The Film Minion

The Definitive Roger Ebert (Not So) Great Movies: 50-41

2013-04-12T07:47:00.003-04:00

courtesy of eonline.com

The world lost an icon last week, when film critic Roger Ebert passed away at 70, after a long, public battle with cancer. Like many others, it prompted me to look back at his reviews - some good, some not - of some of my favorite films. After research, I found that - as expected - every film included in Ebert's "Great Movies" list was certified "fresh" from Rotten Tomatoes. Even more interesting was the range of scored they received. So, in the coming posts, we'll look at the 50 films in the "Great Movies" series from Roger Ebert that have the lowest tomatometer ratings. They are listed in order - lowest rated (63) to highest (88) of the bottom 50. For each, I included the score, a snippet from a negative review of the film, and a quick write-up of each. Hope you enjoy - let's start at #50.

50. Contact (1997)

Tomatometer Rating: 63

Detractor: "Contact, which aims for awe, ends up with piffle." - Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail

Written and scripted by the great Carl Sagan, this Robert Zemeckis-directed Jodie Foster vehicle was an acquired taste. Focusing on Foster's search for intelligent life for the National Science Foundation and her inescapable bond with her late father, it's one part science fiction, one part family drama, and one part political corruption film, all laid together relatively haphazardly. Jodie Foster fans found plenty to love, as well as the fans of a young up-and-coming actor named Matthew McConaughey. Ebert found the film's discussion of science vs. faith engaging - it tends to be a topic that he returns to in many of his great movies. Ebert was a strong believer in free thinking and, however messy this film is, that notion stuck with him.

49. Beat the Devil (1953)

Tomatometer Rating: 67

Detractor: "You have to wonder what Capote and John Huston were thinking in trying to make a satire that didn't have any actual jokes." - Christopher Null, filmcritic.com

Directed by John Huston and "written" by a young Truman Capote, Beat the Devil was a parade of character actors surrounding the A-lister that was Humphrey Bogart. After Huston tore up the original script, he depended on Capote and his supporting actors to help create their own dialogue. Basically, the film is a group of outcasts and misfits screwing around in Italy while their boat is being fixed. They're all criminals - they look like criminals, act like criminals. The voice over tells us they're criminals. The movie is relatively plotless, focusing more on these characters as they hatch schemes and gallivant. Another trope Ebert tends to value: the ability of a film to have enough charm to overcome a lack of purpose and story. If a movie is entertaining enough, who cares what happens?

48. The Grey Zone (2001)

Tomatometer Rating: 68

Detractor: "Holocaust films are problematic, period. The Grey Zone is, sadly, more evidence of the qualities of silence." - John Anderson, Newsday

Directed by character actor Tim Blake Nelson, The Grey Zone was a rare Holocaust film that refused to succumb to an upbeat ending filled with hope and life. The film centers around some Jewish prisoners that have begun doing some of the "dirty work" for the Nazis at Auschwitz, in an effort to have their lives spared as they wait for Russian soldiers rumored to be on the horizon. But, while carrying out bodies, one of the prisoners discovers a young girl who survived the fires under a pile of corpses. Now, they must choose whether to hide this girl, thereby risking their mission, or let her die. The film gets lost among much better Holocaust films (i.e. Schindler's List), but Ebert found something notable in the way Nelson treated this topic with stark realism.

47. Babel (2006)

Tomatometer Rating: 69

Detractor: "It's pretty -- oh, what's the word? -- stupid in its dramatization of the silly little connections that unite us, and it's somewhat selective in its choice of them". - Stephen Hunter, Washington Post

The comment above is a common one about the film - I tend to agree. But, that doesn't tarnish director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's bold attempt to make an epic hyperlink film about the connections between us all, based in human tragedy. Connecting stories from Morocco, Mexico, Japan, and USA, it provides a look at the domino effect of one thoughtless act by a child. Starring Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett, the film was nominated for Best Picture, despite lukewarm love for the film (it was a light year). Inarritu made two better films before this one (Amores Perros, 21 Grams), but found widespread exposure with this much more global story. It oversimplifies plenty of the "connections" it uses to develop the plot web it's trying to manufacture, but brings to light some various discussions on language, prejudice, and cultural ignorance, at least.

46. Pink Floyd: The Wall (1982)

Tomatometer Rating: 72

Detractor: "Good music. Sick imagery." - Robert Roten, Laramie Move Scope

Imagine if Disney's Fantasia was fueled by a much darker, politically-motivated soundtrack and set out to purposefully give you nightmares. Fantasia certainly accidentally (we think) gave birth to nightmares, but Pink Floyd's rock opera The Wall is a live action/animated film that ripped the carpet out from under the audience, eschewing storytelling for a mind-blowing and terrifying trip through caricatures centered on nuclear warfare, sex, warfare, and much more. It's nothing more than an overlong music video starring Bob Geldof as the protagonist, if only because he appears on screen the most. It's not fun. Outside of the music, there's not much entertainment value to it. That is, unless you're high. I've never watched it in that fashion, but I've been witness to someone else doing it. He look horrified, especially when he curled into the fetal position on the floor.

45. A.I.: Artificial Intelligence (2001)

Tomatometer Rating: 73

Detractor: "A movie in which the intelligence is supposed to be artificial, but it's the emotions that feel that way." - Bruce Newman, San Jose Mercury News

If only Stanley Kubrick would have finished this project. Kubrick took on this project, but abandoned it partway through, due to his dissatisfaction with how he was handling the protagonist. Essentially, the story is a futuristic take on Pinocchio, but with an android child, here played by Haley Joel Osment. Steven Spielberg took over and traded in Kubrick's cold, mechanical touches for his patented crowd-pleasing methods. What results is a disjointed, frustrating film that is so close to being good that the fact that it falls just short makes viewers hate it more. It closes with moments that feel extraordinarily forced, bringing the entire production down even further. So, sit back, relax, and dream about what could have been...what could have been.

44. Dark City (1998)

Tomatometer Rating: 74

Detractor: "City ultimately plays like one of those art-deco dystopian CD-ROM adventures of recent years." - Ty Burr, Entertainment Weekly

Of all the films that Ebert has praised over the years that I previously knew very little about, this one has always stood out to me. I haven't met many people have seen it and those that have are predisposed to its enjoyment. What I mean is, no common moviegoer would ever search this film out. Directed by Alex Proyas, Dark City owes its lifeblood to Fritz Lang's incredible silent film Metropolis (also a "Great Movie," but much more universally loved) in its delivery of a dystopian world run not by humans, but an otherwordly power that fuels its machine through heavy control. It's a dark discussion on what it means to be human in a world where everything is controlled by a group of strangers. Dark City is nothing but an aquarium - a place manufactured by beings who want nothing but to study its inhabitants. What this film proposes is the struggle many of us may face to learn how to be, well, us.

43. El Topo (1970)

Tomatometer Rating: 75

Detractor: "A dreary, protracted exercise in sadomasochism." - Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times

For nearly four decades, Alejandro Jodorowsky's film was out of circulation. In 2007, it was released on DVD and a new generation got to experience the acid trip. As he states in his review, El Topo provides a perfect launching pad for one of "Ebert's Laws: If you have to ask what symbolizes, it doesn't." While that may be true for most films, a movie like this draws many more questions than answers. The film is a barrage of insane imagery loosely connected to the protagonist, seemingly having no purpose. I could try to summarize the plot, but that would be useless. This is one of those taste-based films that hit Ebert in the right spot - a movie with no story that may not be as complicated as it looks, but gave him enough to really latch on to his sense; it sure as hell doesn't try to be explainable, though.

42. Veronika Voss (1982)

Tomatometer Rating: 75

Detractor: "Fassbinder's work here is muddy at best. His black and white cinematography limits his typically washed-out color palette while failing to connect us emotionally with the bygone era." - Christopher Null, filmcritic.com

Rainer Werner Fassbinder made forty films - this one was his last and is hailed as one of his best. He died at age 36 later the year of its release. Veronika Voss centers around an actress who works her way to the top, only to get addicted to drugs and be forced to sell her body to feed her habit. It parallels heavily with Fassbinder's own life, which ended with a drug-fueled phone call in 1982. The film bears comparisons to Billy Wilder's Sunset Boulevard with its fallen actress persona, but it's actually inspired by the life of Sybille Schmitz, a 1930s German actress ended up at a clinic that supplies drugs. The stark photography adds haunting simplicity to it; but, it's near impossible to separate the film from the life of its troubled director.

41. Red Beard (1965)

Tomatometer Rating: 75

Detractor: "A major miss... a protracted retelling of General Hospital in 19th century Japan." - Christopher Null, filmcritic.com

One of Akira Kurosawa's lesser known works, Red Beard is a much more uplifting story than he is used to telling, along the same lines as his beautiful (and better) Ran. The film focuses on the title character, played by Toshiro Mifune. He is a doctor who treats the poor at a village clinic and serves as supervisor to an extremely motivated medical student named Noboru, who is serving unhappily at the same clinic. What arises is a melodramatic look at the patient/doctor relationship, seen through two lenses - that of an old pro and of a young ambitious type. We see the two as they treat different people, each trying to approach it in their own way. While it touches on a number of the same topics Kurosawa would touch on in better films, like Ikiru, it still serves as an enjoyable, light story from a grand master filmmaker.

Phase 1 complete. Phase 2 next when we tackle #40 through #31.

Thanks for the Memories, Roger Ebert (1942-2013)

2013-04-05T08:43:00.001-04:00

courtesy of upi.com

As I'm sure we're all aware by now, the film world lost one of its most important members yesterday, as respected film critic Roger Ebert passed away after a long, public battle with cancer. While it's an incredibly sad moment for most, it has given birth to numerous tributes, anecdotes, and uplifting stories of how Ebert affected the lives of so many. Some of my favorite critics like Kris Tapley, Scott Tobias, and Matt Singer have shared personal stories that have built the mystique of what Ebert did for the industry. For that, I thank them and all of the others. While I may not have a personal connection to Roger, I do find this loss haunting me more than expected.

I'm not a professional critic. For the past decade or so, my secret dream was to be one - to watch movies, write about my reactions, and get paid for it. About five years ago, I took steps to possibly move into that realm. I began this blog, I read all of Roger Ebert's books of movie reviews, and started to make an effort to catch up with as many films as I could that were not of the "common fare." Now, here I am in 2013, a much busier man: a wife, two kids, a house closing coming up, my full time job becoming ever so much more busy, but rewarding. Since the Oscars, I have debated indefinitely discontinuing this blog to focus on other things (this is the first post I've written since then). Yesterday, learning of Roger's passing, I very nearly said that this post was it. But I feel like that would be almost disrespectful.

I moved to Saratoga Springs, NY in 2006. My younger brother was still in college, starting to build what has become a startling resume. We've always had a good relationship and, though I assumed it would be the case, I never comprehended how much I would miss him when I didn't get to see him every day, week, month, or possibly year. What does this have to do with Roger Ebert? Well, in 2007, my brother and I planned one of the most memorable trips of my life; we flew out to Champaign, Illinois (me from Albany, he from Pittsburgh) and took in the Roger Ebert Overlooked Film Festival, which has since been re-titled simply as Ebertfest.

courtesy of seriousmovielover.com

The festival was simple. One theater - the beautiful Virginia Theatre - would show films from morning until night. Some were newer, some were older. For each film, Ebert had guests that would take part in a panel discussion about the film and their role within its production. We watched The Weather Man and heard from screenwriter Stephen Conrad. We watched Perfume: The Story of a Murderer and got to hear from the great Alan Rickman. We watched Stroszek and listened live to the director himself, the great Werner Herzog. On the final day, we watched the Russ Meyer film based on Mr. Ebert's incredibly ridiculous (and brilliant) screenplay Beyond the Valley of the Dolls, followed up by a live performance from Strawberry Alarm Clock.

While standing in line for all these films, my brother and I passed the time by playing a version of Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon, where he would name one actor and I would name another, then we would build in - one from one direction, one from the other - either trying to throw the other off or help him (I feel like this game is used on a film podcast; which one, I'm not sure). It was hot. There were hundreds of people of all ages. Yet, when you got into the theater, if you left your coat on the seat, no one dared to touch it. We were all very civilized, I guess.

The 2007 festival was the first one Roger attended post first surgery. He had lost the ability to speak and used a computer to say his words, HAL-9000 style. If anything, it was a reminder of just how much this man loved what he did. As he proved more recently, his writing and love of film was one of the few things that would never change. He could be bedridden, but still find time to write blog posts and finish his reviews. He began off-loading some work to fellow critics, which you can find at his site, but he stayed plenty active up until yesterday. He wasn't about to let a little thing like cancer stand in his way.

courtesy of zimbio.com

The other thing that stood out about the festival was Chaz, Roger's indelible wife (pictured left). She stepped in during his time of difficulty to help introduce films, guests, and, most of all, be by his side. Roger's death was a long time coming, but he made a conscious decision to stare it down in front of everybody; Chaz was a large part of that. I don't know either of them personally - the closest I've been is within that very theater in the lobby, less than ten feet from him, trying to "be cool" and not bother him). But, watching them in 2007 was an honor. Supporting someone isn't just about telling them "it's ok." It's about making sure he/she doesn't waste the time spent on this planet by facing down tragedy together. Chaz was all that and more for Roger. They were a beautiful team.

I wouldn't say the 2007 festival defined my relationship with my brother; it wasn't like we were estranged or anything. I will say it gave us another layer to our relationship. We were both entering different phases of adulthood: I would be engaged within the following month, he would be moving on to grad school and beyond. In a way, it was the first activity we did together that didn't feel childish, despite how immature we can be together. We now live 2,430 mile apart. But, to this day, any time either of us sees a film, the first phone call is to the other. He sees a lot more than I do nowadays, but it's still a welcome discussion every time.

With that, I will say thank you Roger. Your writing inspired me to study film, expand my horizons, and treat the movies as the art form they are. The last film review on your site credited to you is a 2 1/2 star review of Andrew Niccol's The Host. For that, I'm sorry. I hope the first thing you get to do in heaven is sit down in your own theater next to Gene Siskel and watch a clean print of Mr. Hulot's Holiday. Or maybe you'll get to sit down with Jean Cocteau and talk about Beauty and the Beast. Even better: enjoy Sunrise with F.W. Murnau himself or Metropolis with Fritz Lang. Either way, the world didn't just lose a brilliant critic and writer; it lost a man that inspired so many.

