We can finally breathe a sigh of relief now that the Academy Awards are out of our hair until next year. Apparently this was the lowest rated Oscars in twenty years, which is unfortunate because some truly great performances and films were awarded. It's curious that the general public may not be familiar with the winners or the films recognized, when in fact they speak very intelligently and loudly about America right now. "No Country for Old Men", "There Will Be Blood", and "Michael Clayton" propose that we live in a greed obsessed world where consumption and the quest for monopolizing and claiming territory is as essential as brushing one's teeth. The precocious teenager in "Juno" is the everygirl, with her whip crack smarts and woman-child vulnerability, learns how to deal with pregnancy in the face of her peers, parents, pro-lifers, and the baby's daddy. The rise and fall of Edith Piaf, so wonderfully and skillfully rendered by Marion Cotillard, could be the rise and fall of any hard living American rock star. All of these issues and concerns are on the pulse of who and what American has become in this juncture of history, but perhaps that confrontational, vague definition is off putting to most Americans. They would rather see Shia LeBeouf chased by CGI created robots from some popular cartoon in the '80s. (which in a way, says tremendous things about politics, gender, generational divide, and so on) When Chris Rock hosted the show a few years ago, his comic and astute observation that most Americans don't bother to see the prestigious echelon of films nominated, played out in the form of a man on the street style interview with actual moviegoers who all seemed clueless at the mention of a film like "Vera Drake" or "Maria Full of Grace." What does that mean? Are the Oscars irrelevant?
I have faithfully tuned into the big show ever since I can remember and each year as I become more and more film literate and invested in "the best films of the year", it is crushing to watch the films I'm rooting for not win in their respective categories. How is a big, audacious, punch of a movie like "There Will Be Blood" only win two awards? Let's not forget the "Crash" debacle or how films that seem like a thing of the past, such as "Shakespeare in Love", "Gladiator", "Titanic", and "Chicago", have won best picture. Are these the films we'll remember in ten, twenty, fifty years time? I'm still thinking about Clive Owen desperately trying to save the 21st century Madonna in "Children of Men" or Heath Ledger remorsefully clinging to his lover's bloodied shirt in "Brokeback Mountain" or the sensational bathhouse brawl in "Eastern Promises." Whether or not the Oscars are always accurate in who they select as the best actress or best cinematographer, they remain a cornerstone of American entertainment and a bit of a national treasure. It is the last major film awards of the season, and certainly one of the first in the world to acknowledge the achievements of its artistic community of players and craftspeople. To not watch such a prime spectacle is almost unAmerican. I'm sure I'll be tuned in next year and probably gasp loudly when an unexpected winner takes the stage (such as I did when Tilda Swinton's name was called), but hopefully those damn Coen brothers won't hog all of the awards again.
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
does it really matter?
Monday, February 25, 2008
suited up
It seems as though half of why most people watch the Academy Awards is for the fashion, namely what will the parade of actresses will wear. I thought Amy Adams in Proenza Schouler, Cate Blanchett in Dries Van Noten, Marion Cotillard in Jean Paul Gaultier, Jessica Alba in Marchesa, and Tilda Swinton in Lanvin, all looked positively resplendent. For the most part the female fashion was safe, if not due to the writers' strike or the lack of award show momentum in the recent months, but I thought some of the most handsomely dressed men looked as classic as any movie star could achieve. Here are the three best dressed men at the 80th Academy Awards:
I think scalloped vests are making a comeback. There is no "bitch assness" found here.
The button detail and subtle shawl collar combination is striking, and yet his slightly deshelved hair makes it look youthful and relaxed.
And then there's what Time dubbed "The Last Movie Star." How does he do it? It's pure Hollywood glamour and no one does it quite like Mr. Clooney, in a classic Armani tuxedo.
Sunday, February 24, 2008
oscar, oscar
12:16AM The show is over and I'm fading fast. My thoughts on the show will be better formed after a good night's rest. Good night.
11:46PM Yawn. "No Country for Old Men" wins best picture. What's with Denzel's new haircut?
11:42PM UGGGGHHHHH. I'll accept the Coen brothes win, but I want to buy Paul Thomas Anderson a drink.
11:41PM BEST DIRECTOR. OMG. Who's it going to be?
