These recent days the Oscar Nominations for the films of 2023 were announced. A lot of people were upset that the director of the, "Barbie," movie, Greta Gerwig, was snubbed for a, "Best Director," nomination and that Margot Robbie was overlooked for, "Best Actress." At the same time, Ryan Gosling received a, "Best Supporting Actor," nomination (America Ferrera did also get a nom for, "Supporting Actress," it should be noted). Many folks pointed out that a big point of the ,"Barbie," movie was that men get all the credit while women who work hard are overlooked. Then the backlash to the backlash kicked in too. Other folks said how the first ever Native American woman getting a nomination for, "Best Actress," in the case of Lily Gladstone for, "Killers of the Flower Moon," was impressive and that we shouldn't care about a movie based on a toy/that was an ad for Mattel/etc. I see both sides in this but have my own opinion that I will raise in the form of a question: Why do we ever care about the Oscar nominations much at all?
Award shows are fun and fine, but they are one big exercise in navel-gazing as Hollywood pats itself on the back and says what was the, "Best," movie in the opinion of people within Hollywood. It doesn't matter what the box office said, what audiences thought, or any of that. These big award shows for movies or television are the opinion of a small group of people--and that's okay! I am but an individual and I shared my opinions on stuff last year and actually said how the, "Barbie," movie was my favorite flick from 2023. I also know my opinion only counts for so much in the World. Still, why do we put much of any stock in the Oscars, Golden Globes, Emmys, or when it comes to music, the Grammys? If you loved a movie the fact it won an Oscar shouldn't make you adore it more.
Gosling, Robbie, and Gerwig.
I get why people are mad about various individuals getting overlooked in the Oscar nominations. I also understand why others are happy with the nominations. I don't get why people care so much when year after year the declining viewership and reduced social cachet of the Oscars makes it clear individuals could care less about the show unless somebody gets slapped. An Oscar is a fun little thing to note a movie received and signifies a certain group of people wanted to honor that film. That's it though. Let's not pretend these award shows matter to any greater degree than they actually do.
I finally had a chance to watch the, "Barbie," movie at home thanks to it being possible to rent on the good ol' interwebs. It really was as good as people said and quite different from what one would expect of a toy tie-in flick. Everyone is absolutely amazing in their roles and the cast is stacked. Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling, Simu Liu, Kate McKinnon, America Ferrera, Will Ferrell, Michael Cera, and more help this movie fire on all cylinders. It's hilarious, insightful, and makes you even choke up a bit at the end. Director Greta Gerwig took on a movie about a toy doll and made a masterpiece.
The general plot is that Margot Robbie's Barbie has to leave her World and go to the real World to address how she's been having strangely sad thoughts and developing odd body features like her feet going flat instead of their usual arch. Ryan Gosling's Ken tags along and develops a taste for the patriarchy in the real World and this leads to all kinds of trouble. That's a general summary, but there is a lot more to it. I also was amazed at how willing Mattel was to be poked at for fun and tip my hat to the company for giving everyone as much creative freedom as they did for this film.
"Barbie," made a ton (and I do mean a ton) of money at the box office and received glowing reviews. Besides some alt-right men whining about it online, it seems like basically everyone loved this movie. I know I was a fan. My only concern is movie studios will take the wrong message from this and try to churn out a bunch of toy tie-in movies while missing the point of what made this production great. Time will tell, but, "Barbie," will stand the test of time as a stellar movie!
