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Today was not a very good day for people who lived and breathed through the 1990s as two notable figures of the decade sadly passed away. It was first announced early this morning that Keith Flint, the leader singer of the electronic group The Prodigy, was found dead due to what's believed to be a suicide. He was 49 years old.
Though they had several hit singles in the UK at the start of the 90s, it took awhile for The Prodigy to find international appeal. Their first big attempt to cross over into the U.S. was being heavily featured on the soundtrack of the future cult classic Hackers, most notably the song "Voodoo People".
However, it was one daring music video that truly made The Prodigy world famous. "Firestarter" was the first single off of their third album Fat of the Land and it immediately struck a cord thanks to its abrasive beats and dark melody. The song was made even more startling thanks to its music video directed by Walter Stern. Set amid an abandoned tunnel and shot entirely in black and white, the video featured Flint sporting a reverse mohawk and dressed up in an American long sleeved t-shirt dancing like a mad man and constantly banging his head in front of the camera. Dubbed instantly by MTV as a "buzz hit", the video received heavy rotation and the group became instant stars across the Atlantic.
Further provocative songs and music videos soon followed. "Breathe" featured Flint facing off against band member Maxim in competing dilapidated apartments. But the group hit the mother load of controversy with their third single "Smack My Bitch Up". A throbbing adrenaline shot to the senses, the nearly instrumental tune (save for a sample from Ultramagnetic MCs that gives the song its name) drew the ire of many critics who deemed the song misogynistic. Its music video added fuel to the fire: Directed by Jonas Åkerlund, the video followed one debaucherous and destructive night entirely from the first person perspective. It ends with the major plot twist that the central character was actually a woman. MTV briefly showed an edited version during his late night shows such as 120 Minutes before giving it a soft ban.
After four years of striking up global controversy, Flint and the band took a long sabbatical starting in 1999. They would reunite back in 2002 and continued making albums and doing extensive tours up to this very day. Though the group never regained the momentum they once had, they did come back into the spotlight for a bit with their 2008 album Invaders Must Die and their intense dedication to their craft and touring has kept their fanbase satiated.
I like many others would not have gotten into The Prodigy were it not for Flint. "Firestarter" did prick up my ears whenever I heard it but it was Flint's intense energy in the song's music video that cemented him as one of the biggest stars of the alternative rock scene.
He will sorely be missed.
I honestly enjoyed this edition of the Oscars. It seemed to move by fairly quickly and the lack of a host made it more livelier. Of course the conclusion was a huge sigh but we'll get to that disappointment in a bit.
13-11 in my predictions. I really blew it. I should have gone with the predictable or at least have some more love for Black Panther.
Not much to say about the red carpet pre-show besides I heart Maria Menounos, Billy Porter and his lovely/bizarre tuxedo bathrobe jacket and detachable giant gown, Glenn Close talking about her 42 pound golden dress and cape, and Ryan Seacrest sadly popping in the last 30 minutes.
Adam Lambert and Queen kicked things off. This the Oscars, right? You sure it's not the Grammys? They were fine but they did the classic rock radio decision of playing "We Will Rock You" and "We Are The Champions" back to back. Maybe if they performed the songs while the director cut to some footage of last year's films, we would have a proper movie awards show.
The opening year-end montage featured such classics as Tag, A Wrinkle In Time, I Feel Pretty, Stan & Ollie and Sicario: Day of the Soldado. Also boo on using Won't You Be My Neighbor? as the wraparound soundtrack considering the massive snub you gave it, Academy.
I was kinda digging the goofy set. Giant obtrusive waves in the foreground and a bunch of galaxy swirls across the backdrop and floor.
Oh look everyone, three talented comedians that should have been the hosts in the first place. Oh but there are all women and the Academy can't really put their trust in them.
Those were some bright ass red envelopes, brighter than the bizarre plastic top thingy Rachel Weisz was wearing.
"God is good, all the time." Great job Regina King.
Dear lord, I got quickly sick of the plugging of the official Oscar online prediction game during the pre-show but was even more annoyed whenever the banner for it popped up during right before the announcement of the nominees for many of the major awards.
Tom Morello?! From Rage Against The Machine and Audioslave to being the presenter for Vice.
My god, the total cringe during the acceptance speech for Best Makeup. You're not helping the case for casting this award to commercials, you three nitwits!
MVP of the night: Melissa McCarthy's bunny hand puppet. Sam Rockwell couldn't handle how funny that was during Best Costume Design.
Alright Ruth E. Carter! Kicking ass, taking names, and making history as the first black winner.
