DollEyes

My verdict: loved it! Rocketman is just as great as Elton John's music. Bohemian Rhapsody was good and Rami Malek was great, but overall, Rocketman is better. While Malek deserved his Best Actor Oscar, as Elton John, Taron Egerton's performance is a revelation. Egerton richly deserves the Golden Globe he won for it. That Egerton wasn't even nominated for the Best Actor Oscar was one of the biggest snubs of the year. That it wasn't even nominated for the costumes when they were designed by the same designer for Bohemian Rhapsody was just as shitty. Not as shitty as Elton John's parents, but shitty nonetheless. Speaking of whom, it's a wonder that poor little Reginald Dwight even survived his folks, let alone thrived. Reg's Nana was the only one in that house who loved/believed in him, unconditionally. Then there were the two biggest relationships in the film: writing partner Bernie Taupin, who brought out the best in Elton and John Reid, Elton's now ex-manager/ex-lover, who not only brought out the worst in Elton, he was a physically, mentally and emotionally abusive asshole who cheated on Elton and probably cheated Elton out of millions. In other words, Reid was just as ugly inside as he was pretty outside. Then again, what else could be expected from the creep who basically forced Elton to perform when he tried to kill himself hours before? Then there's the music, which was brilliant, from start to finish, whether it was the title track, "The Bitch Is Back," "I Want Love," "Saturday Night's All Right For Fighting," "Your Song," "Tiny Dancer," "Honky Cat," "Pinball Wizard," "Benny & the Jets," "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" & "I'm Still Standing," the latter song which, when Egerton first performed it in Sing reportedly not only helped Egerton get Rocketman, it's become Egerton's theme song.

Me three. Looks dark and fluffy, like Timothee Chalamet's hair.

Bumping it up with two moments from this year's Oscars: First, when Parasite's director Bong Joon Ho won his Best Director Oscar, he paid tribute to fellow nominees Martin Scorcese and Quentin Tarantino for their inspiration re the former and support of Asian Cinema re the latter, moving both men to tears and getting Scorcese a standing ovation. Next, when Parasite won it's well-deserved Best Picture Oscar and almost didn't get the chance to finish their acceptance speeches because the producers turned the lights down until the audience made them turn them back up.

My verdict: WOW! Parasite not only deserves every Oscar it won, the whole cast should have been given special Oscars, ala " Best Ensemble" for the SAGs, which they also won and rightfully so. I've seen it three times and I found something new each time. The first time, it was the use of water as a class metaphor-the Park's water was clean and pleasant while the Kim's water was as dark and dirty as the basement they lived in. To the Parks, a rainstorm was an inconvenience; to the Kim's, it was a catastrophe. Next, I noticed the architecture. The Park's home seemed spacious and bright; the Kims was cramped and filthy. However, as expected, the external beauty of the Park's home belies the dark secret that's literally underneath. As for the Kims, ITA that they should have compromised with the original housekeeper and her husband. Since both families had a common goal re the Parks, they should have protected each other, which would have made things much easier and less bloodier. Last, the ending. Mr. Park may have been a clueless snob, but he didn't deserve to die for it, especially not at Mr. Kim's hands, so IMO Kim's being trapped in the same house that he wanted for his family is karmic justice. Given the son's brain damage, his plan to rescue his father was just a pipe dream. Re a potential Parasite spin-off series, I think it depends. It could be an anthlogy series like Fargo, with different characters in the house at different years/decades, like, say, the 1970s or even identical houses in different locations. The Snowpiercer spin-off is coming to TNT this summer and if the trailer is any indication, then it could be as great as the movie. In Bong Joon Ho I trust.

With or without human hands?

Same here, but while I can see Taraji as Elise, if Latifah & Angela Bassett couldn't play Brenda & Annie, I would cast Octavia Spencer & Viola Davis. If Zendaya couldn't do it, I'd cast Yara Shahidi. As for Shelly, Gugu M'batha Raw would be great, but so would Lupita Nyong'o. In the Dr. Rosen role, my pick: Tracee Ellis Ross. As Duarte, the interior decorator, my choice: Billy Porter, which would be a nice bit of meta from the original First Wives Club, because of "Suddenly Alone." As Guinilla, the Maggie Smith role, I'd pick Jenifer Lewis. For the husbands, I'd cast either Wendell Pierce or Craig Robinson as Morty, Chiwetel Ejiofor as Aaron and Mahershala Ali as Bill. Cicely Tyson as Catherine, Annie's mom. For Cynthia's ex-husband Gilbert, I'd pick Idris Elba with Rihanna, Halsey or Janelle Monae as his trophy wife.

