Not having seen the movies, I experienced this noisy cluttered barrage of vignettes as ugly chaos. It reminded me — with jarring pokes and jabs — why I don't want to see new movies anymore. Why was Conan in overdone makeup that made him look like a very ugly woman? Why did animated Conan develop stars in his eyes for 3 adolescent girls? Why were children screaming and chasing him? He stops for a moment to speak Norwegian and examine whether his need for approval is like a sickness and then the children screaming chase him out of the psychoanalytic dark Norwegian room. It's back to the noisy cluttered barrage that is Hollywood as Conan runs into the theater. I don't know what movie those children were supposed to represent, so I was just thinking generically of Hollywood's exploitation of children. How did the children become the monsters? Or were they running from monsters and Conan running with them, not away from them? At least tell a clear story. But no, I think this years stories were about chaos and raw fear and uncomprehended monsters.
March 16, 2026
"Your need for approval is like a sickness."
A gem of meaning at 3:14 in this video of the opening of the Oscars show last night.
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68 comments:
We have entered the end times.
…that was creepy…
I only saw about 4 new movies last year, but I thought Weapons was easily the best of them.
Better than K-Pop Demon Hunter or One Battle After Another (although those weren't bad).
Althouse, “But no, I think this year’s stories were about chaos and raw fear and uncomprehended monsters.”
Begley: Yes, chaos. The chaos caused by Trump the monster. Trump who has created fear amongst Americans. Fear in tge illegal alien community that they will be sent back home. Fear amongst mullahs and the IRGC that they might lose grip on power or get killed.
Never been a late night talk show guy myself, but a lot of Conan O'Brian clips have been coming up in my YT feed and they are excellent. That just means I'll get more from watching them :) The best-ofs are like that. I had not idea he was hosting the Oscars (nor cared, much) but this intro is legendary.
The weird makeup was from Weapons which is a pretty good movie. Sinners and One Battle After Another had some terrific moments, but were not great movies.
The being chased by kids thing is a reference to "Weapons".
I've always though Conan was overrated. Just adequate as a light night host, but nowhere near as being in the same league with Carson and Letterman. I also didn't like his griping about losing the Tonight show. He got big bucks and didn't get the ratings that required.
I skipped through the clip to hear his Norwegian. He spoke it with a heavy Finnish accent.
That appears to be an official Oscars video and they choose that thumbnail to advertise it. I was previously disinterested in seeing the Oscars. Now I find the idea of watching abhorrent.
I'm trying to read the plot summary for "Weapons" at Wikipedia, and what a slog. The subject matter and the plot points seem like utter dreck. And I decided a long time ago to avoid movies that play upon our natural instincts by trapping and endangering children. I absolutely loathe efforts to manipulate me with closeup shots of actresses worrying about children.
Conan O’Brien usually steers clear of politics, but he made a couple pointed exceptions.
“It’s the first time since 2012 that there are no British actors nominated for best actor or best actress. A British spokesperson said, ‘Yeah, but at least we arrest our pedophiles.” ~ Conan (Cold Open)
My Grok prompt: I'm trying to read the plot summary here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weapons_(2025_film) and it's too tedious. Please just tell me if there is a supernatural element involved or if this is just a crime story
Hamnet was a lovely movie about family life, creativity, love and loss. That it lost best pic says a lot about our current state. I guess we should be grateful it got made at all?
I've read the answer and I would never want to watch this movie. I hate this kind of crap.
Little Excursion Cocksucker at 738am - Isn't his joke false? The Brits do not arrest the Muslim pedophiles. But if an Anglo says something about the issue, the Anglo is arrested.
SpaceCityGirl writes: "Hamnet was a lovely movie about family life, creativity, love and loss."
Hamnet was perfect. This is a simple story of parental love and grief, played out beautifully, touchingly and lovingly. The simplicity of the storyline is superbly layered by two extremely talented actors at their finest. At no point I felt short-changed by the story or authenticity of acting. My wife and I were both in tears and this is from someone who doesn't usually do tears. I was pleased Jessie Buckley was rewarded for her acting.
Conan should demostrate his genuine concern for the victims by providing the names of the pedos who aren't being arrested.
He will always be the verbally agile townie who got into Harvard. Perpetually insecure.
I watched Apocalypse Now on YouTube premium last night and felt like my time was much better spent. I have not watched a movie with a superhero costume since I was 14, with the exception of a couple of decent Batman ones, and most of the other fare seems pretty lame too, but the Ethan Hawke one was pretty good this year.
