Putting the Oscars on Notice!

Notice to The Academy Awards nominating committee, and this is my final notice, LOL. You need not proceed with any nominations for Cinematography, Production Design, and Editing. Those will most certainly be awarded to Damien Chazelle’s “Sodom and Gomorrah.” Oops, I mean “Babylon” the penultimate cinematic Bacchanalia.

The movie provides a 3+ hour (the time flies by) glimpse into what must have been the decadent lifestyles leading to the downfall of Fatty Arbuckle and the 1928 death of starlet Virginia Rappe and the end to the promising career of silent film star Mary Miles Minter (side note: she died 62 years later in 1984 in Santa Monica, CA) involved in the 1922 scandal surrounding the mysterious death of director William Desmond Taylor.

Oscar nominations are surely deserved for Jean Smart and a semi-newcomer, Diego Calva who create some of the most memorable scenes taking full control of the screen whenever the camera is on them. And let’s not overlook the stunning cameo with Tobey Maguire creating what can only be described as the ultimate sleazebag degenerate.

As for the “stars” of the film? There are legions of detractors of Brad Pitt that postulate he is ‘just another pretty face” but, IMHO, this performance is far superior to his Oscar-winning role in “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” and is deserving of all the praise and accolades he is garnering. What can I say about Margot Robbie’s performance? It is totally frenetic, to say the least. OK, I will help you here. Frenetic means fast and energetic in a rather wild and uncontrolled way. And I embrace this definition in the most sincerely positive way imagined. Her performance is glorious and should be one of the top contenders for at least an Academy Award nomination if not a win.

Respectfully submitted, your erstwhile critic, Quoth the Maven, Always More.