Well, I've seen 35 movies. Not bad. Here are the nominees for each category, with my pick from those nominees as well as my ideal choice, if I'd prefer something that wasn't nominated. By the way, the titles are in quotes rather than italics because that's how they are on the official site for some reason.
Actor in a Leading Role
Nominees: Demián Bichir in "A Better Life," George Clooney in "The Descendants," Jean Dujardin in "The Artist," Gary Oldman in "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy," Brad Pitt in "Moneyball"
I've Seen: All except A Better Life.
My Pick: Oldman.
My Ideal Pick: Oldman. Seriously. He was incredible. I would have nominated Daniel Craig for Dragon Tattoo, though.
Actor in a Supporting Role
Nominees: Kenneth Branagh in "My Week with Marilyn", Jonah Hill in "Moneyball", Nick Nolte in "Warrior", Christopher Plummer in "Beginners", Max von Sydow in "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close"
I've Seen: My Week with Marilyn, Moneyball, Beginners
My Pick: Christopher Plummer. I wasn't wild about Beginners, but he was great.
My Ideal Pick: Still Plummer, but for Dragon Tattoo, instead. Ooh, but I would have nominated Benedict Cumberbatch for Tinker Tailor, too.
Actress in a Leading Role
Nominees: Glenn Close in "Albert Nobbs", Viola Davis in "The Help", Rooney Mara in "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo", Meryl Streep in "The Iron Lady", Michelle Williams in "My Week with Marilyn"
I've Seen: All except Iron Lady.
My Pick: Williams, though it's close between her and Rooney.
My Ideal Pick: Williams was great, but so was Mia Wasikowska in Jane Eyre.
Actress in a Supporting Role
Nominees: Bérénice Bejo in "The Artist", Jessica Chastain in "The Help", Melissa McCarthy in "Bridesmaids", Janet McTeer in "Albert Nobbs", Octavia Spencer in "The Help"
I've Seen: All except Bridesmaids.
My Pick: Um, I guess Chastain.
My Ideal Pick: Shailene Woodley for The Descendants.
Animated Feature Film
Nominees: "A Cat in Paris" Alain Gagnol and Jean-Loup Felicioli, "Chico & Rita" Fernando Trueba and Javier Mariscal, "Kung Fu Panda 2" Jennifer Yuh Nelson, "Puss in Boots" Chris Miller, "Rango" Gore Verbinski
I've Seen: Only Puss in Boots.
My Pick: Enh, it was fine, I guess. But the preview I saw for Chico & Rita makes me think that would have been my pick, had it been released anywhere near me.
My Ideal Pick: Tintin.
Art Direction
Nominees: "The Artist", "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2", "Hugo", "Midnight in Paris", "War Horse"
I've Seen: All.
My Pick: Harry Potter.
My Ideal Pick: Maybe The Tree of Life.
Cinematography
Nominees: "The Artist", "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo", "Hugo", "The Tree of Life", "War Horse"
I've Seen: All.
My Pick: The Tree of Life.
Costume Design
Nominees: "Anonymous", "The Artist", "Hugo", "Jane Eyre", "W.E."
I've Seen: The Artist, Hugo, Jane Eyre.
My Pick: Jane Eyre.
Directing
Nominees: "The Artist" Michel Hazanavicius, "The Descendants" Alexander Payne, "Hugo" Martin Scorsese, "Midnight in Paris" Woody Allen, "The Tree of Life" Terrence Malick
I've Seen: All.
My Pick: Terrence Malick.
My Ideal Pick: Tomas Alfredson for Tinker Tailor.
Documentary (Feature)
Nominees: "Hell and Back Again", "If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front", "Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory", "Pina", "Undefeated"
I've Seen: Paradise Lost 3 and Pina.
My Pick: Paradise Lost 3, though I really want to see Undefeated.
Documentary (Short Subject)
Nominees: "The Barber of Birmingham: Foot Soldier of the Civil Rights Movement", "God Is the Bigger Elvis", "Incident in New Baghdad", "Saving Face", "The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom"
I've Seen: All except God Is the Bigger Elvis.
My Pick: Saving Face.
Film Editing
Nominees: "The Artist", "The Descendants", "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo", "Hugo", "Moneyball"
I've Seen: All.
My Pick: Dragon Tattoo.
My Ideal Pick: Tinker Tailor.
