Monday, February 05, 2007

Oscar Update Take Two

Films Nominated: 58
Films Seen: 15
Oscar Countdown: 20 days
ALL-IMPORTANT OSCAR POOL LINK is HERE


(If, for some reason that doesn't work, go to: http://www.defectiveyeti.com/oscars/ and enter this pool id: 27397)

Meanwhile, while I haven't been posting, I've been watching more movies. No, let me clarify. I've been watching horrible movies that have no chance of winning anything. To any of you out there who dutifully see every movie that gets released, I just don't know how you do it. Maybe this is a particularly bad year, but, as my NewphewTuna once proclaimed when he went down and saw my basement, "Junk, Junk, Junk, Junk, JUNK!"

Click
Nominated for Makeup. Why? WHY? Needless to say, I didn't think it was that particularly outstanding. And as for the movie? Well, it's Adam Sandler. How good do you honestly think it's going to be? It was OK, but only and just OK. If I had plunked down big bucks to see it in a movie theater, I'd be mad. Even with a cowbell-less Christopher Walken, Marge Simpson (Julie Kavner) and The Fonze (Harry Winkler), it just wasn't that great. Think A Christmas Carol with more technology. Greentuna rating: Two bahs and one humbug.

Black Dahlia
Nominated for Cinematography. Oh my Lord in Heaven, I don't even know where to START with this one. There are bad movies, and there are bad movies, but this one is right up there. Here is what it is supposed to be: Period Crime Drama done in a film noir kind of way. Here is what it was: A mess. Start to finish. Filming in sepia tones and grays with lots of shadows and hidden sources of light doesn't make a movie any good, it just makes it dingy. Stilted conversation spoken in a halting cadence doesn't make characters sound gritty yet wizened as they investigate the seamy underbelly of crime, it makes them sound stupid like they can't remember their lines. By the end of the film, people were dying off right and left, and frankly, I was cheering them on. Greentuna rating: The dead people were the lucky ones.

United 93
Nominated for Best Director (Paul Greengrass) and Film Editing. I'm very conflicted about this film. I'm not going to debate whether it should or should not have been made. Somebody felt compelled to make the film and there you have it. It's not a film that I would think of as being particularly cathartic, and it's nothing that I would choose to see as a work of entertainment. For many obvious reasons, it was difficult to watch. However, I will admit that I thought the way it was filmed and put together was a remarkable achievement, considering nearly all of it was filmed inside very close quarters. There are no panoramic vistas and no sweeping soundtracks to entice your eyes and ears. I don't think Greengrass will win for director, but I think there is an outside chance, if they wanted to honor this film somehow, that it might pick up the award for editing.

2 comments:

TVJ said...

I totally guessed on my picks.

Kat said...

Everywhere I saw "The Queen" I picked it. I figure it has to be right at least once.