And Black Panther's streak continues by nabbing Best Production Design. The Academy normally hates awarding works of fantasy in the tech categories but not this year it seems. Also, what really good heartfelt speech by Hannah Beachler.
Maybe I've been spoiled by Eurovision and the currently ongoing National Finals but I really detested the number for "I'll Fight". It was cut way short, Jennifer Hudson was often off-key, and it was a forgettable song in general. What a horrible nominee.
Serena Williams really missed the point of the recent remake of A Star Is Born. Bradley Cooper was the main focus, especially towards the second of the film.
Please tell Bohemian Rhapsody doesn't win Best Picture after picking up both sound awards. Seriously, over Roma?
Oh shit, Roma is so not winning Best Picture. The Best Foreign Language Film Curse might be too strong to overcome.
Dear me, Keegan Michael-Key must have had a lot of liquid courage to do that Mary Poppins stunt. Did you see how fast he flew down on those wires?!
OH NO, Best editing for Bohemian Rhapsody! I guess the Academy voters did see that video tweet showing off how bad the editing was in that film.
Of course Ali won. Love his hat though.
You get Laura Dern to come in and you have her kill air time by pushing the long-developed Academy Museum. For shame.
Hell yeah Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse! Sadly, that fifth guy didn't get to talk, which really sucked. ABC needed more time for Kacey Musgraves to come out.
Eh, that dolly shot during the Ballad of Buster Scruggs performance.
People talking about the teaser trailer for The Irishman. You know, that absolutely nothing teaser that was practically pure black screen.
Stop screaming Dana Carvey! Oh fantastic, a Wayne's World routine in 2019 which of course fell flat with the audience. Myers and Carvey didn't even dress up for the part, those lazy middle-aged bums!
So happy for Bao and the win going to two female animated directors.
I just had to go with the depressing one for Best Documentary Short Subject. An absolutely killer opening line for the acceptance speech that will make the montages for years to come. Could have done without the screaming, considering what we just had to sit through, but the adrenaline was pumping too much for those excited filmmakers.
Had absolutely no idea who the fat guy was with Diego Luna when presenting Roma. My mom had to inform me that he's a famous chef. Seriously, what television audience member wanted to watch the Oscars just to see that guy?
Very happy with First Man earning Best Visual Effects. Very understated and not bombastic and laughable like in the standard Hollywood blockbusters.
Wow, what an intro for "Shallow". And holy shit, what a phenomenal performance, all done in one shot. Congrats Oscar cameraman and director.
I freaking knew it. Don't go with thrillers for Best Live Action Short.
Great, an Anti-Muslim guy (who I just learned also co-wrote the legendarily awful Deadfall) and Peter freakin' Farrelly get an Oscar over Schrader. And oh goody, Farrelly is going crazy again, trying to talk even more after having the mic cut.
Loved Samuel L. Jackson being the hype man for Lee. That big yelp and hug made it even better.
Very rambling but Spike Lee's speech had a good message and was long deserved.
Very glad with the score, though I've lately really fallen for If Beale Street Could Talk. Too obvious with song.
Stanley Donen got Farina'd during In Memoriam but that was to be expected. But to snub out Dick Miller, R. Lee Ermey, Carol Channing, Sondra Locke, Aretha Franklin, and John Mahoney? What the hell? Also, shout out to We Hate Movies who called the shot that Verne Troyer was definitely going to be left out.
Barbra for BlacKkKlansman?! Oh, it's because of some twitter exchange that I never knew about.
Happy for Rami Malek snatching up Best Actor but dear lord, the producers should have picked a different clip. Showing off that he lip-synched didn't help the case of him winning tonight.
Did they have Senator John Lewis out to present for Selma back in 2015? Because him coming out to present for Green Book really sucks despite what he had to say about the film.
I told you, told you, told you. Always bet on Colman. Her overjoyed and jumbled acceptance speech was absolutely delightful. If it wasn't for her, The Favourite was almost shut out.
It looked like Guillermo del Toro wanted to run away with Alfonso Cuarón's Best Director Oscar.
Ah fuck. Really, Green Book for Best Picture? Driving Ms. Daisy winning the same award was a smear to the Oscars and now thirty years later a redux of it wins the top prize. Oh great, even more Farrelly, who immediately pushes how it was all thanks to Viggo.
I did perk back up a bit with Julia Roberts snarky send-off.
A fun show but oh boy the think pieces that will be coming for the next couple of weeks.
As always, these are my predictions to win, not who or what movie I wish would win.
