The Oscars Are Coming The Oscars Are Coming

February 16, 2015 Dennis D. McDonald

We’ve been invited to several “Oscars” parties this year and are looking forward to some good times.

Despite my lifelong love of movies, though, I care little about the awards and even less about the award show itself with all its artificial glitz and glamour. I’m much more interested in the movies and how they make their way to the screen. Movie production involves extensive project planning; as a project manager I’m fascinated by how such complex mixes of resources make their way onto the screen.

The Oscar show seems disconnected from the art form and the awards seldom have any connection with what I watch and review.

I couldn’t tell you who won awards last year nor am I even sure who all has been nominated this year. There are more movies available to watch now via services such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, iTunes and HBO GO that I don’t need to buy or rent discs or go out to see a movie to find something to watch.

The majority of the movies reviewed on my website were not released within the past year. When a movie was released doesn’t really matter. Many of the best films I saw 2014, for example, were not released in 2014. Credit Netflix and Amazon Prime for that.

But the Oscar show is a pop culture event so like the Super Bowl it’s hard not pay attention. The best movie I saw in 2014 – Interstellar — was not nominated for Best Picture. I’ve come to expect that. Lack of recognition like that makes no real difference to me as a viewer.

Of course, we still go out to see first run films with family or friends. I love to see action on a big screen and will always go see a Peter Jackson film or a major sci-fi release. But most of my movie watching and reviewing is based on streaming services that make available older films that often still look and sound like they were made yesterday.

It’s also easy to locate silly popcorn, quirky, and one of a kind movies online. The variety available now is such that it’s possible to find something to match just about any interest, like hats.