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fellowstrangetownappreciator · 3 years

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Playing Favorites (part 2)

Here we go again! Another 4 TS2 premades that really strange my town! (I’ll see myself out.) Anyway, I have to preface this with saying that so far I’ve only played the 3 base game hoods and although I really enjoy PV and VV, I added them to Strangetown just recently, so I’m still getting acquainted with their casts. That’s why my Playing Favorites posts are so dominated with desert-dwellers - but I definitely plan on including more non-ST Sims once I got to play with them more!

And I also low-key love everybody in Strangetown.

TOP 15 TS2 Premades (according to my personal tastes somewhere in May 2021) (not in any particular order) (and I can’t guarantee I stop at 15 either)

Tank Grunt (Strangetown)

Yes, I am one of them. I am a Tank Grunt apologist. Brace yourself!

Similarly to the Pleasant twins, I view Tank as a victim of his father (Buzz Grunt, the esteemed Strangetown's Worst Parent Award nominee). Of course, that's not to say he's innocent. He is absolutely guilty of bullying Ripp and Johnny and equally guilty of being a bigot. And, most importantly, totally guilty of casually wearing camo face-paint. (that he canonically gets tatooed on his face down the line, which is... its own kind of tragic.)

But that is exactly why I like him so much!

Let me elaborate.

Tank is a very multilayered character, albeit a bit cliché. He is very artistic a eager to always do his best, whether that is in school or home where he competes for his father's affection and approval. Buzz provides both of that but it always feels conditioned – if Tank was to stop getting A+, stop parroting his opinions, stop working out, stop following in his footsteps, would that go away? Even though the answer depends on your interpretation of Buzz and his levels of horrible, Tank definitely thinks so. Just take a look on how his father treats Ripp!

I read Tank as somebody who believes firmly in order and good but has a very twisted understanding of both given his militaristic and hyper-masculine upbringing. He has an enormous potential for character growth. Can he gain (psychological) independence of his father? Can he follow his dreams and become a dancer? Can he free himself of his father’s biases now that he’s out on his own? Can he mend his relationship with Ripp and Buck? (...or maybe even Johnny?) It makes him so fun to play.

Also, I think that it was indeed very cowardly of the developers not to set his gender preference as gay.

Conclusion: Tank is fun! (Although he would probably resent me for saying that.)

Dina Caliente (Str- wait, Pleasantview)

Finally someone who doesn't live in the desert! Both Nina and Dina are such interesting characters, with their connection to Bella’s disappearance, their alien bloodline and their opposing personalities and ambitions.

I feel like the sisters are often getting unjustly demonized. (or mixed up together, I’m looking at you, TS3 and TS4) They’re young, very attractive and in unconventional relationships, thus often labeled as predatory. They’re not.

Dina is a very nice Sim, with Nice points above the average and many Playful points and she tends to roll wants to start a family by the start of the game, although she is not a Family Sim. She’s actually a Fortune Sim, smart and business-oriented. She’s a widow who wants to remarry and has her sights set on the husband of her missing former sister-in-law.

I know that doesn’t make her sound that nice but there is nuance. First of all, the man in question is Mortimer Goth, well in his twilight years, a father of two, simply an adult. He is not a hapless trophy, the decision to start an affair with Dina not long after his first wife got pronounced missing, is his own. He knows he won’t be here for long and doesn’t want to die alone, he wants someone who can make him feel young again and loved once more. Dina, on the other hand, pursues a shotgun wedding to take an advantage of the Goth fortune that will kickstart her business ventures but she is ready to provide what Mortimer needs. She canonically loves him. (proven by the love flag in her relationship panel)

In my personal gameplay, I had Don take Dina on a date before their marriages to their respective Goths, and Dina kept rolling wants to flirt with Mortimer instead. Later down the line she also helped out the Brokes financially, and after her close friend Brandi died young in childbirth, she took in her youngest children, so that her oldest son Dustin could go to college and not worry what’s gonna become of his younger siblings in his custody while he’s gone. I figured it made sense because of Dina’s Nice points, her relationship with Brandi and her now being partially in charge of so much money it isn’t even funny.

In conclusion: I support and condone Dina! Even if it’s somehow implied that she and her sister might’ve just staged her rival’s alien abduction.

Circe Beaker (Strangetown)

Circe is yet another... unwholesome character on my list. She canonically tortures people, namely Nervous Subject, and her bio eludes to there being more in the past or the future. She's cunning, ambitious and very mean.

But she is also very fun to play! Her aspiration being Fortune (not Knowledge) puts an interesting spin on the whole evil scientist routine. She doesn't do it for the love of discovery like the Curiouses and she doesn't care about credit as her husband does. She's out for power and she may as well get it.

Her rather extreme personality would lead one to think she has to be rather disliked around the town but her default relationship panel says otherwise. She doesn't have any close friendships except her husband, though. That makes me think she is superficially charming and tends to act diplomatic to obtain people's loyalty without necessarily caring about any of them. It makes playing her unique from most other Sims.

She is also canonically bisexual! I personally have a deep appreciation for each and every Sim that Maxis sneakily preset to be LGBTQ+. I may not seem like a big deal now but it is.

Conclusion: "She could gaslight, gatekeep and girlboss me any day.” - half of Strangetown’s population

Lazlo Curious (Strangetown)

Lazlo is a ray of sunshine in the Curious household! A very sloppy ray that makes messes wherever it goes, true, but sunshine nonetheless.

I’m very fond of Lazlo because he’s the type of person that looks like he can barely count to five with his easy-going and messy nature but is in fact very clever and, by some measures, the most competent Curious brother, since he is the youngest and it seems like he’s fresh out of college, yet holds a higher career position than his older brothers. “A smart person that doesn’t necessarily seem smart on the first glance” is a trope I have a big soft spot for. (...and it shows)

In my current gameplay, Lazlo wanted to resurrect Vidcund (who died in childbirth), so he switched from Science to Paranormal to swipe a Resurrect-O-Nomitron and, like the madlad he is, succeeded before their round was over (in a span of few days). It was a combination of dumb luck and him having a compatible degree that gave him a hefty bonus but it still made me realize Lazlo could achieve whatever he sets his sights on.

Luckily, his sights are generally set on pizza and video games.

(relatable)

Anyway, I find Lazlo somehow cute, most probably for his constant and very unfruitful attempts to make Vidcund laugh, and in general, how friendly and easy to get along with he is. While he doesn’t have that many Nice points (5, which is a pretty average number), combined with his playfulness he usually tends to act very amicable.

In conclusion: I simp for Knowledge Sims and it shows.

Ok, I’ll be back with another 4 when my horrible procrastinating gruel of a brain feels like it. See ya!

#the sims 2 #ts2 #premades #simbrl #the sims #lazlo curious #circe beaker #dina caliente #tank grunt #strangetown #pleasantview

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rennyforpresident · 4 years

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Renny’s BBSim: Second Chances Week 4: The Call-out Post

Welcome back to Biiiiiig Brother!

