Monday, January 25, 2010

Hindsight is 20/20 in Seattle

The 20/20 Awards aim to correct the Academy Awards with 20/20 hindsight. This new annual event based in Seattle will look back to the Oscar winners from 20 twenty years prior and, allegedly, correct any shortsighted "mistakes" the voters may have made that year. The first event will take on the 1990 Academy Awards, meaning any film released in 1989 is eligible. The winners of the first ever 20/20 Awards, known as the "Felix," will be announced at a live ceremony on March 15, 2010, one week after the 2010 Oscars. Members of a voting syndicate selected from the Seattle film community will make nominations, and the same voters will pick the eventual winners.

All winners and nominees from the 1990 Oscars are eligible for the 20/20 Awards, so it's possible that Daniel Day-Lewis, for example, could be named Best Actor again for My Left Foot. However, I would be surprised if Do the Right Thing was once again snubbed in the Best Picture category, as it was in 1990. The fact that Spike Lee's film wasn't nominated for Best Picture was considered an oversight at the time (presenter Kim Basinger even chastised the Academy during the ceremony); I imagine that this is exactly the sort of "shortsighted" decision the 20/20 organizers are looking to correct. They'll be voting in 15 major categories. I'm not sure if Best Original Song is one of them; however, "Under the Sea" is pretty great, so I'm hoping it will triumph again and win the 2010 Felix.

To jog your memory, here's a list of films released in 1989:
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Crimes and Misdemeanors
The Cook, The Thief, His Wife, and Her Lover
Say Anything...
Steel Magnolias
When Harry Met Sally...
Uncle Buck
Casualties of War
Heathers
Roger and Me
Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure
Drugstore Cowboy
(...and this doesn't include the Best Picture nominees from that year). For a more exhaustive list look here. I can imagine some of the above films being recognized with a Felix nomination this year (you guess which ones).

For a list of the winners and nominees from the 1990 Oscars click here. Remember Shirley Valentine (2 nominations) or Enemies: A Love Story (3 nominations)? How about Blaze, which was nominated for Best Cinematography? No, it's not about fire, it's about a woman named Blaze and it stars Paul Newman and Lolita Davidovich. I actually remember watching this one on video at the time, but it came out the same year as Miss Firecracker (no nominations - sorry Holly Hunter, you'll have to wait a few years for your Oscar) so I often get the two movies confused.

After looking through the lists of winners and 1989 releases, I've decided to seek out some of the films I haven't seen yet; especially ones that received some recognition, but have stayed far off my radar until now. I'll admit it, I rented Black Rain last weekend. I'm not sure about the quality of the writing, acting, or directing overall, but gosh darn it, the sound and sound editing were top notch (or so I am led to believe by the Academy). I'll be checking back to see which films snag a nomination for the 20/20 Awards, which will be announced February 9.

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

My Busy Season

I always refer to this time of year as "my busy season." It's awards season, all the "prestige" movies from big and smaller studios are out, the movies in limited release have gone into wide release, and the movies from the summer and fall are out on video. I have my list of movies to see before I make my Top 10 of 2009 list, once the Academy Awards announces their best picture nominees I'll have those to see, and then there's the few January releases I'd like to see. There's a lot of movies to see, a lot to catch up on.

Recently I've seen on DVD two movies that I missed in the theaters, The Hurt Locker and Taking Woodstock. I'm not sure what I expected from Taking Woodstock. A good soundtrack? Drug use? Behind the scenes of a major concert? An LSD trip? Naked hippies? Well I got all that in about 2 hours and I don't feel like I know anymore about the concert than I did before I saw the movie and I didn't find the lives of the people behind the concert all that compelling. The film ended and like the characters looking out at the fields inundated with garbage and mud (those hippies sure made a big mess) I had the same feeling I'm sure they had: It's time to get out of here.



The Hurt Locker, which I finally got a copy of from the local video store (the wait on Netflix had changed to "Very Long"), is one of the best movies of the year. I avoided this movie when it was in theaters because I was under the impression that it would be like all the other movies about the Iraq War: overly anti-war, politically charged, melodramatic, claiming to be showing how things "really are" over there. I was really amazed. There's a lot I want to say about this movie but I'll save that for a later post (yes, the Top 10 of 2009 post).


Tomorrow I plan on seeing Precious while I still can in the theaters. The only reason I've put off seeing that movie for so long is it looks like it's going to be a lot pain to get to what I hope will be a positive ending.

I always do my best to see all of the Academy Awards' best picture nominees before the awards ceremony; I feel like that makes my opinion about who should or shouldn't win more valid. This year there will be 10 best picture nominees, that's a lot. In two weeks the Academy Awards will announce their nominees for best picture and then I'll be back at the movies.

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Awards Season Has Begun!

