#Revenant Awards

[m39]

Doom WADs’ Roulette: Revenant Awards 2005

DOOMGUY AND THE REVENGE OF THE HELLISH GOBLET OF CHOCOLATE – REVENANT AWARDS 2005 EDITION

Since 2005, I have been a waste of air and space on this God-forsaken planet (but not as much as some of the other losers you will see being laughed at on the Internet) for the entire decade. In the same year, the Doom franchise reached twelve years of existence by that point. Not to mention the second Cacowards appearing in 2005. So why won’t we take a look at the WADs that were rewarded to some degree by that award ceremony in the rip-off of mine?

SOLE SURVIVOR – BEST ONE-MAP LONG WAD OF THE YEAR

Choosing the winner for this award was kind of tough; not only due to it having five contestants, but all of these maps having at least one incredible thing (for the 2005 standards) to offer. On the other hand, most of these maps have annoying shit in them. Jägermörder 2 looks and plays incredibly well in spite of six years of hell development, but the beginning part of this map is such hitscanner-filled bullshit that it has a chance to make you not want to play the rest of it. HeDRoX is really good on its own, but it kind of fades in when placed next to the rest of the one-map WADs of 2005. And Temple of Chaos 2 has a gimmick that does incredibly well... over the cost of fair difficulty, unfortunately.

So now we are left with Dutch Devil’s two maps – Altar of Evil and Total Control. Both are really good, both are equal when it comes to quality, and both have similar background areas when you look at the window (without counting what surrounds the map) but if I have to choose one, I will give the award to Altar of Evil. Simply because it doesn’t have hitscanners. And also because it has custom monsters as a bonus.

PUG-OF-PINK – BEST 2-7 MAPS-LONG WAD OF THE YEAR

When it comes to the Vanilla section of this award, there isn’t really that much to offer since both For Whom the Bell Tolls and Suspended in Dusk are basically fine WADs. But at least I can say that the former WAD doesn’t have obnoxiously tight mazes or annoyingly painful to listen new sound effects. And for these reasons, For Whom the Bell Tolls gets the award in the Vanilla section. Suspended in Dusk might look like a masterpiece but it doesn’t change the fact that it’s not really that fun to play.

As for the source port section, Hi-Tech Hell 2 - Alien Tech gets the award too (by default though). I could care less about the plot in this WAD along with the cutscenes, but Alien Tech is rather fun to play and looks incredible by the standards it was released.

Comparing these two winners, Alien Tech gave me more fun than For Whom.  

FULL DECK OF DIAMONDS – BEST 30-32 MAPS-LONG MEGAWAD OF THE YEAR

Karma Shawarma better be thankful for winning this award in the Vanilla section by default. Now look, I’m not saying that this MegaWAD is bad ‘cause it’s not. It looks impressive by the vanilla standards and has some really good levels in it (especially Stairway to Heaven), but it’s targeted closer to the people who eat a bunch of slaughter maps for breakfast in a row. Not to mention how the reasons behind this MegaWAD getting Mockaward still baffle me, but I already ranted about it in my review of this WAD.

And as for the source port section, the choice between Scythe 2 and Congestion 1024 couldn’t be more obvious and one-sided: Scythe 2 easily gets the award in this section. It’s just a great MegaWAD that doesn’t feel polarizing like Congestion 1024 was (although that WAD project had some strong moments too). Not to mention being a great sequel to the original Scythe WAD.

And yes, Scythe 2 gave me MUCH more fun than Korn Shoe.

OFF THE WALL – BEST PARTIAL/TOTAL CONVERSION WAD OF THE YEAR

Another case where one WAD is much superior to another. In this case, it’s Simplicity gaining the award over Happy Time Circus. Happy Time Circus might be the most unique map in this roster but unfortunately, it is just an okay map at its best, with a strong start and ending, and an utterly tiring rest of it. Simplicity is just incredible and you should check it out, like immediately.

