by Sam Juliano
After a two-year absence, our Oscar party returned with a vengeance at the Tiger Hose Firehouse in Fairview last night. Congratulations to great friend and filmmaker Jay Giampietro for winning our Oscar pool. It was wonderful seeing a number of people who were sidelined because of COVID-19. As to the show itself, I still haven’t found the magic in the big winner, Everything Everywhere All at Once, the cultural phenomenon that won Best Picture, Best Director, three acting awards and seven awards in total. I just don’t get it, but I am very happy for those who love the film, including a few in my own family! On the other hand I do love the German winner All Quiet on the Western Front, which copped Best International Feature and a total of four Oscars. The biggest thrill of the night for me was witnessing Brendan Fraser’s emotional speech after he won for The Whale. Fraser was the deserving winner, and he brought the house down, much as the victorious supporting actor in Everything Everywhere before him.
All is moving along with the final-stage editing process on Irish Jesus of Fairview, which will officially publish in May.
Wishing everyone a great week!
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Oh, Sam, I’d forgotten you liked “All Quiet on the Western Front.” Whoops. Like Eastwood’s “Flags of Our Fathers,” I found the violent images in “All Quiet” too explicit and gruesome. War is hell and I don’t need to see exploded chests and bloody amputations to know it. I prefer the restraint of the Lewis Milestone’s epic.
A good comeback is hard to resist and Brendan Fraser’s win was one of the most satisfying of the Oscar night. Pretty sure the fat suit helped (AMPAS is pushover for prosthetics—see Nicole Kidman’s nose in “The Hours”) but I’ve admired Fraser before, in dramas like “Gods and Monsters” and goofy comedies like “George of the Jungle.”
Del Toro is set to direct a new version of “Frankenstein” and I’m there for it. His “Pinocchio” made me cry and my tears are pretty difficult to jerk. Can’t remember the last time that happened—maybe watching “Close Encounters” on TCM.
To all you Irish tipplers out there, have a great St. Paddy’s day tomorrow!
Mark, you are not the only one who found ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT a problematic viewing experience. Plenty of others in my cinematic sphere have experienced disappointment. As I stated, few films compare with the 1930 masterpiece, and this new film never had a chance in that regard, but I still thought it was powerful. Nonetheless, it is rather divisive I know. All you say there about Fraser is spot-on methinks. I greatly look forward to the upcoming Del Toro FRANKENSTEIN. Yes, PINOCCHIO had its moments my friend. Thanks, and wishing you a great week, post-St. Paddy’s Day!
Yes, Brendan Fraser’s win warmed my heart, and I’ve always liked him, and always thought he was a far better actor than he was given credit for. In The Quiet American, in a very unshowy role, he held his own against Michael Caine, and who does that??!! But my heart also ached for Austin Butler, who through working like a dog turned himself into Elvis’s singing, jiving, courting, drugging, tragic twin, and didn’t even show the sweat. Does somebody young and handsome, with no false noses, fat suits or wheelchairs, stand no chance? Do we tell ourselves he’s young, and will have what he deserves later? Are our memories so short? Still, Fraser deserved to be happy. And now he is. And yes, looking forward greatly to Del Toro Frankenstein!