NOTE: Since I made this post, Roger's true final review was published on his blog for Terence Malick's To the Wonder. Seems fitting that he get to leave this world with a Malick film fresh in his mind.

2013 Oscar Winners

2013-02-25T08:02:00.000-05:00

courtesy of cnn.com

Well, it was relatively predictable and ran way too long, but wasn't boring, I guess. Here are this year's winners. More and my thoughts after the cut.

Best Picture: Argo

Best Actor: Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln
Best Actress: Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook
Best Supporting Actor: Christoph Waltz, Django Unchained
Best Supporting Actress: Anne Hathaway, Les Miserables
Best Director: Ang Lee, Life of Pi
Best Foreign Language Film: Amour
Best Adapted Screenplay: Chris Terrio, Argo
Best Original Screenplay: Quentin Tarantino, Django Unchained

Adele courtesy of
nydailynews.com

Best Animated Feature Film: Brave
Best Production Design: Lincoln
Best Cinematography: Life of Pi
Best Sound Mixing: Les Miserables
Best Sound Editing (tie): Skyfall, Zero Dark Thirty
Best Original Score: Life of Pi
Best Original Song: Adele Adkins and Paul Epworth, "Skyfall" from Skyfall
Best Costume Design: Anna Karenina
Best Documentary Feature: Searching for Sugar Man
Best Documentary (short subject): Inocente
Best Film Editing: Argo
Best Makeup and Hair: Les Miserables
Best Animated Short Film: Paperman
Best Live Action Short Film: Curfew
Best Visual Effects: Life of Pi

My Thoughts

I hit 50%. Pathetic. 12/24.
The ceremony itself wasn't bad. Macfarlane did okay. Best joke of the night was his non-introduction of Meryl Streep.
A tie? Does this mean I get full credit or half credit? I'm giving myself full to get up to 50%.
Biggest Disappointments: Brave for Animated Feature & Life of Pi for Cinematography - not because it didn't deserve it, but because it means Roger Deakins lost again, this time for Skyfall.
Biggest Surprises: Both Django wins. I didn't expect Waltz to beat all the other nominees in his category, since he was the most recent winner of the bunch. Plus, Tarantino taking screenplay was a surprise. I just didn't think the Academy liked the movie that much.
Life of Pi went home the biggest winner volume-wise, taking home four awards.
Lincoln was nominated for twelve Oscars. It won two. Two.

That's it. See you next year.

My 2013 Oscar Predictions

2013-02-21T10:03:00.000-05:00

Scene from Argo courtesy of
screenrant.com

Well, they are this weekend, so here are my final predictions for this weekend's Oscars.

Documentary Short: Inocente
Animated Short: Paperman
Live Action Short: Death of a Shadow
Best Original Song: Skyfall
Best Visual Effects: Life of Pi
Best Sound Editing: Skyfall
Best Sound Mixing: Skyfall
Best Documentary Feature: The Gatekeepers
Best Foreign Language Film: Amour
Best Animated Film: Wreck-It-Ralph
Best Production Design: Life of Pi
Best Original Score: Lincoln
Best Makeup/Hair: Les Miserables
Best Costume Design: Les Miserables
Best Cinematography: Life of Pi
Best Editing: Zero Dark Thirty
Best Adapted Screenplay: Chris Terrio, Argo
Best Original Screenplay: Michael Haneke, Amour
Best Supporting Actor: Tommy Lee Jones, Lincoln
Best Supporting Actress: Anne Hathaway, Les Miserables
Best Actor: Daniel Day Lewis, Lincoln
Best Actress: Emmanuelle Riva, Amour
Best Director: Steven Spielberg, Lincoln
Best Picture: Argo

So, I expect to get most of these wrong.

The Definitive Best Picture Losers: 10-1

2013-02-21T08:49:00.001-05:00

Scene from Ordinary People courtesy
of imageshack.us

Well, we've reached the pinnacle. Scratch that. We've reached the spot just behind the pinnacle. I suppose this is the list of penultimate Oscar Best Picture nominees - the ones that came up just short for one reason or another. These are the films that have either gone down in history as iconic in their own right, will always be viewed as the true "best picture" or their years without the trophy, or simply marked a moment in Oscar history that will always be documented as an important one. Well, here they are. The top ten.

#10. Chinatown (1974)

Lost to: The Godfather Part II

Well, no one will argue that it should have won, but still. Roman Polanski's film made a true leading man out of Jack Nicholson. It grabbed eleven nominations, only taking home one. That being said, that one was for Original Screenplay, written by Robert Towne, which may be the greatest even written. Entire courses could be taught on this screenplay alone and Polanski and his actors delivered a perfect translation of it to the screen. Also starring Faye Dunaway and the great John Huston, the story of power and corruption still stands as one of the greatest films of the 1970's (or any decade for that matter). It's just a shame it ran into the greatest movie sequel of all time.

#9. Cabaret (1972)

Lost to: The Godfather

Seems weird, doesn't it? Well, the Liza Minnelli vehicle is on this list for one important reason: it won the most Oscars of all time without taking home the big one. Cabaret grabbed ten nominations and won eight of them, including Best Actress for Minnelli, Best Supporting Actor for Joel Grey, and Best Director for Bob Fosse. In most other years, it may have walked away with Best Picture, but it was up against quite possibly the greatest American film ever made. It had a great pedigree - Fosse directed the Broadway version of "Chicago" and brought his songwriters with him for Cabaret. But Francis Ford Coppola's masterpiece was too much to overcome.

#8. Brokeback Mountain (2005)

Lost to: Crash

I'll go on record right now and say that I am not as big a fan of this film as most people. That being said, the divide between critics and the Academy was never so visible than it was in 2005, when the Oscar went to a hyperlink film about race relations in Los Angeles instead of a groundbreaking film about gay cowboys. Ang Lee's Brokeback Mountain was a force to be reckoned with - critics loved it and it broke barriers in terms of a mainstream film taking a look at such a touchy subject. It gave the world a collection of young stars - Heath Ledger, Jack Gyllenhaal, Anne Hathaway, Michelle Williams - that would become the future of the industry. But, in the end, the topic may have been a little too risque and the award went to the much more audience friendly film packed full of A-list stars. The late Ledger's role as The Joker may be his defining performance, but his work here as Ennis is uncompromisingly subtle and complicated.

#7. Jaws (1975)

Lost to: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

The summer blockbuster didn't really exist until 1975, when a young filmmaker named Steven Spielberg unleashed a shark upon the world. Jaws didn't get as much Oscar love as you would think - only four nominations and three wins (Film Editing, Original Score, Sound), but the lack of recognition for Spielberg in the directing category was a surprise and would begin a strange trend for his films. Eight Spielberg films have been nominated for Best Picture - only one has won (Schindler's List). Spielberg himself has only won two Best Director Oscars, for Schindler's List and Saving Private Ryan. It's just another example of a director viewed by most as one of the greatest of all time, but without the hardware to back it up. If you're asking me, while Jaws may not have "deserved" the Oscar in 1975 (Milos Forman's adaptation of Ken Kesey's novel is a brilliant film), it's still his best film.

#6. The Wizard of Oz (1939)

Lost to: Gone with the Wind

We already talked about one other loser from 1939 (Mr. Smith Goes to Washington), but it pales in comparison to this mammoth of a film. While Frank Capra's story of a greater America is inspiring, it will never match the impact this classic film made on the world. The Wizard of Oz was nominated for six Oscars, winning two (Original Score, Original Song), somehow missing out on any technical awards (though, to be fair, they were in their infancy at the time). Director Victor Fleming shapes a dream-like story of a young girl's trip to Oz - a magical world with a tin man, a scarecrow, and a lion all searching for the one thing they believe will complete them each. The three of them and Dorothy (Judy Garland) journey along the yellow brick road to meet the wizard and escape the Wicked Witch of the West, accompanied by Toto the dog. It's great family fun and has since been only expanded in its mythology. But, let's be honest. Nothing was going to beat Gone with the Wind.

#5. Saving Private Ryan (1998)

Lost to: Shakespeare in Love

Steven Spielberg's highest rated film on the list may not be his best, but it was the most unexpected loser, for sure. From Saving Private Ryan's premiere, it was exalted for its realism, honesty, and true depiction of warfare, specifically the scenes on the beaches of Normandy. Nominated for eleven Oscars and taking home five (including Best Director), the war epic still suffered from some of the typical Spielberg tropes (the final act is a bit melodramatic, for sure). It was chosen as the front-runner early on, but, in the end, the Academy chose a lighthearted comedy named Shakespeare in Love, about the young playwright's love affair. It was early proof that the Weinsteins (Miramax) were a lobbying force to be reckoned with, pushing their little love story to Best Picture (and a Best Actress award for Gwyneth Paltrow).

#4. Citizen Kane (1941)

Lost to: How Green Was My Valley

It's widely identified as the greatest American film of all time. It was a labor of love and obsession by one of the industry's greatest directors at such a young age. It was a cutting attack on the newspaper industry veiled as a fictional biopic. But, while 99% of film enthusiasts may look at this as one of the biggest travesties of all time, this was never unexpected. Citizen Kane has aged more gracefully than any film. As time has gone on, the respect and admiration for what Orson Welles created has grown and blossomed. But, in 1941, John Ford's How Green Was My Valley taking home the top prize was not a surprise. It didn't incite riots. No one set the theater ablaze out of anger and frustration. It was just early proof that, regardless of how much weight we put on the Oscars, they mean nothing when debating what films are truly "great."

#3. Raging Bull (1980)

Lost to: Ordinary People

We've seen what felt like the Oscars vs. Steven Spielberg saga in a few places on this list, but a much larger, more obvious battle was a longstanding divide between the Academy and the great Martin Scorsese. Beginning in 1976 with Taxi Driver, Scorsese had four films nominated for Best Picture before finally winning in 2006 with The Departed, though he made plenty of other Oscar-worthy films during that span. This film was the second of those losers, but the first that was the overwhelming favorite. Raging Bull was a tour-de-force for Robert De Niro and one of the most intense, honest films that revolved around a sport of all time. But it was exceedingly dark and painful to watch as Jake LaMotta's downward spiral was captured fully by Scorses and Michael Chapman's black and white cinematography. Raging Bull grabbed eight nominations, only winning two (Best Actor, Best Film Editing). But, its loss to Robert Redford's family drama Ordinary People has gone down as one of the biggest surprises (and disappointments) in Oscar history.

#2. Goodfellas (1990)

Lost to: Dances with Wolves

Martin Scorsese had already been "cheated" by the Academy once, with the previous entry on this list. Ten years later, he collaborated with author Nicholas Pileggi to adapt his novel Wiseguys into the motion picture that would become Goodfellas. Starring Ray Liotta, Joe Pesci, Robert De Niro, Paul Sorvino, and Lorraine Bracco, the true life mob story of a gangster-turned-informant portrayed protagonist Henry Hill as a kid looking for an opportunity to "be someone" in a world that was defined by this set of criminals. Eventually, his entry into that world slowly destroys him and the people he loves, forcing him to turn his back on a life he would still go back to in a heartbeat. Nominated for six Oscars (winning just one - Best Supporting Actor for Pesci), Goodfellas has long been regarded as one of the biggest Oscar misses of all time. Kevin Costner's sweeping, yawn-inducing western Dances with Wolves took home the gold (along with six other wins and twelve total nominations). Liotta was never better, De Niro found a new place in cinema, and Pesci gave a juggernaut of a performance in, ironically, the same year he would be bested by a pre-teen (Home Alone). Goodfellas took a mob story, made it a personal character study, and only sits behind The Godfather, Parts I and II in the pantheon of gangster films. Which is ironic, because it was also nominated against The Godfather Part III, and awful, awful film. Goodfellas may not be Scorsese's best film, but it damn sure should have a Best Picture Oscar.

#1. Star Wars (1977)

Lost to: Annie Hall

And so it comes to this. Sometimes, a film defines a genre. Sometimes it defines a fan base. Other times, it defines an entire movement of culture. In 1977, George Lucas crafted this first film in a trilogy that would essentially change the world. Star Wars was something different: a western set in space. The Lucas formula used interesting characters and an expanded mythology to create what felt more like a comic book issue for the silver screen. It grabbed ten total nominations, winning six (all in technical or music categories). It lost out on the big prize, Best Director, Supporting Actor (Alec Guinness), and Original Screenplay. It wasn't a huge surprise - the Academy wasn't quite at the stage to truly accept a genre film. Fast forward to 2013. Now Disney owns the rights to make more Star Wars films, after George Lucas finally phased himself out, before he could destroy his creation further. Regardless of what happens from now on, the original trilogy and, more specifically, the film that kicked it off, holds a place in society as one of the most important cultural events of the last fifty years. Should it have won? Not sure. Annie Hall is a really good movie.

Well, that's it. Feel free to comment.

Exploring the 2013 Best Picture Nominees

2013-02-12T08:31:00.001-05:00

Scene from last year's winner
The Artist courtesy of nytimes.com

Last year, the Academy went with a silent film that mimicked Singin' in the Rain. Overall, it was a relatively weak field, so The Artist came out on top. You couldn't hate The Artist. You didn't have to love it, but that's not what wins Best Picture. This year's crop are generally more interesting, for sure, than last year. But, we still sit here, just weeks before the ceremony, and there is a clear favorite. I haven't seen them all yet and probably won't get to, but I am firmly in the Zero Dark Thirty camp as to what I feel is the best of what I've seen, followed closely by Lincoln. And yes - I am in the large group of people who liked Silver Linings Playbook quite a bit. And here we go...

courtesy of breitbart.com

Argo

The "Ben Affleck" Movie

Why It Will Win: There couldn't be a better nickname for this movie than what I chose. We keep pointing to director Ben Affleck being left out of the Best Director list, but it's a small subset of voters - around 300, to be exact. He won the Directors Guild Award and Argo has swept every guild - Golden Globes, SAG, PGA. It also took home the BAFTA. It's the least divisive of the films and, like is always the case, it's not about how many people love your movie - it's about how few hate it. Nobody hates Argo like they hate the other films on this list.