Bumping it up with my snubs: While Us isn't a "perfect" movie, both of Lupita Nyong'o's performances were. As over-the-top as Awkwafina was in Crazy Rich Asians, that's how subtle she was in The Farewell, because of Lulu Wang's direction and screenplay. It's a shame both were ignored. While Eddie Murphy has made some shitty movies in the past (cough*Norbit* cough), Dolemite Is My Name not only isn't one of them, it's his best work in years. It was a labor of love and it shows. So what if, by some Academy voters' standards, Murphy campaigned "too hard?" He's not the first & he won't be the last. Another one with a mostly shitty movie resume is Jennifer Lopez, as Gigli alone proves; otoh, calling that movie shitty is an insult to shit, which is why her performance in Hustlers was, like Murphy's in DIMN, some of her best work in years. While J.Lo's dance to Fiona Apple's "Criminal" was hot, she had me at "Climb in my fur." To call Taron Egerton's performance in Rocketman incredible is an understatement. He was amazing from start to finish. Egerton was even better in Rocketman than Rami Malek was in Bohemian Rhapsody, plus he did his own singing, which hopefully he'll do again, since the Academy did have sense enough to nominate "I'm Gonna Love Me Again" for best Original Song. Greta Gerwig getting snubbed for directing the 2019 reboot of Little Women is not a good look. She shouldn't have been nominated for being a woman; she should have been nominated because she's a great director who just happens to be a woman. Gerwig's gender should be beside the point, not the point itself.

Kobe,Gianna Bryant and the other passengers' deaths are shocking and heartbreaking, to say the least. Although I wasn't a Kobe fan, my heart goes out to all the victims' families, especially Vanessa and their other kids. Dealing with a loved one's death is tough enough, but doing it in public, with the whole world watching, is even worse. My condolences to all the families.

Another great moment was Murphy's opening monologue, which not only had cameos from Tracy Morgan, Chris Rock & Dave Chapelle, it included an appearance from Kenan Thompson, the show's longest-running castmate. Best of all, Murphy threw some well-deserved shade at Bill Cosby,-who, as it turned out, has about as much right to tell the world in general & the Black community in particular-especially Murphy-what to do as David Duke.

Terry Gilliam needs to have several seats. He's entitled to his opinions about Black Panther, but he's not entitled to his own facts. For one thing, co-writer /producer/director Ryan Coogler not only went to Africa several times during pre-production, co-stars Lupita Nyong'o, Danai Guirira & John Kani (who played King T'Chaka) were born there, so Black Panther's take on Africa is way more accurate than, say, Monty Python's version of Arthurian England in Monty Python & the Holy Grail. If Coogler, Taika Watiti, James Wan, Alfonso Cuaron and Guillermo del Toro-the last two,who, unlike Gilliam, are actual Oscar Winners-or any other talented and successful sci-fi/fantasy directors of color had listened to assholes like Gilliam, they might not have careers in the first place. Terry Gilliam is just another racist, sexist scumbag who's had too much power for too long. The sooner he & his ilk fade into obscurity, the better.

After seeing the trailer for Tenet, Christopher Nolan's next film coming next July, I think that star John David Washington looks good. Like father, like son. CO's also hot in Croupier, Closer, Children Of Men, Inside Man & Shoot 'Em Up.

Re Frank, since most of his scams backfire one way or another, while his getting a slap on the wrist back in the day because of racism might have made me feel sorry for him if he had stayed clean since then, but Frank being Frank he's not only ruined his own life, he's dragged his kids down with him, so I've got no sympathy for him. Re Kev & Veronica, since the only reason they're still in business is because they crashed an AA meeting, I don't have much sympathy for them, either. Re Liam & Debbie, bore, rinse, repeat. Nowadays,Lip & Ian are the only Gallagher kids I care about. Lip & Tami have their problems as parents, but at least they're trying, in their own way, unlike Frank. As for Ian, while I agree that Ian shouldn't get married for the wrong reasons, IMO it was Mickey who went too far. I don't care how hurt Mickey was, he shouldn't have hit Ian. As far as I'm concerned, being hurt isn't a license to hurt others.

My verdict: loved it! Eddie Murphy was brilliant. It wasn't "perfect," but what some of the sketches lacked in substance they more than made up for with style. As if seeing the virtual Murderers' Row of Black standup comedy in the opening monologue wasn't awesome enough, Murphy's dragging Bill Cosby was priceless. Who's "America's Dad" now, Billy? Seeing Mister Robinson, Buckwheat, Velvet Jones & Gumby brought back great memories. Reboots of "Celebrity Hot Tub" & "White Like Me" would have been even better, but it was still fun to watch. Even "WU" was funny,mostly because of Gumby & the racist joke swap.

My verdict: not good. I've never watched any of the Hallmark Christmas movies because to me they're "SS,DA" ("Same Shit, Different Actors "). Since Hallmark is a private company, they're entitled to their policies & their opinions, but they're not entitled to be protected from the legal consequences of them, whether it's getting dragged on social media or potential boycotts. If Hallmark was serious about diversity, it not only would have happened a long time ago, they never would have let OMM intimidate them in the first place. All Hallmark's actions have done for me is make me appreciate Lifetime & Netflix's Holiday movies even more. At least they know that interracial, LGBTQ+ & interfaith couples exist.

