Here’s some quick thoughts on the nominations, announced this morning.
Absences that make me sad: No Best Director for Altman, his last chance and let’s face it, I’d think dying would give him an edge. No nomination for DiCaprio for The Departed. I haven’t seen Blood Diamond, and I don’t want to, so kind of I’d prefer he got it for the movie I loved him in. No nomination for Matt Damon for The Departed; he was brilliant.
Nothing for Casino Royale. Nothing. Those fucking snobs. I was sure it would get a nod for Best Song, Best Musical Score, or a technical award. What the fucking fuck? Three song nominations for Dreamgirls and nothing for Casino Royale‘s admittedly so-so song. Yeah, so-so, but better than more than half the songs that have won awards, and way better than the songs that have beaten Bond songs for Oscars in the past.
Inclusions I don’t care for: Mark Wahlberg was strictly one note in The Departed. He was utterly adequate. The Children of Men had a flat, preachy screenplay.
Things I am happy about: Rah cheer for Jennifer Hudson and Eddie Murphy, who richly deserve their nominations. Rah cheer for Forest Whitaker and Meryl Streep, even though I’ve seen neither movie. Rah rah cheer cheer for Al Gore.
Some thoughts on The Departed: Nothing for the major star (DiCaprio) or the real Best Supporting (Nicholson). Even though it has a Best Picture nomination, I feel like the accolades are inadequate and a sign that Marty is going to get screwed again.
I’ve seen Blood Diamonds and recommend it. DiCaprio was quite good, and so was Djimon Honsou. I just saw The Departed last night and agree that it doesn’t look good for Scorcese. Now that you mention it Nicholson should be in the nominations for Supporting Actor, although someone at Shakes place offered that maybe these three weren’t because all of them have parts too big for “Supporting”, but no single one of them is really the lead.
However, I think you could make the same case for Clint Eastwood’s Mystic River (which covers much of the same thematic material but in his beautifully spare way), and it got reams of nominations.
Even if Scorcese finally gets his Best Director I suspect something like Iwo Jima will win Best Picture.
I would have liked seeing Michael Caine nominated for Best Supporting in Children of Men.
Meryl was wonderful in The Devil Wears Prada, but she always is and I will be disappointed if she wins for this one. I think you can make just as good (or better) a case for Helen Mirren (who also is always wonderful and usually gets overlooked altogether).
Haven’t seen Forest Whitaker’s performance. Considering it, but dreading it, too.
(Watching a really powerful portrayal of a psychopathic despot isn’t my usual cup o’ tea….)
I didn’t like Children of Men but I agree Caine was wonderful. Glorious, in fact. “Pull my finger.”
I don’t see how you can say Nicholson was “too big” for Best Supporting when Jennifer Hudson, quite obviously the star of Dreamgirls, was nominated in that category. The Best vs. Best Supporting categories make no sense at all to me.
Oh, and I’m avoiding Blood Diamonds because of the depressing/preachy thing. Got enough of that with Children of Men.
Blood diamonds is far less dreary if it makes any difference. My tastes don’t run the same as yours so I can’t predict whether you’ll like it or not. There is absolutely a political message, but I didn’t feel as though it was hammering me all throughout the flick. There’s no question there are “bad guys” (DeBeers in particular, although not so named), but it doesn’t nag everyone about all the evil we thoughtlessly do simply because we exist (Children of Men has rather a bit of that going on).
Simply being filmed in tropical, sunny Africa instead of always cloudy England makes it a much brighter film.
I found DiCaprio particularly enjoyable to watch (& he’s by no means my favorite actor). Hounsou was worth watching, too, although nowhere near as mesmerizing as he was in In America (where he really should have won the Oscar for Best Supporting; that he didn’t was a crime).
I know what you mean about Best vs. Best Supporting. I can’t cite a particular example right now, but I know there have been times where I’ve scratched my head about times where someone was nominated for Supporting even though they really carried the film (or vice versa). Half the fun of talking about the Oscars is criticizing the whole thing…… 😉
“Pull my finger.”
