Best Pictures #54: 2018 (91st) Academy Awards: My Pick for Best Picture

by A.J.

Best Pictures #54: 2018 (91st) Academy Awards

My Pick for Best Picture

The 91st Academy Awards for films released in 2018 was held on February 24th, 2019 and will be remembered as the year that the Academy tried to change things up to reach a larger audience. In order to boost ratings (even though the Oscars are the highest rated non-sports event on TV), the Academy and Oscars telecast producers proposed ideas such as cutting out performances by the Original Song nominees, giving out awards during commercial breaks, and, most notoriously, adding the category of Best Popular Film. After massive backlash from people in the film industry and Oscar fans, all of these decisions were rolled back. Actor-comedian Kevin Hart was set to host, but he and the Academy caught heat for Hart's years old homophobic jokes on Twitter. The Academy wanted Hart to formally apologize, Hart refused, and dropped out as the host. So, the Oscars would air without a host for the first time since 1989. The final hiccup for the telecast happened when, after announcing that all of the Original Song nominees would perform, Kendrick Lamar announced just days before the ceremony that he would not be performing "All the Stars" from Black Panther. 

The ceremony itself was no more or less eventful than previous ceremonies with hosts (excluding the year the wrong movie was read for Best Picture). Queen (with Adam Lambert singing) opened the show, presenters had mostly amusing banter, and, of course, eye-catching gowns and dresses. Alfonso Cuaron won his second Oscar for Best Director and, as a fan and Latin/Hispanic person, his award had a special meaning for me. In 2013 (Cuaron's Gravity), 2014 (Inarritu's Birdman), 2015 (Inarritu's The Revenant), 2017 (Del Toro's The Shape of Water), and now 2019 (Cuaron's Roma) the winner of the Best Director award has been a Mexican filmmaker. Glenn Close was the odds-on favorite to take home Best Actress, but The Favourite's Olivia Colman took home the award and no doubt upset the ballots of people trying to win their Oscar pools. My ballot was thrown off too, but I was very happy she won. Spike Lee finally won an Oscar for his work on BlacKkKlansman's adapted screenplay. Samuel L. Jackson, who presented Lee with the award, was almost as excited as Spike Lee, who jumped and hugged his friend. 

Samuel L. Jackson's reaction to Green Book winning Best Original Screenplay could not have been more radically different; he stuttered over the names of the winners as he did a double take in disbelief. This was the reaction had by everyone at my Oscar party when Green Book won Best Picture. After a progressive step forward last year with the unconventional The Shape of Water as Best Picture, the Academy took a giant leap backwards by giving Best Picture to a mediocre, bland, conventional, and unchallenging movie like Green Book. Green Book will now have the distinction of joining Crash and The Greatest Show on Earth as one of the worst films to win the Academy Award for Best Picture. If ever there was a year that made the case for going back to just five Best Picture nominees, this was that year. Of the eight nominees, there were five solid, quality pictures (Black Panther, BlacKkKlansman, The Favourite, Roma, and A Star is Born) and three that belonged nowhere near any conversation about the best movies of the year (Bohemian Rhapsody, Green Book, Vice). Of those five quality pictures, there is one for me that stands out as the actual best picture of 2018.

My Pick for Best Picture of 2018: A Star is Born 

Long before the fourth version of A Star is Born hit theaters, critics were singing its praises and raving about it non-stop. This always makes me skeptical about a movie. By the time a regular filmgoer like me gets to see the movie, will it be hyped out? Were the critics suffering from a bad case of festival fever (liking a movie too much because you saw it before anyone else)? In the case of La La Land: yes. A Star is Born, however, completely justifies the praise it has received. No other movie in 2018, not even Roma, affected me quite like the characters and pathos in Bradley Cooper's A Star is Born. I have no doubt that this was a passion project for Cooper; you can tell that care and thought went into every scene. While I'm happy Alfonso Cuaron won Best Cinematography for his excellent work in Roma, I would have given that award to Matthew Libatique for A Star is Born. Consider the image of Jackson performing "Pretty Woman" while extremely drunk. The camera sways slightly, but the angle is canted so we see him from below, cast in shadow and harsh stage lights, while the rest of the musicians wait anxiously for him to play the opening riff. The image of Cooper, head tilted down, wearing a cowboy hat and suit accompanied by his badass distorted electric guitar should be a very cool image. Instead this is one of the most tense moments in the movie. From the choice of angle and the lighting, you feel that he may fall flat to the floor (and on top of you) at any moment. It is thoughtful cinematic touches like this that work on a subconscious level that set Cooper's A Star is Born apart from not only its predecessors, but, for me, every other film in 2018.

Best Pictures #53: 2018 Academy Awards Best Picture Nominee: A Star is Born

by A.J.

Best Pictures #53: 2018 Academy Awards Best Picture Nominee

A Star is Born

“We’re Far From the Shallow Now”

I was skeptical when I saw the trailer for A Star is Born; it seemed like just a big budget vanity project for Bradley Cooper who stars, co-writes, directs, and sings. When I finally saw A Star is Born, I was more than pleasantly surprised. Before the credits rolled, this film had me so thoroughly entertained and moved, I knew this was the kind of experience I hope to have (and so rarely get) when I go to the movies.

This is the fourth version of A Star is Born. The previous versions were made in 1937 with Janet Gaynor and Fredric March, 1954 with Judy Garland and James Mason, and 1976 with Barbra Streisand and Kris Kristofferson. In 2018, Bradley Cooper plays Jackson Maine, an alt-country singer-songwriter who can still pack auditoriums but is deep into alcoholism and substance abuse. One night, at what Jackson is too drunk to realize is a drag bar, he meets a talented young waitress and singer named Ally played by Lady Gaga. He immediately recognizes her talent, invites her to his next concert, drags her out on stage to sing the song she sang for him the night before, and overnight, yes, a star is born.

The music in A Star is Born is good enough to justify the success of the fictional musicians. Jackson Maine’s songs are just the right blend of country and rock to have mass appeal. The break out hit from the soundtrack is “Shallow” sung by both Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper. It would be a complete and utter shock if it did not win the Oscar for Best Original Song. As a performer, Lady Gaga is famous for her over the top and outlandish theatrics that for me always distracted from her voice and music, which I quite enjoy. Here, her voice and skills as a songwriter are front and center. As an actress, she, unsurprisingly, has a great screen presence and proves that she is not just a musician trying to be a movie star. She is the emotional center of A Star is Born. We believe and never question her love and loyalty for Jackson despite his alcoholism. Lady Gaga's nomination for Best Actress is well earned. 

Bradley Cooper plays one of the most believable drunks I’ve seen on screen. When playing an alcoholic any actor or actress has the temptation to go for big showy scenes of sloppy behavior. Cooper, wisely, and more accurately, plays Jackson as someone that is a little drunk all the time. The people closest to Jackson as aren't worried about him flying off the handle as they are about keeping him on his feet. He remembers that alcohol is a depressant, so his outbursts are as sleepy as they are soul crushing and regrettably memorable. Sam Elliott turns in a great performance, of course, as Jackson’s older brother and is nominated for Best Supporting Actor. I found a particular delight in watching Andrew Dice Clay play Ally’s father because he is playing a character we so rarely see on film, a believable loving and supportive father.  

A Star is Born has picked up 8 Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, but shockingly Cooper did not receive a Best Director nomination. Retelling A Star is Born was a passion project for Cooper; he held on to the project until he was the right age to play Jackson Maine. Finding a compelling and engaging way to tell a story that has been told three times before is no easy feat. I watched all 3 previous versions recently and it is amazing how A Star is Born 2018 hits so many of the same beats, and even has the some of the same dialogue as the previous versions but does not feel like a tired rehash. The approach Cooper the director and cinematographer Matthew Libatique take toward the material makes every scene look and feel fresh even as we move down a familiar path. 

A Star is Born is something almost nonexistent today: a movie for grown-ups from a major studio. This film does not condescend to its audience and allows its characters to behave to like real people dealing with serious problems. This is a sentimental picture but that sentiment is earned. Jackson and Ally’s romance is believable because of the hard valleys we see them experience as well as the peaks. A darkness looms over Jackson, but Ally does what she can for him, and for herself, because that’s what you do for someone you love. A Star is Born works as love story, a drama, a fantasy and cautionary tale of stardom, and a story about substance abuse all wrapped up in a soundtrack of great music. Even if you know where the story is going it is so well executed that every moment and every emotion is still gripping and affecting. There may be another A Star is Born made 20 years from now, but I think this one will remain as the stand out.

Nominees: Bill Gerber, Bradley Cooper and Lynette Howell Taylor, producers

Director: Bradley Cooper

Screenplay: Eric Roth and Bradley Cooper & Will Fetters; based on A Star is Born by William A. Wellman and Robert Carson

Cast: Bradley Cooper, Lady Gaga, Sam Elliott

Production Companies: Warner Bros. Pictures, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, Live Nation Productions, Gerber Pictures, Peters Entertainment, Joint Effort

Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures

Release Date: October 5^th, 2018

Total Nominations: 8, including Best Picture

Other Nominations: Actor-Bradley Cooper; Actress-Lady Gaga; Supporting Actor-Sam Elliott; Adapted Screenplay-Eric Roth, Bradley Cooper, Will Fetters; Cinematography-Matthew Libatique; Original Song-Lady Gaga, Mark Ronson, Anthony Rossomando, Andrew Wyatt for "Shallow"; Sound Mixing-Tom Ozanich, Dean A. Zupancic, Jason Ruder, Steven Morrow

A Stripper is Born

by Lani

Because I am mildly interested in any movie which contains musical numbers, it was only a matter of time before I would see Burlesque. Starring Christina Aguilera and Cher as a hungry up-and-comer and a jaded veteran of the stage, respectively, Burlesque looked like a combination of Chicago and Showgirls...encrusted with rhinestones and sequins and wearing a feather headdress. The anticipation was palpable.

It has been awhile since I saw a decent modern musical film. I'm not asking for something that stands up to Singin in the Rain, I just want something fun with catchy music and dancing. The big musical of 2009, Nine, ultimately took itself too seriously to be fun; but Burlesque could not possibly take itself too seriously because it stars Cher, who doesn't even take herself seriously. Furthermore, Nine was cast to the gills with Oscar-winners who are not also singers, but here Cher has the upper-hand again because she is both.

Well, Burlesque is now on video and I have seen it. I wouldn't suggest that anyone seek it out, but if you, too, feel unable to resist the lure of this movie then, by all means, watch it. However, I suggest you also listen to episode #1 of the How Did This Get Made? podcast which delves into the many ridiculous and problematic elements of Burlesque - including Tony award-winner Alan Cumming's appearance as a glorified extra, Stanley Tucci playing literally the same character he played in The Devil Wears Prada, and an excessive use of wigs. Unfortunately, the biggest problem with Burlesque is the lack of consensus about what "burlesque" actually is. Is it, as Cher explains in the one number, the seemingly counterproductive process of showing "a little more" then showing "a little less"? Is it go-go dancing? Is it lip-syncing to Megan Mullaly CDs? (It is none of these.)

For a more definitive portrayal of the art of the striptease, I suggest you look to Gypsy (1962), the classic musical biopic of famed burlesque dancer Gypsy Rose Lee. More specifically, watch the "You Gotta Have a Gimmick" number in which three experienced performers explain the finer points of their profession to young Rose. Sure, it isn't exactly realistic, but at least this film acknowledges that burlesque dancers are supposed to take their clothes off.

I think my favorite burlesque-themed film would have to be She's Working Her Way Through College (1952) starring Virginia Mayo and Ronald Reagan. As you may have guessed from the title, Mayo is working her way through college by stripping at the burly-q. With the encouragement of her teacher, played by Reagan, she brings her talents to the school's struggling drama department. In the end, the students put on a lavish musical which, like all musical productions put on by film characters, has no plot and no songs that relate to each other in any way.

But under all the wigs, Burlesque follows a tried-and-true formula: the nobody who goes out on stage and comes back a star. In this case, Aguilera achieves stardom as a singer in a burlesque club, so the pinnacle of her success is getting her photo in the weekend section of the newspaper. Though it wasn't the first film to use the formula, A Star is Born has become the archetype for this type of showbiz story. In both the 1937 version and its 1954 musical remake, little Vicki Lester becomes a movie star almost overnight, even going on to win an Oscar. Unfortunately, her husband is a drunk and he can't handle her success in the face of his own professional failures.

A Star is Born doesn't have much in common with Burlesque; however, one could argue that both films deserve to be remade. A Star is Born has been made three times (and a fourth version may be coming soon) because it is an affecting story that can be adapted to any decade and appeals to a wide audience; Burlesque should be remade because it's terrible.