Ty Talks About the Biggest 2021 Oscar Nomination Snubs

Every year the Oscars seem to get something wrong, and I’m including winners and nominations. It happens all the time. “Inside Llewyn Davis” got nothing its year. “Moonlight” almost got screwed by “La La Land”. “Crash” won best picture. So did “The Artist”. This is a thing. But this year the snubs seem a little more apparent. There are a good amount too. Let’s discuss.

Regina King deserved a best director nom. So did Aaron Sorkin. Eddie Redmayne and the guy that plays Dr Manhattan on the TV adaptation of “Watchmen” should have been nominated for “Trial of the Chicago 7”. Daniel Kaluuya got a supporting actor nom, but it should be leading actor. The fact that Glenn Close got nominated for “Hillbilly Elegy” is insane. She was also nominated for a Razzie for the very same role. I think that’s the first time that have ever happened. All these snubs suck. Yet there are three blatant snubs in this go around that are so hard to ignore.

The fact that “Da 5 Bloods”, Delroy Lindo and Spike Lee are not even nominated is insane. The movie may be kind of scattershot, it may jump time a bit too much and it’s a little overlong, but it definitely deserves a nomination. For its faults, it’s still a very well made movie with a very good story. It is essentially an updated version of “Treasure of the Sierra Madre”, only better. The academy opened it up to ten movies eligible to be nominated and they only put in eight this year. The ones I’ve seen are good, and I’m sure so are the others. But come on, throw “Da 5 Bloods” in there. It is more than deserving.

I’m even more shocked that Delroy Lindo didn’t get a nom. He is wonderful and insane and scary and excellent and so memorable in this role. I was taken aback at how great his performance was. I couldn’t take my eyes off him. I didn’t agree with his character’s point of view, but that was the point. Every time I think of that movie I think of him. Even more so than Chadwick Boseman, who was excellent as well. Lindo, much like the movie, should be nominated. It’s nuts that he isn’t. They could’ve easily replaced Anthony Hopkins with Lindo. I haven’t seen Hopkins movie, but he’s had his time. Now it’s Lindo’s turn. I’d also rather have Lindo in there in place of Gary Oldman. I haven’t seen “Mank”, and I don’t plan to, not a fan of “Citizen Kane”. I’d go as far to say that Lindo was better in his movie than Oldman was in his. Lindo may be the biggest snub.

Also, what does Spike Lee have to do to get an award? He didn’t direct just one great movie this year either. He also directed “David Byrne’s American Utopia”, and that could’ve gotten a best picture and director nom as well. Spike Lee is a preeminent director, yet he seems to always get passed over. It’s frustrating. The fact that he’s only been nominated five times, with only one win for adapted screenplay, is criminal. He should’ve won for “Do the Right Thing”. He should’ve been nominated for “He Got Game”. He got Ray Allen to give him a solid performance. “Inside Man” is one of the most underrated movies in history. I could say the same for “25th Hour”. “Kings of Comedy” is a crucial stand up comedy movie for people my age. And “Crooklyn” is quietly awesome. “Da 5 Bloods” and “American Utopia” are better than all these movies, save “Do the Right Thing”. If I were Spike Lee I’d be pissed off. This happens to him far, far too much. As much as I loved Lindo in “Da 5 Bloods”, I think Lee is the biggest snub of anyone that was eligible for an Oscar. I’m sure this sounds like whining, and I’m sure “Mank” is going to win everything because Hollywood loves movie about Hollywood, but come on. Give people the credit they deserve.

“Da 5 Bloods”, Delroy Lindo and Spike Lee were the biggest snubs. That is a fact.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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Best of 2020: Top Five Movies

For my best of lists this year, today I come to you with movies.

Movies weren't as hard as music, but I still ran into some issues. I watched a ton of old movies this year. My wife and I do have a movie date night every Friday or Saturday from our home, but again, we have watched a ton of older movies, movies we liked when we were teenagers, or before we started to date. And there were a ton of good ones during these date nights. But we did see some movies that came out in 2020. We haven't seen a lot of the Oscar bait movies yet, but I usually wait until later anyway to see those movies. That is why "Uncut Gems" didn't make my initial list last year. And while we did just watch the new "Wonder Woman" movie, and liked it, it did not push its way into my best of. With all that being said, let's get to the list.

At number five I have "Bill and Ted Face the Music". This movie was all I wanted it to be, and so much more. My wife hadn't seen either of the first two, so we watched them, and then saw this movie, and she loved it too. This movie was funny and fun and silly and cool and had an excellent message. The music was also pretty rad. They also brought back classic characters, and introduced some funny new ones. I have seen the movie a few times since we first watched, and it is still as funny and fun as the first time. This is a great movie to watch to let you escape from the crazy world. It is a good movie, and a very solid sequel.