Why It Won't Win: If it does, it will be the first Best Picture since Driving Miss Daisy in 1989 to win without a Best Director nomination. The numbers don't lie, but since the voting process has changed, it throws everything into the blender and forces us to start over.

courtesy of movielistmania.blogspot.com

Lincoln

The "Thinking Man's" Movie

Why It Will Win: It's Steven Spielberg's best film in over a decade thanks, in part, to Tony Kushner's brilliant screenplay. It's been the assumed favorite for most of the season, even without precursor wins. It has the most nominations (12) of any film and will no doubt take home at least the Best Actor award. It's a historical epic that focuses on our country's most beloved president, so maybe there will be a bit of flag-waving.

Why It Won't Win: It's dry and many view it as too boring. It eschews Spielberg's typical crowdpleasing tendencies for a darker, much more internal view of Lincoln's presidency and what he had to do to get his amendment passed. While that makes it a better film, it doesn't make it a typical Academy choice for gold.

courtesy of thegrio.com

Beasts of the Southern Wild

The "Sundance Darling" Movie

Why It Will Win: The little film that could debuted at Sundance to rave reviews and just kept on trucking the whole year, eventually ending up here. It's headlined by a child performance that earned a Best Actress nomination, not to mention a young filmmaker who slipped into the list of Best Director nominees. It's a magical film - a modern fairy tale that feels completely original.

Why It Won't Win: It's too small and not enough people saw it. Box office numbers count, whether we want to admit it or not. The film had a limited release and, though it somehow ended up here, it's got the cards stacked against it heavily.

courtesy of filmschoolrejects.com

Amour

The "Foreign Gutwrencher" Movie

Why It Will Win: Director Michael Haneke doesn't really make "Oscar movies." While I'm sure he didn't set out for this to be one, exactly, what did he expect? He made a film about old white people for the Academy, which is made up of old white people. The subtitles are just an addendum. It's a heartfelt film about love and loss. It's not titled "Love" for nothing. It grabbed more nominations than expected, so they all must like it.

Why It Won't Win: Foreign language films already have one giant strike against them. Not to mention, it's exceedingly bleak. There's no showiness about the film. This isn't Terms of Endearment. This is dark, it's painful, and it's not meant to be "enjoyed." Not really the Academy's typical go-to film.

courtesy of nytimes.com

Zero Dark Thirty

The "Controversial History" Movie

Why It Will Win: Because it's the best movie of the year, that's why. Okay...I can't make that statement, having not seen a few of these yet, but it's a brilliant look at a very important time in our country's history that refuses to clean up the edges. Kathryn Bigelow is one of our generation's most talented, yet most ignored directors and here she and screenwriter Mark Boal have given the world a near masterpiece.

Why It Won't Win: Whew. Where do I start. I'm surprised it even got into the list of nominees, given how angry the protests against it have been.The difference between Zero Dark Thirty and Bigelow's Best Picture winner The Hurt Locker is solely in subject matter. The two films have similar themes about dedication and loss, despite success. But while her previous film focused on a likeable soldier, this film focuses on a time in our country's history that is not easily deciphered.

courtesy of wjla.com

Silver Linings Playbook

The "Acting Gauntlet" Movie

Why It Will Win: It was nominated in all four acting categories, plus Adapted Screenplay and Director. That's an impressive feat. It's the "feelings" movie of the group here, essentially boiling down to a romantic comedy, however strange it may be. It features two young stars paired with some likeable veterans in supporting roles. And they've had no problem parading director David O. Russell's son's illness out to push up sympathy and make it easier to relate to.

Why It Won't Win: There are criticisms that it simplifies mental illness too much. I disagree, but that stigma is already in the public perception (yet, in 2001 A Beautiful Mind won despite turning schizophrenia into nothing more than a dramatic quirk). I'm also not entirely sure there isn't still an unspoken dislike for David O. Russell, who has had very public fights with some major stars, i.e. George Clooney. Plus, it lost the SAG Ensemble Award, which should have been a walk in the park victory for a film like this.

courtesy of nytimes.com

Life of Pi

The "Technical Masterpiece" Movie

Why It Will Win: There are very few live action films that manage to use 3-D to its advantage, but Life of Pi is one of them. Director Ang Lee's film centers around faith and survival, which are generally sticking points for audiences. It was nominated in every technical category, racking up 11 nominations altogether, second only to Lincoln (12). Since Affleck was left out of Best Director, Ang Lee seems to have become the default frontrunner.

Why It Won't Win: No acting nominations and almost no precursor wins for the film. Lee grabbed some director wins, but not nearly enough to give the film a major boost. The film itself drags at moments, too, despite the special effects. It's slow and somewhat complex at moments, regardless of how simple the film feels.

courtesy of darlingdork.com

Django Unchained

The "Revenge Fantasy (Part II)" Movie

Why It Will Win: Writer/director Quentin Tarantino's last film Inglourious Basterds was a revenge fantasy for Jews set during World War II. That film was also nominated for Best Picture, and deservedly so. This time, he followed a similar concept, but set it in the confederate south and set his sights on slavery. As with any Quentin Tarantino film, you will, at the very least, be heartily entertained. It's packed full of stars and features the usual Tarantino wit.

Why It Won't Win: It's a touchy topic that begs to be controversial. It also suffered from a release date that hovered around some nationwide tragedy involving assault weapons - Django Unchained is extremely violent, so the Academy's view may be a bit tarnished. Tarantino didn't pull a Best Director nomination either and, while it grabbed a Supporting Actor nomination for Christoph Waltz, expected nominee Leonardo Dicaprio fell short.

courtesy of sullivanmovies.com

Les Miserables

The "Bombastic Hit-Miss" Movie

Why It Will Win: The Academy loves big, showy movies and rewarded director Tom Hooper the last time he gave them an "Oscar movie" (The King's Speech). Les Miserables comes from one of the most beloved musicals of all time and is packed with an A-list cast that sings live (WOO!!). Hugh Jackman pulled a Best Actor nomination, alongside Anne Hathaway's nomination for Supporting Actress, for which she is a shoe-in for victory.

Why It Won't Win: It's the least critically loved of the films. There are lots of folks who are lukewarm on it and possibly more who flat out hate the film. The direction has been viewed as sloppy and misguided and Russell Crowe has been aggressively panned for his work in the film. It's this year's Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close.

The Last Three Out: Moonrise Kingdom, The Master, Skyfall

My Prediction: Argo

Possible Spoiler: Lincoln

The Definitive Best Picture Losers: 20-11

2013-02-04T08:09:00.000-05:00

Scene from Rocky courtesy of
thatfilmguy.com

Finally, we made it to the top twenty. From here, we have a mix of the biggest surprise losers of all time with films that have gone down in history as some of the greatest, yet still didn't win the big one. Again, this isn't a best of list - it's a look at the Oscars as an institution, which films deserved the award, which ones got unlucky to be up against greater films, and which ones were adored by the Academy, taking home plenty of gold, sans the biggest of them all. Here are numbers 20 through 11.

#20. The Exorcist (1973)

Lost to: The Sting

Crammed in between two Best Picture wins for Francis Ford Coppola's Godfather films was an interesting little year that rewarded another pairing of Robert Redford and Paul Newman (trivia: The Sting's Julia Phillips is the first time female producer to ever win Best Picture). The other big landmark - the first time a purely horror film was nominated for Best Picture. The Exorcist was nominated for ten Oscars, winning for Sound and Adapted Screenplay. The horrifying story of a young girl possessed was, rumor has it, cursed as they tried to complete the film. This film about the struggle between faith and sin is possibly the most important horror film of all time.

#19. Avatar (2009)

Lost to: The Hurt Locker

The year after The Dark Knight and WALL-E missed out on Best Picture nominations, the Academy decided to change the rules and allow ten nominees. It didn't necessarily change anything, because the race still ended up being between two films: a little indie drama about a bomb diffuser in Iraq and the biggest box office hit of all time. A weird twist - the directors of each film were formerly married. On Oscar night, the Academy made the bold choice to go with The Hurt Locker, shunning "Pocahontas in Space," AKA Avatar. Oscar went to a dark, infectious film instead of a amusement park ride. Good for them. While it may not have been an "upset," it was still an important moment to see the highest grossing film of all time walk away without the big prize.

#16. (tie) Network/All the President's Men/Taxi Driver (1976)

Lost to: Rocky

I had no choice to go with a tie here. Look at that gauntlet of films. And they all lost to a sports movie about an underdog boxer. Now, Rocky is a good movie - it grabbed ten nominations. Sylvester Stallone was only the third person ever to be nominated for Acting and Writing in the same year (the other two are Orson Welles and Charles Chaplin...not bad company). But, you have to assume that the three films here split the vote. Network is a cutting satirical drama about the TV industry. All the President's Men is the brilliantly written and acted story of the Watergate Scandal. Taxi Driver is the ultimate story of urban paranoia. Between the three of them, they were nominated for 22 Oscars, winning eight. And, if you ask me, each holds up much better than the Best Picture winner.

#14. (tie) The Shawshank Redemption/Pulp Fiction (1994)

Lost to: Forrest Gump

Another important year in the history of cinema saw one of the most competitive races. And yes, I cheated and went with another tie. Deal with it. The Shawshank Redemption has become one of the beloved films of all time, still sitting at #1 on IMDBs top 250 films. Pulp Fiction gave birth to a new filmmaking formula, when Quentin Tarantino broke every rule to tell a twisted, but wholly entertaining thinly veiled film noir. But when the envelope was opened, the award went to a lighthearted epic about a handicapped man whose life reads like a history book. Forrest Gump is a nice movie - extremely enjoyable and re-watchable. But the two movies it beat have had much greater social and industrial impacts that it can ever imagine. But, stupid is as stupid does, I suppose.

#13. A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)

Lost to: An American in Paris

Playwright Tennessee Williams worked with iconic director Elia Kazan to bring his play A Streetcar Named Desire to the screen. Williams wrote the screenplay for his stage play and Kazan directed a stellar cast that grabbed twelve nominations, including one in all four acting categories. Oscars went to Karl Malden, Kim Hunter, and Vivien Leigh, though Marlon Brando - the biggest name of the bunch - missed out on an award. Then, when the big announcement came, they handed the statuette to a musical starring Gene Kelly. It was light. It was colorful. It wasn't nearly as dark as Streetcar was. Streetcar has gone down in history as an acting class, to say the least.

#12. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1980)

Lost to: Ordinary People

In retrospect, it may not have deserved the award and certainly wasn't the biggest surprise of that year (coming up soon!). But, given the impact Steven Spielberg's essential adventure film has made on the entire industry, there is no reason to think that Raiders of the Lost Ark isn't one of the most important films to go home without a Best Picture win. The first of a film series that has slowly gotten worse, Raiders was the first film to put Harrison Ford on an island (figuratively). The man who first appeared in American Graffiti and stole the show in Star Wars as Han Solo got to headline a film and blew it out of the water. The film may have become more myth than substance, given its epic reputation, but Spielberg's mix of action sequences and wit in this film is rarely approached in the industry today.

#11. Bonnie and Clyde (1967)

Lost to: In the Heat of the Night

Finally, we hit the last of the film on this list from 1967, one of the greatest years in film history. While The Graduate redefined sex in the movies and Guess Who's Coming to Dinner and In the Heat of the Night tackled issues about race that few films would approach, it was Arthur Penn's ultra violent (at the time) story of historic bank robbing couple Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow that may have broken the biggest barriers. Nominated for ten Oscars and winning for Cinematography and Supporting Actress (Estelle Parsons), Bonnie and Clyde changed the way not only violence was portrayed on screen, but managed to embed it within an interesting discussion of masculinity and relationships. The movie may have centered around bank robbers, but the real root of the film was how Bonnie and Clyde played off each other as a couple and the complexity of their courtship. Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty played the leads like the masters they are and helped create one of the finest films of the 60's or any decade.

Let's keep on trucking to the top ten. Now it gets fun.

2013 Directors Guild & Art Directors Guild Awards

2013-02-04T07:46:00.002-05:00

courtesy of hollywoodreporter.com

Forgot to post these yesterday. Here they are.

Directors Guild Winners

Best Feature: Ben Affleck, Argo

Best Documentary Feature: Malik Bendjelloul, Searching for Sugarman

Best TV Miniseries: Jay Roach, "Game Change"

Best Drama Series: Rian Johnson, "Breaking Bad"

Best Comedy Series: Lena Dunham, "Girls"

Best Reality Series: Brian Smith, "Master Chef"

Art Directors Guild Winners

Best Art Direction for a Fantasy Film
David Gropman for Life of Pi

Best Art Direction for a Period Film:
Sarah Greenwood, Anna Karenina

Best Art Direction for a Contemporary Film
Dennis Gassner, Skyfall

Best Art Direction for a TV Mini-Series
Mark Worthington, "American Horror Story"

My Thoughts

We're just going through the motions at this point. This thing is Argo all the way.
The three films that won Art Direction awards are the race in a lot of the technical categories. Not so much Anna Karenina, but still.

The Definitive Best Picture Losers: 30-21

2013-01-30T08:04:00.002-05:00

Scene from Titanic courtesy
of movpins.com

We're at the halfway point as we move through the films that fell just short of Oscar glory. In this section, we see a lot more recent films alongside a few hidden gems from the 1930's and 1940's. Again, not a best of list. We have "snubs," surprises, and a few landmark films that deserve mention. A few of these films are even widely considered the greatest of their respective years, but fell short on the final podium. Let's look at numbers 30 through 21.

#30. Apollo 13 (1995)

Lost to: Braveheart

In 1995, director Ron Howard brought a true life story of hope in the face of peril and started sweeping up awards. He won the Directors Guild Award. He won the Producers Guild Award. He won the Screen Actors Guild Ensemble Award. He lost the Golden Globe Drama to Sense and Sensibility, though he was nominated. Nothing could beat Apollo 13. Oscar night came and the Academy decided to hand the award to Mel Gibson's historical epic about William Wallace, whose only precursor award was a surprise directing win at the Golden Globes. I'm not saying Apollo 13 is a greater film than Braveheart. It's just proof that even the mighty may fall if a charismatic actor/director is at the helm.

