Mike Schulz celebrates Dave Levora and Darren Pitra with his sixteen Oscar predictions coming through, except for the Best Actor and Actress awards (didn’t see Brendan Fraser and Michelle Yeoh coming). Still, he originally predicted fifteen, so he’s going great guns in the prognostication racket. They also talked about Woody Harrelson’s latest, Champions, which, despite having Bobby Farrelly directing, allays any fears of the subject matter (Harrelson coaching a team of players with intellectual disabilities for his community service) descending to the level of “FRANKS AND BEEEEEANS!” No, it’s a charming outing, Champions, aside from the well-worn “triumph of the underdog” premise. Things get rather awkward when it comes to discussing Bettendorf natives Brian Woods and Scott Beck’s 65, whose title confused at least one skeptic as to whether or not time travel is involved, and left Schulz concluding the proceedings to be ultimately meaningless and arbitrary, lowering the sense of stakes further than an intelligent audience might otherwise expect. (“Not a fun review to write at all,” Schulz concedes.) And Shazam! Fury of the Gods, likewise, which opened last week (when the boys were off-duty), is not as enjoyable, in this case compared to the first time around: “Everything’s going to be twice as big, twice as loud, [and] not as much fun; and that’s exactly what it was. . . a big, thunderous waste of time.” Aside from that, Schulz awaits the fourth John Wick installment, as one would a fast-food meal, and the Brit-com The Lost King, which admittedly sounds fascinating (concerning the discovery of Richard III’s burial site in a parking lot). PS James R Hoffa remains at large, The Irishman notwithstanding; and the likelihood of his carcass being pulled out of some municipal fixture seems at this point to be less than zero. . .

Shazam! Fury of the Gods

Champions and 65

Notes on the 2023 Academy Awards Telecast