[OT]: Oscar nominations

by Jim McLennan on Feb 3, 2010 9:39 PM EST

Shamelessly lifted the list of noms from McCovey Chronicles, where it provoked quite a discussion. I know we have our share of film fans here, so figured I'd see what we got here as comments, criticism and complaint. Maybe we can do an Oscar night GDT too, especially with St. Penelope of the Cross up for Best Supporting Deity.

What? No love for the most totally disturbing film of the year, Martyrs? Sheesh... Just me, then...

Best Visual Effects

'Avatar' Joe Letteri, Stephen Rosenbaum, Richard Baneham and Andrew R. Jones 'District 9' Dan Kaufman, Peter Muyzers, Robert Habros and Matt Aitken 'Star Trek' Roger Guyett, Russell Earl, Paul Kavanagh and Burt Dalton

Best Sound Editing

'Avatar' Christopher Boyes and Gwendolyn Yates Whittle 'The Hurt Locker' Paul N.J. Ottosson 'Inglourious Basterds' Wylie Stateman 'Star Trek' Mark Stoeckinger and Alan Rankin 'Up' Michael Silvers and Tom Myers

Best Sound Mixing

'Avatar' Christopher Boyes, Gary Summers, Andy Nelson and Tony Johnson 'The Hurt Locker' Paul N.J. Ottosson and Ray Beckett 'Inglourious Basterds' Michael Minkler, Tony Lamberti and Mark Ulano 'Star Trek' Anna Behlmer, Andy Nelson and Peter J. Devlin 'Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen' Greg P. Russell, Gary Summers and Geoffrey Patterson

Best Short Film (Live Action)

'The Door' Juanita Wilson and James Flynn 'Instead of Abracadabra' Patrik Eklund and Mathias Fjellström 'Kavi' Gregg Helvey 'Miracle Fish' Luke Doolan and Drew Bailey 'The New Tenants' Joachim Back and Tivi Magnusson

Best Short Film (Animated)

'French Roast' Fabrice O. Joubert 'Granny O'Grimm's Sleeping Beauty' Nicky Phelan and Darragh O?Connell 'The Lady and the Reaper (La Dama y la Muerte)' Javier Recio Gracia 'Logorama' Nicolas Schmerkin 'A Matter of Loaf and Death' Nick Park

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Comments

All hail

Wes Anderson and TFMF.

Wear your own fur.

by Marc Fournier on Feb 4, 2010 1:51 AM EST reply actions

I doubt

there is much possibility of surprise except in Best Picture and Best Director. Hurt Locker and Katheryn Bigelow should win the two categories respectively, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Avatar swooped in for one or both. Another film that could steal Best Picture is Up in the Air, but I wouldn’t call it likely.

After that it’s going to get pretty boring.

Best Picture
Hurt Locker (should win)
Avatar (probably win)

Best Director
Katheryn Bigelow (should win)
James Cameron (probably win)

Best Male Actor
Jeff Bridges (I don’t think there’s much competition in this category, it’s his)

Best Female Actor
Gabourey Sidibe (I’ll admit, though, that I’ve only seen one of the films nominated in this category. I hope to see An Education this weekend)

Best Supporting Male Actor
Christopher Waltz (his to lose, also the best of the bunch this year. He was fantastic, and really the best thing in the movie)

Best Supporting Female Actor
Mo’nique (hers to lose)

Best Animated Feature
Up (might as well call this the Pixar Category)
Coraline (should, but won’t, win)

Best Original Screenplay
Quentin Tarantino (absolutely fantastic)

Best Adapted Screenplay
Geoffrey Fletcher (it’s always hard to judge this category, though, since I’ve rarely read the obscure books that are the inspiration)

Best Original Score
Fantastic Mr. Fox (weak field this year, but I loved this soundtrack overall)

Best Film Editing
Avatar (I can’t even imagine having to edit this)

Best Cinematography
Hurt Locker (should win)
Avatar (probably win)
Inglourious Basterds (long shot, though beautifully shot)

Best Visual Effects
Avatar (although all three had great effects)

I left off the categories I didn’t have an opinion. I never watch documentaries or short films, so that’s always “get a drink and go to the bathroom time” for me.

An early departure? What are the chances of that? If this was a movie, there wouldn't be an early departure.

by soco on Feb 4, 2010 8:56 AM EST reply actions

Kinda surprised

In the Best Animated Film category, Hayao Miyazaki’s latest, Ponyo, didn’t even get a nom. Admittedly, not seen it, but based on his previous work, he’s as much of a lock for a nod as Pixar/.

