And now the big one itself. After covering them in depth elsewhere, let's just briefly list them in reverse order of likelihood.
10. The Blind Side
Quick, what's the only Best Picture nominee without any acting or writing nominations? If you said The Blind Side, you're wrong- it's Avatar, come on. But with only Sandra Bullock's likely win behind it, The Blind Side looks like this year's mediocre film that rode one actress to knocking more deserving fare out of the BP race (last year it was The Reader- heyo!).
9. A Serious Man
Do you think the Coens are starting to wonder if they should try adapting preexisting works more often? Even with a warm critical reception, their ode to late 60s Minneapolis suburban Judaism is an also-ran this year.
7-8. Up, An Education
Thanks for playing, animated films. We'll take you seriously someday. And British films without royalty of some kind? Get real.
6. District 9
In a perfect world, this would be toe-to-toe with Avatar for matching its technical acheivements with, you know, being well-told. But again, we can't all have $150 Milllion promotional budgets.
4-5. Up In The Air, Precious
Can't decide which erstwhile front-runner has fallen into fifth place after looking like a sure thing in September and October, respectively.
3. Inglourious Basterds
What if you make your "masterpiece" and it's just not good enough? Will Tarantino sob quiet at home?
2. Avatar
There seems to be a late swell of supposed support for the juggernaut sci-fi film, but does anyone really want to hear Cameron speak? Ever?
Budget: $11 Million Biggest Handicap: 130-degree heat during filming. Assistant Directors: 7
Bigelow looks to break the gender barrier for Directing this year, and it couldn't me more deserved- a brief shoot among refugees and sweltering conditions in Jordan and wonderful post-production resulted in a masterpiece. Bigelow's chops in blockbuster action proved the perfect ingredient to make people notice an Iraq-war film for seemingly the first time.
2. James Cameron (3 for 3) for Avatar
Budget: $237 Million Biggest Handicap: Being a douche Assistant Directors: 12
James Cameron certainly had the vision and chops to turn a years-long vision into Avatar, but I think we're all discounting the $150 Million budget for promotion (that's after the 237) and how much that lead to the "phenomenon" the film has become.
3. Lee Daniels (0 for 0) for Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire
If Mo'Nique's acceptance speeches are to be believed, it's Daniels' spirit and vision that made Precious such a captivating story.
4. Jason Reitman (0 for 1) for Up in the Air
Budget: $25 Million Biggest Handicap: Nebraska Assistant Directors: 4
A much more deserved return for Reitman after his first nomination for Juno- Up In The Air required all kinds of location shooting, aerial shots, product placement, and extras wrangling, but it all came together seamlessly.
5. Quentin Tarantino (1 for 2) for Inglourious Basterds
Budget: $70 Million Biggest Handicap: Spelling Assistant Directors: 15
Considering he spent a decade writing his WWII masterpiece, Inglourious Basterds is remarkably reigned-in compared to the Kill Bill movies. A diverse cast, in diverse locales, leading up to a fire-filled finish that nearly killed people- no mean feat, but it's still not QT's year.
"One of the things that’s appealing about country music, in general, is that it’s dealing with human emotions that people can relate to. We can all relate to not only the fear of failure, but the fear of success and what we do to ourselves when we get successful. Once you get to the top of the mountain, there’s only one place to go. You roll down." -canmag
After missing out all the way back to The Last Picture Show Bridges will win his first Oscar this year- the only question is the standing ovation. In a role very similar to Mickey Rourke's in The Wrestler, but much more palatable, he's somehow a world-weary Kris Kristofferson and The Dude wrapped together. It just sort of works, and you can tell he's sung once or twice before.
2. George Clooney (1 for 4) for Up In The Air
"It’s a bit close to home and to my own persona so I knew I’d have to take that baggage on as well, but if you’re a grown-up and able to look at how other people look at you, you say, 'Well, OK I can do that.'" -telegraph
Hey you know who apparently hates giving interviews? Seriously, that was the most relevant quote I could find to the role. Anyway, Clooney looked like a solid bet in September, with a self-aware, world-weary performance, until Bridges emerged with one more self-aware and world-wearier.
3. Colin Firth (0 for 0) for A Single Man
"He’s putting up every barrier he can. He desperately needs to mask the chaos that’s going on; he’s a total mess, everything’s completely out of control. Hence the need to create an appearance of perfect control, which is so excessive that it can only be neurotic, and I think some people have misinterpreted it as a piece of tomfool decoration on a movie. It’s not only consistent with the character and the film, it’s essential to it. You take this guy’s cufflinks off and he’ll fall apart." -cinemasource
This is the only one I haven't seen, as it left theaters too quickly. But if there's a spoiler afoot anywhere, it's the BAFTA-winning Firth.
4. Morgan Freeman (1 for 4) for Invictus
"The biggest challenge I had, of course, was to sound like him. Everything else is kind of easy to do – to walk like him. He has a few tics and things that I noticed and I picked those up. I didn’t have any agenda as it were in playing the role other than to bring it as close to reality as I possibly could. The agenda is incorporated in the script and all I had to do was learn my lines." -moviesonline
Yawn. Apparently Nelson Mandela himself said he'd want Morgan Freeman to play him, and so it went. Wake me up if they ever make Long Walk To Freedom, it might hold more weight.
5. Jeremy Renner (0 for 0) for The Hurt Locker
"I’ve never been so affected or so interested in a project. I just thought that EOD was a whole world that had never been explored in cinema. On paper, he was one of the best-written characters I’d seen in a long time. I had so many questions and answers, at the same time, to what made this guy tick and I was just so curious I couldn’t wait to figure it out." -incontention
Renner adds several shades to what seems like a typical "cowboy" soldier role as The Hurt Locker progresses, and is my favorite performance of the year. Also I just realized he was the bad guy in S.W.A.T. and it blew my mind.
Hey, Meryl Streep could still win this one, you guys! She won the, uh, the Golden Globe. You know, the separate one for Comedy or Musical. That means she's legit, right?
