Category Archives: EYG Blog

June Swoon 3: A Cinematic Flashback

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For the third consecutive year, I have scheduled a DailyView for the month of June, watching daily a movie from the previous year, 2023, that I missed. There are several Oscar winners in the upcoming June Swoon.

This will be the place where I will keep track of the thirty movies that will consist of the June Swoon 3: A Cinematic Flashback.

Again, the rule is that I will watch and write a review for at least 30 movies, one a day, that was released in 2023 that I had not seen.

June Swoon 3

Sat. June 1, 2024: Anatomy of a Fall

Sun. June 2, 2024: The Zone of Interest

Mon. June 3, 2024: Thanksgiving

Tues. June 4, 2024: Justice League: Warworld

Wed. June 5, 2024: The Last Repair Shop

Thurs. June 6, 2024: The Boys in the Boat

Fri. June 7. 2024: Hell House LLC Origins: The Carmichael Manor

Sat. June 8, 2024: Rustin

Sun. June 9, 2024: Run Rabbit Run

Mon. June 10, 2024: The Book of Clarence

Tues. June 11, 2024: Origin

Wed. June 12, 2024: The Royal Hotel

Thurs. June 13, 2024: Reptile

Fri. June 14, 2024: The Retirement Plan

Sat. June 15, 2024: Anyone But You

Sun. June 16, 2024: Ferrari

Mon. June 17, 2024: Flamin’ Hot

Tues. June 18, 2024: Eileen

Wed. June 19, 2024: Shortcomings

Thurs. June 20, 2024: All of Us Strangers

Fri. June 21, 2024: My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3

Sat. June 22, 2024: The ABCs of Book Banning

Sun. June 23, 2024: El Conde

Mon. June 24, 2024: A Disturbance in the Force

Tues. June 25, 2024: 20 Days in Mariupol

Wed. June 26, 2024: Flora and Son

Thurs. June 27, 2024: Infinity Pool

Fri. June 28, 2024: You Hurt My Feelings

Sat. June 29, 2024: Reality

Sun. June 30, 2024: The Burial

2024 EYG Favorite Comic Covers by the Week

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January 1: Reiko Murakami and Vincenzo Riccardi, Ghostlore #7

January 10: Martin Morazzo, Swan Song #6

January 17: Alex Ross, Fantastic Four #16

January 22:

Gold: Stefano Caselli & Jesus Aburtov, Resurrection of Magneto #1

Silver: Andrea Sorrentino, Bone Orchard: Tenement #8;

Bronze: Matt Taylor, Slow Burn #4

January 29:

Gold: Daniel Acuña, Avengers Inc #5,

Silver: Juan Ferreyra, Spine-Tingling Spider-Man #4

Bronze: David Aja, Deadly Hands of Kung Fu: Gang War #2

February 5:

Gold: Mateus Manhanini, Star Wars: Mace Windu #1.

Silver: Alex Ross, Fantastic Four #17

Bronze: Mattia De Iulis, The Cull #5.

February 12:

Gold: Pepe Larraz & Marte Gracia, Fall of the House of X #1.

Silver: David Finch, Vengeance of the Moon Knight #2.

Bronze: Elena Casagrande & KJ Diaz, Blade #8.

February 19:

Gold: Andrea Sorrentino, Bone Orchard: Tenement #9.

Silver: Sami Kivelä, Deer Editor #2.

Bronze: Sumit Kumar, Lee Loughridge, & Tom Muller, The Six Fingers #1.

February 26:

Gold: Martin Morazzo & Chris O’Halloran, Ice Cream Man #38.

Silver: Jacob Phillips, Newburn #15.

Bronze: John Romita Jr., Scott Hanna & Marcio Menyz, Amazing Spider-Man #44.

March 4:

Gold: Fran Galán, Pine & Merrimac #3.

Silver: Leinil Francis Yu & Sunny Gho, Thanos #4.

Bronze: Eduardo Risso, Dan Panosian & Fritz Casas, Torpedo 1972 #1.

March 11:

Gold: John Romita Jr., Scott Hanna & Marcio Menyz, Amazing Spider-Man #45.

