I didn't watch the Oscars, but Chadwick Boseman should've won

For the second year in a row I skipped watching the Oscars -- and to be honest, I didn't even miss it. Not even a little bit. I was so burned by last year's snubs, particularly of eminently worthy actors and actresses of color that I more or less vowed never to come back, even though I do check in on the awards race nonsense from time to time because I begrudgingly admit it entertains me.

And this year there was a lot to celebrate. After last year's tepid showing, this was the most diverse crop of actors ever nominated. And we have two female Best Director nominees, with Chloe Zhao ultimately triumphing and become just the second woman ever to win that prize.

And yet I imagine the thing most people will be talking about today is Anthony Hopkins' surprising upset of the late Chadwick Boseman in the Best Actor race. I mean Frances McDormand winning a third Best Actress Oscar (a feat even Meryl Streep hasn't achieved) is a big deal. And it's nice to see Youn Yuh-jung win Best Supporting Actress in what was, in retrospect, a pretty wide open race.

But Boseman's posthumous win seemed all but assured. So much so, that Hopkins' win (making him the oldest Oscar winning actor ever) came as such a huge shock.

It's not that Hopkins wasn't terrific in The Father, he was. It is the perfect sort of Oscar baity performance -- exploring the trauma of an aging man grabbling with Alzheimer's. Still, Boseman, who was so much more than an actor, and if there was ever a moment to pay tribute to his remarkable, all-too-brief career.

And apparently, idiots in the academy, according to pop culture writer Mark Harris were debating internally about whether giving Boseman the Oscar would be a "waste."

Curiously, I don't remember these same debates in the public when the late Heath Ledger, deservedly, won virtually ever critic's award -- including the Oscar -- for his iconic performance in The Dark Knight back in 2008. Of course, an Oscar for Boseman would not have been wasted, it would have been a fitting a tribute, just as Peter Finch's posthumous win was for his classic performance in Network.

Hopkins isn't the bad guy here. He's not a perennial winner who robbed someone more deserving. I could actually make an argument for all the other nominees winning too (with the exception of Gary Oldman) and I actually think the Best Actor winner should have been someone who wasn't even nominated -- Delroy Lindo for Da 5 Bloods.

More so this result, which I understand was a wet fart of an ending to the broadcast, is just another reminder that the Oscars are as out of touch as the Grammys have been for years. For every totally deserving and life affirming win as Parasite's last year, there is a Green Book victory and a Glenn Close nomination for a bad performance in a bad movie.

I'm tired of being disappointed almost every year, I'm tired of lamenting the preference for hokey message movies like The Trial of the Chicago 7 over more interesting fare like 2019's Uncut Gems, which didn't get a SINGLE NOMINATION. Not for Adam Sandler, who gave the performance of his life, not for its screenplay, its directors, its incredible score. For a movie like that to ignored is simply unforgivable and an indictment of everything the bloated Oscars is, and probably always was.

These actors make me laugh, they could make me cry

Was re-watching Uncut Gems this afternoon -- which gets better every time I see it. It honestly has a case to make alongside The Social Network and There Will Be Blood, that it's one of the greatest statement films of the past 20 years. I am consistently taken aback by its Exorcist-esque opening sequence in Africa, which is disarming and immediately shows us we're in for something special. But I digress

Adam Sandler's lead performance was not just a reminder of his unique talent, but also further evidence that sometimes actors with comic backgrounds make the most dynamic dramatic acting stars. Time and again, whether it be Bill Murray or more recently, Bob Odenkirk in Nobody, some of the most inspired and exciting work is enhanced by the unpredictable edge that comics bring.

That got me thinking -- what actors predominately known for the comedic work would be good in a drama or in some cases should do more drama. Here a few people who have come to mind:

Kate McKinnon - One of SNL's most beloved recent stars has not fully had her moment on the big screen. She was wasted in Bombshell, was the best part of the otherwise forgettable reboot of Ghostbusters and flopped in the spy comedy whose name I can't remember. She clearly can play a myriad of characters, but the sad undercurrent to her Hillary Clinton impression tells me she can go deep too.