Best Picture: Roma
Best Actor: Rami Malek - Bohemian Rhapsody
Best Actress: Olivia Colman - The Favourite
Best Supporting Actor: Sam Elliott - A Star Is Born
Best Supporting Actress: Regina King - If Beale Street Could Talk
Best Director: Alfonso Cuarón - Roma
Best Original Screenplay: Paul Schrader - First Reformed
Best Adapted Screenplay: Charlie Wachtel, David Rabinowitz, Kevin Willmott & Spike Lee - BlacKkKlansman
Best Animated Film: Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse
Best Foreign Film: Roma
Best Documentary Film: Minding The Gap
Best Documentary (Short Subject): End Game
Best Animated Short Film: Bao
Best Live Action Short Film: Mother
Best Original Score: Ludwig Göransson - Black Panther
Best Original Song: "Shallow" - A Star Is Born
Best Cinematography: Alfonso Cuarón - Roma
Best Film Editing: Barry Alexander Brown - BlacKkKlansman
Best Production Design: Fiona Crombie and Alice Felton - The Favourite
Best Costume Design: Sandy Powell - The Favourite
Best Makeup and Hairstyling: Greg Cannom, Kate Biscoe and Patricia Dehaney - Vice
Best Sound Editing: Sergio Díaz and Skip Lievsay - Roma
Best Sound Mixing: Skip Lievsay, Craig Henighan and José Antonio Garcia - Roma
Best Visual Effects: First Man
Oscar season has been one wild ride this year. From all of the controversies to the lack of a true front runner, all I can say is that tomorrow's ceremony is one to watch for film fans. Especially with no Jimmy Kimmel!
There's a big part of me that is screaming that Roma will just win Best Foreign Language Film and not Best Picture. I truly can see that happening but I frankly have no real alternative for Best Picture. A Star Is Born fizzled out, Green Book and Bohemian Rhapsody have drawn ire, Vice is DOA, The Favourite is too strange, and the snobs in the Academy don't have the balls to give it to Black Panther. I would love it if BlacKkKlansman won though it is a long shot compared to Roma's easy layup.
Close has a chance but Colman has been dominating the awards season.
It just has to go to Elliott. Ali and Rockwell both already have one, Driver is too young and weird for the Academy, and Grant unfortunately has spurted out.
My picks for the screenplay awards boil down to the Academy giving it to Paul Schrader and Spike Lee after all of the snubs and cold shoulders they already have bequeathed to them.
So help me if Incredibles 2 wins Best Animated Feature. Pixar should be content with their easy win in Best Animated Short.
If Cold War or Shoplifters snatches up Best Foreign Language Film, the chances for Roma winning Best Picture will skyrocket.
Free Solo was my first pick for Best Documentary Feature but considering the Academy's snub of another certain audience favorite from last year, I will have to go for the one that's more grounded in reality and would have been praised heavily if the late film critic Roger Ebert was still alive.
Four of the five nominees for Best Live Action Short featured children in peril or dead. I went with the one that's being hailed for its acting and technical prowess as a staged one-shot thriller. On the other hand, thrillers don't do well in this category.
See you on Monday with my reactions to the awards and the ceremony itself.
During a trip to the hospital, a seemingly nameless male teen discovers the diary of his classmate Sakura, who promptly tells him that she's secretly dying of pancreatic cancer. Spurn by her lively spirit and sudden desire to go through her bucket list, the two begin to hang out and develop a bond that can't be simply given an ordinary label such as "friend" or "boyfriend/girlfriend". I WANT TO EAT YOUR PANCREAS immediately grabs you with its killer title and proceeds to bequeath a generous romantic tearjerker that checks all of the boxes in an anime slice-of-life melodrama. You're never really going to be very surprised with what it has to offer in terms of plot; you'll be twirling your thumbs in anticipation and/or exasperation for the tomboy best friend, the noise-canceling train, and the big breakdown in the rain scene to come out and play with your heartstrings. Even the so-called big twist it offers up is pretty damn predictable if you were paying close attention and noticed it among the other Chekov's guns that are all laying around. It may be an unsurprising affair and also reuses the trope of the manic pixie dream girl in this day and age but the movie still delightfully delivers the requisite feels to get you emotionally involved. It truly excels whenever the intimacy becomes almost too much for the main duo to bear or when the film lays out its main themes of humanity and the metaphysical. The animation complements the simple story but those seeking some visual wows will often be disappointed by the straightforward and unrestrained quality, even during a concluding episode of surreality. The only times the animation becomes really questionable however are the few instances where the CGI rigging and movement of the characters look highly cumbersome. Additionally, whoever thought of giving the opening credits the exact same treatment and design as an ordinary television anime opening should have been fired. The voice cast is all around good with Mahiro Takasugi being the film's standout. He's able to put some character and warmth behind the deliberate monotone of the male lead. I WANT TO EAT YOUR PANCREAS may be too familiar but that doesn't stop its gut punches from being effective blows to your heart and soul. But beware: the filmmakers must be acolytes of Peter Jackson because this film has multiple endings, including having a stinger that fades to black and then immediately comes back with another stinger.