@brentrobinson @cirie-sandra-michaela @flopbb-22 @flungevictee @fucklauryn @iantxrry @kaysarswhore @maxdoesbb @music-obsessednerd @pawn2393 @paymeincashnottears @phylisisley @rennyforpresident @swampassthing @theminionjcfucked @wheremy--demons--hide

After an extremely close vote, @music-obsessednerd was evicted from the Big Brother House. With a lot of talk of being afraid to play the game, will this week’s HOH change the way the house feels?

But first, as always, let’s check in on those alliances

What was once an unbreakable final 2 breaks, and @iantxrry and @phylisisley both have too many deals with too many people. They can’t trust each other anymore. And neither one tells the other one the final 2 deal is off, but neither of them plan on protecting the other. Truly a tragedy

How will this affect the HOH comp? Let’s find out

An endurance comp! And this one looks rough. Who will flop and who will top? (i’m sorry i needed a rhyme)

We’ll definitely have a new HOH this week! Not wanting to jeopardize his position in the house, @maxdoesbb drops after getting a promise from both of the other remaining houseguests that he’ll be safe.

@pawn2393: “*whispering* If you let me choose one of your nominations, I’ll let you choose one of mine when I win HOH”

@iantxrry: “Deal, easy! Just drop!”

@pawn2393: “Pinky promise?”

But just when @pawn2393 reached out his arm to pinky promise, the vines swung against the wall, and because he didn’t have the strength of both arms, he fell before the sacred vow could be made. Which means...

@iantxrry! You have secured your safety and earned the right to nominate two of your fellow houseguests for eviction.

( @phylisisley looking in the mirror after dissolving her alliance with @iantxrry like)

Who will @iantxrry nominate? Let’s find out

@iantxrry: “I have chosen to nominate you @rennyforpresident and you @wheremy--demons--hide. @rennyforpresident, you are hard to get along with. You have a big mouth, and it’s not comfortable for everyone in the house. @wheremy--demons--hide, you’re a flip-flopper. You have no loyalty to those who are loyal to you, and multiple people in this house agree. I nominated you both because I’m comfortable with either of you going, and I wish you luck in the veto. This ceremony is adjourned.”

@rennyforpresident in the DR: “*screaming* I have a big mouth!?! I’ll show you a fucking big mouth. @cirie-sandra-michaela and @fucklauryn will have my back, and next week, you’re going down.”

@wheremy--demons--hide in the DR: “*crying* I just don’t know who’s out to get me. I fucking hate this house. *more crying*”

Well, after that TENSE nomination ceremony, it’s time to find out who’s playing in the veto

Even though they’re not working together, @iantxrry picks @phylisisley to play in the veto because she wants her to think they’re still a duo. Who will take the win this time?

ZING! This week’s veto is the ZINGBOT! (I would zing y’all but I just CAN’T I’m sorry I’m not that creative or funny)

The competition is close, but these three houseguests pull ahead of the pack. Eventually, the winner is determined to be......

@swampassthing! You have won the Golden Power of Veto! (Again!)

Will she use it to save either of the nominees and shake up the house?

She will! @rennyforpresident, you are safe! Which means, @iantxrry, you will have to name a replacement nominee.

@iantxrry: “@cirie-sandra-michaela, you’re not my target, and I have no beef with you. I feel that you would be understanding and not try to come after me just because I nominate you. No hard feelings.”

@cirie-sandra-michaela in the DR: “I’m mad, but I’m not that mad. I feel good going up against @wheremy--demons--hide, and I feel good about staying this week.”

@rennyforpresident in the DR: “God ALMIGHTY I am so glad @swampassthing saved me! She is definitely a good one. I mean, of course I’m pissed my ally got put up in my place, but I feel confident that our alliance can convince the house to keep @cirie-sandra-michaela“

The Veto has been used and noms are locked! Which means, it’s time for my favorite part of the week! How were things in the house this week?

As the houseguests were relaxing in the backyard @flopbb-22 looks up and calls for the other houseguests to come look. A plane with a banner calling @kaysarswhore a rat and a snake is flying over the BB house, and immediately production calls the houseguests inside and cuts the feeds. When feeds come back, @kaysarswhore is crying and sobbing into @swampassthing‘s shoulder.

After that crazy event, another live eviction is what these houseguests need!

Julie: “Hello houseguests! I still don’t know any of your names without help from my cue cards, so I won’t ask any questions and get straight to it- time to evict!

@cirie-sandra-michaela: “I’m not gonna waste your time and campaign in front of you guys, because I’ve campaigned all week. I just wanna say that I’ve loved being here and that I know we’ll be friends after this. Peace!”

@wheremy--demons--hide: “Alright, buckle up folks. This is a callout post. @iantxrry, you wanna call me fake and disloyal? You should talk to your “ride or die” @phylisisley about how loyal you are to her. Yeah, I know all about your and @kaysarswhore‘s deal. Speaking of @kaysarswhore, everyone in this house is right to not trust you, because every time I turn my back on you, you’re talking shit again. And lastly, to my fellow nominee, @cirie-sandra-michaela, you are clearly the frontrunner in this house, and the fact that everyone in here is so blindly supporting you shows me what sheep these people are. If you want to continue to be sheep, vote me out. If you want to shake this game up and actually have a shot at winning, keep me here. That’s it”

Everyone after that speech:

Julie: “Wow.... go off sis! We don’t have time to unpack all of that, so it’s time to vote!”

The votes are tied, 4-4. The only remaining votes are @swampassthing and @theminionjcfucked. How will it end?

The vote is now 5-4 in favor of evicting @cirie-sandra-michaela. Will @theminionjcfucked tie it up? Or will she put the final nail in the coffin?

It’s a TIE! With five votes cast to evict each houseguest, it is now up to @iantxrry to decide who is leaving the Big Brother House.

Julie: “The votes are in houseguests, and we have a tie. @iantxrry, please stand and cast your vote to evict”

@iantxrry: “I said it from the start. You aren’t loyal, and that speech proves it. I’m not sorry to see you go. I vote to evict @wheremy--demons--hide. Get to steppin”

Julie: “ @wheremy--demons--hide, come on out!”

Julie: “That was quite a speech! Why did you choose to go that route?”

@wheremy--demons--hide: “Well, to be honest, it was a last ditch effort to try and stay. I knew the odds weren’t in my favor, and I figured, why not light the house on fire if I’m not gonna be living in it anymore!”

Julie: “An interesting philosophy! Who do you think voted to keep you tonight? Because your last ditch effort almost worked!”

@wheremy--demons--hide: “I’m banking on @flopbb-22 and @maxdoesbb for sure, I know the two of them had my back, and I hope one of them wins it all. The other ones I really don’t know! I wasn’t expecting a tie.”

Julie: “Well, the other three were @phylisisley, @swampassthing, and @kaysarswhore, so your speech might have had some unintended consequences!”

@wheremy--demons--hide: “That’s so crazy! I mean I can see @kaysarswhore becase she was close with @flopbb-22, even though I called her out just now * audience laughter*. But the other two were unexpected!”

Julie: “Well, you know what they say here! Expect the Unexpected! It was great watching you play again, and we’re all sad to see you go.

There’s only one more evictee before jury begins. Who will make the cut, and who won’t? Find out next time. For now, from outside the Big Brother house, I’m Julie Chen. Goodnight.”