1. Sandra Bullock (0 for 0) for The Blind Side
"Whatever wonderful actress was going to play Leigh Anne Tuohy, it was going to be an inspirational story, a true life story- that we’re capable of so much more than we think we are, because we don’t really live in a world that supports the good that we can do, they all want us to do something bad that sells some papers or some news report." -cinemasource
Bullock of course, is actually going to win, not because her solid work in The Blind Side is anything to write home about, but because she co-opted the storyline from Streep a couple months back, and "Whould've Thunk It" as a narrative for a first-timer trumps "It's Been A Long Time Since My Second Oscar" every time.
2. Helen Mirren (1 for 3) for The Last Station
"I’m so not like Sofya. I wish I was more like Sofya. Instead, I get quiet and resentful and cry and angry and sulk. You know, Sofya does not do that. She lets it all out immediately. And I wish I had more of her characteristics." -darkhorizons
Not that I have one, but Mirren gets my vote this year for her scenery-chewing, wonderfully passionate performance in The Last Station. There's not much of a groundswell for her out there, though, which is what happens when you've just won a few years back.
3. Carey Mulligan (0 for 0) for An Education
"One of the things I admired most about Jenny as a character, and I admire this in people I know, is when people are passionate and learn things for themselves, who take an interest in things in their lives just because they're interested." -film.com
It took me all day to find an interview where Mulligan does anything but credit director Lone Scherfig and her costars for her success- such modesty. A breakout role for a breakout star, and a welcome-to-Hollywood Oscar nomination like a cherry on top.
4. Gabourey Sidibe (0 for 0) for Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire
"She wants to hide within herself, she wants to be invisible. I did that even on the audition tape. I felt like I knew this girl. I’d seen parts of her in a lot of different people. In my family members. I knew her in myself when I was 15." -telegraph
With only a few parts in college theatre to her credit, its been quite the year for Sidibe, whose more nuanced performance of an abused teenager facing nothing but bleakness is arguably more impressive than Mo'Nique's turn as her mother.
5. Meryl Streep (2 for 15) for Julie & Julia
"When you talk about passion, Julia Child just didn’t have it for her husband or cooking; she had a passion for living. What was compelling about her was her joie de vivre and her unwillingness to be bogged down in negativity. She loved being alive and that’s inspirational in itself." -telegraph
Normally a spot-on imitation of a beloved public figure is an easy walk to the podium, but not so for Meryl. I have a theory that she'll never win an Oscar again: with 16 nominations, how can she ever need it more than the next woman? But maybe if this role had been a full biopic (instead of half lame rom-com) she'd prove me wrong.
1. District 9- Neill Blomkamp, Terri Tatchell (both 0 for 0)
"To everyone's surprise, the ship didn't come to a stop over Manhattan or Washington or Chicago,but instead it costed to a halt directly over the city of Johannesburg. The doors didn't open for 3 months. It just hovered there. Nobody could get in."
An interesting choice for adapted screenplay, considering much of the dialogue was improvised. The merging of the Frontline retrospective with a rock-solid sci-fi action movie proves too memorable to pass up.
2. An Education- Nick Hornby (0 for 0)
JENNY: "So you’re telling me to be bored, and then bored, and then finally bored again, this time for the rest of my life. This whole stupid country is bored. There’s no life in it, or colour in it, or fun in it. It’s probably just as well that the Russians are going to drop a nuclear bomb on us any day now."
The striaghtforward but compelling script for An Education takes a backseat to the performances, but does a great job making an ill-advised cradle robbing seem less unsettlingly predatory.
3. In The Loop- Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci, Tony Roche (all 0 for 0)
TOBY: "Simon, I am sorry, but it's not like I threw up in there, is it?" SIMON: No, you're right, I'm being unfair. I should be thanking you for not throwing up. Well done, you're a star. You didn't wet yourself, did you? You're in the right city. You didn't say anything overtly racist. You didn't pull your cock out and start plucking it and shouting "Willy Banjo". No, I'm being really unfair. You'd got so much right, without actually being there in the beginning of one of the most important moments of my career. Thanks, you're a legend."
Cannot believe this got nominated. Such a great script that you just cross your fingers that they release the original four plus hour long cut on DVD.
4. Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire- Geoffrey Fletcher (0 for 0)
PRECIOUS: "Some folks has a lot of things around them that shines for other peoples. I think that maybe some of them was in tunnels. And in that tunnel, the only light they had, was inside of them. And then long after they escape that tunnel, they still be shining for everybody else."
I haven't read it, but I imagine a lot of credit is due to Fletcher for Precious's sucess, as the novel is written in a stream-of-consciousness style that progresses in literacy along with the character.
5. Up in the Air- Jason Reitman (0 for 1), Sheldon Turner (0 for 0)
RYAN (V.O.): "Tonight, most people will be welcomed home by jumping dogs and squealing kids. Their spouses will ask about their day, and tonight they'll sleep. The stars will wheel forth from their daytime hiding places, crowning their neighborhood with lights. And one of those lights, slightly brighter than the rest, will be my wingtip passing over."
The sure winner, Reitman and Turner will get up to awkwardly divide speechtime once more on Sunday. Having read the book long ago, it seems like a real plot transformation took place on the journey to the screen, but the themes of isolation were never lost. It was just waiting for the unemployment crisis to make it more timely.
Of the Big Eight categories, Original Screenplay is the only one that's a true tossup. Will it go to the now beleaguered Hurt Locker script, or Tarantino's wordy Nazi parable?
1. The Hurt Locker- Mark Boal (0 for 0)
SGT. JAMES: [to his son] "You love playing with all your stuffed animals. You love your Mommy, your Daddy. You love your pajamas. You love everything, don't ya? Yeah. But you know what, buddy? As you get older... some of the things you love might not seem so special anymore. Like your Jack-in-a-Box. Maybe you'll realize it's just a piece of tin and a stuffed animal. And then you forget the few things you really love. And by the time you get to my age, maybe it's only one or two things. With me, I think it's one."
The winner of the WGA and the BAFTA, Mark Boal's taught script looks like the current frontrunner, by just a nose. It's swift, frank, and as laudable for the things it leaves unsaid as the things it emphasizes.