11:34PM I'M FINISHED! The show is not over but Daniel Day-Lewis keeps it short, sincere, and sweet. How such a mild mannered Englishman can transform into an American sociopath is beyond me, but he did it and he deserved that Oscar.
11:31PM Helen Mirren has to share the award with Forest Whitaker for best performance by a presenter.
11:26PM Cheetah print, jeweled neckline, asymmetrical haircut, red lips, thigh high slit--pick one Diablo Cody and stick with it. Was Rachel Zoe too busy with Cameron and Jennifer?
11:10PM As I predicted, "Atonement" takes best original score. Johnny Greenwood is getting drunk somewhere.
11:02PM The dreaded In Memorium tribute. I'm reminded that Antonioni is gone and I'm still not over it. Noticeable absence: Brad Renfro. Wtf?
11:00PM "THERE WILL BE BLOOD" WINS BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY. THERE IS A GOD.
10:56PM Markéta Irglová gets a second chance to make her speech. A new precedent has been set.
10:54PM Diane Von Furstenberg's American Express commercial is breathtaking. There's something very pretty and calming about DVF wandering around a snowy forest seeking inspiration for her latest collection.
10:52PM Seriously. John Travolta go away.
10:48PM UGGGHHHHH. John Travolta dances. Amazing.
10:46PM UGGGHHHHH. "Enchanted" song again.
10:42PM The token import actor presents best foreign language film. Thank goodness it's Penelope Cruz. Who are the nominees again? Oh yeah, no one has heard of them.
10:30PM Hey Nicole Kidman, you have a diamond necklace circling your right boob. Thought I'd let you know.
10:29PM "Bourne Ultimatum" is killin' 'em. The best action movie of the past decade should have been nominated in more categories. Shoulda, coulda, woulda Academy.
10:27PM Renee Zellweger not wearing something obviously Carolina Herrera? Gasp. EDIT: I was wrong. It was Herrera. Boooooorrrrrring.
10:23PM I'm totally tempted to count how many best picture winners I've seen. I. LOVE. MONTAGES.
10:13PM Radiant in Jean Paul Gaultier couture, Marion Cotillard takes best actress. I love the surprises in the major categories. Once again, I would love a "There Will Be Blood" upset somewhere. Anywhere. Please.
10:10PM Best performance by an actor presenting an Oscar: Forest Whitaker. Did he really have to give the dramatic pauses in between BEST. ACTRESS. IN. A. LEADING. ROLE?
10:00PM The pregnancy award bit was pretty funny. Halle Berry and Dame Judi Dench as presenting partners would have been funnier. I suppose Seth Rogen and Jonah Hill will do.
9:54PM The Kristin Chenoweth anchored performance of the second nominated song from "Enchanted" is...odd. Why did she get so much accompaniment? Why do I always think of Madonna in the early '90s when I see those earpiece microphones? Why didn't Amy Adams perform this one? So many questions.
9:47PM I'm fine with the Coen brothers win for adapted screenplay. I really hope the Academy doesn't give them best picture or director. Spread the love, dammit.
9:39PM Wow. I literally yelped out loud in front of my friends at Tilda Swinton's best supporting actor win. She's not your typical lady, or fashionista for that matter, and that's why we love her. A pleasant surprise and a genuinely surprised acceptance speech. I need to know if she brought her baby's daddy or the other man.
9:24PM Keri Russell: MILF pt. 2.
9:19PM The villain with the bad haircut wins best supporting actor. Javier Bardem is a badass, on and offscreen, but I hate his tuxedo jacket. Penelope, you could have done something about this.
9:09PM CATE BLANCHETT IS A TOTAL MILF. Who cares about the best art direction when a pregnant lady looks that good?
9:02PM Amy Adams wins the award for ballsiest non-nominated actor. If you didn't already love her, she gains extra points for preforming a big song from her film "Enchanted" without backup dancers or an elaborate set piece. She also looked slammin' in a deep emerald gown on the red carpet. Dear Amy, I love you. W.
8:57PM The makeup duo from "La Vie En Rose" deservedly win the makeup achievement award. On a somewhat unrelated note, when did Katherine Heigel's waist get so tiny?
