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Well the nominations have been announced and those looking for surprises are happy this morning. The Grouches did get at least one nasty surprise.
Dark Knight Debacle
I was expecting the Academy to screw up and skip over Dark Knight for Best Picture. I thought Christopher Nolan had a better shot at Director. But the huge surprise was no Adapted Screenplay nomination. Four of the five Best Picture nominees were nominated in that category with the fifth slot going to Doubt. That’s a pretty shoddy film to be passed over for.
On the other hand, it got nominated in every technical category it was eligible for besides Score and Costume for a total of 8 nominations (including Supporting Actor Heath Ledger).
The Winslet Conundrum
Kate Winslet was aiming for Lead Actress in Revolutionary Road and Supporting in The Reader despite both roles probably being lead. She won these categories at the Globes. But the Academy puts her in the Lead role for The Reader and nothing for Road.
So we can play the what if game. Rules in the acting categories state an actor cannot: a) be nominated more than once in the same category, nor b) be nominated twice for the same role. If those rules were removed I would not be surprised if Winslet qualified for Lead for both roles AND Supporting for The Reader. When something like this happens the Academy goes with the role that got the most support and that apparently was Lead for The Reader.
Hooray for Little Movies!
My happiest moment came with the announcement of Richard Jenkins for Actor in The Visitor. Melissa Leo also managed an Actress nod for Frozen River when it seemed like her chances were fading. The biggest out of nowhere surprise may be that film’s Original Screenplay nomination.
Leo’s inclusion may have meant Sally Hawkins’s exclusion for Happy-Go-Lucky but that film still managed an Original Screenplay nod. And that interesting category ALSO includes the wonderful In Bruges. Plus WALL-E, which no one would call a little movie. Those interesting nominations pushed out films like Vicky Cristina Barcelona and Burn After Reading, however.
Long shots Darren Aronofsky and the film itself for Best Picture didn’t pan out, but at least Marisa Tomei was able to join co-star Mickey Rourke as an acting nominee for The Wrestler. That’s great, though the film really should have gotten a screenplay nod. And Bruce Springsteen’s exclusion for Song is downright confounding.
Other Surprises
I’m not complaining, but it was widely expected Dev Patel to get a Supporting Actor nomination for Slumdog Millionaire and he did not. Instead Michael Shannon from Revolutionary Road snuck in from way back in the pack to give the film its only major nomination.
Another puzzling exclusion was Waltz with Bashir in the Animated Feature category. The animated, foreign-language documentary was nominated for Foreign Language Film and ineligible for Documentary Feature. Kung Fu Panda and Bolt join WALL-E as Animated Feature nominees. After the near unanimous love for the film its absence is quite surprising.
So Jared got his wish for some surprises but managed to be nearly completely wrong in his predictions.
Some other prediction notes after the jump. Read the rest of this entry »
Oscar nominations will be announced on January 22. We’re counting down to the big day by tackling some tough questions and spouting some mad opinions. Today’s topic: We tend to look at what we call the big eight categories in picture, director, acting, and writing. But what about all those other categories, the ones on the second tier on the left sidebar? What are our wishes for nominees in the technical and smaller profile categories?
Jared: Give The Fall Some Visual Love
The Fall may be the most visually stunning film I’ve ever seen. But don’t take my word for it, here’s someone who actually knows what he’s talking about, and how to express it, Roger Ebert: “Tarsem made one of the most astonishing films I have ever seen. It is all the more special in this age of computer-generated special effects, because we see things that cannot exist, but our eyes do not lie, and they do exist, yes, they really do.” The only thing more incredible than the visuals in the film may be the fact that none of them were computer-generated. The style in the lengthy story sequences is nothing short of breathtaking, and the “normal” half of the film shows Tarsem, Ged Clarke, and crew have extraordinary range. Superlatives cannot do justice to the movie’s visual impact. Sure, the film went bold where others have done an excellent job with a much more subdued style. Still, it would be a travesty for The Fall to miss the Oscars.
Adam: “Dracula’s Lament” a Killer Tune
It seems the Academy mainly used a dart board for the selection of contenders for Best Original Song. The only two in the top 5 contenders rank (in my mind) as songs worth of consideration – “The Wrestler” and “Jai Ho” from Slumdog Millionaire. I would LOVE to see “Dracula’s Lament” (from Forgetting Sarah Marshall) in serious talks of nominees, but I feel as it is not to be. Who says a rock/comedy musical number can’t be a serious Oscar nominee? Can anyone honestly say that when the words “And when I see Van Helsing I swear I will SLAY HIM…AHH HA HA” without thinking “OSCAR”? Jason Segel’s hilarious/moving song about how difficult it is being Dracula is matched only by its accompanying performance in the film. How can you NOT nominate a song that comes with its own puppets? How did Enchanted get 3 songs nominated last year and this doesn’t even warrant consideration? They should nominate it for the sole reason of the awesome performance it would bring to the Oscars.