#29. L.A. Confidential (1997)

Lost to: Titanic

Curtis Hanson's neo noir wasn't the only quality loser from 1997 (Good Will Hunting, As Good As It Gets), but the lesson here was a clear one: if you make enough money, nothing can beat you. Critical societies had clearly chosen L.A. Confidential as the best film of 1997, but James Cameron's biggest blockbuster in history (at the time) had too much momentum and two stars that everyone loved. Titanic was gigantic - a movie that steamrolled everything in its path at the Oscars, regardless how lazy the film seemed and how dependent upon special effects it was. People spent in droves to see it proving that box office numbers really mattered. In 2009, the Academy would partially right their wrong by choosing the better film over another Cameron behemoth, but L.A. Confidential still missed out on the award it rightly deserved.

#28. Apocalypse Now (1979)

Lost to: Kramer vs. Kramer

War movies are very hit and miss in Hollywood. When you hit dead center on a war movie at the right time period, you can knock it out of the park. Then there are those films that get better with age, when viewers are separated from the era in which the films were released. Such is the case of Francis Ford Coppola's re-imagination of Joseph Conrad's classic novel Heart of Darkness. Apocalypse Now is a war film unlike any other, keeping its cards close to the chest and speaking of the brutality of war and the effect it has on a man's psyche in a way that feels queasy. The search for Colonel Kurtz (Marlon Brando) is terrifying enough; then you meet him and the darkness surrounds the film. The Academy went with a divorce/custody battle drama starring Meryl Streep and Dustin Hoffman and, at the time, I wouldn't blame them. But Apocalypse Now has gone down as one of the most disturbing, cynical views of combat ever.

#27. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)

Lost to: Gladiator

It wasn't the first and certainly won't be the last foreign film to be nominated for Best Picture, but it will be tough to top the total accolades thrown its way. The Academy tossed ten nominations the way of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Ang Lee's imaginative adaptation of Du Lu Wang's book of the same name. Starring Chow Yun-Fat, Michelle Yeoh, and Ziyi Zhang, this high-flying story of the search for a fugitive and a stolen sword is a parable of feminism set against the backdrop of samurai warriors and insane acrobatics. It took home Oscars for Foreign Language Film, Score, Cinematography, and Art Direction - something unheard of for a foreign film.

#26. E.T. the Extra Terrestrial (1982)

Lost to: Gandhi

Steven Spielberg's career arc is fascinating. In the 1970's he made some very gritty, very interesting films that didn't do much to pander to audience. Then 1982 came and Spielberg gave the world a modern fairy tale about friendship and what it means to be an outsider. E.T. grabbed nine total nominations, winning four (Sound Effects Editing, Visual Effects, Score, and Sound). Movies that center on children aren't typically Academy fare and, while the Steven Spielberg touch helped here, in the end the Academy chose Richard Attenborough's Gandhi, with a dominating performance from Ben Kingsley. But E.T. shaped how Spielberg would make films for the next ten years, with a growing focus on pleasing the audience, rather than telling a meaningful story. He broke that streak with Best Picture winner Schindler's List, but a large piece of his fan base still looks at this one as his greatest triumph and most personal film.

#25. The Graduate (1967)

Lost to: In the Heat of the Night

Another loser from 1967 (what a year) that has stood up as a brilliant look at growing up, love, and what a strange thing sex can be. Starring Dustin Hoffman in his first real star-making performance, this Mike Nichols directed comedy treated sex and relationships as a driving force of hilarity and awkwardness, something rarely done so directly before. When Ben (Hoffman) falls in with his parents' friend Mrs. Robinson (Anne Bancroft), he eventually finds himself drawn to her daughter Elaine (Katharine Ross), much to Mrs. Robinson's dismay. The film grabbed seven nominations and surprisingly won the Best Director Oscar for Nichols, his only win. Regardless, of the 1967 nominees, The Graduate probably has aged the best and seems to have made this biggest cultural impact, but most of that is due to the soundtrack from Simon & Garfunkel.

#24. Le Grande Illusion (1937)

Lost to: You Can't Take It With You

What's a French Jean Renoir film from 1937 doing on a definitive list like this? It only received one Oscar nomination, although it was for the big one. Well, Le Grande Illusion was the first foreign language film to ever be nominated for Best Picture, widening the reach of the Academy dramatically. The first Best Foreign Language Film Oscar wasn't presented until 1957; though, between 1947 and 1955, the Academy presented Honorary Awards to films they felt were worth it. There have now been nine foreign language films nominated for Oscars, but the first after this film was 1969 (Z) - 32 years between them. Taking all this into account, it's also worth mentioning that it is still one of the most evidently anti-war films ever made from one of France's great masters.

#23. The Great Dictator (1940)

Lost to: Rebecca

Charlie Chaplin has gone down in history as one of the greatest screen legends of all time, though he never received much award recognition. Most of this was due to the lighthearted themes of most of his films and the fact that the Academy was still in its infancy. In 1940, Chaplin's The Great Dictator grabbed his lone nomination for Best Picture (he was also nominated for Best Actor). The film grabbed a total of five nominations, winning none. But, for a man who spent the majority of his life on screen completely silent, this satirical take down of Adolf Hitler and the Third Reich is a fascinating look at Chaplin in a speaking part, most memorably in a final monologue that is, more or less, Chaplin the man voicing his political opinions in a weary world.

#22. Fargo (1996)

Lost to: The English Patient

Joel and Ethan Coen debuted in 1984 with Blood Simple, a modern film noir that was only a taste of what they could do. They dabbled in dark comedy and more crime drama throughout the 80's and early 90's, eventually coming to this, a true crime story of an inept car salesman's plan to extort money from his father-in-law, only to see it fall apart while a pregnant cop is on the trail. Fargo was a revelation - a brilliant piece of storytelling that felt like a foreign film, but remained purely American. It was a near perfect film that grabbed seven nominations and was all but the Best Picture of 1996, until an Anthony Minghella directed British period drama swooped in and took the award. The Coen Brothers would eventually win a Best Picture with No Country for Old Men, but Fargo was the first film that got this close.

#21. Sunset Blvd. (1950)

Lost to: All About Eve

Billy Wilder showing his range again, this time with a film that feels like a horror film. Sunset Blvd. grabbed eleven nominations, winning three (Score, Black and White Art Direction, Writing). Wilder's masterpiece has gone down as one of the most brilliant, claustrophobic tales of lost glory and fear, with Gloria Swanson giving one of the most unsettling performances of all time against strong work from William Holden. Unfortunately, it was also the year of Joseph Mankiewicz's behemoth All About Eve - fourteen nominations is tough to beat. Both films were cynical looks at show business with surprisingly similar themes - how Hollywood can destroy a person's soul, creating a warped sense of self-importance and selfishness. But, All About Eve was an easier film to swallow, despite star Bette Davis and Swanson both missing out on a Best Actress Oscar (Judy Holliday in Born Yesterday).

Coming soon: we hit the top 20. It only gets better from here. Not that it hasn't been great so far. Right? Is anybody reading this?

Exploring the 2013 Best Actress Nominees

2013-01-29T12:50:00.000-05:00

Last year's winner Meryl Streep
courtesy of watcherswatch.com

Two months ago, this award was more of race. At this point, Jennifer Lawrence has swept most of the precursor awards. But, unlike most other categories, this is one where there are some very intriguing inclusions. We have the youngest Best Actress nominee ever, plus the oldest Best Actress nominee ever. Then, we get a woman who has all but owned Hollywood over the past two years with brilliant performance after brilliant performance. Finally, we see an Australian sweetheart inhabiting a role that puts hope on the faces of millions of parents around the world. Lets take a look...

courtesy of indiewire.com

Jessica Chastain, Zero Dark Thirty

The "Unstoppable Force"

Why She Will Win: It's a rarely seen female role, not dependent on any male counterparts to function. A lot of that is due to director Kathryn Bigelow and writer Mark Boal, but Chastain blew it out of the water. She gave 3+ phenomenal performances last year, being nominated for The Help and now she has hopped up to the leading category. She is inarguably the best thing in an already brilliant film.

Why She Won't Win: Zero Dark Thirty can't catch a break. The controversy surrounding it infected the director race, knocking Bigelow out as a nominee. There are no Academy people verbally pulling for Chastain, seen more fully with Lawrence winning almost everything up to this point. Two months ago, this was Chastain vs. Lawrence. Now it's a pipe dream.

courtesy of hitfix.com

Emmanuelle Riva, Amour

The "Broken Down Soulmate"

Why She Will Win: She's the oldest woman to ever be nominated for Best Actress in a film inherently about, well, getting old. It's not easy to play someone who is essentially a shell of a person, especially for such a minimalist director like Michael Haneke. Her nomination alone is amazing, but Amour pulled three other nominations, meaning the Academy liked it more than expected.

Why She Won't Win: A bleak film rarely wins you awards, especially when your performance isn't epic. Riva may have inhabited the role, but she isn't showy - she shouldn't be to succeed in the role. Hollywood respects work like this, but rarely hands it a statuette.

courtesy of wsj.net

Naomi Watts, The Impossible

The "Survivor"

Why She Will Win: Watts kind of came out of nowhere. The Impossible didn't really get precursor consideration due to a late release date, but somehow here she is. If I had to pick a dark horse, it would be her, giving a physically and emotionally demanding performance as a mother looking for her other children and husband after a tsunami with her eldest son. Plus, "based on a true story" always helps.

Why She Won't Win: Nobody saw this film coming and it didn't grab any other nominations. It hasn't won any precursor awards and, though Watts is universally praised for her work, she just hasn't had the press and public backing.

courtesy of hiphollywood.com

Quvenzhané Wallis, Beasts of the Southern Wild

The "Fresh Face"

Why She Will Win: If you've seen Beasts of the Southern Wild, you'll know why. It is impossible not to fall in love with this little girl and want her to win everything. All the time. This little film that lives and dies by Wallis and her uncannily mature and dreamlike performance as Hushpuppy. She's the youngest Best Actress nominee ever and it's really a magnificent story and film.

Why She Won't Win: Just as youth can work for you, it can work against you. Nobody here has won an Oscar yet, so the Academy is more likely to give it to a veteran who has turned in a longer sheet of work. Plus, there have been complaints that she isn't "acting." A child this young has no method. It's more a director success than acting. Apparently that's important.

courtesy of familiesintheloop.com

Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook

The "Wild Child"

Why She Will Win: She's won almost everything up to this point, so why should the Oscar be any different? Silver Linings Playbook is the rare film that grabbed a nomination in every acting category and Lawrence is the stand out. It's a big role that gets to shift and flow. She gets to scream, cry, be funny, and be touching. The role has it all.

Why She Won't Win: I would use the "she's too young" line here, but that applies elsewhere. I suppose people could get tired of her. Her monologue hosting "Saturday Night Live" jokingly called out the other nominees and, while it's a JOKE, the Academy can get whiny about that type of thing. I'm grasping at straws here. This is hers to lose.

The Last Three Out: Marion Cotillard (Rust and Bone), Keira Knightley (Anna Karenina), Helen Mirren (Hitchcock)

My Prediction: Jennifer Lawrence

Possible Spoiler: Naomi Watts

The Definitive Best Picture Losers: 40-31

2013-01-28T11:02:00.000-05:00

Scene from How Green Was My Valley
courtesy of didyouseethatone.com

Last entry, we had some timeless classics. This time, we get more, along with a few landmark nominations. Again, this isn't a best of list - it's a look at the Oscars as an institution, which films deserved the award, which ones got unlucky to be up against greater films, and which ones were adored by the Academy, taking home plenty of gold, sans the biggest of them all. This section of the list includes my first cheat - a tie - which I repeat a few more times. You'll see why. Here are numbers 40 through 31.

#40. Beauty and the Beast (1991)

Lost to: Silence of the Lambs

1991 was the first time an animated film ever grabbed a nomination for Best Picture with Disney's version of Beauty and the Beast. The film also picked up nominations for sound, Original Score (for which it won) and three - count 'em THREE - for Best Original Song, the Oscar going to the title song. The film never really had a chance of winning (though this was one rare year where the Academy went exceedingly dark with their winner), but its inclusion was the first step toward a wider range of films getting a chance and the creation of the eventual Best Animated Film category.

#39. The Maltese Falcon (1941)

Lost to: How Green Was My Valley

1941 would one day become one of the most notorious Oscar upsets, but not because of this film, however brilliant it is (the other film is much higher on the list). The Maltese Falcon grabbed three nominations for Picture, Screenplay, and Supporting Actor for Sidney Greenstreet - no wins. Humphrey Bogart wasn't even recognized for what would become one of his signature performances. Throw in another great supporting performance from Peter Lorre and you've got a cast that deserved more than one measly acting nod. Apparently the Academy didn't consider it to be the stuff dreams are made of (I couldn't resist).

#37 (tie) On Golden Pond/Reds (1981)

Lost to: Chariots of Fire

Now, for my first tie. 1981 was easily one of the stranger years for the Oscars. Five films - one from a budding filmmaking master named Steven Spielberg (you'll see it later), one a modern classic from Louis Malle. Then, you have a story about aging starring two iconic performers (Katharine Hepburn, Henry Fonda), both winning Oscars for their work. Plus, an epic story of communism and idealism put on screen by an actor-turned-director named Robert Redford who took home the Oscar for his work. Alas, the winner came in the form of a tiny British film about a long distance runner. Reds took home Best Director and Cinematography (not to mention ten more nominations and one more win). On Golden Pond had ten nominations, winning Actor, Actress, and Adapted Screenplay. In the end, they seemed to split the vote and all that gold meant nothing.

