Oscars 2024

 

Of course the big winner of the 2024 Oscars was Christopher Nolan and Emma Thomas's  Oppenheimer but it was the other UK winners that I found so amazing. And so many of them. Nadia Stacey led the team on Poor Things for Best Make Up and Hairstyling and for the same film Holly Waddington won Costume Design and gave us a superb speech. Then an Oscar for Production Design for Shona Heath and James Price also for Poor Things. (In the studio Emma Stones' English dialect coach talked about how he taught her accent, especially to say "water"). It was Jonathon Glazer who led the team making The Zone of Interest who won Best International Feature. And Tarn Willers and Johnnie Burn won for Best Sound on the same film.

Otherwise I was impressed with presenters Arnold Swarzenegger and Danny de Vito but even more so when they announced the winner for Best Visual Effects. The team behind the superb Godzilla Minus One were ecstatic.  But the highlight of the ceremony came when the lights went down to pink. And we all knew what was coming next. Ryan Gosling (also all in pink) surprised Margot Robbie, who was sitting in front of him in the audience, when he started singing "I'm Just Ken". And here was British-American composer Mark Ronson playing alongside. The male cast of the film join Ken on stage for a performance far better than that in the movie. Especially when Ken climbs down off the stage to sing with Greta Gerwig, Margot and America Ferrera. It deserved the standing ovation.

When I went to see American Fiction at the Rex, Berkhamsted (post 15th March), that made the ninth film I had seen of the ten nominated for the best film Oscar. The only one missing was Killers of the Flower Moon whose length and subject matter were why. Here are the other nine that I have ranked in order of my preference and the dates of my reviews on this blog:

Oppenheimer  4th and 24th August 2023

The Holdovers  3rd February 2024

American Fiction  15th March 2024

Anatomy of a Fall  16th November 2023

Poor Things  19th January 2024

Past Lives  27th September 2023

The Zone of Interest  21st February 2024

Maestro  6th February 2024

Barbie  7th September 2023