2. Inglourious Basterds- Quentin Tarantino (1 for 2)
COL. LANDA: "Consequently, a German soldier conducts a search of a house suspected of hiding Jews. Where does the hawk look? He looks in the barn, he looks in the attic, he looks in the cellar, he looks everywhere *he* would hide, but there's so many places it would never occur to a hawk to hide. However, the reason the Führer's brought me off my Alps in Austria and placed me in French cow country today is because it does occur to me. Because I'm aware what tremendous feats human beings are capable of once they abandon dignity."
Tarantino, I suppose is a heavyweight having won this category for Pulp Fiction, but it's hard not to think of him as an outsider still. Yet it's possible AMPAS will award his wordy, episodic, and mannered script for Basterds, if only for navigating several languages at once.
3. The Messenger- Alessandro Camon, Oren Moverman (both 0 for 0)
CAPT. STONE: "You do not speak with anybody other than the next of kin - no friend, no neighbor, no co-worker or mistress. Hours of operation are 0600 to 2200 hours and we dont want to wake anybody up in the middle of the night. If you ask me, hitting them with the news at the crack of dawn is not exactly a great way to start their day -breakfast-wise."
Moverman and Camon's screenplay seems more like something for a stage production- apparently there was little to no blocking or direction, or even rehearsal for any of the death notification scenes, so the reaction when someone slaps Woody Harrelson's character in grief-stricken panic was geniune. But there was some great work near the end when people finally start opening up.
4. A Serious Man- Joel Coen, Ethan Coen (both 4 for 8)
LARRY: "It's, it's more about myself, I've... I've had quite a bit of tsuris lately. Marital problems, professional, you name it. This is not a frivolous request. This is a ser- I'm a ser- I'm, uh, I've tried to be a serious man, you know? Tried to do right, be a member of the community, raise the- Danny, Sarah, they both go to school, Hebrew school, a good breakfast... Well, Danny goes to Hebrew school, Sarah doesn't have time, she mostly... washes her hair. Apparently there are several steps involved, but you don't have to tell Marshak that. Just tell him I need help. Please? I need help."
The Coens return with another dour, dark, farce layered with stuttering and awkward silence. It seemed to me designed to frustrate, but maybe that was the point. Moving on...
5. Up- Bob Peterson (0 for 1), Pete Docter (0 for 4), Thomas McCarthy (0 for 0)
CARL: "This is crazy. I finally meet my childhood hero and he's trying to kill us. What a joke." DUG: "Hey, I know a joke! A squirrel walks up to a tree and says, 'I forgot to store acorns for the winter and now I am dead.' Ha! It is funny because the squirrel gets dead."
Not sure if I agree- Ratatouille, Wall-E, and The Incredibles seemed a little more complex to me- the appeal of Up is almost entirely visual and immediate.
I'm going with The Hurt Locker in a close vote, even with all the late-breaking hubbub last week. Sometimes there's just no stopping a movie on a roll.
"This team was asked to exceed their expectations. It’s a metaphor for what the country needed to do because everybody was expecting them to not be able to heal. It was Francois’s integrity and leadership that I needed to get across with the role." -collider
Damon finally returns to the ranks of Oscar nominee after Good Will Hunting, but it couldn't be for a more boring role. Invictus is fascinating at points, in the same way the non-fiction book its based on must be- that all happened? But the workmanlike Eastwood approach doesn't lend much to the drama of the role, so it's hard to get behind Damon as an Oscar candidate- especially when his role in The Informant! is the best of his career so far.
2. Woody Harrelson (0 for 1) for The Messenger
"There are certain protocols they have in the Army and the rest of the military, but there's no easy way to do it. You just say, "The Secretary of the Army regrets to inform you..." And it's the hardest job in the Army. Even people I met at Walter Reed who had lost an arm or a leg would say, "Oh, no, I don't want to do that. I'd much rather go back into combat." Nobody wants that job, because you're walking in and breaking someone's heart." -amc
The Messenger is a wonderful character piece that's less histronic than any film about Casualty Notifcation officers has any right to be. Harrelson gets the more subtle role as the mentor to Ben Foster's Iraq war veteran, and is surprisingly perfect for it.
3. Christopher Plummer (0 for 0) for The Last Station
"There was a chance to redeem [Tolstoy] from a kind of universal view that he was dry. He wrote these long, heavy going – wonderful though they were, human novels. But was he fun? Did he have a lark every now and then?" -darkhorizons
Plummer took the relatively blank slate that is Tolstoy in most of the pop consciousness and put an emphatic stamp of his own on it in a vibrant, alternately hilarious and stately turn. BUt how this is billed as a supporting performance (while Helen Mirren is a "leading" one) is beyond me.
Moreover, how on earth has Plummer never been nominated before? And why isn't he getting any "Oscar for the whole career" buzz this season?
4. Stanley Tucci (0 for 0) for The Lovely Bones
“It was hard in every respect. I was very reticent to take the part at first. I have kids and I can’t really read anything or watch anything with kids getting harmed. I don’t like things about serial killers. There’s so much serial killer information out there in documentaries constantly. A lot of it’s just sort of gratuitous or it’s almost like pornographic really. There’s no reason for it being shown. This was not that.” -canmag
I've never been interested in reading The Lovely Bones, and was sort of relieved that the lack of critical love (and nominations) for the film adaptation exempted me from seeing it as well. So I'm sure Tucci does a great job going to a dark place, but he's not winning anyway.
5. Christoph Waltz (0 for 0) for Inglourious Basterds
"What makes [Landa] so intriguing is exactly that; he’s not driven by an ideology. When people say “Nazi,” it’s such a gross generalization, I feel. And sometimes I feel compelled to say, 'Well, he’s not even a Nazi.' Yes, he wears that uniform, but he doesn’t care. Not about Nazi ideology. He’s completely unideological. He just understands how the world turns, and in that way, he’s three steps ahead of everyone else." -slashfilm
Another year, another sure-thing supporting actor winner for a role as a complete psychopath (after Javier Bardem and Heath Ledger). Waltz is the flashier, most memorable, and most deftly-played part of Tarantino's sprawling love-letter to WWII, and has no doubt politely declined to dust off a space on his mantle just yet- but he defintiely has his speech ready.
