25
February
2007
Grizzly: So, Aurens, I’m gonna cut straight to the chase and ask you; what’s your prediction for Best Picture and why?
Aurens: At this point, I think I should just spin the bottle and kiss whatever film it points to. WHO THE HELL KNOWS? I used to think Babel got it in the bag, but it’s like an international version of Crash and they already crashed last year. I’m not feeling Letters at all. I want to bet against The Departed. It’s not a traditional ‘Oscar’ movie. AND it’s a remake. Little Miss Sunshine and Babel would seem to be where the duking is. The problem with Babel is that it’s not a huge film in terms of b.o. The problem with Little Miss Sunshine is it’s not serious enough. When was the last time best picture went to a comedy? ARGH. Babel it is. No wait. *looks at predictions* Babel can’t win if it’s not a front runner in any other category. Bah. I change my mind. The Departed then.
Grizzly: Babel is the “important” film, the stereotypical kind of film that wins Best Picture. Scorsese never won Best Picture with films like Goodfellas or Raging Bull, so why would that change? The Departed is a violent movie, not really what the Academy picks as top dog. So i’d say either Little Miss Sunshine or Babel. The only thing that throws me off predicting Babel is that it doesn’t really feel like it’s a frontrunner to win anything else, and the Best Picture winner usually wins at least two or usually three additional categories. It could win that many if it’s getting Best Picture though. But yeah, it kinda feels like you could just as well spin the bottle too.. But to make a prediction, I’m going for Little Miss Sunshine.
Aurens: Well, what about Crash last year? It only got editing and script. Uh, this year, Babel could win … editing? I think the key this year is going to be in editing and script. Babel is up against The Departed for editing, and Sunshine for script. If by the time those two awards are handed out and Babel misses both, then we know that it’s Sunshine winning. There really is no sentimental favourite this year. At least Crash had its vocal supporters? We’re completely ignoring the other two nominees eh? Do you feel the love for any of these pictures? The Academy votes with its collective heart, and I think The Departed may have an edge in this department. Although, Little Miss Sunshine is certainly a crowd pleaser. However, it just won the Spirit Award and that can’t be good.
Grizzly: Well, I would like to think that whatever film wins Best Picture, it at least wins two more on top of that. Before Crash last year, I think the last film that won BP with as few as three wins total was Rocky in 1977. Only two wins total is probably unprecedented in modern Oscar times, so whether it’s Babel, The Departed or Little Miss Sunshine, the winner will probably win three total, at least. From that viewpoint, The Departed has it easiest, since it practically has Director and Adapted Screenplay in the bag already (and Editing wouldn’t be too unlikely either). Little Miss Sunshine could take Original Screenplay and Supporting Actor, while Babel could snap up Original Screenplay and Editing. You’re absolutely right in that the Editing and Original Screenplay categories will definitely be guiding lights on Sunday. The Departed could still win BP even if Babel takes both Editing and Original Screenplay though. As long as it wins it’s categories, that is. As for the other two nominees, I’m just not feeling it. It could happen, who knows, but they definitely feel like they’re a step or two behind the other three.
Read more on Icine Oscar Blog.
Posted: Articles
25
February
2007
Oscar snubs are more often than not of the horrible kind - great works overlooked for more middling affairs seems like the norm. However, we often forget that Oscars also makes some smart decisions (we’ll talk as though it is of one mind, even when it really is just a voting body). This year, that smart decision is the decidedly huge and deserving snub of Dreamgirls in the Best Picture race. Seeing the film made me realize how the Oscars is only 1/10th as lame as the Grammys. I probably wouldn’t have predicted Dreamgirls to score a nod despite the hype if I had seen it before the nomination day. It is very much a TV-movie-of-the-week kind of film. The film is overlong, oversung, and overdirected. During the Family number, Condon (director) got into his head that somehow doing a 360 shot five times in a row would help him out-Luhrmann Luhrmann in Moulin Rouge (the elephant sequence comes to mind). The sincerity displayed by Beyonce and Jennifer Hudson is touching, but I could only care so much before being induced into hysterical laughters against my will. The film is long on diva attitude, and short on actual substance - or just plain entertainment. At least Chicago was fun! I did like the dance and the outfit though?
Read more on Icine Oscar Blog.
Posted: Articles
22
February
2007
The original Saw seems to have ushered in a new era for horror films. Acting and story has been cast aside for gore and grisly deaths. These kinds of films are certainly not new on the scene, but until recently have had more of a cult following. As a result the budgets were even cheaper, and usually were shipped straight to video. Partially to sidestep the inevitable NC-17 rating that would be slapped on such films by the MPAA and also because the audience was so small there was no profit to be had from releasing it in theaters. As vapid as these films were, there was a certain charm attributed to their horrible production values. The violence and gore was so poorly done and over the top that the gross out factor was more amusing. Now, with the rise in popularity of such films as The Hills Have Eyes, Wolf Creek, Hostel, and the Saw franchise the goal is to make the audience violently ill. The only scares provided are the expected quick jolts; the horror is supplied by unflinchingly exploring scenes of torture. I have no illusions that the horror genre is the redheaded stepchild of the cinematic family, but previously the audience engaged in the abuse. Now, the audience is embracing its inner gross and fostering this new trend, while critics and proponents of good taste are left scratching their heads. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted: Articles
3
February
2007
*Contains major spoilers. Only read if you’ve seen it.
What is the imagination? It is a voice in the loneliness of the night, the wind creaking the walls of your room, the things out of the shadows. It is a call to adventure.
For what purpose do we use the imagination? We use it to escape reality, to create another one, as well as to understand it better. The central character of Pan’s Labyrinth, Ofelia, uses her imagination for all these things.
It starts with her seeing a winged insect and thinking it to be a fairy, and lo and behold, it becomes a fairy, just like the one pictured in her storybook. The fairy shows her something, and like Alice down the rabbit hole, Ofelia follows it into the old garden labyrinth. She first saw the labyrinth in the day outside of her new home�where her mother, with child, brought her after remarrying to a Captain in the Spanish militia. But in the night, the fairy shows her its heart, the secret that is Pan�s Labyrinth. There she meets it’s keeper, Faun, a creature that looks like a giant upright goat, with legs made of crooked trees, and smells of the earth. And he tells her a story. The story of a princess. The story of her. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted: Articles