8:50PM Philip Seymour Hoffman and Helen Mirren do not seem excited about Anne Hathaway and Steve Carrell. I guess they don't care for that big rosette thing on Anne Hathaway's dress.
8:47PM The first montage of the evening. YES! 80 YEARS OF OSCAR! ROB LOWE! EVA MARIE SAINT! FELLINI! HEPBURN! CELINE DION SONG!
8:42PM The first win is for costume design. "Elizabeth: The Golden Age", duh. The costume designer is quite the aesthete--severe bangs, billowy dress, nerdy glasses. A glowing Cate Blanchett approves.
8:39PM Is Wesley Snipes Spike Lee's date? Isn't the government after him?
8:31PM Am I the only one who hates Reege? The perma-tan, the glow in the dark white teeth, and the hairline that never recedes drives me wild. So much to loathe, especially when his job dictates interviewing Miley Cyrus.
Glass of pinot noir? Check.
Cupcakes? Check.
Famous people winning awards? Check.
It's time for the Oscars. And so it begins...
Thursday, February 21, 2008
and the oscar goes to...
The 80th Annual Academy Awards are this Sunday and I could not be more excited. It's three hours of glamour, the recognition of the best of film (although that is never accurate), and lots of self-gratulation. I love it. Here are my picks for who will win, who should win, and who should have been nominated:
BEST PICTURE
Will Win: "No Country for Old Men"
Should Win: "There Will Be Blood"
Should Have Been Nominated: "Before the Devil Knows You're Dead"
BEST DIRECTOR
Will Win: Joel and Ethan Coen, "No Country for Old Men"
Should Win: Paul Thomas Anderson, "There Will Be Blood"
Should Have Been Nominated: David Fincher, "Zodiac"
BEST ACTRESS
Will Win: Julie Christie, "Away From Her"
Should Win: I'm pretty ambivalent about this category. The actresses nominated gave good, if not great performances, but this was a relatively weak year in film for memorable lead female roles. Ellen Page would be an exciting upset. I hope she wouldn't say "sweet" or thank her cheeseburger phone.
Should Have Been Nominated: Tang Wei, "Lust, Caution"
BEST ACTOR
Will and Should Win: Daniel Day-Lewis, "There Will Be Blood"
Should Have Been Nominated: Brad Pitt, "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford"
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Will Win: Amy Ryan, "Gone Baby Gone"
Should Win: It's a close race, but I'm curious what kind of acceptance speech Tilda Swinton would make. Does Hollywood even know who she is?
Should Have Been Nominated: Emmanuelle Seigner, "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly"
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Will Win: Javier Bardem, "No Country for Old Men"
Should Win: Casey Affleck, "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford"
Should Have Been Nominated: Irfan Khan, "The Namesake"
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Will Win: Diablo Cody, "Juno"
Should Win: Tony Gilroy, "Michael Clayton"
Should Have Been Nominated: Kelly Masterson, "Before the Devil Knows You're Dead"
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Will Win: Joel and Ethan Coen, "No Country for Old Men"
Should Win: Paul Thomas Anderson, "There Will Be Blood"
Should Have Been Nominated: Aaron Sorkin, "Charlie Wilson's War"
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Will Win: Roger Deakins, "No Country for Old Men"
Should Win: Roger Deakins, "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford"
Should Have Been Nominated: Edward Lachman, "I'm Not There"
BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Will Win: "Elizabeth: Golden Age"
Should Win: "Atonement"
Should Have Been Nominated: "American Gangster"
BEST ART DIRECTION
Will Win and Should Win: "There Will Be Blood"
Should Have Been Nominated: "Eastern Promises"
BEST DOCUMENTARY
Will Win: "Sicko"
Should Win: "No End In Sight"
Should Have Been Nominated: "Crazy Love"
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
Will and Should Win: "Atonement"
Should Have Been Nominated: "There Will Be Blood"
EDIT: Something is brewing for Oscar coverage. Hold your breath. Make a wish. Count to three...
Thursday, January 24, 2008
and the nominees weren't...
Oh Oscar, how you vex me so.
