The Mess: 3.29.22

Let me start

By taking back anything

I may have ever said

About Jada Pinkett Smith

I'm a tall guy

But Will Smith could easily

Knock me out.

I am quite confident

That I've said nothing bad.

Worst thing is maybe that

I Didn't agree with her character

In Matrix: Resurrections.

But I feel like that is common.

Jesus fuck

The Oscars.

No one watched them

Says the ratings

But everyone

Saw Will Smith slap Chris Rock.

Say what you will,

(No pun intended)

But no amount of bad joke

Are a good enough justification

To lay hands on another person.

Nothing can justify

Assaulting another person.

To answer a joke in bad taste,

With violence,

Is never going to be okay.

The fact that the perpetrator

Of the violent act got a trophy

Half an hour later,

Is even more baffling.

I only watch the Oscars

Because I have seen

More than 75% of the nominated movies.

I think they hold value

In that they enshrine

And add legacy to movies that capture

The feeling of the year

Or are culturally relevant

To something other than the dollar.

People mad about no Best picture nomination

For Spider-Man: No Way Home,

Yet fucking Army of the Dead,

Wins the popular vote.

Zack Snyder fans really are

One issue candidate voters.

I think the TV ratings of the Oscars are low

Due to the split in the culture,

Between the art of Cinema,

And the content being pushed out

On Netflix, or Hulu, or Disney+, or whatever the fuck.

The quality difference between

Dune, for example,

And the top trending movie on Netflix

Is evident from the first shots of the movie.

That Netflix movie is really popular,

For the week,

Then we move on to the next one

And the next one, and the next one

Until the end of time,

Or the end of their budget.

The movies are alive and well.

2021 was one of the better years for movies

And most of them were made in a pandemic.

Things can only get better,

Now that we have a vague idea

Of what we are doing.

Sure these movies require effort,

You have to go to a theater,

You have to seek out the quality,

In the sea of content.

But for me that effort is worth it.

I will continue to go to theaters,

Because it is the best way to watch a movie.

Hands down.

I will continue to seek out the best things,

Because I have a limited amount of time,

And don't want to waste it,

On garbage.

On something that doesn't evoke a thought.

On something that doesn't spark an emotion.

I will put forth the effort,

Because it is worth it to ME.

CODA is the first movie I have ever seen

While attending a Film Festival.

I remember walking upstairs when the credits rolled,

And sharing with my family that

I had just seen a great movie.

The fact that it has just won

Best Picture at the Oscars,

Is incredible.

An Indie movie,

Competing at Sundance,

Winning, the popular vote

(For the first time)

Signing a deal with Apple for distribution.

The little film that could.

The film that showed a family

Very different than mine,

But felt just like mine.

4 unrelated people,

Coming together,

To become a family.

You can feel their bond in every scene.

A well deserved win.

Representation matters.

Movies are for everyone,

Even if you cannot hear a sound.