Friday, December 18, 2009
This is turning into a Friday tradition...
Get something cinematic off your chest. Not everything is about Avatar or Nine... but if that's where your heads at, there are posts for those below!
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Since I know, in real life, very few people who are familiar with Pasolini, I'd like to say, has anyone here seen Salo or 120 Days of Sodom? It makes Antichrist look like The Princess and the Frog. I saw it over a week ago and I think I may be permanently scarred. See this one with an open mind and don't snack while watching it.
I am still completely in love with 'Precious' and what Lee Daniel, Mo'Nique and Gabby accomplished with this film. F*ck the backlash
I hate the fact that Bullock is so getting that nomination. She's mediocre and the movie is BAD. I'm so upset I'd rather have Cotillard category frauding her way into it over Bullock, to name one. Why do they have to do it? She's doing drama, lets give her a nomination, is that the logic behind it? And everyone seems OK with that!! Seems like everyone has had a crush on her and now, since there was a tipping point amongst whoever said she deserved the nom, everyone is just going insane over the thing and expressing all their fanboyism. Reminds me of the Dark Knight situation last year. The crazy mix of box-office and Ledger's death and his phenomenal performance led people to go berserk and express their love for action movies and push it into the Oscars. Difference is, I never believed it was gonna happen for them last year. This year, Bullock is in. GAHHHHHH! Have a great weekend!!
PS- Can't wait for the podcast!!!
I'm going retro: anybody here seen the 1943 Lady of Burlesque directed by Wellman and starring Barbara Stanwyck as a 'wise-cracking stripper'? I've had it on dvd for ages, but only popped it in the player last night. Much, much better than I'd anticipated, although the sound quality left a lot to be desired. It's really funny and wonderfully evocative of the bawdy, claustrophic, sleazy, bitchy and camaraderie-filled backstage world at a burlesque show. It's obstensibly a murder mystery, but that's not really the point. Stany is, of course, magnificent. And....SHE BREAKDANCES.
I'm really in the mood for some Renee Zellweger (sorry, Nathaniel!). I'm thinking Chicago or Nurse Betty tonight as I lay here sick with swine.
01. Anyone else still running around their apartment like a wet puppy ever since hearing about DIANE KRUGER's sag nom? I am. Yes, Moore deserved a nom but kick Cruz out; she j-u-s-t won a wheelbarrow full of prizes for a VERY similar characterization last year!!!
02.I'm sorry, but this Sandra Bullock thing is really-i mean REALLY-getting to me now. a commenter recently put it beautifully: 'Yes, her performance in the "The Blind Side" may be the best of her career... but that's not saying much."
I mean, the women has been swimming in cash for over a decade as a result of making consecuivtive cinematic garbage… and now she’s on the verge of nabbing her industry’s highest honor (a Academy Award nomination)… for a totally mediocre performance in a middling film. Aren’t her million dollar paychecks and People’s Choice statues bad enough?!? Sorry for the rant but, ugh! I just can’t believe Sandra-fu*king-Bullock might pull this off. And to cap it all, she’d be getting in at the expense of three marvelous, challenging and truly unforgettable performances; Tilda Swinton (best of the year by far), Charlotte Gainsbourgh and Abbie Cornish. no. justice.
3. I'm dying for the second Podcast too! :)
Why oh why was la pfeiffer not considered worthy of any nom not even by the satellites.
Watched L'Avventura. Half-bored, half-impressed through its entirety. Knew the ending coming with 30 minutes left to go, then pleasantly surprised with the last 2 minutes. Awesome last shot. No idea how I feel about it as a whole.
Blow Up, on the other hand, gets greater every time I think back to it.
Went to see "Looking For Eric" the other day and loved it to bits. It's been some time since I felt so utterly entertained by a film.
Eric Cantona may not be the greatest of actors, but then he doesn't have to be, he's Cantona! ;)
I'm probably going to see Fatih Akin's "Soul Kitchen" next week. Really looking forwward to that one.
I don't mind the Bullock nod. I do mind, however, that there ar some actresses who won't get nominated because of it. So maybe I do mind...