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association hands out the Golden Globe Awards this Sunday and the two of us behind Cinema Then and Now will be watching! Below, we discuss our personal favorites and make some predictions about who will actually win.
Check out the full list of nominations here: http://www.goldenglobes.org/nominations/

Best Picture - Drama
Avatar
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire
Up in the Air

Best Picture - Comedy or Musical
(500) Days of summer
The Hangover
It’s Complicated
Julie & Julia
Nine


AJ: Well, if I were picking for Best Comedy I would go with (500) Days of Summer.


Lani: A film which you liked a lot more than I did!

AJ: For me it hits every note needed to be an exciting, original, entertaining movie. The time-jumping structure has been used before, specifically in Two For the Road, but it's used effectively and properly to tell the story, not just for show. It's a very romantic comedy that can be enjoyed and by couples and singles, heartbroken or not.

Lani: Honestly, none of the nominees in the comedy category seem especially worthy, though I did enjoy The Hangover and the Julia part of Julie & Julia, so I have no horse in this race.

AJ: For the Drama category, I don’t know. It’s between Inglourious Basterds and Up in the Air. I guess I’d go with Inglourious Basterds, because I just really liked it. It was not the movie I was expecting to to see, but I was very satisfied with the film I did see. Up in the Air was really good, but not as original in execution and its story, though it does manage to stay away from a typical ending. However, I think Precious or Avatar has a better chance of winning. Everyone’s so jazzed about Avatar, they’ve convinced themselves it’s a good movie.

Lani: I think it’s probably a race between Avatar and The Hurt Locker. I haven’t seen The Hurt Locker, but it is almost surely a better film than Avatar. My opinion of Avatar, beyond the special effects, which aren’t that important to me anyway, is pretty low.

AJ: I think the Comedy/Musical category is always more interesting than Drama. Movies like The Hangover, which is a really funny comedy, can get recognized when they probably wouldn’t otherwise. Although it seems like whatever musical is released that year gets nominated, no matter how bad a film it is.

Best Animated Film
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
Coraline
Fantastic Mr. Fox
The Princess and the Frog
Up

Lani: For Best Animated Film it has to be Up.

AJ: Yeah, it has to be. I would really like Fantastic Mr. Fox to win because it was a really good movie, which just happened to be animated, but Up was the best movie of the year.

Lani: There were a lot of quality animated films this year, but Up was so excellent it seems the other films have no chance of winning.

Best Director
Kathryn Bigelow - The Hurt Locker
James Cameron - Avatar
Clint Eastwood - Invictus
Jason Reitman - Up in the Air
Quentin Tarantino - Inglourious Basterds

AJ: I guess I would also give “Best Director” to Quentin Tarantino because I really liked what he did with Inglourious Basterds, the approach he took. He was able to let long scenes play out without losing the tension and suspense, and he kept a balance between those scenes and the action sequences. I like Jason Reitman’s movies, but I don’t think his directing style is all that original or noteworthy.

Lani: And I think Up in the Air really succeeds on the basis of performances and timely material rather than Reitman’s direction. I feel like the instances when his directing seemed evident were the weaker moments, for example I thought there was a creepy vibe between Anna Kendrick’s character and her boss played by Jason Bateman, which I’m sure was unintentional. If I was directing that scene I would never have let her rub his shoulders!

AJ: If there was an award for “Best Hard-worker” then I would give it the James Cameron. Avatar was a technical achievement, but it just wasn’t a great movie.

Lani: Unfortunately, I don’t think Kathryn Bigelow has a chance. Her film is recognized by many critics as the best of the year, but I’m skeptical if it will win any awards this year since it was not widely seen.

Best Actor - Drama
Jeff Bridges - Crazy Heart
George Clooney - Up in the Air
Colin Firth - A Single Man
Morgan Freeman - Invictus
Tobey Maguire - Brothers


Best Actor - Comedy/Musical
Matt Damon - The Informant!
Daniel Day-Lewis - Nine
Robert Downey, Jr. - Sherlock Holmes
Joseph Gordon-Levitt - (500) Days of Summer
Michael Stuhlbarg - A Serious Man

AJ: Here's a good example of what I mean by the Comedy category being more interesting than the Drama category: Robert Downey, Jr., one of the best actors around, is nominated for playing Sherlock Holmes. He was good in the role and very likable, but at what other awards event would that performance get a nomination?
For “Best Actor” in a drama, I'd pick Jeff Bridges. I think he’s a really good actor and in this film, as in most of his other films, you don’t see him acting, it all feels very natural.

Lani: I agree, his performance seemed very effortless. Bridges is definitely the frontrunner. Clooney could be recognized, but, ironically, I think the perception is that his performance was less difficult to pull off, as if he was relying on his natural charm, rather than transforming into a different person like Bridges did. What's funny to me is that in a hypothetical situation, Morgan Freeman portraying Nelson Mandela would seem like a lock for best actor awards. In reality, though, he’s playing Mandela in a movie which doesn’t really address the meatier aspects of Mandela’s life, so it’s not a very memorable role. I liked Invictus, but it was more of a sports movie than a movie about Mandela.

