Tomorrow night you will have a chance to see a convention of illiterates, haters, bigots and folks without a clue—it is the “Oscars”. These folks like Fonda and DiCaprio denounce us for using gas cars—but arrived at the convention is long limo’s, 6 miles to the gallon.
For dozens of years this convention was held in Hollywood at one theater or another. This time the movie stars are going to an appropriate place to pat themselves on the back and tell you how bad America is. When you leave the Dolby theater in Hollywood, just one block away is a homeless encampment, they run for more than a mile. Leave your seat and you can buy any drug known to mankind, thanks to the drug cartels and a DA that does not care. Want to see poverty—then visit Hollywood.
The hosts for the night include Regina Hall—a really nice person. Then you have Amy Schumer, the niece of nasty Chuck Schumer and a toilet mouth. Finally, you have the comedian Wanda Sykes, who makes clear her dislike of white people and Republicans. This is Hollywood’s version of America—no wonder so few watch it. If you are not a supporter of Putin, on drugs or alcohol, this is a waste of time.
Thanks for the Memories by Richard Eber
Richard Eber, Exclusive to the California Political News and Views, 3/26/22
As a child when movie stars asked for “The envelope please”, it was a big deal in the Eber household. This would mean it was Sunday and the long anticipated moment when the Academy Awards were distributed. Even though it was a school night, I was allowed to stay up late for this important occasion.
At that time the ceremony generated viewership with an audience share of between 35% to 43%. It was often the top rated Nielson program of the year.
This was a time where American culture was celebrated around the world. Hollywood was a magic place Walt Disney promised “where all your dreams come true”.
At that time the Academy Awards for the most part were devoid of politics. Real comedians such as Bob Hope, Johnny Carson, and later Billy Crystal, presided over the proceedings. Song and dance filled the air as viewers were able to see their favorite movie stars away from film sets.
Politics, up to a few years ago, were left on the sidelines.
This has not been true since Donald Trump was elected in 2016. Beginning the next year, all we have been hearing is anti-Trump rhetoric, accusations of police misconduct, praise for Black Lives Matter and pleas for climate change by celebrities flying around in their private jets. In this environment the 94th Academy Awards show takes place tomorrow with less than 10 million viewers expected to watch the proceedings in the USA.
To be blunt, in recent years most of the Oscar audience has not enjoyed listening to celebrities, often lacking in education beyond high school, lecturing the public with their Woke agenda of social change.
At the same time attendance at theaters has diminished, especially after the Covid-19 epidemic began in early 2020. Premium viewer services such as Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, HBO, Disney, and others filled this gap with entertainment that could be enjoyed on widescreen TV’s.
As a result the only movies that have made money at the box office have been the likes of Spiderman, DC Comics, and super hero exploitation flicks. In a culture that praises itself in its creativity remakes of past box office hits and sequels dominate the highest grossing films.
For those few who will be watching the Oscar broadcast, don’t bother to activate your hearing aids as the nominees for best song are pathetic as compared to past years.
Not being a movie reviewer, it is difficult for me to analyze the quality of the shows that have been nominated for best film. Unlike past years, there are 10 productions in this category. Until recently, only four or five films were listed; most of whom had multiple nominations.
It is uncertain why there are so many films in this category. Perhaps the Academy thought by having 10 flicks on the ballot, Woke participation standards and diversity quotas could be met. In addition everyone nominated could be considered to be a winner.
I tried to view as many of the nominees as possible. This was not an easy task as many of films were not very watchable. Keeping in mind that the words “This is one of 10 best of year” tend to keep me on the sidelines we have:
- West Side Story: even with Steven Spielberg behind the production, it reminded me having to eat stale leftovers, 3 days after the original meal was served. The production values were excellent, but the movie lacked the soul of Lenard Bernstein’s iconic film from 1961. To be honest it took me several attempts on “resume” to get through the move
- Don’t Look Up: This was a Hollywood satire-comedy with a grade A cast including Leanardo de Caprio, Meryl Streep and Jennifer Lawrence. Ordinarily, these stars fill the screen in great shows. In this case it appeared to me they were mailing it in. Needless to say I did not get through the entire movie prior experiencing euthanasia with my channel changer.
- Belfast: This was a watchable movie about life in the U.K during World War II. As for being a great movie worthy of Oscar consideration, there was not enough depth or enjoyment of the characters to do so. Somehow I felt that I had seen this story many times before in previous movies.
- Dune: Even though this film did well at the box office, it lacked belief and leap of faith normally found in the science fiction genre. My mind strayed from the uninteresting characters. I wondered where the space ships. which looked like insect designed helicopters, might have been made. No one had a job in this movie. Medieval combat with knives prevailed. Too bad Captain Kirk was not written into the plot.
- Licorice Pizza: Is a coming of age drama that might compare to American Graffiti or an early Adam Sandler vehicle. Perhaps Licorice Pizza is better than most of the nominated films for 2022, but it is far from anything construed to be a classic. To put it another way, please wait till this movie can be viewed for free on network TV.
- King Richard: A biographical look of the Dad of the famous Williams Sisters of tennis fame, this was an enjoyable film that I liked. It had a unique perspective but at the end of the day, King Richard could have been a made for TV movie of yesteryear.
- Nightmare Alley: This would be my nominee for worst movie possibly of all time. Despite the efforts of Bradley Cooper, the psychological thriller lacked the charm of a firing squad. A remake of films previously made, I found there to be less redeeming social value with Nightmare Alley than what could be found in materials of prurient interests worthy of Jeffrey Epstein.
Unfortunately I was not able to see Coda and the art film Drive my Car. This leaves the best for last with Jane Campion’s The Power of the Dog. It is a sophisticated western psychological drama that for me was the only picture I viewed last year that merits consideration for Best Picture. It is difficult not to be transfixed with the characters Campion crafted in writing and directing it. While watching this great movie, I did not check my I-phone for messages even once!
The Power of the Dog is a film that can be enjoyed by adult audiences as a drama for the ages. These other films nominated just didn’t measure up.
As Malvolio in William Shakespeare’s 12 Night quipped:
Some are born great
Some achieve greatness
And some have greatness thrust upon them
