16. Hanna Schmitz
e. Kate Winslet in The Reader
17. Anne Napolitano
c. Mercedes Rhuel in The Fisher King
18. Sophie Zawistowski
a. Meryl Streep in Sophie's Choice
19. Elliot Garfield
d. Richard Dreyfus in The Goodbye Girl
20. Ben Sanderson
b. Nicholas Cage in Leaving Las Vegas
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Friday, February 26, 2010
District 9 & Avatar
The best science fiction turns a funhouse mirror back on the viewer, distorting and augmenting reality and revealing truths. Aliens, robots, and outer-space settings become metaphors for our life, society, and humanity and, by showing us what we're not, show us who we are.
The metaphors are all too bitter in District 9, when an alien spacecraft docks over Johannesburg, South Africa. The lobster-like refugees are taken in, but little effort is made to understand their language, culture, and needs. Instead, the government is more concerned with appropriating alien weapon technology. Corralled into a filthy ghetto in squalid conditions, these aliens lash out with violence and the humans wonder why. Enter Wikus Van Der Merwe, a government bureaucrat tasked with evicting the "prawns" to a new and even worse slum. During the search of a tenement shack, he encounters an alien substance that starts to transform him into one of the creatures that he so despises and, forming an uneasy partnership with one of the aliens, he works to return back to normal. As Wikus's transformation and his time with the aliens progresses, he gains an understanding and empathy for their plight.
Anyone who knows anything about South Africa knows what this film is really about.
Avatar has pretty much the same plot. On the distant planet of Pandora, paraplegic Marine Jake Sully finds new life when, through the miracle of technology, he is able to "become" the member of a local alien race known as the Na'Vi. While Jake makes contact with the natives and learns their ways, his corporate and military bosses are more concerned with mining opportunities under the Na'Vi settlement. Unlike Wikus, Jake prefers his lithe alien body and, after gaining a mystical understanding of the Na'Vi ways (and a romantic understanding of his tutor) he finds himself in a war against the humans.
So in Avatar, the U.S. Military brings an unprovoked attack on a nation (of aliens) in order to gain lucrative drilling rights. Hmmm... what could they be saying here? Conversely, roles are turned on their heads when the destruction of a large tower-like structure serves as a call-to-arms for the Na'Vi. On top of that, we discover (with Jake) that all life on Pandora is literally connected in a web of consciousness and that destroying any part of the planet is bad for all living things. Director James Cameron has never been big on subtlety. The screenplay may be as artful as a cudgel to the head, but at least Cameron recognizes that science fiction can provide an entertaining platform for his allegorical ideas.
The metaphors are all too bitter in District 9, when an alien spacecraft docks over Johannesburg, South Africa. The lobster-like refugees are taken in, but little effort is made to understand their language, culture, and needs. Instead, the government is more concerned with appropriating alien weapon technology. Corralled into a filthy ghetto in squalid conditions, these aliens lash out with violence and the humans wonder why. Enter Wikus Van Der Merwe, a government bureaucrat tasked with evicting the "prawns" to a new and even worse slum. During the search of a tenement shack, he encounters an alien substance that starts to transform him into one of the creatures that he so despises and, forming an uneasy partnership with one of the aliens, he works to return back to normal. As Wikus's transformation and his time with the aliens progresses, he gains an understanding and empathy for their plight.
Anyone who knows anything about South Africa knows what this film is really about.
Avatar has pretty much the same plot. On the distant planet of Pandora, paraplegic Marine Jake Sully finds new life when, through the miracle of technology, he is able to "become" the member of a local alien race known as the Na'Vi. While Jake makes contact with the natives and learns their ways, his corporate and military bosses are more concerned with mining opportunities under the Na'Vi settlement. Unlike Wikus, Jake prefers his lithe alien body and, after gaining a mystical understanding of the Na'Vi ways (and a romantic understanding of his tutor) he finds himself in a war against the humans.
So in Avatar, the U.S. Military brings an unprovoked attack on a nation (of aliens) in order to gain lucrative drilling rights. Hmmm... what could they be saying here? Conversely, roles are turned on their heads when the destruction of a large tower-like structure serves as a call-to-arms for the Na'Vi. On top of that, we discover (with Jake) that all life on Pandora is literally connected in a web of consciousness and that destroying any part of the planet is bad for all living things. Director James Cameron has never been big on subtlety. The screenplay may be as artful as a cudgel to the head, but at least Cameron recognizes that science fiction can provide an entertaining platform for his allegorical ideas.
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Screenplay Awards
Best Score was a tough pick, but this one might be even more difficult.
