By Miguel Mike Medina
Photo Credit: Mike Blake | Reuters
One Battle After Another dominated the Academy Awards, winning six awards, including Best Picture.
Michael B. Jordan won Best Actor for his performance in Sinners. It was a battle between him and Timothee Chamalet, who was great in Marty Supreme. But on this night, the Oscar belongs to the New Jersey native, who has come a long way as an actor.
Jordan gave a heartfelt speech. His family was there to support him. Jordan acknowledges the actors who came before him, such as Sidney Poitier, Denzel Washington, Forest Whitaker, Jamie Foxx, and many others who have won Oscars for best leading actor.
Autumn Durald Arkapaw won for Best Cinematography. Arkapaw made history by becoming the first woman to win the Academy Award in the category.
Filmmaker and writer Ryan Coogler joins the party because he won for Best Original Screenplay for Sinners. Coogler gave a humble speech and even told his cast and crew from Sinners to stand up. Sinners also took home the Best Original Score.
Sentimental Value wins Best International Feature Film—a remarkable movie and well deserved. KPop Demon Hunters wins an Oscar for Best Animated Feature. The Best Documentary Feature award went to the team of ‘Mr. Nobody is against Putin.’ David Borenstein, Pavel Talankin, Helle Faber, and Alžběta Karásková took to the stage to receive their award.
Frankenstein wins for Best Production and Costume Design. Avatar: Fire and Ash didn’t go empty-handed as they secured the Best Visual Effects win. F:1 won an Oscar for Best Sound.
Actor Billy Crystal paid tribute to his friend and director of When Harry Met Sally, Rob Reiner. We don’t know how Crystal got through the speech, but it was a true masterclass to deliver on a big stage like the Academy. Reiner directed many fantastic films and worked with numerous great actors.
Actress and director Barbra Streisand also paid tribute to a friend and collaborator, the late great Robert Redford.
“I miss him now more than ever,” Streisand said. “Even though he loved teasing me. He’d called me ‘Baps,’ and I would say, “Bob, do I look like a Baps?”
Rachel McAdams paid tribute to two beloved actresses we also lost: Diane Keaton and Catherine O’Hara.
Jessie Buckley won for leading actress for her sensational performance in ‘Hamnet.’ Buckley was a lock to win the category, and she had all the momentum going into the Oscars. Hamnet won only one Oscar, and it was definitely worth it—one of the best performances of the year.
Amy Madigan wins Best Supporting Actress for her role in Weapons. It’s been 40 years since Madigan earned an Oscar nomination. 40 years later, her moment came to fruition.
Miguel Mike Medina is the publisher of The MMM Journal. He can be reached at medinamiguelmike@gmail.com and themmmjournal@gmail.com
X: @mmm_sportnfilms, Instagram: @miguel_passionforsports and @themmmjournal, LinkedIn: The MMM Journal, TikTok: @miguelmikemedina
