Earlier this week the Oscar nominations were released, and, as with every year, there were a few surprising picks (or not picked, as the case may be). While not being nominated for an Oscar doesn’t mean the film isn’t a classic, there is no denying the thrill of anticipation as you get your first look at the lucky nominees.
Leading the tally with 11 nominations, including Best Picture, is Martin Scorsese’s Hugo, a 3D homage to film preservation. However, The Artist, a silent, black and white film about the Hollywood of yore, is considered to be the favorite for the Best Picture award. I was personally astonished by the inclusion of War Horse in the Best Picture category; while it was visually appealing I found the overall story uninteresting. Everyone was surprised about Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close getting nominated for Best Picture as it was very polarizing amongst critics and audiences alike, which is why it got shut out of the Golden Globes this year. The Tree of Life, another polarizing film, was also nominated for Best Picture, and Terrence Malick was nominated for Best Director.
Although it wasn’t surprising I was still a little disappointed to see that Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt. 2 wasn’t nominated for Best Picture. I’m aware that it was no Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, and you could always count on me to rank among the annoyed fans citing book vs. film criticisms, just the same, I would’ve liked to see the series get some recognition.
Drive was shut out completely, resulting in the offensive decision to not include Albert Brooks in the Best Supporting Actor nominations for his portrayal as chilling and deadly small-time mobster Bernie Rose. I firmly believe that this was a fantastic performance in an already illustrious career. Albert Brooks of course took the news with his patented sense of humor.
Rooney Mara got a surprising nomination for her performance in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, even though that movie was snubbed in regards to the Best Picture category. I was not that enthused over the film, so that didn’t bother me as much as David Fincher’s failure to be recognized in the Best Director category as he is one of my favorite directors of all time.
One of the best nominations was Bridesmaids for Best Original Screenplay. Given that it’s up against Woody Allen’s Midnight in Paris and Michel Hazanavicius’ The Artist I know that there is no chance it will actually win. However, after all the disparaging remarks made about women and comedy it makes me glad to see it honored. I hope if Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo do win we will end up seeing more comedies written and performed by talented comediennes.
50/50 and Young Adult were sadly rebuffed for Best Original Screenplay. They were both personal favorites of mine this year, and they were thought to have a good shot at being nominated. This was especially true of Young Adult, as people thought that Patton Oswalt was a shoe in for Best Supporting Actor. The comedian reacted to his snub in a hilarious string of tweets.
I was also quite excited to see “Man or Muppet” up for Best Original Song this year. Anyone who has seen Flight of the Conchords knows of Bret McKenzie’s masterful skills as a lyricist and musician, so it would come as no surprise that he has written a delightfully charming song for The Muppets. If he does not walk out an Oscar winner I will be filled with a righteous indignation.
Last, but far, far, from being least, there is the nomination of Gary Oldman as Best Actor for his role as George Smiley in Tinker Tailor Solider Spy. This is his first nomination, which seems to me to be a crime against humanity. Mr. Gary Oldman has been one of my favorite actors for many years now, and the idea that he has never been honored for his outstanding work as an actor is truly shocking. If I had my way he would’ve won for his portrayal of Sid Vicious in Sid and Nancy back in 1986, or any one of the several performances that make up his filmography like Beethoven, Lee Harvey Oswald, or Norman Stansfield.
Those are my thoughts on this year’s Oscars. Please feel free to share yours below. For the full list of nominations for the 2012 Oscars click here.
2012 Documentary of the Chinese dissident was premiered at Sundance this week.
Utah is getting a lot of love from the film world this week, and one piece that caught our attention tells of the struggle of Beijing artist Ai Weiwei, who last year was detained for 81 days by the government due to his belief in (and actions of) freely expressing himself. Read more »
Streamers, downloaders, “pirates”, and theater-regulars… lend me your ears.
I’m a lover of both convenience and nostalgia, and at some point, bang for your buck comes into play too. Hence, the last few years, I have been doing less movie theater-going (thanks, Hollywood), and more Netflix-ing of personal classics, missed Film Noir, and foreign indie flicks. Read more »
As someone that’s suffered from serious anxiety, I’m not always a fan of films and TV shows that focus on a fictional anxiety-ridden character. Often they sugarcoat what it’s like to really live with anxiety, and act as though it’s a fun little quirk that a character has because they’re weird. Read more »
The title of Director of Photography (DP) is often similar, and at times interchangeable with that of Cinematographer, and indicates the head of the lighting and camera crews working on a set. The DP will consult with the Director of the film, and make choices regarding the lighting, filtration, framing, lens choices and film stock selection. Depending on the relationship with the Director, the DP will be solely or jointly responsible for all artistic and technical decisions related to the image, in order to achieve the look and results that the Director wants. Read more »
BFA Highlights 2011 – Dominik Trost
Filmed with canon 550d, edited by Dominik Trost.
Music: metal master – Spectrum, Portugal. The Man – Senseless, Timmid Tiger – Miss Murray
Support by: uebershop.net
Cutting trailers can be a difficult task: teasing with some of the best moments of a film, without giving away the whole plot.
Well, that job is made even harder for films with no best moments in, or are just so cheesy that they instantly convince millions of people to NEVER see that movie. With all the seasonal talk of “Best of the year lists”, Oscars, Awards and the like, we’d like to remind you of some of the reasons why 2011 sucked. If nothing else, purely to encourage you to check out your local independent filmmakers and movie screenings.
Justin Bieber: Never Say Never
With tag lines such as “The Inspiring True Story” and audio snippets of “he gives us hope”, you could be forgiven for almost thinking that this is the life of a paralympian or a Political prisoner of the 1960s. Alas, no, it is that of tiny popstar, Justin Bieber. Wait, the life story of a 16 year-old? Yep.
Bucky Larson
Adam Sandler ups the stakes in the ‘people who used to be funny now making incredibly bad movies’ category. If there were any jokes in the movie, they sure kept them out of this trailer.
Breaking Dawn
Remember we just said how cutting a trailer is even harder for films with no strong moments? Yeah, that. Something about a letter, and a wedding, and a contract-stipulated topless scene. However, the worst thing about this, is that there is still another sequel to come.
Happy Feet 2
Penguins go gangsta rap? Selling ‘Sexy Back’ to a pre-teen market? Even if singing animated characters hadn’t already been done 100 times over, here is a classic lesson in how not to do it.
But there is hope…
Not wanting to be too much of a Scrooge, here’s a brilliant example of how to make a dazzling trailer.
The Dark Knight Rises
Take a best-selling comic book and much-loved prequels, add Christopher Nolan’s haunting industrial visuals and a Hans Zimmer soundtrack, and boom. Trailer magic.
