In spite of the fact that I think the Oscars, or any other award shows, are pretty meaningless, I can’t help but get caught-up in the whole intrigue surrounding these types of shows. What I mean to say, is that I don’t think because one movie wins Best Picture accolades that it really is the best movie of the year—that goes for actors, directors, etc. However, for the most part, I do think that a lot of the movies that get nominated are note-worthy and sometimes could even be considered landmark achievements in cinema. And since I’m a huge movie buff, I can’t help but take notice of films that receive a lot of Oscar buzz.
It’s mid-October, which is still pretty early to be talking Oscars, but the movie theatres seem to be replete with adult-themed-Oscar-potential films right now. After perusing some of the Oscar contenders I feel a little depressed, which is how I think these films are supposed to make you feel. That is, most of these films seem to tackle the tough and controversial issues that tend to leave the audience in a state of morbid gloom. So, while I’m not jumping at the bit to see most of these movies, I just wanted to give my take on some of the films and actors that have Oscar written all over them:
Atonement – Nineteenth century period drama starring Kiera Knightley.
Hmm…didn’t we already see this movie—'Pride and Prejudice' anyone? It even has the same director. Ok, I won’t slam this too much, because 'Pride and Prejudice' was pretty good. I saw it—in a moment of weakness—with my sisters, mom, and sister-in-law. I really liked it. Anyway, if Kiera and her director-friend can produce the same magic from P & P, than look for some more Oscar noms.
Eastern Promises – Russian mob thriller starring Viggo Mortensen.
Kind of the same thing as Atonement; the director and main star have made a second similar-themed movie together that is receiving rave reviews. Aragorn was in a movie a few years back ('A History of Violence') that was supposed to be excellent. I never saw it, and I probably won’t see this one too, since it’s supposed to be extremely violent and Viggo even fights someone in the nude at one point!
Grace is Gone –
This is one of the few movies that I really wanted to see at Sundance this year, but couldn’t get tickets. First off, I’m a huge John Cusack fan, (see 'Better Off Dead') but also I like the whole role-reversal thing of a husband having to deal with the death of his soldier wife and then having to tell his daughters about it.
In the
This one’s sure to have a lot of Oscar potential, since it was written by Paul Haggis, who wrote and co-wrote many of the latest films that earned or were nominated for Oscars (i.e., 'Letters from
A Mighty Heart – Based on the real-life Marianne Pearl, whose journalist husband died in
Eh, I probably won’t see this one either. It’s weird to think that Angelina Jolie did, in fact, win an Oscar many years ago.
Charlie Wilson’s War – I have no idea what this one’s about – starring Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts, Philip Seymor Hoffman, and Amy Adams.
I think the only reason this film is getting so much attention has to do with the fact that all of its stars have either won Oscars or were nominated for them. Even the director has been nominated five times!
Russel Crowe – Starring in 3:10 to
Ok, even though this guy has some major anger management issues that he needs to deal with, that doesn’t mean he can’t light up the screen with his dogged acting chops. Shoo-in for an Oscar nod.
Michael Clayton – Cerebral lawyer thriller starring George Clooney.
Critics loved it; the public passed. Oscar voters have fallen in love with Mr. Ocean—look for another best actor nomination.
Cate Blanchett – Starring in
Cate Blanchett is spot-on in anything she’s in. Oscar voters love her and she may just get a nom for playing a guy (Bob Dylan)!
Lions for Lambs – Anti-Iraq war story starring Tom Cruise, Meryl Streep, and Robert Redford.
Say what you will about Tom Cruise and his, um, eccentricities; he brings his ‘A’ game in everything he’s in. I think Meryl Streep gets nominations for just being in a movie. Bob Redford is a little hit-and-miss these days when putting out good material.
Denzel Washington – Starring in Ridley Scott’s American Gangster.
Denzel has the goods, what can I say? He won an Oscar for 'Training Day', in which he played one bad mutha—similar to 'American Gangster.'
