Shhhhhhhhhh. Clark is sleeping. Like him, I'm going to need some R&R if I hope to be SUPER again.
Coming November 24th-30th: Detailed thoughts on Australia, Milk, Revolutionary Road, Slumdog Millionaire and Twilight. Plus: Bill Irwin interview, more on Oscar's animated, documentary and foreign film races (The Class is so excellent... I'm now rooting for that though it might be too subtle for even an Oscar nomination) and the usual blog goodies. I'm hoping for another episode of "Best Pictures From the Outside In" but that's probably stretching it.
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25 comments:
Enjoy your sleep -- well deserved.
I am SO with you on The Class -- truly one of the year's finest.
I didn't expect you to like The Class more than A Christmas Tale, especially with every single critic mentioning that it's not as good as the fourth season of The Wire, and the fact that the number of French stars is higher in the latter. Looking forward to it
Aww There showing Superman 2nite on TV Land
Will you be seeing any more films in the upcoming week?
Sweet dreams!
don't let Renee Z or Ms.Swank haunt you! lol
or Blanchett! yikes
I just wanted to say how thrilled I am that Blanchett has entered the Best Actress fold. It's like there's this sense of competition that was absent before.
Before it was like this aimless group of women wandering around in the dark. Hawkins, Hathaway, Scott-Thomas, and Leo didn't really demand any attention. Streep and Jolie were both running on bait with flawed performances. As much as I love Kate Winslet, what we've seen of Revolutionary Road isn't as assertive or resonant as some had hoped.
And then it's like Cate swooped in to remind everyone that this is a race. It's as if she just beefed up her performance (which everyone had billed supporting) at the last second to say, "hey, guys, this is how it's done!"
Alright, I must say something.
Streep and Winslet certainly don/t need Blanchett to show them anything!They have been on the Oscar business before her and actingwise they have nothing to be jealous of.
This race has had nothing "aimless" before Blanchett. Everyone was interested in knowing whether Streep will get her third or Winslet her first!
Jim
In an ideal world, you'd prioritise the Best Pictures series. (Or: I love that series.)
But enjoy your rest. You deserve it. (I look forward to a scathing Twilight review.)
"...especially with every single critic mentioning that it's not as good as the fourth season of The Wire..."
???
Uh, what does The Wire have to do with anything?
One is a sprawling TV crime opus, the other is an intimate classroom drama. They're both concerned with realism, but that's about the only common link I can see.
D'oh... and of course the school setting. Stupid me... I forgot which season of The Wire you were talking about. Apologies.
Still, the works have such different tonal and thematic properties that it's really not worth comparing them.
Cool. But Mike D'Angelo and A.O Scott did compare them, so I thought there was something there. I have no problem being wrong on this one - I really like Cantet as a director and was looking forward to it.
Also, Nathaniel has given 7 films A- this year, which is the most since 2004 (2 A's, 6 A-'s). 2005 had two A's and four A-'s, so maybe that's better, but the year's not over yet!
And maybe we can convince him to upgrade that WALL.E to an A... :)
Did you see THE CLASS at NYFF or more recently? I don't remember us talking about it then...
I enjoyed it as well (although its not exactly my "kind" of movie) and actually think it is solid Oscar material, assuming the foreign film committee pulls themselves away from historical epics and decide to go with something more contemporary. Now, the chances of them doing that? TBD. Butt THE CLASS is crowd-pleasing, not too disruptive, and well done. What more could safe voters want!
I don't know, James -- I can easily see those clueless voters being put off by the film's youth component, as well as its documentary aspects. Having seen a few of the foreign-film submissions now, I'd say there are several safer choices.
Still, the new voting system should at least ensure that the likes of "The Class" and "Gomorrah" get onto the shortlist.
I just saw Slumdog Millionaire. Very powerful, gorgeous. It's got to be a contender. It's everything the artistic genre of "film" is meant to be and needs to be. And you're right about Patel--lead all the way.
Oh Nathaniel, I wish you had loved Australia!
-Tiger-
arkaan are you trying to say i'm a sucker for movie star glamour? how could you! ;)
hayden what jim said. cate showing meryl & kate how it's done? Not possible.
guy i don't think that the youth component is so much of a problem as the subtlety is. I mean if you hold it up to REVOLUTIONARY ROAD for example it's like the polar opposite in its storytelling / thematic approach. One lays it out for you in dialogue form. The other merely is and you're left to notice all the implications and complications if you're paying attention.
that just strikes me as a non-Oscary approach though i really did love the movie. I finished it and I said to the Boyfriend (who speaks French and was amused by the complications of subtitling a film about a language classroom that's so much about different forms of speaking). "my god. what a terrific movie!" i said it twice.
I totally agree, Nat.
And The Boyfriend is spot-on about the subtitles. I speak French too, and often get distracted by awkward, over-literal translations in a lot of films. This, however, was one of the most fluid, resourceful subtitling jobs I've ever seen. (Boy, did that sound geeky or what?!)
Anyway, an amazing film -- certain to be in my Top 5 for the year at least. I'd love to see a foreign film nomination at least. It would be an imaginative choice for an adapted screenplay nod, too. We can but dream.
Gosh, Christopher Reeve was so pretty.
Guy/Nathan- I agree with Nathan about THE CLASS and its Oscar "issues." Great French cinema, and international cinema for that matter, has generally been more vague and subtle than the movies that win Best Picture (i.e. CRASH beating BROKEBACK, and the fact that the Dardennes/Michael Haneke have never received a nom.) THE CLASS seems to me a middle ground of Eureopean art-house subtlety and crowd pleasing Hollywood fare. To me, it seems like a good combination for an Oscar nom, and even a win if they decide to go contemporary. Its not my favorite film of the year and probably won't make my personal top 10 (it may be an honorable mention) but its a film lots of people, including myself, will admire and be happy to see win that award.
ah rest...
looking forward to your film thoughts...i have heard others champion the class as well...
it may not be to subtle at all for the love???
If Blanchett steals Jolie's spot, beware y'all.
But I don't think it's gonna happen. Not every critic singled her out. And she's not the one who carries the film.
On the other hand Jolie carries Changeling, just as she did with AMH, on her thin shoulders and she delivers. An iconic performance.
period.
I fall in love just looking at this picture.
My heart belongs to the late Christopher Reeve and always has.
:::sigh:::
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