Day 609: Oscar Coverage - Up

What can I say about Pixar’s “Up”? One word: “consistent”. Pixar is the most consistent animation studio in the world. Yes… this is a very bold statement, but look at their portfolio:

Toy Story; A Bug’s Life; Toy Story 2; Monsters, Inc; Finding Nemo; The Incredibles; Cars; Ratatouille; WALL-E; Up

10 movies. All of which have been nominated for Academy Awards. Sure, they have won Best Animated Feature 6 out of 7 times… but it would be unfair to pigeon-hole their success to the fact they make animated features. Because, while dominating the Animated Feature category, they consistently appear in other categories as well:

· 7 nominations for Original Score (1 win)
· 6 nominations for Original Screenplay
· 6 nominations for Sound Editing
· 5 nominations for Original Song (1 win)
· 2 nominations for Sound Mixing (1 win)
· 1 nomination of Best Picture

For me, the most telling symbol of quality is their 6 nominations for Original Screenplay, because this is the hallmark of Pixar’s success. Pixar continually achieves the impossible, making family movies which are worth watching. When Pixar announces a new movie, I get just as excited as Grayson… because I know it’s going to be good and I know it’s going to be something I am comfortable sharing with my son.

The Pixar brand means quality family entertainment. And thank God, the Academy recognizes their contribution to the genre. With this kind of consistency, and the fact Pixar movies average a worldwide gross of over $556 million, I figure we’ll see Pixar nominated for Best Picture again… and maybe one day even take home the top honor.

On another note, I can’t wait for Toy Story 3. I am just as emotionally attached to Buzz and Woody as Grayson… and it’s going to be so much fun to see this movie together. After all, I saw Toy Story 1 in the theatres when it was released in 1995. I was 18 years old. 14 years later? Well… it’s going to be awesome!

Day 608: Oscar Coverage - The Blind Side

The Blind Side is a good movie because it’s based on an amazing true story. It’s such a dynamically inspirational story that it would have been impossible to mess up. Beyond the story itself, is there anything remarkable about the picture? No, not really.

However, I do applaud the Academy for including it in the best picture category. Too often the Academy’s most celebrated movies are not necessarily the happiest movies. And it was very refreshing to see an uplifting movie like The Blind Side nominated; reminding us there is more to life than just piss and vinegar.

That being said, a courteous nomination all The Blind Side really deserved.
Don’t get me wrong, I like Sandra Bullock. I really do. As a person, I think she is a class act. As an actress, I think she is pretty solid… even when she makes horrible movie choices, like Miss Congeniality 2 or The Proposal, she commits 100% to the project. In fact, just days before receiving her Oscar for Best Actress, Sandra Bullock attended the Razzie Awards to graciously accept her award for Worst Actress for “All About Steve”. Hollywood needs more people like Sandra Bullock.

That being said, we should all agree that Sandra did not win the Oscar for having the best performance of the year. After seeing four of the five Best Actress nominated performances, Sandra’s is the least remarkable. However, Sandra was the most successful actress of the year. There is a big difference and the Academy is known for honoring both, so it’s okay. Some years it’s about honoring a remarkable performance, some years it about honor a person’s body of work, and sometimes, as in the case of Sandra Bullock, it’s about honoring a successful year. This year Sandra Bullock broke every box office record for an Actress staring (by herself) in a film. She has dethroned Julia Robert’s.

Is this achievement Oscar worthy? Sure, I guess it is. I’m certainly not upset by her win. She is an actress who is deserving of praise. I just hope this new acclaim leads to a more solid body of work for her future career.

Day 607: SchutzHappens Video, February 2010

Day 606: Oscar Coverage - Precious

Simply remarkable.

In my book, Precious is one of the best two movies of the year. Like “The Hurt Locker”, Precious is a fairly difficult film to watch, however, they grew on me for some time after my initial viewings.

The storytelling is very subtle and simple… yet the performances are rock solid and the best of the year.

I personally do not enjoy Mo’Nique’s previous work. I don’t dislike her as a person, but I’m not a fan of her stand-up and her previous movies do little to show off her immense talent. That being said, she is simply amazing in Precious. He is 100% deserving of the praise and awards she has received in relation to her work on this film. Her performance is not simply good because it’s Mo’Nique. Too often actors are honored not because their performances are remarkable… but because they are better than normal (like Sandra Bullock). However, this is not the case for Mo’Nique. Her performance was light years better than any other Best Supporting Actress winning performance I have ever seen. Seriously, I understand this is a bold comment, but I just looked up all past winners of this category and I can’t find one performance more solid. A role like this comes once in a lifetime… and it found Mo’Nique. Bravo.

First timer, Gabourey Sidibe, is absolutely, jaw droppingly brilliant in this film. In my book, it was the best performance by a Leading Actress this year. But, that is beside the point. This was Gabourey’s first film. The Academy is not known for honoring amateurs in the Leading categories… normally, the Supporting categories are used for issuing these kinds of honors. I am very interested in seeing how Hollywood utilizes her. Her talent is undeniable… but she isn’t exactly the stereotype of a classic Hollywood starlet. But, then again… the year is 2010… I don’t seem much use for stereotypes anymore.

