Welcome to the first annual "Aisle of Mann Academy Award Analysis" we will be going over each major category and who will win and who I think should actually win, whether they were actually nominated or not!
BEST ACTOR
Nominees: Daniel Day Lewis "Lincoln", Bradley Cooper "Silver Linings Playbook", Hugh Jackman "Les Miserables", Joaquin Phoenix "The Master", Denzel Washington "Flight"
Who will win: Daniel Day Lewis, Daniel Day Lewis and oh yeah, Daniel Day Lewis
Who should win: Daniel Day Lewis (Easiest bet of the night)
Analysis: The best actor category is loaded this year, I could make easy arguments as to why each actor is deserving of the statue unfortunately the four others have to go up against Daniel Day Lewis. Lewis and Washington are the two front runners as they have both won Oscars multiple times, Lewis gets the edge because he is the only one here playing a real person and if you 've seen the movie you know, the dude IS Abraham Lincoln! Bradley Cooper could be the dark horse here, especially if "Silver Linings Playbook" pulls upsets in other categories (more on that later). Joaquin Phoenix might have actually given the best performance out of anyone this year but unfortunately his movie is in the "love it or loathe it" category and after all the bashing against the Academy during the press tour for "The Master" he should really be happy he even got an invite. Hugh Jackman can definitely sing but his victory should just be the fact that he can now have "Academy Award Nominee" placed in front of his name when he makes another "Wolverine" movie, or until they make a musical out of "Crocodile Dundee"
BEST ACTRESS
Nominees: Jessica Chastain "Zero Dark Thirty", Jennifer Lawrence "Silver Linings Playbook", Emmanuelle Riva "Amour", Naomi Watts "The Impossible", Quvenzhané Wallis "Beasts of the Southern Wild"
Who will win: Jennifer Lawrence
Who should win: Jennifer Lawrence
Analysis: Full disclosure: at time of writing this I have actually only seen one of these performances (Jennifer Lawrence). Another two horse race here and its between Chastain and Lawrence. Since Julia Roberts is just old and Reese Witherspoon forgot how to make movies people actually went to Hollywood has been looking for the next "America's Sweetheart" Lawrence is poised to take this title as someone who can actually act and make blockbuster movies. She's young, She's gorgeous, she wins the Oscar. I get a strong Meryl Streepian vibe from Jessica Chastain, I think she will be around for quite awhile and have a chance to win soon and as great as it is to see a female nominated in a somewhat "action" film she isn't winning. Its nice to see Naomi Watts still around, she really should have won for "21 Grams" a few years back. As for the last two what can I say, one is 85 and the oldest nominee ever in the lead actress category, and its an unwritten rule that if I can't pronounce your first name you cant win an Oscar, sorry Quvenzhané Wallis.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Nominees: Alan Arkin "Argo", Robert De Niro "Silver Linings Playbook", Tommy Lee Jones "Lincoln", Phillip Seymour Hoffman "The Master", Christoph Waltz "Django Unchained"
Who will win: Tommy Lee Jones
Who should win: Robert De Niro (Since Leonardo DiCaprio got snubbed)
Analysis: This is easily my favorite category this year, and the hardest to predict. My personal choice would have been Leo in "Django", Christoph Waltz is great though and I'm glad that at least someone from the cast got recognized. He has won previously and it was for a Quentin Tarantino movie, no deja vu here. Phillip Seymour Hoffman is going to have the same problem that Joaquin Phoenix is having, great performance but there are a lot of people who absolutely despise "The Master" (fools). The race is between veterans Robert De Niro, Alan Arkin and Tommy Lee Jones. Arkin is a scene stealer in "Argo" but it was a limited role. Jones and De Niro are essential in their respected roles though I actually would have liked to have seen Jones nominated in "Hope Springs" over "Lincoln" as in that role he really plays against type to fantastic results. De Niro is just De Niro and after making some horrible film choices (basically EVERYTHING after Meet the Parents) he shows in "Silver Linings" why he is in fact the true "Master".
