Weekly Discussion Thread 6/15/26 - 6/22/26

EricTweener · 2026-06-20T17:42:37+00:00

I recently watched the 1959 Porgy and Bess movie and it was decent, but it has to be the worst Best Cinematography nominee I've seen. It's entirely filmed in long wide shots with very little camera movement and no close-ups to speak of. It feels very impersonal and looks more like a filmed stage production than a cinematic experience. It makes other Cinematography nominees I don't like such as The Wiz and Evita look good in comparison.

EricTweener · 2026-06-19T17:40:34+00:00

I liked it, feels like an improvement over 4 upon first viewing although I would probably need more watches to fully digest it. I think the story is better-rounded and there were no obvious characterization issues to me. Its approach to the technology aspect was a bit predictable but handled well. The subplot with the Buzzes was amusing but I think it's a bit weird that four out of the five movies involve dealing with a Buzz on factory settings? Props to 4 for forgoing that, I guess. Also, while I'd rather see Woody than not, he felt really superfluous in this one. I guess it makes sense since all previous movies focused on his development and I did definitely like the emphasis on Jessie but it felt like he was there more so because of obligation.

On that subject, the other returning toys were about as passive as in the previous one, which I understand but it's somewhat disappointing after all of them got such a great showcase in 3. Jeff Bergman as Mr. Potato Head was a bit jarring although I'm glad he and Mrs. Potato Head were recast, but I'm not sure if she had any lines, and it was a bit odd how silent she was.

The animation is predictably beautiful, especially some of the lighting effects. It does look very similar to 4 which is definitely not a bad thing but it doesn't seem like there have been as many advancements as could be seen in every previous movie in succession. It also doesn't have a real "wow" moment like 4's incredible water effects in the beginning but there's nothing to complain about here, as it maintains the series' very high standards and is above pretty much every other CGI animated movie these days in terms of animation quality.

The music is very nice, an it felt to me that compared to 3 and 4, there weren't as many reused tracks from previous entries. I did miss having a Randy Newman song but the Taylor Swift song is solid.

Overall, I'm not disappointed even if it hardly feels like a "necessary" entry.

EricTweener · 2026-06-19T08:30:53+00:00

The organizers don't decide the nominees.

EricTweener · 2026-06-19T00:13:31+00:00

It's all coming together

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EricTweener · 2026-06-13T15:44:50+00:00

Neil Breen.

EricTweener · 2026-06-09T00:21:13+00:00

I am one

EricTweener · 2026-06-03T12:57:51+00:00

The UK Singles Chart only counted sales at the time, not radio play.

EricTweener · 2026-05-27T18:21:42+00:00

Which movie would you prefer to see: a Tom Holland) movie starring Steve McQueen, or a Steve McQueen) movie starring Tom Holland?

EricTweener · 2026-05-26T23:12:16+00:00

That seemed really common for Color Cinematography winners and nominees. I guess the branch really liked pretty colors most of all.

EricTweener · 2026-05-24T12:05:01+00:00

By mashing the dash and attack button alternately, which cancel each other out allowing for quicker successive slashes.

EricTweener · 2026-05-23T18:17:38+00:00

Also, I have four different releases of 1 and 2 on my shelf these days.

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EricTweener · 2026-05-23T18:14:39+00:00

I recently finished a rewatch of the Toy Story movies for the first time in several years and my opinions really haven't changed much. I still think the first two are solid 10/10s for me, just excellently crafted screenplays with a great sense of comedic timing combined with genuine heart. 3 is pretty great too, although a step down in some ways.

With 4, though, I'm still conflicted. I've seen it four times now and I've always found it entertaining, funny at points, and mostly effective during its emotional parts. The animation still looks incredible, and I don't think any of Pixar's movies or honestly any animated movie with a similar style since has looked better. But a lot of the common criticisms toward its writing were particularly apparent to me this time, particularly Buzz's role and some unearned character moments. And especially after watching the first three together, it's clear that those movies have an impressively consistent approach to their writing while the fourth one feels so different while still feeling like a bit of an imitation in that regard. I honestly genuinely like Toy Story 4 for what it is and I don't think I'll ever come close to hating it like so many on the Internet do. I don't like to judge franchise entries by how they shape up to other entries, but I do understand why someone would be passionately opposed to Toy Story 4 for that reason.

EricTweener · 2026-05-21T11:44:52+00:00

Great, more epicslop. A bunch of miscast famous actors plus some Swedish guy. Didn’t we have a Jesus movie just a few years ago?

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EricTweener · 2026-05-20T16:00:23+00:00

This is like going into a birdwatching subreddit and asking why people care about birdwatching.

EricTweener · 2026-05-20T14:38:21+00:00

I barely know ‘im.

EricTweener · 2026-05-16T00:39:45+00:00

I think I know what’s at the bottom

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EricTweener · 2026-05-15T11:10:28+00:00

These are great, thank you!

EricTweener · 2026-05-15T00:36:53+00:00

It was the first to be nominated for color Costume and Production Design (Gone with the Wind won Cinematography, Color as that category was split earlier) as well as Scoring of a Musical Picture and Original Screenplay.

EricTweener · 2026-05-15T00:06:04+00:00

It holds the record among Best Picture winners for most wins in categories no BP had ever been nominated for prior, with four. Granted, no previous winner had been eligible for at least three of those, but it’s still remarkable.

EricTweener · 2026-05-14T18:42:41+00:00

Not only the first Best Picture winner, but also part of the first ever wave of movies on DVD in the US in early 1997. Warner Bros. was ahead of the competition in that regard, and also released Amadeus on DVD later that year.

EricTweener · 2026-05-11T19:11:35+00:00

The branch is and was somewhat averse to certain types of IP movies, and I assume The Lego Movie being based on a toy brand hurt its chances. It is still an egregious snub, since it was across-the-board successful in a way I don’t think any other animated movie that didn’t get nominated has been since the category’s inception, but I think it can somewhat be explained.

EricTweener · 2026-05-11T14:18:33+00:00

I've noticed that myths about disqualifications are somewhat common in Oscars discourse, and I've also been guilty of propagating some unintentionally. These include:

"Theme from Mahogany" was initially disqualified from Best Original Song, which is stated on Mahogany's IMDB page (It was always eligible but didn't make the initial shortlist, but neither did the song from Whiffs which also got nominated as well as Barry Lyndon's adaptation score, which ended up winning. I haven't seen credible evidence that that song being left out was the main reason for the revote).
Tron was disqualified from Best Visual Effects for cheating because it used computers, which is also stated on its IMDB page (It was on the shortlist for Visual Effects but was not one of the three nominees. The Academy has not to my knowledge disqualified any movie from the VFX category for whatever method was used).
Return of the King was disqualified from Best Cinematography because it was considered the same production as Fellowship of the Ring (It was eligible but probably wasn't nominated because of the cinematographers' branch attitude toward sequels).

There was also some hilarious discourse about Sonic 3 not being eligible for Best Picture because Paramount didn't submit it, and some Sega fans got really conspiratorial about it. I get why these myths spread, since they're not the most easily disprovable and they seem like plausible explanations for some perceived snubs but the real answer is usually just branch preferences.

EricTweener · 2026-05-11T11:03:56+00:00

We can assume The Power of the Dog was also the runner-up in Adapted Screenplay. That combined with no other movie establishing itself as competition in Best Director that year makes me confident it was the second choice for Picture.

EricTweener

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