Foreign Language Film
Nominees: "Bullhead", "Footnote", "In Darkness", "Monsieur Lazhar", "A Separation"
I've Seen: A Separation.
My Pick: It's the only one I've seen, but A Separation was REALLY good.
Makeup
Nominees: "Albert Nobbs", "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2", "The Iron Lady"
I've Seen: Albert Nobbs and Harry Potter.
My Pick: Harry Potter.
Music (Original Score)
Nominees: "The Adventures of Tintin" John Williams, "The Artist" Ludovic Bource, "Hugo" Howard Shore, "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy" Alberto Iglesias, "War Horse" John Williams
I've Seen: All.
My Pick: Tinker Tailor.
My Ideal Pick: Tinker Tailor, though I would have nominated Dragon Tattoo as well.
Music (Original Song)
Nominees: "Man or Muppet" from "The Muppets", "Real in Rio" from "Rio"
I've Seen: The Muppets.
My Pick: "Man or Muppet."
My Ideal Pick: "Life's a Happy Song" from The Muppets.
Best Picture
Nominees: "The Artist", "The Descendants", "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close", "The Help", "Hugo", "Midnight in Paris", "Moneyball", "The Tree of Life", "War Horse"
I've Seen: All except Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close.
My Pick: Tree of Life.
My Ideal Pick: Tinker Tailor, and I would have nominated A Separation, Dragon Tattoo, and Jane Eyre over most of the other nominees.
Short Film (Animated)
Nominees: "Dimanche/Sunday", "The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore", "La Luna", "A Morning Stroll", "Wild Life"
I've Seen: All.
My Pick: A Morning Stroll.
Short Film (Live Action)
Nominees: "Pentecost", "Raju", "The Shore", "Time Freak", "Tuba Atlantic"
I've Seen: All.
My Pick: The Shore, though it was hard for me to decide between that and Pentecost.
Sound Editing
Nominees: "Drive", "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo", "Hugo", "Transformers: Dark of the Moon", "War Horse"
I've Seen: Dragon Tattoo, Hugo, and War Horse.
My Pick: War Horse.
Sound Mixing
Nominees: "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo", "Hugo", "Moneyball", "Transformers: Dark of the Moon", "War Horse"
I've Seen: All except Transformers.
My Pick: Dragon Tattoo.
Visual Effects
Nominees: "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2", "Hugo", "Real Steel", "Rise of the Planet of the Apes", "Transformers: Dark of the Moon"
I've Seen: Harry Potter and Hugo.
My Pick: Harry Potter.
Writing (Adapted Screenplay)
Nominees: "The Descendants", "Hugo", "The Ides of March", "Moneyball", "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy"
I've Seen: All except Ides of March.
My Pick: Tinker Tailor.
My Ideal Pick: Tinker Tailor, though I would have nominated Jane Eyre as well.
Writing (Original Screenplay)
Nominees: "The Artist", "Bridesmaids", "Margin Call", "Midnight in Paris", "A Separation"
I've Seen: The Artist, Midnight in Paris, A Separation.
My Pick: A Separation.
Showing posts with label Oscar Project 2012. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Oscar Project 2012. Show all posts
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Happy Valentine's Day!
Happy Valentine's Day, everyone! Hope you have a great day. This is . . . not exactly related . . . but I had something of a revelation last night. The non-angsty version is that I'm always exhausted and frustrated because I expect myself to get way more done than there are hours in the day. So I'm going to . . . try stopping. (Yes, I realize that sounds really obvious.) I'm not going to stop the Oscar project, but I'm going to try to stop pressuring myself about it. (I'm at 31 of 61 movies, by the way.) Try. We'll see. I'm trying to convince myself that it's more important to not be miserable than it is to meet my crazy self-imposed goals.
Friday, February 10, 2012
Oscar Project 2012: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
Movie: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
This was a great ending to the series, and I'm happy it's getting a bit of award recognition, even if only in the technical categories. I would have liked to see some acting nominations as well, and what about the score? Hmm.
Availability: It was everywhere, and it's on DVD now.
Nominated In:
Art Direction: Sure. All of the Harry Potter movies have been quite visually nice, and this one did a great job of looking grim and atmospheric.
Makeup: Sure. Voldemort! Grown-up trio! And... some other things I'm now forgetting, probably.
Visual Effects: Absolutely. There were some great magical battle scenes, among other highlights.
Movies left: 44; Days left: 17
Have seen 28% of movies and 50% of nominations.
