The 95th Academy Awards, which held almost 2 days ago, almost felt like an absolute clean sweep for Daniel Scheinert’s mind-bending, universe-hoping, thought-provoking fantasy thriller, Everything Everywhere All at Once.
The movie bagged the best picture award and two of its main actors, Michelle Yeoh and Key Hue Quan were awarded the best actress and best-supporting actor awards, respectively.
In short, Everything Everywhere All at Once won everything at the Oscars in 2023. And many of us already saw that coming.
The dense picture brilliantly established and played around with the concept of Multiverses, at least a dozen times better than the madness in the Multi-Verse of Madness, and also included a healthy bit of social commentary centered around the experience of Asian immigrants in the United States.
To top it all the movie included a hefty amount of light fun. Making it a round hit which took many critics and frankly viewers by surprise.
Off course, it goes without saying that watching two non-white actors bag the most prestigious of awards in an industry dominated by white leads is always quite a sight for sore eyes.
So, all in all, the accolades garnered by the movie well extremely well deserved, to say the least. But owing to its stellar success, Everything All at Once ended up overshadowing some other blockbusters nominated in the best picture category.
And even though I understand that the deck was stacked in 2023 and only one blockbuster could take home the gold but that does not mean that binge-watchers like me cannot wish that they had given out four instead of one best picture award this year.
Because even though I loved watching everything everywhere all at once win big, I hated watching some of the other thrillers on the nomination list lose out.
So, clear your schedules, set up your home theaters, and get ready for some binge-watching fun. And remember, before you hop on your couch make sure that you have a high-speed fiber connection like Smithville Internet set-up so that buffering, the biggest rival of all binge-watchers, does not disrupt the fun.
Now, let’s jump in.
ALL QUIET AT THE WESTERN FRONT
This is perhaps the most unexpected entry on the list but those who have watched, and in my case re-watched, this Netflix classic would not want anyone else to miss out. The German War Drama or I should rather say Anti-War Drama, has brought back memories of classics like Saving Private Ryan and the original All Quiet on the Western Front.
The movie is centered around the life of a young and passionate young German Boy, Paul Braumer, who gets swept off his feet by the German Empire’s war propaganda and lies to his parents to gleefully join up Germany’s war effort against the Allies.
But soon, the brutal realities of trench warfare wash away Braumer’s nationalistic fervor as he watches his comrades sacrificed to the bloated egos of war-mongering Generals.
All the while in the background sane voices in the newly elected German government fight a diplomatic and political battle of their own to secure an armistice to end the bloody conflict which Germany has clearly lost.
But despite being an excellent commentary on the horrors of war the movie does not waste too much time trying to sell meta-narratives to viewers. Instead, it’s almost a point of view (POV) experience of Braumer’s life and the changes war brings into his young personality.
And yes, the music is mesmerizing, no wonder the movie bagged the best original score award at the Oscars, which I think is not enough of a consolation.
TOP GUN: MAVERICK
And who can forget about Top Gun: Maverick while we are on the topic of last year’s war movies that struck out on the best picture award and got a music award as a consolation. But unlike the entry before it, Tom Cruise’s latest foray into movie production, at least won big at the box office. Raking in over a Billion Dollars in revenues last summer.
The Cruise starrer, heavily builds upon the storyline of the original. In the movie, Pete Mitchell the renegade flyboy of the original Top Gun has all but retired from flying and is struggling to advance in his career because of his rebellious attitude.
Until finally his old war body, who has now conveniently, risen up to the ranks of a full-blown admiral convinces him to join the air academy as an instructor. Our air cowboy is charged with training young recruits on a secret mission against an unspecified enemy, which feels a lot like China.
During his brief stint, he is forced to confront several unresolved demons from his past. But fans like me that the Top Gun franchise did not become legendary because of its plot twists or excellent screenwriting. It’s the high-flying sky-high action that pulls us to Top Gun and Maverick delivers on the promise and more.
AVATAR: THE WAY OF THE WATER
After Top Gun Maverick came out and broke revenue records all across the board most of us thought the movie will enjoy the throne for fairly long periods. But James Cameroon has other ideas. Avatar: The Way of the Water hit the big screen right after Top Gun made haste of taking over the top spot.
The movie which, unsurprisingly, bagged the best visual effects award at the Oscars raked in a record-breaking 1.5 Billion Dollars at the box office. And considering that Cameroon’s pipe dream cost the studios 250 Million Dollars to make, the movie had no choice but to deliver.
The sequel takes place years after the events of the original War for Pandora and portrays our favorite Na’vi warrior couple, and their children, battling it out against a human race that is intent on avenging its previous defeat.
Much like the vast bodies of water it is set in the movie flows slowly re-focusing on several of our favorite themes and introducing some unexpectedly new ones, like a new Na’vi tribe.
The movie has something for everyone and if you have not watched the way of the water yet, I suggest that you take a deep dive as soon as possible.
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