Silver: Alex Ross, The Immortal Thor #8.

Bronze: Andrei Bressan & Adriano Lucas, Dark Ride #11.

March 18:

Gold: Mark Brooks, X-Men: Forever #1.

Silver: Takashi Okazaki, Star Wars: Visions #1.

Bronze: Szymon Kudranski, Something Epic #8.

March 25:

Gold: Dan Panosian, Zorro: Man of the Dead #3.

Silver: Nick Robles, The Oddly Pedestrian Life of Christopher Chaos #8.

Bronze: Trish Forstner & Tony Fleecs, Feral #1.

April 1:

Gold: Inhyuk Lee, Deadpool #1.

Silver: Willi Roberts, Antarctica #10.

Bronze: Kevin Keane and Todd McFarlane, Sand and Twitch Case Files #1.

April 8:

Gold: Gabriel H. Walta, Phantom Road #10.

Silver: Bengal, Napalm Lullaby #2.

Bronze: Zé Carlos, Rat City #1.

April 15:

Gold: Annie Wu, Blow Away #1.

Silver: Michael Avon Oeming, Blue Book: 1947 #3.

Bronze: Alex Ross, Fantastic Four #19.

April 22:

Gold: Romy Jones, Scarlet Witch & Quicksilver #3.

Silver: Matthew Roberts & Dave Stewart, Universal Monsters: Creature from the Black Lagoon Lives #1.

Bronze: Phillip Tan & Sebastian Cheng, Wolverine: Madripoor Knights #3.

April 29:

Gold: Eduardo Risso, The Blood Brothers Mother #1.

Silver: Michael Cho, Space Ghost #1.

Bronze: Stanley “Artgerm” Lau, Blood Hunt #1.

May 6:

Gold: Alex Ross, Fantastic Four #20.

Silver: Andrea Sorrentino, Crocodile Black #1.

Bronze: Jorge Corona, Ain’t No Grave #1.

May 13:

Gold: Jeffrey Alan Love, Ice Cream Man #39

Silver: Jim Rugg, X-Men Forever #4

Bronze: Adi Granov, Doom #1

May 20:

Gold: Ernanda Souza, Spider-Gwen: The Ghost Spider #1 (Variant)

Silver: Jonathan Glapion, Sam and Twitch Case Files #3

Bronze: Mark Brooks, Spider-Gwen: The Ghost Spider #1

May 27:

Gold: David Baldeón, Spider-Boy #7 (Variant)

Silver: Matthew Roberts & Dave Stewart, Universal Monsters: Creature from the Black Lagoon Lives

Bronze: Andrea Sorrentino, Black Panther: Blood Hunt #1

June 3

Gold: Ed McGuinness & Marco Menyz, Amazing Spider-Man #51

Silver: Francesco Mattina, Space Ghost #2

Bronze: Javier Marchisio, Profane #1

June 10

Gold: Daniel Warren Johnson & Mike Spencer, Transformers #9

Silver: Joshua Hixson, The Deviant #6

Bronze (TIE): Bjorn Barends, Amazing Spider-Man: Blood Hunt #2

Bronze (TIE): Szymon Kudranski, Something Epic #11

June 17

Gold: Nick Robles, The Oddly Pedestrian Life of Christopher Chaos #10

Silver: Annie Wu, Blow Away #3

Bronze: Alex Ross, The Immortal Thor #12

June 24

Gold: Humberto Ramos & Edgar Delgado, The Spectacular Spider-Men #4

Silver: Martin Simmonds, The Department of Truth #23

Bronze: Matthew Roberts & Dave Stewart, Universal Monsters: Creature from the Black Lagoon #3

July 1

Gold: Leinil Francois Yu, Spider-Man Reign 2 #1

Silver: Chip Zdarsky, Public Domain #6

Bronze: Juni Ba, The Boy Wonder #3

July 8

Gold: Gabriel Hardman, Crocodile Black #3 (virgin variant)