Danny McBride - Much of McBride's work -- especially his many glorious HBO series -- already goes pretty far into the dark side, although he's usually playing the clueless buffoon. But I believe McBride would slay in a more straight dramatic role. He is one of these actors who can't be unfunny, but he also is a fearless, committed actor who gives every role, no matter how silly, his all.

Ben Stiller - An underrated director and I think an underrated actor too. I always think back on his vulnerable, moving work in The Royal Tenenbaums 20 years ago -- he had the most compelling arc of all the Tenenbaum kids and he's largely fallen back on slapstick broad comedy ever since. I missed his Walter Mitty film which I here was a failure, but I still think movies like Greenburg suggest he has more range than we usually see.

Aubrey Plaza - The Parks and Recreation alumnus has already started playing more dramatic roles -- her performance in Ingrid Goes West was woefully under appreciated -- so this is more of a keep up the good work sentiment. I was sad to see her pidgeonholed into roles that largely used her as sex object when she first transitioned to film, but with movies like Black Bear she's showing she's a lot more than her established persona suggests.

Donald Glover - When he was on Community I  never could have anticipated that Donald Glover would not just become one of most interesting actors -- but also musicians -- working in America. His show Atlanta is a wonderful melange of drama and comedy that is easily one of the best shows on TV. He's also made some interesting movie choices but other than his turn as Lando Calrissian in Solo nothing too high profile. I feel like he could be a great movie star -- if he wanted.

Will Forte - This ex-SNL actor gave one of the best bananas comic performances ever in MacGruber but he also gave an effective lowkey dramatic performance in the acclaimed film Nebraska. He has a lot of colors that he can play -- the wonderful, unsung sitcom The Last Man on Earth demonstrated that -- and I could see him having the same late career resurgence Odenkirk experienced.

Mike Myers - During the peak of his Austin Powers run, Myers made an ill-fated stab at the drama appearing as doomed disco impresario Steve Rubell in the flop 54 and then he never went back (unless you count his small turns in Bohemian Rhapsody and Inglorious Basterds).  But here's the thing -- look at any of his broad comic movies, dude can act. He can actually be credible even when he's playing the silliest of characters. He just needs to push himself more.

Jordan Peele - He's become a legend for his work behind the camera, and rightly so but he's a really great on-screen performer too and I think he could have the sort of acting career someone like Sydney Pollack did, who seamlessly kept up his directing while delivering consistently smart and funny character turns in other auteur's movies. Just a thought.

Get high, watch these (if you please) 4/20 recommendations

I have always cringed a little bit when people say a movie is better if you watch it high.  Sure, some movies can be enhanced -- but The Wizard of Oz, for instance, is great with or without weed. And, as someone who is a big marijuana proponent -- both for pleasure and medicinally -- I think it's silly to make too big a deal out of the unofficial holiday which is 4/20.

And yet, here we are. 

So in no particular order here are 10 films I'd recommend if you're looking to have a particularly trippy experience today or any day, sober or not...

House (1977) - One of the most surreal, strange films ever made -- feels like a bizarre glossy commercial mixed with unpredictable body horror. Hard to categorize. It's sort of a horror movie but it's far more weird than scary with its director Nobuhiko Obayahsi throwing all sort of fantastic homemade-seeming special effects at you to see what sticks. Tonally nuts. You can see a lot of influence on Michel Gondry here.

Mulholland Drive (2001) - The film that got me hooked on David Lynch 20 years ago is still a mind bending gut punch now. It works as both a deliriously sexy and strange update on the film noir and a darkly funny art film satirizing Hollywood's figurative cutthroat nature. It takes at least two viewings to fully appreciate. In fact, it might be cool to watch it back to back when under the influence after the initial shock wears off.

