Time to power-watch the Oscar contenders
It’s that time of year again — time to cram in every single Academy Award-nominated movie I can find on payper-view or Crave and bingewatch before the Oscar telecast on Feb. 24.
I know watching at home on television is not the same experience as going to a theatre but as a person who suffers from a sound sensitivity condition called misophonia, the last place I want to spend time on a night off is at a theatre listening to people crunch, slurp, burp or whisper.
Fellow sufferers of misophonia know my pain. I’m aggravated by most loud sounds, including TVs blaring from other rooms, even ones I’ve turned on myself. Loud laughing, coughing, cellphone ringers, chewing noises and other sounds can send me around the bend in agony. And I’m a guy who uses hearing aids but more often than not, I leave them at home when I go out as a security measure because for me, not being able to hear well is calming.
So to prepare myself for the Oscars, as I write this I’m in the process of catching up on this year’s nominees. And by the time you read this, I probably still haven’t seen “Roma,” which is one of this year’s most decorated films. It’s been on Netflix for awhile but the subject matter isn’t all that interesting to me and I’m not a big fan of films with subtitles, the exception being “Lion” which still makes me tear up when I come across it on one of the Crave channels.
The plan of attack for me was to first see Spike Lee’s “BlacKkKlansman” which is available for a $7 rental fee. Spike Lee has long been one of cinema’s most underappreciated diretors and I’m hoping he finally takes home the Oscar for best director with this effort, which is based on a true story of a black detective who infiltrates the KKK. Also nominated for best director are Alfonso Cauron for “Roma,” Pawel Pawlikowski for “Cold War,” Adam McKay for “Vice,” and Yorgos Lanthimos for “The Favourite.” I’m pretty sure none of those films will have made my TV screen by Oscar time.
This year, I won’t make the mistake of accidentally buying a movie like I did in 2018 with “Three Billboards out of Ebbing, Missouri,” which was a truly fantastic film and one I was sad to see not earn Best Picture although “The Shape of Water” was mighty fine, too. So I’ve had to wait until they are on payper-view to see “Bohemian Rhapsody” and “A Star is Born.”
I’m going to be honest here and say I wasn’t a huge Queen fan growing up. I think I listened to them too many times in my high school friend Warren Salberg’s car as we bombed Raymond’s main street. Granted, he probably felt the same about Uriah Heep so we’re even. But years ago, I interviewed Freddie Mercury’s personal assistant for a Queen tribute that was staged at the Yates and Rami Malek is a mesmerizing actor so “Rhapsody” is definitely a mustsee.
I can’t say the same about “A Star is Born” since I remember the 1976 version with Barbra Streisand and not in a good way. But it also was one I’ve decided to pay to see.
And I had to check out “Black Panther,” just to see what the hype was all about.
I also have managed to see the “Deadpool” sequel, which wasn’t nominated but is definitely fun. I can’t say the same about the follow-up to “Sicario” which was two hours I’ll never get back.
Since it’s on Netflix, “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs” is also on my must-see list. And even though I found it really dark, I must recommend “First Reformed” which landed Paul Schrader for best original screenplay. Ethan Hawke got robbed of a best actor nomination because he was incredible in this film.
Not many other nominees have piqued my interest this year, the exceptions including the documentary “Free Solo,” which I’m really hoping to see before the awards are handed out.
I’m not ready yet to make any predictions but I’m really hopeful that films people actually see finally get some recognition from the academy. Being popular seems to be equated with not being good and that is patently unfair.
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