OTHER AWARDS

There is one last WAD to reward. And that is Crimson Canyon earning the Platinum Revenant award for the best 10-19 maps long WAD/MegaWAD of the year. It doesn’t really distinguish itself from other WADs/maps but on its own, it does a good job. And also, since I forgot to mention it in my review, I like the fluent transition between the maps.

CONCLUSION

And that’s all for the 2005 edition of the Revenant Awards. Another year of WADs from the 2000s decade done. Time to take another week-long break before returning back to making WAD reviews. But not with the 2006 roster of WADs, but with Perdition's Gate (if I manage to launch it since it is a really old, archaic WAD).

I’ll see you in the future.

Bye!

[franzias-cave]

If you had one shot, or one opportunity To blow open the locked tomb via targeted infanticide One moment Would you capture it or just let it slip?

[fairweathermyth]

REVENANT :: 1.09

[domhnallgleesonhaven]

Happy birthday to Tom Hardy 🍾

BIFA 2015: Domhnall accepting Tom’s award on his behalf 🧡

[anditendshowyoudexpect]

solid to the end, massive respect

i expected the eyesight problem to be magicked away in the end but phew, well done

[tomhardymyking]

𝗧𝗼𝗺 here like: “𝑊𝒉𝑒𝑛 𝑎𝑛𝑜𝑡𝒉𝑒𝑟 𝑛𝑜𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛?” 👀

The first and only time he was nominated for the Oscars was in 2016 with Leonardo DiCaprio for 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑹𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒂𝒏𝒕 💓 Oh these two 💖

Will we see 𝗧𝗼𝗺 at the 96th ceremony for 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑩𝒊𝒌𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒔? 😮 Make your bets!

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𝗧𝗼𝗺 aquí como: “¿𝐶𝑢𝑎́𝑛𝑑𝑜 𝑜𝑡𝑟𝑎 𝑛𝑜𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑐𝑖𝑜́𝑛?” 👀

La primera y única vez que fue nominado en los Oscars fue en 2016 junto a Leonardo DiCaprio por 𝑬𝒍 𝑹𝒆𝒏𝒂𝒄𝒊𝒅𝒐 💓 Ay estos dos 💖

¿Veremos a 𝗧𝗼𝗺 en la 96ª ceremonia por 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑩𝒊𝒌𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒔? 😮 ¡Hagan sus apuestas!

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[academyawardwinners]

2015 Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role, Leonardo DiCaprio for the film "The Revenant."

[juliemolinaz]

Anyone else start crying hardcore when San-yeong had her realization that she wanted to live and took back control of her body? And then just continued crying as San-yeong really starting living for herself and was at peace that she was going to lose her eyesight? And the continued crying some more when Hae-sang took San-yeong to go see the fireworks and let her know that even though there was fear and sadness in seeing ghosts that there was also beauty and happiness? And then cried even more as San-yeong's vision started getting blury and she didn't care because she said she was going to strive to survive? Ugh, just such an amazing way to end the series.

Anyways, the whole show was amazing. It was so much more than just a show about horror and possession. There were so many amazing themes and messages in it. I'll definitely have to watch it again at some point.

Kim Tae-ri was phenomenal playing San-yeong and the akwgi. She better win all the awards in all the relevant award shows. If she doesn't, I'm going to riot.

[crowdvscritic]

crowd vs. critic single take // THE LOST WEEKEND (1945)

Photo Credits: IMDb.com

What’s one weekend away? For an alcoholic, torture.

Struggling writer Don (Ray Milland) is dreading a trip with his brother Wick (Phillip Terry), who monitors what he imbibes. He keeps a covert stash in the crannies of their New York City apartment, but it won’t be easy to sneak it out of town alongside his brother and his girlfriend Helen (Jane Wyman). Part belligerence and part willful ignorance convinces him perhaps it’s best not to go at all. A weekend spent only with himself—and a few fellow bar patrons—would be better.