Vertigo (1958) - My favorite Hitchcock film and perhaps the most visually inventive -- the Jimmy Stewart nightmare dream sequence alone is worth the price of admission. It's the vibrant use of color and dreamlike atmosphere that engross me every time I see it, and like many of the movies on this list, it's about so much more than what it appears to be on the surface, which is perfect for drug-induced viewing.

The Big Lebowski (1998) - The ultimate stoner mystery-thriller (although The Long Goodbye is probably its equal) features Jeff Bridges in arguably his most iconic performance as a burnout drawn into an elaborate scheme at the urging of his ex-Vietnam vet friend (the great John Goodman). One of the Coen brothers' loosest, silliest movies is still one of their best and just great fun to watch.

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) - I've written about this before but 2001 is such a feast for the eyes, ears and soul that you can get quite a lot out of it if you're in the right headspace. Kubrick's legendary film famously didn't find much of an audience until it was embraced by the hippie crowd in the late 60s. Today, it's now viewed as the high water mark of a certain kind of heady sci-fi, one that has rarely, if ever, been equaled.

Inception (2010) - While I'm sure it's wacky premise falls apart if you scrutinize it too much, it's hard to deny how entertaining and accessible this film is, especially considering what it's trying to do narratively. Tenet showed the limitations of this type of movie when its relatively devoid of soul, but with Leonardo DiCaprio fully committed in the lead, this feels like more than just a technical exercise and it's big set pieces still pack a wallop.

The Tree of Life (2011) - Terrence Malick's stunning achievement -- a paean to the process of life and family, is an elegiac tone poem whose unorthodox rhythms are perfectly suited to a mental flight of fancy. Its montages are peerless as is it's swelling emotion. Definitely not for all tastes, but if you can get on Malick and the movie's wavelength it takes you on quite a journey.

MacGruber (2010) - Simply the best dumb comedy of recent years -- a gut-busting melange of high but mostly low comedy. Criminally under-appreciated when it first came out, it now feels like a genuine cult classic (can't wait for the TV series inspired by it). Wonderfully nutty tone and style that is eminently quotable and surprisingly endearing. 

Apocalypse Now (1979)  - One of my favorite war films in part because it really leans into the madness, chaos and creeping existential dread of war. It's last act in particular takes on a kind of mythological proportion that supersedes the drama and its melodrama makes for a surreal viewing experience. It doesn't hurt that the people making this film were almost certainly on a lot of drugs, too.

Solaris (1972 and 2002 either version) - Again, hard 'not for everyone's taste' warning on these too -- they are intentionally slow paced and meandering movies about the nature of humanity and the challenges of reckoning with our mortality -- all wrapped in the package of a genre sci-fi movie. The Soderbergh version, which boasts a powerful, against-type performance from George Clooney, is the more accessible one, but both films are deep, passionate and profound.

'Nobody' works as unconventional action vehicle for Odenkirk

I'm biased. I've been a Bob Odenkirk fan for over two decades. And his late career resurgence as a dramatic actor has been one of the most pleasantly surprising pop cultural developments in years. I will always cherish him as half of the Mr. Show duo, still my favorite sketch comedy show of all time. But even on that show he always showed a flair for getting deep into character and revealing the pathos even in the most absurd character.

His range is put to great use in the deliriously violent new action thriller Nobody. It's slightly derivative of the John Wick films and has a truly thankless role for the luminous Connie Nielsen as his wife, but for the most part it's an incredibly fun, fast romp in tongue in cheek carnage.

It's almost a throwback movie -- it reminds me a bit of a Walter Hill picture -- you feel every punch and the action is not graceful or too hyper choreographed. Of course it is, but it feels a lot more slapdash in the best possible way. And somehow, despite the fact that he's 58 years old and far from imposing physically, the movie really does make Odenkirk feel plausible as an action star.

He looks a bit more fit here, with a grizzled greying beard that suits him, The first half of the movie does a terrific job of creating an air of mystery about his character. Good cinema shorthand has ways of making you understand that a character is a badass based on how other characters react to them, and you quickly recognize that the Odenkirk character isn't the milquetoast suburban dad he initially appears to be.

