Many glorious individuals will be attending

..
Noel Coward ............... Dorothy Parker


Ally (Susan L.) and Jackson Maine (Stefan)

INVITATION

Dearest All,

"Can you ever forgive me?" I am so embarrassingly
tardy in sending you an invitation to my annual film
discussion group pre-oscar party. (I would be fibbing if I didn't admit that this little film cult pleases me immensely.)

Many glorious, magnificent, uniquely lovely TALENTED
individuals are attending and I would be so delighted if you would flatter us with your presence.

We will dine in the library/reading room followed by an ardent discussion about who deserves the coveted, gorgeous Oscar statuette.

It would be divine if you would bring a tasty entre, hors d'oeuvre, or desert, and wine or other beverage for the buffet table.

*Filmographic attire is requested.
Your devoted film discussion group cinephile,

Adriane

PS. Please bring any celebrity letters that you would like to have verified for authenticity. by our esteemed Lee Isreal

Lee Isreal (Susan T.) sells bookstore owner, Anna (Adriane) rare Louise Brooks letter

Welcome to Sharon Golembo Book Nook

Lee Isreal (Liz) is snooping around the rare books archive

Bookstore owner, Anna (Adriane) shows off rare Dorothy Parker letter

Ruth Bader Ginsberg (Ruth) with husband, Martin (David)

Mary Poppins (Susan V.) returns for a supercalifragilisticexpialidocious party

RBG (Sharon) decides the celbrity letters are forged!
But the cookies are authentic
..

Our own Film Queen (Simone) makes a royal appearance

Doris (Joan) is happy Tony "Lip" (Archie) is back from his road trip down south

Vincent Vega (Alfred) brings some pulp fiction to the party

Another Queen! And Queen Mother (Mona)
who is also from Pakistan, same as
Freddy Murphy

Our "Favourite" Queen Anne (Elaina)
(pet rabbits in tow)

VanGogh (Richard) makes a colorful entry

(Joanne) prepares for her
"Free Solo" climb

(Susan K) "left no trace" to
come to our film party

Wade Owen Watts (Karen) is
one "Ready Player"

Marian can't decide if she is a
Russian from The Death Of Stalin or Cold War

The Rider (Dan) doesn't let a concussion keep him away

Ally (Susan L) welcomes Stephanie (Leia look-alike from Star Wars)

Marilyn is a fancy waiter in a fancy restaurant scene

Carol, a self admitted "New Orleans floozy"
cozies up to a flash-from-the-past Top Gun (Jim)

Move over Bradley Cooper, we've got Stefan

Adriane and John who is
channeling Charlie Chaplin

BEST FILM

Greenbook: 6
Bohemian Rhapsody: 5
A Star Is Born: 4
The Favourite: 3
Roma: 2
(If Beale Street Could Talk: 1)
Black Panther: 0
BlacKkKlansman: 0
Vice: 0

BEST ACTOR

Rami Malek: 11
Christian Bale: 8
Viggo Mortensen: 6
Bradley Cooper: 0
William Dafoe: 0

..
BEST ACTRESS

Melissa McCarthy: 7
Lady Gaga: 7
Glenn Close: 4
Olivia Coleman: 4
Yalitza Aparicio: 0

Our favorite film quote is from The Wife when at the Nobel Prize banquet dinner, she is asked by another guest, Sweden's King Gustav, if she has an occupation and she answers,
" Yes I do. I'm a king-maker. "

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Mahershala Ali: 14
Richard E. Grant: 7
Sam Elliott: 3
Adam Driver: 2
Sam Rockwell: 0

..
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Emma Stone: 4
Regina King: 4
Rachel Weisz: 3
Amy Adams: 2
(Jane Curtin: 2)
Marina de Tavira: 0

BEST DIRECTOR

Spike Lee/ BlacKkKlansman: 8
Alfonso Cuaron/ Roma: 3
(Nadine Labaki/ Capernaum: 3)
(Bradley Cooper/ A Star Is Born: 2)
Pawel Palikowski/ Cold War: 0

Several of us believe Nadine Labaki is an incredible director, was overlooked, not nominated, and deserves to win

MORE: BEST FILM

Wait a minute!
A lot of us think Capernaum is a better film than Roma,
so why isn't it also nominated for Best Film?

Oscar buzz is that this could be the first year a foreign language film wins
BEST FILM
...
I personally think CAPERNAUM deserves BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM, BEST FILM, and BEST DIRECTOR!

Standing ovation at Cannes and Palm Springs International film festival.

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

CAPERNAUM or ROMA?

Capernaum (Lebanon)
Cole War (Poland)
Never Look Away (Germany)
Roma (Mexico)
Shoplifters (Japan)

Not enough of us saw these films to cast a vote.
But here are some comments:

COLD WAR: Not what I expected...it seemed so very foreign and the B&W film was often jarring & abrupt. I wasn't taken by the main characters. The harshness and uncertainties of their lives was like a dark cloud always hanging over them. Star crossed lovers but even they seemed to lack real joy.

CAPERNAUM: a remarkable film so well done! The story touched my soul the main character Zain had such courage and heart to share his story and try to open hearts and minds throughout the world. So many children face these impossible odds and stay in the shadows.

An emotionally captivating story of caring survival in the midst of impoverished conditions in the slums of Beriut. 10 year old Zain absolutely captures your heart. Superb visually from a filming perspective. Director, Nadine Labaki, filmed people she met in the slums. She would describe a situation to them and have them react. A meaningful story beautifully filmed by a talented 44 year old Lebanese film maker who was able to pull powerful performances from the people she chose and then spend 2 years editing.

BEST ANIMATED FILM
Feature Length

Incredibles 2
Isle Of Dogs
Mirai
Ralph Breaks The Internet
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

Not enough of us saw these films to cast a vote.
But my absolute personal favorite is:

BEST ANIMATED SHORT

Animal Behaviour
Bao
Late Afternoon
One Small Step
Weekends

We didn't vote but my personal favorite is:

BEST FILM THEME FOOD: Kitty Litter Cake