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Nominees: Sally Field "Lincoln", Anne Hathaway "Les Miserables", Jacki Weaver, Silver Linings Playbook", Amy Adams "The Master", Helen Hunt "The Sessions"
Who will win: Anne Hathaway (ugh)
Who should win: Amy Adams "The Master"
Analysis: Get ready for the most annoying acceptance speech of the night thanks to Anne Hathaway who like Daniel Day Lewis in "Lincoln" is almost a stone cold lock to get her first Oscar. I didn't dislike Hathaway's performance it just thought it was overhyped, her performance of "I Dreamed a Dream" is really the only reason she is even nominated (The Dark Knight Rises is the much meatier, more deserving role of her this year that should have gotten recognized). Sally Field is the next closest for "Lincoln" but the old vote can only get you so far, Field maybe liked, just not that much this year. Amy Adams would get my vote, her turn in "The Master" is quiet and nuanced and she is just as impressive as her juggernaut male co stars. I absolutely loved Jacki Weaver in "Silver Linings" her role was limited though so not much chance here. I didn't see Helen Hunt in "The Sessions" but I understand that it was very "brave" of her to get naked in the multiple sex scenes that are in this movie and also I understand that Helen Hunt is very excited that people still know she is still around, maybe Twister 2: The Twistering can finally get the greenlight!
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Nominees: Argo, Lincoln, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Life of Pi, Silver Linings Playbook
Who will win: David Magee for "Life of Pi"
Who should win: Chris Terrio for "Argo"
Analysis: I haven't read or seen "Life of Pi" but I do know that its about a kid on a lifeboat with a tiger, if you can make a two hour movie out of that and end up with 11 total Oscar nomination you have to get at least one major award out of it and this is Pi's best chance outside of the technical categories. "Argo" was both nerve rackingly tense and hilarious and harkened back to the heyday of 1970's thrillers, "Lincoln" is very topical and sturdy but is a little too much like a history lesson in parts which is directly the fault of the script. Comedy very rarely wins in the adapted category so that cancels "Silver Linings" out and just forget about "Beasts" the nomination is truly the award for this Sundance favorite.
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Nominees: Moonrise Kingdom, Zero Dark Thirty, Django Unchained, Flight, Amour
Who will win: Mark Boal for "Zero Dark Thirty"
Who should win: Quentin Tarantino for "Django Unchained"
Analysis: As I stated in my review of "Django Unchained" review they should just rename the best original screenplay award the "Tarantino" so with him being nominated here you know who I'm pulling for, Django is easily the most original film of the year. I do however think "Zero Dark Thirty" takes this award. Epic in its scope the ten year hunt for Bin Laden cant be anything if ambitious and even with all the criticism as to how "true" some true event are here I think this is where it will get recognized. If "Django" was easily the most original film of the year than "Moonrise Kingdom" is easily my least favorite Wes Anderson movie-shouldn't be here. "Flight" is an overall "good" movie with a GREAT lead performance, if Denzel should be able to pull off some monumental upset in the lead actor race he should buy his screenwriter a house or something. "Amour" is a foreign language film and while I'd place my bet on it to win best foreign language film its the longest of long shots here.
BEST DIRECTOR
Nominees: Steven Spielberg "Lincoln, Michael Haneke "Amour", Ang Lee "Life of Pi", David O. Russel "Silver Linings Playbook", Benh Zeitlin "Beasts of the Southern Wild"
Who will win: Steven Spielberg "Lincoln"
Who should win: Ben Affleck "Argo" or Kathryn Bigelow "Zero Dark Thirty" (both not nominated)
Analysis: You love Steven Spielberg, I love Steven Spielberg, we all love Steven Spielberg because of this fact and the fact that with "Lincoln" he reminded us all that he can still make a good movie that doesn't involve aliens he takes home his third directing statue, I'm not going to waste your time with going into why the others actually nominated wont win against the might Spielberg, lets talk about who wasn't nominated. Had Ben Affleck been nominated I'd put him as the front runner, "Argo" is a game changer both for himself and as to what types of movies are greenlit in Hollywood and with nominations for the film in writing and best picture the fact that Affleck was not at the very least nominated is a spit in the fact....Almost like how Kathryn Bigelow must be feeling now. Its well known that Bigelow became the first woman to win best director for "The Hurt Locker"(it will always be a strange and wonderful irony that the director of "Point Break" has a best director statue) she has followed up that with the story of the hunt and subsequent killing of arguably the greatest real life villain in our modern era and without even seeing it yet I can assure you she was overlooked.