"Win, or die" -- Marquise de Merteuil

by Jim McLennan on Feb 4, 2010 4:21 PM EST up reply actions

From what I've observed, the only thing that gets "quite a discussion" here is a game itself.

AZ. Snakepit, where K.I.S.S. is implemented with "Great success ! "

Probably means the majority of the ’Pit population has more meaningful stuff to do.
BTW, does anyone know where I can get the free “Work” download?

"I don’t know why people feel the need to come up with reasons 'why' for everything..." - Missing Barry

by victor frankenstein on Feb 4, 2010 2:51 PM EST reply actions

You obviously weren't here

On election night…

"Win, or die" -- Marquise de Merteuil

by Jim McLennan on Feb 4, 2010 3:48 PM EST up reply actions

Well

Not every off-season post can be as baseball-centric as, say, this one…

"It's a real burden being right so often."

by kishi on Feb 4, 2010 5:43 PM EST up reply actions

The disturbing thing is

ALICE proved a better predictor of 2008 than most of us. :-(

"Win, or die" -- Marquise de Merteuil

by Jim McLennan on Feb 4, 2010 8:09 PM EST up reply actions

I just hope Avatar

Does not perform a Titanic-like sweep. While there are aspects of the film that are certainly praiseworthy (the technical ones), there’s no way it should seriously be considered for the Best Picture or Best Director award.

"Win, or die" -- Marquise de Merteuil

by Jim McLennan on Feb 4, 2010 4:15 PM EST reply actions

I would concur

An early departure? What are the chances of that? If this was a movie, there wouldn't be an early departure.

by soco on Feb 4, 2010 4:59 PM EST up reply actions

We all know it will.

Whatever it doesn’t win, Up in the Air will.

Bring back the Baltimore Chop!

by dima1109 on Feb 4, 2010 5:49 PM EST up reply actions

Agreed

And it’s truly tragic. I saw it in 3-D and walked out with sore eyes (it really bothered my eyes…) and a story that I, and most people, are already familiar with. Woo. Also, is nobody going to even give The Blind Side any credit? That movie fascinated me, much much more than Avatar did. It helps that I’m a sports fan, but I feel the story doesn’t require a huge knowledge of sports.

Other than that, I really have no legitimate insight this year. Haven’t seen too many of the better movies (Inglourious Basterds, The Hurt Locker, District 9, An Education, and Crazy Heart – sad, I know).

"I've had Bailey's out of a shoe, though."

by Dan Strittmatter on Feb 5, 2010 9:56 AM EST up reply actions

"Love is the most important thing in the world, but baseball is pretty good too. " ~Greg, age 8

by njjohn on Feb 18, 2010 9:36 AM EST up reply actions

Oh, and another thing

I had to suppress a smirk at Tarantino being nominated for “Best Original Anything”

"Win, or die" -- Marquise de Merteuil

by Jim McLennan on Feb 4, 2010 4:17 PM EST reply actions

It's

not directly adapted from anything.

JOKE BUSTA

An early departure? What are the chances of that? If this was a movie, there wouldn't be an early departure.

by soco on Feb 4, 2010 5:03 PM EST up reply actions

Hey

It’s pretty rare to actually see alternate history on the big screen.

"It's a real burden being right so often."

by kishi on Feb 4, 2010 5:29 PM EST up reply actions

My $0.02

Best Picture
‘Avatar’ (will win)
‘District 9’ (should win)

Best Director
Kathryn Bigelow ‘The Hurt Locker’ (should win)
James Cameron ‘Avatar’ (will win)

Best Actor
George Clooney ‘Up in the Air’ (will win)
Morgan Freeman ‘Invictus’ (should win)

Best Actress
Sandra Bullock ‘The Blind Side’ (should and will win)

Best Supporting Actor
no opinion

Best Supporting Actress
no opinion

Best Animated Feature Film
‘The Princess and the Frog’ (might win)
‘Up’ (should win hands down)

Best Original Screenplay
Quentin Tarantino ‘Inglourious Basterds’ (will win)
Peter Docter, Bob Peterson, Tom McCarthy ‘Up’ (should win)

Best Adapted Screenplay
Neill Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell ‘District 9’ (should win)
Jason Reitman, Sheldon Turner ‘Up in the Air’ (will win)

