Christmas movies

[Murfreesboro]

Yes, they are both about the "circle of life." I think most people regard Bambi as gentler. The threats come from outside, hunters and forest fire. In Lion King, the problems are more in the hearts of the characters, hence the frequent comparison to Hamlet.

[Murfreesboro]

Ok, so I like the Oscar's, and this year they have several really good movies in contention. One of them I just watched on dvd this afternoon. It was The Holdovers, which is set at Christmas and could certainly qualify as a Christmas movie, though not a conventional one. This is a genuinely good movie, but so different from Oppenheimer, which I also love, that I have no idea how a person could choose between them. I love Cillian Murphy in Oppenheimer, and I love Paul Giamatti for just about everything he does, and he is predictably excellent in this. I wish they could both win.

[Andybev01]

Loved him in the John Adams mini series..

[Murfreesboro]

Yes, I think he did win an Emmy for that. He's never won an Oscar, though, and when I look at various web sites, some have him winning this year, and some have Cillian Murphy. I guess it's too close to call. I didn't watch the Golden Globes, but both actors won there, since the Globes separate the genres. (I wish the Oscars did that, too. They tend to slight comedy, I think.) Apparently Giamatti gave a speech at the Globes that really ingratiated him with the audience, and his prospects for the Oscars shot up.

[Andybev01]

The Oscars are definitely prejudiced against comedies.

They probably think that if a movie doesn't carry a sense of gravitas it might tarnish that gold-plated knicknack.

[Murfreesboro]

Yes, I think there's some of that.

I am still angry when I think that Sean Penn won a second Oscar for crying over a murdered child in Mystic River. Johnny Depp was so cheated when he didn't win for the first Pirates. His vision of Jack Sparrow was so wildly creative that the Disney execs almost fired him, and he ended up launching a franchise for them.

[Andybev01]

One that really irked me was the outstanding song 'Blame Canada!' from the Southpark movie, performed at the Oscars by none other than Robin Williams, lost to a generic piece of clap-trap by Phil Collins.

[Murfreesboro]

I don't recall either song, but there have been many, many times over the years when I've been disappointed by the Best Song winner.

[Andybev01]

Robin Williams:

https://youtu.be/fXeWT8CQ6uc?feature=shared

Phil Collins:

https://youtu.be/0S_fTDauV34?feature=shared

You can't convince me that award shows aren't rigged.

[Murfreesboro]

Oh, thanks for those links. It's fun but also poignant to see Robin Williams again.

I don't know if the awards shows are literally rigged, but I think they are affected by the "campaigning" that goes on behind the scenes, and Disney has had a lot of money for that.

[Andybev01]

Wants family owns approximately 3% of Disney Corp, worth an estimated $3 billion annual.

Not too shabby.

[Murfreesboro]

That's hard to fathom, isn't it?

[Andybev01]

I would like just a fraction of that.

[Murfreesboro]

Not a Christmas movie, but we did watch Groundhog Day this afternoon. I try to watch it every year.

[Andybev01]

I didn't but I know it by heart.

" You drive pretty good for a quadruped."