😆
Dark doesn’t bother me per se, and I’m willing for a film to be political. Fuck, I paid money for Children of Men having read the synopsis and a review or two. I just felt it was too preachy, vis. the older woman’s speech about the absence of children (like Clive Owen didn’t already know that?), or the playing of “The Court of the Crimson King” when he visits his cousin (the music was exceptionally heavy-handed). The character development, except for Caine, is nil, each person is at best a ten word sketch. I felt I should have cared more.
I also think that the absence of children combined with the shutting of borders doesn’t make sense. Teenagers are a massive cheap labor force, and without them, an alternative supply of low-level workers would be needed.
Finally, I felt kind of uncomfortable juxtaposing a “children are everything” message with essentially liberal politics. It felt oppressively anti-choice.
But wasn’t the idea that worldwide there weren’t anymore children anywhere, that something had happened to human biology so that all were sterile everywhere and had been for 18 years?
In any case, you’re quite right about the lack of character development (I think I saw more than you did, but mostly it was preachy sci-fi/action.
I didn’t regard Blood Diamonds that way. I can’t speak to whether it’s unacceptably formulaic. I didn’t find it so, but I’m not as sensitive to that as some are, and I don’t have a big background in film history or anything like that to draw upon. I just know when I like the way a story’s been portrayed. Give me a good story, well told, and I’m happy.
But wasn’t the idea that worldwide there weren’t anymore children anywhere, that something had happened to human biology so that all were sterile everywhere and had been for 18 years?
Yeah, see, it was weird. Why were there no children? It was almost like a “pro-life” commentary on the state of the world today. It didn’t sit well.
I don’t have a big background in film history or anything like that to draw upon.
Oh, me neither. I’m just opinionated.
Well, given the things about Children that pissed you off because they struck you as preachy, I suspect you mostly may actually like Blood Diamonds. If it has a fault, it’s probably the female supporting role. She’s gorgeous and a journalist. She’s necessary to the plot (& the plot works more easily because she’s female), but of the three main roles she’s probably the least developed. You understand right away what she’s about, but you don’t ever really find out why she’s like that. It isn’t central to the telling of the story, but it makes her a more weakly developed character.
This is a movie about the guys. There’s no doubt of that.
I still loved DiCaprio’s performance. I found it very easy to accept who he was, and that’s to his credit. Hounsou even more so, but somehow with him that’s a given. Some day he’s going to win a sh*tload of awards for some killer role that no one else would have been able to pull off. In his way he’s another Morgan Freeman, or Denzel Washington, or Will Smith.
OT – Just saw The Painted Veil this evening. That can definitely wait for rental (if then). A good story, but not well told (aside from the shots of the scenery, which are spectacular).
Well, that’s a thoughtful recommendation (Blood Diamonds), so thanks. Shame, though, that good black actors are so rarely seen that we can easily compare them to one another. Just proves how few are given work.
That’s true, however note that I could have included Cuba Gooding Jr., but chose not to. I also should have included Adolph Caesar, but didn’t think of him at the time.
I don’t know Caesar.
Have you ever seen A Soldier’s Story (made in 1984)? GO RENT IT IF YOU HAVEN’T…..
Haing Ngor won Best Supporting Actor that year for The Killing Fields, but Pat Morita was nominated for The Karate Kid and Adolph Caesar was nominated for his performance in A Soldier’s Story.
GOOD FLICK…………….
I’ve seen Karate Kid & Killing Fields, but not Soldier’s Story. Of course, I can’t rent anything but nominees between now and February 25.
Not a problem.
RENT IT WHEN THE OPPORTUNITY PRESENTS ITSELF.
Strong stuff, like the Shawshank Rebellion is strong stuff (although it’s nothing like that movie). If I remember right, it’s a screen adaptation of a play. It’s full of intense race hatred and beyond that I will say no more. I found the acting exceptional when I saw it back when I was 23. That was half my life ago and I still remember.
(Sorry, Shawshank Redemption……)