I really wanted Ronan to be the youngest 2-time nominee, but that's not happening. At least not this year. Nathaniel, can you say something about her performance in Lovely Bones? I know you hated the movei but even critics who disliked the film praised her (and Tucci).
And, is every category already set up? I mean, besides supporting actor, which we thought was the only one set up.
Actres: Mirren, Mulligan, Sidibe, Bullock, Streep
Actor: Bridges, Firth, Clooney, Freeman, Renner
S. Actress: Farmiga, Mo'Nique, Kendrick, Cruz, Moore (or isn't she?)
New York Times (Darghis!), LA Times and Chicago Sun-Times (Ebert) give thumbs up to Young Victoria.
Cristhian - I've seen Salo or the 120 Days of Sodom. I'm not sure I have anything to say about it, but I automatically have a kinship with Cristhian, as we've both survived something very very unpleasant.
Ryan - I still get the feeling, if The Academy throws anything unexpected our way (and they often do) it'll be at Bullock's expense. It's this weird mindset of theirs where they like to pretend to be with the popular opinion but only to an extent.
Glendon - I feel exactly the same about L'Avventura and Blow-Up. Have you seen La Notte? That's my favorite Antonioni.
@ Cristhian:
I had to sit in the front row of the movie theater when I saw Salo and it is an experience I will never forget.
I know it will never happen, but it would make my day if Goodbye Solo got a few critics prizes.
Looking ahead to next year, has anyone noticed the studios aren't just stuffing the first quarter with quality product.
For the first time in years there are films I want to see coming out in February and March.
I agree with Robert, folks - don't cut your throats yet on the Bullock nomination. There will be a backlash and it is the perfect situation where the voters will likely ask themselves whether this performance truly rises to the level of "Best", and instead give it to a more deserving nominee. Bullock still gets it, though, if there is no consensus for that last spot. Cornish seems likely to me, but so do several others, and that kind of vote spreading still gives Bullock a solid shot.
Which brings us to the more local interest "Actress Psychic" contest. Sure looks like only two of the consensus five from March (Streep and Mulligan) are going to make the Oscar shortlist. So I am back to suggesting to next year's voters that you join those whose picks were a bit out of the box (13 of the over 200 picked Sidibe) when you make your choices. The more aligned your picks are with the consensus, the more likely you are to finish out of the money at the end of the year.
@CLOVER ... i don't really have much to say about Saoirse's performance. It's good enough for what it is but it's really not much. Jackson fetishizes her huge peepers (and it's easy to see why a filmmaker would) and she's wonderfully comfortable on camera but I just didnt see anything resembling a performance of note. She just has to narrate and look sad basically. I didn't dislike her in it at all but I don't get why people would be rewarding the work.
Tucci I did not enjoy. It seemed too 'look at this creepy tic I thought up!' type of broad underlined performance. I wish, if he's getting nominated, that it was for Julie & Julia.
Catherine Deneuve is painfully beautiful and sexy in The Hunger. No one should have the right to be as stunning as she is.
Something about supporting actress and AMPAS:
-Mo’Nique is a lock. Kendrick too, I think.
-Third spot I think will be Farmiga, who had been snubbed previously. But it’s possible split votes can play against her chances. Anyway, I still think she’s in.
-The fourth I think will be Cruz. For some reasons: Globes & SAG nods the first. For those who haven’t seen Nine, Cruz’s performance is showy and stellar (and very funny, so… a comic role!), although I think Cotillard is best for some reasons: her character is much more intimate, sentimental and suffered (dramatic role at the end!!!), and definitely a much more Oscar-baity role. I think they BOTH deserve to make te cut. But Weinstein campaigns Cotillard for lead and the rest of actresses for supporting… I think originally they conceived the Cotillard’s role as lead, and for that reason they give her two songs in the film (as DDL have) and much more screen time than the other actresses. Also consider than Cruz’s role is very difficult to perform in all senses, and she’s the only one with a credible Italian accent (for obvious reasons, I exclude Loren). And Cotillard, with this confusing campaign, is in danger to split votes in lead and supporting. I think if voters really love Nine, they can nominate at #1 and #2 spots Cotillard and Cruz or viceversa, over UITA’s two girls and also Mo’Nique (if they really want to move Cotillard from lead to supporting).