In all four acting categories, I managed to see four out of five performances. So I can actually sort of speak with authority, which is little consolation: the winners were all decided long ago, for the most part.
"There is a lot of chaos on a movie set, which Nine is a lot about. Nine is about the chaos of creating and the crisis of a director. So, it’s been very interesting for me. The whole year has been about movies that were an homage to cinema." -collider
This is of course the one I didn't see, but the consensus is that the academy nominated Cruz for the wrong film- her role in Almodovar's Broken Embraces was a leading one, but less over-the-top and lost-in-the-crowd. But maybe they discounted the lingerie factor?
2. Vera Farmiga (0 for 0) for Up in the Air
"It was cool to see female desire portrayed in such a masculine way. And that was an interesting take on female desire -- you know, something that was kind of demanding and wanton and unapologetic ... and yet treading that line of femininity and softness; and being appealing; and not frightening people; and having dignity -- not having the character being bereft of dignity, but giving her self-esteem." -moviefone
Watching Up In The Air a second time (with certain late revelations about Farmiga's character in mind), you appreciate the fact that this character has an entire, Clooney-less life of her own- we never get to see it, but too often movies just sort of assume it isn't there.
3. Maggie Gyllenhaal (0 for 0) for Crazy Heart
"She seems like a real person to me -- someone who is strong in some ways and yet knows she is weak in others, and that’s what I look for in the people I play – that they feel real. That appealed tremendously to me." -moviesonline
The surprise inclusion to the field, Gyllenhaal brings as much heart and pathos to Crazy Heart as Bridges, and squashes potential complaints about unrealistic May-December romances by making the whole thing seem, well, real.
4. Anna Kendrick (0 for 0) for Up in the Air
"Natalie and I are both people who like to maintain a level of control. But I think being out of our element makes us react very differently. I tend to get progressively more awkward and fall apart more. And she sort of clings to her rigidity. And her physical appearance has a lot to do with that. Her posture and her voice and her hair and her wardrobe is all about clinging to a sense of order, and if she can get her ponytail a little bit tighter, maybe things won't feel like they're falling apart." -moviefone
Probably the best scene of Up In The Air is one in which George Clooney barely speaks- Anna Kendrick gets to cut loose and pepper Farmiga with questions about what the future will hold, as a fellow career-woman. One plays baffled desperation, the other wise acceptance as the ostensibly star of the film just smiles and nods.
5. Mo'Nique (0 for 0) for Precious
"I think that all of us know Mary. I had to put her shoes on. If I were that person, I would want forgiveness. You do feel sorry for her because you begin to understand she’s mentally ill. She ain’t just being a bitch. She’s sick, and the society that we’re in, they threw her away. Nobody asked any questions, nobody got involved. That illness doesn’t just start. People know for years. We wanted to bring that world and put it right in your face." -spout
Mo'Nique has seemingly had this wrapped up since Precious, then known as Push, premiered at Sundance. Her performance is moving, powerful, and stems from real-life abuse- there's really no word against it and no stopping her at this point.
A ten part series on the Best Picture nominees, structured around four basic questions.
Part 10: Up In The Air
Was It Any Good?
It was solidly entertaining and "important," like a fine Oscar-flavored wine. Even as someone let go at the beginning of 2008 due to the down economy, I didn't find the firing interviews intercut with the main story all that moving, but the stars and the even-handed direction make it a worthy effort.
George Clooney in particular is his usual self, which is a blessing for the film overall, but a little bit of a hindrance for the character- does anyone really buy that someone so seemingly mature would be hung up on collecting airline miles? I didn't, and the early-film petulance as Ryan Bingham tried to cling to his solitary way of life rang a little false as well. But Clooney, the eternal bachelor, was of course the perfect choice to play the second half of the film as he contemplates coming down to earth.
Would I See It Again?
I think so- the supporting cast, especially Anna Kendrick, make it worth repeat viewings, and I find the subtle Rolfe Kent score growing on me. Reitman knows, of course, how to find a catchy soundtrack, and found airports fertile ground for memorable images.
Again, I could care less about the idea of being fired. Most of the victims in the film are shrugged off as soon as they leave the screen, except for one late breaking revelation (mild spoiler) about a woman who commits suicide, an element seemingly played for laughs and then mined for underserved pathos.
Other than Jason Bateman's well=played sleazeball, there's nothing really gained from the entire premise. But everyone is just so damn likeable, and Young MC randomly shows up!
What Did It Acheive?
Around the time of the Toronto film festival, it looked like Up In The Air was the clear Best Picture frontrunner, and Clooney was on the was to his second Oscar. The tides clearly have changed since, as Bridges will win easily, and voters loved The Hurt Locker and District 9 so much they forgot to even nominate Up In The Air for Editing (a deathblow).
But Reitman is now in the critical stratosphere, having moved from farce (Thank You For Smoking) and tweeness (Juno) into Serious Oscar Movies. Kendrick should get work outside of Twilight sequels for sure, and Farmiga can add Oscar nominee to her growing resume. Clooney- he was already a huge likeable star.
Will I Remember It Years From Now?
Whether it worked for me or not, the employment crisis angle lends a lot of timeliness to Up In The Air that will fix it in memory. It's also somewhat universal for anyone who's ever traveled alone. It hits a lot of cliches (a groom with cold feet? Really?) but has the right cast and director to hit them very well.
What a great, great category this year. Apparently it takes 16 animated films in a year to expand the nominations to five, and we just barely squeaked by in '09.
There's your obligatory Pixar, an old-school hand-drawn Disney film, two great claymation entires (one based on a book by my favorite author), and just when you thought the last spot would go to a generic crowd-pleaser like Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs, along comes an unheralded but awesome-looking Irish sleeper.
1. Coraline
Neil Gaiman would be the aforementioned favorite author of mine (better luck next time, Roald Dahl), and while Stardust was passable entertainment, Henry Selick's Coraline is by far superior in both overall quality and in capturing the spirit of Gaiman's work, seamlessly blending fright with wonder.