That episode was INSANE and SO MUCH FUN to write I love doing this

#bb22 #bbsim #bbsim second chances

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phantomofthepairofdice · 3 years

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The Rosscars 2020

Wow. It’s that time of year again, only this time it’s different because it’s on a blog that no one will read! (hold for applause) Welcome to the first annual online publication for the Rosscars (hold for applause while the reader acknowledges how positively droll it is that I combined my name with “Oscars”). Who can forget such indelible Rosscar memories like when Steven Soderbergh surprised us all and won Best Director for Out of Sight or Bill Irwin’s beautiful speech upon winning Best Supporting Actor for Rachel Getting Married?! The Rosscars mean something different to everyone, but we all know that they mean quality choices made by a committee of one schmuck. This year’s Rosscars are bizarre because in an effort to be more like the Academy guidelines, film’s nominated have been released between January 1, 2020 and February 28, 2021. As usual, theatrical windows be damned, streamers are welcome. Of course, I have my gripes. I like categorizing movies by release year – specifically, when they become available to the plain old public like yours truly – not at festivals, limited runs in NYC and LA. Well, the Oscars are still weeks away and I feel like everybody wants to forget about last year and move onto this one that we’re already three months into - So here are my awards for the films, performers, and craftspeople that stood out in a pretty exceptional year for movies even though distribution was stranger than ever.

**A few caveats and guidelines to Rosscar newcomers (which I imagine is just a formality since we all know the Rosscars so well)**

The rules and categories are a little different around here. First, not every category is honored directly. That’s for a few reasons, chiefly that I don’t feel qualified to reward the technical categories properly – I suppose I should say that I feel less qualified to do so than the “above the line” categories. In keeping with the Academy standard, there are five nominees in each category, except for Best Picture, Best Non-Fiction/Documentary Feature, and Best Ensemble Cast which allow up to ten. Every category, save those three, will have the possibility of honorable mentions, because I want to highlight some things that just barely missed the cut. The narrowing down of a lot of these categories was awfully tough.

Nominees are listed alphabetically, and the winners are in bold and italics.

Also, it’s important to keep in mind that I couldn’t see everything (this isn’t a job and it’s still $20 to rent The Father, y’all) and that these are just the opinions of one (self-described) “bozo on the internet.” If you’re a reader and have different picks, feel free to share!

Special Commendations for some things that I want to recognize: • Ludwig Goransson for his Tenet score which is an absolute banger • The costumes of Emma. (Alexandra Byrne), Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (Ann Roth), and Small Axe (Jaqueline Durran, Sinéad Kidao, and Lisa Duncan) all struck me as exceptional • Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross with their scores for both Soul and Mank. Crazy that Pixar is working with the guy who made “Closer” • The cinematography of Da 5 Bloods (Newton Thomas Sigel), First Cow (Christopher Blauvelt), Beanpole (Kseniya Sereda), and A White, White Day (Maria von Hausswolff)

The Rosscars red carpet was, as usual, a bizarre affair. People filed into the theater and it seemed like the only encounters were awkward ones. Vin Diesel showed up in character as Bloodshot, Aaron Sorkin started getting really verbose about what a lovely night it was, and it became clear that most of the celebrities in attendance didn’t read their invitations closely enough to realize that this was not, in fact, the Academy Awards.

Everyone’s seated, and the show is under way. After a medley about the nominees this year by Common and Seth McFarlane that was more corny but clever than it was funny, the first official category is here, and the presenter is none other than... Ross!

Best Supporting Actor:

1. Chadwick Boseman for Da 5 Bloods

2. Matthew Macfadyen for The Assistant

3. Jesse Plemmons for Judas and the Black Messiah

4. Paul Raci for Sound of Metal

5. Glynn Turman for Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom

Honorable Mentions:

• Lucas Hedges for Let Them All Talk

• Orion Lee for First Cow

• Bill Murray for On the Rocks

Best Supporting Actress:

1. Vanessa Bayer for Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar

2. Candice Bergen for Let Them All Talk

3. Gina Rodriguez for Kajillionaire

4. Amanda Seyfried for Mank

5. Yuon Yuh-jung for Minari

Honorable Mentions:

• Jane Adams for She Dies Tomorrow

• Charin Alvarez for Saint Frances

• Talia Ryder for Never Rarely Sometimes Always

• Debra Winger for Kajillionaire

Everyone loves a montage. The audience gets comfortable in their seats as the video screens start to show a montage of some of the most famous moments from Hollywood’s most magical movies. Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers waltz, gliding across a dance floor like two hovering angels. There’s a clip of Leo declaring himself king of the world in Titanic, the flying bicycles in ET, Bogart stares longingly into Bacall’s eyes, and then there’s some scene where Tom Cruise rides a motorcycle from 2010′s Knight and Day. The audience all seems confused how that last one got in there. The John Williams music swells as little Kevin McAllister screams when puts on aftershave. We see clips of Robert De Niro in Taxi Driver, Carrie Fisher’s Princess Leia embrace Harrison Ford’s Han Solo, Bruce Lee smoothly declares that boards don’t hit back and... wait... was that a clip from Michel Gondry’s Green Hornet with Seth Rogen? And that’s a clip from What Happens in Vegas... Bad Teacher... Vanilla Sky... Shrek 2... Any Given Sunday... Everyone is flummoxed. The last clip fades out and a sole editing credit appears: Cameron Diaz. The lights come up and there’s some applause, but mostly confused murmurs.

The ceremony has had a bit of a misstep, but nothing it can’t recover from, especially as the next category is announced over the PA, and it looks like the presenter is... Ross!

Best Ensemble Cast:

1. Bacurau

2. Da 5 Bloods

3. Kajillionaire

4. Let Them All Talk

5. Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom

6. Minari

7. Nomadland

8. Pieces of a Woman

9. Small Axe

Best Original Screenplay:

1. Danny Bilson and Paul Dameo & Spike Lee and Kevin Wilmott for Da 5 Bloods

2. Lee Isaac Chung for Minari

3. Brandon Cronenberg for Possessor

4. Sean Durkin for The Nest

5. Kleber Mendonça Filho and Juliano Dornelles for Bacurau

Honorable Mentions – a very difficult task to weed this down to five.

• Shaka King and Will Berson for Judas and the Black Messiah, from a story by Kenny and Keith Lucas

• Steve McQueen, Alastair Siddons, and Courttia Newland for Small Axe

• Kelly O'Sullivan for Saint Frances

• Thomas Vinterberg and Tobias Lindholm for Another Round

Best Actor:

1. Ben Affleck for The Way Back

2. Chadwick Boseman for Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom

3. Delroy Lindo for Da 5 Bloods

4. John Magaro for First Cow

5. Mads Mikkelsen for Another Round

Honorable Mentions:

• Riz Ahmed for Sound of Metal

• John Boyega for Small Axe

• Daniel Kaluuya for Judas and the Black Messiah

• Hugh Jackman for Bad Education

• Ingvar Eggert Sigurðsson for A White, White Day

We have a break in the action and it looks like Darius Rucker has showed up to perform what he would have nominated for Best Original Song. The crowd is absolutely furious as he starts playing a song that apparently was in Trial of the Chicago Seven. An ocean of sonorous boos and curses overtakes the the once docile crowd. The Rock just ripped his chair from out of the ground. Jane Lynch somehow smuggled in a civil war era flintlock pistol that she’s now pointing at the stage! Suddenly, the crowd unifies around what started as a confident chant of one lone audience member - John C Reilly. It’s growing... Ja Ja Ding Dong, Ja Ja Ding Dong, Ja Ja Ding Dong - it’s like the macabre circus performers from Tod Browning’s Freaks, but instead of chanting “Gooble Gobble” they’re clearly pining for Darius to change his tune to the silly and delightful jam from Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga. Darius, scared for his life, leaves the stage, but here come Will Ferrell and Rachel McAdams to deliver the goods. Busy Philips and Michelle Williams burst into tears. Tom Hanks nods in approval. A segment saved by brave artists placating a toxic group of fans... we’ve just witnessed a live version of the Snyder Cut, folks.