-If Cotillard don’t make it, probably the fifth slot will be Julianne Moore. But it seems Moore is not a real lock as everybody said some time ago. Moore is a very fine actress, I love her so much (she’s in my top ten all-time actresses), but -as I read in some websites- is it possible they nominate her for a 5th time and not rewarded her again? And you can also see Moore doesn’t make SAG cut, and for example, Cruz did it (over Moore and Morton), and specially Kruger. And I have a terrible feeling AMPAS voters will not really love A Single Man… I don’t know why… (or I really know? WE really know why?)
-It’s probably Morton has her chances, but snubbed (once more!) for HFPA & SAG… it hurts. Morton (as Marcia Gay Harden) did it before, with her role in In America, but that was another story.
-SAG voters are a very large bunch more than AMPAS actors’ bunch. If they like Cruz, as HFPA did, it probably means Cruz is in. This is not the Cameron Diaz case in Being John Malkovich or Vanilla Sky or Maria Bello in The Cooler. Cruz is a previous (and reigning) Academy winner. But who knows about this back-to-back nominations. AMPAS and HFPA and SAG like her. And her performance is really stellar, for sure.
-Another option is no-where-coming Kruger. But I think is an exuberant nomination at SAG. I love Kruger in IB. But it’s a big challenge for her to make it. If they love SOOOOOOOOO much IB… everything’s possible.
I have a feeling about Cotillard, Cruz AND Dench could be nominated for BAFTA (for supporting) alongside Mo’Nique and Moore. I must confess I don’t like so much Kendrick in UITA. I prefer Farmiga so far.
yeah - after watching the mad cow stampede of nominations this week, the more disingenuous a-list hollywood appears to me
i'm going with the notion that people are not actually watching the films they nominate/vote for... just going with whatever trend/hype the moment dictates
it's a disturbing breach of artistic integrity from the very group of people who claim to be stalwarts of the medium
starting to think there's a hell of a lot more honesty in b-movies... at least no pretense
as an act of insurrection, i'll be watching garbage films on sci-fi all weekend & loving every minute :)
Re: Antonioni - Monica Vitti is strangely captivating, as I recall. I haven't seen "Blow Up" but I did like "The Passenger" ("Professione: reporter") with Jack Nicholson (1975) and would like to see that again.
Getting off my chest this week:
I'm tired of only one female director making the charts, as though giving a token nod is enough. I'd like to see at least 3 out of the 5 director noms for women: Bigelow, Sherfig, Campion.
Other than Cameron, Tarantino, Reitman, and Eastwood, the other directors mentioned often seem to be regarded as one of the failings of the film, not one of it's strengths. So what's the idea of oh, the "woman's nom" is filled, let's give a nom to (Rob Marshall, etc. etc)
Can't wait to see Up In The Air tomorrow. I've wanted to see it for so long.
I'm also slowly warming up to maybe seeing Avatar... if that makes sense. Whoo!
The ending of "Brief Encounter" has been stuck in my head for three days now. Would recommend it just based on Celia Johnson's performance alone.
1) I'm seeing Avatar, in large part due to this site. I'm really nervous about it. (Probably a sad statement)
2) Anthony Mackie isn't going to get nominated and it's PISSING me off. He should be a frontrunner. You've nailed it from the start...if he was a name...it'd be his. If he were Don Cheadle even, this would be sewn up.
3) I'm glad Hurt Locker is back in the 8-0-4 and I'm seeing it a second time in theatres.
4) I'm nervous how good Up in the Air might be.
I'm a totally whore for the Hurt Locker...
Saw four films yesterday: Avatar which I loved, Brothers which was "meh," Everybody's Fine which was good, and ...
Clint Eastwood's latest Oscar-magnet Invictus is TERRIBLE!!!! ONE OF THE YEAR'S WORST FILMS!!!! AND I LIKE EASTWOOD!!!
Morgan Freeman as Nelson Mandela... IS LAZY IN HIS PORTRAYAL!!!!
Matt Damon as Francois de Rugby Player... DOES NOTHING TO MERIT AWARDS ATTENTION!!!