Bumping it up to add Pedro Pascal & Yahya Abdul-Mateen II to the Crush list. While I've been a Pascal fan since he played Oberyn Martell on Game Of Thrones & he was great on Narcos, he does some of his best work as the title character in The Mandalorian, the Star Wars-based spinoff from Disney +, a new streaming service. Pascal manages to show bravery, vulnerability & even humanity without even showing his face. That voice doesn't hurt, either. Neither does having the criminally adorable Baby Yoda as a sidekick, who brings out the best in character & actor alike. As for Abdul-Mateen II, he's been on my radar since The Get Down & let's not forget Black Manta in Aquaman, but he shines-figuratively and literally-on HBO's reboot of Watchmen as Cal Abar, who's the reincarnated Dr. Manhattan.

After seeing the new trailer for Ghostbusters:Afterlife, I've got a new appreciation for co-star Paul Rudd. He's been cute in all his movies, but I've never found him hot until now. Amazing what a beard, a ghost trap and a YouTube video can do.

I respectfully disagree. Those who hate the 2016 version are entitled to their opinions, but IMO too many of them took it too far, to the points of comparing it to "raping" their childhoods, trivializing rape in the process, attacking the womens' looks and even briefly chasing co-star Leslie Jones off social media. Hating a movie is one thing; being hateful assholes about it is another. Moving on, if this teaser trailer is any indication, then this reboot will be amazing. Having Jason Reitman, who's not only a great director in his own right, but the son of original Ghostbusters director Ivan Reitman, involved increases the odds of greatness, hence making the story about Egon's family, seeing the gear, the Ecto 1 & Slimer again. I believe that it was smart on Reitman's part not to show new footage of the surviving original cast in the trailer since it's just a teaser & it's best not to ruin the surprises. Casting Finn Wolfhard as one of the Spenglers is brilliant because Stranger Things is one of the hottest shows on television & Wolfhard is becoming one of the hottest new stars in Hollywood, career-wise. Speaking of hot, there's Paul Rudd. He hasn't aged a bit since Clueless. What's his secret-Tru Blood?

My verdict: love it! While the 2016 reboot wasn't the best movie ever made, IMO it didn't deserve the gargantuan backlash it got, either. In a perfect world, that would have been nice, but unfortunately there are way too many internet trolls who can't get over the 2016 version to even consider letting more than one, two or even three girls in it, at most, if at all. Makes me wish that if Viggo was in this version, he'd be played by Chris Hemsworth out of spite. However, I like what I see in the trailer. When I saw the teaser, I predicted that I would see some of the old-school stuff & I was right.

Some from two movie trailers: From Wonder Woman 1984, when Diana bitch slaps a bullet, the Thymiscira scenes & when Diana lassos lightning. From Ghostbusters Afterlife, seeing Dr. Spengler's jumpsuit again, Ecto 1 drifting in a field & chasing Slimer all over town, complete with gunner seat.

Fun fact: Finn Wolfhard's first choice to play his adult counterpart in It Chapter Two was Hader, so I wouldn't be surprised if Hader does a cameo. Now that Wolfhard's in Ghostbusters:Afterlife, I can not only see him hosting the show, I predict that he'll host before the season finale. Two more potential hosts could be Oscar winners Viola Davis & Regina King. I would love to see if Ms. Davis is as great at comedy as she is at drama. As for Ms.King, since she started on 227, I'd like to see her do comedy again, especially a Watchmen parody.

My verdict: loved it! This is not only Eddie Murphy's best work in years, it reminded me of Ed Wood, both the director & the movie.

My verdict: looks good. I don't mind live-action reboots as long as they're innovative & clever, ala the Jungle Book reboot and not just a shot-by-shot rehash like Lion King. I like that this version of Mulan seems more realistic, magic aside. Since I've always found Mushu annoying anyway, I won't miss him. As for the songs, the instrumental score is good enough for me. If they use "I'll Make A Man Of You" for the training montage, even better.

My verdict: WOW! That trailer had everything I wanted: Diana, Steve, the 80s look (especially the mall), the 80s tunes, Thymascira (sp?), Diana kicking ass, Diana looking like Valkyrie & Diana lassoing lightning. Pedro Pascal doesn't hurt, either.

Between The Mandalorian & his role in next summer's Wonder Woman 1984, I think that another great future host would be Pedro Pascal. Bonus points if he does some of the opening monologue in Mando's helmet & there's a joke about the only reason he's there is because Baby Yoda is booked.

As far as I'm concerned, the real winner was eliminated last week.