Movie posts I owe you: 6
This was a great ending to the series, and I'm happy it's getting a bit of award recognition, even if only in the technical categories. I would have liked to see some acting nominations as well, and what about the score? Hmm.
Availability: It was everywhere, and it's on DVD now.
Nominated In:
Art Direction: Sure. All of the Harry Potter movies have been quite visually nice, and this one did a great job of looking grim and atmospheric.
Makeup: Sure. Voldemort! Grown-up trio! And... some other things I'm now forgetting, probably.
Visual Effects: Absolutely. There were some great magical battle scenes, among other highlights.
Movies left: 44; Days left: 17
Have seen 28% of movies and 50% of nominations.
Movie posts I owe you: 6
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Oscar Project 2012: A Separation
Movie: A Separation
This Iranian domestic drama is quiet but extremely powerful, and I haven't stopped thinking about it since I saw it. Aside from the strong story itself, it provides a fascinating look into life in modern Iran and the intersection of religion and personal life, as well the effects of class (and maybe sectarian?) differences. All the performances are strong, especially that of newcomer Sarina Farhadi. Overall, this was one of my favorite movies of the year.
Availability: I had to go to the arty theater in Boston for this one.
Nominated In:
Foreign Language Film: Definitely! I thought it was one of the best movies overall, not just among foreign films.
Original Screenplay: It's a little hard to judge writing based on subtitles, but my impression of this screenplay was that it was subtle and extremely well-constructed. And for such a serious movie, it had some sparkling moments of humor.
Movies left: 44; Days left: 18
Have seen 28% of movies and 50% of nominations.
Movie posts I owe you: 7
This Iranian domestic drama is quiet but extremely powerful, and I haven't stopped thinking about it since I saw it. Aside from the strong story itself, it provides a fascinating look into life in modern Iran and the intersection of religion and personal life, as well the effects of class (and maybe sectarian?) differences. All the performances are strong, especially that of newcomer Sarina Farhadi. Overall, this was one of my favorite movies of the year.
Availability: I had to go to the arty theater in Boston for this one.
Nominated In:
Foreign Language Film: Definitely! I thought it was one of the best movies overall, not just among foreign films.
Original Screenplay: It's a little hard to judge writing based on subtitles, but my impression of this screenplay was that it was subtle and extremely well-constructed. And for such a serious movie, it had some sparkling moments of humor.
Movies left: 44; Days left: 18
Have seen 28% of movies and 50% of nominations.
Movie posts I owe you: 7
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Oscar Project 2012: The Help
Movie: The Help
It's hard to know exactly how to approach this one, because while some of its elements and performances were perfectly adequate, even good, its whole underlying story and the way it deals with segregation and civil rights are so problematic that it's hard to have any positive feelings about it at all. (For more on the kind of issues I mean, read Alyssa Rosenberg's review.) I don't want to blame the actors for the writing, of course, but at the same time, I don't want this getting any recognition at all.
Availability: On DVD now.
Nominated In:
Actress in a Leading Role: Viola Davis did a very good job, and as I said, I can't blame her for my problems with the writing. But given some of the other extremely strong nominees in this category this year, I'd be annoyed if she won.
Actress in a Supporting Role: Octavia Spencer and Jessica Chastain both did perfectly nice jobs with the material they were given, but I didn't really think they were so good as to deserve two of the nominations in this category.
Best Picture: No way. This movie doesn't come close to deserving that award either on its merits as a film alone or given its larger issues.
Movies left: 44; Days left: 20
Have seen 28% of movies and 50% of nominations.
Movie posts I owe you: 8
It's hard to know exactly how to approach this one, because while some of its elements and performances were perfectly adequate, even good, its whole underlying story and the way it deals with segregation and civil rights are so problematic that it's hard to have any positive feelings about it at all. (For more on the kind of issues I mean, read Alyssa Rosenberg's review.) I don't want to blame the actors for the writing, of course, but at the same time, I don't want this getting any recognition at all.
Availability: On DVD now.
Nominated In:
Actress in a Leading Role: Viola Davis did a very good job, and as I said, I can't blame her for my problems with the writing. But given some of the other extremely strong nominees in this category this year, I'd be annoyed if she won.
Actress in a Supporting Role: Octavia Spencer and Jessica Chastain both did perfectly nice jobs with the material they were given, but I didn't really think they were so good as to deserve two of the nominations in this category.