And once the plot kicks in, which is knowingly threadbare and innocuously silly, it's a pretty much non-stop ride. It's self awareness isn't cynical -- people aren't constantly popping off one-liners and being irritatingly ironic. Nobody is much more straightforward and satisfying and it's blissfully just over 90 minutes, instead of a bloated mess like so many other modern action movies.

I don't see a Taken-like career re-route in Odenkirk's future though, or at least I hope not. He's too interesting an actor to be pigeonholed into a single genre, but this film does prove unequivocally that Odenkirk has it in him to be a movie star, too.

Better late than never I say.  It's had to gauge how successful it is and will be since most folks will be seeing it on streaming platforms, instead of a theater, which is a shame since Nobody has a rousing, crowd-pleasing vibe about it, especially when old favorite Christopher Lloyd shows up as Odenkirk's gun toting dad.

It's early, but this is the first great 2021 movie I've seen.

Flashback 2001: My top 10 favorite movies from 20 years ago

It's wild to think of 2001, the year that arguably changed everything in this country for mostly worse was 20 years ago. Although the attacks of 9/11 came late in the year, they cast a shadow on everything that can before and after.

It was too early for the movies to fully reflect the bleakness of this period (that would come later in the decade) and so many of my favorites from this year are surprisingly light-hearted. This was my sophomore year in college and so I have a lot of fond memories specifically tied to the viewing experience of several of these, which remain burned in my brain.

It definitely feels like a more innocent time in many ways -- pre-War on Terror, pre-Katrina, pre-Trump. It wasn't the best year bur far from the worst for movies. And, as per usual, there's a few stone-cold classics...

10) Zoolander - One of the most delightfully silly and quotable comedies of its time was like a ear-worm. It did just ok at the box office but it had real staying power. Sure, it's a little overstuffed with celebrity cameos and it's plot is laughably incoherent, but who cares -- Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson are perfection as vapid supermodels who start at as rivals and then become pals, Will Ferrell is deliriously funny as the villain and it'll always remain a favorite dumb comedy of mine although I haven't revisited it in years. 

9) Sexy Beast - Ben Kingsley completely upended his on-screen image (he'd played mostly gentle characters after becoming a star with 1982's Gandhi) as a foul-mouthed and ferocious gangster in this cool and kinetic British gangster film. The joke of the film is that everyone, including the imposing Ray Winstone, is terrified of him, and his performance is so intense you believe them. A real who's who of hangdog Brit actors with a killer soundtrack to boot.

8) The Pledge - 2001 was a great year for old man action films (there was also The Score which I am embarrassed to admit I like). Here, Jack Nicholson plays one of his most subdued roles as a retired cop who can't get over a serial killer who slipped through his fingers. To date, the Sean Penn-directed film I've enjoyed the most, keeps throwing curveballs at you, including a murderer's row of supporting performances from the likes of Helen Mirren and a devastating Mickey Rourke. A haunting little thriller that's worth rediscovery and reappraisal. 

7) Heist - Like I said, a great year for old man action. Here you have Gene Hackman at his most badass as a professional thief trying to get out of the business clean. A David Mamet script and directorial effort that works because his hyper stylized dialogue is a great fit for the genre. And again, you have an excellent cast surrounding Hackman including Delroy Lindo, Danny DeVito and a young Sam Rockwell -- all of whom are having a ball. Not reinventing the genre or anything, but old fashioned in the best way.

6) Ghost World - A moving and vivid interpretation of a popular underground comic with a scene stealing lead performance from Thora Birch (who should have had a bigger career). An episodic look at a hipster high school graduate trying to figure out her place in the universe who gets into an unlikely romantic relationship with a socially awkward blues aficionado played to perfection by Steve Buscemi, who was robbed of an Oscar nomination for his work in this film.