Daniel Day-Lewis – Starring in There Will Be Blood.
Anytime Day-Lewis ('Last of the Mohicans', 'Gangs of
No Country for Old Men – Coen brothers’ modern noir film based on a Cormac McCarthy book.
I haven’t read this book, but I read McCarthy’s other book, ‘The Road’ and was completely floored.
Casey Affleck – Starring in The Assassination of Jesse James and Gone Baby Gone.
So, everyone knows Casey as Ben’s younger brother and as one of the Mormon twins in the Ocean’s movies, but he’s also generating a lot of buzz for his method portrayal of the coward Robert Ford as well as headlining Ben’s directorial debut Gone Baby Gone.
Sweeney Todd – Tim Burton’s murderous barber musical starring Johnny Depp.
Keri Russell – Starring in Waitress.
I’ve been a huge fan of Keri’s since her 'Felicity' days. This was another Sundance movie that I wanted to see, but couldn’t get tickets. I still haven’t seen it, but maybe more Oscar attention might spur me on to actually buy a ticket.
2 comments:
I agree that all Oscar movies/actors that win are not necessarily the best of the year. I don’t think they have a really specific guideline for what makes a movie “the best.” I saw The Departed, and even though I understand why it was such a profound film, I don’t ever want to see it again and it left me feeling awful. Citizen Cane is another one that I respect for what it was at the time, but who ever thinks to themselves, “I really feel like watching Citizen Cane.” It seems like sometimes they feel like they have to pick the really gritty ones and often shun the ‘trendy’ Blockbuster ones (the way the Emmy’s shun Lost, thanks for that). Although sometimes the big ones are just too fantastic to be denied, like Return of the King. It seems like with actors they often times give them out to those have paid their dues. (If you pay attention, there is a bit of a trend with actors getting nominated two years in a row – if they didn’t get it the first year then they often get it the second – Halle Berry, Renee Zellweger…) Not that it is all strategic – they do sometimes get a breakout like Jennifer Hudson or an Anna Paquin winning, or some people really are just so good that they win more than one: Tom Hanks, Hilary Swank and Denzel Washington have each won two, or Katharine Hepburn who won four Best Actress Awards. They don’t often pick comedies, which is sometimes dissapointing, even though they say comedy is the hardest. I guess they leave that for the MTV awards.
As for the Oscar-nod movies you mentioned, I agree that some of them do seem long and depressing, though I am sure they are great stories. I am kind of sick of CIA/vigilante/traitor cop stories though – there are just so many of them! I do really want to see both of the Casey Affleck movies – he is such a better actor than his brother! – and 3:10 to Yuma was excellent. Viggo needs to win something at some point as well. I saw A History of Violence and even though it is another one that I wouldn’t really feel the need to watch again, he is such an amazing actor. He is great at accents and really becomes the character. If he doesn’t get a nod for Eastern Promises, then maybe he can play The Man in The Road and win for that. :) I also think it would be great if Tim Burton got noticed. Oh, and did you see Girl, Interrupted? Whatever weird things she may do in her personal life, Angelina deserved that award. It would probably be a fun first if the always wonderful Miss Blanchett won a second Oscar for the sequel to the movie she won her first Oscar for! Oh, and I love Keri Russel. I am glad she is starting to come out in more things. Ummmm, sorry this ended up so long.
hayls - no need to apologize, I enjoy your comments. hmmm, i'll write a little about what you had to say...i'll stand by by comment that most of the time, at least recently, oscar winning films tend to be controversial, provocative, and downright depressing, but every once in awhile something like 'return of the king' wins and that makes me happy.
i totally agree about oscar nominees having to wait their dues sometimes in order to win. it's such a gut feeling anyway, when voting: how can you determine who the 'best' is really?
i also agree about comedies. it's so unfortunate that they hardly receive any kind of recognition from oscar. i think bill murray, steve martin, and even jim carrey would've won a lot by now.
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