Totenkindly
@.~*virinaĉo*~.@
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A few of us are considering blogging the Oscar awards live here, when it occurs in a few weeks. Dirty Secret: I usually never actually watch it, but it could be fun depending on who is hanging out here as we snark it up.
That being said, here are my thoughts on some of the categories (tempered by the fact I haven't yet seen all the movies/performances nominated).
BEST PICTURE
I think it pretty much comes down to La La Land, Moonlight, or Hidden Figures (the latter being a dark horse favored by SAG as well as being a public darling). I think if La La Land wins on anything, it'll be on scope -- it simply tries to do more and has a lot more in it than Moonlight, which is much smaller very tightly focused character study. Based on the landscape, though, I expect La La Land to win.
(I am curious about Fences, which I haven't seen, especially with it resulting in potential wins for its lead performances. Is it a darker dark horse?)
As a side note, though, my personal "emotional" preference overall is probably for Manchester by the Sea or Arrival. My emotional response to La La Land (aside from the last 15 minutes) is about on par with Hail Caesar! -- both are decent movies, both have elements of song and dance, both are technically decent, but they don't really linger and capture my heart.
BEST DIRECTOR
Damien Chazelle (La La Land) been pulling in much of the industry awards, for good reasons. He did do a great job directing this movie -- he had a vision for this movie, which is complex with many factors (lighting, camera angles, cinematography, editing, choreography, music, etc.) and he does spin it into a successful story. Whereas Whiplash showed some amazing edit and performances by the leads, it was a much smaller picture -- a test run for something more spectacular. La La Land is more of the spectacle movie, the likes of which got James Cameron an Oscar even when his script sucked. The other movies just aren't spectacular enough to win the obvious kudos.
BEST ACTRESS
Emma Stone is a great actress and everyone's seen La La Land, so I expect her to win. Still, her performance here isn't as deeply resounding as other actress winners I've seen over the years. I haven't seen Portman in "Jackie," so I can't comment, but she could be the dark horse winner here. Streep is decent at portraying FFJ (a real person, look her up!) and is quite amusing, but it's low-bar for Streep. Huppert does give a nuanced performance in Elle, which American audiences might not resonate with -- her performance is textured portraying a woman with complicated emotional ties to her attacker -- and since it's in subtitles for American audiences, it might just leave folks cold. I didn't see Negga in Loving yet.
BEST ACTOR
Denzel in Fences has actuallly picked up some buzz lately, making what looked like a blowout in the Best Actor field (by Casey Affleck) a two-person race. I'll try to view Fences this weekend, since it is showing up in various categories. Affleck is pretty great as a guy with low emotional affect (seems to be Affleck's speciality) holding in a lot of rage, shame, and pain below the surface, while also trying to deal with parenting his nephew unexpectedly and even unwillingly in some regards -- partly because he's thrown into parenting a teenager, but also because it threatens to break down the walls he's been using to hold himself together to avoid dealing with past trauma. Still, if Fences is a good enough movie, Washington's performance might have teeth here.
I didn't see Hacksaw Ridge, but Mortensen is great in Captain Fantastic (probably the best part of the movie and what holds it together) -- he's fearless and comes off both as a loving father and a total asshat, he's not afraid to be hated by the audience. Gosling is decent enough in La La Land, but it's not a standout role for him.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Haven't seen Fences, but Davis is a probable winner from what I've seen unfold. Williams is decent as always, in Manchester by the Sea; the problem is she really doesn't get much screentime, even if she's really good in the minutes she does get. Harris in Moonlight actually felt like a realistic spin on the junkie mom - -the role itself is kind of limiting, but she makes it feel unique and she actually is sympathetic by the end.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Ali is picked to win this and probably will -- it's a feel good role (the dealer who also looks after the disadvantaged / isolated kid and has SOME kind of moral compass) and there's a big of complexity when he's forced to contrast his supposed concern for people with what he does for a living. Ali plays this role very well and he's a "positive" figure in a lot of ways, and likable, hence his win; but his screen time is limited.