BEST PICTURE
Nominees: Zero Dark Thirty, Life of Pi, Argo, Lincoln, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Silver Linings Playbook, Amour, Les Miserables, Django Unchained
Who will win: Lincoln
Who should win: Silver Linings Playbook
I almost put "Silver Linings" in the "will win" category as well. This movie, along with being my favorite of the year has serious dark horse potential-especially if it picks up more than one acting award along the course of the evening. "Argo" and Zero Dark Thirty" basically cancel themselves out of the race as they are similar in subject matter. The battle is really between "Lincoln" and "Life of Pi" I'm giving the edge to "Lincoln" as it is the safe pick and though its no groundbreaking piece of film everything about it is excellent in its execution. I wish "Django" could have been my pick but the last half hour really disappointed me and while I think its the most original film of the year, its not the best. The casual moviegoer will probably be hoping that "Les Miserables" wins, while I didn't hate the movie its not one of the years best and if it were able to steal a victory it would be a black eye in an otherwise great year for moviemaking. I do really look forward to seeing "Amour" eventually when it finally opens somewhere other than New York or Los Angeles, it could actually be the best of them all but I like most others can't say because its not available. "Beasts of Southern Wild" what can I say, I've typed your name more than I ever thought I would. That alone should be a notch in your belt.
Thursday, January 10, 2013
Sunday, January 6, 2013
I wasn't exactly miserable during "Les Miserables"
Hearing of the prospects of Maximus, Wolverine and Catwoman in one movie understandably got me and my fellow cinenerds quite excited. Then when it was clarified that it would be Russell Crowe, Hugh Jackman and Anne Hathaway coming together for an adaptation of the novel, turned movie, turned musical and finally turned into movie musical known as "Les Miserables". Needless to say my excitement dimmed just a little bit...
The source material to which "Les Miserables" is based upon is probably, in my mind one of the greatest novels ever written. To this point that is my only point of reference as I have never seen any other film or stage version, until now. I was actually dreading seeing this movie, I really have nothing against musicals "West Side Story" and "Rocky Horror Picture Show" are two of my favorites but with "Les Miz" it seems like the promotion and advertising started in September and went into overdrive in the weeks leading up to the Christmas day release. The fact that this is apparently the first time that actors have been able to sing live on set and not pre record their songs was something the producers wanted you to know, wanted your grandmother to know and wanted your dog to know because it was everywhere. Add in annoying Anne Hathaway's press tour and sharing of how difficult it was to shave her head on camera and how much she apparently has in common with a 19th century poor French line worker turned prostitute and this was turning into another overhyped Hollywood product.
So bottom line, how is it? Maybe it was the lowered expectations but it is actually a very ok movie, the first hour is absolutely fantastic, the middle drags and the end improves on that. The story is of prisoner Jean Valjean (Hugh Jackman) who is released but closely watched by Inspector Javert (Russell Crowe), a series of events leads to Valjean changing his identity, becoming an outstanding member of the community and caring for a child whose mother Fantine (Anne Hathaway) has died. All while under the constant pursuit of Javert and all underneath the backdrop of the French Revolution. The story itself is epic and the production design and costumes promote this in all its glory. All the actors are game for their roles, Hugh Jackman is able to command the screen even without an adamantium skeleton. Much has been made, or hyped about Anne Hathaway's performance probably because she gets the signature song of "I Dreamed a Dream". I found the performance overall overrated, she has a very good voice but you shouldn't get an Oscar for shaving your head, wearing bad teeth prosthetics and having your breasts fondled by dirty French soldiers. If Hathaway does get nominated for Best Supporting Actress it should be for "The Dark Knight Rises" as Selina Kyle/Catwoman, a role that actually was something I didn't expect her to be able to pull off but she did. The real surprise for me is Russell Crowe, I was expecting more of a Pierce Brosnan in "Mama Mia" type of performance from him here but he actually goes all in and even without the best singing voice he steals every scene that he is in-he gives a performance.
As talked about in other posts here a big problem is the running time, "Les Miz" clocks in at 2 hours and 38 minutes, I'm not one of these proponents against long running times, if its warranted its completely acceptable. The middle portion here though drags almost to a complete stop, I'm sure diehard fans of the musical would call blasphemy if any musical numbers were cut out but I think it would of been for the films benefit had they done so. Most notably the storyline of Sacha Baron Cohen and Helena Bohham Carter as the innkeepers could have easily been removed from the final cut. The other big issue for me was the accents in the film, accents range from American to cockney British, the one that's missing: French. I think "bonjour" and "monsieur" are the only bits of French said in the whole production.
