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I can’t seem to find a thread for this, what are your thoughts about the shorts this year?
They can be quite tricky to predict.
ReplyThis is very tricky indeed, because so often I don’t have the opportunity to see them beforehand.
I find the nominees overall very political, so I throw a dart and usually go with what’s happening globally, or if my home country is in the mix.
This year I’m going with Ivalu, despite any reviews, because it looks gorgeous.ReplyCopy URLThe Sunne in Splendour.
I prefer my roses whiteThis is very tricky indeed, because so often I don’t have the opportunity to see them beforehand.
I find the nominees overall very political, so I throw a dart and usually go with what’s happening globally, or if my home country is in the mix.
This year I’m going with Ivalu, despite any reviews, because it looks gorgeous.There’s a user who every year watches all of them and gives their opinion on the topics and possibility of winning of each and that has helped me massively with my predictions, but I don’t remember their name. I’m hoping they’ll pop out of nowhere!
ReplyCopy URLThere’s a user who every year watches all of them and gives their opinion on the topics and possibility of winning of each and that has helped me massively with my predictions, but I don’t remember their name. I’m hoping they’ll pop out of nowhere!
I haven’t seen him posting in a while.
If the Ukraine had an entry this year for example, I’d probably go with that.ReplyCopy URLThe Sunne in Splendour.
I prefer my roses whiteI have actually managed to see all of them which is kinda rare. Documentary is the weakest one as per usual, none of them are really that interesting. How Do You Measure a Year is the least bland of them, but it’s also really annoyingly made in certain parts. I can’t remember a lot about the other ones. Haulout had great imagery but I found it lacking on a structural and narrative level. Strangers at the Gate was straight up terrible. I think I’ll predict Haulout because it’s the most relevant with its themes of climate change et cetera. Animated will probably go to The Boy, the Fox yadayada. I didn’t like it, it was really basic and super sappily written, but tbh the animation is insane. My favorite was An Ostrich which executed its concept perfectly. I also loved The Ice Merchants but I think it’s too abstract. That being said, The Windshield Wiper spoiled my perfect prediction last year and I didn’t predict it exactly because of that, so who knows. Live Action has some stinkers (Night Ride might be the worst nominated film this year) but also two really cool ones. Le pupille is great and will probably win, it’s produced by Alfonso Cuarón and a lot of fun. The Red Suitcase was very tense and well directed, I’d probably vote for that, but I wouldn’t be mad if either won. An Irish Goodbye is very crowdpleasing and could spoil.
ReplyCopy URLFor Your Consideration:
The Banshees of Inisherin in ALL categories, including:
- Best Picture
- Best Director
- Best Actor (Colin Farrell)
- Best Supporting Actor (Brendan Gleeson)
- Best Supporting Actor (Barry Keoghan)
- Best Supporting Actress (Kerry Condon)
- Best Supporting Actress (Sheila Flitton)
- Best Original ScreenplayLetterboxd: Ray_In_Bruges
I have actually managed to see all of them which is kinda rare. Documentary is the weakest one as per usual, none of them are really that interesting. How Do You Measure a Year is the least bland of them, but it’s also really annoyingly made in certain parts. I can’t remember a lot about the other ones. Haulout had great imagery but I found it lacking on a structural and narrative level. Strangers at the Gate was straight up terrible. I think I’ll predict Haulout because it’s the most relevant with its themes of climate change et cetera. Animated will probably go to The Boy, the Fox yadayada. I didn’t like it, it was really basic and super sappily written, but tbh the animation is insane. My favorite was An Ostrich which executed its concept perfectly. I also loved The Ice Merchants but I think it’s too abstract. That being said, The Windshield Wiper spoiled my perfect prediction last year and I didn’t predict it exactly because of that, so who knows. Live Action has some stinkers (Night Ride might be the worst nominated film this year) but also two really cool ones. Le pupille is great and will probably win, it’s produced by Alfonso Cuarón and a lot of fun. The Red Suitcase was very tense and well directed, I’d probably vote for that, but I wouldn’t be mad if either won. An Irish Goodbye is very crowdpleasing and could spoil.