Silver: Dave Johnson, Get Fury #3

Bronze: Taigami &Richard Isanove, Kid Venom #1

July 15

Gold: Alex Maleev, Namor #1

Silver: Kael Ngu, Invincible Iron Man #20

Bronze: Walter Simonson & Laura Martin, Immortal Thor Annual #1

July 22

Gold: Trish Forstner & Tony Fleecs, Feral #5

Silver: Nick Robles & Hayden Sherman, The Nice House By the Sea #1

Bronze: Eric Talbot, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1

July 29

Gold: Peach Momoko, What If Donald Duck Became Wolverine #1

Silver: Alex Ross, Immortal Thor #13

Bronze: Paulo Siqueira & Rachelle Rosenberg, Spider-Man: Shadow of the Green Goblin #4

August 5

Gold: David Marquez and Matthew Wilson, Uncanny X-Men #1

Silver: Joshua Cassara & GURU-eFX, Avengers #17

Bronze: Todd Nauck & Rachelle Rosenberg, Incredible Hulk #15

August 12

Gold: Guillermo Fajardo, Wonderland: Return to Madness #2

Silver: John Romita Jr., Scott Hanna & Marcio Menyz, Amazing Spider-Man #55

Bronze: Tom Raney, Jonny Quest #1

August 19

Gold: Dave Johnson, Get Fury #4

Silver: Russell Dauterman, Scarlet Witch #3

Bronze: Bryan Hitch & Brad Anderson, Redcoat #5

August 26

Gold: Alvaro Martinez Bueno, The Nice House By the Sea #2

Silver: Jason Shawn Alexander, Killadelphia #35

Bronze: Werther Dell’Edera, Something is Killing the Children #40

September 2

Gold: Dike Ruan & Neeraj Menon, The Ultimates #4

Silver: Paco Medina & Edgar Delgado, Spider-Boy #11

Bronze: Alex Lins & Marcelo Maiolo, Plastic Man No More #1

September 9

Gold: Francis Manapul, Geiger #6

Silver: Martin Coccolo & Bryan Valenza, Wolverine #1

Bronze: Sergio Aragones, Groo: Minstrel Melodies #1

September 16

Gold: Martin Morazzo & Chris O’Halloran, Ice Cream Man #41

Silver: Pete Woods, Spider-Society #2

Bronze: Tirso, Dark Knights of Steel: Allwinter #3

September 23

Gold: Mitsuhiro Arita, Spider-Man: Black Suit & Blood #2 (Variant)

Silver: Paolo Rivera, Hello Darkness #3

Bronze: Dave Elsey, Sherlock Holmes: The Dark Detective #1

September 30

Gold: Ivan Reis, Danny Miki, and Brad Anderson, Hyde Street #1

Silver: Alex Lins & Marcelo Maiolo, Plastic Man No More #2

Bronze: John Romita Jr., Scott Hanna, and Richard Isanove, Daredevil #14

October 7

Gold: Joshua Cassara & Dean White, Fantastic Four #26

Silver: Gary Frank & Brad Anderson, Geiger #7

Bronze: Andrea Mutti., Seance in the Asylum #1

October 14

Gold: David Talaski, Christopher Chaos Halloween Special #1

Silver: Martin Simmonds, The Department of Justice #26

Bronze: Flaviano, Grim #20

October 21

Gold: Jenny Frison, Hello Darkness #4

Silver: Jock, The Exorcism at 1600 Penn #1

Bronze: Rafael Albuquerque, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #3