CROWD // One of the reasons I love movies is they’re the closest to time travel we’ll ever get. Like Harry Potter dunking his head into the Pensieve, a screen always reveals more than the filmmakers intended because it's a literal portal into the past. The Lost Weekend’s portrayal of alcoholism feels melodramatic today, borderline heavy-handed, but in 1945, The New York Daily News called it "the most daring film that ever came out of Hollywood.” Turner Classic Movies notes it had a special relevance in a year when soldiers were returning from a traumatizing war, and it was “the first to treat drinking seriously and not play it for laughs. Gone were the inebriated Nick and Nora Charles of The Thin Man movies.” Just a few years later in 1949, Gone With the Wind author Margaret Mitchell died when she was was hit by a drunk driver. When Malcolm Gladwell explored it on his podcast Revisionist History, he observed, “The fact that his drinking might have been the reason he was speeding somehow didn't seem to occur to many people... but in the mentality of the time, the driver was irrelevant. He was as unlucky as the victim." All that to say, how we feel about alcoholism has changed in the last eight decades. 

Though the context feels foreign today, the characters do not. If you’ve ever known someone struggling with crippling mental health issues, watching Helen and Wick waffle between support for Don and total exasperation will feel too familiar. You’ll also recognize the truth in Don’s statement that there are two versions of himself—the one who would love to be a writer, and the one who believes he’s a failure. One version wants to be the man Helen deserves and a responsible brother who pays the rent, but the other cons and manipulates them, even swiping the maid’s paycheck for his habit. (Writer/director Billy Wilder would create another unstable, manipulative character in Sunset Blvd., but Norma Desmond would add a sinister edge.) Even if The Lost Weekend doesn’t feel congruent with modern depictions of substance abuse, it’s still moving because its heart is empathetic to those struggling as well as their friends and family. 

POPCORN POTENTIAL: 7/10

CRITIC // That success is largely thanks to the cast. In another film, Don could have been a villain or comic relief—here is treated with as much care as Milland took in preparing for the role. His commitment is an early example of the strategy many Best Actor hopefuls still take today, volunteering a physical transformation to become this character. In addition to changing his diet to lose weight, he took the initiative to stay in Bellevue Hospital for a time (where some of the film was shot, though Bellevue later regretted it) to experience their treatment of alcoholics. Though he was unsuccessful at achieving drunkenness, he was successfully mistaken as public day drinker by acquaintances who were gracious enough to mention it to the press. Without Milland, Matthew McConaughey might have still lost weight for Dallas Buyers Club, Brendan Fraser might still have gained weight for The Whale, and Leonardo DiCaprio might still have gone through the tortures of The Revenant, but perhaps Milland's win is the source code for actors going to extremes to show commitment to their craft. 

In addition to nominations for editing and cinematography, Billy Wilder won his first Oscars for writing and directing The Lost Weekend. (He’d already lost five times, including for Ninotchka and Double Indemnity, and he’d win four more for Sunset Blvd. and The Apartment. Yeesh, what a career!) A Best Score nod brought to the tally to 7 total nominations, though that’s less impressive when you know the Academy recognized 47 nominees in 3 different music categories for the year of 1945. (The following year each category was narrowed down to the traditional five.) 

One more indicator of the Ghost of Oscars Yet to Come: The Lost Weekend is the first social issues drama to win Best Picture. Previous winners danced around what is now a staple during Awards Season, but Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans and Grand Hotel were really slice-of-life character dramas, The Broadway Melody and Going My Way were really musicals, and It Happened One Night and You Can't Take It With You were really comedies, although all six of those titles were conscious of money, class, marriage, and religion. The Lost Weekend is the first winner about everyday people facing a present day challenge not set during war or a historical period. For the first time, the Academy affirmed the value of a "small" story with its highest honor, giving dignity to people and concerns that could be mistaken as unimportant.