If you've been following the news about comic-related movies I'm pretty sure you've both seen the trailer for, "Spider-Man: Homecoming," and heard that there is going to a Harley Quinn-involving, "Gotham City Sirens," flick. Both pieces of news are interesting and have me cautiously optimistic while also taking into a possible, "Catch." Let's review
Spider-Man Homecoming and it's Trailer
Why I'm Cautiously Optimistic
Well first off, check out the trailer itself underneath the headline. I'll wait. Now then, as you can see the movie has found an awesome Peter Parker in the form of Tom Holland, it is eagerly incorporating the Marvel Cinematic Universe thanks to Sony's deal with Disney to share characters (they are chomping at the bit to have Robert Downey Junior AKA Iron Man appear), and Michael Keaton is always a joy to see onscreen whether he's a hero or a villain--here in the form of The Vulture (a villain I've always felt could be really cool if done right and am pleased to finally see appear on the silver-screen after a rumored false start years ago). We've got great casting, a plot that looks interesting, and again, Iron Man! It looks like a slam-dunk!
The Possible, "Catch"
Then again even when something looks like a slam dunk the rim and netting could always fall apart (if you'll excuse the clumsy metaphor). After all, this is the 3rd iteration of Spider-Man we've seen now, after the Tobey Maguire one fizzled out and the Andrew Garfield one was basically killed mid-story. This version has a lot more going for it thanks to the incorporation of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but is the 3rd time a charm, or are audiences just going to be burned-out on Spidey at this point?
Also, by having the MCU play a role in this will that dilute Spider-Man and turn this film into more of a, "Iron Man and friends," kind of flick? That, or is Tony Stark just being played-up for the previews and will actually have just a small amount of screen-time, allowing the story of Spider-Man to breathe? Also, will this movie simply pick-up from after, "Civil War," or will we have to see the origin of Peter Parker's powers yet again? I ask because if I have to watch Uncle Ben die one more time I'm going to be really hot-pissed (and don't get me started on the countless number of deaths we've witnessed for Thomas and Martha Wayne)! Again, these are possibly gripes and worries that will turn out to be unfounded, but I just gotta have my concerns. Here's hoping the movie is as good as we're dreaming it will be.
"Gotham City Sirens," Movie
Why I'm Cautiously Optimistic
Many people loved Margot Robbie as, "Harley Quinn," so a movie with her and other female heroes/villains already has Ms. Robbie as one cast member that is guaranteed to do a good job. Plus, as it takes place in Gotham we doubtlessly will get some Batman and even people who were critical of Ben Affleck as Batman before, "Batman Vs Superman," now agree he was one of the best parts of the film. Also, we have not yet had a super-hero movies that features female leads. We've had super-teams that have a female or females on them, but films that puts the focus on a group of female protagonists is currently unseen. This creates a stellar opportunity for DC to make something special. It has some great source material, for sure.
The Possible, "Catch"
Seriously, have you seen the DC movies so far? I didn't hate, "Batman VS Superman," but it had a myriad of problems. I also haven't even bothered to see, "Suicide Squad," in full yet but from what I've heard it had numerous concerns as well. Hearing that David Ayer is going to direct this movie only is good news in the sense that means Zack Snyder isn't doing it. Also, I wonder if DC has agreed to give Ayer more creative-control over this movie than, "Suicide Squad," because that was plagued with rumors of creative conflicts. As I mentioned, we have never had a movie focused on a female super-hero/villain team. I honestly hope DC doesn't royally shit the bed and create an impression that movies with female heroes don't sell when the real problem could very well be DC and the people it has chosen to helm its cinematic-Universe.
Great Things Ahead, Or Tough Times?
This is in-continuity and could be on a movie-screen in the future.
I see a lot of potential in the trailer for, "Spider-Man: Homecoming," and the opportunities are abundant for a quality, "Gotham City Sirens," production. Whether Spider-Man will manage to impress this coming July and/or the Sirens will be good whenever their movie comes out is a big question-mark, but as someone who generally prefers good movies over bad ones, I know I'm wishing both the creative teams the best. Also, all the fans into Harley and Poison Ivy having a relationship (as the comics confirmed) would go nuts if we actually see Robbie and whoever plays Ivy hook-up. Putting aside the questionable portrayals of bisexuality in film throughout history (bisexual people often are shown as deviant or, "Evil,") I'm betting folk wouldn't protest too much.