Best Picture: No way. This movie doesn't come close to deserving that award either on its merits as a film alone or given its larger issues.
Movies left: 44; Days left: 20
Have seen 28% of movies and 50% of nominations.
Movie posts I owe you: 8
Monday, February 6, 2012
Oscar Project 2012: Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Movie: Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
I come from a family of Le Carre fans, so we were all really excited about this one, and while no adaptation is perfect, I really, really liked this. The cast was amazing, the tone and atmosphere were perfect, and the movie as a whole was thoroughly enjoyable in a complicated, dreary way. I know a lot of viewers were confused by it, and it definitely helps to have read the book and/or seen the BBC miniseries, but I also think the confusion was part of the point. Who wants a straightforward spy story?
Availability: Was widely available; starting to leave theaters now, so go see it!
Nominated In:
Actor in a Leading Role: Gary Oldman had some big shoes to fill, after Alec Guinness in the miniseries, and he did a virtually perfect job of it, playing the character exactly without making it seem like he was imitating Guinness. He kept Smiley correctly understated, but was a very strong presence at the same time.
Original Score: The score was great - moody and atmospheric, with those paranoid seventies undertones.
Adapted Screenplay: The adaptation did a good job of making an extremely complicated book as comprehensible as possible in two hours. I really only had one issue with it: every single female character in the book had her role either reduced or written out completely in this version. That was extremely disappointing.
Movies left: 44; Days left: 21
Have seen 28% of movies and 50% of nominations.
Movie posts I owe you: 9
I come from a family of Le Carre fans, so we were all really excited about this one, and while no adaptation is perfect, I really, really liked this. The cast was amazing, the tone and atmosphere were perfect, and the movie as a whole was thoroughly enjoyable in a complicated, dreary way. I know a lot of viewers were confused by it, and it definitely helps to have read the book and/or seen the BBC miniseries, but I also think the confusion was part of the point. Who wants a straightforward spy story?
Availability: Was widely available; starting to leave theaters now, so go see it!
Nominated In:
Actor in a Leading Role: Gary Oldman had some big shoes to fill, after Alec Guinness in the miniseries, and he did a virtually perfect job of it, playing the character exactly without making it seem like he was imitating Guinness. He kept Smiley correctly understated, but was a very strong presence at the same time.
Original Score: The score was great - moody and atmospheric, with those paranoid seventies undertones.
Adapted Screenplay: The adaptation did a good job of making an extremely complicated book as comprehensible as possible in two hours. I really only had one issue with it: every single female character in the book had her role either reduced or written out completely in this version. That was extremely disappointing.
Movies left: 44; Days left: 21
Have seen 28% of movies and 50% of nominations.
Movie posts I owe you: 9
Friday, February 3, 2012
Oscar Project 2012: Midnight in Paris
Movie: Midnight in Paris
Oh, look, I reviewed this one here. In summary, it was charming and hey, Cole Porter! But it was really facile and frustrating in retrospect.
Availability: It's on DVD now.
Nominated In:
Art Direction: It was very pretty! Actually, yes, I think the art direction was probably the strongest part of the whole thing.
Directing: Um. I always have trouble judging this one, honestly. I think the directing was probably perfectly competent, but I also don't think that it provided a lot of huge directorial challenges, and I can't recall any particularly daring or noteworthy directorial choices. Although, actually, deciding how obvious and hammy the historical characters should be was probably a concern, and Allen did a fine job of that.
Original Screenplay: The writing itself was clever and sparkling, but there were some major plot issues, so this one is kind of a wash.
Best Picture: . . . no. This was a charming bauble at best, and a self-congratulatory mess at worst. It was cute enough if you don't let yourself actually think about it, which is not what I want to say about my Best Picture choice.
Movies left: 46; Days left: 24
Have seen 25% of movies and 41% of nominations.
Movie posts I owe you: 8
Oh, look, I reviewed this one here. In summary, it was charming and hey, Cole Porter! But it was really facile and frustrating in retrospect.
Availability: It's on DVD now.
Nominated In:
Art Direction: It was very pretty! Actually, yes, I think the art direction was probably the strongest part of the whole thing.
Directing: Um. I always have trouble judging this one, honestly. I think the directing was probably perfectly competent, but I also don't think that it provided a lot of huge directorial challenges, and I can't recall any particularly daring or noteworthy directorial choices. Although, actually, deciding how obvious and hammy the historical characters should be was probably a concern, and Allen did a fine job of that.
Original Screenplay: The writing itself was clever and sparkling, but there were some major plot issues, so this one is kind of a wash.
Best Picture: . . . no. This was a charming bauble at best, and a self-congratulatory mess at worst. It was cute enough if you don't let yourself actually think about it, which is not what I want to say about my Best Picture choice.
Movies left: 46; Days left: 24
Have seen 25% of movies and 41% of nominations.
Movie posts I owe you: 8
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Oscar Project 2012: My Week with Marilyn
Movie: My Week with Marilyn
I'm not particularly a Marilyn Monroe fan (nothing against her, just never got that interested), so I was surprised and delighted by how much I enjoyed this quiet charmer based on the memoirs of a young man who worked on the set of a movie Monroe filmed in England with Sir Laurence Olivier. Honestly, I don't know enough to judge the historical accuracy of any of it, but I thought the movie worked both as a self-contained story and as an examination of issues of celebrity that felt surprisingly modern. I know some have criticized this movie for viewing Monroe through a male gaze, but because I saw this more as Colin's story, that didn't really bother me. I guess I feel like when you're basing a movie on a man's memoir in the first place, that ship has sailed, and while sure, I'd like to see more movies about women on their own terms, I don't think that means I have to resent that this particular movie exists.
I also want to mention that several of the actors who weren't nominated for anything did extremely good work here, including Eddie Redmayne, Emma Watson, Michael Kitchen, Julia Ormond, and of course Judi Dench. And I'd like to give this movie bonus points for not playing "Candle in the Wind" over the closing credits.
Availability: It's certainly not everywhere, but it wasn't too hard to find, either. I had a few options and wound up driving about 50 minutes for it.
Nominated In:
Actress in a Leading Role: Michelle Williams did an amazing job as Marilyn. She perfectly walked the very fine line of offering a recognizable portrayal of an iconic figure without suggesting that she was about to go start an impersonation act in Vegas. This would have been a really easy role to overact, and she didn't. And really, years ago, who would have thought? Good on you, Jen Lindley.
Actor in a Supporting Role: I actually wasn't particularly impressed with Branagh's performance here. It was very broad and hammy, and one of the weaker parts of the movie.
Movies left: 46; Days left: 25
Have seen 25% of movies and 41% of nominations.
Movie posts I owe you: 9
I'm not particularly a Marilyn Monroe fan (nothing against her, just never got that interested), so I was surprised and delighted by how much I enjoyed this quiet charmer based on the memoirs of a young man who worked on the set of a movie Monroe filmed in England with Sir Laurence Olivier. Honestly, I don't know enough to judge the historical accuracy of any of it, but I thought the movie worked both as a self-contained story and as an examination of issues of celebrity that felt surprisingly modern. I know some have criticized this movie for viewing Monroe through a male gaze, but because I saw this more as Colin's story, that didn't really bother me. I guess I feel like when you're basing a movie on a man's memoir in the first place, that ship has sailed, and while sure, I'd like to see more movies about women on their own terms, I don't think that means I have to resent that this particular movie exists.
I also want to mention that several of the actors who weren't nominated for anything did extremely good work here, including Eddie Redmayne, Emma Watson, Michael Kitchen, Julia Ormond, and of course Judi Dench. And I'd like to give this movie bonus points for not playing "Candle in the Wind" over the closing credits.
Availability: It's certainly not everywhere, but it wasn't too hard to find, either. I had a few options and wound up driving about 50 minutes for it.
Nominated In:
Actress in a Leading Role: Michelle Williams did an amazing job as Marilyn. She perfectly walked the very fine line of offering a recognizable portrayal of an iconic figure without suggesting that she was about to go start an impersonation act in Vegas. This would have been a really easy role to overact, and she didn't. And really, years ago, who would have thought? Good on you, Jen Lindley.
Actor in a Supporting Role: I actually wasn't particularly impressed with Branagh's performance here. It was very broad and hammy, and one of the weaker parts of the movie.
Movies left: 46; Days left: 25
Have seen 25% of movies and 41% of nominations.
Movie posts I owe you: 9
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Oscar Project 2012: The Adventures of Tintin
Movie: The Adventures of Tintin
I'm a reasonably enthusiastic Tintin fan (though certainly not an expert), and I was pleased by how well this movie captured the flavor of the books and TV show. Overall, I thought the movie was well-done and a lot of fun, although it did drag slightly at times, and once or twice Tintin did something uncharacteristically dumb in order to set things for an action scene. But Jamie Bell did a great job voicing an iconic character, and Snowy was, as always, particularly adorable. I saw this in 3D and was glad I did, because the animation made good use of the technology.