ARTISTIC TASTE: 9/10

[storylineid]

Movie Recap "The Revenant" is an intense survival film set in the 1820s American frontier. It follows Hugh Glass, a fur trapper who is brutally attacked by a bear and left for dead. Despite his injuries, Glass embarks on a treacherous journey for revenge, battling harsh conditions and betrayals. With unwavering determination and a love for his family, he overcomes obstacles, forms an unlikely alliance, and taps into his primal instincts. It's a gripping story of resilience and vengeance in the unforgiving wilderness.

[m39]

Doom WADs’ Roulette: Revenant Awards 2009

REVENANT AWARDS 2009 EDITION (I’m not mixing the names of the most popular movies of the previous years with Doom stuff anymore; I got sick of it)

We are almost at the end of the journey, folks. We are just mere steps to say goodbye to the 2000s and its roster of WADs. We still have a couple of WADs from that decade that weren’t mentioned by the Doomworld guys, but we aren’t focusing on those today.

Today, we will be looking at the 2009 roster of WADs, and choosing (providing there are more than one in a category) which one gave me the most fun. Starting with-

FULL DECK OF DIAMONDS – BEST 30-32 MAPS LONG MEGAWAD OF THE YEAR

Okay, let’s be honest with this one people. There is no actual choice for this one since we are putting NewDoom Community Project II against fucking Killing Adventure. Guess which one gets the award?

NDCP II has its own share of problems, starting with many of its maps getting tiresome if you decide to marathon them, inconsistency in the difficulty sliding, and two new enemies that are an unintentional annoyance at best; but on the other hand, it gave me much more fun than its predecessor, not to mention being miles better than that.

Killing Adventure, meanwhile, boils down to the mediocrity fest that fails in what it aims to be – a joke WAD.

So there is no surprise that the former WAD wins this category in the source port section.

BIG FUCKING WAD – BEST 33+ MAPS LONG MEGAWAD OF THE YEAR

Now, this case is kind of another conundrum for the lack of better words, since we have two winners by default – Whispers of Satan and Plutonia 2; both winning this award in a source port and vanilla sections respectively. I just want to talk slightly more about these two WADs here and choose which one gave me more fun (spoilers – it’s Whispers of Satan).

On the one hand, WoS is a more accessible WAD than P2, has less-mangled maps, and is much more diverse with themes than the latter. On the other hand, Plutonia the Second has much harder maps (if you’re in for a greater challenge) with next to no copy-pasted areas, and its plot feels more self-aware than WoS’.

In my case, it all boiled down to preferring getting annoyed by copy-pasted areas rather than by getting mobbed from every side of an area with next to no cover that isn’t the previous safe haven-turned room.

OFF THE WALL – BEST PARTIAL/TOTAL CONVERSION OF THE YEAR

This is where it gets interesting. We have six WADs in this category, and half of these felt like a waste of my time. Happy Time Circus II and Cheogsh II, despite both being declared runners-up by Doomworld, felt like a slap in the face due to the former being annoyance incarnate and the latter being a massive disappointment as a sequel to the not-perfect but still really good map. Legacy of Suffering had its cool moments but I would recommend taking a look at this WAD out of curiosity sake rather than for being really good.

Harmony is a definitive step up when it comes to fun factors compared to the previously mentioned WADs, but it still has questionable decisions; particularly the original soundtrack and hitscanners being more bullshit than the Doom ones. Demons of Problematique 2 looks great and has interesting mechanics, but the boss encounters tend to be annoying, along with the music tracks related to these. Lastly, Tribute might be an old, janky WAD that requires Skulltag of all source ports to properly play and has moments of outdated humor, but if you manage to make it all work, you might realize that this WAD is a shit ton of fun to play, greatly utilizing the source port's exclusive items, while also doing its own things on the same level of quality.

So, yeah, there is no more arguing here, Tribute gets the award. I can only hope that my (partial) bias towards this WAD being made by a Polish dude won’t sour my taste to it in the future like it did with Hidden Mountain Factory.

