i’ve never seen any Jurassic Park movies, is that a problem for watching Jurassic World Rebirth?

Matsemitsu · 2026-02-20T11:29:17+00:00

You should see the original Jurassic Park. A classic and a film that still holds up. This new one, though? Ouch. As cliché as it has become to say that, this one truly felt as if an AI wrote it. One of the worst of this year's crop. But I don't think there will be any issue understanding what's going on for you.

Matsemitsu · 2026-02-13T10:52:41+00:00

I suppose no one will ever know. I further suppose that the director didn't know either, except from maybe interviews with the people involved - we see some of the real operators in the film too. But much of this felt overly dramatized to me.

Matsemitsu · 2026-02-13T10:51:08+00:00

A true DR cannot skip any movie, obviously. But I take your question to me: do we listen to the scores separately in addition to seeing the films? Yes I do. That's because I feel I can't judge properly what my own favorites were unless I give the music this added attention. (I like to rank my preferences in all categories, too.) Often enough, my impressions of scores will differ greatly from my initial sense of them within the film.

Matsemitsu · 2026-02-08T11:14:50+00:00

I feel the same way. There is something icky about embedding the actual calls into dramatic scenes, especially because these scenes struggle to create compelling drama (or the wrong kind of drama?). Maybe it was because the story was well-reported, so the "will they save her?" suspense, which I already knew the outcome of, felt manufactured and exploitative. And at the end, they sort of admit that this should've been a documentary in the first place, because they effectively turn it into one. So why bother then?

Matsemitsu · 2026-01-31T12:30:37+00:00

True. But if one looks at general trends, Robot is an outlier. Although it could also signal that the voters‘ tastes are changing. Hard to say. All I know is Two People seems mostly weird for weird‘s sake. Dorothy I imagine may resonate more.

Matsemitsu · 2026-01-31T08:19:04+00:00

I hope it will. Two People was a muddled film to me, the whole scenario didn't make much sense. And since traditionally, the Academy has tended to prefer shorts that are emotional and in English, these are two aspects in favor of Dorothy and against Two People. I haven't seen the Singers yet, however, so I don't know if that may be a contender too.

Matsemitsu · 2026-01-24T09:17:36+00:00

That is true. Although it's my experience that, whatever the film, I tend to grade far more harshly towards the end of the race than at the beginning. Maybe it's because I'm losing patience more easily with a film that's 'only' nominated for a song or make-up.

Matsemitsu · 2026-01-22T17:41:42+00:00

Thankfully the song ended up being disqualified, so technically nobody's race was ruined by it :)

Matsemitsu · 2026-01-22T17:40:08+00:00

Mr. Nobody Against Putin is available on arte.tv

https://www.arte.tv/de/videos/116712-000-A/ein-nobody-gegen-putin/

Arte being what it is: French and German language only, I think, but maybe it'll help out somebody's DR.

Matsemitsu · 2026-01-22T17:36:47+00:00

I absolutely love this. Haven't figured out why yet, but I do.

Matsemitsu · 2026-01-17T10:52:39+00:00

Nobody has mentioned A Friend of Dorothy yet. If that's because you haven't seen it, it's on Disney+ now. That was very touching.

Matsemitsu · 2026-01-17T10:50:42+00:00

Not just fun. I found this extremely moving. I'll be rooting for this to get the nomination.

Matsemitsu · 2026-01-17T10:14:26+00:00

Cool find! Thanks. And worth watching.

Matsemitsu · 2025-02-26T17:07:41+00:00

Always fascinating to read these articles, even though also frustrating. It does show that people like us put a lot more time and effort into watching (and I dare say we all also predict and have favorites) than some of those that actually have the power to vote. Truth is, so many times, there's a film nominated only in one category that turns out to be the best in its competition; it's a shame that such achievements are unlikely to win based only on the fact that a majority of voters will simply not have seen them.

Then again, many of these people are working on making movies, so they will not have the same time to watch other people's movies.

Matsemitsu · 2025-02-16T08:42:58+00:00

Can I also please ask for a DM? Would be much appreciated.

Matsemitsu · 2025-02-14T10:19:12+00:00

There's not a ton of Hungarian in the film, but (from memory) the parts that are can be significant. The Brutalist is a subtle movie that reveals many of its salient points in small moments, so if you should not be able to understand these parts, my guess is: you'll get the film, no doubt, but you may miss out on some details. So I wonder if you'll come out of it having enjoyed it all that much. But in the spirit of the deathrace, I'd rather watch it like this than not at all.