Availability: This was more widely available a month or so ago, but it's not too hard to find.
Nominated In:
Music (Original Score): The score was by John Williams, and you know, I love the way his scores actually fit the movies rather than all sounding alike. (*cough*James Horner*cough*) This dramatic, sometimes cartoonish and old-fashioned score matched the movie perfectly.
Movies left: 47; Days left: 26
Have seen 23% of movies and 37% of nominations.
Movie posts I owe you: 9
I'm a reasonably enthusiastic Tintin fan (though certainly not an expert), and I was pleased by how well this movie captured the flavor of the books and TV show. Overall, I thought the movie was well-done and a lot of fun, although it did drag slightly at times, and once or twice Tintin did something uncharacteristically dumb in order to set things for an action scene. But Jamie Bell did a great job voicing an iconic character, and Snowy was, as always, particularly adorable. I saw this in 3D and was glad I did, because the animation made good use of the technology.
Availability: This was more widely available a month or so ago, but it's not too hard to find.
Nominated In:
Music (Original Score): The score was by John Williams, and you know, I love the way his scores actually fit the movies rather than all sounding alike. (*cough*James Horner*cough*) This dramatic, sometimes cartoonish and old-fashioned score matched the movie perfectly.
Movies left: 47; Days left: 26
Have seen 23% of movies and 37% of nominations.
Movie posts I owe you: 9
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Oscar Project 2012: Pina
Movie: Pina
This was about German choreographer Pina Bausch; I believe she had planned to participate in the filming but died shortly before it was scheduled to begin. As a result, the movie is more of a combined performance piece and eulogy than a documentary. The dancing was very interesting, if not always to my taste, but it was presented in a vacuum and I would have loved some more historical and cultural context. It wasn't even always clear when the pieces had been filmed - were they original videos or reenactments? Some of them took place in non-stage locations like parks and cities: Were these stage pieces that had been filmed in different locations specifically for this movie, or were they created as filmed pieces originally? There are bits of interviews with dancers from Bausch's company interspersed with the dance pieces, and every single one basically said: "Pina was the best person ever and changed my life." And I know they were grieving, and I'm not faulting any of the individuals, but it didn't exactly make for an interesting narrative, and it probably did Bausch herself a disservice by reducing a complex, interesting person to an angelic genius. Also: Very little was added by making this in 3D, but that was the only way it was available, so that's how I had to see it. But I will say that it left me wanting to learn more about Bausch, if only because it was so resolutely uninformative. But pretty! The dancing itself was enjoyable, and dance fans will probably want to see this one.
Availability: Last I checked, it was only playing in two theaters in the greater Boston area.
Nominated In:
Documentary (Feature): This really seemed more like a performance video than a documentary to me. I like to learn things from my documentaries, and while this was a pleasant enough watching experience, I didn't feel like I got much out of it. As mentioned above, I think it would have been strengthened - and made better as a documentary - with more balance and more factual information and context.
Movies left: 48; Days left: 27
Have seen 21% of movies and 34% of nominations.
Movie posts I owe you: 9
This was about German choreographer Pina Bausch; I believe she had planned to participate in the filming but died shortly before it was scheduled to begin. As a result, the movie is more of a combined performance piece and eulogy than a documentary. The dancing was very interesting, if not always to my taste, but it was presented in a vacuum and I would have loved some more historical and cultural context. It wasn't even always clear when the pieces had been filmed - were they original videos or reenactments? Some of them took place in non-stage locations like parks and cities: Were these stage pieces that had been filmed in different locations specifically for this movie, or were they created as filmed pieces originally? There are bits of interviews with dancers from Bausch's company interspersed with the dance pieces, and every single one basically said: "Pina was the best person ever and changed my life." And I know they were grieving, and I'm not faulting any of the individuals, but it didn't exactly make for an interesting narrative, and it probably did Bausch herself a disservice by reducing a complex, interesting person to an angelic genius. Also: Very little was added by making this in 3D, but that was the only way it was available, so that's how I had to see it. But I will say that it left me wanting to learn more about Bausch, if only because it was so resolutely uninformative. But pretty! The dancing itself was enjoyable, and dance fans will probably want to see this one.