If I could choose only the WAD that can be played on GZDoom, I would give it to DoP 2, which I mark as an honorable mention in this category.

OTHER AWARDS

And now for the moment, you didn’t wait for – the default winners.

Starting with Pug of Pink (2-7 maps) and its winner – Hell Ground; probably the best WAD out of the entire 2009 roster. Almost everything in this WAD is great IMO.

And as for the Golden Spider (8-9 maps), we have Mapgame, one of the better Doom I episode replacements.

CONCLUSION

Well… this is it, people. That’s basically all that I have to say about the 2000s Cacowards. Time to take a look at some of the leftovers from the 2009 roster, and then one, last WAD from that decade before taking a break and choosing the best WADs of the 2000s after that. And after selecting the winners of that decade… well… let’s just say there are two, final WADs to discuss. One that will be talked about more likely in terms of my memories with it, and the other mocking things that were popular with the WAD community back in the early 2000s (especially the ones that were like the just aforementioned former one).

But until then, I’ll see you next time.

Bye!

[shewhowillrise]

DC x DP

Jason never made it to the Lazarus pit or the league of assassins.

Bruce gave him that excuse for his green eyes and short temper.

Jason knows he didn’t crawl out of his grave with the giant Y that scars his chest.

Jason knows he’s a revenant.

Jason knows he needs to kill to stay sane. To stay whole.

A soul sucker they called him.

Jason agreed not to kill, because he misses his family. No matter how much he starves himself, it’s worth it to get Dick’s hugs, experience Tim’s genius, see Cassandra’s award winning performance, to help Damian experience a childhood.

Jason didn’t realize Bruce doesn’t know what he is. Jason didn’t realize Bruce meant Black Gate when he said he’d take him in the next time he killed. Jason didn’t realize Bruce had no idea about the anti ecto acts.

Jason swore to stay in line, so he’d never end up on that metal table again.

[kpopscatterbrain]

Kdramas i've watched this year

Some of these are older dramas but i'm a procrastinator

Black Knight (2023): Loved this one! I have watched it probably 5 times now. Kim Woobin kicking ass is all i need!

Under the Queen's Umbrella (2022): I didn't watch this when it aired (no idea why). I was worried that the plot would be overrun by romance but thankfully i was wrong. Loved Kim Hye-Soo's performance (i cried a little).

Island seasons 1 & 2 (2022-2023): Honestly i only started this one for Kim Nam-Gil. I loved the cast, but the flow of the plot was a little off (don't know how, i can't put a finger on it). Was positively suprised by Cha Eun-Woo's acting, i think he needs more roles like this! Hot villain alert no.1! Sung Joon as a bad guy is either a blessing or a curse. Cgi could have been better.

Taxi Driver season 2 (2023): Loved the first season so of course i had to watch the second one. Love Lee Je-Hoon. Love the main characters. Love the plot and the message of this drama. A masterpiece. Waiting for season 3.

Weak Hero Class 1 (2022): Only heard of this drama wayyy after it aired (thanks tiktok) and god does it deserve every award there is! I was a bit hesitant because Park Ji-Hoon was the main lead, but boy was i wrong because his talent got me speechless (weren't we all). I cried, i cheered, i shadowboxed, i cried a little more and in the end i called my therapist. Thankfully season 2 is coming.

Bloodhounds (2023): Woo Do-whan and Lee Sang-Yi in the same drama beating people up? Yes please! The plot wasn't mindblowing, but sometimes just simple ass kicking is enough. Bromance was bromancing. Park Sung-Woong with another great villain character.

Revenant (2023): After dropping Mr.Sunshine i wanted to see Kim Tae-ri in other dramas, so when this aired i gave it a go. Her range is phenomenal! I have only seen couple spookier dramas, so i made a mistake and watched this at night (slept with the lights on). The eerie vibes and plot twists were well made. Hong Kyung had great chemistry with Kim Tae-ri and his cop role was refreshing to see after his performance in Weak Hero Class (if you know you know).