Jack Nicholson seems completely unfazed, giving a thumbs up to the camera and blowing a kiss to the next presenter. Coming to the stage is... Ross... again...

Best Actress:

1. Jessie Buckley for i’m thinking of ending things

2. Carrie Coon for The Nest

3. Han Ye-ri for Minari

4. Sidney Flanagan for Never Rarely Sometimes Always

5. Vasilisa Perelygina for Beanpole

Honorable Mentions – these cuts were especially painful

• Haley Bennet for Swallow

• Morfydd Clark for Saint Maud

• Frances McDormand for Nomadland

• Christin Milioti for Palm Springs

• Geraldine Viswanathan for Bad Education

Best Adapted Screenplay:

1. Charlie Kaufman for i'm thinking of ending things from Iain Reed's novel

2. Sarah Gubbins for Shirley from Susan Scarf Merrell's novel

3. Kelly Reichardt and John Raymond for First Cow

4. Simon Rich for American Pickle from his short story "Sell Out"

5. Mike Makowsky for Bad Education from Robert Kolker's "The Bad Superintendent"

Best Non-Fiction/Documentary Feature:

1. Boys State

2. Collective

3. David Byrne’s American Utopia

4. Dick Johnson is Dead

5. Feels Good Man

6. In & Of Itself

7. The Painter and the Thief

8. Time

Jimmy Fallon has come out on stage to do a bit about the pandemic and watching movies at home. People are just absolutely not having it. He tries not to laugh at his own jokes while doing what I guess is technically a pretty good impression of Dr. Fauci interviewing James Corden as Martin Scorsese (the less said of this impression, the better) on what is or isn’t cinema. The bit doesn’t track and Fallon is absolutely tanking. The producers cut away from the stage to spare the viewers at home from this monstrosity. We see crowd shots of Millie Bobby Brown shaking her head in dismay, Colin Firth is simultaneously grimacing and trying to stave off laughter, Cynthia Erivo is texting, and director Tom Hooper is taking notes for his next film. Corden yells, “Carpool Karaoke! Remember?!” Ron Howard has fainted. This thing is almost completely off the rails.

Coming back to the stage is the next presenter, a clearly embarrassed... Ross! He’s in a total flop sweat, but stumbles his way through a joke about how Fallon should try co-hosting the Oscars with James Franco sometime. There are scant chuckles throughout a crowd that mostly just wants to see who won and go home.

Best Director:

1. Christopher Nolan for Tenet

2. Spike Lee for Da 5 Bloods

3. Steve McQueen for Small Axe

4. Kelly Reichardt for First Cow

5. Chloé Zhao for Nomadland

Honorable Mentions:

• Kitty Green for The Assistant

• Eliza Hittman for Never Rarely Sometimes Always

• Charlie Kaufman for i'm thinking of ending things

• Thomas Vinterberg for Another Round

Best Picture

1. Bacurau

2. Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar

3. Da 5 Bloods

4. First Cow

5. i'm thinking of ending things

6. Judas and the Black Messiah

7. Never Rarely Sometimes Always

8. Nomadland

9. Small Axe

10. Tenet

Accepting the award for best picture is none other than Eve, the cow actor who played the titular First Cow! The audience is enamored with how graceful she looks in her cow gown, and her speech, though indecipherable, is likely simple, observational, and deeply profound for those who speak cow.

Wow, what a ceremony! Hearts were broken, property was damaged, dreams were fulfilled... blood was shed? Damn it, Meryl Streep came in and mugged Charlie Kaufman before absconding with the trophy. Oddly, she’s a previous winner, so the attack isn’t out of need for hardware. People are reading through articles about production on Adaptation for potential motives. Streep made time for a photo opportunity, but remains at large.

I could go on ad infinitum about all of these nominees and winners themselves and why they did or didn’t make the cut, but that’d be better served in a different piece. For now, my thoughts on most of these can be found on the Best of 2020 write-up and over on my Letterboxd. And, as always, these awards can be revoked and redistributed at will, so don’t get too cozy with that statue, Danny Bilson!

On behalf of the RAOGL (Rosscars Association of One Guy at a Laptop), thanks for reading, and stay tuned as we’re establishing a tip line for anyone has seen Ms. Streep or her stolen valor Rosscar. We’ll see you next year. Keep watching movies, and keep arbitrarily quantifying them in terms of subjective quality!

#awards #movies #film #Rosscars

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aliveandfullofjoy · 4 years

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I’m anxious about the election and our crumbling democracy et cetera et cetera so I’m gonna distract myself by making some Oscar predictions, lol.

I don’t think I’ve officially made any yet, but with the nominations a good five months away, might as well start making some guesses!

All predictions in alphabetical order, not likelihood of happening.

BEST PICTURE

The Father

Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom

Mank

Minari

News of the World

Nomadland

One Night in Miami

Soul

The Trial of the Chicago 7

Keeping an eye on: Da 5 Bloods; Judas and the Black Messiah; The Midnight Sky; The United States vs. Billie Holiday

Weird year!

It’s easy to imagine that the top four will shake out to be Mank (which will lead the nomination count, is a likely Director winner, and could easily take the whole thing), Nomadland, News of the World, and The Father. Beyond that, I have no idea!

Miami and Ma Rainey feel fairly safe.

I’m trying to manifest a Room-esque haul for Minari.

I don’t see Trial having the passion to carry it all the way to March as a top contender, but it’s basic enough to make it into Best Picture with support from actors and writers.

It’ll be neat to see if Soul can be the first animated nominee here since Toy Story 3.

BEST DIRECTOR

Lee Isaac Chung (Minari)

David Fincher (Mank)

Paul Greengrass (News of the World)

Florian Zeller (The Father)

Chloé Zhao (Nomadland)

Keeping an eye on: Aaron Sorkin (The Trial of the Chicago 7); Regina King (One Night in Miami); George C. Wolfe (Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom); Lee Daniels (The United States vs. Billie Holiday); Spike Lee (Da 5 Bloods)

Predicting winners this far out is a fool’s errand, but this will likely be an easy win for Fincher.

Again, I’m holding out hope for Chung and Minari, and it’s worth noting that the directors branch tends to appreciate movies anchored around a child performance -- Room and Beasts of the Southern Wild both surprised here, so it’s not totally unrealistic.

Unless something really wild happens, Zhao looks primed to become the sixth woman nominated for Best Director, and the first woman of color.