John: Kung Fu Panda a Rare Non-Pixar Home Run
Well the other two jerks are talking about my two favorite niche categories in Best Song and Best Art Direction. I’ll have a Song post up in a few days to expound on that as much as I want (expect some Jenny Lewis love) but let me turn to Animated Feature. WALL-E will win and one has to think Waltz With Bashir will grab the second slot (and with the buzz for Bashir maybe it could pull an upset?). But what will go into slot number three? Barring a foreign outsider it’ll be Bolt, Horton Hears a Who!, or Kung Fu Panda. I haven’t seen Waltz With Bashir but Kung Fu Panda was actually my favorite animated film of the year, even beating that cute Pixar robot. (See the list of eligible films here.)
Recent Dreamworks animated films have been too full of pop culture references without being clever or funny enough; Shrek the Third was absolutely putrid. But Panda bucks that trend. It’s genuinely funny – very funny – with an interesting story, great characters, and beautiful animation. I had an absolute blast watching it- it’s the epitome of solid entertainment.
Since I’m pulling together this post I give myself authority to make another pick. Slumdog Millionaire also deserves some love in smaller categories, but some seem so likely that it’s not worth going into them really in depth. Cinematography, certainly, for the way Mumbai comes alive in the film. AR Rahman’s score is lovely and delightfully different for an Oscar film. And let’s get at least one of the eligible songs, “Jai Ho” or “O… Saya” (featuring M.I.A.!) nominated for a fun Bollywood performance on stage at the Kodak Theatre. Maybe not as cool as Jason Segel’s puppets, but close.
That’s what we say. So all you lovers costume, sound, editing, and visual effects, what say you?
I’d been eagerly anticipating Slumdog Millionaire for some time. Normally I try to temper such expectations, but heck, last year Juno would have been my preseason favorite and it ended up one of my top films of the year. If we catalogued such things, Slumdog Millionaire would have been my preseason pick this year. Unfortunately, I would have picked incorrectly.
I did like the movie, and I’d feel comfortable recommending it to just about anyone. Structuring the film around an episode of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire framed things nicely. Maybe not the most sophisticated of techniques, but one still inspired nonetheless. Along with Quiz Show, Starter for Ten (like I’ll ever get off that horse), it forms a nice triumvirate of movies with a trivia game show as at least a subplot, and I think I speak for all bar trivia-goers in suggesting that Hollywood would do well to churn out a few more.
Mostly, though, I just don’t have anything to say about the film. It didn’t affect me as much I thought (or hoped) it would. The central romance was fine, but I don’t think Simon Beaufoy (the screenwriter) or Danny Boyle and Loveleen Tandan (the co-directors) did a great job establishing the connection between Jamal and Latika. A few more shared scenes wouldn’t have hurt, perhaps. To me, it seems that Jamal longs for Latika because she’s the only girl he’s ever met. And Latika wants to be with Jamal because…he’s on the outside? It isn’t entirely clear.
The film doesn’t really have a main character, not if you count current, younger, and youngest Jamal as separate characters. Which makes for an interesting ensemble. But, emblematic of the movie as a whole, most of these characters deserve to be better fleshed out. Jamal’s brother Salim, for example, is barely sketched out in all his incarnations. And really, Salim’s actions drive the plot at least as much as those of Jamal. But the reasons for Salim’s pivotal shifts tended to be too subtle. Latika herself is more of an object for Jamal than a filled-out character. I did, however, really like the game show host, and thought his character was very well done.
In a nutshell, the movie just felt a little too distant, too hesitant to starkly dive into anything. I found it too muted to really blow me away. That’s not to suggest I found the movie anything less than enjoyable. I just didn’t think it managed to break through and become something special or memorable.
A few side notes: John and I were wondering if there’s some sort of law requiring Irrfan Khan to be in every movie with a U.S. wide release and is set in India. Not that it would be a problem, because he’s pretty great. Just curious. Also, I think Slumdog Millionaire just adds further proof to the notion that every movie would be better if it added a song and dance number. And Freida Pinto is really pretty. Just throwing that out there.