5) Wet Hot American Summer - Easily one of the funniest, most on target parodies of all time. This cult classic with a stacked cast of up-and-coming stars (including Paul Rudd, Bradley Cooper and Elizabeth Banks) hits out of the park with its bizarro and remarkably committed recreation of the 80s camp movie aesthetic. Deliriously weird and crude, this is always a fun rewatch and I even enjoyed the recent reboots for Netflix. I'm so glad this film (and now franchise) has the fanbase it richly deserves.

4) Training Day - Denzel Washington finally won a Best Actor Oscar for one of his greatest performances (at the time it was viewed as a career consolation prize, but that was a very wrong assessment) and his first full blown villain role. He is electric (and an underrated Ethan Hawke is a great sparring partner) as a deeply corrupt but undeniably charismatic Los Angeles narcotics detective who is indebted to the Russian mob and doing all sorts of dirty deeds to dig himself out. Exciting, funny and evocative, director Antoine Fuqua has yet to top his work here and Denzel gives a master class in genre movie acting.

3) Mulholland Drive - For many, this was a comeback of sorts for director David Lynch. It was originally intended to become a television show but it totally works as a standalone film. It beautifully explores many of his fascinations with artifice, Hollywood, glamour, sex and of course, death. An incredible breakthrough movie for Naomi Watts, Justin Theroux and the stunning Laura Harring (who never got her due). For me, it was the movie that started a lifelong love for Lynch's work and it remains a rewarding revisit all these years later.

2) Ocean's Eleven - Just a unadulterated blast of star-driven fun. I still remember how plesantly surprised and delighted I was by my first (and then second, third and fourth -- I mean who hasn't seen this movie a million times by now on cable?) viewing of this franchise launcher. George Clooney and Brad Pitt proved to be the most charming male leading duo since Paul Newman and Robert Redford, and the whole supporting team all get their moments to shine. Most importantly though, director Steven Soderbergh (who was on an all-time hot streak) didn't sacrifice his directorial flair to make it.

1) The Royal Tenenbaums - For me, it remains Wes Anderson's warmest most glorious picture. All of his specificity works wonders with this sweet and hilarious tale about a wayward patriarch (Gene Hackman again, in one of his greatest, if not his greatest performance) trying to win back the love of his eccentric family. It looks like it could be taking place in the 1970s, even though its in this fantasy version of NYC that has sort of never existed. It's got one of the best soundtracks, some of the biggest laughs, and it pulls on your heartstrings when you least expect it. In other words, it's a perfect movie.

'Thunder Force' is a bland, boring waste of its star's talents

Just when I thought Zack Synder's Justice League had cemented how creatively bankrupt superhero movies have become, here comes Thunder Force to bring the genre down yet another peg.

The new Netflix film starring Melissa McCarthy and Octavia Spencer could have, and perhaps aimed to, subvert some of the genre's cliches -- but besides the unconventional casting of the two actresses, this movie does absolutely nothing new and does it with barely any laughs.

It's all particularly disappointing because McCarthy and Spencer are two of Hollywood's most likable and under-appreciated talents, and they deserve so much better. McCarthy, whose husband Ben Falcone wrote this film, directed it and appears in a small role, does lots of her patented physical humor and struggles mightily to supply emotional pathos but there's nothing fresh or interesting about what she is doing here. In movies like Spy she actually played a real character, here she's an underachiever and a big Chicago sports fan, and that's about it.

Spencer fairs even worse, serving for most of the film as a humorless straight man to McCarthy. The two characters are supposed to be playing estranged best friends but they simply don't have the chemistry and camaraderie to sell it. In fact, most of the 'laughs' are limited to Jason Bateman's role as a potential villain with lobster arms. And his one-joke role lands flat.

And that doesn't even begin to scratch surface. The plot is one of the most mind-numblingly dumb superhero plots I've ever seen, something superheroes who behave badly called Miscreants (a word that is said seemingly 600 times throughout the inane script). I have no idea if this film was every intended for the big screen, but it looks cheap and shoddy, even for a Netflix film.