Regina King stands a chance at joining her, which would be really, really cool.

George C. Wolfe might get squeezed in if both Chadwick Boseman and Viola Davis end up as frontrunners for their respective awards.

BEST ACTOR

Chadwick Boseman (Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom)

Tom Hanks (News of the World)

Anthony Hopkins (The Father)

Gary Oldman (Mank)

Steven Yeun (Minari)

Keeping an eye on: Delroy Lindo (Da 5 Bloods); Kingsley Ben-Adir (One Night in Miami); Lakeith Stanfield (Judas and the Black Messiah)

The late, great Boseman will officially be going lead for Ma Rainey, which makes things interesting. He would have been a slam-dunk winner in Supporting Actor, but in leading, he is now competing with Hopkins, whose reviews are out-of-this-world. It’s going to be awfully tight, and honestly, I don’t know who I’d predict to win right now. Either way, it’s all-but-guaranteed that Boseman will join the likes of Jeanne Eagels, James Dean, Spencer Tracy, Ralph Richardson, and Massimo Troisi as a posthumous acting nominee. If he wins, he’ll be the third, after Peter Finch and Heath Ledger.

Depending on how well Netflix handles all of their contenders, I’m worried for Yeun and Lindo here. I’d love for both to get in, but I just can’t see Hanks or Oldman missing out, especially if both of their films end up being major Best Picture contenders. Since I’m predicting Minari to do better than Bloods across the board, I’ll predict Yeun to make history as the first East Asian Best Actor nominee over Lindo.

Judas and the Black Messiah is basically the biggest question mark in the race right now. Its release and eligibility is up in the air and as are its category placement for its two leads (Daniel Kaluuya and Lakeith Stanfield). If the film comes out and delivers, I could see it sliding into Best Picture as well as nabbing a nomination for one or both of them. Actor is tighter than Supporting, though, so it might make sense for the studio to push previous nominee Kaluuya (who has the flashier role) into supporting.

BEST ACTRESS

Viola Davis (Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom)

Andra Day (The United States vs. Billie Holiday)

Frances McDormand (Nomadland)

Carey Mulligan (Promising Young Woman)

Kate Winslet (Ammonite)

Keeping an eye on: Amy Adams (Hillbilly Elegy); Jennifer Hudson (Respect); Vanessa Kirby (Pieces of a Woman); Sophia Loren (The Life Ahead); Meryl Streep (The Prom)

Honestly, this category is deep this year. So much so that the five I left off (Adams, Hudson, Kirby, Loren, Streep) could make sense as a lineup in any other year, and I expect most of them will pop up at the different precursors (Streep won’t come near the Oscar -- probably -- but she is guaranteed a spot at the Golden Globes).

I can easily see a world in which Davis is the one to beat: her role is juicy as hell and a Best Actress Oscar feels inevitable for her. However, if Boseman ends up winning Best Actor -- which is very possible! -- the situation becomes a bit tougher. It’s really hard for movies to win both Actor and Actress unless they’re, like, top five Best Picture material, and I don’t know if Ma Rainey will end up that high.

Keeping a sharp eye on Andra Day! Early buzz is great, it’s a juicy role that’s already been nominated for Best Actress (Diana Ross in 1972), and this could end up being a real star-is-born type moment. She’s the only other person who makes sense to me as a possible winner.

Mulligan is my wildcard prediction, lol. She’ll probably miss out to someone like Adams (unless Hillbilly gets completely destroyed) or maybe even Loren (whose narrative writes itself).

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Sacha Baron Cohen (The Trial of the Chicago 7)

Charles Dance (Mank)

Daniel Kaluuya (Judas and the Black Messiah)

Leslie Odom, Jr. (One Night in Miami)

Eddie Redmayne (The Trial of the Chicago 7)

Keeping an eye on: Yahya Abdul-Matteen II (The Trial of the Chicago 7); Chadwick Boseman (Da 5 Bloods); Trevante Rhodes (The United States vs. Billie Holiday) Mark Rylance (The Trial of the Chicago 7); Jeremy Strong (The Trial of the Chicago 7); Glynn Turman (Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom)

It’s funny, for a little bit, it looked like some of the possible Best Actor contenders would be pushed supporting (Boseman and Yeun, specifically). Now... well, it’s looking weird.

Trial, which might not even end up a top 5 Best Picture contender, could easily snag two, maybe three, nominations in this category since Netflix announced they’re pushing every actor in supporting. Baron Cohen feels like the surest thing of that cast -- he has one of the flashiest roles and Borat 2 is only helping him stay in the conversation -- and I wouldn’t be surprised if Redmayne happened. He’s basically the lead of the movie. I’m curious if Abdul-Matteen or Rylance or Strong will be able to get in over them. The rest of the cast is (I think) DOA.

If I had to pick a winner today, I’d probably say Sacha Baron Cohen or Leslie Odom, Jr., whose performance as Sam Cooke seems to be getting a lot of attention (along with Kingsley Ben-Adir’s Malcolm X, who might be getting a leading push). That both have other huge projects this year that won’t get them Oscar nominations (Borat 2 and Disney+’s release of Hamilton respectively) only helps their narrative.

I have no idea about Charles Dance, lol. I’m only really picking him because he’s an old veteran character actor (which this category thrives on) and he likely has a major antagonistic role in the Best Picture frontrunner playing a real person (check, check, check!).

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Glenn Close (Hillbilly Elegy)

Olivia Colman (The Father)

Amanda Seyfriend (Mank)

Youn Yuh-Jung (Minari)

Helena Zengel (News of the World)

Keeping an eye on: Saoirse Ronan (Ammonite); Olivia Williams (The Father)

Can Close finally win an Oscar? Or will Colman snatch it from her yet again!? Will Seyfried get swept up in a Best Picture sweep?! Or will Zengel be the one place the Academy can reward News of the World in an above-the-line category?! So much excitement.

Predicting Youn over Ronan mostly in my expectation that Minari will be a bigger deal with the Academy than Ammonite, but conventional (racist) Oscar wisdom tells us that a four-time nominee like Ronan is more likely than a Korean older woman who is mostly unknown American audiences. We’ll have to see!

#oscah talk 2021 #sometimes elliott watches movies #oscars

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bigbrothernetflix-st · 4 years

Text

EPISODE TWO

“I'm starting to feel more comfortable with my position in the game.” - dem

HOH: Josh C UPSIDE DOWN: Nick & Joshua NOMINEES: Emma & Nash POV: N/A FINAL NOMINEES: N/A EVICTED: Dem (Expelled)

EMMA

I been struggling in this game which is sad i want to have fun but yesterday made me feel like maybe having a meltdown and leaving 90 percent of servers was a good idea for me i really hope not i just really want to have fun and win for some reasons i always have trouble prejury in games trying to find my footing but at jury and late prejury i always know how to rise ASDFGH the people i really like rn are Jakey loml jev loml aria queen saira queen and also joshua is easy to talk too!!! nathan is also great

DEM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSgjyUhGTng

NASH

i simply think men should stop winning hoh and trying to nom me. its week 2 go target someone else j*sh. jev and i are cool now though <3 love him

DEM

I'm starting to feel more comfortable with my position in the game. I think I'm not in anyone's bad graces so far, which is good. But I really need to win one of these next HoH's so secure my social relationships. My plan moving forward is to see win HoH's. I want to win the next to HoH's I'm eligible in back to back. I also want to try to secure my relationships with Gina, Jev, and Jake. Those are three people I want to be close with in this game. Also maybe Joshua? He's pretty cool and chill.