Dakota Fanning manages not to annoy the stuffing out of me in pure voice form, and beyond Teri Hatcher every other choice is a ringer: John Hodgman, Ian McShane, Dawn and French, and even a brief cameo by a They Might Be Giant.
2. Fantastic Mr. Fox
Not only would I have included this in the Best Picture race over Up, I would also venture that it was grieviously overlooked for both Adapted Screenplay and Art Direction- isn't set decoration harder when it's really, really small?
3. The Princess and the Frog
Didn't see it, sure it's fun, and so on. Not sure if I ever will, even though frogs are my favorite animals.
4. The Secret Of Kells
This hasn't been released in the U.S. as of yet, but my "friend" who lives in "Ireland" and has no idea what a torrent is whatsoever saw it and told me it was amazing.
A visually mesmerizing, hand-crafted style and Bruno Callais' painfully-snubbed score support a story set in the 9th century about monks, vikings, forest spirits, and an adorable cat. It's snappy, but has the straightforward, unexplained mysticism of a Miyazaki film.
...or so I hear.
5. Up
See the previous post on how this film was fine enough, but not a home run- more Cars than Wall-E, at least for me. But there's pretty much no way it's losing, unless enough people fall in love with The Secret of Kells- and hey, they're technically required to see all five before voting.
A ten part series on the Best Picture nominees, structured around four basic questions.
Part 9: Up
Was It Any Good?
We're well past the point that we should just amend the dictionery to contain:
Pixarian- adj.- of consistently superior quality. The ballplayer put up winningly Pixarian numbers from season to season.
Up continues the 10 film winning streak, this time all the way to the Best Picture race. The story is whimsically simple, something of a regression from recent concepts like Wall-E and Ratatouille: widower grows cranky, leaves society by tying balloons to his house.
My verdict was good, not great.
Would I See It Again?
Sure, I guess- I actually put it on my Christmas list before seeing it on blnd faith, and I can't say I'm dissapointed.
It's just a bit of a letdown after Wall-E, a film that deserved a Best Picture nomination last year even before the expansion, given the field (cough). And although the image of the house is unique and the animation splendid as always, it's by far the most pedestrian Pixar concept so far: the list goes toys come to life, bugs run a circus, toys come to life again, monsters harvest screams for power, clown fish loses son, superheroes faced with lawsuit, talking car gets lost, rat wants to cook, last robot on earth falls in love, and then... old man is cranky?
And the characters aren't terribly rich, either. As wonderful as the opening montage of Carl's lifetime with his wife was, he's a pretty generic cranky-old-dude archetype for the rest of the film. His little sidekick Russel is a pretty run of the mill annoying kid, until some revelations about his parents' divorce halfway through.
What Did It Acheive?
Second highest grossing Pixar film, and of course along with Avatar the first animated Best Picture nominee since Beauty And The Beast. And we all know that it's bringing in the fifth Animated Feature Oscar on March 7th.
Will I Remember It Years From Now?
I did see, at some point, Pete Docter's other Pixar collaboration, Monsters, Inc., but I find my memories of it very sketchy. So I'll have to get back to you. Though only a few moments in Up made me roll my eyes as much as Billy Crystal's tired Vaudevillian schtick (namely when the dogs played poker and obvious gags like the GPS falling).
Maybe it doesn't help that it's the first Pixar movie with human protagonists, as I found myself wondering a lot of pragmatic questions, about how long it would take to float to South America and so forth. Pixar's great at animals and robots, but it might still be south of the uncanny valley for humanfolk.
Here's a fun category- the next best indicator to director of how well put-together a picture is made. Up In The Air likely saw missing the cut as the final nail in the coffin, while Precious and District 9 must have been a little surprised to make it.
It can be a surefire indicator of how the night will end (like Crash winning it and little else), or sometimes it can go to a popular movie with impressive work like The Bourne Ultimatum. This year? Probably the former, but we'll see.
1. Avatar- Stephen E. Rivkin (0 for 0), John Refoua (0 for 0), James Cameron (3 for 3)
The word is that Cameron and co. had to basically edit during shooting, watching "mintutelies" instead of dailies and structuring the film on the fly. That's great for them, but the finished product is what counts, and said product cut a very sleepy pace indeed.
2. District 9- Julian Clarke (0 for 0)
Fun fact: Julian Clarke's previous most recognizable credit is Uwe Boll's Postal. The counterpoint to Avatar, District 9 uses a faux-documentary style to get any backstory right out of the way, and thrills non-stop to the end.
3. The Hurt Locker- Bob Murawski (0 for 0), Chris Innis (0 for 0)
The likely winners and the ones that deserve it, to my mind. An epic 2:10 run-time combines a half-dozen odd bombs scares with about as many various character scenes without ever losing steam, and individual standout sequences abound.
4. Inglourious Basterds- Sally Menke (0 for 1)
Longtime Tarantino editor Menke is the only previous nominee (besides Cameron) in the race, for Pulp Fiction. Basterds is certainly a well tuned film, and it's got a knack for cutting the scene right after a punchline. I'd say this is just as much of a potential spoiler as Avatar, slim though the chance may be.
5. Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire- Joe Klotz (0 for 0)
An unexpected nominee, but a fair one: witness the pastiche terror-flashback scenes in Precious that play like Lynch on fast-forward. It's fun work, but gimmicky.
The Hurt Locker all the way. And so end the tech awards. We've got two more BP previews and Animated Feature to discuss, then it's time for the money categories.
A ten part series on the Best Picture nominees, structured around four basic questions.
Part 8: A Serious Man
Was It Any Good?
There's a moment in A Serious Man when Michael Stuhlbarg, as a put-upon Jewish physics professor with his life falling apart, goes to the second of three rabbis for counsel. The rabbi tells him a story of a dentist confronted with a bewildering mystery, one that turned out to have no answer. A frustrated Stuhlbarg asks "Why even tell me the story?!"
As much as I like the Coen Bros., I have to say: seconded.
A Serious Man is executed well, and clearly complete in its nostalgia for the suburbs of Minneapolis in 1967, but I was sort of left wondering why we were bothering to visit. There are questions raised, but little pontificating and no answers at all.
