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Wow. You called a lot of the actual winners. Well done.

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Thanks! Believe it or not, this was a bit of a down year for me with 14/23 correct. I usually average closer to 18/19.

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That is downright impressive. I waffled on a lot of these. Initially, I thought "Barbie" was going to get best picture just for its originality and as a sort of "statement" from Hollywood, if you will. Like you, however, I didn't think it or "Oppenheimer" was that extraordinary.

"Oppie" was visually stunning, but as a story it had its faults. I found myself not being able to relate to or connect with any of the characters. Even the eponymous protagonist was a sort of flat persona. It seemed the real main character was the bomb.

"Barbie" was fun to look at it, and I thought should have gotten best costume design.

I thought "The Holdovers" was an excellent film but also wasn't surprised to see it not get a ton of love. It'd be nice to see Giamatti get an Oscar one of these days. Randolph getting best supporting actress was, of course, well deserved.

I wanted to love "American Fiction" but by the end of it felt sort of "meh" about it. The book is quirky in itself so it getting best adapted screenplay makes sense. Great concept that started out earnestly but sort of petered towards the ending. They nailed the publishing industry, though.

At any rate, I was surprised and kind of disappointed to see "Oppie" sweep as it did. But I am consistently sort of flummoxed by the Academy and its choices. You seem to have a much better grasp on why they choose what they choose. It was a fine film, but giving Nolan another award is sort of passe at this point. He is, in his own way, the next Spielberg and will likely continue to experiment with the medium (particularly when it comes to sound and visual effects).

I love movies but am sort of a noob at understanding the industry.

Again, well done. I talked myself in and out of some of these but didn't call them nearly as well as you did.

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