Flower of Evil (2020): Okay, this is one of the dramas i procrastinated hard on. It's been sitting on my "have to watch" list since it aired and i'm the only one to blame (i hype up a drama in my mind, then don't want to watch it because now i'm afraid it doesn't go the way i think it does and then i get disappointed blaablaablaa). This year i finally got over myself and why. didn't. i. watch. it. sooner!!!! It is all i ever wanted in a kdrama. 1. serial killers 2. a psychopath (but is he really?) w/ an effed up childhood 3. mindgames 4. marriage problems (but has a lot of soft & cute scenes) 5. Lee Joon-Gi. Also as a plus (hot villain alert no.2) the bad guy is kindaa (i'm sane i swear). I would be lying if i didn't say that i found the wife slightly annoying (might be me, but she went too much back & forth and sometimes i had to take a breather while watching), but all in all this drama will be hard to top and i fell in love with Lee Joon-Gi.

Moving (2023): Honestly one of the best dramas of the year. I don't usually really go for plots that have a lot of romance in them (if you haven't noticed), but i found this one to be really well balanced and the romance scenes weren't "cringy". Although Bong-Seok and Hui-Soo were great and had great chemistry, i looooved the background stories of the parents. Park Hee-Soon also pops up as kind of a non-villain villain. I hope there is a season 2.

Song of the Bandits (2023): Kim Nam-Gil again. 1920s Korea and gunslingers... what more could i need? After Mr. Sunshine left me with a disappointment (this might be an unpopular opinion) i craved for a drama set around the same time period, but with a little less romance (i know, i am defective). I think dramas should explore this time period more, but i understand it might still be a touchy subject. The skills of the cast were obviously great, Kim Nam-Gil killed his role like always, but Lee Ho-Jung as Eon-Nyeon shined with her performance (i am now a new fan). Hot villain alert no.3! I have seen Lee Hyun-Wook in Remarriage & Desires and seeing him as a villain made me feel things. If there isn't a second season i will cry.

The Killing Vote (2023): A "serial killer" in a dog mask making the public vote on punishing criminals and everyone suspects each other? Cyber crime? Chemistry between two cops? Major hot villain (no.4)? Sign me up. I love when crime dramas make you question your people reading skills (i have the tism so i really got none) and have all kinds of theories flying around. I liked that even Kim Mu-Chan and Joo Hyun had obvious chemistry between them it didn't overshadow the main point of the plot. I liked Seo Young-Joo's delivery and i hope he gets more bigger roles. Kim Kwon.... why does the psychopath have to be hot? He also needs more bigger roles. !spoiler! Also Park Sung-Woong killing (heh) yet another morally grey character.

The Worst of Evil (2023): Okay, first of all i have to say... the wife ruined everything (some agree and some don't). We get another bromance duo of the year with Wi Ha-Joon and Ji Chang-Wook. Loved the crime organization infiltration plot, heavily despised the romance plot (sorry Bibi baby). I was constantly on the edge of my seat and the characters started to get so morally grey that in the end everyone needs group therapy. Action scenes were chefs kiss. A honorable mention goes for Lee Shin-Ki as Seo Jong-Ryul (or Chief Seo, knife guy, the man has many names) and Bibi for her performance as Lee Hae-Ryeon.

Evilive (2023): Heavily underrated. Kim Young-Kwang doing what he does best, playing a psychopath. This combined with a bromance plot with the one and only bromance master Shin Ha-Kyun? I'm sold. The dramas literal title "villain story" really sums up the plot. Sometimes you are not sure who to cheer for. Sometimes you are not really sure about your own sanity. But to be fair, so aren't the main characters.

Vigilante (2023): Love it. Currently re-watching it. Needs more attention. Needs more episodes. I'm in love with Nam Joo-Hyuk. The best crime drama of the year, the title is all i needed to hear. Beating up criminals in well made action scenes is my favorite genre. No romance. One sided bromance? Morally grey characters (am i repeating myself now?). Yoon Ji-Tae as a beefy cop and Lee Joon-Hyuk as a slightly insane admirer? If we don't get a season 2 i will start a riot.

