The 2022 Academy Awards remind me how things have changed

I reckon it happened around the time I had the kids. There were years when the only films I'd seen were the ones nominated for best animated feature. Work kind of got in the way. I loved working night shift. And now it's much more fun to wait for Fashion Critical's assessment of the fash-urn. I wonder how many toeeess we'll see.

From the films nominated for best picture for 2022 I have seen two: Don't Look Up and The Power of the Dog, the end of the spectrum really.

I loved Don't Look Up, but heaps of people didn't. I appreciated The Power of the Dog for a fine piece of filmmaking but lord it was bleak.

With cinemas reopening I should have made more of an effort to see Belfast and Dune on the big screen. I could spend this afternoon watching some of the others on streaming, but it's never the same.

I did watch Being the Ricardos curled up on the lounge at home and I really liked it. Nicole Kidman, as Lucille Ball, is up for a best actress Oscar and it's always good to see her win, even if just to watch for some kind of emotion in her forehead.

The other film I loved which has been snubbed by the Oscars is Spider-Man: No Way Home. One of the best films I've seen in ages and not just for the action. The audience on the night I watch it at the cinema cheered when Tobey Maguire turned up. It's what cinema is all about.

I've been thinking about the movies a little recently. I renewed my Dendy membership, making myself a promise that I would go to the cinema once a month. Enjoy a choc-top, watch a film.

It's too easy to sit on the couch and channel surf and find something to fill a couple of hours.

I can't understand why I've watched Chris Pratt's The Tomorrow War on Prime Video about six times. Sure, Chris Pratt. But surely the world of film is better served by other offerings.

I also saw some interesting research from dating site eharmony, which spammed me with some information about what films, when listed on your profile, are likely to result in better "communication".

I do like sussing out whether a man likes A Clockwork Orange or The Notebook, it's a good indicator of personality.

A little like whether they follow AFL or rugby union. But apparently the science behind it goes deeper than that.

Eharmony looked at the "communications activity" of more than 300,000 users who mentioned an award-winning movie in their questionnaire.

(Here's the part where I say I am not on eharmony because I couldn't be knackered answering all those questions on said questionnaire.)

And the results are rather interesting.

The best film for women to mention they like is 1971's The French Connection starring Gene Hackman. It's a great movie, with a superb car chase, and it increases activity by 100 per cent.

The best film for men to mention is Terms of Endearment, the 1983 weepie starring Shirley MacLaine and Jack Nicholson. This gives you a massive 184 per cent increase.

Surprisingly mentioning Kramer v Kramer also increases activity for women. Which is kind of ironic because it's one of the most harrowing movies about divorce ever made.

Scouring the data even further, I've come up with the list of flicks I should mention. If I mention Titanic I'm more than likely to be viewed as athletic and agreeable. If I mention The Departed I'll appear to be more athletic. Sound of Music makes me less athletic but more agreeable.

Sometimes I think it would be easier to just find a rich count to be a nanny for and sing a lot and make friends with his kids.

The last time I was single Fatal Attraction was nominated for best picture which probably explains a lot.

I kind of felt sorry for Glenn Close. Not that I'd mention that.

Now where's the popcorn?