Oscars 2022

Well Dune will win a bunch of technical awards and maybe get a Best Picture nom as the token blockbuster that has some quality to it, though it doesn't have a chance of winning obviously. My favourite release this year has been Petite Maman so I hope that gets nominated by France for foreign language film, though they've also got Titane which won the Palme d'Or so maybe they'll be more inclined to nominate that (I haven't seen it yet since we don't get it until the end of the year but I'm excited to see it, it very well may be more deserving).

As for other noms I've honestly not had the chance to see too many 2021 releases. Of what I've seen, In the Heights doesn't really have a chance, Luca probably gets nominated for best animated feature just by virtue of being Pixar (I enjoyed it a lot actually but it's still probably not deserving as it's fairly basic, though I don't know how strong a year for animation it's been), and The Green Knight probably gets nothing even though I really loved it. I've got an idea of what else will be nominated just off buzz but I've already been too long-winded so I'll leave it to things I've seen.

Anthony Hopkins got a chance with The Father?

Doh! Had to check, he has already won it last year. Doesn't time fly

And very different to the stage version which I equally enjoyed

Yeah I've heard Encanto is good but I haven't had a chance to catch it yet. Best Animation is usually a given for Disney to win in some way (whether it be the main studio or Pixar) so it'll definitely be between those two again, I can't think of many big animated films that came out this year other than them, let alone one on the scale of Into the Spiderverse that might be in with a shot of winning. Oh there was The Mitchells Versus The Machines which actually probably is better than Luca at least but again wasn't so well received that it could win.

I'd agree with them critically but I think the fact it's not Disney/Pixar and it's distributed by Netflix probably means it only has an outside chance of winning, but I suppose we'll get a better idea once award season starts and the other ceremonies happen.

Seriously? I thought it was a terrible performance, like something Jan Ravens would do for comic effect: completely unbelievable and unnatural. Utterly dreadful film too.

You may be right. Hollywood follows money rather than talent. Highest paid in Tinseltown usually equates to sex appeal more than anything else.

I seem to be writing to myself. However, for sheer quality of film-making with a great story.
The best movie of the year is Last Night In Soho.

And the cinematographer for LNIS is a Korean guy called Chung-hoon Chung who is also working on the upcoming Obi-Won Kenobi series which should be awesome. 

I concur on Last Night in Soho. It's my favourite film of the year so far, and a superb bit of film craftsmanship.

Far more controversially, I really, really enjoyed -- quite unexpectedly -- Jungle Cruise. (Don't judge me!) It was such fun escapism on a Sunday matinée, and Jack Whitehall's gay turn was a hoot that had me laughing out loud several times.

The film version of Everybody's Talking About Jamie was an uplifting joy. Another unexpected surprise was the superior and genuinely spooky horror The Night Manager. For unalloyed and unashamed melodrama, The Last Letter from Your Lover was a hugely likeable old-fashioned yarn requiring several tissues.

Oddly, away from the mainstream, very little art-house content rated especially highly with me this year, with the exception of the very moving Nomadland from last year's Oscars. That was a close contender with Soho for film of the year.

Petit Maman is an extraordinary film and while it's modest in many ways, its emotional impact is substantial.

I really enjoyed Encounter with Riz Ahmed last night. (Double entendre not intended!) It won't appeal to the mass market because it promises to be one type of film and turns out to be another, but, since I had no preconceptions, it worked for me. There's solid acting from all concerned, believable dialogue, and the picture frame and soundscape are crafted beautifully. There are metaphors aplenty to what's going on, if you want to deconstruct.

It needs to be seen on a big 2.39 screen and definitely with a good sound system for some subtle surround effects, not letterboxed on Amazon streaming, where I gather it is released this coming Friday, being a co-production of Amazon Studios and Film4. This week, it seems to be mainly on at Showcase Cinemas.