Jeff Bridges was a high point of Hell or High Water -- he's really interesting on the screen, dominates much of the movie, you can tell you're watching an actor who has been around and perfecting his craft over the years. There's a lot of affections woven into his character that makes the detective stand out. DIdn't see Lion. Hedges in MbtS is deceptively good as the teenage son Affleck has to take under his wing, but the performance feels a bit unfocused.
And Michael Shannon might be the best part of Nocturnal Animals, honestly -- I vouched for this guy in my 99 Homes review, and he pulls through here too. He elevates any movie he is in. THis role is so freaking generic, but he actually makes him seem real and interestinga real-feeling small-town cop, exasperated by the system, sympathetic to the victimized, disregard for the scumbag criminal, with nothing to lose. It's simply not a big and important enough role to be in competition, but it's no wonder it at least got a nom.
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
My heart is with Kubo (it's just a beautiful story, beautiful graphics, winsome performances... damn, they even got a real performance out of Art Parkinson, you'll have trouble recognizing his voice as belonging to the script-stiffed Rickon Stark from GoT), but my head tells me Zootopia is going to pull in the honors. It's simply a more positive-toned story, with a lot of important social exploration of diversity and current culture -- it's a "bigger" picture than Kubo, which is more focused on grief and loss, and it's more nuanced than most Disney fare. It's too bad they both came out in the same year.
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
I haven't seen 20th Century Women, but I expect Manchester by the Sea to pick this one up. It's a better script than La La Land (which only has a few shining moments of writing); Hell and High Water is decent but emotionally flat; and Manchester by the Sea is just pretty rich and feels like you're listening and living with real people. There's low-key humor based on situation and demands the audience breathe with the movie.
As a dark horse, I love "The Lobster" -- it's as quirky as hell but consistent in tone, full of dark humor and whimsy (on the level of Being John Malkovich), and it raises some disturbing questions. But the movie just wasn't big enough nor mainstream enough. Still, as far as originality goes? Easily the best in that regard.
.... okay, I think I'm burned out now.
That being said, here are my thoughts on some of the categories (tempered by the fact I haven't yet seen all the movies/performances nominated).
BEST PICTURE
I think it pretty much comes down to La La Land, Moonlight, or Hidden Figures (the latter being a dark horse favored by SAG as well as being a public darling). I think if La La Land wins on anything, it'll be on scope -- it simply tries to do more and has a lot more in it than Moonlight, which is much smaller very tightly focused character study. Based on the landscape, though, I expect La La Land to win.
(I am curious about Fences, which I haven't seen, especially with it resulting in potential wins for its lead performances. Is it a darker dark horse?)
As a side note, though, my personal "emotional" preference overall is probably for Manchester by the Sea or Arrival. My emotional response to La La Land (aside from the last 15 minutes) is about on par with Hail Caesar! -- both are decent movies, both have elements of song and dance, both are technically decent, but they don't really linger and capture my heart.
BEST DIRECTOR
Damien Chazelle (La La Land) been pulling in much of the industry awards, for good reasons. He did do a great job directing this movie -- he had a vision for this movie, which is complex with many factors (lighting, camera angles, cinematography, editing, choreography, music, etc.) and he does spin it into a successful story. Whereas Whiplash showed some amazing edit and performances by the leads, it was a much smaller picture -- a test run for something more spectacular. La La Land is more of the spectacle movie, the likes of which got James Cameron an Oscar even when his script sucked. The other movies just aren't spectacular enough to win the obvious kudos.
BEST ACTRESS
Emma Stone is a great actress and everyone's seen La La Land, so I expect her to win. Still, her performance here isn't as deeply resounding as other actress winners I've seen over the years. I haven't seen Portman in "Jackie," so I can't comment, but she could be the dark horse winner here. Streep is decent at portraying FFJ (a real person, look her up!) and is quite amusing, but it's low-bar for Streep. Huppert does give a nuanced performance in Elle, which American audiences might not resonate with -- her performance is textured portraying a woman with complicated emotional ties to her attacker -- and since it's in subtitles for American audiences, it might just leave folks cold. I didn't see Negga in Loving yet.