And finally, I’m curious to see if Dev Patel ends up with a Supporting Actor nomination. Going for him is the movie’s current status as a seeming near-lock to get nominated (and possible favorite status to win the whole shebang) and the lack of any other actor from the movie to nominate. There’s also a relative dearth of name actors and juicy roles under consideration. (The Golden Grouches underground campaign for Bill Irwin notwithstanding.) The catch may be that his is a sort of nontraditional supporting character, in that the movie is really about him. Additionally, Jamal’s character traits are more those of a main character (likable, gets the girl in the end, plucky, underdog). Could voters not vote for him, thinking he belongs in the best actor category, and instead go with someone in a more standard supporting role, like James Franco or Eddie Marsan?
The heavy hitters of this year’s Oscars have just started passing through town, so I can’t really compare Slumdog Millionaire to other Oscar bait. In a sense, I feel the same about the film as I did about The Departed. Both are perfectly fine movies, but I don’t really understand how anyone could consider them the best of anything.
I liked that Changeling has a sharp sense of time and place. I didn’t like that it didn’t have a sense of focus or pacing. I think where it unravels is when it tries to do too much; there are plenty of aspects to it that I found admiral but maybe there are just too many aspects.
The root of the story is the disappearance of Christine Collins’s (Angelina Jolie) son, Walter, in 1928 Los Angeles. Months later the LA police return to her a boy that she insists is not actually her son. She then campaigns to force the police to stop dragging their heels and look for her real son while the police fight her back viciously. It’s certainly an emotional story with Christine trying to keep it together while dealing with the loss of her son and seeking justice. I liked Jolie’s performance, which is generally not showy. Christine is a fairly grounded and very strong woman and even in dramatic moments Jolie plays her with some restraint. Of course there are scenes involving emotional outbursts and those mostly felt earned and genuine.
But the film doesn’t stay focused on Christine’s story. Deep into the runtime it takes an abrupt and dark shift to a farm east of the city. Jolie is offscreen for significant periods of time as the investigation into the farm unfolds. I’ll keep it vague until after the jump to avoid spoilers, but this subplot feels like part of a different film. It is still often effective taken on its own, but it’s too involved and developed of a subplot for a film that should really be focused on Christine Collins.
Then the film begins to feel like it’s spiraling out of control. It goes on for way too long, far past what felt like its natural climax. It’s frustrating because the film feels so promising for so long and each of the scenes and story elements usually works on its own, just to discover as the film unfolds that many are wasted.
From an Oscars standpoint, Jolie will likely get a Best Actress nod and it’ll be well-deserved. As I mentioned at the beginning, despite Changeling’s thematic and story missteps, to its credit it creates a wholly enveloping and consistently interesting environment. Even during the times I felt the story slipping away from me I found something of interest in the setting. A Costume nomination could certainly be in the cards and I would love to see an Art Direction nomination. The sets and the props were my favorite part of the film. Just take in the architecture, trolleys, cars, and time-appropriate props.
Besides directing, Clint Eastwood also contributed the score, nominated for a Golden Globe. I think it succumbs to indie/artsy guitar plucking far too often, a trend I find ever more obnoxious. The Academy loves Clint, but maybe they’ll go for him for Actor in Gran Torino and shut him out for Changeling.
One weird note is that there is a completely superfluous scene about the Oscars in the film. Christine’s coworkers go out to listen to the 1934 Oscar radio broadcast while she hangs back and happily cheers when It Happened One Night is announced the winner (wouldn’t it be something if the audio used in the film is from the actual broadcast; the Academy jealously guards that footage). All I could wonder is if Eastwood was sucking up; at 130 minutes in I was just ready to go.
It won’t be getting Director or Picture nominations and it shouldn’t. Specifics and theories after the jump. Read the rest of this entry »
The best films for me to write about are the ones I’m ambivalent about. I feel the need to do justice to the good ones and the bad ones need explanations as to why they were so bad. And then there are those like The Kite Runner which just didn’t click but I didn’t hate. The one adjective I would attribute to it is “interesting.” For a film that was going more for emotion and melodrama, interesting is probably a failure. I was supposed to get caught up in main character Amir’s turmoil, guilt, and redemption, but I was more into seeing what Kabul looked like during various eras. I had a lot more fun learning about the Afghan culture and the time period than caring about the characters’ fates.
Basically, Amir is best friends with his servant’s son, Hassan. There are chasms of race and class between them that rear their ugly heads when an assault occurs, followed by a betrayal. A decade later Amir returns to Afghanistan to atone. The book is regarded as a modern literary masterpiece, but the movie met with mixed reviews and it sounds like it doesn’t really do the book justice.
After the movie struggled, it ended up with just one Oscar nomination, for Original Score. I’d listened to the soundtrack before and enjoyed its Afghan influences. The actual score has some of that, but is mostly the annoying Twangy Indie Guitar Music (or maybe it’s an Afghan version of the guitar). This is a trend that is really beginning to get to me. Honestly, the film is not particularly well-acted or directed. The only standout is Iranian actor Homayoun Ershadi as Amir’s caring but somewhat troubled father.