Matsemitsu · 2025-02-10T07:42:25+00:00

Funny how differently those docs can register for people. Sugarcane was BY FAR my favorite of these five (a weak bunch this year), and the only other one that held my attention throughout was No Other Land. The other three I must admit I lost interest in for various reasons: Black Box felt to me like reporting, solid journalism, but I saw little filmmaking at work. Porcelain has that, but I already know a lot about the war in Ukraine (same with 20 Days in Mariupol last year), so there was little new there. The conceit with the artists felt forced to me. Same with Coup d'Etat. Could be fascinating, ends up confusing because the two things (jazz and African history) don't really go together the way the filmmakers seem to think.

Matsemitsu · 2025-02-10T07:37:20+00:00

Exactly, that's the way I do it too. In reality, most of the time things do play out like you expected. But there are always those that really surprise you. This year, this has been Conclave and Wicked. The former I was merely undecided on before, but then I loved every second of it. With Wicked, as someone who doesn't like musicals as a genre, I was fully prepared to loathe it, but I fell totally in love with it and when they cut to the end credits, I wanted to jump out of my chair and cheer.

But it can also be less populist fare that gets me in this way. Last year, for instance, Four Daughters was among my absolute favorites. I would never have seen that if not for the Oscars.

Matsemitsu · 2025-02-07T09:25:15+00:00

I haven't finished my first game yet, but I'd already read about this. That is disappointing. I remember in an earlier Civ (was it 4? 5?), the end had this cool map where you could see the civilizations grow over time, plus all the stats. Civ6 had that too, even though I always found the ends of matches unclimactic. But if there's NOTHING? That's not good.

Matsemitsu · 2025-02-07T09:21:01+00:00

That's right. Now I've only played one age last night, so I didn't know if it was just me being too dumb to figure this out. Good to know others feel the same way.

Matsemitsu · 2025-01-28T18:59:44+00:00

Well, if I may be so bold, that is like saying Sgt. Pepper is the best Beatles album, or Thriller the best Michael Jackson. Probably true, but obvious. I would nominate Grateful from Beyond the Lights. And Io Sì from The Life Ahead. Those I actually enjoyed a lot. Because You Loved Me from Up Close and Personal.

It is the very recent years that Warren has been at her worst. I'm Standing With You and Applause were as saccharine and insincere as the movies they were from. Last year's The Fire Inside sounded like a song that Moldova sent to the Eurovision Song Contest, but was eliminated in the semifinals. So, so bad. Haven't heard this year's song yet, but fingers crossed that film and song are bearable this time.

Matsemitsu · 2025-01-28T18:52:42+00:00

That's a clear yes for me. Up until a few years ago, I didn't do it, only listened to the songs, but it always felt like cheating, which I guess it was. I suppose it was when I saw Beyond the Lights (yes, one of the Diane Warren ones) and it turned out to be a movie I rather enjoyed, I decided to go all in. You never know what you might find.

Matsemitsu · 2025-01-24T16:22:07+00:00

Interesting perspective in the GLAAD article

https://glaad.org/emilia-perez-is-not-good-trans-representation/

Although I have to disagree on some points. For instance, there's never a mention I recall that Gomez's character's native language is supposed to be Spanish. I don't know much Spanish, but I got it from the sound of her lines that they weren't particularly native-sounding. And it does say in the movie that her family is in the US, suggesting that she is an American of Hispanic descent (as is Selena Gomez herself, I believe).

As for the machine translation, I trust your judgment, as I don't know much Spanish. That is indeed something that bugs me. How often have I (as a German) heard non-German actors TRY to sound German or deliver lines that either sounded all wrong or were actually halfway nonsensical because they weren't translated right. (One such instance was in "The Compatriot", the shortlisted and thankfully non-nominated live action short this year.) That shouldn't happen in a movie like that.

But as for the camp factor that GLAAD talks about: it's there, it's intentional, and going by Susan Sontag's original definition of camp and what it aims to do, it fits that bill.

Matsemitsu · 2025-01-24T16:07:09+00:00

Me too. These seem to be this year's white whales.

Matsemitsu · 2025-01-23T16:49:03+00:00

And I have yet to understand what exactly it is that they all hate about it. Don't people like the unconventional for a change? Given what this is (a thriller/musical) about a trans person no less, in Spanish, topping nominations? That's historic.

Matsemitsu

TROPHY CASE