BEST ACTOR
Denzel in Fences has actuallly picked up some buzz lately, making what looked like a blowout in the Best Actor field (by Casey Affleck) a two-person race. I'll try to view Fences this weekend, since it is showing up in various categories. Affleck is pretty great as a guy with low emotional affect (seems to be Affleck's speciality) holding in a lot of rage, shame, and pain below the surface, while also trying to deal with parenting his nephew unexpectedly and even unwillingly in some regards -- partly because he's thrown into parenting a teenager, but also because it threatens to break down the walls he's been using to hold himself together to avoid dealing with past trauma. Still, if Fences is a good enough movie, Washington's performance might have teeth here.
I didn't see Hacksaw Ridge, but Mortensen is great in Captain Fantastic (probably the best part of the movie and what holds it together) -- he's fearless and comes off both as a loving father and a total asshat, he's not afraid to be hated by the audience. Gosling is decent enough in La La Land, but it's not a standout role for him.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Haven't seen Fences, but Davis is a probable winner from what I've seen unfold. Williams is decent as always, in Manchester by the Sea; the problem is she really doesn't get much screentime, even if she's really good in the minutes she does get. Harris in Moonlight actually felt like a realistic spin on the junkie mom - -the role itself is kind of limiting, but she makes it feel unique and she actually is sympathetic by the end.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Ali is picked to win this and probably will -- it's a feel good role (the dealer who also looks after the disadvantaged / isolated kid and has SOME kind of moral compass) and there's a big of complexity when he's forced to contrast his supposed concern for people with what he does for a living. Ali plays this role very well and he's a "positive" figure in a lot of ways, and likable, hence his win; but his screen time is limited.
Jeff Bridges was a high point of Hell or High Water -- he's really interesting on the screen, dominates much of the movie, you can tell you're watching an actor who has been around and perfecting his craft over the years. There's a lot of affections woven into his character that makes the detective stand out. DIdn't see Lion. Hedges in MbtS is deceptively good as the teenage son Affleck has to take under his wing, but the performance feels a bit unfocused.
And Michael Shannon might be the best part of Nocturnal Animals, honestly -- I vouched for this guy in my 99 Homes review, and he pulls through here too. He elevates any movie he is in. THis role is so freaking generic, but he actually makes him seem real and interestinga real-feeling small-town cop, exasperated by the system, sympathetic to the victimized, disregard for the scumbag criminal, with nothing to lose. It's simply not a big and important enough role to be in competition, but it's no wonder it at least got a nom.
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
My heart is with Kubo (it's just a beautiful story, beautiful graphics, winsome performances... damn, they even got a real performance out of Art Parkinson, you'll have trouble recognizing his voice as belonging to the script-stiffed Rickon Stark from GoT), but my head tells me Zootopia is going to pull in the honors. It's simply a more positive-toned story, with a lot of important social exploration of diversity and current culture -- it's a "bigger" picture than Kubo, which is more focused on grief and loss, and it's more nuanced than most Disney fare. It's too bad they both came out in the same year.
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
I haven't seen 20th Century Women, but I expect Manchester by the Sea to pick this one up. It's a better script than La La Land (which only has a few shining moments of writing); Hell and High Water is decent but emotionally flat; and Manchester by the Sea is just pretty rich and feels like you're listening and living with real people. There's low-key humor based on situation and demands the audience breathe with the movie.
As a dark horse, I love "The Lobster" -- it's as quirky as hell but consistent in tone, full of dark humor and whimsy (on the level of Being John Malkovich), and it raises some disturbing questions. But the movie just wasn't big enough nor mainstream enough. Still, as far as originality goes? Easily the best in that regard.
.... okay, I think I'm burned out now.
)
But if we are gonna Hecklemob it?
), but I doubt it will get Oscars.