I was expecting "Les Miserables" to be an utter train wreck and for better or worse it wasn't, aspects of it are outstanding as well as pointless and overdone. Its a film that screams "nominate me!" which it probably will, deserving in some categories (production design) and unconscionable in others (best picture). For the meantime I'll be waiting for the inevitable "Book of Mormon" adaptation.
The source material to which "Les Miserables" is based upon is probably, in my mind one of the greatest novels ever written. To this point that is my only point of reference as I have never seen any other film or stage version, until now. I was actually dreading seeing this movie, I really have nothing against musicals "West Side Story" and "Rocky Horror Picture Show" are two of my favorites but with "Les Miz" it seems like the promotion and advertising started in September and went into overdrive in the weeks leading up to the Christmas day release. The fact that this is apparently the first time that actors have been able to sing live on set and not pre record their songs was something the producers wanted you to know, wanted your grandmother to know and wanted your dog to know because it was everywhere. Add in annoying Anne Hathaway's press tour and sharing of how difficult it was to shave her head on camera and how much she apparently has in common with a 19th century poor French line worker turned prostitute and this was turning into another overhyped Hollywood product.
So bottom line, how is it? Maybe it was the lowered expectations but it is actually a very ok movie, the first hour is absolutely fantastic, the middle drags and the end improves on that. The story is of prisoner Jean Valjean (Hugh Jackman) who is released but closely watched by Inspector Javert (Russell Crowe), a series of events leads to Valjean changing his identity, becoming an outstanding member of the community and caring for a child whose mother Fantine (Anne Hathaway) has died. All while under the constant pursuit of Javert and all underneath the backdrop of the French Revolution. The story itself is epic and the production design and costumes promote this in all its glory. All the actors are game for their roles, Hugh Jackman is able to command the screen even without an adamantium skeleton. Much has been made, or hyped about Anne Hathaway's performance probably because she gets the signature song of "I Dreamed a Dream". I found the performance overall overrated, she has a very good voice but you shouldn't get an Oscar for shaving your head, wearing bad teeth prosthetics and having your breasts fondled by dirty French soldiers. If Hathaway does get nominated for Best Supporting Actress it should be for "The Dark Knight Rises" as Selina Kyle/Catwoman, a role that actually was something I didn't expect her to be able to pull off but she did. The real surprise for me is Russell Crowe, I was expecting more of a Pierce Brosnan in "Mama Mia" type of performance from him here but he actually goes all in and even without the best singing voice he steals every scene that he is in-he gives a performance.
As talked about in other posts here a big problem is the running time, "Les Miz" clocks in at 2 hours and 38 minutes, I'm not one of these proponents against long running times, if its warranted its completely acceptable. The middle portion here though drags almost to a complete stop, I'm sure diehard fans of the musical would call blasphemy if any musical numbers were cut out but I think it would of been for the films benefit had they done so. Most notably the storyline of Sacha Baron Cohen and Helena Bohham Carter as the innkeepers could have easily been removed from the final cut. The other big issue for me was the accents in the film, accents range from American to cockney British, the one that's missing: French. I think "bonjour" and "monsieur" are the only bits of French said in the whole production.
I was expecting "Les Miserables" to be an utter train wreck and for better or worse it wasn't, aspects of it are outstanding as well as pointless and overdone. Its a film that screams "nominate me!" which it probably will, deserving in some categories (production design) and unconscionable in others (best picture). For the meantime I'll be waiting for the inevitable "Book of Mormon" adaptation.
Friday, January 4, 2013
If "This is 40" do you make it to 41?
*I'll start off this with the disclaimer that I am not 40, nor do I pretend to be
"This is 40" the newest film from director Judd Apatow is an improvement on his last movie "Funny People" but has the common flaw of the later as it doesn't quite know if it wants to be an all out comedy or a dramedy. The movie follows the story of Debbie and Pete from Apatow's second film "Knocked Up". Debbie and Pete are played masterfully by the always dependable Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann (no relation sadly). The title of the movie says it all as the movie is basically about how the couple deals with becoming 40, Pete is more or less ok with this fact but Debbie struggles with this idea of getting old and even goes so far as to convince herself and everyone around her that she is actually 38, or maybe 37...
