And the Oscar Goes To...

Me.

I'd like to thank the Academy...

Okay, obviously I did not win an Oscar, but I feel like I should get some kind of award for spending 15 hours of my life watching 6 1/4 of the 9 films nominated for Best Picture.

I enjoy movies, but I don't see as many as I would like. Every year when Oscar season rolls around, I can only check off one or two of the Best Picture nominees. So, this year, I set myself a goal to see them all. It seemed reasonable at the time, before I realized what I was up against.

Through a combination of Netflix, pay-per-view, and actual movie theaters, I watched:
Marriage Story
Parasite
The Irishman
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Jojo Rabbit
1917, and
1/4 of Joker (maybe on a different day, I would have stuck it out, but, frankly, I was in no mood).

I have not yet seen Little Women or Ford v Ferrari, so the following opinions do not apply to those movies.

Here's my take on the ones I did see:

• They are quite male. But you knew that;
• They are replete with egos. Husband egos, military egos, actor egos, rich guy egos, mafia egos. And, dare I say, the real life egos of the two directors who thought they needed 3 hours 29 minutes and 2 hours and 41 minutes, respectively, to tell their stories.  
• They have plenty of violence. War violence, emotional violence, gangster violence, animal-on-human violence, interpersonal violence. Lots of people get shot, and I wouldn't be surprised if this year set a record for Best Picture stabbings. Very stabby.

But having said all this, every movie also had some combination of: amazing performances, poignant moments, surprising plot twists, stunning cinematography, evocative scoring, humor (even if dark), and unexpected humanity. I don't regret seeing any of them, and I'm looking forward to finishing the list with Little Women and Ford v Ferrari. And I might give Joker another try.

Congratulations to all the 2020 winners, and here's hoping that next year's crop of Oscar contenders is a little less...exhausting.

In case you missed it, here is Saturday Night Live's Melissa Villasenor's musical take on this year's best picture nominees: