I COULD WRITE SHORTER SERMONS BUT WHEN I GET STARTED I'M TOO LAZY TO STOP: There's been general consensus over what folks expect to see in the major categories, but what would you like to see at Sunday night's Academy Awards?
I hope Tony Kushner does win for his Lincoln screenplay; it's genius. I want a film other than Brave to win for Best Animated, because Pixar shouldn't get to win just by showing up and, c'mon, bear? I'd like Americans to vaguely remember Jean Dujardin when he shows up to present Best Actress, because it was only last year that he won. And I kinda don't want Jennifer Lawrence to win for Silver Linings Playbook, because one sassy speech plus looking like Jennifer Lawrence does not, by itself, constitute great acting. And as much as I'd like Hugh Jackman to be 3/4 to EGOT, I am very much looking forward to Daniel Day-Lewis's third career win, because I cannot imagine anyone else pulling off that kind of interpretation of such an iconic American.
I'm hoping to see a few of the movies by the time of the show. Argo and maybe Beasts via Amazon, Lincoln in the theaters, maybe get REALLY ambitious and fit in one more theater. Wanted to do the marathon, but the timing is bad.
ReplyDeleteI love awards shows, so I'll watch it regardless of what I've seen movie-wise.
If he appears, is it as Yauch or as Nathaniel Hornblower? Because I think that Hornblower has more credits than Yauch does.
ReplyDeleteAre we talking about Hugh Jackman in Les Miserables or Hugh Jackman in X-Men? Because I only saw one, and it wasn't for me. All that stilted choreography, plus the stage delivery that seemed so wrong on-screen. He didn't mesh very well with the ensemble, either. I hope he was better than that in Les Miserables.
ReplyDeleteWatts, Henri was really fantastic. It portrayed the experience of dementia from the perspective of an elderly man who has it - so the audience is as confused as he is about the people and things that surround him. (Is his wife alive or not? Is that woman sitting across from him at a cafe a stranger or someone he knows?) Beautifully done, and it will deserve it if it wins. I found "Curfew" interesting, but predictable. "Death of a Shadow" was almost wordless, and just had a really interesting concept and style to it.
ReplyDeleteI'm allergic to steampunk, so that was my only issue with Death of a Shadow. Loved how the story resolved, though.
ReplyDeleteI liked the ambiguous path Henri took very much. I also thought it was a story perfectly suited to its length. It didn't want to be a feature; it was perfect as a short.
And, yes, I laughed and laughed at the South African entry at the end. That was not where I expected that story to go AT ALL.
If you get a chance, seek out the "Fresh Guacamole" short - quick, clever, and I bet the kids like it too. It also holds the distinction of being the shortest Oscar nominee ever. (Just barely beating Linda Hunt.)
ReplyDeleteKushner would almost certainly win if he were running in original screenplay, and let's be honest--it really is an original (though highly researched) screenplay. The credited source material has almost nothing in common with the film beyond them both being about Abraham Lincoln.
ReplyDeleteAlso, the screenplay has stupid errors. If you're going to be all "I did so much research!" then don't say Connecticut voted against the 13th A. So I hope he doesn't win.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.norwichbulletin.com/news/x898127589/Courtney-releases-statement-on-Kushner-concession-about-Lincoln#axzz2LfsRMah1
http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/wordroutes/the-language-of-lincoln/
Also, for the first time in a long while, I'm going to a quasi-Oscars-party (namely, The Big Oscars Quiz Thing--http://blog.bigquizthing.com/2013/02/nyc-quiz-preview-big-oscars-quiz-thing.html), which should be good fun.
ReplyDeleteI kind of wish Academy voters had the line-item veto. Because then they could excise the beginning and the end of Lincoln, perform an overdramatizationectomy on Argo, and choose between two films I'd be happy to see win Best Picture. (Haven't seen ZDT or several other nominees.)
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