Oscars 2012

[Chris Knipp]

The Oscar nominations are in. The Best Picture nominations are:

THE ARTIST
THE DESCENDANTS
MONEYBALL
MIDINGHT IN PARIS
THE TREE OF LIFE'
THE HELP
HUGO
EXTREMELY LOUD AND INCREDIBLY CLOSE
WAR HORSE

That's right: nine, not ten. I am in agreement with the first five. The last four are predictable Academy choices and they are all extremely well crafted films. WAR HOURSE is such a "pile of cliches" (as Richard Brody says it is by intention) that I didn't even write a review of it. THE HELP is a very well meaning film and the actors are appealing and good. For all its skill HUGE seems a big disappointment to me, but though I was taken to task for saying so, it appeals successfully to the child and the child in us. EXTREMELY LOUS etc. evidently has an extremely flawed source novel. I loved watching the boy actor at work. He's evidently quite as bright as the kid he's playing. There are some essential choices here: MONEYBALL and TREE OF LIFE and THE DESCENDANTS had to be there and I knew THE ARTIST would be. It looks like the winning but small MY WEED WITH MARILYN didn't make it, but it gets some big acting nominations, as do some other films not many people may even go out to see, like the one with Glenn Close and the mediocre biopic with Merl Streep.

Of the documentary nominations I've only seen one of the five and that is the only much celebrated one that I didn't respond to, PINA. Of the foreign film nominations there are only two I have seen, FOOTNOTE and A SEPARATION, certainly both worthy choices, though THE SEPARATION happens to be another of the most praised films that I fail to respond to. It also gets one of the Original Screenplay nominations; its intricacy (and relative clarity) has impressed many people. The five Original Screenplay nominations are:

THE ARTIST
BRIDESMAIDS
MARGIN CALL
MIDNIGHT IN PARIS
A SEPARATION

I am happy for Woody Allen's getting three important nominations this year. He has written many well crafted screenplays. He has not often been celebrated for them. I'm also glad about MARGIN CALL, which I think a significant debut, an intelligent and timely film. I'm not really an Oscars person. I follow it, but not with true enthusiasm. Before I don't think of it that much and when it's over I forget about it. Except when something happens as did with BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN, a travesty. I hope there won't be one this year, but it looks like there may be. I really only care about the Best Picture choice much. That's why my best lists are only of films and not of actors or other aspects of the complicated process of making a movie.

Join the fray!

[Johann]

Something tells me The Descendants will win big. I haven't seen it, but scuttlebutt for this one is big.

I can't believe The Adventures of TinTin was left out of the Best Animated Feature category, especially after winning at the Golden Globes!
Boggles the brain.

I haven't seen any best picture nominees except The Tree of Life. Here's hoping Malick wins Best Director.
He deserves that one at the very least.
All in all I'm not sure this was a stand-out year for movies.
Lars von Trier and Terrence Malick were the only bringers of serious cinematic fruit to my mind.
And Trier is ignored again by the Academy. Who knew?
They figure that just because he won't go to America to accept a statuette they can just plain ignore him.
He's a Modern Titan to me. Ignore him at your own peril.

Yes, lots of safe choices for the Oscars this year. No films that changed the game.

[tabuno]

I shared Johann's disbelief that The Adventures of Tin Tin didn't get nominated for Best Animated Feature Film, especially with having five nominees. The distinguishing feature about this British-skewed backdrop is that it has a old-fashioned enhanced by contemporary means, somewhat I would imagine The Artist (which I haven't seen) may have benefitted from. Tin Tin almost seems too old fashioned, too archaic and was perhaps too well put together that it looked too simple and too pedestrian. In other words, the movie was too good.

I am very glad that Extremely Loud and Incredible Close was recognized by the Oscar because I feel that it is among the top films of the year - especially for its well-balanced and creative handling of an important subject matter and difficult topic to bring to the screen successfully. I am wondering if the problem was the courageous decision to produce this movie and that the critics and public just aren't ready for it yet. Hopefully time will be the true gauge of what I consider this superb film.