Not sure what movie the weird face is a take off on probably Frankenstein. Noticed some other movies being spoofed. Funniest was the Norwegian bit (Sentimental value).
I didn't watch the Oscars, but I always like Conan.
⬆ Ethan Hawke made himself unrecognizable, inhabited a 4’10” alcoholic genius, and carried an entire film through dialogue alone in what critics unanimously called his career-best work. Michael B. Jordan played two characters in a vampire blockbuster that grossed $370 million.The Academy, as ever, voted for the one that came with a box office receipt. Blue Moon will age like fine wine. Whether Sinners does the same is a question the voters clearly weren’t interested in asking.
OK, didnt read the comments. Its "weapons", a commerical and critical success. Thought all the movies being spoofed would be best pictures.
Anyway, I don't usually enjoy kid movies or horror movies, so chances of me seeing it are zero. Fortunately, my wife agrees unless its some Korean/Chinese thing, which means I only have to suffer through it on TV.
Haiti shill says what?
Chaos and evolution. Show me the fitness function!
"Hamnet was a lovely movie about family life, creativity, love and loss."
Personally, I hate this sort of thing, probably because I've seen it 100 zillion times before. Same with "Sentimental Value" - Dysfunctional Family theater.
Too bad I didn't put some $$ on "One battle" winning. Its just the sort of far-left mediocre anti-American crap Hollyweird loves.
I figured the ping-pong interlude was to appease the Chinese who own libtard Hollywood body and soul.
"And I decided a long time ago to avoid movies that play upon our natural instincts by trapping and endangering children. I absolutely loathe efforts to manipulate me with closeup shots of actresses worrying about children."
Okay, I'm pretty sure Weapons is not your type of movie, but I honestly don't remember any shots like that. For me, the movie was so marvelously refreshing. A subtext that was complex and not just some heavy handed allegory (despite the obvious school shooting vibes of the premise). The director gleefully proclaimed in an interview that all the interpretations are correct. The horror was genuinely scary and the dark humor was very very funny; most people laugh out loud at the ending. The Roshamon/Citizen Kane narrative structure, where we see the same time period over and over from multiple character's viewpoints is entertaining. Since, for most of its runtime, the film is a mystery, it's better if you can know nothing about the movie going in (not really possible after that Oscar opening). And, in the end, I agreed with what I thought the movie was saying. It's also scary and really funny.
“A Long Play’s Journey into Night” was the last time I will knowingly watch anything where the writer uses his art solely as a vehicle for therapy.
“Everyone is mad at dad.”
I'm slowly coming to the realization that paying any attention to the Oscars, or modern movies in general, is likely to involve some form of debasement.
I'm afraid I don't miss it, but waiting a year or two to sample public opinions, as they develop on given movies, has a purifying effect. If a movie can come through that process and still be recommended on terms I can accept (and understand), then I might watch it.
Yeah the "Chinese" own Hollywood. And they always have.
50s/60s were full of "Daddy was a Bastard" films. Mostly based on Broadway plays. Don't know what happened after that, maybe Dads got better or sensitive playwrights got less sensitive.
What would a pro-American Oscars look like? Did we do them in WW2? Researched my own answer: yes, but the pageantry was toned down for wartime austerity. There also hadn't been that much pageantry before the war: it was more like a corporate awards dinner back then. Bob Hope was the MC for the '43 Oscars. And there was a banner showing the number of actors serving in uniform: 27K something.
Can't imagine that happening now even if LA was under siege from baby-eating Nazis. CC, JSM
Conan the gay trans sim.
I've always enjoyed Conan. And still do in my YouTube feed. Because of Conan I watched this and enjoyed it, not understanding any link to any of the movies because Hollywood chased me away a long time ago.
"I can't believe I had to learn Norwegian for this." Great line.
I didn't even know the Oscars were taking place last night. Instead, my wife and I rented a lesser known movie called "Rental Family". It takes place in Japan- beautifully shot, poignant, funny. All in all a very good movie and probably better than anything up for an award last night.
Yeah, well it might be an homage to Jeffrey Weinstein, but realistically, it's the result of deeply incompetent writing, which was the Hallmark of Conan's late night show.
Summary: In one way or another, it's all propaganda. "Inception" wasn't a movie. It was a Hollywood confession.
Hollywood is decidedly on the 'other side' of the equation, there was some oblique nod to the IranIans in one of the foreign film selections, but that was about the crew,
Hollywood is over. Hard to believe and I don’t celebrate its demise but it earned it.