FINAL REVIEW: 3 / 5
Let's get to the big one that riled me up the most: What the hell happened in Best Documentary?! I couldn't believe that Won't You Be My Neighbor? was not nominated. Also out was the sleeper hit Three Identical Strangers. In their stead is: Hale County This Morning, This Evening, an unknown documentary I never heard about because I like everyone didn't pay attention to the majority of last year's Sundance lineup; Of Fathers and Sons, which I don't really mind too much; and the commercially successful but critically shrugged RBG. I get it, we all love Ruth Bader Ginsburg and all but it should have been left off. That goes double for somehow getting a nom for Best Song.
Well, Netflix finally did it. They got their first Best Picture nomination with Roma. Also congrats to Ryan Coogler and Marvel for keeping the hype train up for Black Panther and earning a nom in the biggest category of the season.
Not so keen on the Best Pic love for Bohemian Rhapsody, Green Book, and Vice. I have only seen one of the three (that would be Bohemian Rhapsody) but they all seem to fit the same build of an okay movie that is getting way too much love than it really deserves outside of the acting field.
God it would really, really suck if Spike Lee had to see another banal crowdpleaser about racial relations win Best Picture.
Paweł Pawlikowski getting the extra special foreigner slot in Best Director was a total shock.
Seriously, Adam McKay over Bradley Cooper? At least Peter Farrelly didn't get in.
I just knew Ryan Gosling would be left off Best Actor but no Ethan Hawke? I had Willem Dafoe to be the sacrificial lamb for either Hawke or John David Washington but he was able to pull it off for Oscar voters.
Best Actress was totally obvious to predict but what a showdown come Oscar night.
Another big shocker: Marina de Tavira getting a Best Supporting Actress nom for her work as the matriarch in Roma. I enjoyed her in that great movie but not just quite enough but hey who cares about some online critic when your name is now etched in Oscar history.
Paul Schrader finally received his very first Best Original Screenplay nom, despite his huge history of acclaimed films and scripts.
No Burning in Best Foreign Language Film. Wow. I predicted the other four but not that snub. Was it too long and too impenetrable for the Oscar folks? In its stead is Never Look Away from Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, who already has an Oscar in this very category with The Lives of Others and who has not made a film since the disaster that was The Tourist.
I'm overjoyed that Mirai got in for Best Animated Film and that the Oscar voters weren't too snobby to exclude Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse. I now have to pray every day and night that the Disney publicity machine doesn't let either of its two disappointing efforts last year steal the golden man away from Mamoru Hosoda, Lord & Miller, or Wes Anderson.
Bao needs to win. Period. (No, I'm not also talking about that brilliantly titled Short Subject Documentary nom)
Kendrick Lamar, SZA, Lady Gaga and Mark Ronson. All are now Academy Award nominated artists thanks to the efforts for Best Original Song. It seems the Academy really does want to let an actual pop song win this year!
Man, those Oscar voters must have really loved the weird anime-looking characters of Ready Player One in order to give it a nom for Best Visual Effects.
First Man really got screwed. No to Gosling. No to Claire Foy. No to Justin Hurwitz. No to Tom Cross. No to Linus Sandgren. No to Damien Chazelle. Just noms in the two sound categories and one for Best Production Design. It seems the backlash to La La Land is strong within the Academy.
Other major snubs: Emily Blunt, Michael B. Jordan, Margot Robbie, Lucas Hedges, Timothée Chalamet, Elizabeth Debicki, Eighth Grade, Leave No Trace and Crazy Rich Asians.
That's all I can muster right now. Tune in next month for my predictions which I will obviously fail at.
Oh, and if you're somehow wondering about my reactions to last night's Razzies noms, don't hold your breath. Those losers did exactly what I loathe about them.