October 28

Gold: Alessandro Cappuccio, Namor #4

Silver: Trish Forstner & Tony Fleecs, Feral #7

Bronze: German Peralta, Redcoat #7

November 4

Gold: Afua Richardson, Kahhori: Reshaper of the Worlds #1

Silver: Alex Lins & Marcelo Maiolo, Plastic Man No More #3

Bronze: Rafa Sandoval & Ulises Arreola, Absolute Superman #1

November 11

Gold: David Marquez & Matthew Wilson, Uncanny X-Men #5

Silver: Josemaria Casanovas, The Spectacular Spider-Man #9

Bronze: Arjuna Susini, The Mammoth #5

November 18

Gold: John McCrea, Dead Eyes: The Empty Frames #3

Silver: Alex Ross, The Immortal Thor #17

Bronze: Francesco Mattina, Space Ghost #7

November 25

Gold: Ivan Reis & Danny Miki with Brad Anderson, Hyde Street #2

Silver: Michael Walsh, Universal Monsters: Frankenstein #4

Bronze: Ben Harvey, West Coast Avengers #1

December 2

Gold: Rafa Sandoval & Ulises Arreola, Ultimate Superman #2

Silver: Baldemar Rivas, Two-Face #1

Bronze: Dave Elsey, Sherlock Holmes: The Dark Detective #2

Round Two

Gold: Werther Dell’Edera, The Art of Something Killing the Children Companion

Silver: Iban Coello, All-New Venom #1

Bronze: Vanesa Del Ray, The Exorcism at 1600 Penn #2

December 9

Gold:

Silver:

Bronze:

The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst S1 E5

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“Family Values”

Episode five goes into more of the Durst family drama, including the apparent hard feelings between Robert and his younger brother Doug, who had taken over the running of the family business.

The sibling rivalry part of this docuseries was truly weird. Robert had some real issues with his brother Doug and Doug was avoiding everything to do with his brother, especially the documentary that was being film about him.

But the real meat of this episode was back with the murder of Susan Berman, who was murdered in Los Angeles. Susan had been a huge Robert Durst supporter, but she wound up death, with a bullet in the back of her head, execution-style in her home. There was a timeline laid out that indicated that Robert could have done it. He is placed in California, but not actually in LA. Even Robert said it though, they never placed in in LA and California is a big state. That line from Robert was chilling. He clearly stated this as a way to show what his defense would be if this charge ever became reality.

But then the letter was found that had been sent by Robert to Susan that matched the letter that had been sent to the LA police, that had the same misspelling of Beverly Hills, with an extra E in the word. The handwriting sure looked to match between the two documents. Andrew Jarecki wanted to record the reaction of Robert to this piece of evidence that no one knew they had.

This is what would lead to the bombshell next episode. The insanity of this entire show has been off the charts and this little man is just an amazing character that you find so difficult to believe was real.

Deadpool & Wolverine trailer

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Marvel Studios only has one movie coming out in 2024.

It is one of the most anticipated films of the year. Certainly, it is mine.

Deadpool & Wolverine dropped a new trailer today, the official trailer which followed the teaser from the Super Bowl.

They wanted to show immediately that this would not be Disney-fied. ere were F-bombs everywhere in this trailer.

Hugh Jackman looks incredible and they have an easy chemistry between Deadpool and Wolverine.

This looks absolutely epic and I can not wait for July.

Oscar Winners-How Did I Do?

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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 2024 Academy Award Picks

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https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/awards-insider-oscar-nominations-2024

Here are the picks from EYG for tonight’s Academy Awards. I am giving the Should Win, Will Win choice for each. These are my picks, the nominees I think are going to win, not necessarily my favorites.

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

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

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)

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

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!)

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)

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.)

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

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

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.

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

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

El Conde
Killers of the Flower Moon
Maestro
Oppenheimer
Poor Things

SHOULD WIN: Oppenheimer

WILL 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

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

Barbie
Killers of the Flower Moon
Napoleon
Oppenheimer
Poor Things

SHOULD WIN: Barbie

WILL WIN: Poor Things

BEST HAIR AND MAKEUP 

Golda
Maestro
Oppenheimer
Poor Things
Society of the Snow

SHOULD WIN: Poor Things

WILL WIN: Poor Things

BEST SOUND

The Creator
Maestro
Mission: Impossible—Dead Reckoning Part One
Oppenheimer
The Zone of Interest

SHOULD WIN: Oppenheimer

WILL WIN: Oppenheimer

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

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN

Barbie
Killers of the Flower Moon
Napoleon
Oppenheimer
Poor Things

SHOULD WIN: Barbie

WILL WIN: Poor Things

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?”