Availability: Last I checked, it was only playing in two theaters in the greater Boston area.
Nominated In:
Documentary (Feature): This really seemed more like a performance video than a documentary to me. I like to learn things from my documentaries, and while this was a pleasant enough watching experience, I didn't feel like I got much out of it. As mentioned above, I think it would have been strengthened - and made better as a documentary - with more balance and more factual information and context.
Movies left: 48; Days left: 27
Have seen 21% of movies and 34% of nominations.
Movie posts I owe you: 9
Oscar Project 2012: Puss in Boots
Movie: Puss in Boots
Outlaws Puss in Boots and Humpty Dumpty team up to steal the magic beans from Jack and Jill and then steal the golden goose from the beanstalk in order to clear their names and right a wrong the did to . . . the town and orphanage where they grew up? It makes slightly more sense in the movie than in that description, I promise. Of course, there's more going on than Puss knows - you'll see the plot twist coming a mile away, but the intended audience of young children might be more surprised. They did a good job of making Puss anthropomorphic while still keeping him recognizably a cat, and some of the cat stuff is very cute. Some of the jokes are funny. And there's a fairly nuanced look at friendship and duty and vengeance and redemption. I mean, fairly nuanced given that we're talking about a cat and a giant talking egg. On the other hand, it has shades of that common kids' movie issue of giving mannerisms seen as stereotypically gay to characters who do bad things and then leaving this wholly unexamined.
Availability: This was widely available a few months ago; I caught it at a second-run theater last night. It will be on DVD in late February, but I didn't want to worry about getting it from Netflix with so small a window.
Nominated In:
Animated Feature Film: You know . . . I don't know. Maybe growing up in Disney's Second Golden Age gave me impossible standards for animated films. This movie was fine, and I certainly wouldn't be outraged if it won, but it didn't really strike me as anything special.
Movies left: 48; Days left: 27
Have seen 21% of movies and 34% of nominations.
Movie posts I owe you: 10
Outlaws Puss in Boots and Humpty Dumpty team up to steal the magic beans from Jack and Jill and then steal the golden goose from the beanstalk in order to clear their names and right a wrong the did to . . . the town and orphanage where they grew up? It makes slightly more sense in the movie than in that description, I promise. Of course, there's more going on than Puss knows - you'll see the plot twist coming a mile away, but the intended audience of young children might be more surprised. They did a good job of making Puss anthropomorphic while still keeping him recognizably a cat, and some of the cat stuff is very cute. Some of the jokes are funny. And there's a fairly nuanced look at friendship and duty and vengeance and redemption. I mean, fairly nuanced given that we're talking about a cat and a giant talking egg. On the other hand, it has shades of that common kids' movie issue of giving mannerisms seen as stereotypically gay to characters who do bad things and then leaving this wholly unexamined.
Availability: This was widely available a few months ago; I caught it at a second-run theater last night. It will be on DVD in late February, but I didn't want to worry about getting it from Netflix with so small a window.
Nominated In:
Animated Feature Film: You know . . . I don't know. Maybe growing up in Disney's Second Golden Age gave me impossible standards for animated films. This movie was fine, and I certainly wouldn't be outraged if it won, but it didn't really strike me as anything special.
Movies left: 48; Days left: 27
Have seen 21% of movies and 34% of nominations.
Movie posts I owe you: 10
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Oscar Project 2012: The Muppets
Movie: The Muppets
Really, I just loved this. I love the Muppets! I love Jason Segel! I love Amy Adams! I love musicals! I love sibling stories! I love stories about getting the band back together! I am more or less the exact target audience for this. But, really, it was better than I'd even expected: It was earnest but not treacly, the writing was clever, and it managed to feel fresh and classic at the same time. The fact that Jason Segel pitched this and got it made tempts me to vow to support his career forever. (Although let's be honest: I'd go see The Five-Year Engagement anyway. Just look at that cast!)
Availability: This was everywhere, so it's entirely my own fault that I left it for so long that I had to scramble to find a showing this week before it entirely disappeared. It will not be on DVD before the Oscars, though, so if you still need to see it, find it now!
Nominated In:
Music (Original Song) for "Man or Muppet:" I thought "Life's a Happy Song" was actually better, but "Man or Muppet" was good too! There are only two nominees in this category this year, so I hope that means we get Jason Segel singing in the ceremony. That would be awesome.