[domhnallgleesonhaven]

As the end of the year approaches, do you feel like sharing in comments what are your hopes and dreams for 2024 as a Domhnall fan?

A new movie? Another play? More podcasts? Some collaboration you have always wished for?

(Photo Möet British Independent Film Awards 2015)

[trollprincess]

So I think the Academy may have screwed over “Oppenheimer.”

Now I know what you’re thinking. “Wait, what are you talking about? Did you miss the Barbie snubs? Are you paying attention?” Yup, I’m totally paying attention. Let me explain.

This year’s crop of Best Picture nominees is very good. There’s not a one that doesn’t make me immediately flinch as to why it’s even there. There are some I might have added (“The Boy and the Heron” and “Across the Spider-verse” both deserve to be there, for example), but this is a good list. Not just by Academy standards, which can be questionable as hell, but by anyone’s standard.

Up until now, “Oppenheimer” has pretty much been a lock for this. It’s very well made, acted, directed, written, all of it. It’s good. It deserves it.

But. BUT.

Final voting is between February 22nd and 27th this year. So that’s an entire month of press and interviews and predictions and whatnot. And already the big story is not “Oppenheimer has 13 nominations.” It’s “Why the fuck weren’t Margot Robbie and Greta Gerwig nominated for best actress and best director for Barbie?!”

And the thing is, they DID get nominated - Margot for producing and Greta for writing. Which is not me dismissing the fact they *should* have gotten nominated for directing and acting. (Note: There will be no Ryan Gosling shaming in this house. He deserves his nomination. So does America Ferrera. This is not a case of “only the man got the nomination.” Don’t erase America’s well-deserved nomination.)

So back to Greta and Margot. The next few weeks are going to be the Hollywood media asking “Did the Academy fuck up?” about their nominations. Did they not get the point of the movie? How does one of the best movies of the year not get a nomination for it lead actress and female director? Did Oppenheimer only get so much attention riding on “Barbenheimer”’s coattails? (Monetarily, oh, yeah. Awards show-wise, no.) Like, today we’re talking about their snubs, but it’s not going to stop today. There’s going to be discourse and prediction discussion and “Annette Bening stole Margot’s nomination” bullshit probably.

Basically, the Academy accidentally made the fact it snubbed Margot and Greta the story, and not the fact three other movies got more nominations than “Barbie,” including the likely winner of Best Picture.

The next part depends on if Hollywood can feel guilt and shame. So, you know, it’s anybody’s guess. But directors only voted for directing nominees, and actors only voted for acting nominees. Everybody gets to vote for best film.

Now, here’s the thing. Even IF they got nominated for directing and acting, they wouldn’t have won. Actress is between Gladstone and Stone (I’m hoping for Gladstone), and Nolan probably already has an empty mantel spot prepared. They just wouldn’t have won, it’s just nice to be nominated, yadda yadda.

But the Oscars have this *thing* where sometimes it’s not so much you getting an award because *that performance* deserved it, but because YOU deserved it. Leonardo DiCaprio should have gotten an Oscar for “What’s Eating Gilbert Grape” and/or “Wolf of Wall Street,” they gave it to him for “The Revenant,” which isn’t as good as either previous role. Kate Winslet wins for “The Reader,” which if Best Acting By Kate Winslet were an Oscar category wouldn’t even make the list and would probably get beat by “Mare of Easttown,” which isn’t even a goddamn movie.

You’re an Oscar voter this year. It’s the end of February, and you’re looking at your ballot. And you’ve spent the past few weeks hearing about the Oscars fucked up. How Hollywood didn’t get the point of “Barbie.” How the Academy didn’t even nominate BARBIE for the fucking “Barbie” movie. And you might be thinking, “… I mean, we CAN still give them Oscars.”