SAIRA

I'm still getting a sense of how the game works but I feel pretty good, there are some people that are much easier to talk to than others but everyone is still so nice! i feel good about josh c as hoh! we get along pretty well and I don't THINK im in any danger but you never know! imma be honest, I don't have an actual plan, i'm mostly playing this by ear, just talking to people, bullying beck when the chance arises, and being myself!

JOSH C

HELLO GIRLIES!

well, we won HOH and that's really EXCITING. i probably didn't need to win this week but i figured that i'd get a win under my belt while nominating people would still be EASY. i can establish trust with some people and get a "i didn't nom you, please don't nom me" situation going on. i also feel like the two people i'm going to nominate would have NOMMED me anyways because we just haven't talked..

who those people are? nash & emma. (vl don't hate me for only nominating women i didn't want it to come to this either)

but i just.. both of them have really only put in any effort to talk to me now that i'm HOH and i don't really LOVE that tbh. i've already told a few people that's who i'm thinking so i kind of accidentally locked myself in on these noms because there isn't any sense in throwing out more names than i have to!!

i have an alliance with kiki, brianna, jacob, jake, and aria. (i think that's the people in it? i wanna say that's right. LKFMSDG love this game for me) and i feel pretty good in that because i like all of them enough and they're people that will watch out for ME and each other. but i know my social connections go beyond that so i'm feeling pretty good with my spot in the game? i have a solid relationship with almost everyone in the game and i think i should be able to play a cute lil utr game for a few weeks. i don't think that i'll get targeted first if my alliance gets outed and if so.. i have ENOUGH faith in my comp strength and relationships to save me against MOST of the cast.

people kind of want me to nominate DEM because apparently he starts drama with people and has been a bit inactive. he's talked with me more than other people so im not super keen on throwing him on the block RIGHT AWAY but i'm thinking he's a good replacement nom because if people think he's MIA then no one other than him will be upset with me. maybe a backdoor? could be spicy..

i don't really know what else to say here so.. i hope this is enough! love u guys <3

BRIANNA

https://youtu.be/mJw3qxsZ-Bg

JEV

Okay so I feel like pretty comfortable this week because me and Josh have gotten pretty close and bonded over our mutual love of Lucas HOWEVER he's just let me know he's gonna be nominating Nash and Emma which isn't GREAT since I'm in alliances with both of them and they're the only 2 alliances I have so I really wouldn't want to see either of them go home this week, this SUCKS ASS

JAKE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tt2xRQqqax8

ARIA

how is it ONLY week 2 i feel so hecking exhausted fhsabfd, but that might also be the fact that is 2 am so,,,oop. Um okay recap time!!!! Recaps are so hard because theres minor details that i still want to note without seeming super annoying so heres a minor list of things im noticing

-Dem wants to "start playing the game" I told this to Jake (wish i could bold names ugh)

-Gina & dem told me they were gunning hard for hoh- i told nathan/monty/nick/,,,,and someone else this

-emma feels unconnected from cast

-Jake doesnt like Gina

-Josh likes Me Jev Kiki (told joshua)

-emma knows alliances are starting to form

-joey can get pwr hungry and chaotic + good comp ability

-told gnia my thoughts on the sides being "connected v unconnected" and other tidbits of info

-GIna (potentially joshua) doesnt like nash

-Nathan/Nash ARE CLOSE!!!!! WEE FUCKING WOO!!!!

-Told Jake that Jacob has the power (and the bs excuse he told gina pretending he doesnt have it,,,sure jan)

-jake is GREAT at lowering his threat lvl im sick

-Jev-Josh-Nathan-Nash all bonded p well on vc potentially an alliance

-jake tried to get gina nominated

-Emma Nash noms

-Jake doesnt want emma to leave

So,,,thats what you missed on GLEE! Honestly glee sucks but yeah thats all my info i would weave everything together with cute transitions but im TIRED and lots of this information doesnt really connect well so,,,have a bullet list!

okok nvm heres some general thoughts bc JUST a bullet point list is so boringgg im honestly not too sure what i want to do this week bc i think emma doesnt have a lot of people (although she has jake apparently,,,she might just be putting up a front of being unconnected ffs) so i would rather keep her around based on our relationship alone esp compared to nash whose been busy w/ irl things to reply i think (nash would prob do gr8 in old school bb,,,but new school is a whole other beast) HOWEVER!!! I need to protect gina who isn't the best conversationalist (sorry bb ily but its true <3) and keeping nash around ensures people have another "inact" target besides her but also nash is such a god connection for people like nathan and jacob and i would rather get her out sooner than later before we have another renee on our hands ...

Also i havent talked to the pasio peeps (omg if we ever make an alliance,,,that should be the name hehe) in a while and idk if theyre distancing themselves or if theyre just busy fndsjafd god im too paranoid for this game its awful. Also i think i mentioned the alliance with josh kiki bri jake jacob last time and it still isnt made and im PRAYINGGG it never gets made bc i have SUCH an awful feeling like SIX FUCKING PEOPLE??? S I X?? THAT IS GOING TO FAIL AND BLOW UP!!!! but i cant say no to an alliance so here i fucking am :/ also im trying to think of my longevity in this game and like,,, idk im nervous. I mean ive mentioned going to the end with multiple people but i have such a bad feeling im gonna go out 9/10 as a big move and i REFUSE to let that shit happen, not on my fucking watch no sir!! Not sure what to do about it yet but i feel like monty in particular doesnt trust me and i need his ass OUT! or maybe not if he comes around but like??? sir pls talk to me- i mean this phase of the game is early im setting up the pawns for later, but before later theres gonna be a couple explosions of my game which i'll have to deal with,,, or maybe not actually i mean in my first org i did a really well mastermind game with it- nvm it did explode on me once FDBSHFDS yeah so theres gonna be an explosion period but i think im getting good at dealing w/ the backlash from it and reintegrating myself..

oh also yeah im safe this week lol

anyway sorry for rambling so much LMAO have a trust ranking!

1.Gina (MY QUEEN!!!!!!!! i LOVE her!)

-BIG BIG FUCKING GAP-

2.Jake (listen,,,my thoughts go back and forth but he did tell me the noms so,,,have some rights)

3.Saira (we never talk game but i dont think she talks with anyone about game beyond maybe nick and also shes nice and im a sucker for nice girls)

4.Emma (if this isnt all just a front shes gonna make a great number for me,, might need to fact check some of her statements tho)

5.Joshua (honestly? i love him hes so funny and i think he has my back although he could be more act)

6.Nathan (literally havent talked in 3 days but also i have a soft spot for him <3)

-GAP-

sorry the Js are just kinda scary lmao JFNSDKF

7.Nick (!! we gotta an actual connection folks!! heck yeah!)

