What the Oscars Mean to Me

February 24, 2019 – I don’t really see a lot of movies until they hit HBO, other than approximately one or two a year that for whatever reason I do go see. I’m funny though, because if a movie I’ve actually seen makes it to the Oscars, I’ll root for it, regardless of the fact that I don’t know if it actually deserves to win since it’s the only one I’ve seen. That’s the case with Bohemian Rhapsody. I’m rooting for it because it’s the one I saw – my norm, but honestly, I really did like it, and I really did think it was good.

I think, too, that the Oscar movies are the high-brow movies, like riding English instead of Western. Those are movies that people who are smarter than I am see, just like English saddles are for horses that are better than mine (speaking of horses of time-past, I guess). And then there’s my only real connection to the Oscars – Hollywood Blvd. What the Oscars mean to me is that Hollywood Blvd. is closed to through-traffic. See my cover photo? That’s Hollywood Blvd. readying itself last week. Seriously, this goes on for two weeks, this lack of access on Hollywood Blvd. See how annoying that is? Oh and I have to go downtown tomorrow. Yikes. I’ll have to leave early because the closure of Hollywood Blvd. sends all the cars to Sunset going eastbound. And this little aside is proof positive that every Los Angeleno can make everything about traffic, but Bohemian Rhapsody? I really will root for it, despite Hollywood Blvd.’s closure, which I really despise, in case I didn’t make that point.

I do find it funny that Bohemian Rhapsody is now being so praised. When it came out, it was derided, practically mocked, by critics. Indeed, they mocked anyone who liked it. But when it turned out that pretty much everyone loved it, the audience turned the tide on its critical reception. The song too, how do you not love that song? No matter how it does, however, think about it; it’s a rock movie up for major Oscars! That really is something!

So what’s next? What’s next that could go from the depths of critical dismay (in other words, something I actually see) to Oscar glory? What could I possibly have to root for next year? Let’s see….

The next movie I’ll see in the theater is life story of one of my WWE girlies, in fact my favorite of them all, Paige. She’s the one with the cool finger tattoo that if I were 30 years younger I’d have too. She’s the one with the black hair. The movie is called Fighting With My Family. It has the Rock, now known as his respectable actual name of Dwayne Johnson. It has an Ellie Goulding song that just came out, preceding an expected release date of March 1 of a full Ellie Goulding album to be called Flux. (This is the first Ellie album since 2015, so I’m looking forward to that, and it’s so soon too!) When I come up from this nightmare of too much to do, I’m going to go see this movie about Paige. Perhaps even twice if it’s good enough. And I really hope it is.

New Ellie Goulding song, Do You Remember, for the movie Fighting With My Family

Then, there’s Motley Crue, specifically the movie based on the book about them called The Dirt. It has its own song, a new Motley Crue release with a rapper (who honestly adds to this song, I can’t believe that), known as Machine Gun Kelly. I think he has a collaboration with Lana Del Rey to appear on her expected 2019 album. (I’m looking forward to that too.) And I really love this new Crue song. I’ve played it every day since I heard it Friday, and better yet, I’ve heard it several times on the radio. New rock on the radio, yes, you heard me correctly. And the DJs are really excited every time they play it.

New Motley Crue song The Dirt

Now don’t get me wrong, I doubt The Dirt has any chance of getting any 2020 Oscar nominations, or even any buzz, if only because it’s just a Netflix movie, but you just never know. So what does that leave for me to root for in 2020? Paige? The WWE Cinderella story? Okay, I’ll take it. And honestly, that might mix just fine with the Crue song. Or even Ellie Goulding’s actual song for the Paige movie; I’m pretty happy about that too.

In the meantime, go Bohemian Rhapsody. Until next time they close Hollywood Blvd. for movies I’ve not seen.