Greta’s an easy choice. The Barbie script is incredible, and detailed and smart and funny. Greta already has Oscar nominations for writing. Adapting a book is one thing. Adapting sixty years of canon is a high achievement. I think this pretty much locked her screenplay win.

Margot is nominated for best producer. We’re going to spend the next four weeks seeing articles about just how much work Margot put into this movie. When Margot Robbie loves a project, she works her ASS off on it. And the work shows with Barbie. It’s a good goddamn movie, AND it made $1.4 billion dollars. As good as it was, “Oppenheimer” doesn’t make $955 million if “Barbenheimer” isn’t a thing. There’s an argument to be made that Margot deserves the producer nomination AND win MORE than the actress nomination, because as a producer she made TWO movies reach a billion at the box office, *and she had fuck all to do with one of them*.

So, yeah, I think the Academy might have fucked over “Oppenheimer.” Because for the next month, while people are debating what and who to vote for, all that right there? That’s going to be the discourse they’re sitting on right before voting for Best Picture.

[moodboardmix]

Ryuichi Sakamoto (January 17, 1952 - March 28, 2023)

Professor Sakamoto was one of Japan’s most successful musicians, acclaimed for work in Yellow Magic Orchestra as well as solo albums and film scores.

As a member of Yellow Magic Orchestra alongside Haruomi Hosono and Yukihiro Takahashi, Sakamoto created joyous and progressive electronic pop in the late 1970s and early 1980s, alongside solo releases. He acted alongside David Bowie in the 1983 film Merry Christmas, Mr Lawrence and composed its Celebrated theme, the first in a series of film scores including Oscar-winning work in 1987 with David Byrne and Cong Su for Bernardo Bertolucci’s The Last Emperor.

Alongside YMO, Sakamoto continued releasing solo albums including 1980’s B-2 Unit, another influence on the robotically funky sound of electro that also foreshadowed other dance music styles. After focusing purely on solo work, he forged further connections in the west, collaborating with musicians including Iggy Pop, Robert Wyatt, Laurie Anderson, David Sylvian and more. Sylvian contributed Forbidden Colours, a vocal version of one of Sakamoto’s most famous works, the theme to second world war drama Merry Christmas, Mr Lawrence. Sakamoto also starred in the film as a prisoner of war camp commander.

Following The last Emperor (in which he also had an acting role), he collaborated with Bernardo Bertolucci again for The Last Buddha, and with Merry Christmas, Mr Lawrence director Nagisa Oshima for Gohatto. He also scored two films by Brian De Palma (Snake Eyes and Femme Fatale), plus Wild Palms for Oliver Stone, High Heels for Pedro Almodóvar, the 1990 film adaptation of The Handmaid’s Tale, and more. His 2015 score for Alejandro González Iñárritu’s film The Revenant was nominated for Golden Globe, Bafta and Grammy awards. In 2019, he composed the music for an episode of dystopian TV drama series Black Mirror. He took no further acting roles, aside from appearing as a film director in Rain, a music video for Madonna.

Mr Sakamoto released a steady schedule of solo releases throughout the 1990s and onwards, and wrote a piece for the opening ceremony of the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona. In 1999 he debuted the multimedia opera project Life, in collaboration with artist Shiro Takatani with contributions from Bertolucci, Pina Bausch and more. He and Takatani extended the concept into installation work from 2007 onwards.

Also in 2007, he began the ambitious Schola project, curating 17 compilations of global music ranging from composers such as Ravel and Beethoven to Japanese pop. It was released via his record label Commons, set up in 2006, which has also released work by artists including Boredoms and OOIOO.

In 2002, he began a fruitful partnership with German musician Carsten Nicolai, who used his Alva Noto alias for four collaborative albums of minimalist electronica.

Mr Sakamoto was also an environmental campaigner, opposing the use of nuclear power, and creating the forestry project More Trees to enable carbon offsetting.

Ryuichi Sakamoto - Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence