Over Thinking It attempts to shove all summer movies into one multi-chapter film
Final Girl's Film Club does Food of the Gods. I have seen this one though I can't figure out / remember under what circumstances that could possibly have come to pass
Twitch @ TIFF: Michael Winterbottom's Genova (starring Colin Firth) is "unnerving"
Defamer's "A Call to the Bullpen" mistreats Keira and Ralph. But with such funny
Guardian Ben Child thinks The Fountain's epic failure was just what Aronofsky needed to make the so far very well received The Wrestler. But I still can't join that 'hate The Fountain bandwagon. It's too shiny/pretty/audacious to hate.
GreenCine Daily Fox Searchlight wins The Wrestler bidding war
Movie Marketing Madness reveals a quirkily endearing reason why Twilight doesn't interest him: iPod earbuds.
I thought I'd close with a link to Lou Lumenick's blog @ the NY Post because it's almost a perfect distillation of what I was talking about just Sunday night, the overuse of definitive words like "lock" and "sure thing" in Oscar conversations before the holidays even arrive. While it's great fun to read buzzy bits like these, almost every post details a new Oscar nomination sure thing... for example: Rourke, Del Toro, and Greg Kinnear are all locked up for Best Actor contention according to L.L. (that leaves only 2 spots to be filled by about 12 other movie stars and Richard Jenkins if you're counting ...but who's counting? Obviously not anybody who is calling "locks" already) Between Keira Knightley's 2nd nod and Anne Hathaway's "clinched" nomination Best Actress 2008 is filling up too.Basically we're at 50% capacity and TIFF is only halfway over! There's just not going to be any room for any holiday movies in the Oscar nominations this year I guess. Calm down people! Oh but wait, he does. In a fit of restraint Lou actually questions the rampant BP buzz for Slumdog Millionaire and thinks it's more of a wait and see. That seems sensible. He does feel it's got a Best Original Screenplay nod in the bag, though.
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14 comments:
I'm with you on the non-Fountain hate. I mean it has its problems - It's a little over stylized, it's a little melodramatic at times and it could have used another hour to develop the story - but it was a fascinating film and one of my favorite films of 2006. Steven Soderbergh's Solaris was better, though.
What's odd is that Luminick reverses himself on some of his posts, specifically with regards to - whatever that Greg Kinnear pic about the inventor of wiper blades is called. I suppose that's the effects of festivals - the thing you've seen most recently is the thing you either love or hate the most, and then seeing other things and a days reflection make you change your mind? (As I've never attended one I wouldn't know, so I'm guessing here.)
...and that's the same way moviegoers and oscar voters treat new discoveries too i think. Which is unfortunately why the year is always so back-ended, awards wise. Even when the older stuff (cough ETERNAL SUNSHINE) towers above the rest.
i'm sure it's part of the whole speeding up of pop culture. because it didn't use to be that uncommon for early year pictures to be the big guns at Oscars. think of the epic war between CABARET and THE GODFATHER released in February and March respectively in their hotly contested Oscar year (1972)
that's nearly impossible to imagine now, the two favorites being widely seen and discussed for a whole year before the Oscar ceremony.
WTF??!! Knightley's 2nd. Nomination? For The Duchess??!!. The film is received very mixed reviews and many people (Critics and audience) said Fiennes steals the show even when Skelletor is the lead character. According with Levy: "Can't find the center of her role, perhaps a result of the silly dialogue and misdirection. Taking her role too seriously, she emerges as a foolish, hysterical, fallen woman." Many people critizes Blanchett in ETGA for being too hystrionic, but I'm sorry this role in many fo key scenes Knightley looks worse.
It's more easy that Leo, Moore (Good response in Toronto) and McAdams gets an Oscar Nomination instead "skelletor" Knightley. For the other hand finally Hathaway gets her breakthough role and Rourke became the comeback of the year with the return of a fantastic and original director like Aronovsky.
Thing is, The Fountain was not *universally* regarded as failure, as Ben Child seems to imply. It has plenty of detractors, but almost as many equally avid supporters. That's why it always evens out at about 50% on Metacritic and the like. Sex and the City or latest Shyamalan movies - now, those are movies that are fashionable to hate (whether deservedly so is beside my point). The Fountain is an extremely divisive film - that's a big difference.
Anon: You lost all credibility with those [unwarranted] "skelletor" comments. Grow up.
The Fountain is also too good to hate, Nat. It's so damn good.
To be fair, it was Kyle Smith who wrote that he wasn't sure that Kinnear would get an Oscar nod. And Lou said that Kinnear would be a "best actor contender for sure", which to me is slightly different than being a lock for the nominaiton. I mean, he is a contender.
But I agree with Nat about the general idea of how ridiculous it is to use "lock" in September.
My favourite part of Anon's criticism of Keira Knightley was when he/she/it was all "many people (Critics and audience) said Fiennes steals the show even when Skelletor is the lead character." Isn't that what "steals the show" implies? That somebody who isn't the biggest star gives the better performance?
Has anon even seen the Duchess or just picking up the negative ones to bash the 'skelloter'? Grow up mate! Not saying she'll make it to the final five (its very competitive this year) but the vast majority of the reviews praise her performance. Even Mark Kermode from the BBC (uk's equivelant to Roger Ebert) praised her. Kermode hates Knightley.
kin thanks for the clarification. I didn't mean this to read as overtly negative about Lumenick's column (which I like to read) just about the oversell in September.
I realize it's fun and it gets attention to say "i've seen a sure thing!" but it's just never true ;)
you know what still haunts me? My dual review of VERA DRAKE and BEING JULIA in which i proclaimed with little equivocation that either Bening or Staunton would win Best Actress. The whole framing device of the review was their names added to the laundry list of Best Actress winners.
I've learned my lesson. Even something that looks set in stone (few people travelling back in time would disagree that the money was on Bening and Staunton at the time ... until MILLION DOLLAR BABY was inexplicably ready for screenings two seconds after they'd started filming ;) Clint is so speedy!
Yes, i saw "The Duchess" and I'm sorry I think this isn't an oscar Baity Role
Sorry for the offtopic Nat, but have you seen the trailer of Revolutionary Road? http://simplyleonardodicaprio.com/
I would love to hear (read, whatever :p) your opinion.
PS: Why does everyone dislike Keira? I think she is at least OK and has class. She is not Jessica Simpson or anything like that.
Jim
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