The "black comedy" seems to be mostly terrible things happening to Stuhlbarg's character, as well as interminably long pacing while we wait for old Jewish people to speak- a very similar scene late in Intolerable Cruelty makes me think the Coens and I differ greatly in how funny we think old men wheezing for breath happen to be.
Would I See It Again?
Nyet. No thank you, I'm afraid. Is this the license the Coen brothers are granted after winning four Oscars apiece? An inscrutable labor of love to their own childhoods that's as dour and humorless as they seem to be in interviews?
It would help if the film were focused to Stuhlbarg alone, but several scenes follow his pothead son about to have his bar mitzvah- I can't think of any reason the story necessitates that we follow him at all, other than that the directors were about his age at the time that's depicted.
What Did It Acheive?
Well, 87% of critics disagree with me in general, according to Rotten Tomatoes, and enough AMPAS voters as well. And beyond any issues I had, it's certainly a finely crafted movie, with Roger Deakins beautiful framing and the ever popular "Roderick Jaynes" cutting together one great sequence in the middle (during the second rabbi's story).
Will I Remember It Years From Now?
Not in particular. Maybe it would speak to me more if I were religious myself, but I found it empty.
Sure, there's a universal idea there- as Stuhlbarg says, "Why Me?" But I get enough of that movie outside of the theater.
A ten part series on the Best Picture nominees, structured around four basic questions.
Part 7: Precious: Based On The Novel "Push" by Sapphire
Was It Any Good?
It was certainly quite the acting showcase, if nothing else. Gabourey Sidibe more than earns a lead actress nomination, and nearly every scene Mo'Nique is in leads to one of those patented Oscar Moments that pave the way to an unstoppable awards run.
Lee Daniels sets a sort of frenetic early pace that really makes it seem like the second half of the film is dragging, but I can see why Precious: Based on that film "Push" that had Chris Evans and Dakota Fanning earned an editing nomination over Up In The Air.
The story itself is almot pathologically relentless- it got to the point where (spoiler) after the late revelation that Precious also has AIDS I was kind of throwing up my hands. What is this, "RENT"? It might have been less of an extreme pile-up if Daniels hadn't made the travails of the beginning so thoroughly in our faces. Between the fluttering images, rapid Requiem For A Dream-style edits, and horror-film flashbacks, it's hard to have anything left for the home stretch.
Would I See It Again?
I'm going to abstain- even the dramas that leave me utterly speechless are things I'm unlikely to watch again. I'm glad I watched it, but I don't think I missed much the first time around.
The thing is, Precious: Based on the "Push" Sign Often Seen On Doors wants to have it several ways at once: powerful character drama, light-hearted coming of age story, and wry social commentary (Precious has several fantasy sequences of being a model or movie star that jar with the rest of the movie).
What Did It Acheive?
A best picture nomination is no small feat for an indie movie about uncomfortable subjects (and we all know that Precious: Based on the song "Push" by Matchbox Twenty is one of the five "real" nominees).
Time will tell if it launches careers, but it certainly has one Oscar in the bag as of yesterday.
Will I Remember It Years From Now?
I'll certainly carry the viewing experience longer than most other films, and I'm always happy with clunky titles.
I mean, Precious: Based on a Tie in the Game Of Blackjack is the best title since The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford!
One more note: Paula Patton plays a pretty standard heart-of-gold teacher very well, but the real supporting turn I was impressed with? Mariah Carey summons up a gravelly voice and an odd wig and puts in a few great scenes as a prickly social worker. She wasn't all that likeable, but she seemed like a real person that wanted to help. The movie ends with a key confrontation scene between the two leads, but Carey's mediating presence in that scene is important.
One of my favorite categories, which I invariably get wrong because I pick with my heart. And the guild is no help, they're great at matching nominees, but awful at getting the same winner. Let's get to the nominees, along with my favorite shot from each one (except for The White Ribbon, which I refuse to see).
1. Avatar- Mauro Fiore (0 for 0)
Fiore seems to have kicked around making mostly undistinguished action movies like The Kingdom and The Island before scoring his first nomination for Avatar. Beyond the impressive 3D elements, the film has a pretty straightforward "Look at this! Isn't this AWESOME!" look to it. It goes down easy, but doesn't say Oscar to me.
Favorite Shot: Long view of the transport ship.
Even without 3D I like the framing of Worthington getting out of cryo as we see how massive the Pandora operation really is.
2. The White Ribbon -Christian Berger (0 for 0)
Berger is a long time Haneke DP, whose job mainly consists of leaving the camera stationary and going to get a hot dog (ba-zing!). But hey, it was black and white, so there were issues with contrast and lighting and all that to deal with, I'm sure.
Every Shot In This Film: Someone looking sad while not talking for five minutes.
3. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince- Bruno Delbonnel
Two time nominee for his work with Jean Pierre Jeunet (Amelie, A Very Long Engagement), Delbonnel added a welcome visual flair, giving the sixth installment a melting aesthetic all its own.
Favorite Shot: Fire in the Cave
I know, it's FX heavy, but the whole scene helped fill the Lord Of The Rings hole in my heart for a while.
4. The Hurt Locker- Barry Ackroyd (0 for 0)
Ackroyd had some practice going for a documentary feel with Battle in Seattle and United 93, and made The Hurt Locker seem like it was happening live even as it threw in plenty of beautfiul compositions. I had trouble choosing my favorite sequence- was it the split second shots of bullets hitting the sand or rust shattering off of old cars? A harrowing night scene as three soldiers flicker in and out of view in the blue light of a flare? Or:
Favorite Shot: Walking through the smoke
On Jeremy Renner's first mission as the new bomb squad leader, he puts on the heavy protective tech suit and walks down toward an IED. He throws out a smoke grenade, allegedly to "create a distraction," but clearly the only reason he did it was to create this awesome shot of him disspearing into and reappearing from the myst, like some sort of reverse deep-sea diver.
5. Inglourious Basterds- Robert Richardson (2 for 5)
With Oscars for JFK and The Aviator, Richardson is the heavyweight this year, but I can't remember too many images from Basterds for some reason. Mostly I recall a lot of back and forth panning as characters translated for one another.