I didn’t really dislike The Kite Runner, but it didn’t come together well and grab me. Its track record seems to suggest it might not for you either.
Why are all these posts concentrating on little categories like “Best Actor” and “Best Director” when what we all really care about is Art Direction and Costumes? In the course of seeing all of the films nominated for the big eight I ended up seeing most of the films nominated for all those other categories they hand out awards to in the middle 2 hours of the Oscar telecast. Since you obviously care about my make-up preferences, please, read on!
Best Song
“Falling Slowly” Once, “Raise it Up” August Rush, “Happy Working Song” Enchanted, “So Close” Enchanted, “That’s How You Know” Enchanted
For some reason I feel like I already covered this category. But since the Academy stupidly ignored my recommendations, let’s take a look at these inferior choices.
The clear winner for me is “Falling Slowly.” It’s the central song in the wonderful musical Once that embodies the heartbreak and loneliness of the main characters. “Raise it Up” is actually fairly offbeat and I imagine it works well in the film, schmaltzy as it surely is. Nothing against Enchated, but if one of its triumvirate wins it better be “That’s How You Know,” a clever take on the Disney fairy tale tune set in modern times. “Happy Working Song” is a cute but uninspiring ditty while “So Close” is a toothless and unmemorable love song.
Snubs: See my breakdown of the eligible songs to find about a dozen songs I liked better than all the non-Once songs. Read the rest of this entry »
Atonement is a sweeping epic that actually works a lot better before it becomes sweeping or an epic. It’s a melodrama about love torn asunder by a false accusation, an offense that will reverberate through the lives of all involved for a long, long time.
It all begins at a country manor where Keira Knightley’s Cecilia lounges in the garden and James McAvoy’s Robbie is the Oxford-educated gardener’s son. The two are long-time friends who grew apart at university but come back together one fateful day. Cecilia’s sister Briony, a precocious girl of about 12 played by Saoirse Ronan, is a budding writer who stumbles across certain glimpses of Cecilia and Robbie’s lustful relationship: a dirty letter, a teasing incident in a fountain, a tryst in the library. Briony’s imagination runs wild and she begins to think Robbie is a sex-crazed maniac. Later, when something horrific does happen, Briony misidentifies the perpetrator and Robbie is arrested.
I go into detail here because this part of the film, roughly the first third, is very good. In a long, sweeping epic it’s when the story stays focused on a country manor that it really works. Most of it is fairly undramatic, but the film ratchets up the tension by showing us multiple scenes from different perspectives. What looks sinister from Briony’s perspective looks flirtatious from Cecilia’s. The time-shifts and piercing score complement this very compelling segment.
Alas, as the scope expands the film loses its punch. Read the rest of this entry »
I like characters. I like characters more when they actually do something. I like nuance. I like nuance more when it isn’t just for the sake of nuance. I actually think John just about nailed it with his original thoughts – a review I believe he’d now like to recant. Adam must have gotten to him or something.
I’m just struggling to understand why a drama with little to no discernible drama, thrills, or suspense has garnered so much acclaim. Sure, it is an exaggeration to say the plot was entirely linear, there were maybe three kinks in there. Of course, if one of those Kinks isn’t Ray Davies, what’s the point? Ah, British Invasion humor! Read the rest of this entry »
If Hollywood is going to make Westerns like 3:10 to Yuma then Hollywood is going to have to make more Westerns. It’s both a thought-provoking morality play and a shoot-em-up good time, though sometimes I think it tortures its logic. The plot is taut, the action thrilling, and the performances terrific.
Christian Bale is Dan Evans, a Civil War vet who volunteers to help escort a prisoner to the prison train, though he doesn’t entirely know why. Russell Crowe is Ben Wade, a cold-blooded killer who connects with Evans, though we don’t entirely know why. The two forge a curious bond, even as Evans tries to send Wade to the gallows and Wade kills the other members of Evans’ posse.
(More after the jump. We usually bury spoilers after the jump, but I warn you that the rest of this post goes into deep detail about the plot, especially the ending.)
So it took me a long while to figure out first, if I liked the movie, second, how much I liked it, and third, why I liked it. End conclusion: I liked it a lot, but I’m still not even sure why, so please excuse the stream of consciousness nature of this post.
As you can tell from some of my other reviews, I kind of like comparing movies to other movies. Except There Will Be Blood is the most original movie I’ve seen in a long while, and the closest comparison I can make is Citizen Kane, which is unfair to both Paul Thomas Anderson and Orson Welles.
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