A quick note about 2005. As I diligently studied the archives, I noticed that I've actually bothered to go back and revisit some of these films recently so it creates an interesting dichotomy. On one hand, there are the films that I've re-watched recently so I feel like I'm on pretty firm ground with how I view them and then there are ones that I haven't seen maybe even since I initially watched them, therefore in some ways this list represents a romanticized view of some films and a more pragmatic view of others. In part, that's why I'm doing these lists that revisit my initial rankings. In some bizarre way, I feel that quantifying the ephemeral and impulsive reactions of the first editions versus the more reflective, resilient impressions of the present along with my own growth as an individual and critic will somehow be enlightening. Or maybe I'm just bored.
2005 (Original List):
10) Grizzly Man
9) The New World
8) Walk the Line
7) Mysterious Skin
6) Match Point
5) Oldboy
4) 40 Year Old Virgin
3) Munich
2) 2046
1) Brokeback Mountain
Now here's my 2005 List if I were to write it today:
10) Good Night and Good Luck
9) Grizzly Man
8) Mysterious Skin
7) Munich
6) Match Point
5) 2046
4) 40 Year Old Virgin
3) Oldboy
2) Brokeback Mountain
1) Head-On
Observations:
- Not a whole lot of movement with the exception of a film previously not even on the list vaulting to number 1, but I'll get to that. Grizzly Man remains one of the more compelling documentaries in recent memory and my opinion of Good Night and Good Luck was such that it warranted some representation in the top 10. Hard to deny that this is a solid top ten with a good variety of memorable films.
- Mysterious Skin, Match Point, and 40 Year Old Virgin all maintain a relatively firm grasp on their respective positions. It speaks to the overall strength of the top ten 10 that films like that are filling out the top ten rather headlining. Speaking of, I need to watch Match Point again. I recall it as being an extremely well written morality play with a healthy dash of nihilism to boot, my kind of stuff and I want to see if it holds up in the flesh as well as it does in my mind's eye.
-Some might draw the conclusion that I've soured on Munich, how else to explain such a precipitous drop? It's actually not that complicated. I only saw it once and that was when it first came out. I still have a great deal of respect for it, but when I think of it, I don't feel it having as much of a lasting impact as those in front of it.
- Conversely, Oldboy made quite the jump. It's only fair. I re-watched it recently and man, talk about a film that kicks your ass. How Park Chan-Wook was able to distill the poisonous, soul-crushing nature of bloody vengeance into such a compelling, thrilling piece of cinema, I'll never know. All films are not created equal, but gearing your themes to work in concert with a compelling story is a good start.
- I recently saw a film called The Edge of Heaven by a young Turkish-German filmmaker by the name of Fatih Akin. I thought The Edge of Heaven was a very good film, so like I do with every film I watch, I did some more research and digging. I noticed that one of his earlier films sounded vaguely familiar and after noticing that it got some pretty good reviews, I decided to give Head-On a shot. Holy shit. I don't know what I expected, but I didn't expect to experience one of the most kinetic, edgy, heartbreaking love stories I've ever seen. Think True Romance without over the top ridiculousness (or...irony, maybe?) and that gives you a vague idea, but it's best to just experience Head-On for yourself. A strong bet to land in my top ten of the decade. It might be a top 20, I haven't decided yet. Either way, the Head-On contingent will be well represented.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Oscars: The Aftermath
One way to know you're a sick, sick human being: you still watch all 4 hours of an awards show to which you already know all the results and highlights. To be fair, I didn't plan on watching the damn behemoth even though I had recorded it. I guess morbid curiosity got the best of me b/c I decided to just take a glimpse at the opening monologue and to catch Neil Patrick Harris' opening number, then before I knew it, I was sucked in. I'm like Michael Corleone in The Godfather III or a participant in a game of "just the tip" (just to see if I like it). I know better than to play JTT with the Academy, damn it all. Here are some random thoughts and observations:
- Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin did a solid job, especially Steve Martin. I did think having the two of them was unnecessary and didn't really add anything that Martin couldn't handle himself, but it was still better than having Whoopi or Wolverine host.
- The John Hughes tribute was absolutely ludicrous. Look, I get the fact that this generation and the previous generation have a special affinity for John Hughes related productions (to be fair, the guy isn't as prolific as everyone claims, he's only directed like 8 movies). I think by and large, they are ridiculously overrated and silly, passable entertainment at best, but I understand his movies are popular. But for the Academy to single him out and make a huge production over his death is insane. He made some movies that people like, but it's not like they're influential or helped change the game in any way. We're not talking about Kurosawa here. I'm sorry, but if people like Paul Newman, Marlon Brando, and Eric Rohmer merely get mentions during the generic "In Memoriam" segment, then you can never convince me that John freaking Hughes deserves to be singled out. I can't wait to see what the Academy does when Chris Columbus dies.
- Most Awesomely Oblivious Speech Award goes to Mo'Nique. I'll quote it for those who missed it: "First I'd like to thank the Academy for showing that it can be about the performance and not the politics." **cue rapturous applause** Then a sentence or two later, she name drops Tyler Perry and Oprah Winfrey for "touching" the film. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! No politics my ass! Yeah, let's get two of only the richest, most influential pop culture icons in this country behind our little project, no politiking there! What a dolt. I haven't even seen Precious and this just makes me want to hate it.
- Big shoutout to Roger Ross Williams and Elinor Burkett for providing the evening's most uncomfortable moment during their acceptance for the Best Documentary Short award. I swear there had to be at least a fleeting thought of a sweet chokeslam going through Williams' mind when Burkett shoved him aside to give a speech. He had perfect position on her, I don't know why he didn't take advantage. The best part is that the most dramatic acceptances always come from people who direct these short films and not a single person other than those who are directly involved with them could give a fuck less. It's just awesome. Here's the clip in case you missed it.
- As far as the awards themselves go, it went about as I expected. I scored 15 out of 21, not bad, but not great either. The screenplay awards are what fucked me up. I underestimated the love for both The Hurt Locker and Precious. Also, cinematography for Avatar? Seriously?
- And what did I tell you about Best Foreign Film? Total friggin' crapshoot. I've done some more research on the voting process for that particular category and I'm curious to see how I'll do next year knowing what I know now.
- And didn't I say to look to Best Editing to get an idea of who's going to win the big prize? Damn, all this foresight...it's my cross to bear.
- One thing I will say about THL winning so big is that it's encouraging for a film that is definitely not the stereotypical "Oscar bait" to take home the big prize. Another interesting thing about THL is that it wasn't some manufactured Oscar winner that was created with the gold statue in mind to be released in December and given a $65 million Oscar marketing campaign. It was first screened in Italy in 2008 for chrissakes and really only gained steam through word of mouth and excellent critical response. I just appreciate the whole grass-roots effort.
- Another thing about the Academy that I feel is misappropriated is that they only choose certain types of films to win Best Picture. This can be the case sometimes and it certainly has proven itself true throughout the history of the ceremony, but in recent memory, they're really starting to take some chances and go with more daring work. Within the past few years, we've had The Departed, Million Dollar Baby, No Country For Old Men, Slumdog Millionaire, and The Hurt Locker all win Best Picture. Your mileage may vary on how good you think those films are, but you can't say they are typical Oscar bait. So, good for you, Academy.
- Oh and based on Jeff Bridges' acceptance speech, he wasn't doing a whole lot of "acting" in The Big Lebowski it seems. Good for him.
- Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin did a solid job, especially Steve Martin. I did think having the two of them was unnecessary and didn't really add anything that Martin couldn't handle himself, but it was still better than having Whoopi or Wolverine host.
- The John Hughes tribute was absolutely ludicrous. Look, I get the fact that this generation and the previous generation have a special affinity for John Hughes related productions (to be fair, the guy isn't as prolific as everyone claims, he's only directed like 8 movies). I think by and large, they are ridiculously overrated and silly, passable entertainment at best, but I understand his movies are popular. But for the Academy to single him out and make a huge production over his death is insane. He made some movies that people like, but it's not like they're influential or helped change the game in any way. We're not talking about Kurosawa here. I'm sorry, but if people like Paul Newman, Marlon Brando, and Eric Rohmer merely get mentions during the generic "In Memoriam" segment, then you can never convince me that John freaking Hughes deserves to be singled out. I can't wait to see what the Academy does when Chris Columbus dies.
- Most Awesomely Oblivious Speech Award goes to Mo'Nique. I'll quote it for those who missed it: "First I'd like to thank the Academy for showing that it can be about the performance and not the politics." **cue rapturous applause** Then a sentence or two later, she name drops Tyler Perry and Oprah Winfrey for "touching" the film. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! No politics my ass! Yeah, let's get two of only the richest, most influential pop culture icons in this country behind our little project, no politiking there! What a dolt. I haven't even seen Precious and this just makes me want to hate it.
- Big shoutout to Roger Ross Williams and Elinor Burkett for providing the evening's most uncomfortable moment during their acceptance for the Best Documentary Short award. I swear there had to be at least a fleeting thought of a sweet chokeslam going through Williams' mind when Burkett shoved him aside to give a speech. He had perfect position on her, I don't know why he didn't take advantage. The best part is that the most dramatic acceptances always come from people who direct these short films and not a single person other than those who are directly involved with them could give a fuck less. It's just awesome. Here's the clip in case you missed it.
- As far as the awards themselves go, it went about as I expected. I scored 15 out of 21, not bad, but not great either. The screenplay awards are what fucked me up. I underestimated the love for both The Hurt Locker and Precious. Also, cinematography for Avatar? Seriously?
- And what did I tell you about Best Foreign Film? Total friggin' crapshoot. I've done some more research on the voting process for that particular category and I'm curious to see how I'll do next year knowing what I know now.
- And didn't I say to look to Best Editing to get an idea of who's going to win the big prize? Damn, all this foresight...it's my cross to bear.
- One thing I will say about THL winning so big is that it's encouraging for a film that is definitely not the stereotypical "Oscar bait" to take home the big prize. Another interesting thing about THL is that it wasn't some manufactured Oscar winner that was created with the gold statue in mind to be released in December and given a $65 million Oscar marketing campaign. It was first screened in Italy in 2008 for chrissakes and really only gained steam through word of mouth and excellent critical response. I just appreciate the whole grass-roots effort.
- Another thing about the Academy that I feel is misappropriated is that they only choose certain types of films to win Best Picture. This can be the case sometimes and it certainly has proven itself true throughout the history of the ceremony, but in recent memory, they're really starting to take some chances and go with more daring work. Within the past few years, we've had The Departed, Million Dollar Baby, No Country For Old Men, Slumdog Millionaire, and The Hurt Locker all win Best Picture. Your mileage may vary on how good you think those films are, but you can't say they are typical Oscar bait. So, good for you, Academy.
- Oh and based on Jeff Bridges' acceptance speech, he wasn't doing a whole lot of "acting" in The Big Lebowski it seems. Good for him.
Sunday, March 07, 2010
Oscar Time!
Jimmy Page. Pete Townshend. Edge. I now know the burden that other legendary rock guitarists have had to shoulder for so long. Balancing the obligations of your personal passion projects and being a rock god is no easy task. I say this because for the first time in years, I will be unable to do the live Oscar blog commentary that I love so very much and look forward to every year. I have to play a show at Rocbar tonight (doors at 9, $5, cheap drink specials!!) so I won't even be able to watch the Oscars live, let alone provide the half-drunken ramblings we've all become so accustomed to on this holy night each year. Nonetheless, that's not gonna stop me from posting my predictions. Some might recall that I had a pretty good batting average last year (17 for 21), it may have been a personal best, so I'm hoping to beat that this year and I think I have a decent shot at it considering most of the major categories are slam dunks. And much like last year, the Oscars this year leave much to be desired. Last year, I had Mickey Rourke to pull for and I don't even think I have anything like that this year, so if there was a good year to miss the Oscars, this may be it, lucky me.
I just don't feel the overall landscape of films being "honored" is very strong at all and I will go ahead and admit that there is a sizable chunk of these films that I have yet to see, but I've been around the block enough to know that I don't need to see The Blind Side to already know I'll be annoyed by it. See? It's that easy. Ironically enough, I'm way ahead of the curve at this point in terms of how many 2009 films I've seen than I normally am at this time of year for viewing the previous year's films (I just don't go to the theater much, times they are a-changin'), but most of them just happen to not be Oscar bait. We may even see a Top Ten of 2009 sometime in the summer! You heard it here first, Christmas could come in July so stay tuned.
Ok, on with the predictions and then I'll probably throw out some random nuggets below that.
Best Picture: The Hurt Locker
Best Director: Kathryn Bigelow - The Hurt Locker
Best Actor: Jeff Bridges - Crazy Heart
Best Actress: Sandra Bullock - The Blind Side
Best Supporting Actor: Christoph Waltz - Inglourious Basterds
Best Supporting Actress: Mo'Nique - Precious
Best Original Screenplay: Inglourious Basterds
Best Adapted Screenplay: Up in the Air
Best Animated Feature: Up
Best Original Score: Up
Best Original Song: Crazy Heart - "The Weary Kind"
Best Editing: The Hurt Locker
Best Cinematography: The Hurt Locker
Best Art Direction: Avatar
Best Costume Design: The Young Victoria
Best Makeup: Star Trek
Best Sound Mixing: Avatar
Best Sound Editing: Avatar
Best Visual Effects: Avatar
Best Foreign Film: The White Ribbon
Best Documentary Feature: The Cove
- Okay let's start at the top. The big prize appears to be a two horse race between The Hurt Locker and Avatar, but keep in mind that the voting process is different this year. There are ten nominees (which was done in an effort to generate more mainstream interest since most people only watch films that are distributed on 3,000 screens or more...fuckin' degenerates) this year and the voters were told to rank them one through ten. Which means that even if a film gets the most number one votes, it could still lose. This paves the way for a dark horse like Inglourious Basterds to sneak through, but I just don't see it. I'm gonna go with The Hurt Locker and I'm okay with that, it's a very good film.