8.Josh c (im safe! but he D E F trusts others more than me such as Joshua and Jacob)

9.Jev (honestly a king but hes a little quiet although his reccs are the BOMB)

10.Jacob (i know youre being sneaky,,,idk what youre being sneaky with but im getting the vibes)

11.Dem (might be weird but i think he trusts me? at least a little bc he ranted about losing to me so O.0)

12.Brianna (youre adorable and deserve the world but everyone likes you,,,is this how people view me omg fhsabfhds)

13.Kiki (youre SO hecking sweet and actually u probs have a connections to nash but we havent talked ANY game yet)

14.Nash (p,,p-please talk to me uwu)

15.Joey (i dont trust you at ALL! Why? good question-)

was that mean? sorry in advance ilyall but also its 3 am brain empty no filter

NASH

i think jev and nathan might end up being good allies of mine (inb4 betrayal)! despite the mistake he made nomming me, talking to jev has been lovely so far he's getting me into loona LMFAO. and i just love nathan's energy & i feel like as the season goes on i can see him winning comps. i'm excited :3 hope josh c does not end my existence this week

JOEY

I feel FANTASTIC about Josh being HoH. I’m making sure that others are coming to me about gameplans, and I’m making sure I don’t come off as too pushy or aggressive in PMs. With most of the players, I’m trying to give them all the same energy and hype. It seems kinda weird to say this, but I’m not concerned about being nominated at this point. What I need to ensure is building my social relationships with people outside the “Crackhouse”, and yes that big ol friend group moved to Discord in 20 minutes like 6 months ago.

This is the first major game I’ve ever played with Skinny Nick(yes, I’m absolutely confused as to what to call them, I’m so used to calling Nick “Eve” that its going to take time to adjust.) Speaking of Nick, my social relationship with him is actually surprisingly similar. In the past, I felt as though it would be as “on-sight” as Tom & Jerry, and it actually isn’t turning out that way, which is surprisingly refreshing. Every day, I’m making sure I send Nick something different to diversify my social game with them. Yesterday, I asked Nick about his preferred streaming services for music and TV, and I discovered we have the same music service(Apple Music).

I’ve played one game with Monty before, but it was a disaster. We were in pairs, and it felt like we were on different planets. I did tell him to not worry about personal feelings when it comes to this game, because I compared the relationship of BB Netflix and the Crackhouse to the separation of church and state. I made that comparison because the two entities of church and state should never cross, but when they do it becomes disastrous, and I feel as though that same principle applies to this game.

Overall, I feel good, Emma may be going up on the block, but it shouldn’t affect me that much. We’re in the early stage, I want to make sure I’m good with everyone.

ARIA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFeox7LM1-E

JAKE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLkZ-BIIjTU

HOUSE MEETING

https://youtu.be/BZMorvWvyKY

HOST WEEKLY CAST ASSESSMENT WEEK 1 & 2

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vc-iMpkfrdw&list=PLFEwPPy8j010XXwntq80VSU0qLNTNpSIN&index=3&t=0s

#bbnetflix st

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theconservativebrief · 6 years

Link

Ozark season two is built on a lie, one the audience can see coming from a long way off.

It begins from the premise that Marty (Jason Bateman) and Wendy Byrde (Laura Linney) will split from the little Ozark resort town they moved to in season one once they’ve built the casino they promised to their various criminal partners. Said casino will help launder money for the Mexican cartel Marty works for, but it will also provide a slightly more legitimate business enterprise for a local crime family, the Snells, whose land will furnish a location for the casino and whose heroin trade might also provide a lucrative side enterprise for the cartel.

This complicated balancing act, with the Byrdes at its center, would seem to set up a second season all about Marty and Wendy trying to keep the casino on track while trying to keep the cartel from stomping on the Snells and the Snells from fucking everything up in a fit of pique. (Darlene Snell, played by Lisa Emery, doesn’t much like “Mexicans,” as she’s fond of pointing out, but she can come up with any number of reasons to stomp on the casino project, some of which she just pulls out of her ass in the moment.)

Yet season two of Ozark is mostly about the Byrdes trying to pretend they’re not characters in a TV show, as Marty and Wendy focus on their plan to split with their two kids for the Gold Coast of Australia once the casino is open, leaving behind whatever mess they’ve created. They give much less attention to their burgeoning criminal empire.

Leaving aside that the Byrdes are frequently the least interesting characters on their own show, perpetually trapped in moral dilemmas prompted by their life of crime (dilemmas you’d really think they would have seen coming had they watched any other crime drama ever made), the audience knows they won’t be leaving anytime soon.

The Byrdes are our point-of-view characters. The story is about their slow descent into outright criminality, juxtaposed with the way said descent changes their family, sometimes for the better (but often for the worse). If they leave the Ozarks, then there is no show.

This is a common thing for an antihero drama to try for a few episodes. The “what if I tried to escape?” story has driven arcs on just about any antihero drama you can think of, though rarely successfully. TV doesn’t handle the moment where the protagonist “refuses the call” well, because it tends to drag out that moment into long bouts of inaction. Thus, in season two of Ozark, the Byrdes are too often reactive protagonists, trying to clean up messes caused by others rather than making new messes of their own.

There are still enough good things going on that I could have written off Ozark season two as competent but ultimately not for me — but for one thing.

Watching any given frame of this series, which has earned Emmy nominations for directing and cinematography, is frequently like looking through a pool of dirty dishwater. So intent on being perceived as serious is Ozark that it never stops to shoot anything in a format other than “ultra-glum.”

Some spoilers follow, mostly in the images, which depict certain situations the characters get into.

Let me explain what I mean by starting with a shot that is, on its face, totally defensible.

Ruth talks to her dad in the Ozark season two premiere. Netflix

I call this image “defensible,” because it more or less makes sense why Ruth’s face would be half in shadow. The scene takes place in a car, in late afternoon, in a place without a lot of light sources other than the sun. If you’re following a naturalistic theory of lighting, you can more or less argue for why Ruth appears to be receding into darkness.

But I pull up this image to give you a rather dramatic example of Ozark’s primary method for lighting scenes featuring human beings. Regardless of where they are, regardless of how much light would be present, they’re always lit so that half of their face is in shadow. I spent season two trying to count times when characters weren’t lit this way, and I never got to 15, across 10 episodes where the shortest installment ran 55 minutes and several ran over an hour.

It’s not just Ruth (the teenage would-be kingpin played by Julia Garner, who was the best thing about season one and is frustratingly wasted in season two), either. It’s every character. They’re all constantly trapped between darkness and light, in a bit of not particularly subtle visual symbolism.

Wendy attends a very important meeting. Netflix Marty makes a choice. Netflix Mason reveals himself. Netflix

Now, again, I could sort of make an argument for any of the above images making sense from the point of view of “there probably would be low light levels in that situation,” especially if you accept that everybody in the Ozarks is turning off lights all of the time to save on their electric bill.

But it’s harder to make that argument for a shot that is set in a hospital room. Have you seen hospital lighting?

You’d think the nurses would turn on more lights. Netflix

Or this shot, set outside, on a sunny day. The sun is literally right behind the subject of the shot, but the director has staged the shot underneath an overhang so that the shadow lies over half the actor’s face.