The nominations for the 80th Academy Awards are out and once again I am befuddled and excited. My fingers are still crossed in hopes of the ceremony not being canceled due to the writers' strike because the major categories are actually recognizing some of the best and anti-studio films of the year, however the Academy did make some mistakes. Jason Reitman, really? Johny Greenwood getting the shaft because of a technicality for his mind-bending score for "There Will Be Blood"? Only two non-white acting nominees? "Transformers" and "Norbit" racking up a few nominations in the technical categories? Did they forget about Sidney Lumet? Instead of commenting in a lengthy rant on the actual nominees (although snaps to "There Will Be Blood" for its eight nominations), here is my list of nominees that were overlooked and should have been:
BEST PICTURE
"Before the Devil Knows You're Dead"
A grand familial tragedy in the vein of Shakespere or even Greek drama, Sidney Lumet's "Before the Devil Knows You're Dead" showcases a master filmmaker at his best in ages. A bank robbery gone wrong is the simple text but beneath lies a greater quest to explore the ugliness and rage within us all. How far would you go to achieve the fantasy you've always wanted to be your life? Lumet shows us and what we see is something destructive and unforgettable.
BEST DIRECTOR
Andrew Dominik, "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford"
Although it's his second feature, Andrew Dominik's "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford" confidently mixes nostalgia with the contemporary. A sly rumination on celebrity, iconography, and the Old West coalesce into a visceral world Dominik orchestrates with superb execution.
BEST ACTOR
Gordon Pinsent, "Away from Her"
It's almost a given at award shows when an actor plays a character with a debilitating disease. Julie Christie can add another Oscar to her mantle for her work in Sarah Polley's "Away From Her", but I found Gordon Pinsent's performance much more complex and interesting. As the husband dealing with his own regrets and sins as his wife slips away into Alzheimer's, he must cope with the idea that as time goes by the memory of their relationship fades away. It's a performance full of private pain, anguish, and heartbreak.
BEST ACTRESS
Marina Hands, "Lady Chatterly"
Very rarely is an actor capable of demonstrating an arc in a character without it feeling episodic or cheap. Marina Hands' Lady Chatterly's frolic in the forest with the gamekeeper (an equally impressive Jean-Louis Coullo'ch) is tense to watch but one of the most sensual and natural performances I've seen in a while. As Lady Chatterly discovers herself and her sexuality, we discover a capable and enigmatic actress at her finest.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Robert Downey Jr., "Zodiac"
Crushed by obsession and spit out by consumption, Robert Downey Jr.'s sad and entertaining portrayal of journalist Paul Avery is perfectly eccentric but tuned in to our culture's fetish with maniacal media darlings.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Catherine Keener, "Into the Wild"
As an aging maternal hippie Catherine Keener exudes warmth and a gravitas she has yet to display in her usual menagerie of icy and ennui-laden characters.
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Julie Delpy, "2 Days in Paris"
Funny, biting, and at times painful, Julie Delpy has confidently and pointedly marked her debut as a writer and director to watch with her first feature. A battle of the sexes abroad has never been as fresh, witty, and insightful.
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Tony Gilroy, Scott Z. Burns, and George Nolfi, "The Bourne Ultimatum"
An action thriller that is brooding, subtle, and full of snappy dialogue? It is possible for this writing team who made "The Bourne Ultimatum" the best blockbuster of the summer devoid of irony or idiocy.
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Harris Savides, "Zodiac"
Drained of its vibrance but fully of murky colors like dishwater gray, mustard, and oxblood, David Fincher's "Zodiac" was one of the most unique looking films of 2007. We've known Fincher to be a rigorous stylist but he goes one step further with the expert camera work of Harris Savides and gives us original and memorable shots such as the breathtaking aerial shot of a taxi cab winding through the streets of San Francisco with a very dangerous passenger in tow. Undoubtedly the most cinematic looking HD film ever shot.
Click here for the full list of actual nominees.
Monday, November 5, 2007
the language of film...
Oh the joys of my days off from work and how it feeds my internet addiction. I stumbled upon Giuseppe Tornatore's tribute to fifty years of the Best Foreign Language Film at the Academy Awards this year and it remains a very moving look at some of the best of international cinema over the past half century. Yes, Tornatore is an emotional sensationalist but there is nothing cheap about these moments. Enjoy.