At number four I have "Da 5 Bloods". I had some issues with this movie personally, but it wasn't anything that a third viewing totally got rid of. The first time I watched, I loved it, but thought it was a bit too long. The second time, I felt I understood it more, but not quite enough. The third time was where it hit me the hardest. This movie is a true masterpiece in many ways. The way Spike Lee directed this, intercutting scenes with Chadwick Boseman as his young soldier self, and his platoon as their older versions, was amazing. The way they weaved racism and the new generation and mistaken identity, fantastic. The setting was beautiful. The story was compelling and heartbreaking. This is a movie that deserves all the awards, and hopefully it will be recognized for the achievement it is. It is also one of Boseman's last performances, and he is magnetic. I highly recommend multiple viewings of this movie. It is a slow burn, but a great slow burn.

At number three I have "Palm Springs". This is my generation's, hell maybe even a generation younger than me, "Groundhog Day". Andy Samberg and Cristin Milioti are so great as the two people caught in the time loop. JK Simmons was pretty wonderful too. But the way they did this movie, the comedy and the raunchy and the sweetness and the story itself was just wonderful. I also love that it is the highest selling movie to ever come out of Sundance by 69 cents, per request of the movie makers. That rules. But this movie is good. There is a reason it is the highest selling Sundance movie ever. The performances by the leads are tremendous and noteworthy. They both deserve Oscar buzz. And the way it all unfolds, in a comedic/science fiction way, was so unique and so cool. I love this movie, I love that it is on Hulu still so I can watch it whenever, and I love how great of a movie it truly is.

At number two I have "David Byrne's American Utopia". Is it a concert film? Yep. Didn't Spike Lee direct this one too? Sure did. Isn't it just David Byrne being himself? Most definitely, and it is exquisite. I am new to Talking Heads, and anything involving the four original band members. But like most people I have gravitated towards Byrne. Sure he is a weirdo, probably did some shady stuff to Talking Heads during their heyday and can be a headache, but he is a genius, and "American Utopia" proves this tenfold. Watching this concert doc was the closest I have come to feeling optimism towards the world in 2020. This movie was all about upbeat, good things to come in, hopefully, the near future. And the people backing Byrne were absolutely magnetic. They almost stole the show from Byrne. The dancers and the band were amazing. They were incredible to watch. But Byrne would talk in between most songs, and while I am even one of the people who have no problem admitting that he is pretentious, this was the least pretentious I have seen him. Maybe age and wit and wisdom have caught up to him and he finally realizes how he can put out his music without being an asshole. I also was moved to tears when I heard them do Janelle Monae's "Hell You Talmbout". That was so moving and powerful. I have watched this almost a half a dozen times already, and I know I will watch it many, many more times. "American Utopia" is one of the greatest concert docs ever. It is right up there with "Stop Making Sense". And, real quick, Lee's direction was perfect.

One movie is better than "American Utopia", and that movie, my number one movie, is "The Last Dance". Not a movie you say? I disagree. Just because it is nearly 10 hours long doesn't mean it is not a movie. The OJ doc was always considered a doc, and that is the case with "The Last Dance". Everyone, and I mean EVERYONE was looking forward to this. I have friends that do not care about sports at all that watched "The Last Dance". This was the moment we would finally get to hear Michael Jordan, the GOAT, talk about his personal experience with the Bulls during their two three-peat title runs in the 90's. And you know what, Jordan didn't hold back at all. He said whatever he felt, what he deems to be true, and it was incredible to see the distaste and disdain he has for some people. It was also interesting to see him admit that he needed more than just himself to get to the heights he achieved. This movie also gave answers to pretty much every question people may have had about Jordan, the 90 Bulls and the other players on that team. We found out the truth about the "flu game". We got to see the real Dennis Rodman. We got to hear Scottie Pippen talk about when Jordan left, and how that made him feel. We got some real dirt on Horace Grant. Phil Jackson is the hippiest hippy out there still. Jerry Krause and Jerry Reinsdorf are both pretty shrewd businessmen, and could be real assholes. I truly, really loved this movie. I love that ESPN, who I do not like that much, released it two months early because they knew people didn't want to wait in quarantine. "The Last Dance" is a true one of a kind classic. Sure there are other sports movies and sports docs, but this one feels different. This one was more salacious, more dirt was spilled, the real people told real stories, it was all unedited and real. It was awesome. It is on Netflix now too, I have already rewatched it all once. "The Last Dance" is an achievement that will go down in history. It is number one, and it is so far ahead of the rest of the competition.

That does it for movies, come back tomorrow for my top five shows of the year.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

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SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.

Remembering Chadwick Boseman

I have never been a "2020 has been a long decade", "or boy was the month of March a long year" type guy. I am not down with any of those cliche sayings about how crummy this year has been. But, when I received a text from RD on Friday night that Chadwick Boseman had passed away, I was stunned. Then I was shocked. Then I was angry. Then, I finally said to my wife, "2020 is truly the worst year". I became a cliched saying dad in that moment.