And finally, I think Tyler Perry needs to have a pat on the back for this one. When I found out Perry was opening his own studio in Atlanta I didn’t really think much of it. He is a very profitable filmmaker, but doesn’t really make movies I’m interested in. That being said, if Tyler Perry intends to champion movies like Precious… I am 100% on board.
To close, I want to say Precious is a must see no matter what you Social-Economic status may be.

Day 605: Oscar Coverage - Inglourious Basterds

I have a strange relationship with Quentin Tarantino. I think he is a remarkable writer. The man takes some serious risks when it comes to structure and storytelling. And in cases like “Pulp Fiction” it paid of. By telling the story out of order from multiple perspectives he successfully made a gruesome and basically unremarkable story quite interesting and provocative. Oscar Gold.

However, even though I respect Tarantino’s daring as a filmmaker, I can’t say that I am on the Tarantino bandwagon. Just like all other risk takers out there Tarantino has fallen short just as many times as he has succeeded. Natural Born Killer, From Dusk Til Dawn, Four Rooms and Death Proof were not exactly cinematic genius. However, Reservoir Dogs, True Romance, Pulp Fiction, and Kill Bill are films I would be proud to have in my library.

That being said, I am a terrible gage of Tarantino quality. Jackie Brown is still my favorite Tarantino movie, yet most obsessive Tarantino fans write it off as his worst film. So… apparently, I have no idea what I am talking about.

Which brings me to Inglourious Basterds. A movie where I have no idea what the actors were talking about. You see, somehow I stumbled across a showing of the movie without subtitles of any kind… and only about 30% of the film is in English. It’s mainly in German and French… two languages I do not understand… and a little bit of Italian… another language I do not understand. So without subtitles… I… well… I’m a bit lost. I was able to follow the story… I understand what went down… and frankly, it seems like the most mature picture made by Tarantino… and Christoph Waltz’s performance seemed amazing… it’s still really hard to judge, because the foundation of Tarantino’s storytelling is found in the dialogue. Sure, I understood the story… but without the dialogue, the nuances of his story are lost on me.

Honestly, I need to see it again… but I’m going to learn German and French first… of and Italian… oh who am I kidding? I need subtitles… give me some subtitles dang it!

Day 604: Oscar Coverage - District 9

JP’s Review: Two Thumbs Up

Serena’s Review: “Umm… what? You have to be kidding me… no thank you.”

District 9 seems to be one of those movies that you need to see from beginning to end without much knowledge of what you are about to see. This is how I saw the movie. I hadn’t even seen a preview. I heard it was good, so while Serena and Grayson were in the States last summer I went to see it. And frankly, it blew me away. District 9 was remarkably fresh and poignant. It’s a true original.

Questioning the effectiveness of refugee services, District 9 spins this real world issue on its head by putting it into the context of a sci-fi action movie. I have nothing negative to say about the movie at all. I had no expectations going it and it knocked my socks off.

Serena on the other hand? Well, her only contact with the movie was watching the Oscar reel synopsis of the film. She couldn’t believe what she was seeing. Her synopsis? District 9 is the most ridiculous film of the year. And you know what? I can’t really blame her. The clips shown at the Oscars did absolutely nothing for the movie. In fact, it made the movie look worthy of Mystery Science Theatre 3000 quips. It made the movie look so horrible that I couldn’t argue with Serena’s assessment.

Not that she would have ever wanted to watch the movie anyway… but the preview was the last nail in the coffin.

So, if any of you, who haven’t seen District 9 were also turned off by the previews like Serena… give it a shot. It was good.

Day 603: Oscar Coverage - An Education

Two thumbs up!

I’m not really sure how this movie was marketed in the States. But, since a large number of my friends have been quite dismissive of this movie based on its subject matter, I can only assume most of the attention focuses on the underage romance story. This to me, in the context of the story is a non-issue.

Yes, the girl is only 16 years old. Yes, she is perused romantically by an older man. However, the movie takes place in 1961, a time when these kinds of relationships were not taboo. So, it is unfair to pass judgment on the theme because the movie is not about the sexual exploits of an underage girl. In fact, the main characters make no attempt to hide their relationship, the parent’s are approving of their relationship and ultimately, sexuality between the two plays a very small role in this picture.

The whole point, however, is to explore the academic and professional potential young girls were abandoning in the 1960s when the “right” guy came along to sweep them off their feet.
Not wanting to give any plot points away I will close this review by complimenting the acting. Honestly, I don’t think Peter Sarsgaard and Emma Thompson are capable of producing subpar performances; the two of them were fantastic supporting player in “An Education”. However, beyond the amazing supporting cast, the standout performance was Best Actress nominee Carey Mulligan. Watch out folks, we’re going to see a lot of Ms. Mulligan in the future.