My impression is that this movie is to older teenagers/early 20-somethings what The Matrix/The Big Lebowski/Fight Club were to me and my age group: grappling with nihilism by taking a long, hard look at all the completely arbitrary social hierarchies that our society is composed of. All of these movies highlight how flimsy social customs are. All of them also give voice to a certain kind of deep anger with the status quo through the violence they portray.
It was a solid movie, though I wouldn’t place it in the top 100. I enjoyed it for giving me a window into the thoughts of a group of people I don’t normally get to talk with.
Ok, seriously speaking: it is quite rare for a movie to win everything at once at least 7 Academy Awards including best picture (Wikipedia tells me that the last one was Slumdog Millionaire in 2008).
I am reopening this discussion mostly to ask: what kind of update should I apply in these situations? Praising a movie just because it won a lot of awards sounds like an argument from authority, but on the other hand I don’t recall a lot of terrible movies with multiple awards...
The Shape of Water won four Oscars, including Best Picture, and I also wouldn’t place it near the top 100. I agree that Everything Everywhere All at Once is very overrated.
You raise a good question, but it still relies on following the (historical) authority of the Academy. Perhaps the Academy has changed? Perhaps the environment the Academy is operating has changed, forcing the Academy to adjust?
Of course, this would apply to the non-Academy, ie. broader society, as well—but at different rates, and also different directions.
A stab at answering your question: you should only apply an update based on the Academy if the Academy is an important entity for you. This isn’t binary. Awards factor into my perception of movies, but only play a minor role.
My impression is that this movie is to older teenagers/early 20-somethings what The Matrix/The Big Lebowski/Fight Club were to me and my age group: grappling with nihilism by taking a long, hard look at all the completely arbitrary social hierarchies that our society is composed of. All of these movies highlight how flimsy social customs are. All of them also give voice to a certain kind of deep anger with the status quo through the violence they portray.
It was a solid movie, though I wouldn’t place it in the top 100. I enjoyed it for giving me a window into the thoughts of a group of people I don’t normally get to talk with.
The Academy now officially disagrees.
Ok, seriously speaking: it is quite rare for a movie to win
everything at onceat least 7 Academy Awards including best picture (Wikipedia tells me that the last one was Slumdog Millionaire in 2008).I am reopening this discussion mostly to ask: what kind of update should I apply in these situations? Praising a movie just because it won a lot of awards sounds like an argument from authority, but on the other hand I don’t recall a lot of terrible movies with multiple awards...
The Shape of Water won four Oscars, including Best Picture, and I also wouldn’t place it near the top 100. I agree that Everything Everywhere All at Once is very overrated.
You raise a good question, but it still relies on following the (historical) authority of the Academy. Perhaps the Academy has changed? Perhaps the environment the Academy is operating has changed, forcing the Academy to adjust?
Of course, this would apply to the non-Academy, ie. broader society, as well—but at different rates, and also different directions.
A stab at answering your question: you should only apply an update based on the Academy if the Academy is an important entity for you. This isn’t binary. Awards factor into my perception of movies, but only play a minor role.