Oscar wins are good for the studio because they attract A-Listers and have something to hang on their walls.

Oscar wins and nominations are good for actors and directors because it raises their credibility AND their Quote.
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This reached its apex this year when Parasite won best pic. I’ve not seen it, but I understand it’s really good.

But how did it win best pic and not best foreign language film?

Did the nomination process change? Because there have been lots of great foreign language films over the years that could have won best picture but weren’t nominated in that category
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And they wonder why nobody watches the Oscars anymore. :-)
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you mean that ceremony where all of the fabulous celebrities suck each others dicks for being good at pretending to be someone else, while lecturing the public on how terrible they think the peasants are? Who wouldn't want to watch that!
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I know, right? Where would I be without Robert DeNiro telling me how to think?
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It certainly doesn't have the numbers that it had during previous decades but it pulled in 23.6 million viewers this year, which are numbers that only NFL broadcasts can match.

I really haven't been interested in watching the Oscars since probably 2008 or so because since having kids, I just don't have time to go to the theaters, other than Pixar/Disney/Illumination/Blue Sky animated films and I'm generally uninterested in the movies that are nominated.

All that said, these new "rules" won't change much of anything.

Plus, there are already too many awards shows, with the Golden Globes, SAG Awards, Emmy's, Oscars, Grammy's, American Music Awards, MTV Video awards, Tony Awards, Independent Spirit Awards and so on.

And no one wants to hear what actor's think about politics and global issues, including me. Shut the fuck up already!

:-)
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No, I think they're pretty much in the toilet now and have been for awhile. 1917 not getting best picture was basically Saving Private Ryan Part 2. And Part 1 was a long time ago.
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Yeah, I totally agree.

I don't know what the Academy members are doing with their votes each year but their nominations and awards, especially for Best Picture, have sucked for quite a while.

I'm sure that Roma and Parasite and all of those movies are probably good movies but I have zero interest in seeing them.

I lost complete interest after 12 Years A Slave won a few years back because most of the people that nominated it hadn't even seen the movie, as they did it because "Black people were involved". Same with Black Panther. It was a really fun Marvel film but Best Picture?
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Parasite is a great movie, and not a chore at all to watch.

It's great from so many angles. It's a great story, it's a great parable, it's got great cinematography, it tells its story efficiently, it underscores its themes with visual brilliance.

Even if you have reservations about something or another in the film, there's so much to appreciate about it that it's hard to imagine not liking it.

Don't get hung on thinking it's 'Oscar's broccoli' ie, it's good for you but you'll hate consuming it. It's stunning and enjoyable both.

It not only deserved Best Picture, but is one of the best Best Pictures to win in the past decade or so. The only dectraction is that Once Upon a Time in Hollywood was likely just as good. Not a lot of great movies in 2019, but those were 2 of about 4-5 STELLAR ones.
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I loved Once Upon A Time In Hollywood, have watched it several times and of course, thought it deserved Best Picture honors, even though I hadn't seen the others.

:-)

It's not that I don't think those films would be "bad" or unenjoyable, it's just that at the end of the day, which is usually around 9:00-9:30pm, it's rare that I'm in the mood to be "challenged" by a film.

Normally, I just want to turn my brain off and watch something that doesn't require 100% attention. Someday, I'll catch up on all of those Oscar films that I missed, as I'm still trying to catch up on so many great Netflix, Hulu and Amazon series and movies that I missed as well.
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But that's the point I'm trying to stress, it's genius in it's blocking, narrative and cinematography, but you can just enjoy it as a movie. Then later, you muse 'hey, why was that scene so effective' and you go back and see how all the tools of the art coalesced to emphasize the scene and appreciate it even more.

In terms of 'challenging' it's less challenging than a Nolan film, maybe on par with The Dark Knight, and about on par with a Hitchcock crime thriller, or more recently about on par with Knives Out. It's no Lars Van Trier trauma, or Kurasawki epic. You don't HAVE to pay attention to appreciate, but you're even more rewarded as you do.
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Thanks, man. I'm so lame that I've had Knives Out for like 9 months and still haven't made time to watch it yet.
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Now if you want to relax, Knives Out is just fun. It's cheesy and hammy and slyly humorous, and it whisks you along with its pacing. It's a little heavy-handed with contemporary social message [cough, Rian], but it's eminently easy to overlook, . . and that's coming from someone who has to work to overlook that stuff.

Obviousle CLUE is a big influence as is Agatha Christie, but also think Mad Mad Mad Mad World, and maybe Hudson Hawk [if you look on HH fondly]
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I saw Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. I thought it was awesome. I typically really enjoy well done period pieces, and it was definitely that. Loved the off the rails ending.

But it's not in the same league as 1917.

I'm guessing you and I should never do a movie night. :-)
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