#36. Dr. Strangelove or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)

Lost to: My Fair Lady

Sometimes a film is just way too ahead of its time. Sometimes a movie is so cutting and satirical that it proves too much for the Academy to deal with. Enter Stanley Kubrick's darkest of dark comedies, Dr. Strangelove. Kubrick's film was never expected to take home the trophy, but still pulled in four nominations - Picture, Director, Adapted Screenplay, and Actor for Peter Sellers and his multifaceted, mind-blowing work. In the end, the crowdpleaser won again, as the award went to My Fair Lady (which I love, too). The bigger snub was probably Rex Harrison over Sellers for Best Actor, but that's another list for another time. Dr. Strangelove has gone down in history as one of the most ingenious political satires to ever hit the big screen.

#35. Double Indemnity (1944)

Lost to: Going My Way

If I were to do this again, I'd probably slap a tie in here, too, with a fellow loser from 1944, Gaslight. Regardless, Billy Wilder's iconic film noir is one of the most layered, fascinating pieces of filmmaking in his stellar repertoire. Starring Fred MacMurray and Barbara Stanwyck, the movie pulled in seven nominations (Picture, Director, Actress, Screenplay, Score, Sound, and Black-and-White Cinematography), but went home empty-handed. Instead, the award went to a musical starring Bing Crosby as a young priest. MacMurray was never better, Stanwyck was the definition of a femme fatale, and Wilder once again proved he's one of the best there has ever been. To this day, Double Indemnity is the still one of the measuring sticks for the genre of film noir.

#34. The Color Purple (1985)

Lost to: Out of Africa

In 1985, the job of directing one of these most beloved African-American novels of all time fell to Steven Spielberg (weird, huh). What he created was a landmark in cinema - the first film to be nominated for Best Picture with an African-American producer (Quincy Jones). Starring essentially an all-black cast, with Whoopi Goldberg, Oprah Winfrey, and Danny Glover, The Color Purple also holds one other distinction: it was nominated for eleven Oscars (Picture, Adapted Screenplay, Actress, Supporting Actress (2), Makeup, Score, Original Song, Cinematography, Costume Design, and Art Direction) and it won...NOTHING. Call it a race issue. Call it tough luck. Call it insanity. But when you lose to an incredibly boring film about a plantation owner's love affair with a hunter in Kenya in an already weak field, something is wrong.

#33. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)

Lost to: Gone with the Wind

It was one of, if not the best year for movies in history. It's trademark Frank Capra - an America where good always triumphs over evil and the common man will always find a way to succeed. This time, it's Jimmy Stewart as Jefferson Smith, a small town man called into duty for the United States Senate, only coming face-to-face with political corruption. This gives way to the greatest filibuster in movie or political history. It's typical idealistic Capra and today may feel a little "put on," but it's inspiring and hopeful in a world where dreams sometimes die a quick death. It grabbed eleven nominations, but only took one home, for Original Screenplay.

#32. To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)

Lost to: Lawrence of Arabia

Above all, the brilliant adaptation of Harper Lee's read-by-fifty-million-high-schoolers novel suffered from nothing more than bad luck. Not many films would be able to take down a film as epic as Lawrence of Arabia, no matter how boring its third act is (yawn). To Kill a Mockingbird is anchored by Gregory Peck's incredible Oscar winning performance as southern lawyer Atticus Finch and grabbed eight total nominations, winning for Actor, Adapted Screenplay, and Art Direction. It's a film that stands the test of time and, in the long run, may have a better shelf life than the film it lost to.

#31. A Clockwork Orange (1971)

Lost to: The French Connection

It's Stanley Kubrick again, this time giving the world only the second X-rated film to be nominated for Best Picture (Midnight Cowboy in 1969, which won). Unfortunately, A Clockwork Orange didn't come out on top, in a relatively difficult field which included eventual winner The French Connection, plus The Last Picture Show and Fiddler on the Roof (that doesn't even include non-nominees McCabe and Mrs. Miller, Klute, and Sunday, Bloody Sunday). Adapted from the incredibly visceral and convoluted Anthony Burgess novel about violence and individualism in future London, the four time nominated film was driven by a sinister performance from Malcolm McDowell as Alex DeLarge, one of the most charismatic villains in cinematic history.

There you have it - numbers 40 through 31. More upsets and gracious losers to come, so hold on tight.

Silver Linings Playbook (2012)

2013-01-28T09:14:00.000-05:00

courtesy of wsj.net

"Some people never go crazy. What truly horrible lives they must live."

- Charles Bukowski

I used to watch "Inside the Actors Studio" with James Lipton quite a bit, back when Bravo was more than just a dumping ground for fashion and public interest reality shows. One episode, Lipton had comedian Dave Chappelle on, fresh off his strange episodes after he ended his Comedy Central sketch show. He had randomly flown to Africa to live for some months, forcing journalists and media outlets to label him negatively. Chappelle made a very interesting remark in his episode when talking about the negative environment of Hollywood that made a big impact on me: "The worst thing to call somebody is crazy. It's dismissive. I don't understand this person, so they're crazy." The truth is, maybe these people we call "crazy" have a little bit more sense than we give them credit for.

Silver Linings Playbook tells a messy story about a messy family, all centered around Pat Solitano (Bradley Cooper). Pat has been released from a Baltimore mental hospital eight months after an incident where he caught his wife Nikki cheating on him, lost control, and nearly beat the adulterer to death. While in treatment, Pat is diagnosed with bipolar disorder, triggered by high stress. Despite his doctors' and therapist's suggestions, he decides the best way he can beat his illness and win back his wife is through hard work, exercise, and positivity.

Then he meets Tiffany (Jennifer Lawrence). At first glance, she is a little too negative and high strung for Pat to handle but, when he realizes she is his only connection to his ex-wife, he decides to befriend her, eventually asking her to deliver a letter to Nikki. She agrees, but only if he helps her by partnering with her in a dance competition the week after Christmas. So, they rehearse daily, while Pat deals with his Philadelphia Eagles obsessed, compulsive small time bookie father (Robert De Niro) and the realization that exercise and a bright outlook may not be enough to help him prove his worth to Nikki.

courtesy of theschleicherspin.com

When I write out the plot, it sound a lot more ridiculous than it felt while watching the film. It's a weird, haphazardly strewn together story that somehow manages to work thanks to performances in the film. Writer/director David O. Russell adapted the film from the novel of the same name, the first book from author Matthew Quick. As we have been told numerous times throughout the award season, Russell's son suffers from some form of mental disorder and attended Devereaux Glenholme School in Washington, CT, which serves as much of the inspiration for the film. It's unclear what he suffers from, but it's irrelevant. What Russell has made is not a film about mental health. It's not a film about dealing with mental disorders. It's a film about how family and personal connections can help build some sense within everyone that, even with all the negativity in the world, everything will be okay, mental disorder or not.

Bradley Cooper's work as Pat is, without a doubt, the best work of his career. Cooper pulls some stilted nuance out of Pat, a man so uncomfortably positive and focused on his ex-wife that his slow descent is fascinating to watch. What we see is a man not being pulled up by his bootstraps, but pulled down from his hot air balloon. He's a rare of example of a man incredibly motivated to get well, however misguided his reasoning is. An optimistic outlook on life is always a good thing, but sometimes staring directly into the light of the world with your blinders on is every bit as "crazy" as the diagnosed disorders from his the character suffers. Cooper does a great job shifting deliberately between his moods, swinging in a believable manner without it coming off as cartoonish.

Then there's Jennifer Lawrence, a revelation of quirkiness that still manages to feel realistic. What Tiffany represents is an out for Pat. She begins as his channel to Nikki and becomes his friend and pseudo-therapist. Tiffany is a loose cannon, occasionally reeling still from the unexpected death of her husband. What makes their relationship so interesting is the complete lack of filter between the two. This is honesty at its core, however inappropriate it may be. Tiffany is a strong person, sometimes too much so. When Pat finds a way to control his emotion and Tiffany manages to let her emotion actually push her motivations for her, that's when a real connection can be made. Lawrence's work here is so intense and entertaining that you find yourself forgiving her very weird transgressions and manipulations. She's not a train wreck, but that doesn't stop you from staring.

courtesy of nydailynews.com

What sets Silver Linings Playbook apart is the amalgam of past David O. Russell and mainstream David O. Russell. There are bits and pieces of Russell's other protagonists - i.e. Ben Stiller in Flirting with Disaster and Jason Schwartzman in I Heart Huckabees - that show their faces in Pat. Somehow, instead of turning this into an exceedingly dark comedy, he plays it light enough to design a crowdpleaser that doesn't pander too much. There are sure moments of audience manipulation and some strange decisions in places (I HATE camerawork that spins around people too quickly), but it otherwise serves as a great success and one of the best of 2012.

Like I said before, Russell isn't arguing that, if you take your meds, exercise, and join a dance competition, you can land a disorganized smoking hottie (if only). It's not about that. It's about taking control of your life and taking responsibility for yourself. It's about forgiving yourself, forgiving the people around you, and accepting forgiveness from others. It's about seeing the world as a full, three dimensional place where every person deserves the benefit of the doubt, but must be prepared for judgment at the eyes of others. Love isn't about dedicating your life to the happiness of one person; it's about being the best person you can be when you're on this planet. The love you can give to and earn from others is just collateral damage. That's the silver lining.

SHOULD YOU SEE IT: Encouraged

Exploring the 2013 Best Actor Nominees

2013-01-28T07:54:00.001-05:00

Last year's winner Jean Dujardin
courtesy of guardian.co.uk

Daniel Day Lewis looks to have this one sealed up, but stranger things have happened in the Oscar race. After playing the iconic president, he finds himself up against a powerhouse performance from a Broadway veteran, the troubling psychological performance from a troubled A-lister, a surprising mainstream turn from an oft-nominated star, and a young comic actor's first chance at gold. The race may look like it's all but over, but with a few more precursor wins, anyone could take it. Lets take a look...

courtesy of theamericanconservative.com

Daniel Day Lewis, Lincoln

The "Commander in Chief"

Why He Will Win: I don't think I have to explain this. He absolutely inhabits the role in a way that few performers could. When history looks back on Lincoln, it will be for this performance and, possibly, nothing else. He owns the film more than any other actor did this past year. This work will stand alongside his role as Daniel Plainview in There Will Be Blood as two very different, but equally impressive performances.

Why He Won't Win: It seems too easy. Other actors on this list have won precursor awards in random places, so there's still a chance it could be too god to be true.

courtesy of movieweb.com

Joaquin Phoenix, The Master

The "Lost Soul"

Why He Will Win: While Day Lewis may have done the best overall work, Phoenix probably gave a much more complicated performance. The Master was a showcase for him, even more so than his stellar work in Walk the Line. He doesn't just fill a role here - he creates it, even without the help of dialogue alone. His face tells a story not many filmmakers could.

Why He Won't Win: Again, The Master is extremely complicated for voters to grasp. Plus, Joaquin Phoenix is vocally anti-Hollywood machine, a man who pushes away accolades and damns the awards handed out, even to him. The Academy doesn't really like people that don't like them.

courtesy of collider.com

Hugh Jackman, Les Miserables

The "Broadway Icon"

Why He Will Win: It's a bombastic, showy performance that Jackman fits perfectly into. Jackman is a Broadway and musical theater veteran and playing Jean Valjean may be his best chance at an Oscar, at least, in the form of a musical. People like him and he's charming, so that helps.

Why He Won't Win: The film is a bit divisive. People who love it, love it. People who don't, hate it. Didn't stop it from pulling a Best Picture nomination, but the lack of all around love and the performances he's up against draw a very sharp line in the sand.

courtesy of businessinsider.com

Denzel Washington, Flight

The "Problematic Pilot"

Why He Will Win: He's Denzel Washington playing an anti-hero. He won his first Best Actor Oscar for playing a villain in Training Day (not that deserved, but that's another story), so it seems the Academy may like him better when he's not so clean cut. He's an A-list star who helped turn a film that could have been run-of-the-mill into a surprise thought provoker.

Why He Won't Win: He hasn't won any precursor awards and his film didn't grab any other nominations. Of all the candidates, Denzel feels like the odd one out - the one that, no matter how the chips fall, has no real chance of winning.

courtesy of philly.com

Bradley Cooper, Silver Linings Playbook

The "Optimistic Basket Case"

Why He Will Win: The Weinsteins. He has the greatest Oscar lobbyist team behind him for a film that grabbed a nomination in every acting category. He transformed from comedic/action star into a moody, likeable emotional lead, from the help of his director and co-stars. It's his first nomination, too, so he's got fresh legs.

Why He Won't Win: He lost at the Globes to Hugh Jackman for Best Actor in a Comedy/Musical. Though the Globes aren't good predictors, that's not a good sign. Cooper was thought to be a shoe-in for that award and he walked away empty handed, despite all the other love for Silver Linings Playbook.

The Last Three Out: John Hawkes (The Sessions), Jack Black (Bernie), Denis Levant (Holy Motors)

My Prediction: Daniel Day Lewis

Possible Spoiler: Bradley Cooper

2013 Screen Actors Guild Award Winners

2013-01-28T07:44:00.001-05:00

Jennifer Lawrence in
Silver Linings Playbook
courtesy of ew.com

And so it goes...just the movies...

Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture
Skyfall

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role
Daniel Day-Lewis - Lincoln

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role
Jennifer Lawrence - Silver Linings Playbook

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role
Tommy Lee Jones - Lincoln

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role

Anne Hathaway - Les Miserables

Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
Argo

My Thoughts

These awards essentially ended four races: Lead Actor, Lead Actress, Supporting Actress, and Picture. You heard me.
The only race still up for grabs is Supporting Actor and my guess is it goes to Jones of Christoph Waltz.
Argo is so far ahead at this point that the only film that could catch it is Lincoln, but that's only if it takes both the Writers Guild Award and the Directors Guild Awards home. And that's unlikely.
I saw Silver Linings Playbook last night and I loved it. Jennifer Lawrence deserves this award, though I still adored Jessica Chastain in Zero Dark Thirty.

2013 Producers Guild Award Winners

2013-01-27T07:26:00.000-05:00

scene from Argo
courtesy of slantmagazine.com

Here they are - my thoughts below.