I was so in shock at the news. My wife and I were watching our quarantine date night movie when I got the text, and we both had to stop and see for ourselves if the news was true. It was, and that was when I went from upset, to angry and finally to sad. I couldn't believe it, or maybe even more so, I didn't want to believe it. Boseman was, if not already, becoming the new big star Hollywood star, yet he was an incredibly well liked, personable and charming young man. He did work with terminally ill children. He showed up at NBA events. He was always shown with a smile on his face.

Boseman kept his personal life personal, and that is why the news of his death was such a shock. I immediately checked to see if it was CoronaVirus related, because that is the world we live in now, but it was not that. Apparently he had been battling colon cancer for four years. That means he played his most iconic character, and played some other very important roles, all the while dealing with a horrific cancer diagnosis. He was shooting "Black Panther" while going through chemo and getting surgeries. Think about that for a minute. This movie, which was already incredible, will now go down in history as an all time great, had to be pretty hard to shoot and film. Boseman had to travel and fight and act all the while dealing with cancer. I mean, if that isn't the epitome of strength, I don't know what is.

I will admit that my first Boseman movie was "42". I am a humongous Jackie Robinson fan, I wore the number 42 all the way through my baseball career, and I wanted to see if this "new" actor to me could pull this role off. He did, and it was great. I was so blown away, I kept talking to people like I was the first person to discover Chadwick Boseman. I then watched him play James Brown in "Get On Up". I was skeptical because this was the second time he was portraying a famous person, but again, he was wonderful. His performance as Brown is right up there with Jamie Foxx as Ray Charles and Val Kilmer as Jim Morrison, in fact, I'd say Boseman was better than Kilmer. I watched the movie "Draft Day" not even knowing he was in it. And when he showed up in a University of Ohio State uniform in the movie I was perturbed, but by the end, I was hoping he would be the number one overall pick. Boseman was such a great actor that he got me to root for a kid who went to the school I dislike the most, being a Michigan guy.

He did some movies in between those, most notably "Marshall" where he was excellent yet again as another famous historical figure, but then he became Black Panther. I first saw him as Black Panther in "Captain America: Civil War". He might have been the best part of that movie. I think it is a three way tie between him, Spiderman and Antman. But in "Civil War", we finally got to know Black Panther, and how awesome he is. While filming the movie he had already been diagnosed with cancer. Think about that the next time you watch it. Then came "Black Panther" two years later, even deeper into his treatment. That movie is amazing. RD and I did a whole podcast on its importance to pop culture. It is one of the most visually beautiful movies I've ever watched. We finally got a superhero who wasn't white. Women were given much bigger roles in that movie. It has the best villain to ever appear on screen. "Black Panther" is a classic, and Boseman was front and center and just being perfect in every single way in that movie. The same can be said for "Infinity War" and even more in "End Game". When he came out of that portal in "Endgame", the first one out, it was so enthralling as a movie goer. It still gives me chills. Black Panther pushed his way to the top of super heroes for me, behind only Wolverine. He is so cool. And the last movie I saw him in was "Da 5 Bloods". Again, RD and I talked about that movie as well on a different podcast, I even recall saying that Boseman needed a bigger role, but now knowing what I know, it makes sense why he took on the role of Stormin Norman. The man was fatally ill, yet he gave us some of the most moving movie moments in 2020 in that movie. His speeches and story in "Da 5 Bloods" is all the more riveting now. All in all though,

Boseman, while being a great actor, was a better person. I mentioned all the great things at the top that he did, but he also did so much more. He became that superhero that some kids never had but always wanted. The roles he took on near the end of his life make sense now. He never let the spotlight shine on his illness. He made movies that will go down in history while he was terminally ill. He did things for people that they will cherish and remember forever. The fact that he was who he was off screen makes this so much harder to digest. Why him? Why does someone who is so selfless, caring, fun, nice and talented have to be taken away from us so young? He was 43 years old. That is only six years older than me. He has a wife that he leaves behind. I don't know if he has any children, but again, that is because he was able to keep his personal life personal. He does have throws and throws of young kids, my son included, who look up to Black Panther, and will forever.

This isn't fair. Chadwick Boseman did not deserve this. He was too good a person. He was someone we need now more than ever. He would help unite us and bring us to a better place. This hurts, and it is going to hurt for a long time. I have already watched "Black Panther" twice, and I watched "42" the other day, and I still can't believe he is gone. I was a slobbering mess during the ABC special last night. This is devastating news in an already historically horrific year. I wish he were still here, I wish I could see him in another "Black Panther" movie, but he was so unfairly taken away from all of us so young, too young.

Rest in Peace Chadwick Boseman. You will be forever remembered, but this is going to hurt for some time. What a horrible tragedy. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.