6 months after the devastation of Metropolis by Doomsday and the death of Superman in well THE DEATH OF SUPERMAN, four individual superheroes each calling themselves the real or the new Supes seek to take up the throne. The latest of the DC Animated Movie Universe, REIGN OF THE SUPERMEN is given a special one-night-only release across America as part of a Fathom Events double bill screening with the previous film. And quite frankly, that's pretty much the best way to watch and enjoy this film, with it being seen immediately after THE DEATH OF SUPERMAN or, fingers cross, when a possible stitched together cut a la THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS comes to video later down the line. Similar to the same criticism levied against the Marvel films, the movie doesn't help new viewers ease in or even truly understand what is going on. Average Joe and Jane will not be "blown away" by the reveal of who Cyborg Superman or The Eradicator really are, because they never really set it up well or lay even a quick "previously on" montage, and they especially will be scratching their heads when a certain big heavyweight villain from one of the first films of the DC Animated Movie Universe pops up as the true evil mastermind. The story is geninuely fine, more so if you have fond memories of the comic book event it's adapting, but as often with the other DCAMU movies it just feels like television fare blown up to feature length. I was dismayed at the lack of characterization for John Henry Irons but the film does kind of make up for it with its heavy focus on Superboy, his dysfunctional business/familial relationship with Lex Luthor, and his struggles to man up against the other Supermen. That's good and all but great Caesar's ghost, screenwriters Tim Sheridan and Jim Krieg practically ruin the picture with their hilariously awful way to remove the Justice League from the proceedings; Batman, the so-called greatest detective of all time, and The Flash, the fastest man alive, are both unable to look up and see a very dangerous thing crashing above their heads. And boy howdy, try not to chuckle once the President steps into the crossfire between superheroes and supervillians. The voice acting is serviceable all around but I'm still not hot on Rebecca Romijn as Lois Lane. Patrick Fabian, who plays Cyborg Superman, at least gets to flex his muscles and gnash away on some delicious meat towards the end. The animation is the same standard, drab, low budget look as previous DCAMU movies with little to no pizzazz save for the stupid necklace that Lois is supposed to be wearing. Seriously, the animators couldn't draw a simple line to connect the pendants? Whether its some still linger 90s nostalgia in your heart or your love for the animation side of DC Comics, REIGN OF THE SUPERMEN is a fun enough watch. Just try not to set it up as anything truly earthshaking; after all, the rebirth of a certain someone doesn't have much impact when it was just done in live action form two years ago.
FINAL REVIEW: 3 / 5
These are all of the movies I have watched throughout last year and were qualified to be judged for my awards.
If I didn't watch a film at all or in its entirety, it is disqualified and ineligible. There were a ton of movies that I couldn't get access to and/or make the time for. A few examples of films I wanted to see but couldn't before the mandated deadline were The Favourite, If Beale Street Could Talk, Leave No Trace, Eighth Grade, Burning, You Were Never Really There, First Reformed, Blindspotting, Paddington 2, Tully, The Endless, Support The Girls, To All The Boys I Loved Before, Hearts Beat Loud, Green Book and Bird Box.
Action Point
Annihilation
Ant-Man and the Wasp
Avengers: Infinity War
Bees Make Honey
Big Fish and Begonia
Black Panther
BlacKkKlansman
Bohemian Rhapsody
Borg vs. McEnroe
Can You Ever Forgive Me?
China Salesman
Crazy Rich Asians
Creed II
Day of the Dead: Bloodline
Deadpool 2
The Death Of Stalin
Death Wish
Early Man
Filmworker
Fireworks
First Man
Game Night
Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween
Gotti
The Grinch
Halloween
The Happytime Murders
Hereditary
Holmes & Watson
The Hurricane Heist
Incredibles 2
Isle Of Dogs
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom
Let The Corpses Tan
Lu Over The Wall
Making Fun: The Story of Funko
Mandy
Mary and the Witch’s Flower
Mazinger Z: Infinity
McQueen
The Meg
MFKZ
Mirai
My Hero Academia: Two Heroes
My Uncle John is a Zombie!
Never-Ending Man: Hayao Miyazaki
The Night Is Short, Walk On Girl
Padmaavat
Pokémon the Movie: The Power of Us
The Predator
Puppet Master: The Littlest Reich
A Quiet Place
Ralph Breaks The Internet
Rampage
Ready Player One
Revenge
The Rider
Roma
Samson
Sheep & Wolves
Sicario: Day of the Soldado
Solo: A Star Wars Story
Sorry To Bother You
Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse
A Star Is Born
Summer of 84
Suspiria
Thoroughbreds
Upgrade
Venom
Whitney
Widows
Won’t You Be My Neighbor?
Overall Count: 74 Films
