Monday, February 25, 2008

Oscar Outcome

Well for the most part I was right with what would win this year at the Oscars.  To be fair though this year was rather clean cut in guessing the winners.  The big story is that No Country for Old Men won best supporting actor, best screenplay, best direction, and the coveted best picture of the year.  This is a big win for the Coen Brothers who won three Oscars apiece this year, and what a big win it is.  Personally I am thrilled to see No Country win as I think it is nearly perfect and truly perfectly executed.  Like I said it was easy to see who would win this year but I was really surprised to see Tilda Swinton win for best supporting actress.  She was my pick but I thought she had no chance to win.  Over all though I was pleased with the wins and this was a good way to cap off a great year in film.

Friday, February 22, 2008

The Oscar Race


            What a wonderful year it has been to be a film fan.  Lots of fine films came out this year and naturally many of them are up for Oscar gold this year.  The question is who should win and more importantly who will win.  Well look know further as I will fill you in on all that is Oscar.

 

Best Supporting Actress Nominees:

Ruby Dee- American Gangster

Saoirse Ronan- Atonement

Gone Baby Gone- Amy Ryan

I’m Not There- Cate Blanchett

Michael Clayton- Tilda Swinton

Should Win: I’m not sure but I’ll go with Tilda Swinton for her slimy and yet human performance as a corporate thug.

Will Win: I looks like its down to Amy Ryan who has won most of the awards this season for her performance but I will not count out Cate Blanchett winning.

 

Best Supporting Actor Nominees:

Assassination of Jesse James By the Coward Robert Ford- Casey Affleck

Charlie Wilson’s War- Phillip Seymour Hoffman

Into the Wild- Hal Holbrook

Michael Clayton- Tom Wilkinson

No Country For Old Men- Javier Bardem

Should Win: Javier Bardem all the way for me.  He has created one of the most memorable villains in film in this role and I don’t see how he can not win.  He is do chilling in this film and I will never forget his performance.

Who Will Win:  Javier Bardem in a landslide.

 

Best Actress Nominees:

Away from Her: Julie Christie

Elizabeth: The Golden Age- Cate Blanchett

Juno- Ellen Page

La Mome- Marion Cotillard

The Savages- Laura Linney

Should Win: As much as I love Juno I am going to have to go with Julie Christie, as she give a wonderfully subtle and real performance.  Christie convinced me her character was real the entire film.

Will Win: It is going to be close but I think Marion Cotillard has some real momentum going into the Oscars.  Page and Christie both have a valid chance of winning though.

 

Best Actor Nominees:

Eastern Promises- Vigo Mortensen

In the Valley of Elah- Tommy Lee Jones

Michael Clayton- George Clooney

Sweeney Todd- Johnny Depp

There Will Be Blood- Daniel Day-Lewis

Should Win:  Daniel Day-Lewis should win for his larger than life performance that is one of a kind.  Who else can play such a juicy role like this one.  A performance to be remembered.

Will Win: Daniel Day-Lewis almost 100% sure.

 

Best Achievement in Directing Nominees:

Juno- Jason Reitman

Michael Clayton- Tony Gilroy

No Country For Old Men- Ethan and Joel Coen

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly- Julian Schnabel

There Will Be Blood- Paul Thomas Anderson

Should Win: Coen Brothers deserve to win this because they have made such a polished and well paced film.  They make moments so tense in their film that they can be compaired to Hitchcock.  Masterful work from the both of them.

Will Win: The Coen Brothers but Schnable has a chance for the steal.

 

Best Picture Nominees:

Juno

Michael Clayton

There Will Be Blood

No Country for Old Men

Atonement

Should Win: No Country for Old Men is a great film and of the five it is the best.  It is a masterpiece of suspense and it exacuted with perfection.  This film and There Will Be Blood will be remembered for some time.

Will Win: No Country for Old Men is almost a lock it seems as it has won nearly every award it was up for.  If it were to loose I would be shocked but Juno is a dark horse that could pull out a win.

 

            The biggest disappointment for me is that Zodiac received no nominations at all this year.  David Fincher deserved to get a nomination for best director for his lush direction and several technical awards could have been given to the film.  Over all I agree with many of the nominations and will have to see what happens this Sunday.

Across the Universe


            Across the Universe is a big, loud, and certainly colorful musical.  It also seemed rather messy and unfocused to me.  Many times the film lost my interests for a few moments, but on the whole, Across the Universe, is a bold experiment in the film musical.  With some imperfections aside it is a film worth checking out.  With its Beatle filled songs and references it surely is to please most Beatle fans.

 

            Across the Universe tells the story to of a limey from Liverpool, named Jude, who comes to America to find his absent father.  On his trip he comes across all sorts of people, all of which are named after Beatles songs.  For me to describe the story further would be a waste because there really is not one.  It’s more of a journey through the sixties with tons of Beatles songs to back up the story.  There are side stories about Vietnam, the anti war and civil rights movements, and multiple more personal stories between the film’s characters.  All of them blend together and make more of a portrait. 

 

            What I thought was the weakest point of the film for me was that I simply did not care much for the characters.  The characters had no real interest for me and were really dull for the most part.  Its seemed like the film was more interested in visuals and music then an actual story.  I don’t think a strong plot is needed in a musical but it makes the film much more watch able when there is some meat to the story.

 

            The music in the film is of course all covers of Beatle’s songs.  It would be nearly impossible to have the original Beatles songs in this film, as it would cost a fortune.  The songs in the film range from mediocre to pretty damn good versions of Beatles classics.  I liked the covers of “I’ve Just Seen A Face” and “Happiness is a Warm Gun” in particular from the film.  The rest are not bad but just are shy of being really that good.  In all honesty the music made me want to whip out my I Pod and start listening to the original songs.

 

            What I can’t fault in the film is the performances of the actors in the film as many of them were pretty talented singers, and if they were not that strong of singers their delivery of the songs saved them.  Many of the actors in the film had more of a natural approach to vocals and it worked.  The films star, Jim Sturgess, was maybe the best singer, or perhaps the best equipped to sing Beatles songs.  The songs that he sings in were usually the best and the catchiest.

 

            Perhaps what I liked best about this film is the wonderfully creative and quite often tripy visuals of the film.  The director Julie Taymor does a good job creating this colorful world within this film and uses lots of fun visuals.  Looking at this film, especially in the second half of the film, I was often very pleased with all the wonderful color pallets and interesting images.  Taymor got her start in the theatre and she is know for her theatric sense of style and in this film she demonstrates it well.  This film if nothing else is a feast on the eyes.

 

            I am certainly not in love with this film, as you might now guess but certainly is not a bad one.  I give the film points for being so bold and stylish but I dislike it for being a little bland with its characters.  I also think the music is not as good as the source material, but then again what is.  This film is better as a spectacle then it is as a musical.  If the film had moved me or excited me a little more then I think I would have enjoyed it better.  Instead of seeing this film I would recommend the great Beatles’ film A Hard Day’s Night.  That film is much more lively then this one.

 

2 ½ / 4 Stars