And what kind of movie has twenty minutes at the end dedicated to a slow-motion "WE WON!!!" sequence?
Answer: A BAD MOVIE!!!!
I. HATE. INVICTUS!!!!!!
This is the main thing that struck me about "Avatar:"
James Cameron has made visual effects beautiful again. Over the past few years, visual effects have grown tired, garish, and off-putting. With "Avatar," it seems like Cameron pushed to capture beauty in Pandora's wildlife, landscapes, and culture. This provided a nice contrast to the ugly, grey colors of American technology.
I have a feeling that Sidibe is gonna win. Maybe its just me.
Also, in the next coming months will Mo'nique be an A-list actor?
I can't see shit this weekend b/c I'm stuck in a snowstorm. Thx, Mother Nature! Weekend shopping and everything else blown.
And the Sandra Bullock hate is getting old too. Get the hell over it guys. She's getting nominated. She didn't run over your damn puppy. There are also plenty of people who loved her performance in "The Blind Side" and think she's perfectly deserving of Academy recognition. Life will continue either way you look at it.
For those who don't want to see a Bullock nom, don't fret. There's a LOT of time for a backlash. I don't think she'll win the Drama Globe, either-- I say that goes to Sidibe or Mulligan.
On a separate note, it's too bad Weinstein had to screw with Cotillard's chances. Cruz will probably be nominated, but for the lesser performance.
I thought Bullock did a great job in both of the movies she was nominated for, and to be honest I was never really a fan of hers.
Sandy's also EW's Entertainer of the Year. That's going to carry her over straight to nomination day.
Why is that third installment of the LORD OF THE RINGS (RETURN OF THE KING) so damn long. How many fake endings did it have? I thought it was over at least 4 times!!!!! Nope, there is still more. Frodo's' got even more to tell, and when he's done, he gives the book to Sam and says "there's still room left". No there is not Frodo Baggins and Peter Jackson....JEEZ!!
Nine was great! Part of me wants to say that I would have loved it unconditionally, but I think it worked really well for the most part. My expectations were a little lowered after the reviews, but still. I think I had a better time at this than at Avatar...
And the entire cast was really effective, I thought. Even Kate Hudson, dispensable number and all. Dench was divine. Cruz was fabulous. Cotillard was stunning. Day-Lewis was great considering the thinness of the character.
Was NOT expecting Kidman to look so puffy...I think when the facial "effects" are that distracting you can't just write it off as a superficial quibble.
I'm thinking about Best Original Screenplay, which is my favourite category, and was really surprising last year (only one of the Oscar nominees was nominated for the WGA... seriously, there were like 10 films in the running), but unfourtunately this year seems more predictable - at least the nods.
People are saying The Hurt Locker is going to win, but actually its script is not the most praised thing about it (that would be the directing). So I'd say Inglorious Basterds and A Serious Man could win. Maybe Avatar, if they really like it? Up is a lock for a nomination, but won't win if only because Wall-E didn't win last year. (500) Days of Summer has been collecting some critics awards and might take the Oscar if voters are reminded of Annie Hall or Eternal Sunshine...
Kidman had just given birth so she will be"puffy".
My brother is pissed I saw Avatar on opening day without him. I reassured him I intend to see it at least two more times in theaters to wrap my brain around what's happening, but that's not good enough for him. He should know by now that I have no patience for a new release. I've been burned by films that bombed too many times.
I saw "Up in the Air" last night. It was quite a stale and boring affair and honestly, extremely predictable. I don't get the hype.
yeah people are turning on the big oscar movies right and left. I hope this sends a message to hollywood to stop saving all of them until christmas. By the time they arrive most everyone is disappointed because the hype is too insane. It goes bad like expiration date rotten.
i think.
maybe the people who pirate movies or the people who wait til they're on DVD (the two ends of the patience timeline) have got it right. the rest of us are victims to Hollywood. ;)
dude, "The crazy mix of box-office and Ledger's death and his phenomenal performance led people to go berserk and express their love for action movies and push it into the Oscars."
Push it into the Oscars? That just invalidated the entire first part of your rant. If an action movie is truly great, then shouldn't it be an Oscar-worthy movie as well? What a jerk.
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