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   Nicholas Whyte (nwhyte@wandering.shop)'s status on Wednesday, 15-Jan-2025 06:31:04 JST Nicholas Whyte

   Oscar-winning films from worst to best (in my humble opinion), apart from Oppenheimer which I haven’t seen yet.

   (If I remember to do two every day, I’ll get through them all before the ceremony.)

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     kpfssport (kpfssport@mastodonapp.uk)'s status on Wednesday, 15-Jan-2025 06:31:02 JST kpfssport

     in reply to

     @nwhyte I think the answer will be no, but would it work better with Nimrod, asking because I think the Adagio fulfills the same cultural function in the US.

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     Nicholas Whyte (nwhyte@wandering.shop)'s status on Wednesday, 15-Jan-2025 06:31:03 JST Nicholas Whyte

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     95) Platoon (1986)

     Depressingly violent. I felt no empathy with any of the protagonists at any stage. There is no named female character. And Barber’s *bloody* Adagio for Strings, all the *bloody* time.

     https://fromtheheartofeurope.eu/platoon/

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     Nicholas Whyte (nwhyte@wandering.shop)'s status on Saturday, 01-Mar-2025 20:01:23 JST Nicholas Whyte

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     78) Crash (2005)

     Terrible music, cinematography and acting. Also, racism. But, however ham-fisted the presentation and leaden the acting, it’s not actually boring, and I did keep watching to see how all the various different plotlines would tie up.

     https://fromtheheartofeurope.eu/crash/

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     Nicholas Whyte (nwhyte@wandering.shop)'s status on Saturday, 01-Mar-2025 20:01:23 JST Nicholas Whyte

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     77) Tom Jones (1963)

     As the director said, it is “incomplete and botched in much of its execution”. Lots of brilliant scenes, but doesn’t come together. Also most characters are not very nice. Grotesques can be funny to watch but difficult to relate to.

     https://fromtheheartofeurope.eu/tom-jones-film-1963-and-book-1749/

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     Nicholas Whyte (nwhyte@wandering.shop)'s status on Saturday, 01-Mar-2025 20:01:24 JST Nicholas Whyte

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     79) The Greatest Show on Earth (1952)

     Main characters melodramatically written, unimaginatively acted, heaving bosoms and glowering glances (supporting roles better). Circus well filmed and portrayed (but much animal cruelty and cultural appropriation).

     https://fromtheheartofeurope.eu/the-greatest-show-on-earth-1952/

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     Nicholas Whyte (nwhyte@wandering.shop)'s status on Saturday, 01-Mar-2025 20:01:25 JST Nicholas Whyte

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     80) Mutiny on the Bounty (1935)

     Laughton is one-note, and there are some other shaky performances and set-up. But the Pacific filming is spectacular.

     https://fromtheheartofeurope.eu/mutiny-on-the-bounty-1935/

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     Nicholas Whyte (nwhyte@wandering.shop)'s status on Saturday, 01-Mar-2025 20:01:26 JST Nicholas Whyte

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     82) No Country for Old Men (2007)

     I admired it a bit without really liking it. Almost all the speaking characters are white men. Lots of Mexicans get killed without a chance to do anything much. The law enforcers never do anything wrong. I found it quite shockingly racist. I also did not care for the fetishisation of violence.

     https://fromtheheartofeurope.eu/no-country-for-old-men-film-and-book/

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     Nicholas Whyte (nwhyte@wandering.shop)'s status on Saturday, 01-Mar-2025 20:01:26 JST Nicholas Whyte

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     81) A Beautiful Mind (2001)

     A story of romance triumphing over adversity, but you won’t learn much from it, or indeed you may learn the wrong things from it, about mental illness, mathematics, John Nash, or Alicia Nash. A lot of Truth here has been sacrificed for Art, leaving only a basic glurge plot.

     https://fromtheheartofeurope.eu/a-beautiful-mind/

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     Nicholas Whyte (nwhyte@wandering.shop)'s status on Saturday, 01-Mar-2025 20:01:27 JST Nicholas Whyte

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     83) The Artist (2011)

     Everyone is white, even in the crowd scenes, apart from some delusional African warriors. Derivative and pastiche - the good bits are not new and the new bits are not very good. Protagonist so unpleasant at the beginning that it’s difficult to be very pleased by his redemption at the end.