I’m reading and searching about the topics of them and animated definitely feels “locked” considering all of the nominations and support for The Boy and xyz, and I feel like that is usually the category that chooses the safest winner. Live Action and Documentary do like to pick more political and socially relevant winners. Le Pupille seems to be a mix of all of those plus the Cuarón factor, but it tends to happen that they don’t give it to the most famous nominee in the category.
ReplyCopy URLWell that socks. It’s so hard watching them all. I’d ask Butz.
I’ve watched them over someone’s Google Drive and I don’t know whether that person is cool with me sending the link around. There’s a Reddit called oscarsdeathrace in which people are very quick and helpful with providing links. I’m sure you can find all of them there! Sorry that I can’t do more!
ReplyCopy URLFor Your Consideration:
The Banshees of Inisherin in ALL categories, including:
- Best Picture
- Best Director
- Best Actor (Colin Farrell)
- Best Supporting Actor (Brendan Gleeson)
- Best Supporting Actor (Barry Keoghan)
- Best Supporting Actress (Kerry Condon)
- Best Supporting Actress (Sheila Flitton)
- Best Original ScreenplayLetterboxd: Ray_In_Bruges
Haven’t seen all of the documentary shorts and probably won’t be able to before the Oscars, but for the first time I watched all the animated and live action nominees. My personal ranking would be as follows:
Animated
1. My Year of Dicks
2. Ice Merchants
3. An Ostrich Told Me the World is Fake and I Think I Believe It
4. The Flying Sailor
5. The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, and the HorseLive Action
1. An Irish Goodbye
2. Night Ride
3. Ivalu
4. The Red Suitcase
5. Le pupilleIn animated My Year of Dicks and Ice Merchants are both great, My Year of Dicks especially is very funny, endlessly creative, and touching without ever being cloying. Either would make a worthy winner. AOTMTWIFAITIBI is very enjoyable, a worthy nominee but I’d be a little underwhelmed if it won. The Flying Sailor is solid but not really Oscar caliber stuff in my opinion. TBTMTFATH is the only one I disliked. It’s beautifully animated and has a strong voice cast, but it’s largely wasted on cloying sentiment and obvious dialogue. It has the biggest budget and campaign so it’ll probably win, but if voters actually watch the nominees I can’t imagine thinking it’s the best.
Live action is the stronger category, all are worthy nominees and most would be worthy winners. Le pupille is the weakest entry, but it’s still a charming story that wasn’t half as cutesy as it could have been. It has the highest production values and Disney plus Alfonso Curón will probably net it the win, but I’d rather they venture out to one of the others. The Red Suitcase and Ivalu are both powerful dramatic shorts that definitely deserve a look. Night Ride takes surprise turns from comedy to drama, and vise versa, but it pulls it off very well creating something very funny, a bit harrowing, and ultimately quite touching. An Irish Goodbye most effectively balances drama and comedy and is my favorite of the live action shorts, blending crowd pleasing family drama and pitch black comedy into something really special.
ReplyCopy URLSaw all the animated and live action nominees in a showing tonight. Here are my personal rankings & thoughts:
Live Action
- The Red Suitcase
- An Irish Goodbye
- Le pupille
- Ivalu
- Night Ride
This was hard because all were very scarcely above or below another to me. I really liked them all.
I thought Red Suitcase was the most powerful, without being overwrought; most compelling and effective of the lineup. Also obviously relevant with contemporary commentary. About a young girl sold away for marriage who makes a dash for freedom upon arriving at the airport. Really fantastic.
Irish Goodbye cemented this the year of the Irish dark comedy. Two brothers reconcile the passing of their mother with her final list of wishes. Wonderful caustic humor perfectly balanced with genuine emotion (I feel bad comparing them but tonally it was very reminiscent of Banshees). A simple premise with a ton of both heart and humor. These top two were so close for me, loved both.
Le pupille didn’t have much to say that was particularly new or nuanced or anything, but it was fun and had interesting directorial choices. About a religious boarding school for girl orphans approaching Christmas day. Another look at those indoctrinated into staunch religion finding their freedom/rebellion adversarial to those who claim to be stewards of faith acting selfish and immoral. Not new. But they had some fun and interesting directorial choices (freeze frames! Characters acting as a chorus like in a Shakespeare play), some good humor, and every one of the girl actors was great. I loved the girls’ performances so much; barely felt like acting.
