Controversial Entertainment Opinions/Discussion Thread - Part III

[Langdon Alger]

The fact that Shakespeare in Love won Best Picture is still a mystery.

I’ll give you a clue as to why that happened. Harvey Weinstein.

 

[ManwithNoIdentity]

As much as I hate the term overrated, Breaking Bad fits the bill for me

To see it compared to Sopranos in some circles is hilarious

 

[KallioWeHardlyKnewYe]

The fact that Shakespeare in Love won Best Picture is still a mystery.

Well now I don't know that this opinion is controversial. I think it's widely regarded as an unworthy winner and more of an achievement in voter glad-handing than artistic merit, but you did remind me of one my controversial opinions ...

Shakespeare in Love is great and deserving of that best picture award.

It's an extremely clever and enjoyable script. Great acting up and down the roster (even Affleck perfectly cast in a small supporting role). It's a fun modernization/melding of Shakespeare with modern times/mood (despite the setting). I think it's hindered both by the fact that it is at heart a icky girl love movie which certainly isn't a favored genre around these parts but then it's pitted against not one, not two, but THREE WWII movies in the best picture category, most notably the uber-manly and showy Saving Private Ryan, which is nearly everyone's go-to alternative that year. Now war movies. Dudes love war movies. Shakespeare is also light and airy while many seem to think best picture needs to be epic and/or "important" and almost always very, very serious. Light, sweet, comedic movies are worthy of awards too and this one is a fine recipient.

There are greater Oscar travesties and plenty of worse movies that have won best picture without getting nearly as much grief.

Now, all this said ... The Thin Red Line would have been my pick for best picture that year.

 

[Voight]

- Daniel Day Lewis is overrated
- While he (Leo Di Caprio) wasn't anywhere close to bad in The Revenant, we all know that was like Al Pacinos Oscar - basically a "we probably should have given you one before, so take this as an apology" - One could argue he should have 3 (Aviator, Blood Diamond, WOWS) - however I have no problems with McConaughey winning for DBC
- Bradley Cooper should have won best actor in 2015
- Remi Malek was amazing as Freddie M, but I really thought Bale should have won for his role in Vice. At times it was hard to tell if that was him or the real Cheney.

Got more where that came from.

 

[Mikeaveli]

The Beach Boys > The Beatles.

 

[Langdon Alger]

- Daniel Day Lewis is overrated
- While he (Leo Di Caprio) wasn't anywhere close to bad in The Revenant, we all know that was like Al Pacinos Oscar - basically a "we probably should have given you one before, so take this as an apology" - One could argue he should have 3 (Aviator, Blood Diamond, WOWS) - however I have no problems with McConaughey winning for DBC
- Bradley Cooper should have won best actor in 2015
- Remi Malek was amazing as Freddie M, but I really thought Bale should have won for his role in Vice. At times it was hard to tell if that was him or the real Cheney.

Got more where that came from.

How often do the Oscars really get it right though?

 

[Shareefruck]

While I don't agree with the Beach Boys > Beatles one specifically, honestly, without exaggeration, there are literally dozens of artists that I wouldn't consider anything close to a personal favorite or an all time great that I would consider better than The Rolling Stones or Led Zeppelin, personally. I don't really consider them any more than "having a consistent stretch of solidly enjoyable albums". The way they seem permanently glued to the top 5 for most people has always struck me as bizarre (outside of just acknowledging their popularity).

Something like Beach Boys for sure, but even stuff that aren't ever put on a super high pedestal like Fishmans, Stereolab, Portishead, Gang of Four, Kraftwerk, The Orb, Orbital, Pere Ubu, REM, Scientist, The Fall, Soft Machine, The Stooges, Talking Heads, Television, The Clash, This Heat, Wire, and on and on....

These are specifically groups that I DON'T especially love (I can probably think of dozens more that I do), but even all those second or third tier acts, I have more appreciation for than these two gargantuan reputation ones (not that I dislike them or anything).

 

[Voight]

How often do the Oscars really get it right though?

Almost never, which is why you end up with Pacino winning for Scent of a Woman (he was great in that movie) and Scorsese winning for the Departed (amazing Movie), basically them saying "you should have won before, so pls take this one as a consolation).

 

[Frankie Blueberries]

People that put too much stock in the Oscars or any major pop culture award, on either side (either complaining about them or using them as some sort of gold standard) really. The medium and voting are inherently flawed as being cross-genre, subjective art based on a small cohort of votes. That on it's own is enough to disqualify it as an objective measurement, but then you mix in the political correctness landscape at the time, and it becomes a crapshoot. I just look at the nominations as informed suggestions for movies to watch, but who cares what value they put on them. Complaining about the Oscars not getting it right is just misunderstanding the variables that go into the decisions, seems like pointless ranting.

 

[Shareefruck]

People that put too much stock in the Oscars or any major pop culture award, on either side (either complaining about them or using them as some sort of gold standard) really. The medium and voting are inherently flawed as being cross-genre, subjective art based on a small cohort of votes. That on it's own is enough to disqualify it as an objective measurement, but then you mix in the political correctness landscape at the time, and it becomes a crapshoot. I just look at the nominations as informed suggestions for movies to watch, but who cares what value they put on them. Complaining about the Oscars not getting it right is just misunderstanding the variables that go into the decisions, seems like pointless ranting.

Even calling them informed suggestions seems like a bit of a reach to me, is the thing. It's more just a predictable curiosity than anything else.

 

[Frankie Blueberries]

Even calling them informed suggestions seems like a bit of a reach to me, is the thing. It's more just a predictable curiosity than anything else.

I just don't follow the development of pop culture projects very closely aside from seeing the odd trailer pop up on Reddit or my news feed. So when I see lists of nominees, sometimes it serves to pique my interest. It's better than some of the alternatives, like whatever crap Netflix is promoting.

 

[End on a Hinote]

Killing Eve is a stupid show with a lame plot and subpar acting.

If Schitt's Creek was openly set in Canada rather than barely implied to be it wouldn't have won all, if any, of their Emmys.