Favorite Shot: Burning the Cinema
But who can forget Shoshanna's maniacally laughing face as the screen cathes fire, about to burn a theater-full of Nazis to death. Best prank ever.
I think this will be the point in the ceremony where The Hurt Locker starts its run-up to the big prize. Call it a hunch. It's also the one I want to win, so take the prediction with a grain of salt.
Fun fact: this award was originally called "Best Interior Decoration," because movies used to just be shot in rooms in studios and nowhere else.
Also from 1940 to 1956 (and then randomly again in 1959) they gave separate awards to color and black & white films. I feel like a similar division should happen soon for CGI and non-CGI. Seriously, how can we consider Avatar to win an award that's supposed to be for production design and set decoration when it had barely any sets?
1. Avatar- Art Direction: Rick Carter (0 for 1) and Robert Stromberg (0 for 1); Set Decoration: Kim Sinclair (0 for 0)
This seems like the best place to recognize the extent to which James Cameron and his team nerded out making this a complete world. Apparently they put together a 380-page book called "Pandorapedia" with all sorts of information about fake aliens species, and even a Sigourney-Weaver-narrated short Discovery Channel style special about it, which will no doubt be on the DVD.
2. The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus- Art Direction: Dave Warren and Anastasia Masaro; Set Decoration: Caroline Smith (all 0 for 0)
Like I said, the awards that Gilliam's films should always get never seem to materialize. That said, while Parnassus was better than his last few efforts by far, it was still haphazard and disjointed- the fantasia sequences had nothing to do with reality at all.
Compare this to say, Time Bandits, which frames the fantastic with the mundane in a wonderful way.
3. Nine- Art Direction: John Myhre (2 for 4); Set Decoration: Gordon Sim (1 for 1)
Oh, Nine. So many awards were yours to lose a while ago: Best Original Song, costumes, art direction... Maybe even supporting actress for one of the eight thousand big name actresses you seem to have.
Then you had to come out and pretty much blow. Go figure.
4. Sherlock Holmes- Art Direction: Sarah Greenwood (0 for 2); Set Decoration: Katie Spencer (0 for 2)
I'm super proud of myself for remembering that Greenwood and Spencer are the team from all of Joe Wright's films (including Pride & Prejudice and Atonement, with nominations for both), whose work I quite enjoy. If there's a potential spoiler for this award, I say it's Sherlock, which had just as much (relative) sucess late in the year, and is a more traditional period piece to boot.
5. The Young Victoria- Art Direction: Patrice Vermette (0 for 0); Set Decoration: Maggie Gray (0 for 1)
Still haven't seen it, but I'm sure the work was solid. Not solid enough to overcome less than $10 million at the box office though.
Art Direction is a goofy category, sometimes going with the obvious frontrunner (The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button last year), and sometimes going for a wildcard that actually merits it (like Sweeney Todd or Pan's Labyrinth).
And the Art Director's Guild is no help at all, since they take the coward's route and have seperate categories for fantasy (Avatar), period (Sherlock Holmes), and contemporary films (The Hurt Locker).
My call is Avatar once again, but with little certainty this time.
Although it had its usual share of hiccups yet again (like disqualifying Where The Wild Things Are), the Score category surprised me with two of my favorites that I thought would be overlooked, and another great inclusion that didn't even occur to me.
1. Avatar- James Horner (2 for 8)
For your consideration: "War"
Funny how the future as depicted in cinema looks better and fancier all the time, but the soundtrack is the same old bombastic thing. Witness the above selection, a pretty standard Greek-chorus type of thing- seems like it could be from a chariot race or gladiator fight, not a huge battle between twin-blade space helicopters, robot-exoskeletons and big alien dinosaurs. If you want to see the future done right, see Clint Mansell's great work on the indie Moon.
Horner is a frequent nominee, but has wins only for Titanic's score and song. If he takes the trophy, it will probably be good news for the film's Best Picture chances.
2. Fantastic Mr. Fox- Alexandre Desplat (0 for 2)
For your consideration: "Kristofferson's Theme"
Desplat had a busy year in 2009- so much that I was sure that he'd get nominated for his work in Coco Before Chanel, A Prophet, Julie and Julia, or even New Moon before his wonderfully vibrant Fox score.
He matches frequent Wes Anderson composer Mark Mothersbaugh's plucky string work with some richer, more emotional compositions which helped make Fantastic Mr. Fox arguably Anderson's most affecting film.
3. The Hurt Locker- Marco Beltrami (0 for 1) and Buck Sanders (0 for 0)
For your consideration: "The Way I Am"
Hey did you know there's super-loud death metal band called "Hurtlocker"? Just a tip if you're looking for score clips on YouTube and have headphones in. I learned the hard away.
Anyway, a wonderful inclusion of a score I forgot about. It seems a lot like the branch trying to make up for certain past omissions, since the score has a lot of similarities to Zimmer and Howard's dark, atonal Dark Knight score- plus one track (from the six IED scene) is even entitled "There Will Be Bombs," an homage to Johnny Greenwood's tragically disqualified score from '07.
4. Sherlock Holmes- Hans Zimmer (1 for 7)
For your consideration: "Not In Blood, But In Bond"
Loved Zimmer's work here, especially the plaintive tack above when it looks like Watson died in an explosion (spoiler- he was fine. I'm sure you're shocked). The whole score had a very broken-piano, ranshackle, steampunk feel to it that was superb.
5. Up- Michael Giacchino (0 for 1)
For your consideration: "Married Life"
Your likely winner, thanks to the unforgettable early montage in Up that made everyone all teary-eyed. Giacchino's score does most of the heavy lifting in that sequence, and the score weaves in and out of the rest of the film nicely.
A ten part series on the Best Picture nominees, structured around four basic questions.
Part 6: Inglourious Basterds
Was It Any Good?
Plenty of fun, easy to forget is the best way to describe it. It's like somebody asked Quentin Tarantino "if you could time travel, what would you do first?" and instead of just saying "I'd kill Hitler" like a normal person he went and made this movie instead.