- All of the major acting categories are pretty much foregone conclusions with the minor exception being Best Actress, but even then, as much as I hate the idea of living in a world where Ms. Congeniality is an Oscar winner, I still think it's hers to lose. Gross.
- The screenplay awards are interesting b/c screenplay is usually where Oscar voters take the opportunity to reward a film that they felt was good, but not good enough to win Best Picture (i.e. Sideways, Lost in Translation, etc.). And in this case, since the potential Best Picture winners aren't winning on the merits of the writing necessarily, that opens the door for two films to be given their consolation prizes. I think the Academy really likes Inglourious Basterds and Up in the Air and while neither is a lock, I think these two are highly regarded enough to get the second tier prizes.
- I say it every year so by this point, I hope you've all learned a thing or two, but what do I always say about Best Editing? If you have a close race and want to get a good indicator as to who might have the edge, look to editing. If THL wins editing, I think it's a safe bet, but if not, watch out b/c the James Cameron pain train may be coming to your television sets worldwide.
- Costume Design this year is a little tricky b/c one of my other Oscar rules of thumb is when in doubt, go with the period pieces. However, this year we have two of them in The Young Victoria and Bright Star. Cheeky bastards! So I dug a little deeper and found that TYV won the Costume Designers Guild award. Plus, TYV has more lush extravagant costumes while Bright Star is a little more toned down given the subject matter. If I were to do power rankings of Oscar categories, I'd say Costume Design is moving up the charts in recent years in my estimation. I think I need help.
- Cinematography is very tough this year. I went with THL hoping that the intense camerawork and some minor coattailing would help push it over the top. However, The White Ribbon has gotten lots of love for its exquisite black and white cinematography (never underestimate the influence of b&w on voters!!) and then there's a little film called Avatar lurking in the background, so everyone needs to watch the fuck out. This could get bloody.
- Makeup is very tough as I see it between The Young Victoria and Star Trek. I may have gone with Star Trek as a sentimental favorite, but not too sentimental, I mean just look at it, it's all makeup, duh! Plus, it was critically acclaimed and generally well loved so I think it has a good shot, but we're still looking at a photo finish.
- Sound Mixing and Editing frustrates the living shit out of me. I point you to Exhibit A, last year at the Oscars when The Dark Knight won Best Sound Editing and Slumdog won Best Sound Mixing. Huh? Someone explain that to me. I picked Avatar for both this year because I feel that if there's one thing the Academy is going to reward for that film, it'll be its technical achievements. However, I wouldn't be surprised to see it win one and have THL win the other. Oscar is a bitch like that.
- Foreign Film is tough every year because it's the one category that the Academy actually has to watch every film in order to be eligible to vote. The White Ribbon has been critically lauded and been winning awards all over the globe, but then again, it is a Michael Haneke film, not exactly the most accessible filmmaker on the planet. Ajami, Un Prophete, and El Secreto de Sus Ojos all have legitimate shots at the award. It's borderline impossible to predict, just look as recently as last year when Japan's Departures came out of nowhere to break up the heavyweight fight between The Class and Waltz with Bashir. This is one category that is definitely NOT a popularity contest.
- I hear some SeaWorld orcas will be in attendance to accept the Best Documentary Award for The Cove on behalf of slaughtered dolphins around the world. Thanks, I'll be here all week.
I just don't feel the overall landscape of films being "honored" is very strong at all and I will go ahead and admit that there is a sizable chunk of these films that I have yet to see, but I've been around the block enough to know that I don't need to see The Blind Side to already know I'll be annoyed by it. See? It's that easy. Ironically enough, I'm way ahead of the curve at this point in terms of how many 2009 films I've seen than I normally am at this time of year for viewing the previous year's films (I just don't go to the theater much, times they are a-changin'), but most of them just happen to not be Oscar bait. We may even see a Top Ten of 2009 sometime in the summer! You heard it here first, Christmas could come in July so stay tuned.
Ok, on with the predictions and then I'll probably throw out some random nuggets below that.