Best Picture: Argo
Drama Series: "Homeland"
Doc Feature: Searching for Sugarman
Reality Series: "American Masters"
Animated Film: Wreck-it Ralph
Comedy Series: "Modern Family"
PGA competition TV award: "Amazing Race"
Best Live Talk Show: "The Colbert Report"

My Thoughts

This race just got super tight. It's now a two horse race between Lincoln and Argo. Whoever wins SAG ensemble tonight will jump ahead or, if it's Silver Linings Playbook, will jump right in.
Searching for Sugarman is the clear favorite for documentary at this point, but keep your eye on The Gatekeepers.
I said it before and I'll say it again - Best Animated Feature is WIDE open.

The Definitive Best Picture Losers: 50-41

2013-01-25T15:23:00.000-05:00

Scene from The Greatest Show on Earth
courtesy of stagevu.com

As we get closer and closer to the big night, I wanted to look back at the history of Oscar and highlight the films that missed their shot. Plenty of great films have won Best Picture. Plenty of great films weren't even nominated. Then there are the films that were thrown into the mix, but fell just short of the big prize. Starting with numbers 50 through 41, I'm looking back at the most important Best Picture nominees that didn't take home the gold. This isn't a best of list - it's a look at the Oscars as an institution, which films deserved the award, which ones got unlucky to be up against greater films, and which ones were adored by the Academy, taking home plenty of gold, sans the biggest of them all. Without further ado, let's look at numbers 50 through 41.

#50. Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966)

Lost to: A Man for All Seasons

It may be the greatest performance of Elizabeth Taylor's career, opposite her husband Richard Burton. Both actors scored nominations, plus supporting nods for Sandy Denis and George Segal. All in all, the film racked up 13 nominations and five wins, two of which were for Taylor and Denis. But, when all was said and done, Paul Scofield and his performance as Thomas Moore in the biopic of A Man For All Seasons took home the gold (both Lead Actor and Picture, respectively). Retrospectively, Virginia Woolf has gone down as one of the most brutal looks at a twisted family dynamic and almost felt like a look inside the roller coaster marriage of Taylor and Burton.

#49. 12 Angry Men (1957)

Lost to: The Bridge on the River Kwai

Sidney Lumet's definitive courtroom drama somehow only garnered three nominations - Director and Screenplay, in addition to Picture. Since Oscar night, it has been slowly built up as one of the greatest looks at the justice system, with Henry Fonda in a brilliant performance as the only doubter in a room full of frustrated jurors who just want to slap the handcuffs on an innocent man. Pitted against Lee J. Cobb as the most one-sided, blind-to-the-facts juror in the history of cinema, Fonda shines. I would never jump to the conclusion to say it's a better film than The Bridge on the River Kwai, but it's certainly a lot easier to re-watch and enjoy.

#48. MAS*H (1970)

Lost to: Patton

Robert Altman has a laundry list of brilliant films, most of which were nominated for something, but missed out on major gold. M*A*S*H was the first one to truly break into the mold, using the Altman-esque technique of filmmaking and screenwriting. The story fits together loosely, characters talk over each other, and it takes a serious topic and flips it on its head. Altman's skill would be honed and be injected into other wonderful Best Picture nominees (Nashville, Gosford Park), but this war comedy that gave birth to one of the greatest television shows of all time was the first to break into the fold. It lost to a good film and sits alongside Five Easy Pieces as another Best Picture loser from that year. Not bad company.

#47. Top Hat (1935)

Lost to: Mutiny on the Bounty

In the 1930's, the Academy essentially nominated anything that wasn't bad. Alongside eleven other nominees sat possibly the greatest Fred Astaire/Ginger Rogers collaboration Top Hat. While Astaire is a beloved performer, he never received any nominations for his acting in musicals with Rogers (or anyone else for that matter). In fact, his only Oscar nomination came in 1974 for Best Supporting Actor in...The Towering Inferno. Top Hat grabbed three nominations other than Best Picture, for Original Song, Art Direction, and Dance Direction, but won nothing. Regardless, other than the winner that year, Top Hat stands head and shoulders above its fellow nominees. Maybe even above Mutiny on the Bounty.

#49. High Noon (1952)

Lost to: The Greatest Show on Earth

It lost the Oscar to what has gone down in history as one of the worst Best Pictures of all time (no argument here). This western that grabbed seven nominations and four wins (Editing, Original Song, Music, Lead Actor) may not be as good as billed, but it's still an original film that works well. The film focuses on Gary Cooper's Will Kane as he struggles between sticking around until the clock strikes 12 to fight incoming enemies or leaving with his new bride, played by Grace Kelly. As the clock moves forward, he gets less and less support from the townspeople he is trying to protect. The movie is essentially filmed in real time, flashing back to the clock over and over. While Gary Cooper was never really that great an actor, the filmmaking techniques manage to cloak his stiff facade and create one of the greatest westerns of all time. Besides, Grace Kelly is an epic definition of beauty in it.

#45. Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942)

Lost to: Mrs. Miniver

The man who is better known for his gangster films gave what may be his best performance ever in this biopic of the great George M. Cohan. James Cagney won an Oscar for his lead performance, showing audiences a very different side to the man who would eventually become better known for playing a psychopath with an Oedipal complex (White Heat). Yankee Doodle Dandy grabbed seven nominations and three wins, for Cagney, Best Score, and Best Sound. Directed by the great Michael Curtiz, Cagney's love letter to the music of America still stands up as a shot of life, even against the nine other nominees.

#44. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)

Lost to: Midnight Cowboy

It was the movie that forever embedded Paul Newman and Robert Redford as an iconic pair of actors and redefined the western genre. It was nominated for seven Oscars, winning four (Song, Music, Cinematography, Adapted Screenplay), but still didn't garner any nominations for acting. This story of two bank robbers on their way to Bolivia to escape the law is packed with memorable scenes and lines as Newman and Redford put a stamp on their illustrious careers. The catch: it lost to the first X-rated film to ever be nominated (and win) Best Picture. I'm not arguing - Midnight Cowboy is great.

#43. Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967)

Lost to: In the Heat of the Night

The nominees for Best Picture this year were loaded. Two of the other films nominated are higher on this list for various reasons. Unfortunately, Stanley Kramer's story of race relations and family dysfunction was up against another film about race relations, the other more visceral (though also starring Sydney Poitier). Oddly enough, none of this film's ten nominations or any of In the Heat of the Night's seven nominations included Poitier, who was wonderful in both films, in very different roles. Katharine Hepburn won an Oscar for her work, but the film's true gem was the final performance of Spencer Tracy, also nominated for an Oscar (he lost to Rod Steiger for In the Heat of the Night). Based on how the Academy likes to vote now, if this lineup of films were nominated again this year, I'd put my money on Guess Who's Coming to Dinner. Or, sadly enough, Dr. Doolittle.

#42. The Social Network (2010)

Lost to: The King's Speech

Since the mid-90's, there has slowly existed a building divide between critics and the Academy. When Oscar race tracking became so much more evident and easier, statisticians began recording numbers of precursor wins, critic society awards, and guild nominations. In the second year of the "let's have ten nominees" transition the Academy tried out, we saw the sharpest recent divide we've ever seen between two films. The Social Network all but swept the critical awards before the Oscars, only to lose to a light historical story about an English king overcoming a stutter. It's the most recent entry on this list, but if there was ever a year that showed clear evidence of the type of movie the Academy was looking for in recent memory, it was this one.

#41. The Philadelphia Story (1940)

Lost to: Rebecca

Screwball comedies aren't supposed to win Oscars. While The Philadelphia Story isn't exactly "screwball," it is an extremely light crowd-pleaser that suffered from two problems: it was up against the only Hitchcock film ever to win Best Picture and it was one of ten nominees, four of which would historically go down as truly classic films (one more is coming up on this list). That being said, Jimmy Stewart won his only Oscar for this wonderful film about relationships, storytelling, and the passion of the press. Among all the nominations, somehow Cary Grant missed out (though I would argue he was more the lead than Stewart and every bit as good). It's just more evidence of how perfectly crafted this film was, character to character, scene to scene.

Whew. That was exhausting. And that's only the beginning. We have forty more to go as we retrace Oscar history and diagram its mistakes, indecisions, and the monumentally difficult choices the Academy has made since 1927.

Exploring the 2013 Best Supporting Actress Nominees

2013-01-25T13:42:00.004-05:00

Last year's winner Octavia Spencer
courtesy of rootmagazineonline.com

Of all the Oscar races, this one feels like the one that's almost over and done with. Hathaway has dominated the early awards and shows no sign of slowing. However, stranger things have happened. Four of the nominees were shoe-ins, but one of them snuck up and grabbed a collateral nomination due to the Academy's love of the film. Either way, the race that looks like it's not competitive may still bring a surprise on Oscar night. Let's take a look...

courtesy of businessinsider.com

Anne Hathaway, Les Miserables

The "Broken Down Starlet"

Why She Will Win: She's a Hollywood sweetheart that is the highlight of a film that isn't as beloved as was hoped. She's the best part about the film and gets the signature song from the classic musical, bearing her soul with tears and all the messy snot that comes with it. She's won the majority of the precursor awards and all but has this award wrapped up.

Why She Won't Win: As I mentioned above, the film isn't adored as much as was expected. The live singing and spectacle has cooled off quite a bit - there's a chance she peaked too early. It's a small chance...but it's still a chance.

courtesy of cineplex.com

Amy Adams, The Master

The "Voice of Reason"

Why She Will Win: She's in a film so male dominated and focused on the concept of masculinity and individuality, yet still manages to hold her own. She's been nominated in this same category three times since 2005 (Junebug, Doubt, The Fighter), so there's a chance the Academy feels like she's paid her dues.

Why She Won't Win: Like I've said before, it's a weird movie. If anybody has a chance to get recognized, it's probably Joaquin Phoenix for his lead performance. Even he has very little chance. It's too complicated a film for the Academy to love.

courtesy of today.com

Sally Field, Lincoln

The "First Influential Lady"

Why She Will Win: While Daniel Day-Lewis inhabits Abraham Lincoln, Field manages to offer a very nice foil to her extremely talented companion. She plays Mary Todd not as the crazy woman to which she has since been relegated - she plays her as a concerned mother and wife, holding her own against some truly brilliant performers.

Why She Won't Win: Field's performance is really the only one that doesn't get the service of the brilliant script much. While Tony Kushner spends endless time explaining the politics and interplay between the men of the day, Mary Todd gets the less impactful lines and, to be honest, some of the worst ones.

courtesy of collider.com

Helen Hunt, The Sessions

The "Necessary Helper"

Why She Will Win: It serves as a nice comeback for Hunt, who won the Lead Actress Oscar for As Good As It Gets. Her role as a sex therapist is easily the strangest of this set of nominees and she grabbed the only nomination from the tiny film. She has made some pretty bad films over the past fifteen years - this is a chance to get back in the game.

Why She Won't Win: John Hawkes didn't get nominated for his universally adored lead performance in the film, which means the Academy wasn't crazy about it. It's a risque topic that isn't as warm and fuzzy as the Academy tends to lean toward, so Hunt's work may go unrecognized.

courtesy of andsoitbeginsfilms.com

Jacki Weaver, Silver Linings Playbook

The "Mixed Up Mother"

Why She Will Win: Silver Linings Playbook has one ace in its corner: Harvey Weinstein. The master award campaigner will probably push harder for his two leads, but Weaver grabbed this unexpected nomination on a combination of luck and lobbying. Still, she's a dark horse in a film that is slowly creeping up to the front of the pack.

Why She Won't Win: Like I said, Weaver is the surprise from this group. Her role doesn't really stand out as much as her fellow nominees in this film and she gets lost in the shuffle quite a bit.

The Last Three Out: Samantha Barkes (Les Miserables), Ann Dowd (Compliance), Maggie Smith (The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel)

My Prediction: Anne Hathaway

Possible Spoiler: Sally Field

Exploring the 2013 Best Supporting Actor Nominees

2013-01-24T08:40:00.001-05:00

Last year's winner Christopher
Plummer courtesy of indiatimes.com

For the first time in Oscar history, we have a category where every single nominee has already won an Oscar. Now that's a gauntlet of talent. De Niro and Hoffman are the only two with lead actor Oscars, but that doesn't make the other three any less talented. It's a very strange collection of performances, though, ranging from a bounty hunter to an Eagles fan suffering from OCD. Either way, this is the acting race that seems the most up for grabs - anyone could take it. Let's take a look...

courtesy of nydailynews.com

Christoph Waltz, Django Unchained

The "Moral Center"

Why He Will Win: He's won a number of the precursor awards, when most assumed Leonardo Dicaprio would be the break out supporting actor from the film. He feels like the morality in the film, despite the fact that he's a bounty hunter. Waltz won the Oscar for Inglourious Basterds, playing a horrible person and now gets accolades for playing a "hero," so that's a nice feel good angle.

Why He Won't Win: He won too recently. There is no nominee head and shoulders above the rest, so rewarding someone who has won within the past three years is not a likelihood.

courtesy of hggirlonfire.com

Phillip Seymour Hoffman, The Master

The "Father Figure"

Why He Will Win: Paul Thomas Anderson's film will melt your brain, thanks to Hoffman and lead actor Joaquin Phoenix. The Master is a performance-driven film, with two men playing against and with each other for the duration of the film. Lancaster Dodd is a confounding character and Hoffman embodies him. Dodd serves as both a mentor and father for Phoenix's Freddie Quells, but also shifts into enemy effortlessly.

Why He Won't Win: It's a weird movie. Much like Tree of Life last year was generally praised, yet passed over for the most part in awards season, The Master is recognized as one of the year's best, but many can't explain why. It may go down in history as a timeless classic, but the Academy wasn't ready to fully accept it quite yet. IN a way, the acting nominations were the Academy's way of saying "we get it."

courtesy of bostonartsdiary.com

Tommy Lee Jones, Lincoln

The "Passionate Politician"

Why He Will Win: He's the fiery supporter in a film otherwise devoid of anger and rage. While Day Lewis owns the film with his quiet, controlled portrayal of the title president, Jones chews up the scenery with his frustrated opinions of his colleagues in Congress and their short-sided points of view. It doesn't hurt playing a real person, either.