It's full of some labored pacing, in my opinion- at this point, hasn't QT done enough Mexican standoffs? Enough tension filled conversations in which double agents are desperate not to be discovered?
But that's just his style, I guess.
Would I See It Again?
Just watched it for the second time, and found it just as much fun, I'd say. It helps, in certain situations, to know that Jews are hiding under floorboards the whole time, or to know that the bar scene won't go on forever.
Though there's no way to replicate the first time you see it and (spoilers from here) Hitler and Goebbels are riddled with bullets. It sort of makes you realize that movies aren't beholden to reality, which I suppose should be obvious to begin with, but hey.
Take Valkyrie, based on a real-life failed plot to kill Hitler. Basterds I think relies on the same exact tension until the final fifteen minutes or so, when it just goes "Psych!" and everything explodes brilliantly.
Not sure if I need to own it, though- it's got some annoying Tarantino quirks that I've never really been down for. The title, which he's referred to as both "a Basquiat-esque touch" and the "Tarantino way of spelling it," is just ridiculous to me. If there is an explanation, no doubt it's more pointless than withholding the name of The Bride in the Kill Bill movies. Hans Landa, while I loved Christoph Waltz's portrayal, is a character that can only exist in Tarantino-world, making us listen to him chew things and take forever to get to the point at every opportunity.
What Did It Acheive?
Well, it's the most profitable and lauded Tarantino film to date, and it's definitely a dark horse for Best Picture. It's easy to think it would have a real chance at winning if the camera panned up whenever they were scalping people, or if Samuel L. Jackson didn't randomly narrate flashbacks from time to time.
Will I Remember It Years From Now?
Brad Pitt ends the film as a mouthpiece for Tarantino, claiming "this might just be my masterpiece," but I can't say I agree. It's fun, sure, and I liked it.
But it's just a little on the surface for me. Though it's told chronologically, it's still split into five parts, and each one is either a tense standoff or a melee- things like characterization happen in between all these moments. I could've standed to lose one subplot or another to actually build up the others.
And there's no morality here- it's basically Godwin's law made into a film. Only Waltz is frightening, and he jumps at the chance to betray the rest of the Nazis, who to a man are incompetent, buffoonish, and shrieking cowards. I expected them to start stepping on rakes and falling down stairs. It makes the potshots taken at the Third Reich's propoganda films seem a little hypocritical.
Goebbels in particular is portrayed as a simpering egomaniac that's convinced he's creating the future of cinema- maybe it's just me, but doesn't that stray a little bit into self-parody?
Moving on, we come to a category wherein I've only seen one of the five nominees. Guesswork it is, although reputation seems to matter a lot to costumers.
1. Bright Star- Janet Patterson (0 for 3)
This is Patterson's third nomination for her work with director Jane Campion- I'm sure the work is admirable, but nobody saw this film.
2. Coco before Chanel- Catherine Leterrier (0 for 0)
I'd be surprised for a rookie to win here- especially since the consensus about the film seemed to be mostly "Who cares about Coco before Chanel?" I would assume the odd choice of focus led to some missed costuming opportunities.
3. The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus- Monique Prudhomme (0 for 0)
Number of Oscars won by any Terry Gilliam film: 1, for Mercedes Ruehl in The Fisher King. They always deserve to win in costumes and art direction, but they never do. It's a fact.
4. Nine- Colleen Atwood (2 for 8)
My gut is telling me that Atwood takes this- this is based mostly on her win for Rob Marshall's Chicago, and the reputation of Nine as being pretty to look at, but little else. Plus, none of the other nominees have any buzz.
5. The Young Victoria- Sandy Powell (2 for 7)
The biggest potential spoiler- some might even say it's foolish of me not to back the period piece, since The Duchess , Elizabeth: The Golden Age, and Marie Antoionette took the last three awards despite similar lackluster receptions. Hmmm....
Box Office breaks the tie: Nine ekes by at $38 million to $24 million worldwide.
ETA:The Young Victoria takes the guild award, so I'm officially reversing this pick as of 2/25/10. I'm allowed to do these things.
As previously stated, this award is for the film that best interweaves effects, dialogue, and music into the overall sound design. Let's hop to it:
1. Avatar- Christopher Boyes (4 for 11), Gary Summers (5 for 7), Andy Nelson (1 for 12), and Tony Johnson (0 for 1)
I can't say there was anything interesting or unique about the sound mix in Avatar, but the scope remains impressive. It's hard to think anything will beat it- remember that while the specific branch members choose the nominees, the entire Academy votes on winners, so the bigger picture often takes the prize.
Even with Slumdog Millionaire pulling a hardly deserved win in this category last year, I think Avatar won't get overlooked in the categories where it merits winning. It's just too big.
2. The Hurt Locker- Paul N.J. Ottosson (0 for 1) and Ray Beckett (0 for 0)
But if anything's going to split the Sounds up, it's the wonderful mixing in The Hurt Locker- so many moments pack a sonic punch in this film: the split-second breakdown of the opening explosion:
...the lurch of the score when the car trunk opens to reveal enough bombs to level a city, or when Jeremy Renner follows the wire to find he is surrounded by bombs and it builds to a howl.
3. Inglourious Basterds- Michael Minkler (3 for 10), Tony Lamberti (0 for 0), and Mark Ulano (1 for 1)
I'm much more game for Basterds' inclusion in this category, as Tarantino films are always multiple sounds at once: part rambling talk-radio, part noise-maker, and part jukebox.
4. Star Trek- Anna Behlmer (0 for 9), Andy Nelson (1 for 12), and Peter J. Devlin (0 for 2)
That would be the same Andy Nelson from Avatar- something about the number of people with double-digit nominations makes me suspect this isn't a very big field. Star Trek might stand a better chance if it had a Best Pciture nomination, but the opening transition from Giancchino's score to the blips and beeps of the U.S.S. Kelvin is one of the most memorable moments of the year for me.
5. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen- Greg P. Russell (0 for 12), Gary Summers (5 for 7), and Geoffrey Patterson (0 for 1)
Didn't see it. But I'm sure it was fine work with all the aircrafts, imaginary robots, and awesome dialogue like the following:
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