[Chris Knipp]

The many loyal fans of EXTREMELY LOUD AND INCREDIBLY CLOSE (including you, tabuno) are vindicated, because the Academy recognizes it, despite the lack of a critical consensus in its favor. Vulture includes it in its Worst Movies of the Year feature , however. I would never go that far, because I acknowledge that it's a well-made film, with a good cast, even if I don't like the screenplay and probably wouldn't like the source novel either.

TINTIN probably should have gotten an animation nomination. I believe its use of motion capture was an advance, so it was not so old fashioned.

Other disappointments or lacks are that THE ARTIST did not get more nominations for its technical and acting work, and Albert Brooks, who was expected to get a nomination for Supporting Actor in the snubbed DRIVE, was passed over, and tweeted ""I got ROBBED. I don't mean the Oscars, I mean literally. My pants and shoes have been stolen. And to the Academy: 'You don't like me. You really don't like me.'"' Richard Brody of the NYer, who was among various bloggers and movie writers who commented on the nom pros and nom cons, was quite disappointed, as I am, that the grwoudswell of critical opinion for MARGARET got it no nomination at all. He commented

The biggest surprise in the major categories is the well-deserved nomination of Demián Bichir for Best Actor for his role in Chris Weitz’s “A Better Life

He calls A BETTER LIFE "a passionate, meticulously realistic drama ," but I frankly found it lackluster and it didn't make a lasting impression on me. I like Bechir better in "Weed." Brody wanted BRIDESMAIDS to get more. He notes (which explains my not seeing them) that most of the Best Foreign nominations "came in from the blue," with super short qualifying showings so nobody has seen them. BEGINNERS was expected but left out (not my beef)

I agree (with you, Johann) that Lars von Trier should not be shut out of the Oscars, and the omission of any mention of MELANCHOLIA is glaring. But the awards season is when you find out who's been charming the judges and who's been ignoring or offending them. Von Trier has traditionally done very well at Cannes, which is more sophisticated and more international than the Academy Awards. But this year at Cannes -- after a favorable reception of MELANCHOLIA -- he was later declared persona non grata for a statement at a public interview that was considered offensive. And it wasn't the kind of comportment that endears directors to the Academy.

I would consider the nomination of blockbusters and CGI-laden actioners irrelevant; that's why I put them in a separate list this year. However they are more entertaining than some of the Oscar nominated films that are viewed as entertaining.

[Chris Knipp]

A writer on Word & Film had this to say:

It’s a scandalous year at the Oscars. Despite being recognized as one of the year’s best films by … pretty much everyone, Lars Von Trier’s “Melancholia” earned zero nominations, not even for Kirsten Dunst’s bravura performance as a clinically depressed newlywed with a penchant for global cataclysm. Meanwhile, two actors who we typically associate with ridiculous comedies — Jonah Hill (“Moneyball”) and Melissa McCarthy (“Bridesmaids”) — both got the nod. And once again, Glenn Close and Meryl Streep will fight to the death over that Best Actress statuette.

Business as usual?

I would bet against TREE OF LIFE, and am prepared to be disappointed this year in the Best Picture category. Still it is not such a terrible year when some seemingly mainstream movies like MONEYBALL, MIDNIGHT IN PARIS, MONEYBALL, AND THE DESCENDANTS are all very good, and can attract Oscar nominations too.

P.s. I was surprised and disappointed that Amy Goodman on Democracy Now!, who has been broadcasting from Sundance this week, made no mention on the show of the sudden death of Bingham Ray, the SFFS's new director.

[tabuno]

It's great to hear Chris mention the "glaring" omission of Melancholia, a movie I haven't seen yet but is on my must see list (one of the reasons I haven't posted my ten movies of the year list yet).

[Chris Knipp]

I have seen it twice, once in a press screening in San Francisco and at the New York Film Festival. It was impressive both times. It's possible still to see TREE OF LIFE and MELANCHOLIA in theaters in NYC now. MELANCHOLIA can be seen also in 8 other cities, TREE OF LIFE in one other.

