White Girl in Danger (Off-Broadway) (2023)

I've never had this experience before but we got free tickets from Culture Pass and got "General Admission" tickets". What that meant was that we got whatever empty seats were left right before curtain. Somehow there are empty seats, at what I think is an otherwise sold out performance. But here's the tricky part, if the ticketholder with your seat shows up, then they can kick you out at intermission, at which point you'll get "refunded". But that means this person who showed up late has to wait an hour and a half for intermission--who's going to wait that long? Anyways, we're lucky we got seats in the front row and got to stay the whole show. 

Michael R Jackson's new musical is a lot. It's a satire on classic white people soap operas. It's imaginatively about a "blackground" character trying to make it in an "all-white" show--Jackson sticks with the meta concept. It was over 3 hours. The first act, a full hour and 40 minutes. And the 15 minute intermission also has content playing on the projector. And there's content playing before curtain. They film these hilarious cheesy, bad green screen, commercials. It felt like watching Atlanta spoof public access TV. He also kind of leans into the Tyler Perry-esque mannerisms that he berates in A Strange Loop (Atlanta does it too). But it's really long. Especially compared to the tight A Strange Loop. They probably need to cut a full half hour at least. It's funny but it kind of rambles. The songs are pretty hit or miss--the highlight is the opening title song. A few of them kind of lack melody. They're not really Sondheim-esque but y'know they also don't have a hummable tune. It's also very profane. A Strange Loop was too, but I feel like this was even more extreme. The gay sex scene in this one is a lesbian sex scene and there are multiple sex toy props. Definitely not family friendly. 

Tarra Conner Jones steals the show as Nell. This is her Off Broadway debut. She literally has a showstopper. There was a standing ovation for her in the middle of the show for her big number. Those are always cool moments.

95th Academy Awards (2023)

It's a landmark year for Asians in the movies. Sure we had Minari, The Farewell, Crazy Rich Asians, Parasite won it all in a memorable surprise. But the arrival of Everything Everywhere All at Once, both a indie box office smash and now the prohibitive front runner, signals a new era. The movie boasts no fewer than 4 acting nominees, three of whom are of Asian descent, including Ke Huy Quan who returns to the screen after two decades unable to find work in front of the camera in Hollywood. The legendary James Hong got a moment of glory at the SAG Awards too. And let's not forget Hong Chau nominated for The Whale. The NYT even ran a feature on the unprecedented number of Asian nominees across the board. It has been a long time since the front runner for Best Picture has been such a popular film, and I don't know that the nominees have ever included so many box office successes--it's an exciting year.

Tyler's Top 10:

1. Everything Everywhere All at Once
2. Tar
3. Decision to Leave
4. The Fabelmans
5. Armageddon Time
6. Petite Maman
7. Triangle of Sadness
8. The Northman
9. Aftersun
10. Turning Red
    

Honorable Mentions: Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, Top Gun: Maverick, Marcel the Shell with Shoes On, The Quiet Girl, Fire of Love, Living, Navalny, Avatar: The Way of Water, Puss in Boots:The Last Wish, Vengeance

Best Picture (prediction):

1. Everything Everywhere All at Once
2. The Fabelmans
3. Top Gun: Maverick
4. All Quiet on the Western Front
5. Avatar: The Way of Water
6. The Banshees of Inisherin
7. Tar
8. Triangle of Sadness
9. Elvis
10. Women Talking

Best Director
Will Win/Should Win: Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert, Everything Everywhere All at Once
Honorable Mention: Steven Spielberg, The Fabelmans

Best Actress
Will Win/Should Win: Michelle Yeoh, Everything Everywhere All at Once
Honorable Mention: Cate Blanchett, Tar

Best Actor
Will Win: Brendan Fraser, The Whale
Should Win: Paul Mescal, Aftersun

Best Supporting Actress
Will Win/Should Win: Jamie Lee Curtis, Everything Everywhere All at Once
Honorable Mention: Kerry Condon, The Banshees of Inisherin

Best Supporting Actor
Will Win/Should Win: Ke Huy Quan, Everything Everywhere All at Once
Honorable Mention: Judd Hirsch, The Fabelmans

Best Adapted Screenplay
Will Win: Women Talking
Should Win: Living

Best Original Screenplay
Will Win/Should Win: Everything Everywhere All at Once
Honorable Mention: Tar

Best Cinematography
Will Win: Elvis
Should Win: Empire of Light

Best Costume Design
Will Win/Should Win: Everything Everywhere All at Once
Honorable Mention: Babylon

Best Film Editing
Will Win/Should Win: Everything Everywhere All at Once
Honorable Mention: Top Gun: Maverick

Best Makeup and Hairstyling
Will Win/Should Win: The Whale

Best Production Design
Will Win: Babylon
Should Win: Avatar: The Way of Water

Best Score
Will Win/Should Win: Babylon

Best Original Song
Will Win: Naatu Naatu, RRR
Should Win: Lift Me Up, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

Best Sound
Will Win/Should Win: Top Gun: Maverick

Best Visual Effects
Will Win/Should Win: Avatar: The Way of Water

Best Animated Feature
Will Win: Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio
Should Win: Turning Red

Best Documentary Feature
Will Win: Navalny
Should Win: Fire of Love

Best International Film
Will Win: All Quiet on the Western Front, Germany
Should Win: The Quiet Girl, Ireland

Best Animated Short
Will Win: The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse
Should Win: Ice Merchants

Best Documentary Short
Will Win: Stranger at the Gate
Should Win: Haulout

Best Live Action Short
Will Win/Should Win: Le Pupille

Update: 17/23, just enough to win my Oscars pool.  I hosted a little Oscar party with a themed menu. It was a big hit, if I do say so myself. It was a great ceremony with lots of memorable wins for Asians/Asian-Americans, including Judy Chin for Best Makeup and Hairstyling who went to middle school with mom. EEAAO came away with a record six statues above-the-line, and A24, no longer the indie upstart, won all six of the top awards. Hopefully we can expect to see more of these beautiful, wonderful, diverse, niche movies being made.