There are some truly funny scenes here, one in particular involves an intimate act between Debbie and Pete behind a locked door while their two kids yell and scream for their attention from the other side. The cast is almost an Apatow dream team, Chris O'Dowd and Melissa McCarthy from "Bridesmaids" pop up for extended cameos as well as Jason Segal reprises his role from "Knocked Up" in a part that could have been much funnier than it is. Lena Dunham from Apatow's crushingly funny HBO show "Girls" is also here in a limited role, I feel that the movie would have benefited from O'Dowd and Dunham having larger roles as Petes co-workers at his record label, again missed opportunities.
A big problem in the last two Apatow films has been the running time. Both "40" and "Funny People" clock in at well over two hours when they could have easily been edited down to a more standard run time. Blame this on either the fact that most of the dialogue is improvised or that there are too many ideas going around and the director feels it necessary to include all his ideas, and friends in the movie. "40" is probably most relatable to those who are over or closing in on that magical(?) age of 40. Mann is in fact Apatow's real life wife and his two kids are again playing their same roles from "Knocked Up" both kids can act but there are long scenes where it just looks like home movies, I'd like to see Apatow's next project be something not semi autobiographical. Megan Fox also appears as one of Debbie's employees at her clothing store but Fox has the same problem as Jessica Biel, she looks great but brings nothing to the table acting wise, I felt she would have been better suited as one of the mannequins in Debbie's store.
"This is 40" will ring true to a lot of people of that age and even those of us still in our 20's. There is no question that you will laugh a lot during this movie. Apatow started off his directing career with such a bang with "The 40 Year Old Virgin" and "Knocked Up", with "Funny People" and "40" he seems to be almost teetering into Schmaltzy territory lately and while "40" is not a bad movie it isn't great either, maybe he should give Steve Carell a call...
"This is 40" the newest film from director Judd Apatow is an improvement on his last movie "Funny People" but has the common flaw of the later as it doesn't quite know if it wants to be an all out comedy or a dramedy. The movie follows the story of Debbie and Pete from Apatow's second film "Knocked Up". Debbie and Pete are played masterfully by the always dependable Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann (no relation sadly). The title of the movie says it all as the movie is basically about how the couple deals with becoming 40, Pete is more or less ok with this fact but Debbie struggles with this idea of getting old and even goes so far as to convince herself and everyone around her that she is actually 38, or maybe 37...
There are some truly funny scenes here, one in particular involves an intimate act between Debbie and Pete behind a locked door while their two kids yell and scream for their attention from the other side. The cast is almost an Apatow dream team, Chris O'Dowd and Melissa McCarthy from "Bridesmaids" pop up for extended cameos as well as Jason Segal reprises his role from "Knocked Up" in a part that could have been much funnier than it is. Lena Dunham from Apatow's crushingly funny HBO show "Girls" is also here in a limited role, I feel that the movie would have benefited from O'Dowd and Dunham having larger roles as Petes co-workers at his record label, again missed opportunities.
A big problem in the last two Apatow films has been the running time. Both "40" and "Funny People" clock in at well over two hours when they could have easily been edited down to a more standard run time. Blame this on either the fact that most of the dialogue is improvised or that there are too many ideas going around and the director feels it necessary to include all his ideas, and friends in the movie. "40" is probably most relatable to those who are over or closing in on that magical(?) age of 40. Mann is in fact Apatow's real life wife and his two kids are again playing their same roles from "Knocked Up" both kids can act but there are long scenes where it just looks like home movies, I'd like to see Apatow's next project be something not semi autobiographical. Megan Fox also appears as one of Debbie's employees at her clothing store but Fox has the same problem as Jessica Biel, she looks great but brings nothing to the table acting wise, I felt she would have been better suited as one of the mannequins in Debbie's store.
"This is 40" will ring true to a lot of people of that age and even those of us still in our 20's. There is no question that you will laugh a lot during this movie. Apatow started off his directing career with such a bang with "The 40 Year Old Virgin" and "Knocked Up", with "Funny People" and "40" he seems to be almost teetering into Schmaltzy territory lately and while "40" is not a bad movie it isn't great either, maybe he should give Steve Carell a call...
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