     https://fromtheheartofeurope.eu/the-artist/

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     Nicholas Whyte (nwhyte@wandering.shop)'s status on Saturday, 01-Mar-2025 20:01:28 JST Nicholas Whyte

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     85) Braveheart (1995)

     A violent and silly film. Great use of (mostly Irish) scenery, swirling music, culminating in martyrdom. At least the characters are distinguishable and nearly interesting.

     https://fromtheheartofeurope.eu/braveheart-and-blind-harrys-wallace/

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     Nicholas Whyte (nwhyte@wandering.shop)'s status on Saturday, 01-Mar-2025 20:01:28 JST Nicholas Whyte

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     84) American Beauty (1999)

     Protagonist's male gaze is very creepy. All of the (100% white) characters are awful people, apart from the daughter and the gay neighbours, so it’s difficult to be interested in what happens to them.

     https://fromtheheartofeurope.eu/american-beauty/

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     Nicholas Whyte (nwhyte@wandering.shop)'s status on Saturday, 01-Mar-2025 20:01:29 JST Nicholas Whyte

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     86) Patton (1970)

     The central character is not very nice and not very interesting, and goes around fighting people, mostly but not always the enemy.

     https://fromtheheartofeurope.eu/patton-1970/

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     Nicholas Whyte (nwhyte@wandering.shop)'s status on Saturday, 01-Mar-2025 20:01:30 JST Nicholas Whyte

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     87) Forrest Gump (1994)

     I don’t find learning disabilities particularly funny, and I don’t like people’s accents being used as markers of their stupidity. Not as sound on race as it thinks it is. Pointless trek across America. Some very good special effects.

     https://fromtheheartofeurope.eu/forrest-gump/

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     Nicholas Whyte (nwhyte@wandering.shop)'s status on Saturday, 01-Mar-2025 20:01:31 JST Nicholas Whyte

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     89) All the King's Men (1949)

     Curiously undramatic (reputedly under-rehearsed) despite dramatic political story, disgracefully erases the entire African-American population of the original book.

     https://fromtheheartofeurope.eu/all-the-kings-men-1949-film-and-novel-by-robert-penn-warren/

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     Nicholas Whyte (nwhyte@wandering.shop)'s status on Saturday, 01-Mar-2025 20:01:31 JST Nicholas Whyte

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     88) Argo (2011)

     Appalling erasure of the women and people of colour in the real history on which the film is based. Good filmography though.

     https://fromtheheartofeurope.eu/argo/

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     Nicholas Whyte (nwhyte@wandering.shop)'s status on Saturday, 01-Mar-2025 20:01:32 JST Nicholas Whyte

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     90) The Broadway Melody (1929)

     Clichéd plot and some surprisingly poor acting, but some spectacular song and dance sequences.

     https://fromtheheartofeurope.eu/broadway-melody-1929/

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     Nicholas Whyte (nwhyte@wandering.shop)'s status on Saturday, 01-Mar-2025 20:01:33 JST Nicholas Whyte

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     92) Cavalcade (1933)

     Oddly stagy on screen, and yet loses much of the attractive cynicism of Noël Coward's original theatre script.

     https://fromtheheartofeurope.eu/cavalcade-film-and-theatre-script/

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     Nicholas Whyte (nwhyte@wandering.shop)'s status on Saturday, 01-Mar-2025 20:01:33 JST Nicholas Whyte

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     91) Wings (1928)

     The very first Oscar!!! Plot very obvious and make-up very weird (surely even by 1927 standards). But good cinematography for the aerial combat.

     https://fromtheheartofeurope.eu/wings-1927/

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     Nicholas Whyte (nwhyte@wandering.shop)'s status on Saturday, 01-Mar-2025 20:01:34 JST Nicholas Whyte

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     93) Cimarron (1931)

     Western clichés, racist, jarringly episodic, erases the feminism of the original novel.

     https://fromtheheartofeurope.eu/cimarron-or-how-to-erase-feminism/

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     Nicholas Whyte (nwhyte@wandering.shop)'s status on Saturday, 01-Mar-2025 20:01:35 JST Nicholas Whyte

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     94) The Great Ziegfeld (1936)

     The central character is not all that interesting, and the stage spectaculars can’t completely make up for the absence of much in the way of plot.

     https://fromtheheartofeurope.eu/the-great-ziegfeld-1936/