A.A. Dowd's discussions

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I address the source material, which I have read, in the review. I also acknowledge the ways in which Kaufman radically transforms and expands upon it. Having seen the movie (twice!), I can assure you that he brings a strangeness to the material that is in not in the (also strange) novel.

Into Darkness came out in 2013. But the bad-guy-more-dangerous-in-captivity trend was indeed prevalent; it shows up also in The Avengers, and in The Mummy, and in M:I 3 (which obviously predates Dark Knight).

No grades for game reviews! I know, I wish I could issue one, too. (Between you and me, this is probably a B+.)

Can’t think of the last time I was this happy to be wrong. Maybe when Moonlight won? Anyway, a wonderful surprise at the end of a very solid Oscar night. Let’s all go make like Bong and get drunk!

HOLY SHIT

Okay, last-minute prediction: 1917 takes the big one, the Academy splitting Picture and Director, as they often do. But I’m feeling more hopeful than I was three hours ago that Parasite could actually win. Famous last words?

As widely predicted, Renée Zellweger wins Best Actress for her vocally precise, poignant turn as Judy Garland. The Academy loves stars playing stars, and Zellweger picked up almost all of the precursors, so this felt sewn up a while ago. She’s much better, I’ll say, than the movie on a whole—something both lead acting… Read more

Mystery solved: Billie Eilish is here to sing “Yesterday” over the In Memoriam tribute, presumably because her whispered delivery won’t overshadow (or distract from) the famous people being eulogized.

Everyone in the A.V. Club office goes crazy as Bong Joon Ho wins Best Director for Parasite, beating out presumptive favorite Sam Mendes. “After winning Best International Feature, I thought I was done for the night and could relax,” deadpans Bong, who also gives a shout-out to Martin Scorsese, “who I studied in… Read more

But not all big names! Hildur Guðnadóttir, the Icelandic composer who did the depressive, ominous cello-driven music for Joker (and also Chernobyl), wins Best Original Score, beating out veterans like the Newman cousins and John freakin’ Williams. It’s a win for that movie I can get behind; in so much as Joker ever… Read more

Another regular Oscar night choice I’ve always loved is the orchestra playing a medley of the Original Score nominees. Gives you a real sense of the spectrum of music they gravitated towards (and, of course, the almost invariably big-name composers they recognized).

There are those convinced Parasite is winning Best Picture tonight. I too have my doubts, especially after convincing myself last year that Roma was going to win. But I’d love to be proven wrong.

Nice to see a shout-out to the best film of the decade, A Separation, in this tribute to global cinema.

1917 wins Best Visual Effects, probably because it’s the most prestigious, respectable, “serious” of the nominees. Seriously, for all summer blockbusters monopolize the slate, the Academy almost always votes for a movie that isn’t a big, dumb explosion fest or CGI free-for-all. (See also: Interstellar, First Man, Life… Read more

Let’s celebrate the restraint the Academy exercised in waiting a whole two hours before making a Cats joke.

Ceremony is moving pretty quick again this year (even with a tribute to, uh, music in movies and an Eminem performance). More ammo for the argument that you really don’t need a host, and that these things are maybe much better paced without them.

I’m predicting Elton John wins (because he’s Elton), but this big, swelling Original Song nominee from Harriet feels like a possibility, too.

Zazie Beetz wins this year’s Oscar for Best Actress In Movies That Largely Waste Her Talents.