Best Documentary Feature
no opinion

Best Original Score
‘Avatar’ (will win. no idea who should)

Best Original Song
no opinion

Best Film Editing
‘Avatar’ (will win)
‘District 9’ (should win)

Best Cinematography
‘Avatar’ (will win, no idea who should)

Best Visual Effects
‘Avatar’ Joe Letteri, Stephen Rosenbaum, Richard Baneham and Andrew R. Jones (will win, pretty much the only one it really deserves)

Best Sound Editing
‘Avatar’ Christopher Boyes and Gwendolyn Yates Whittle (will win)
‘Up’ Michael Silvers and Tom Myers (should win)

Best Sound Mixing
no opinion

Best Short Film (Live Action)
no opinion

Best Short Film (Animated)
no opinion

Bring back the Baltimore Chop!

by dima1109 on Feb 4, 2010 5:47 PM EST reply actions

District 9?

Really?

An early departure? What are the chances of that? If this was a movie, there wouldn't be an early departure.

by soco on Feb 4, 2010 6:08 PM EST up reply actions

Yes, really

What about it?

Bring back the Baltimore Chop!

by dima1109 on Feb 4, 2010 6:23 PM EST up reply actions

I just

didn’t think that movie was much of anything.

An early departure? What are the chances of that? If this was a movie, there wouldn't be an early departure.

by soco on Feb 5, 2010 3:07 AM EST up reply actions

An action movie

with a new take, a great plot, good special effects, and a universal message.

Bring back the Baltimore Chop!

by dima1109 on Feb 5, 2010 6:12 PM EST up reply actions

Or

a science fiction movie with a thinly veiled “social message,” terrible dialogue, and meandering, generic story. It’s impressive that it was made for $30 million, but low budgets shouldn’t forgive mistakes.

I will give it points for being the first movie I managed to see with just me and my wife in the theater, though.

An early departure? What are the chances of that? If this was a movie, there wouldn't be an early departure.

by soco on Feb 5, 2010 6:36 PM EST up reply actions

a science fiction movie with a thinly veiled "social message," terrible dialogue, and meandering, generic story.

Right up until you said, “it was made for $30 million,” I coul have sworn you were talking about Avatar. Frankly, that one’s ham-handedness made me appreciate District 9 all the more.

"Win, or die" -- Marquise de Merteuil

by Jim McLennan on Feb 5, 2010 9:31 PM EST up reply actions

Warning:

These are just opinions. I am no movie buff.

I think that District 9 and Avatar were both thinly veiled social messages, etc, etc. When I saw D9, however, I actually left the theater wanting to see it again. Avatar, not so much. The effects were pretty, but the best comparison I can think of is Pocahontas in space. (Plus, the 3D was difficult for me…I’d get sucked in, and then scan to the left or right and see the frames of the glasses. Totally threw me off.)

What's your name? Sandwich. What's your first name? TUNA.

by emilylovesthedbacks on Feb 5, 2010 10:54 PM EST up reply actions

I feel

the exact opposite. Avatar was certainly white-guilt city, but there were elements that I wanted to see again, especially the universe that was created.

An early departure? What are the chances of that? If this was a movie, there wouldn't be an early departure.

by soco on Feb 5, 2010 11:21 PM EST up reply actions

You know,

now that I think about it a little more (that’s me, posting knee-jerk reactions), my only real problem with Avatar was that the glasses tend to get in the way. Maybe my face is too big, and they need bigger glasses. You know, like the kind “celebrities” wear when they’re trying to “avoid” the paparazzi.

I’ve figured out the problem and a solution. GIANT 3D glasses.

But really, I was in awe of the way they made that movie without the gimmicky 3D.

What's your name? Sandwich. What's your first name? TUNA.

by emilylovesthedbacks on Feb 6, 2010 12:46 AM EST up reply actions

Yeah

one of Liz’s friends stole a pair of 3D glasses from Disneyland because they’re the only ones big enough to fit over his glasses. You need to find some like that.

An early departure? What are the chances of that? If this was a movie, there wouldn't be an early departure.

by soco on Feb 6, 2010 2:53 AM EST up reply actions

Yes

there are significant parallels in my mind between these two movies.

An early departure? What are the chances of that? If this was a movie, there wouldn't be an early departure.

by soco on Feb 5, 2010 11:19 PM EST up reply actions

Just finished watching The Hurt Locker

Damn that was a good movie.
Kathryn Bigelow definetly deserves the best director for that one.

by BattleMoses on Feb 4, 2010 6:37 PM EST reply actions

I could live

With that one or District 9 winning Best Picture, certainly. Both made my Top Ten for 2009.