Much ink has been spilled about the mixed to miserable results of McCarthy numerous collaborations with her husband and it's rough when a movie like this doesn't even make it's odder, more inside-y jokes work (like a gross, unfunny running gag about raw meat). The movie ends with a crowd chanting the duo self-appointed moniker -- Thunder Force -- and then a post credit sequence that also begins with the rote chanting of the title.

I suppose we are meant to find this infectious -- that the name will become an irresistible earworm, but it's just dull and never funny no matter how hard McCarthy and co try. I am all for a big dumb comedy -- McCarthy's Bridesmaids co-star Kristen Wiig hit it out of the park with one, her recent Barb & Star Go to Vista Del Mar (which almost  removes the stink of Wiig's performance in Wonder Woman 1984).

I have no doubt McCarthy will do plenty of better films -- she is a wonderful actress besides being a great comedian -- and in the right role there's no one quite like her. But this is her coasting at best. Octavia Spencer seems to be in a more challenging spot. She's gone wildly campy with Ma, returned to grounded work with Luce and is clearly trying to broaden her persona here too -- but she doesn't have a single moment to shine. Her character's an uptight drag who mostly tries to reign in McCarthy when she's trying to be funny. What did she see in this part? This is an Oscar winner, is this the best Hollywood can offer her?

I'm honestly stunned by how bad, cynical and lazy this movie was. By all means skip it. And if you're trying to get a superhero fix check out The Boys instead on Amazon Prime. That show tackles the idea of rogue superheroes much more effectively and hilariously than any moment in Thunder Force does.

'The Father' is a return to form for Anthony Hopkins

Films about the debilitating physical and emotional impact of Alzheimers has become something of a genre. It makes sense. They're relatable, profoundly moving and provide a lot for an actor to chew on, That being said, I almost always avoid these movies like the plague because they are so unbelievably sad.

I am still reeling from 2007's incredibly downbeat Away From Her. And I never got around to seeing Still Alice which won Julianne Moore, I hear, a richly deserved Academy Award. I am frightened of this happening to my parents, in laws, myself or my spouse.

The Father, effectively taps into that fear -- in its strongest moments it plays almost like a horror film where we are placed in the shoes of Anthony Hopkins, a proud octogenarian whose daughter (played empathetically by Olivia Coleman) wants to get him an in-home caretaker because his memory is dramatically failing.

He resists her entreaties vociferously, even when his world is spinning out of control. He confuses his daughter and his son-in-law, he conflates moments in time and locations. All of this is not just disorienting for him but the audience too. It's also remarkably sad.

The best thing about the film is Hopkins, who at 83 finally has returned to form after decades of dramatically uneven work. He's working at the peak of his powers here -- he can be charming and cruel and he is utterly convincing when he is helpless. When the character finally lets his guard down and has an emotional meltdown, it's difficult to watch and rather sublime.

If Hopkins never played another role in his life besides Hannibal Lector in The Silence of the Lambs his status as a legend would be secure -- but he has several other time capsule performances. I especially love his work in two other '90s films: Nixon, where he gives a surprisingly sympathetic portrayal of the former president and the devastating Remains of the Day, where he plays a tragically repressed butler opposite Emma Thompson.

This film reminds of that one, since it's also about a man who insists on trying to maintain a facade no matter what. It's a tricky thing to play someone who is very vulnerable trying to project invulnerability, but Hopkins does it very well.

I can't say The Father is an enjoyable film. There are moments of gallows humor and pathos but it is pretty relentlessly dour and a bit claustrophobic -- which may be the point. It would make a phenomenal stage play but it may be a tad one note as a film although it occasionally plays with perspective in ways that I appreciated.

Quite frankly, the trailer spoils much of the films surprises, which is unforgivable. It ends up blunting some of the movie's impact. In fact I would suggest that if you are curious about The Father you SHOULD NOT watch the trailer first. Go in cold. It'll remind you not just what a great actor Anthony Hopkins used to be, but how good he still is.