SHS_Warrior

The Warrior • Entertainment
February 20, 2025
Commanding the Award Show Spotlight
by George Awkard ‘25
Hosts are a quintessential part of
what makes an award show successful.
Without a good host, an award
show can quickly go south. Considering
the Grammys, Oscars, and
other events are broadcasted worldwide,
it would only make sense that a
network would want the best host for
one of their biggest events of the year.
On March 2, late-night host Conan
O’Brien will take a crack at hosting
the Academy Awards. This past year,
the ceremonies for the Grammys,
Oscars, Emmys, and Golden Globes
have been hosted by notable celebrities
and prompted various reactions
from charmed to appalled.
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Jo Koy
Jo Koy is known to have notoriously
bombed the Golden Globes
Ceremony as a host. At the 81st
Golden Globes’ last year, he
seemed extremely underprepared
and even told the audience to shut
up for wanting a perfect monologue.
He started the award show
by setting low standards for himself,
mentioning that he “got the
job ten days ago” and later started
to blame the writers because of
how bad the show was going.
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Trevor Noah
Trevor Noah has hosted many
award shows in his career and has
been well received, but most recently,
he hosted the 67th Grammy
Awards and didn’t do too
hot. He made several jokes about
immigration and insinuated that
“20 million illegals” voted in the
Grammys. Noah has been a wellloved
host in the past, but the audience’s
reactions on February 4
didn’t seem to match his previous
acclaim.
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Nikki Glaser
Nikki Glaser hosted the
82nd Golden Globes’ this
year and was extremely
well received by the public,
she was the first woman
to host the show solo.
Maybe after seeing Koy’s
disastrous performance the
previous year, she prepared
heavily, doing over 90 test
runs. Glaser had a smashhit
opening monologue,
insulting the low patron
count of Paramount. She
changed her dress over five
times, exuding versatility
and class.
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Jimmy Kimmel
Jimmy Kimmel: Jimmy
Kimmel is most known
for his late-night show,
Jimmy Kimmel Live! He
hosted the 96th Oscars,
his opening monologue included
many hilarious jabs
at celebrities. The show
garnered over 19 million
viewers but recently
turned down hosting next
year’s. He complained that
he wants more focus on his
show and that he isn’t the
best at balancing his show
and the Oscars, wanting to
putting his show first.
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The Levys
Dan and Eugene Levy,
the beloved father and
son duo, hosted the
76th Emmy Awards,
calling themselves
“actors” and not
“hosts,” adding a new
spin to the role of a
host. TV fans were extremely
excited to see
some new faces host,
helping ratings go up
for ABC. Between the
two, the unique and
bold banter carried the
show.
Best Pictures of 2025 May Not Be the Ones Winning Oscars
by Jordan Costolo ‘25
This year’s Oscar nominations
were announced January 23,
with top movies of 2024 such as
Dune 2, Wicked, and A Complete
Unknown being nominated for
Best Picture. These well known
movies were alongside many others,
most of them having flown
under the radar of general audiences
until the announcement of
their nomination. Compared to
last year, where box-office hits
such as Oppenheimer, Barbie,
The Holdovers, and many other
popular movies were in the
running, most people have not
had the chance to see many of
the movies nominated for this
year’s awards. As someone who
has spent their time watching all
of the movies nominated, here is
an overview of this year’s Best
Picture nominations, including
which ones are worth watching.
The Traditionals
Conclave, The Brutalist, I’m
Still Here
There is a reputation that
Best Picture nominees occasionally
have of being too complex,
slow, or overall pretentious. Although
this may be the case for a
few critic-acclaimed films, more
often than not it’s that these types
of films are ambitiously challenging
and thought provoking. They
want to do more than just entertain.
Conclave is an innovative
story about Catholic Cardinals
in the Vatican choosing the next
Pope after the death of the current
one, and it surprisingly is an intense
thriller. The only downside
to a potential viewer is that overall,
the whole movie is just people
talking. Yes, it’s still intense but
if you’re looking for action, this
isn’t the movie you put on.
The Brutalist has a runtime of
three and a half hours with an
intermission, making it not the
kind of movie many people are
willing to watch, at least all the
way through. Out of the three,
I’m Still Here is the most accessible
for viewers, with emotional
beats and themes that are easier
to follow than the other two. The
only thing that might make this
movie less accessible is that it is
in Portuguese, meaning subtitles
are needed for English speaking
viewers. All of these films put a
spotlight on the human condition
in beautiful ways, with breathtaking
cinematography and scores.
Yes, these movies will not be for
everyone, but if you’re willing to
stay through the intermission, or
turn on some subtitles, you’ll be
greatly rewarded.
Worth Checking Out
The Substance, Nickel Boys,
Anora
I wouldn’t count on any of
these three movies winning Best
Picture. They lack certain grandeur
or presence found with other
nominees. They are less complex,
and offer a more straightforward
movie experience as opposed
to something that critics rave
about, which is usually more
likely to win an Oscar. Still, all
three of these movies offer something
new or refreshing to their
genres.
For horror fans, The Substance
has a ton of practical effects in the
form of all kinds of body horror,
which at certain points become so
extreme and grotesque it almost
veers into comedy. With content
that is able to make you laugh, as
well as make your skin crawl, this
movie is great for people who are
not faint-of-heart.
Nickel Boys is refreshing
with its camera work, having the
entire movie shot from the main
character’s point of view. This
allows for some really interesting
and new ways for the filmmaker
to tell a story, as there are both advantages
and obstacles that come
from shooting from a single person’s
perspective.
Anora has incredible writing
and balance, possessing the ability
to make you feel terrible for
a character, while also being able
to laugh at their mistakes and
shortcomings. It’s simultaneously
hilarious and heartbreaking, with
the ability to channel humor and
sadness back and forth within a
single scene.
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The Chalamet Specials
Dune 2, A Complete Unknown
Every once in a while, there is
an actor that defines a generation.
An actor that is well known by
everyone of a certain age group,
and that is impossible to escape
from, not only in movies but in
widespread media as a whole.
Timothée Chalamet is shaping
up to be one of those actors.
Coming from last year’s success
in Wonka, and his lead role
in Dune from 2021, Chalamet not
only has two movies he is starring
in for Best Picture but has also
been nominated himself for Best
Actor in A Complete Unknown,
which is a biopic of Bob Dylan.
While Dune 2 and A Complete
Unknown couldn’t be any more
different (classic sci-fi and musical
biopic), Chalamet drives both
of these movies, making his mark
as one of the best actors of the
current era.
Bad Musical, Good Musical
Emilia Perez, Wicked
I don’t think there’s been a
movie up for an Oscar that has
sparked as much outrage as Emilia
Pérez has. Critics dislike it,
general audiences dislike it, and
personally speaking, I dislike it.
Mostly though, I’m confused.
There’s nothing about this movie
that would give anyone any
reason to let this in as a nominee
for Best Picture. Yes, it has representation
of Mexican culture
and problems within the country,
but it’s inaccurate, as the French
filmmaker said he did zero research
beforehand. Yes, it has
transgender representation, but its
representation is done so poorly
that the transgender community
online has shunned the movie.
It just doesn’t really make sense
how Emilia Pérez is up for an
Oscar.
On the other hand, Wicked is
a cultural phenomenon. Since the
movie’s release, it’s been almost
impossible to avoid. The cast has
gone through media outlets and
interviews twice over, and there is
a nearly endless number of brand
deals related to the film. People
can’t get enough of Wicked,
and for good reason. Everything
about it exudes creativity.