Movies left: 55; Days left: 32
Have seen 10% of movies and 14% of nominations.
Movie posts I owe you: 5
Really, I just loved this. I love the Muppets! I love Jason Segel! I love Amy Adams! I love musicals! I love sibling stories! I love stories about getting the band back together! I am more or less the exact target audience for this. But, really, it was better than I'd even expected: It was earnest but not treacly, the writing was clever, and it managed to feel fresh and classic at the same time. The fact that Jason Segel pitched this and got it made tempts me to vow to support his career forever. (Although let's be honest: I'd go see The Five-Year Engagement anyway. Just look at that cast!)
Availability: This was everywhere, so it's entirely my own fault that I left it for so long that I had to scramble to find a showing this week before it entirely disappeared. It will not be on DVD before the Oscars, though, so if you still need to see it, find it now!
Nominated In:
Music (Original Song) for "Man or Muppet:" I thought "Life's a Happy Song" was actually better, but "Man or Muppet" was good too! There are only two nominees in this category this year, so I hope that means we get Jason Segel singing in the ceremony. That would be awesome.
Movies left: 55; Days left: 32
Have seen 10% of movies and 14% of nominations.
Movie posts I owe you: 5
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Oscar Project 2012
This year's Oscar nominations were announced yesterday, and I've decided I'm going to go for it: I'm going to make a serious attempt to see as many of the movies before the ceremony as I possibly can. I love movies, and I love award shows, and I love making lists and plans and having All Of The Information, so this is exactly my sort of project. I won't be able to see all the movies, but I'm hoping for a solid majority. I made a vague attempt at this last year, but was never serious about it because of my dread of having to sit through 127 Hours. This year, remarkably enough, there's nothing I'm really opposed to seeing, though of course I'm more excited about some of the movies than others.
There are 61 movies nominated in 24 categories, for a total of 119 individual nominations. I've seen five so far, which is 8% of movies but 13% of nominations, because some of the ones I've seen are up for multiple awards. As of now, that gives me 56 movies to see in 33 days; I think I have a reasonably clear path to seeing 40-45 of them. (By that I mean that they're available; I don't necessarily mean that it will be easy to find the time.) I have a spreadsheet to track things and a legal pad on which I'm constantly scribbling movie times at various theaters to figure out the best way to maximize my time and theater trips. I upped my Netflix account to four discs at a time for the month. My soon-to-be-neglected TiVo is... not quite exploding yet. I'm as ready as I'm going to be.
After I see each movie, I'll write a post with a few general thoughts and my evaluation of the movie in the categories in which it's nominated. I'll also say something about how easy or difficult it was to see, as one of the things that interests me about this is seeing whether a regular movie-goer who doesn't live in New York or LA can actually see most of these movies. Once I've seen everything in a category (or everything that's available), I'll post my rankings and reasons for my choices in that category. The day of the awards (unless I finish early - hah!) I'll post a big summary with links, and I'll finish things off with some sort of live blog or chat during the ceremony. Details on that later!
So! Wish me luck! And please, this year, hold me to my annual resolution to see more movies all year so it's not such a scramble at the end.
There are 61 movies nominated in 24 categories, for a total of 119 individual nominations. I've seen five so far, which is 8% of movies but 13% of nominations, because some of the ones I've seen are up for multiple awards. As of now, that gives me 56 movies to see in 33 days; I think I have a reasonably clear path to seeing 40-45 of them. (By that I mean that they're available; I don't necessarily mean that it will be easy to find the time.) I have a spreadsheet to track things and a legal pad on which I'm constantly scribbling movie times at various theaters to figure out the best way to maximize my time and theater trips. I upped my Netflix account to four discs at a time for the month. My soon-to-be-neglected TiVo is... not quite exploding yet. I'm as ready as I'm going to be.
After I see each movie, I'll write a post with a few general thoughts and my evaluation of the movie in the categories in which it's nominated. I'll also say something about how easy or difficult it was to see, as one of the things that interests me about this is seeing whether a regular movie-goer who doesn't live in New York or LA can actually see most of these movies. Once I've seen everything in a category (or everything that's available), I'll post my rankings and reasons for my choices in that category. The day of the awards (unless I finish early - hah!) I'll post a big summary with links, and I'll finish things off with some sort of live blog or chat during the ceremony. Details on that later!
So! Wish me luck! And please, this year, hold me to my annual resolution to see more movies all year so it's not such a scramble at the end.
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