Why was Conan in overdone makeup that made him look like a very ugly woman?
Coincidentally, last night I was watching an early episode of 30 Rock, in which a character played by Tim Conway spent a night wandering lost in the building. He saw only one person, who he described as a giant lesbian.
"Who is Conan O'Brien and why is she so sad?"
I enjoyed that. Four minutes and forty seconds of light absurdist amusement is better than hours and hours and hours of movies and award shows.
Formula one, which had an American star in Brad Pitt was the closest thing, did they have the good pins out there, I didn't look Bardem is on the signs of the Mullahs and Hamas, (so he isn't acting when hes played the villain in Pirates, Skyfall and No Country)
Wife tuned in and I was in the room for this opener. I asked if he was supposed to be the Pied Piper. A tale involving lies, deceit, greed, and the consequences of broken promises. Apt.
I didn't (and won't) see any of the films referenced in the open, but even I could guess what they were. The Ping-Pong bit was obviously a nod to Marty Supreme.
She's a man is a fetus... uh, feature of gynecological dysphoria perchance Diversity, Equivocation, and Inanitiies (DEI). Abort, sequester, and progress no further.
No clue where the make-up and the kids are supposed to be come from (maybe Conan's been using all the time on his hands (re)productively), but it was funny how they worked in those clips from other films.
When Conan lost the "Tonight Show" and made his comeback on cable, the rap was that his comedy became more about himself and his feud with NBC. That was better than diving into politics, though.
I saw "Weapons" and liked it, but I can't remember anything about it now. Is that where the make-up and screaming kids came from?
Every time Prof. Althouse posts about pop culture, some commenters come in to say proudly that their knowledge of pop culture stopped decades ago, and today's entertainment is all worthless. Now she's doing that herself.
I know of it, from mostly the snarky podcasts that regarded weapons well, and one battle, with serious disdain,
Whoof. What a dog.
Re-watched it and found it even funnier. Well done, Conan.
I don't know what movie those children were supposed to represent.
It reminded me of the famous opening scene of the Beatles’ Hard Day’s Night.
The skit was actually pretty funny if you had seen most of the nominated movies that were referenced. Letterman used the same concept in a couple of skits a few decades back (see his return from bypass surgery bit).
Donald Trump to receive the FIFA Oscar for Best President. Alternatively — he’s going to receive the FAFO Oscar shortly.
Every time Prof. Althouse posts about pop culture, some commenters come in to say proudly that their knowledge of pop culture stopped decades ago, and today's entertainment is all worthless. Now she's doing that herself.
…I read her commentary to mean movies are no longer pop culture. I’d second that…
Muy fonny.
"It reminded me of the famous opening scene of the Beatles’ Hard Day’s Night."
Nice observation. When they crashed into "K-Pop Demon Hunters", it became exactly that for a moment. It was a clever skit.
Hollywood is dead to me. The last time I went to a theater was several years prior to Covid. The last time I sat down at home and watched a movie made after 2010 was at least two years ago. I hope the film industry is destroyed by AI and all those enemy left-wing termites lose their jobs.
My wife has become a big fan of the "golden age of Hollywood" flicks, often in black-and-white, from the 30's through the 50's. I'll watch those with her occasionally. The snappy dialogue and weird transatlantic accents are over the top, but the stories are good and there's no gratuitous indecency.
"Every time Prof. Althouse posts about pop culture, some commenters come in to say proudly that their knowledge of pop culture stopped decades ago, and today's entertainment is all worthless. Now she's doing that herself."
Nobody said it was ALL worthless. In any case, if current pop culture is bad and inferior to that which came before it, why watch it?
This is just a sly "you're just a close minded old-fuddy duddy". which is easier to write then actually saying why the current pop culture is worthwhile and great.
Weapons was a good movie. The kids chase scene will become iconic.
Underlying message from Hollywood industry: don't have children; they are dangerous menaces to society.
O'Brien's opening was a parody of the film Weapons, which I thought was excellent, my favorite movie of last year. I am glad Amy Madigan won an Oscar for her performance in it.
The only referenced movie I saw was F1. Pretty good! Can't give an Oscar to those white guys, though, and I thought the supporting black guy fell a little short.
Wow. Fonda's not aging well.
x.com/OliLondonTV/status/2033368767888294321?
Fonda is getting old.
And in the not distant future she will be dead.
If there is a just God.
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