Why Oscar Pundits Have to Be Right. Also, quick thoughts on Eighth Grade and Leave No Trace

You know it's Oscar season when there are 3 films released in Oxford, MS that are worth seeing. One is a must - Damien Chazelle's "First Man." Next is Keira Knightley in "Collette" and finally "Bad Times at the El Royale."

I didn't know until this morning that "Bad Times" is written by "Alias," "Lost" and "Buffy" scribe Drew Goddard. That's even more of an incentive to see this one. Although it's very unlikely to make it on many Oscar ballots.

I could probably wait a bit on "Collette" to see if Keria makes it into the Best Actress race, but some of my favorite films so far this year have been indie adult dramas - "Final Portrait" and "Lean on Pete" in particular.

I'll more than likely see "First Man" either this afternoon or tomorrow. It's the priority here, even though I find myself the least excited about it of the three.

Since I last published I have found myself struggling to stay on "mission." If you haven't read my Oscars Mission Statement, now is the time because it will be the staple of this year's Awards Wiz Oscar coverage.

My 2019 Oscars Mission Statement

The question on my mind this week is why do Oscar pundits have to be right?

Interestingly enough I read this powerful message this morning. Some of you will know where it's from. Others...don't worry about it.

Insecure, we pretend to be some kind of authority figure. Suffering from low self-esteem, we try to build ourselves up by putting others down. At best, such tactics push others away from us; at worst, they draw attack.

The more we try to impress others with how “right” we are, the more wrong we become.

We don’t have to be “right” to be secure; we don’t have to pretend to have all the answers for others to love or respect us. In fact, just the opposite is true. None of us have all the answers. We depend upon one another to help bridge the gaps in our understanding of things....

We live easily with others when we offer what we know, admit what we don’t, and seek to learn from our peers.

We don’t have to be “right” all the time...

I really don't want to engage in defenses of the films I like. "A Star is Born" may or may not be headed toward the evisceration/derailing of its Best Picture chances I imagined earlier in the week, but something is happening, particularly on Twitter.

Here’s the truth. I can't engage in that kind of coverage anymore. Since moving to Mississippi and being behind on viewing many of the films in contention, it's really easy to jump in defensively, and I am exhausted.

After over 20 years of following the Oscars, 9 of which I have written about them, I am truly worn down from the state of Oscar punditry today.

I guess the real question I should be asking is why I have to be right? Can I learn something from a differing opinion from mine? We shall see. If I can't adhere to this year's Oscars Mission Statement, this will more than likely be my last year writing about the Oscars.

Today, I had intended to write about smaller films and whether or not they could break in to the Best Picture race. A bit of a companion to my last piece about Big Six studio films, but this seemed a bit more important to write about.

I did watch Bo Burnham's "Eighth Grade" which I found delightful. It is a charming screenplay, incredibly honest and very well directed. We have a true voice with Burnham. I'm very much looking forward to what he does next. Both Elsie Fisher and Josh Hamilton are great, and it was really nice to see Daniel Zolghadri and Fred Hechinger again after discovering them in "Alex Strangelove." 

I also watched Debra Granik's "Leave No Trace," which I found incredibly frustrating throughout. It's beautiful and interesting, but I also found it completely inaccessible. I am all in for unlikeable characters, but I needed more of a reason to understand why Ben Foster character was continuing to force this way of living on his daughter. Or at least feel some sort of inner conflict from him. I didn't. 

I have read elsewhere that this is really the only shot for a woman to get nominated for a Best Director Oscar. It's a very long shot. "Winter's Bone" worked for me (and the Academy) because of Jennifer Lawrence. I said this back in 2010:

"Winter's Bone," on the surface, appears to be many things. A gothic thriller. A morality tale. Even a horror film. With all of these possibilities floating around in my head I had to simply focus on Ree Dolly, played by Jennifer Lawrence (with Oscar caliber commitment). Part of my problem with figuring this film out is is discovering what her true purpose is. Yes, she is looking for her father, a member of a local meth cooking community who has gone missing. If he doesn't show up for his court date, Ree, who is taking care of her younger brother and sister, along with their mother, who seems to be mentally ill after what we can only assume is years of torture living this life, will have to leave the family home because her Dad used it as collateral bail. The heart of the film, for me was discovering her real motivation. If this was your "traditional" film of this manner, Ree would simply be looking for a way out. Well, she is, but in order to stay in. And that last bit is the key.

I know "Leave No Trace" isn't "Winter's Bone" but Foster's Will ultimately didn't work for me in the same way that Ree did. I also found myself not only worried about Tom, the daughter, but also the actress Thomasin McKenzie. Not sure the emotions I was reading were a performance.

In the coming days, I will certainly write about "First Man," as I continue to finish up the final touches on my LGBTQ block for Oxford Film Festival. Also, look forward to a review of a new short film by the incredible woman who directed me in my very first film!