Anora

The first 40 minutes can be quite misleading, likely catching viewers off guard if they enter with the expectation of a romantic narrative.

Once the first act concludes and the second act kicks in, there's a striking shift in both tone and style that I honestly did not see coming.

The comedy is genuinely entertaining, with moments that will have you laughing out loud. Despite serious circumstances, the absurdity of the situations elicits laughter and chuckles.

They have certainly nailed the dark comedy sides of the story.

However, I found the dramatic elements to be less impactful than I had anticipated, leaving me puzzled by the overwhelmingly positive feedback it has garnered from all around.

While Mikey Madison delivered an impressive performance, and fully deserves every praise coming along her way, her character needed more depth to properly flourish. It feels as if the writing intentionally held back on details, leaving the job of contemplation solely to the audience.

I wish that weren't the case.

I don't understand at all how this got 5 Oscar's this year. I'm watching for the first time as it has now hit streaming and I was left very confused. It was slow in the first half, picked up a little in the second and then the last half went back to being slow. A lot of scenes were super drawn out, there was no need for the film to be as long as it was. We got absolutely no back story on Anora at all which is what I was waiting for. Don't get me wrong, Mikey Madison isn't a bad actress but I was waiting for more. For the most part she just cursed, showed her body and screamed a lot. I didn't really see a performance worth best actress, even though her performance wasn't terrible. The script also wasn't that good, there were a lot of pieces that were overly repetitive and the characters were pretty much one dimensional. I guess the audience is left to use our imagination but I wish we were given more for the runtime.

I am absolutely shocked that Anora won Best Picture at the Oscars-let alone five awards! I watched it when it was nominated, and even then, I was dumbfounded. What did the Academy see in this film? In my opinion, it was nothing more than a glorified soft po*n with an empty, uninspired plot.

The film completely lacks compelling characters, making it nearly impossible to feel invested in the story. Around the hour mark, I was so disengaged that I considered turning it off and simply reading the summary from somewhere-a rare move for me. Ironically, the written synopsis ended up being more gripping than the actual movie. Out of respect for an Oscar nomination, I went back...fast forwarded and made it to the end credit!

This has to be one of the most undeserving Oscar winners in recent memory. The overwhelming critical acclaim is unfathomable and defies all logic. I never imagined it would actually win Best Picture, but here we are.

Save yourself the time and skip this one. You're not missing anything!

How does a movie with no dialog win an Oscar?? Can someone explain that to me?! Saying a bunch of curse words for 2 hours does not constitute a dialog. The "couple" has zero chemistry so how are we expected to believe that she loved him?? Nothing happened between them for her to fall in love. They go on a vegas trip, spend a bunch of money, and that's it? That's how you fall in love with someone?! Hey writers, I got news for you - it doesn't work that way. It takes more than that! The russian actor was good and yes, the final scene made a lot of sense even though it was predictable as hell. The scenes where they're looking for the guy were soooooo drawn out and pointless. Why would you do that?!

If there was ever any doubt that the Academy was corrupt, after this movie, there is no doubt anymore. It's obvious that the Oscars are won with money, not talent. This movie winning 5 Oscars is undeniable proof of that.

My expectations were high, solely based on the fact that it somehow, probably by error, won the majestic Palme d'Or. Every film that previously won the Palme d'Or has at worst been mediocre, but never a chronically awful waste of time movie. Mostly Palme d'Or winners are absolute classics. Who to blame? The 2024 Jury? Yes probably. Definitely. The acting kept sinking to new lows in every scene. Not one of the actors delivered a credible performance. The stereotyping was unfounded unresearched BS. I am not even disappointed for having wasted 2 hours of my life on this garbage, I'm just flabbergasted how this could have made the shortlist to Cannes film festival, or any other festival for that matter. I will keep a mental note of all cast and writers, director etc associated with this garbage production to make sure I don't waste my time having to sit through such appalling productions again.