Purple America Ferrera, Barbie Jodie Foster, Nyad Da’Vine Joy Randolph, The Holdovers
SHOULD WIN: Da’Vine Joy Randolph
WILL WIN: Da’Vine Joy Randolph (LOCK!)
WHO DID WIN: Da’Vine Joy Randolph. It was a Sure thing lock. She was wonderful with ehr speech too.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Sterling K. Brown, American Fiction Robert De Niro, Killers of the Flower Moon Robert Downey Jr., Oppenheimer Ryan Gosling, Barbie Mark Ruffalo, Poor Things
SHOULD WIN: Robert Downey Jr.
WILL WIN: Robert Downey Jr. (Almost a LOCK)
WHO DID WIN: RDJ. Downey Jr. deserved his award for his performance and for years of great work.
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Justine Triet and Arthur Harari, Anatomy of a Fall David Hemingson, The Holdovers Bradley Cooper and Josh Singer, Maestro Samy Burch, May December Celine Song, Past Lives
SHOULD WIN: The Holdovers
WILL WIN: Anatomy of a Fall (I have not seen this film, waiting for the June Swoon.)
WHO DID WIN: Anatomy of a Fall. Got this one right. I did really well on the films that I have not yet seen.
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Cord Jefferson, American Fiction Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach, Barbie Tony McNamara, Poor Things Christopher Nolan, Oppenheimer Jonathan Glazer, The Zone of Interest
SHOULD WIN: American Fiction
WILL WIN: Oppenheimer
WHO DID WIN: American Fiction. I did the Should Win here. Too bad I didn’t put it on the Will Win.
BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE
Io Capitano, Italy Perfect Days, Japan Society of the Snow, Spain The Teacher’s Lounge, Germany The Zone of Interest, United Kingdom
SHOULD WIN: Society of the Snow
WILL WIN: The Zone of Interest
WHO DID WIN: The Zone of Interest. Easy to pick, even if I liked Society of the Snow. I’ll see Zone of Interest in June Swoon 3.
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
The Boy and the Heron Elemental Nimona Robot Dreams Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
SHOULD WIN: Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
WILL WIN: I’m uncertain for this. I am tempted to say The Boy and the Heron, but I’ll stick with Spider-Man.
WHO DID WIN: The Boy and the Heron. I had this feeling, but I could not pick against Spidey. I was not surprised at this ‘upset.’
BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
Bobi Wine: The People’s President The Eternal Memory Four Daughters To Kill a Tiger 20 Days in Mariupol
Haven’t seen any of these. I’ll guess 20 Days in Mariupol
WHO DID WIN: 20 Days in Mariupol. Good guesser!
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
El Conde Killers of the Flower Moon Maestro Oppenheimer Poor Things
SHOULD WIN: Oppenheimer
WILL WIN: Oppenheimer
WHO DID WIN: Oppenheimer.
BEST EDITING
Anatomy of a Fall The Holdovers Killers of the Flower Moon Oppenheimer Poor Things
SHOULD WIN: Poor Things
WILL WIN: Poor Things
WHO DID WIN: Oppenheimer. Part of the Oppenheimer rush -7 total wins!
BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Barbie Killers of the Flower Moon Napoleon Oppenheimer Poor Things
SHOULD WIN: Barbie
WILL WIN: Poor Things
WHO DID WIN: Poor Things. Very funny with a naked John Cena presenting this award.
BEST HAIR AND MAKEUP
Golda Maestro Oppenheimer Poor Things Society of the Snow
SHOULD WIN: Poor Things
WILL WIN: Poor Things
WHO DID WIN: Poor Things. People were surprised this did not go to Maestro. I was confident in Poor Things.
BEST SOUND
The Creator Maestro Mission: Impossible—Dead Reckoning Part One Oppenheimer The Zone of Interest
SHOULD WIN: Oppenheimer
WILL WIN: Oppenheimer
WHO DID WIN: The Zone of Interest. This was a surprise for me. Of course, I have not seen the Zone of Interest yet.
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
The Creator Godzilla Minus One Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 Mission: Impossible—Dead Reckoning Part One Napoleon
SHOULD WIN: The Creator
WILL WIN: Godzilla Minus One
WHO DID WIN: Godzilla Minus One. I was excited for this win.
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
Barbie Killers of the Flower Moon Napoleon Oppenheimer Poor Things
SHOULD WIN: Barbie
WILL WIN: Poor Things
WHO DID WIN: Poor Things. I did well with my Poor Things picks.
BEST ORIGINAL SONG
“What Was I Made For?”, Billie Eilish and Finneas, Barbie “I’m Just Ken,” Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt, Barbie “The Fire Inside,” Diane Warren, Flamin’ Hot “It Never Went Away,” Jon Batiste, American Symphony “Wahzhazhe (A Song for My People),” Osage Tribal Singers, Killers of the Flower Moon
SHOULD WIN: “I’m Just Ken”
WILL WIN: “What Was I Made For?”
WHO DID WIN: “What Was I Made For?” However Ryan Gosling’s performance of “I’m Just Ken” was one of the best moments of the night!
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
American Fiction Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny Killers of the Flower Moon Oppenheimer Poor Things
SHOULD WIN: Oppenheimer
WILL WIN: Oppenheimer
WHO DID WIN: Oppenheimer
BEST LIVE-ACTION SHORT
The After Invincible Knight of Fortune Red, White and Blue The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar
SHOULD WIN: The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar
WILL WIN: The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar
WHO DID WIN: The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar. Sad that Wes Anderson wasn’t at the ceremony.
BEST ANIMATED SHORT
Letter to a Pig Ninety-Five Senses Our Uniform Pachyderme War Is Over! Inspired by the Music of John & Yoko
SHOULD WIN: Letter to a Pig
WILL WIN: War is Over! Inspired by the Music of John & Yoko
WHO DID WIN: War is Over! Inspired by the Music of John & Yoko. Got this right. Letter to a Pig is much better still.
BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT
The ABCs of Book Banning The Barber of Little Rock Island in Between The Last Repair Shop Nai Nai & Wai Po
Again, have not seen any of these. Guess: The Last Repair Shop
WHO DID WIN: The Last Repair Shop. Another lucky guess!
I was 18/23 and I really came close to picking Emma Stone and The Boy and the Heron.
EYG- Embrace Your Geekness 