Best Picture: The Hurt Locker
Best Director: Kathryn Bigelow - The Hurt Locker
Best Actor: Jeff Bridges - Crazy Heart
Best Actress: Sandra Bullock - The Blind Side
Best Supporting Actor: Christoph Waltz - Inglourious Basterds
Best Supporting Actress: Mo'Nique - Precious
Best Original Screenplay: Inglourious Basterds
Best Adapted Screenplay: Up in the Air
Best Animated Feature: Up
Best Original Score: Up
Best Original Song: Crazy Heart - "The Weary Kind"
Best Editing: The Hurt Locker
Best Cinematography: The Hurt Locker
Best Art Direction: Avatar
Best Costume Design: The Young Victoria
Best Makeup: Star Trek
Best Sound Mixing: Avatar
Best Sound Editing: Avatar
Best Visual Effects: Avatar
Best Foreign Film: The White Ribbon
Best Documentary Feature: The Cove
- Okay let's start at the top. The big prize appears to be a two horse race between The Hurt Locker and Avatar, but keep in mind that the voting process is different this year. There are ten nominees (which was done in an effort to generate more mainstream interest since most people only watch films that are distributed on 3,000 screens or more...fuckin' degenerates) this year and the voters were told to rank them one through ten. Which means that even if a film gets the most number one votes, it could still lose. This paves the way for a dark horse like Inglourious Basterds to sneak through, but I just don't see it. I'm gonna go with The Hurt Locker and I'm okay with that, it's a very good film.
- All of the major acting categories are pretty much foregone conclusions with the minor exception being Best Actress, but even then, as much as I hate the idea of living in a world where Ms. Congeniality is an Oscar winner, I still think it's hers to lose. Gross.
- The screenplay awards are interesting b/c screenplay is usually where Oscar voters take the opportunity to reward a film that they felt was good, but not good enough to win Best Picture (i.e. Sideways, Lost in Translation, etc.). And in this case, since the potential Best Picture winners aren't winning on the merits of the writing necessarily, that opens the door for two films to be given their consolation prizes. I think the Academy really likes Inglourious Basterds and Up in the Air and while neither is a lock, I think these two are highly regarded enough to get the second tier prizes.
- I say it every year so by this point, I hope you've all learned a thing or two, but what do I always say about Best Editing? If you have a close race and want to get a good indicator as to who might have the edge, look to editing. If THL wins editing, I think it's a safe bet, but if not, watch out b/c the James Cameron pain train may be coming to your television sets worldwide.
- Costume Design this year is a little tricky b/c one of my other Oscar rules of thumb is when in doubt, go with the period pieces. However, this year we have two of them in The Young Victoria and Bright Star. Cheeky bastards! So I dug a little deeper and found that TYV won the Costume Designers Guild award. Plus, TYV has more lush extravagant costumes while Bright Star is a little more toned down given the subject matter. If I were to do power rankings of Oscar categories, I'd say Costume Design is moving up the charts in recent years in my estimation. I think I need help.
- Cinematography is very tough this year. I went with THL hoping that the intense camerawork and some minor coattailing would help push it over the top. However, The White Ribbon has gotten lots of love for its exquisite black and white cinematography (never underestimate the influence of b&w on voters!!) and then there's a little film called Avatar lurking in the background, so everyone needs to watch the fuck out. This could get bloody.
- Makeup is very tough as I see it between The Young Victoria and Star Trek. I may have gone with Star Trek as a sentimental favorite, but not too sentimental, I mean just look at it, it's all makeup, duh! Plus, it was critically acclaimed and generally well loved so I think it has a good shot, but we're still looking at a photo finish.
- Sound Mixing and Editing frustrates the living shit out of me. I point you to Exhibit A, last year at the Oscars when The Dark Knight won Best Sound Editing and Slumdog won Best Sound Mixing. Huh? Someone explain that to me. I picked Avatar for both this year because I feel that if there's one thing the Academy is going to reward for that film, it'll be its technical achievements. However, I wouldn't be surprised to see it win one and have THL win the other. Oscar is a bitch like that.
- Foreign Film is tough every year because it's the one category that the Academy actually has to watch every film in order to be eligible to vote. The White Ribbon has been critically lauded and been winning awards all over the globe, but then again, it is a Michael Haneke film, not exactly the most accessible filmmaker on the planet. Ajami, Un Prophete, and El Secreto de Sus Ojos all have legitimate shots at the award. It's borderline impossible to predict, just look as recently as last year when Japan's Departures came out of nowhere to break up the heavyweight fight between The Class and Waltz with Bashir. This is one category that is definitely NOT a popularity contest.
- I hear some SeaWorld orcas will be in attendance to accept the Best Documentary Award for The Cove on behalf of slaughtered dolphins around the world. Thanks, I'll be here all week.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