"Win, or die" -- Marquise de Merteuil

by Jim McLennan on Feb 4, 2010 8:11 PM EST up reply actions

Alrighty...

time to watch some inglorious basterds and catch up on my Oscar nominees.

What's your name? Sandwich. What's your first name? TUNA.

by emilylovesthedbacks on Feb 6, 2010 11:18 PM EST reply actions

A big, resounding,

meh.

To me, the only pieces of that movie worth mentioning were that dude that plays Landa and the editing…but having D9 and Avatar in that category (obviously, Avatar) makes sure there’s nothing about Inglourious Basterds that’ll win, unless somebody has a hard on for Tarantino.

What's your name? Sandwich. What's your first name? TUNA.

by emilylovesthedbacks on Feb 7, 2010 2:09 AM EST up reply actions

Okay,

Waltz was my favorite of that movie (and I haven’t seen any of the others.)

So maybe best supporting actor.

What's your name? Sandwich. What's your first name? TUNA.

by emilylovesthedbacks on Feb 7, 2010 2:18 AM EST up reply actions

Do they have an

Oscar for Most Atrocious Spelling? :-)

"Win, or die" -- Marquise de Merteuil

by Jim McLennan on Feb 7, 2010 10:42 AM EST up reply actions

I really liked Inglorious Basterds. Probably my favorite Tarantino yet.

"....who in good faith and without too much qualification assented to at least a part of the frankly villainous dictum that all is fair in love and war."
-Ambrose Bierce

by kishi on Feb 7, 2010 3:20 AM EST up reply actions

What about

Melanie Laurent and Diane Kruger? They were fantastic in this movie. Honestly, the parts of the movie that didn’t have the Basterds in it were the best parts.

Waltz is almost a lock on the best supporting, but the film probably won’t win anything else, which is a shame since it’s Tarantino’s best work.

An early departure? What are the chances of that? If this was a movie, there wouldn't be an early departure.

by soco on Feb 7, 2010 10:21 AM EST up reply actions

Okay,

as usual, you’re right. I’m still sorta confused as to how Waltz is a supporting actor, since he’s really the only one you saw the entire movie. And the only one that had any sort of character development.

I know most of what I’ve heard about this movie was Tarantino’s best…but I’ve never really liked him all that much, so I don’t know what I was expecting. (ducks from soco and kishi throwing things)

What's your name? Sandwich. What's your first name? TUNA.

by emilylovesthedbacks on Feb 7, 2010 1:41 PM EST up reply actions

He's

not for everyone, certainly. Basterds might be his best, but it’s probably his least accessible. A critique of movie making and viewing masked by war movie? Nevermind all the “Tarantino-isms,” I completely understand if people don’t like it, or at least don’t care at all.

An early departure? What are the chances of that? If this was a movie, there wouldn't be an early departure.

by soco on Feb 7, 2010 8:16 PM EST up reply actions

What, exactly, would you count as

Tarantino-isms? The completely random and distracting soundtrack, or the Fight Club references? It just seemed like he tried way too hard to make it funny, and all that happened was the movie was too aware of itself.

Keep in mind, I know next to nothing about movies, except to tell you what I like and what I don’t.

What's your name? Sandwich. What's your first name? TUNA.

by emilylovesthedbacks on Feb 7, 2010 10:29 PM EST up reply actions

Tarantino likes:

long running cuts
characters talking around the table scene(s)
“trunk” shot (in this case there was no trunk, but it is effectively the same shot)
juxtaposing violence with humor
anachronistic music
homages to obscure movies
a pop culture analysis monologue
foot fetish

Probably what people associate most with Tarantino wasn’t in this film (non-linear story lines).

An early departure? What are the chances of that? If this was a movie, there wouldn't be an early departure.

by soco on Feb 8, 2010 9:16 AM EST up reply actions

Okay,

now I know what you’re referring to when you say “Tarantino-isms”
Not a fan.

Zombieland, on the other hand, I found to be fantastic. Probably because I didn’t have nearly the same expectations for it as I did for Basterds going in. Also, I like zombie movies.

What's your name? Sandwich. What's your first name? TUNA.

by emilylovesthedbacks on Feb 8, 2010 11:01 AM EST up reply actions