Indeed, it is certainly not "best picture" material. The nominations for Bridesmaids were also a shock.
Is it possible that some mediocre but appealing-to-the-masses films make the cut just to up the viewership for the awards program? And perhaps advertising revenues for the show producers?
We watched Bridesmaids on DVD because it got good reviews. Not sure why it did. Some scenes were excruciating to watch (the one upsmanship with the microphone at the engagement party, for example). I would not expect any of these performances to be awarded with an oscar nomination. Toilet humor is no less distasteful in a chick flick than in a bad boys movie.
I was amused on the midday news today when much ado was made of Omar Sy winning the César for best actor last night. "The first time ever that the star of a comedy has won this award." (Of course if Jean Dujardin had won the award, they would have had to say the same thing.)
Tonight is Oscar night and it is doubtful that I will watch them. I haven't seen any of the films nominated and the two girlfriends that I usually watch it with are in absentia. It will be all over the news internet tomorrow.....
Well, obviously I have seen The Artist and it is the best made movie of the year. I'm sure you are able to understand that "best made" does not necessarily mean the movie that touched you the most in a given year.
However, considering the fact that sometimes some really badly made movies can strike the perfect chord with us, it is probably wiser to stick to the criteria of "best made" for such awards, to avoid bloodshed.
The nominated movie that perplexes me the most (besides Tinker Tailor) is The Descendants. I saw absolutely nothing extraordinary about that movie, although it was good. On the other hand, I did see all of the "best made" qualities in Hugo and it did touch me, but not as much as The Artist.
Haven't seen any of them yet, so can't comment on their worth. However Hollywood does seem to loooove George Clooney. He is a good actor, but except for O Brother, Where Art Thou?, I don't think the movies he's been in are any great shakes. Do you think that it was because of Mr. Clooney that The Descendants was nominated?
Well, it was a boring telecast overall, but history was made in several categories.
Jean Dujardin became the first Frenchman to win Best Actor (although French actresses have won before). He gave an endearingly joyful speech.
Michel Hazanavicius became the first born-and-raised Frenchman to win Best Director (Oscar winner Roman Polanski was born in Paris but moved at a very young age).
"The Artist" became the first (nearly) silent movie to win Best Picture in 83 years. Some people claimed it was the only one, but a silent film won in the very first Oscar ceremony.
82-year-old Christopher Plummer became the oldest person to win an Oscar in an acting category.
If only Viola Davis had won, it would have been the first time in history two black actresses had won. Oh, well. I definitely can't hate on Meryl Streep. She is an incomparable actress, and she gave a very gracious and moving speech. I can only hope Viola Davis will get another chance soon.
Commentators here find it ironic that Jean Dujardin won best actor in every country except his own -- but of course we have seen his whole career here, so he is not as big a surprise in France as to the rest of the world. And everybody was absolutely delighted that Omar Sy won here.
After nearly breaking the all time box off record in France (but it won't quite), it is breaking all records in Germany and Austria where it has been #1 for eight weeks. It just came out in Italy, with Spain coming up in March. A limited US release is planned for May 25th.
Forgot to mention another first. "A Separation" is the first film from Iran to win Best Foreign film. I'm happy for them, it can't be easy to get films made over there.
Actually, Iran has an absolutely fabulous film industry. I see about half a dozen Iranian movies in Paris every year, and most of them are great. The previous movie by the same director was also exceptional -- "About Elly." One thing that is the most impressive about so many Iranian movies is that the women are very strong characters and don't put up with shit from the men.
Hi - ho ~~ those last two posts reminded me that I had something stashed in My Documents for my own use. Looks like this is the time to share it!
Because this is cut & pasted, I don't know if all the recommendations are from Kerouac or not. So, apologies to anyone else who actually wrote them, if that is the case.
The "tomatometer" reference is to the http://www.rottentomatoes.com/ movie site. All of the stuff below the line of asterisks are things I found on the web.
Jan 23, 2009, 2:52pm, Kerouac2 wrote: If you have not yet investigated Iranian cinema, now is the time to do so. There are some really excellent films and sometimes they are all the more excellent because the directors had to find ways to get their message across while still passing the local censors. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- K2, do you have some titles you can recommend? Or is this something I should google? (Not that the video rental shops in Montana are likely to carry them...) -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Blackboard - an itinerant teacher goes from village to village carrying his blackboard on his back. The blackboard is used as everything - tent, table, protection against bombing...
Gabbeh - about carpet weaving nomads. The leader's daughter sleeps with her boyfriend, and they should be killed for that, but the father makes sure that it doesn't happen.
The Day I Became a Woman - three stories about women struggling for autonomy. The first story is about a little 9 year old girl who is informed that she is now a woman and can no longer play with her best friend, a boy. But her mother announces that she was born in the middle of the day, and she can play with her friend until noon, before donning a chador for the rest of her life. The second story is about a woman who wants to be in a bicycle race. Her husband divorces her when she refuses to stop. The 3rd story is about an old widow. She has inherited a lot of money and decides to buy everything that she could not have when she was married. A really great film!
Kandahar - takes place in Afghanistan but it is an Iranian movie. An Iranian woman educated in the west goes to Kandahar to try to prevent her sister's suicide during a solar eclipse. There is an incredible scene with a black American doctor converted to Islam treating a very sick woman but only allowed to talk though a small canvas hole in the tent to tell her daughter what to do, since he is not allowed to see her or touch her.
Through the Olive Trees - a stoneworker hired as an actor in a movie about an earthquake ravaged area falls in love with the actress and wants to marry her, but she spurns him... or does she? Apparently Western audiences find the woman very cold, but Eastern audiences pick up all of the signals of her interest.
Finally -- but I have never seen it -- A Time for Drunken Horses is supposed to be absolutely fabulous.
Actually, Iran has an absolutely fabulous film industry. I see about half a dozen Iranian movies in Paris every year, and most of them are great. The previous movie by the same director was also exceptional -- "About Elly." One thing that is the most impressive about so many Iranian movies is that the women are very strong characters and don't put up with shit from the men.
Yes, I know of Iran's sterling reputation for good cinema. I was referring to the severe censorship that the filmmakers are often subjected to. Many internationally acclaimed Iranian films are banned in their home country. Fortunately, that is not the case with A Separation, although the director Farhadi has told the LA Times, "I'm not one of the people whose work the government particularly likes."
Thanks, Kimby. Yes, I think you were instrumental in that list. Sorry -- I copied & saved it so long ago, I don't remember the details, I'm just glad to have it.
Even a lot of the dissident Iranian movies are quite prim and proper by our own standards, but No One Knows about Persian Cats gave a completely new take on life in Tehran.
After nearly breaking the all time box off record in France (but it won't quite), it is breaking all records in Germany and Austria where it has been #1 for eight weeks. It just came out in Italy, with Spain coming up in March. A limited US release is planned for May 25th.
Hmmm, Intouchables has also opened in the #1 box office position in Italy. I enjoyed the movie, but I confess that I am mystified by its incredible success. Is it the charisma of Omar Sy? Is it the fact that it is a true story? Is it the fairy tail aspect of a poor person suddenly placed in the world of the ultra rich?
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