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

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

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

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

Oscar Nominated Shorts-Live Action & Animated

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I was able to see the ten films nominated for the Academy Award in Shorts, five in Live Action and five in Animation.

I am going to list the five films in each category in the order in which I like them. I will then be adding my little Oscar predictions after it too. I will say which short film I think SHOULD win the Oscar and which short film I think WILL win the Oscar.

We will start off with the Live-Action Shorts or, as I dubbed it during my viewing, “the shorts that show that bad things happen to kids too” films. Most of these were really downers, with some really tragic circumstances happening.

LIVE ACTION SHORTS

#5. The After. This was my least favorite of the live-action shorts despite there being a very strong performance from David Oyelowo as the protagonist. It felt very disjointed despite being a short. Oyelowo was really strong in his part and I could see the Academy seeing the well-known actor and giving this the win because of it.

#4. Invincible. One of the tragic stories based on a true story that recounts the last 48 hours in the life of Marc-Antoine Bernier. If the Academy is pulled in with the true story aspect, this has a chance. I thought this was a good short among the downers.

#3. Red, White and Blue. A story of an Arkansas woman trying to struggle to get enough money to have an abortion. The road trip is part of the story and the twist ending was rough. I do not think this has any chance of actually winning, considering the controversial topic. Still, it was well acted and powerful.

#2. Knight of Fortune. The one that does not involve a kid, finds a man at a morgue, trying to build up the courage to look at the body of his dead wife. This actually had quite a bit of hope for life involved as well as an unlikely friendship is created.

#1. The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar. This was the one short of the ten I saw today that I had seen previously. I watched this on Netflix last year and even wrote a review for it. It was one of the longer shorts and was directed by Wes Anderson. This was one of the Roald Dahl films Anderson did for Netflix last year. I loved the way the film is directed and the writing is clever and quick. We get Dev Patel, Benedict Cumberbatch, Ralph Fiennes and Ben Kingsley in the short. This was funny and considerably lighter than the others in this category.

SHOULD WIN: The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar

WILL WIN: The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar

I think this is the easiest of the two categories here. The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar is full of energy, clever writing and a story that bounces around, engaging the audience at every turn.

ANIMATED SHORTS

I liked the animation shorts more than I liked the live action this year. If I remember correctly, it was that way last year too. Creativity is all over this category and I love that.

#5. Our Uniforms. From Iran, I almost put this at number four instead because of the amazing cleverness of the animation style here, but I did not find the story to be as strong as the others. This was awesome to look at though.

#4. Pachyderme. This was very deep, and while I did not love it, the story did elevate this ahead of Our Uniforms. It is the story of a girl remembering her visits with her grandparents in the countryside.

#3. War is Over! Inspired by the Music of John and Yoko. This was a great animated short, albeit fairly simple. I loved the message of the short and I, of course, love the Beatles and John Lennon’s War is Over song provides the biggest emotional score of the film. I really loved this, but the other two were just a little higher for me.

#2. Letter to a Pig. A story of a Holocaust survivor and how he escaped from the Nazis by hiding in a pig pen. But it was more than that. This was very abstract and the animation was absolutely stunning. I LOVED this animation above any other of the five films I saw. I thought this would be my top favorite because of the animation, but the story did become a little too abstract in the ending, giving the number one spot on my favorites list to…

#1. Ninety-Five Senses. This one caught me off guard, as it was shown after Letter to a Pig, which I thought was going to be my favorite, but this passed it by. Voiced by Tim Blake Nelson, this follows the story of a character who has made his share of mistakes in his life and is about to pay for them. This was really powerful and carried its share of emotions with it. This was my personal favorite short of the day, animated or live action.

SHOULD Win: Letter to a Pig

WILL Win: War is Over! Inspired by the Music of John & Yoko

This shows the depth of the animated short category. My personal favorite was Ninety-Five Senses, but I think it does not win this category. Letter to a Pig is the best overall animated short here, both story and animation, but I do think the connection to John Lennon makes War is Over the ultimate winner. I might actually be rooting for Letter to a Pig though because of the stunning design of that animation.