[tabuno]

This year is perhaps the first time that I feel content and excited about the Best Picture category and the Oscar nominations. I look foward to this year's run-up to the announcements, though I still don't understand the attention given to The Descendants and (understandably) Warhorse.

[Johann]

I know Trier is persona non grata at Cannes. He hates press conferences.
I sympathize with him to a degree, because the fact of the matter is he is cranking out genius film after genius film and people just brush him off.

He's won the Palm D'or before, so it's not essential that he be singled out all the time, but Holy Chuck, Melancholia blew my head off.
I said it is on par with 2001: A Space Odyssey and I stand by that statement. It's that Grand a film. The theme is just as huge as 2001.
It ratchets up an unsettling tension that is unbelievable. I've never seen a film quite like it.

Jonah Hill? He's not a character actor. They are really stretching it with his nomination.
I like him- I'd share a blunt with him, but come on.
And Kirsten Dunst being snubbed is simply unforgivable.
As I said last year: the Oscars are supposed to award EXCELLENCE.
What is with these threadbare nods?
Melissa McCarthy? Who?!?

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close is a movie that makes me cringe. I've seen the trailer ad nauseum and it ain't my cup of tea.
I feel it reduces a tragedy like 9/11 to a set dressing, a plot point.
Hunter S. Thompson said that 9/11 will always be a festering high water mark for the USA, and while trying to make a positive movie out of such a giant tragedy is admirable, it turns me off huge. Oliver Stone's World Trade Center showed how you handle that event in terms of human drama. You shouldn't do it with sweeping music and timed cues to cry.

And I have to say that I'm not capable of believing in Tom Hanks anymore.
His acting treasury is bankrupt. As Brando said once: "You only have so many faces in your pocket".
Hanks has run out of juice. I simply can't believe in his acting anymore. It's like "Oh there's Tom Hanks". Yawn.
Like Bruce Willis. He plays himself in every role. "There's Bruce Willis again!"
"John Travolta in another generic role with no fire in his belly!" Yawn.
These guys need to be told to kick it up a notch. Do something totally unorthadox. Because your well has run dry boys.
Will Smith just needs to put his FACE on a movie poster and we're supposed to salivate.
I demand more from these rich fucks. You are paid OBSCENELY well (way more than James Cagney ever was) and I expect large swaggering roles, meaty ones, the kind that your name is supposed to attract, the kind that Al Pacino hunted down with a vengeance.

Instead we have a hell of a lot of Cop-Out actors just going through the motions and getting obscenely wealthy for it.
No big dents in cinema history being made by these guys.
Jack Nicholson asked some years ago why people just can't make GOOD MOVIES?
Is that too much to ask?
DiCaprio, Brad Pitt and George Clooney seem to be the only stars who want to do quality work.
Maybe it's just me.

[Chris Knipp]

As so often your comments were sharp and funny, Johann, I agree with a lot of them and you inspire me to add a few.

EXTREMELY LOUD didn't really make me cringe, exactly. Surprisingly, it was watchable. But the idea of it it made me first cringe and then shrug. The novel-based screenplay was manipulative, twee, and ultimately irrelevant.

Jonah Hill does a good job but it seems a bit early to consider him for a supporting role Oscar. Surely there are more deserving candidates who'e paid more dues. And look at what else he lent his name to last year, THE SITTER. There's another one I could add to my Worst Movies I Saw in 2011 list. I just added I MELT FOR YOU, with Rob Lowe trashing his already shaky reputation in it. Naturally really bad movies, I tend to repress. Roger Ebert said about THE SITTER: "I am so very, very tired of movies like this. " He's seen it all before. The only difference was this one manages to be a little more tasteless. And this was David Gordon Green, whose YOUR MAJESTY I couldn't sit through and so didn't review. YOUR MAJESTY is another Worst Movie I Saw in 2011 (April; THE SITTER was December), only I didn't see it all.