The nominees for Best Adapted Screenplay are District 9, An Education, In The Loop, Precious, and Up In the Air. Normally, we look for Best Picture nominees, because Picture, Director, and Screenplay often go to the same film, but four of these five (all but In The Loop) are Best Picture contenders. Being a dark allegorical science fiction film, I don't think District 9 has a strong chance. The best contender, in my opinion, is Up In The Air, for its emphasis on character, great dialogue, and sweet-and-sour tone. An Education might upset, and there's a chance that Precious could rally support, but I think Up In the Air is just the sort of movie that wins here.
For Original Screenplay, we have The Hurt Locker, Inglourious Basterds, The Messenger, A Serious Man, and Up. Here we have three Best Picture nominees in the mix. The Hurt Locker is a great action film but is very episodic and The Messenger and A Serious Man are more subdued. My first instinct tells me that Up is the standout in this category. It has the most original screenplay in at least a decade with each bizarre and unlikely story element building up to a genuinely moving end. Up is, however an animated film, which historically fare poorly in the writing categories. That said, I'm going to pick Inglourious Basterds for the win. It has a brilliant screenplay boiling over with Tarantino's unique style of dialogue, but because most of it is in French, German, and Italian with English subtitles, audiences are compelled to pay more attention to the words and appreciate the language and subtlety of the script.
The nominees for Best Adapted Screenplay are District 9, An Education, In The Loop, Precious, and Up In the Air. Normally, we look for Best Picture nominees, because Picture, Director, and Screenplay often go to the same film, but four of these five (all but In The Loop) are Best Picture contenders. Being a dark allegorical science fiction film, I don't think District 9 has a strong chance. The best contender, in my opinion, is Up In The Air, for its emphasis on character, great dialogue, and sweet-and-sour tone. An Education might upset, and there's a chance that Precious could rally support, but I think Up In the Air is just the sort of movie that wins here.
For Original Screenplay, we have The Hurt Locker, Inglourious Basterds, The Messenger, A Serious Man, and Up. Here we have three Best Picture nominees in the mix. The Hurt Locker is a great action film but is very episodic and The Messenger and A Serious Man are more subdued. My first instinct tells me that Up is the standout in this category. It has the most original screenplay in at least a decade with each bizarre and unlikely story element building up to a genuinely moving end. Up is, however an animated film, which historically fare poorly in the writing categories. That said, I'm going to pick Inglourious Basterds for the win. It has a brilliant screenplay boiling over with Tarantino's unique style of dialogue, but because most of it is in French, German, and Italian with English subtitles, audiences are compelled to pay more attention to the words and appreciate the language and subtlety of the script.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Best Actor
The nominees for Best Lead Actor are Jeff Bridges (Crazy Heart), George Clooney (Up In the Air), Colin Firth (A Single Man), Morgan Freeman (Invictus), and Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker).
Clooney and Freeman are previous winners (both for Supporting Actor), Firth and Renner are first-timers, and Bridges has had four previous nominations. Renner does a good slow burn and Clooney and Firth give very subtle performances. Besides resembling Mandella, Morgan Freeman proves his worth by expertly taking on the voice and mannerisms of the South African president, but If the SAG and Golden Globes are any indication, it looks like Jeff Bridges is the front-runner for the Oscar. His work has been long-admired by his fellow actors, but with such a quirky and varied resume, he really hasn't had any serious Oscar consideration before. Now, in Crazy Heart, he has a serious role to show off his acting (and singing) skills and just like Sandra Bullock in this years Best Actress race, I think voters will jump at the opportunity to finally give him the prize.
Clooney and Freeman are previous winners (both for Supporting Actor), Firth and Renner are first-timers, and Bridges has had four previous nominations. Renner does a good slow burn and Clooney and Firth give very subtle performances. Besides resembling Mandella, Morgan Freeman proves his worth by expertly taking on the voice and mannerisms of the South African president, but If the SAG and Golden Globes are any indication, it looks like Jeff Bridges is the front-runner for the Oscar. His work has been long-admired by his fellow actors, but with such a quirky and varied resume, he really hasn't had any serious Oscar consideration before. Now, in Crazy Heart, he has a serious role to show off his acting (and singing) skills and just like Sandra Bullock in this years Best Actress race, I think voters will jump at the opportunity to finally give him the prize.
Monday, February 22, 2010
Doug's Big Oscar Quiz - Part 4
Match the actors with their Oscar-winning roles
16. Hanna Schmitz
17. Anne Napolitano
18. Sophie Zawistowski
19. Elliot Garfield
20. Ben Sanderson
a. Meryl Streep
b. Nicholas Cage
c. Mercedes Rhuel
d. Richard Dreyfus
e. Kate Winslet
16. Hanna Schmitz
17. Anne Napolitano
18. Sophie Zawistowski
19. Elliot Garfield
20. Ben Sanderson
a. Meryl Streep
b. Nicholas Cage
c. Mercedes Rhuel
d. Richard Dreyfus
e. Kate Winslet
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