The sun is right there! Netflix

This is not a problem of any one director, either. The show’s directorial crew includes esteemed Emmy nominees and winners like Alik Sakharov and Phil Abraham and Bateman himself. No, this is just how the show chooses to light every single shot, so that you always know the characters are in a murky moral gray area, caught between their darker selves and their better selves. There’s no attempt to vary this, and everything has a vaguely bluish tint over it, like the whole story takes place at 6:30 am in November.

But all of the above shots are more or less legible. Yeah, I think they’re all kind of silly as visual metaphors, but you can mostly see what’s going on, and a sufficiently skilled actor (and Ozark has plenty of those) will be able to get across just as much with only half their face as with access to their whole expression.

No, the real problems arise when Ozark stages so many of its scenes in ways that downplay visual contrast, leaving almost everything shrouded in shadow, to the point of genuine incomprehension. (At one point in watching season two, my monitor switched off, and it took me a couple of seconds to figure it out. Once I turned it back on, you couldn’t see anything that was happening anyway.)

Like, what are we supposed to make of this …

Ruth wakes up to see her father. Netflix

Or this …

Guys, you can really turn on some lights. Netflix

Or this?

A pieta! I guess? Netflix

Any one of these images might be stunning if it weren’t surrounded by so many other images that looked just like it. The last one, in particular, accompanies an emotionally powerful moment, and seeing this sort of negative image of a pieta could create something incredibly moving. But when everything is suffused with shadow, it’s harder for those moments to stand out.

The shadowy images are so bad they even swallow some of the show’s attempts at visual humor. For example, try to tell me what’s supposed to be funny about this image:

Any guesses? Netflix

The joke is that this would-be tough guy is wearing a shirt that reads “Take a Dam Ride.” Even if you don’t know who the character is, you should be able to spot the silly pun. But Ozark’s visual scheme chokes even that out.

There are some occasionally interesting visuals in Ozark season two, usually involving the sudden eruption of fire (which has a tendency to cast an unearthly but much-needed glow onto everything nearby). And I liked the season’s final image, which uses the flatter lighting of a news photograph to throw everything that’s happened into relief.

But the show’s visuals, too often, feel like a series playing at seriousness via tricks it learned on other, better shows.

This is a big, emotional moment, which would be evident even in a still if we could see the actors’ faces at all. Netflix

I can already hear Ozark fans lining up to say, “So what if it’s dark and moody? I like dark and moody!” Well, let’s take a look at a famous shot from a series Ozark is frequently compared to: Breaking Bad.

Walter White at night. AMC

Notice how much more definitive the contrast in lighting is here. Yes, you lose a bit of Walter’s face to shadow, but you can still see what’s going on, and the string of lights behind him acts as an effective visual counterpoint to the dark things he’s doing. This is a scene, set at night, that immediately tells you everything you need to know about who Walter is and what he’s doing. And if you know the series, you’ll understand that even better.

What’s more, not all of Breaking Bad was lit like this! In fact, here’s a shot from the very same episode as the shot from above, the classic “Ozymandias” (directed by Rian Johnson).

Skyler’s life falls apart. AMC

Look how powerful that shot is because of the contrast between Skyler’s raging emotions and the starkness of daylight. Her whole life has fallen apart, and the unyielding sun is going to make sure you see every iota of her grief.

But I could point to literally any other great antihero drama and find the sort of visual contrast above. Yes, they all had scenes that took place in darkness and shadow, to great effect, and they all had scenes that seemed to take place in an eerie, autumnal chill. But they also had scenes in contrast to those, where the lights are so bright that you can’t look away from the devastation onscreen.

This sort of visual discontinuity is important to an audience’s experience of a filmed story. When everything looks the same, your brain tends to slide down into a rut of numbing familiarity. Effective filmmakers use visual discontinuity, then, to jar your brain out of that complacency, to make you sit up and take notice. (The great YouTube essayist Lindsay Ellis has a wonderful video on just this topic, covering the Transformers franchise, which has a similar problem to Ozark but in an opposite direction — there, the movies have too much going on in every frame.)

Going from dark to light, from action to inaction, from cacophony to stillness are all ways to keep viewers engaged and invested. Making sure everything is muted and coolly blue is a great way to simply trick the brain into guzzling down more episodes without really thinking about what it’s watching, at least not until moving on to the next thing. It’s a way to make what’s being offered seem like it has weight, without actually doing anything weighty.

The illusion of depth without any actual there there is an Ozark specialty. By the end of season two, it’s dragged itself to exactly where you’d think it would go, and racked up quite a body count (also proving it hasn’t really learned the lessons of the shows that came before it, which did their best to hold off on killing major characters). But none of it feels as if it has any meaning beyond getting from the end of season one to the start of season three. It’s a bridge to nowhere that keeps building itself right in front of you.

Tricking viewers’ brains into continuing to just watch stuff without really engaging with it is typical of this streaming era, and especially typical of Netflix, which too often settles for shows that have the appearance of quality without actually trying to do anything worth watching. They might not be good, but so long as they look good and feature good actors and have the sorts of plot turns you’d find in better shows, your brain might think they’re just good enough to keep going.

This is the specialty of Ozark, which is admittedly not the worst show on the air, or on Netflix. But there are few shows that make me feel more like a sucker once I’ve finished watching.

Ozark is streaming on Netflix.

Original Source -> Ozark’s muddy season 2, explained in 11 incomprehensible screenshots

via The Conservative Brief

#IFTTT #The Conservative Brief

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theconservativebrief · 6 years

Link

Ozark season two is built on a lie, one the audience can see coming from a long way off.

There are still enough good things going on that I could have written off Ozark season two as competent but ultimately not for me — but for one thing.

Some spoilers follow, mostly in the images, which depict certain situations the characters get into.

Let me explain what I mean by starting with a shot that is, on its face, totally defensible. (And I apologize for the watermark on these images, which were drawn from my screeners.)

Ruth talks to her dad in the Ozark season two premiere. Netflix

Wendy attends a very important meeting. Netflix Marty makes a choice. Netflix Mason reveals himself. Netflix

But it’s harder to make that argument for a shot that is set in a hospital room. Have you seen hospital lighting?

You’d think the nurses would turn on more lights. Netflix

The sun is right there! Netflix

Like, what are we supposed to make of this …

Ruth wakes up to see her father. Netflix

Or this …

Guys, you can really turn on some lights. Netflix

Or this?

A pieta! I guess? Netflix

The shadowy images are so bad they even swallow some of the show’s attempts at visual humor. For example, try to tell me what’s supposed to be funny about this image:

Any guesses? Netflix

But the show’s visuals, too often, feel like a series playing at seriousness via tricks it learned on other, better shows.

This is a big, emotional moment, which would be evident even in a still if we could see the actors’ faces at all. Netflix

Walter White at night. AMC

What’s more, not all of Breaking Bad was lit like this! In fact, here’s a shot from the very same episode as the shot from above, the classic “Ozymandias” (directed by Rian Johnson).

Skyler’s life falls apart. AMC

This is the specialty of Ozark, which is admittedly not the worst show on the air, or on Netflix. But there are few shows that make me feel more like a sucker once I’ve finished watching.

Ozark is streaming on Netflix.

Original Source -> Ozark’s muddy season 2, explained in 11 incomprehensible screenshots

via The Conservative Brief

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