Look at the difference between Jonah Hill, Clooney, and Pitt -- and Ryan Gosling. Clooney and Pitt built cred because they ere were each associated with two of the year's best films. Jonah Hill was associated with one of the good ones and one of the worst. It cancels out.

Ryan Gosling seems to have gotten screwed. I have problems with DRIVE, but it got screwed; it gave Gosling another of his strong, intense roles. Only a nomination for Sound Editing? It was a strong and much admired film.

Gosling has a great CV. Just over the past five years he's starred in:

THE IDES OF MARCH
CRAZY, STUPID, LOVE
DRIVE
ALL GOOD THINGS
BLUE VALENTINE
LARS AND THE REAL GIRL

Wow. I don't know who can match the variety and interest of that list, in all of which he gives a 100% committed, strong performance. And before that he's got HALF NELSON, MURDER BY NUMBERS, and, most of all THE BELIEVER.

Jonah Hill? Yeah, a string of successful Apatow comedies. But is he an actor?

Whilyl Jonah Hill can't compete with Ryan Gosling, Rooney Mara has only one actor to compete with, but she can't be compared because that one is the unbeatable, classic performance of Noomi Rapace. The mold was essentially broken after Rapace.

[Johann]

Gosling is coming along great. He is being ignored, but have no fear: he'll do more great things in the future. Canadians are like that. ;)

Jonah Hill hasn't got reams of acting talent. He says his lines well. He hits his marks. But is he dazzling? Erm, no.
I heard THE SITTER was an abomination, completely dumb.

Clooney, Pitt, Matt Damon, DiCaprio, Viggo Mortensen, Guy Pierce, Daniel Craig and others are trying to bring it with every piece of work.

"Incredibly Loud" seems like it's timed to jerk on your heartstrings, that it manipulates the viewer, and nothing can turn me off quicker than a movie telling me how to feel.

[Chris Knipp]

EXTREMELY LOUD is about a little boy who is borderline Asperger's -- mild autism -- running all around the boroughs of New York searching for a meaningless clue. He is essentially avoiding feeling anything. And that cuts against making us feel anything, even with the intro showing people jumping from the Twin Towers and a series of desperate phone messages from Tom Hanks. It didn't jerk my heartstrings. I guess I was paying too much attention.

[tabuno]

It's disappointing to me that this lofty and reputable Forum would treat Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close like a stepchild of films and not discuss this movie on a thread of its own, instead of a sidenote under 2011 Oscar topic. Personally, this movie so far is in the running for my top pick for 2011 Best Movie and I'm extremely glad that this movie was incredibly close and making Best Picture Oscar nomination that I feel it deserves.

As a social worker who has worked with grief issues and also children with disabilities, I found myself transfixed by the powerful, emotive portrayal of the devastating impact of random, sudden death syndrome can be. This movie captured both the painful psychological intensity, the almost insane anger and the need to either close up or hyper-actively seek out some explanation. There was no manipulation in this movie, except for real life and how humans are manipulated by their experential perceptions and their resulting emotions. This movie is a powerful and important contribution to the human experience and worthy of time-tested standard in its depiction of a major incident in human history.

Too many critics are seeking some lofty, artistic overarching unifying theory of 9/11 which is likely lost in the physical parallel of string theory and quantum mechanics. This movie doesn't have to rely on fancy photograph cinematography or gimmicks but good acting and dialogue to move the audience that is able to fathom the depths of this movie in its raw form. Sometimes, simplicity and straight-forward ordinary human "everyman" characters count for more than the sometimes sophisticated and convoluted character acting required in films.

This superb presentation offers us a much needed human look into some of the most important elements of being alive even as some of die.

[Chris Knipp]

It's disappointing to me that this lofty and reputable Forum would treat Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close like a stepchild of films and not discuss this movie on a thread of its own, instead of a sidenote under 2011 Oscar topic.

It does have a thread of its own. You just needed to scroll down a bit. The thread has had 122 hits. We can discuss the movie there, if you like

http://www.filmleaf.net/showthread.p...Daldry-2011%29

[tabuno]

This is my second oops on this Website and the second in the past month. I'm getting too old.