Why He Won't Win: Lincoln, though still the frontrunner, has won surprisingly few precursor awards, including Jones. This is a loaded field, all being previous winners, like I already said. Unfortunately, of all the nominees, Tommy Lee Jones still feels out of place, since his Oscar came from a performance that has been retroactively devalued (The Fugitive).

courtesy of hitfix.com

Alan Arkin, Argo

The "Comedic Injection"

Why He Will Win: Along with John Goodman, he's the comedic necessity Ben Affleck's film needs. While Affleck drives the action, Arkin, Goodman, and Bryan Cranston provide the moments of true gold in Argo. Arkin not only plays funny, but he plays emotionally strong, offering the moments of true honesty drawn from Affleck's character.

Why He Won't Win: It's not a huge part. It's an important part, but he isn't as good if he doesn't pair with Goodman, and vice versa. In a way, this nomination is for both of them, which means voters may not view it as a singularly great performance.

courtesy of tezini.com

Robert De Niro, Silver Linings Playbook

The "Negative Influence"

Why He Will Win: This is his best work in a long time, after years of making terrible comedies and weak attempts at mob movie comebacks. He plays against fellow nominees Jacki Weaver and Bradley Cooper very well, providing a necessary foil that delivers a deeper look into the lead actor's psyche.

Why He Won't Win: Silver Linings Playbook grabbed a nomination in every acting category and, while that sounds like a positive, it really feels more like a gap-filling exercise. While De Niro deserves to be here, the only member of the cast with a true shot at the Oscar is Jennifer Lawrence. The collateral damage will probably hit De Niro hardest in such a loaded field.

The Last Three Out: Leonardo Dicaprio (Django Unchained), Javier Bardem (Skyfall), Matthew McConaughey (Magic Mike)

My Prediction: Tommy Lee Jones

Possible Spoiler: Christoph Waltz

Exploring the 2013 Best Director Nominees

2013-01-22T14:29:00.004-05:00

2012 winner Michael Hazanavicius
courtesy of selectspecs.com

The talk of this category will always be the "snubs." Ben Affleck has won plenty of precursor awards for Argo and didn't even get nominated. Kathryn Bigelow received huge acclaim for her work on the controversial Zero Dark Thirty and she isn't here. Still, we have a pretty competitive category, as top heavy as it may be. Three talented veterans, one fresh faced newcomer, and one overdue foreign mastermind face off. Let's take a look...

courtesy of thestuview.blogspot.com

Steven Spielberg, Lincoln

The "Master"

Why He Will Win: It's his best film in a long time and was really a director/writer picture. Lincoln could have been extraordinarily boring (it was at moments), but Spielberg's hand and the performance from Daniel Day Lewis made the film as good as it was.The film grabbed the most nominations, with 12.

Why He Won't Win: It's not the only film in this field that is, for lack of a better word, a "chore" to sit through. While this work is seen by the industry as his best in years, he also wasn't recognized in many precursor awards (at least as the winner).

courtesy of guardian.co.uk

David O. Russell, Silver Linings Playbook

The "Outsider"

Why He Will Win: Russell has recently started to play well with the Hollywood pundits, after years of making quirky indie films. Silver Linings Playbook grabbed a Best Picture nomination, plus a nomination in all four acting categories, which is a rare feat. So, obviously the Academy loved the film.

Why He Won't Win: It's a romantic comedy up against some heavyweight epic films. It's topic doesn't, on the surface, hold the weight of his competitors and it's rare to see a director turn that into gold.

courtesy of mail.com

Ang Lee, Life of Pi

The "Visionary"

Why He Will Win: It's easily the most beautiful film on the list and it took a master craftsman to bring it to screen. He has been nominated twice before, winning in 2005 for Brokeback Mountain. Life of Pi grabbed 11 nominations, most in the technical categories, which points to "behind the camera" work.

Why He Won't Win: The movie didn't pick up any acting nominations and has very limited narrative. Essentially, Lee directs one person and a CGI tiger for almost the entire film, so any may feel his sparse dealing with actors is a mark against him. It's the anti-Silver Linings approach.

courtesy of indiewire.com

Benh Zeitlin, Beasts of the Southern Wild

The "Newcomer"

Why He Will Win: Whew. That's tough. It's a gorgeous film with a wonderful lead performance that feels like a fairy tale. He's the most surprising of the nominees by far and everybody loves an underdog story. It somehow managed to have staying power since its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival, so obviously there's a lot of love for the film.

Why He Won't Win: He's up against some of the biggest directors in the game and this is his first nomination. He's only 30 years old and, while Beasts is a wonderful film, he is no Orson Welles. The Academy may throw nominations at youth, but it rarely rewards them.

courtesy of umass.edu

Michael Haneke, Amour

The "Auteur"

Why He Will Win: He's one of the most intriguing world directors of the past 25 years and never really received the recognition he deserved. While Zeitlin may be the biggest surprise, Haneke's nomination was, while deserved, quite unexpected. Amour grabbed a surprising five nominations, while is rare for a foreign film.

Why He Won't Win: It's still a foreign film. Haneke's film catalog is also extremely difficult to swallow, with most films being exercises in depravity and pain - looks at the human psyche most filmmakers would never approach.

The Last Three Out: Paul Thomas Anderson (The Master), Ben Affleck (Argo), Kathryn Bigelow (Zero Dark Thirty)

My Prediction: Steven Spielberg

Possible Spoiler: Ang Lee

Exploring the 2013 Best Original Screenplay Nominees

2013-01-15T10:57:00.000-05:00

2012 winner Woody Allen courtesy of
net4surf.com

Original Screenplay is loaded with some really talented people this year (not that it isn't most years). In it, we have two of the most controversial screenplays of the year, a script that turned a Hollywood film on its head, a bare bones story of death and love, and a sweeping story of community that looks like it belongs in a painting. Some below are repeat nominees, but this year will certainly be a tight race. Let's take a look...

courtesy of cinemafanatic.com

Mark Boal, Zero Dark Thirty

The "King of Controversy"

Why He Will Win: The script was essentially finished, then he had to re-write it when history dictated it. Zero Dark Thirty is layer upon layer of conspiracy and procedure, all centered around one of the most extraordinarily written females the screen has ever seen. In all the controversy, Boal was somehow spared and still earned this nod.

Why He Won't Win: Like I mention above, this film has a bit of controversy surrounding it. So much so that director Kathryn Bigelow missed out on a nomination. Since Boal was left untouched to appear in this category, he has to suffer the stigma surrounding the film, which certainly may hurt his chances.

courtesy of movieline.com

Quentin Tarantino, Django Unchained

The "Hollywood Bad Boy"

Why He Will Win: He won the Critics Choice Award and the Golden Globe (which doesn't distinguish between original and adapted, so he actually beat some other great screenplays, too). While he has always been respected as a filmmaker, he's been even more respected as a screenwriter, and this is his best work in a while.

Why He Won't Win: It's not as controversial as Zero Dark Thirty, but there is a still a little chaos surrounding Tarantino and his seeming obsessive use of the "N word." The film is packed with profanity and violence and, while it has won the precursors, the Academy isn't always as willing to compromise their morality.

courtesy of movies.yahoo.com
(with Jennifer Furches)

Wes Anderson & Roman Coppola, Moonrise Kingdom

The "Quirk Masters"

Why He Will Win: Because Moonrise Kingdom is a complicated quilt of characters that is a definitive Wes Anderson work. Anderson has been nominated here before, but this film is much more loved in the community than his others, though it didn't score a Best Picture nomination.

Why He Won't Win: Anderson's films have always been a little too quirky and strange for the Academy, and Moonrise Kingdom is no different. It relies a lot on set and production design, which isn't taken into account when judging the screenplays. Plus, it isn't about terrorism or slavery or drug dependence or dying. It's a bit lighter, to say the least.

courtesy of hitfix.com

John Gatins, Flight

The "Mainstream Talent"

Why He Will Win: Easily the most mainstream of the films in this list, Gatins managed to take what looked like a formulaic Hollywood movie and made it into something more. Director Robert Zemeckis hadn't had a real critical success in a while, but he has Gatins to thank for that this year.

Why He Won't Win: It didn't grab a Best Picture of Best Director nomination. In the same way that Benh Zeitlin won't get the accolades for Beasts of the Southern Wild, Gatins and Zemeckis will never get the glory for Flight - it will all be pointed at its star, Denzel Washington.

courtesy of umass.edu

Michael Haneke, Amour

The "Minimalist Master"

Why He Will Win: He's Michael freaking Haneke. He's been making brilliant subversive films for a long time, finally having a film get some Academy love in 2009 with The White Ribbon, grabbing a Best Foreign Film and Cinematography nominee. With Amour, he has dialed down the strange, but amped up the unflinching approach with an uncompromising look and death, dying, and, of course, love. He also got surprise nominations for Director and Picture, so maybe this is his year.

Why He Won't Win: The film isn't exactly a crowd pleaser. Plus, it's a foreign film, so the odds are already against it. Only five foreign films have ever won a screenplay Oscar, the last coming in 2002 for Pedro Almodovar's Talk to Her. He hasn't even been nominated for any precursors, either.

The Last Three Out: Rian Johnson (Looper), Paul Thomas Anderson (The Master), Reid Carolin (Magic Mike)

My Prediction: Quentin Tarantino

Possible Spoiler: Mark Boal

Exploring the 2013 Best Adapted Screenplay Nominees

2013-01-14T15:52:00.001-05:00

2012 winners Nat Faxon, Jim Rash, &
Alexander Payne courtesy of latimes.com

In the upcoming weeks, we'll dive deeper into the bigger awards at this year's Oscars. I'll touch on all the nominees, give the ones that just missed the cut, and my prediction. The Adapted Screenplay was was originally a runaway, but has since tightened up a bit. Either way, each of these films were taken from strong sources and have imprinted themselves on audiences in some way. Unlike with the Original Screenplay category, every one of these films is also nominated for Best Picture. Let's take a look...

courtesy of jewishjournal.com

Tony Kushner, Lincoln

The "Pulitzer Playwright"

Why He Will Win: Lincoln doesn't dumb anything down at all. It's detailed, it's interesting, and it's a great exercise in political discourse. It took a very popular book and distilled it into a very organized screenplay. Some of it may drag, but you can't say that much (if any) is wasted dialogue or movement.

Why He Won't Win: Lincoln doesn't dumb anything down at all. I know, it's lazy to repeat myself. But it's true - it may be a bit too technical for Oscar voters who want to be entertained more than they want to think. Spielberg's film is dry and deliberate and Kushner's screenplay is the most ardent example of that.

courtesy of zimbio.com

Chris Terrio, Argo

The "Surprise Success"

Why He Will Win: Argo is a formidable piece of screenwriting, especially since it is about making movies. Kind of. Regardless, Hollywood eats that up. Terrio has very random experience in the film industry, from directing to technical to writing, which makes him a nice story, especially since he's had a relatively short career so far.

Why He Won't Win: The sudden waterfall of love for Argo may be a little late. Director Ben Affleck wasn't nominated for Best Director, and that hurts Terrio's chances more than you think. Plus, of the five films up for this award, many may view it as the "easiest" to pen, since it's definitely the most audience-friendly.

courtesy of thefilmstage.com

David O. Russell, Silver Linings Playbook

The "Indie to Hollywood Writer"

Why He Will Win: After spending years making weirder indie films, Russell finally got Hollywood accolades with The Fighter. Now, he returns to the Hollywood friendly formula, this time working with a romantic comedy. It's a film about feelings and relationships, which always bodes well for a screenwriter, if it works. Thanks to his cast, it does.

Why He Won't Win: It's just that - a romantic comedy. When you're up against two political films and two epic stories with very young protagonists, it's tougher to sell the "pretty people have problems" idea. Russell has a better chance at Best Director than he does at this award.

courtesy of pbs.org

David Magee, Life of Pi

The "Prestige Writer"

Why He Will Win: It's a movie about a young man on a boat with a tiger and, somehow, it isn't incredibly boring. It's one of the most beloved novels of the past 30 years and he's working with Ang Lee, one of the more respected directors in the industry. The film garnered 11 nominations, which means the Academy likes it a lot.

Why He Won't Win: It's a little sparse on action and dialogue. While it isn't terribly boring, it's also lacking in true forward motion. While Ang Lee's involvement helps him, it also hurts him, in that many will assume that Lee is the sole reason the film is even watchable. I tend to agree.

courtesy of indiewire.com

Benh Zeitlin, Beasts of the Southern Wild

The "New Kid on the Block"

Why He Will Win: I want to say "because Beasts is amazing" and be done with it, but let's continue. Zeitlin's story is the most original of the nominees and he's the nominee with the freshest legs. The film steamrolled Sundance last year and somehow kept the momentum to get him this nomination, plus Best Director and Picture. People love this film.

Why He Won't Win: People will never associate their experience with this film with the writing. Or even the directing. It will all focus on his young star Quvenzhané Wallis and the rest will just lose focus. You'd be surprised how much missing out on a nomination for Best Original Score also hurts Zeitlin's chances here, which was one of the best parts about the film.

The Last Three Out: William Nicholson (Les Miserables), Tom Stoppard (Anna Karenina), Jacques Audiard, Thomas Bidegain (Rust and Bone)

My Prediction: Chris Terrio

Possible Spoiler: Tony Kushner

Zero Dark Thirty (2012)

2013-01-14T08:56:00.000-05:00

courtesy of collider.com

"Passion is a positive obsession. Obsession is a negative passion." - Paul Carvel

I'm always curious what Sir Edmund Hillary did immediately after he finished climbing Mount Everest. This is the tallest mountain in the world and he just conquered it. Where does he go from there? Every other mountain he climbs must seem like a joke. Everything he does from that point on lacks flavor because it will never give him the sense of accomplishment the way climbing Mount Everest did. As great as he felt when he reached summit, how terrible must it be when he got home afterwards, sat in a chair, and realized that the rest of his life may never reach that peak (pun intended) again.