Best Actress - Drama
Emily Blunt - The Young Victoria
Sandra Bullock - The Blind Side
Helen Mirren - The Last Station
Carey Mulligan - An Education
Gabourey Sidibe - Precious

Best Actress - Comedy/Musical
Sandra Bullock - The Proposal
Marion Cotillard - Nine
Julia Roberts - Duplicity
Meryl Streep - It’s Complicated
Meryl Streep - Julie & Julia

AJ: I really don’t have anything to say about the “Best Actress” categories. I think picking the winner from this list of names is like a crapshoot. I don't even have an idea for who "should" win.

Lani: Well, I think Meryl Streep’s performance in Julie & Julia deserves recognition. Though her character was based on a real person, it could easily have become a caricature, with the funny accent, odd physicality, and large personality. But the performance was so natural; she did seem like a real person with real motivations and relationships.

Best Supporting Actor
Matt Damon - Invictus
Woody Harrelson - The Messenger
Christopher Plummer - The Last Station
Stanley Tucci - The Lovely Bones
Christoph Waltz - Inglourious Basterds

Best Supporting Actress
Pen̩lope Cruz РNine
Vera Farmiga - Up in the Air
Anna Kendrick - Up in the Air
Mo’Nique - Precious
Julianne Moore - A Single Man


Lani: In the supporting actor and actress categories, I’d say Christoph Waltz and Mo’Nique are the frontrunners. I think Waltz is definitely deserving, his performance really carries the film for me, more so than the sequences with the Basterds. As far as supporting actress, if Mo’Nique does not win then I hope that Vera Farmiga gets the award. She took a character which doesn’t seem like a lot on paper and made her a real person. She and Clooney achieved such a natural rapport in their scenes together, it made Anna Kendrick’s performance seem forced.

AJ: Christoph Waltz should get the recognition here. He's given one of the best performances of the year. My only problem is that he's nominated in the supporting category though he carries the weight of the film. Anyone who has seen Inglourious Basterds knows that he's the star of the movie, not Brad Pitt, not just in a show-stealing way (which it is) but also in terms of who the movie concerns itself with.

Well, we will see if our predictions are correct Sunday night!

Friday, January 8, 2010

Let's Go Out to the Movies!

Check out this photo gallery of beautiful images of the movie-going experience from around the world (courtesy of Magnum Photos):


Monday, January 4, 2010

Classic Movie Picks: January

Each month, I scour the Turner Classic Movies Now Playing guide for upcoming films that I can't miss. The highlights are posted here for your reading and viewing pleasure! (All listed times are Eastern Standard, check your local listings or TCM.com for actual air times in your area. Each day's schedule begins at 6:00 a.m.; if a film airs between midnight and 6 a.m. it is listed on the previous day's programming schedule.)

1/6: The Stranger (1:15 PM) - This Orson Welles film from 1946 is the one that nobody seems to mention when they talk about his directing career. Loretta Young plays a school teacher who suspects that her husband may be an escaped Nazi war criminal. Edward G. Robinson and Welles also star. Worth checking out if you are a fan of his other films.

1/8: In honor of Elvis Presley's birthday, TCM is showing a day of movies starring the King himself. Yes, the plots may be corny and the songs are sometimes silly, but any of Elvis's movies are worth seeing simply because of Elvis! He is an undeniably charismatic and likable performer and great fun to watch whenever he starts to sing (which in these films is quite often). If you can't spare an entire day, here's the best of the bunch (in my opinion): Girl Happy (1:00 PM), Blue Hawaii (4:30 PM), Viva Las Vegas (6:15 PM). And in primetime, you can see two concert films, Elvis on Tour and and newly restored version of Elvis: That's The Way It Is.

1/17: When you hear the name Alec Guinness, you may think "serious British actor" or, more likely, "Obi Wan Kenobi." So you may not be familiar with Alec Guinness the comedian. In Kind Hearts and Coronets (10 AM), a young man sets out dispatch every heir who stands between him and the family fortune. The versatile Guinness plays all the unfortunate relatives, 8 roles in all! Guinness's contemporary Peter Sellers is better known for playing multiple roles within the same movie (Dr. Strangelove..., The Mouse that Roared), but here Guinness proves that he is Sellers's peer in every respect.
This month you can also see Guinness, starring alongside Peter Sellers, planning to rob a little old lady in the classic comedy The Ladykillers (1/25, 3:15 PM). If you were unimpressed with the recent remake by the usually excellent Coen brothers, I would urge you to watch the original. In case you were wondering, the earlier film contains no Irritable Bowel Syndrome jokes.

Happy New Year and happy movie watching!