Readers weigh in on The Times’ Oscars coverage
Kudos to film critic Justin Chang for his valiant, full-page attempt to explain the premise of “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” this year’s best movie (“The Hot-Dog-Fingered Choice for Best Picture,” March 13 ).
My circle of passionate moviegoers still have no idea.
Hugh K. Malay
oxnard
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The only thing that came close to holding the film together as a narrative was the character played by Ke Huy Quan. It wasn’t a story, it was a lecture with occasional narrative elements. It provided a lot to think about, and cinema isn’t very well-suited to doing that. There were too many important themes to contemplate in the film and not enough time to contemplate that meaning.
Calling the film “Everything Everywhere, All At Once” only explained the logic of the smorgasbord of deep and significant human dilemmas; it did not do justice to its depth and meaning. It should have been called “Deep and Meaningful Human Dilemmas, Lite.”
Karen Robinson Stark
pasadena
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Justin Chang need not be deterred by his less-than-popular assessment of the film that swept the Oscars. He penned the definitive description: “…a frenetic mix of immigrant fables, spectacular martial arts, cosmological slapstick and multiverse-spanning group hugs…”
That describes why I couldn’t keep watching the movie until the end. Some of us still love the movies that used to fill theaters.
Donna Perlmutter
the Angels
Editor’s Note: The letter writer is a longtime contributor to dance and music stories. to the Calendar section of The Times.
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Okay, someone has to say it. The movie “Everything Everywhere All at Once” is one of the worst movies ever made. It’s ridiculous, stupid and a complete waste of time.
ray uhler
Niguel Lake
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As a sound editing professional who has worked on film and television for over 40 years, I am frustrated when awards given for below-the-line achievement are still labeled “…wins limited to technical categories…”. (“The Oscars: When Everything Fits,” March 13).
The academy has a separate awards event for actual technical achievements; They do not include visual or sound effects.
I’m sure the sound and visual effects teams for “Top Gun: Maverick” and “Avatar: The Way of Water” made as many artistic decisions as anyone else involved in making those movies.
If Josh Rottenberg uses a word processor, does that mean he’s a technician and not a journalist?
Michael J Benavente
sherman oaks
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Regarding “Everywhere Beautiful Looks and Stunning Smiles All At Once”: (March 13): Watching the Oscars, I was thrilled to see the best performance from various honored actors. It wasn’t the perfect event, but it was better.
But I was disappointed to see Michelle Yeoh choose a fashion that featured bird feathers.
Why we continue to condone killing sentient beings for fashion is beyond me. Society has outgrown the use of fur, and that’s a good thing. But we continue to tolerate the killing of birds for fashion. It’s a big blind spot.
The National Audubon Society got its big start when the ladies nearly caused an extinction event when the fad put dead exotic birds in hats. We have to wake up again. Plucking birds’ feathers is a death sentence; they don’t survive, and it’s unbelievably painful (the down industry is a shame). Please don’t choose feathers. There are so many sustainable materials out there, and we know better.
mariana davis
encino
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Oscars host Jimmy Kimmel was offensive (“A Ceremony Without Controversy And Without Slapping,” March 13). His Irish “jokes” were not funny.
It’s 2023 and Kimmel has been allowed to perpetuate ethnic stereotypes since 1855.
All in all, it was an embarrassment to our little town.
Robert Sheahen
sherman oaks
‘The Outsiders’ resonates with young readers
Thanks for the review by theater critic Charles McNulty and for reminding me of the power of SE Hinton’s novel (“‘The Outsiders’ Musical Stays Gold,” March 8).
Each and every time I have worked with students as an educational therapist, no matter what the learning challenge, has always resonated with the deep level of emotion that Hinton brought to his readers. Always, each student could identify with at least one of the characters.
Many of the students I work with have reading and language disabilities. However, readers were never discouraged from finishing this character-driven novel with its brave characters.
I am more inspired than ever to share this timeless novel.
Pattie Earlix
Santa Monica