Zero Dark Thirty begins in darkness, as we hear the phone calls from victims of the tragedy on September 11th, 2001. From there, we open at a detainee camp in the Middle East, where a prisoner is being interrogated by CIA/military agents,while being humiliated and tortured. Standing aside is new CIA operative Maya (Jessica Chastain), as she watches in discomfort, refusing to actively take a part, but understanding that important information needs to be obtained. Maya's introduction to the tactics is surreal, but it sets her trajectory in motion. From here on out, by whatever means necessary, she will find Osama Bin Laden. And she will kill him.

Maya works closely with fellow operative Dan (Jason Clarke) in Pakistan, interrogating this man until he gives them a name: Abu Ahmed. This name becomes the center of a search the likes of which has never been accomplished, almost all of which is spearheaded by Maya, even when her supervisors and the U.S. Government isn't on board with her. We follow Maya through everything - her survival of a hotel bombing, Dan's departure to Washington, D.C., the death of fellow agents by a surprise car bombing, and the eventual changing of the guard in Washington, as Obama takes over and condemns those who participated in torturing detainees. All the while, Maya pushes, researches, and scans the microcosm of the Middle East, hoping to find this Abu Ahmed, which, she believes, is the key to finding Bin Laden. Spoiler Alert: we eventually kill Bin Laden. I hope that didn't ruin anything for you.

courtesy of timeentertainment.com

Director Kathryn Bigelow has come under fire for this film, specifically due to its stance on torture. Or, should I say, lack of stance. Zero Dark Thirty does not condone torture. It doesn't vilify it. In the same way that Lincoln gave the audiences insight into some of the somewhat amoral things our president had to do to get the 18th amendment passed for the greater good, Zero Dark Thirty is simply a snapshot of stories gathered by Bigelow and screenwriter Mark Boal. This is what people close to the story say happened, so they put it on screen. They're telling a story based on truth. Why do Bigelow and Boal have to infuse their moral beliefs into the film? Excuse me - infuse beliefs that many critics of the film feel should be there, whether the filmmakers agree or not. It's not their job to tell their audiences how to think. It's their job to take us into a world to help us escape our own, however brutal that trip may be.

What Bigelow and Boal create with Maya is a wholly original character defined solely by her obsession. Maya has rare moments of social discourse and smiles once in a while, but she is, above all, a CIA operative bent on finding the man who orchestrated 9/11. Even the attempts other agents make at loosening Maya up fall by the wayside, as she has done nothing since high school but try to find Bin Laden. Her obsession becomes her way of life, so, in a twisted way, Zero Dark Thirty is about torture: the inescapable torture of a goal that everyone else feels is a lost cause and the realization that, if you never achieve it (or if you do), there's nothing left. There's no meadow beyond it for Maya to go home to. There's just Maya - a lonely soul who may very well have saved millions of future lives.

Other than the above points, common criticisms of the film have also come in the form of missing character development from the loads of people we meet in the film, all of which are CIA agents, soldiers, or detainees. But, this isn't a story about them. While Maya's lack of real "friends" may play to the sentimental side of an audience, she is in one of the few roles in the world where she truly doesn't have time for them. The only person Maya even becomes remotely close to is fellow agent Jessica (Jennifer Ehle) and, by the end of the film, all that's left of that relationship is a photo of them as Maya's computer's desktop background. Bigelow's direction isn't focused on how all these other people feel - it's about one woman and her professional co-dependence on dozens of nameless faces who carry out her sometimes blind plans to execution.

courtesy of slate.com

Zero Dark Thirty eventually follows Seal Team Six's raid of Bin Laden's compound while other CIA operatives watch remotely (I actually found this section of the film more difficult to stomach than the torture). Bigelow makes an interesting decision to cut completely away from Maya during most of the raid - we don't watch her reactions, her stress, her worry. While Maya may be the brains behind the operation, she still needs competent, dedicated people to carry out her plans. She's not Wonder Woman, but her confidence and strategy makes these people believe that she's worth fighting for.

Either way, when the mission is accomplished, outside of some immediate celebratory disbelief by Seal Team Six, this is not a party. Bigelow makes the decision to close with Maya, who doesn't smile once since learning of the mission's success, on a plane, ready to return home. What Jessica Chastain gives us in those closing shots is why she is a frontrunner for Best Actress. She's been walking a tightrope for almost ten years and the net may have just been pulled out from under her. Her moments of silent solitude are extraordinary.

Zero Dark Thirty is political. It's plodding and methodical. It's, at its heart, simply a military procedural. But Bigelow, Boal, and Chastain have created something beyond that. They've created a narrative of one of the most important events of our country's history, but they've done it without making a "proud to be an American" film. While there is less fear brought about by post-Bin Laden al-Qaeda, Zero Dark Thirty isn't about how "we won." It's not anti-war; it's not really anti-anything.

Zero Dark Thirty is a picture of a larger-than-life woman who, while she may be viewed by some as a superhero in the flesh, is just a person so focused on one goal that she has nothing else. Her sacrifice - of a life, of a normal existence, of any relationship beyond the extremely platonic - was for America's gain. She may be proud of what she's done, but that doesn't mean she's happy about how she did it. She doesn't ride off into the sunset. She sits on a transfer plane, waiting to fly back to whatever empty life she has back in America. Alone.

SHOULD YOU SEE IT: Essential

2013 Golden Globe Winners (Movies)

2013-01-14T07:48:00.003-05:00

Scene from Argo courtesy of ifc.com

My thoughts after the list.

Best Picture, Drama: Argo
Best Picture, Comedy or musical: Les Misérables
Best Director: Ben Affleck, Argo
Best Actor, comedy or musical: Hugh Jackman, Les Misérables
Best Actress, comedy or musical: Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook
Best Actor, drama: Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln
Best Actress, drama: Jessica Chastain, Zero Dark Thirty
Best Supporting actor: Christoph Waltz, Django Unchained

Best Supporting actress: Anne Hathaway, Les Misérables
Best Screenplay: Quentin Tarantino, Django Unchained
Best Original score: Mychael Danna, Life of Pi
Best Original Song: Adele, Skyfall (Skyfall)
Best Animated feature film: Brave
Best Foreign film: Amour

My Thoughts

Again, these ballots were submitted before the Oscar ones were, so any momentum that may be building should be tempered a bit.That being said, big win for Argo and Affleck.
Silver Linings Playbook had picked up steam, thanks to the Critics Choice Awards. That has since died thanks to the loss to Les Misérables here and Bradley Cooper's loss to Hugh Jackman.
Since there is no division between original and adapted here, the screenplay going to Tarantino is interesting. Tarantino's biggest competition is Mark Boal, and given the controversy around Zero Dark Thirty, this may be Quentin's year.
I am fascinated at how the Best Actress race is going to turn out. Lawrence and Chastain are neck and neck.
Quick notes on the show: Poehler and Fey killed it; Clinton introducing Lincoln was unexpectedly wonderful; Jodie Foster speech was the highlight, however heartfelt AND (to borrow a line from "Community") crazytown banana pants it was.

2013 Critics Choice Movie Awards

2013-01-11T07:45:00.002-05:00

Scene from Silver Linings Playbook
courtesy of kentuckytheater.com

Best Picture – Argo
Best Actor – Daniel Day-Lewis (Lincoln)
Best Actress – Jessica Chastain (Zero Dark Thirty)
Best Supporting Actor – Philip Seymour Hoffman (The Master)
Best Supporting Actress – Anne Hathaway (Les Miserables)
Best Young Actor/Actress – Quvenzhane Wallis (Beasts of the Southern Wild)
Best Acting Ensemble – Silver Linings Playbook
Best Director – Ben Affleck (Argo)
Best Adapted Screenplay – Tony Kushner (Lincoln)
Best Original Screenplay – Quentin Tarantino (Django Unchained)
Best Cinematography – Claudio Miranda (Life of Pi)
Best Art Direction – Sarah Greenwood/Katie Spencer (Anna Karenina)
Best Editing – William Goldenberg/Dylan Tichenor (Zero Dark Thirty)
Best Costume Design – Jacqueline Durran (Anna Karenina)
Best Makeup – Cloud Atlas
Best Visual Effects – Life of Pi
Best Animated Feature – Wreck-It Ralph
Best Action Movie – Skyfall
Best Actor in an Action Movie – Daniel Craig (Skyfall)
Best Actress in an Action Movie – Jennifer Lawrence (The Hunger Games)
Best Comedy – Silver Linings Playbook
Best Actor in a Comedy – Bradley Cooper (Silver Linings Playbook)
Best Actress in a Comedy – Jennifer Lawrence (Silver Linings Playbook)
Best Sci-Fi/Horror Movie – Looper
Best Foreign Language Film – Amour
Best Documentary Feature – Searching for Sugarman
Best Song – Skyfall
Best Score – John Williams (Lincoln)

My Thoughts

The ballots for these awards closed before the Oscar ballots did, so they had no idea that both Bigelow and Affleck would miss out on Oscar nominations.
I understand that it's on the fence, but Silver Linings Playbook is barely a comedy.
At this point, the critic awards are white noise. Any guild awards that are handed out will point more toward who will win the Oscar. That being said, I wouldn't be surprised to see Argo take the Best Picture, Drama Golden Globe this weekend.
Lincoln is still well ahead of the pack for the Oscar.

My 2013 Oscar Reactions

2013-01-10T11:42:00.003-05:00

courtesy of hitfix.com

Well, the Oscar nominations have been announced. There were a few surprises, but, for the most part, nominations went as expected. See the full list here.

Interesting stats

Lincoln leads the nominations with 12. Life of Pi coming right behind with 11.
Life of Pi was nominated in all 7 technical categories (cinematography, editing, score, sound editing, sound mixing, visual effects, production design). Only three films have done that before: Titanic, Master and Commander, and Hugo.
Quvenzhané Wallis is the youngest best actress nominee ever at nine years old. Emmanuelle Riva is the oldest best actress ever nominated, at 85 years young.
Alan Arkin has the longest span of time ever between his first and last nominations, his first coming in 1966 for The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming.
Three Australians are up for acting nominations: Jackman, Watts, and Weaver.
All five nominees in Supporting Actor have won an Oscar before. First time in history.
George Clooney, as a producer of Argo, has now been nominated in six different Oscar categories (Picture, Actor, Supporting Actor, Director, Original Screenplay, and Adapted Screenplay).
First time nominees: Bradley Cooper, Michael Haneke, Hugh Jackman, Quvenzhané Wallis, and Benh Zeitlin.
Amy Adams is only the 8th person that has received a nomination for Supporting Actress at least four times. All hers have come within the past seven years (The Fighter, Doubt, Junebug).

Immediate Reactions

Lincoln is really the frontrunner by far.
Kathryn Bigelow getting snubbed for Best Director seems big, but Ben Affleck's snub is bigger. Zero Dark Thirty has lots of detractors - Argo has almost none.
Interesting to see The Intouchables miss out on a Foreign Film nomination.
Very happy to see Bully miss out on a Best Documemtary nomination.
I'm very proud of myself for having faith that the Academy would be won over by Amour.
I apparently forgot to list Affleck as a Director nominee and listed Russell instead. That worked out pretty well, I'd say.
I will say now the only films that have a chance to beat Lincoln are Life of Pi and Silver Linings Playbook. And that chance is very tiny.

The Film Minion

The Definitive Roger Ebert (Not So) Great Movies: 50-41

50. Contact (1997)

Tomatometer Rating: 63

49. Beat the Devil (1953)

Tomatometer Rating: 67

48. The Grey Zone (2001)

Tomatometer Rating: 68

47. Babel (2006)

Tomatometer Rating: 69

46. Pink Floyd: The Wall (1982)

Tomatometer Rating: 72

45. A.I.: Artificial Intelligence (2001)

Tomatometer Rating: 73

44. Dark City (1998)

Tomatometer Rating: 74

43. El Topo (1970)

Tomatometer Rating: 75

42. Veronika Voss (1982)

Tomatometer Rating: 75

41. Red Beard (1965)

Tomatometer Rating: 75

Thanks for the Memories, Roger Ebert (1942-2013)

2013 Oscar Winners

My 2013 Oscar Predictions

The Definitive Best Picture Losers: 10-1

#10. Chinatown (1974)

#9. Cabaret (1972)

#8. Brokeback Mountain (2005)

#7. Jaws (1975)

#6. The Wizard of Oz (1939)

#5. Saving Private Ryan (1998)

#4. Citizen Kane (1941)

#3. Raging Bull (1980)

#2. Goodfellas (1990)

#1. Star Wars (1977)

Exploring the 2013 Best Picture Nominees

The Definitive Best Picture Losers: 20-11

#20. The Exorcist (1973)

#19. Avatar (2009)

#16. (tie) Network/All the President's Men/Taxi Driver (1976)

#14. (tie) The Shawshank Redemption/Pulp Fiction (1994)

#13. A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)

#12. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1980)

#11. Bonnie and Clyde (1967)

2013 Directors Guild & Art Directors Guild Awards

The Definitive Best Picture Losers: 30-21

#30. Apollo 13 (1995)

#29. L.A. Confidential (1997)

#28. Apocalypse Now (1979)

#27. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)

#26. E.T. the Extra Terrestrial (1982)

#25. The Graduate (1967)

#24. Le Grande Illusion (1937)

#23. The Great Dictator (1940)

#22. Fargo (1996)

#21. Sunset Blvd. (1950)

Exploring the 2013 Best Actress Nominees

The Definitive Best Picture Losers: 40-31

#40. Beauty and the Beast (1991)

#39. The Maltese Falcon (1941)

#37 (tie) On Golden Pond/Reds (1981)

#36. Dr. Strangelove or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)

#35. Double Indemnity (1944)

#34. The Color Purple (1985)

#33. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)

#32. To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)

#31. A Clockwork Orange (1971)

Silver Linings Playbook (2012)

Exploring the 2013 Best Actor Nominees

2013 Screen Actors Guild Award Winners

2013 Producers Guild Award Winners

The Definitive Best Picture Losers: 50-41

#50. Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966)

#49. 12 Angry Men (1957)

#48. M*A*S*H (1970)

#47. Top Hat (1935)

#49. High Noon (1952)

#45. Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942)

#44. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)

#48. MAS*H (1970)