Ivalu was powerful and moving. A girl looks for her missing sister and we learn more about them and their lives. Really appreciated this one, and the one that nearly made me cry. Did feel a bit…like…overly artsy? Enough that again I can really appreciate what it is, but felt almost film-student like enough that I still felt a certain distance from it throughout. But it’s probably the darkest of the group, and does emotionally hit for me.
Night Ride was fine. Touches on some relevant social issues in gender identity. A woman commandeers a passenger train and must pose as a driver. I really don’t have too much to say of it. I liked it, there was just a feeling of obviousness to me. Still a fine watch.
What will win: Le Pupille – Almodóvar producing and distributed by Disney. It’s winning easily.
Animated:
- My Year of Dicks
- An Ostrich Told Me The World Is Fake And I Think I Believe It
- The Ice Merchants
- The Boy the Mole yada yada
- The Flying Sailor
My Year of Dicks is hilarious, it’s relatable, it’s touching, it’s great. A teen girl tries to lose her virginity. Loved how they used various animation styles throughout, suiting each story and chapter. There are some choices that could have been misfires (using brief live-action shots to introduce each chapter) but worked. My audience was laughing a ton with this one.
An Ostrich (…) doesn’t present a super new idea, but the execution and context makes it feel fresh. A stop-motion animated figure starts to suspect his life is a sham. It’s really creative (the way we watch his “life”, without spoilers, is such a cool unique idea), funny, and well-made.
The Ice Merchants is about a dad taking care of his son. I was a little iffy on the first 1/3 or so, thinking it seemed like just some pretty animation, then when it got clearer what it was about, was much more absorbed. Again, emotional (for me). Hard to talk about without spoiling…but the end and the metaphor was wonderful and powerful to me.
The top three were so far above the other two here for me, and then pretty close to each other. All great. The bottom two…well.
The Boy(…) I’ll put it this way: saw these with a friend and halfway through this we were both doubled over in hysterics. Not with the movie. At the movie. It’s SO saccharine, it’s SO cloying, it’s a short of motivational poster phrases strung together. The animation? Beautiful. But oh my GOD SNL couldn’t make a parody more overindulgently sappy and obvious. It’s fourth only because it actually made me at least feel something. And that something was hysterics. My audience gave an ironic ovation while laughing at the end. My god.
The Flying Sailor – How could this be worse than The Boy? Because at least I felt a thing during that, if it’s not what it wanted me to feel. This one I felt nothing. It’s very short, I didn’t find anything compelling, it ran and ended and I don’t have any thoughts to offer.
What will win: The Boy (…) is going to win and that is so bad but also fucking funny. I want to hope that Ostrich could upset because it’s about filmmaking and has an interesting and well-done concept to it.
ReplyCopy URLThanks for all of your opinions, people 🖤 after seeing some predictions, critiques, and reading about the shorts I think I’m gonna go with:
Live Action: An Irish Goodbye seems to be a crowd pleaser in a category in which the presumed winner (Le Pupille) is not that well liked, it won at BAFTA, and maybe Alfonso Cuarón isn’t enough to make it win. The Red Suitcase makes a really good case too, but I’m gonna go safer in this one.
Documentary: The Elephant Whisperers has support, love and is well liked, I haven’t seen anyone complain about it. On the other hand Haulout is a critical darling from what I’ve seen, it’s impactful and could easily win. However, Stanger at the Gate gives me serious Two Distant Strangers vibes, a very disliked short that won because of its topic in a very important moment, SATG seems to be very divisive and that could push it to the win because of the theme it touches. My choice is TEW.
Animated: I don’t see The Boy… winning, I haven’t seen many people say anything good about it besides “it’s beautifully animated”, it’s really long and people don’t care much about the story. My Year of Dicks is THE critical darling and the short that people seem to have a lot of passion for, if you compare those two possibilities I would 100% go with the film people actually love, and that’s exactly what I will do. The Ice Merchants can also surprise tho.
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