i luv cinema

  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • Tumblr
  • Twitter
  • Home
  • TCMFF 2019
    • TCMFF 2019: Reflections on a Favorite Film Festival
  • Tribeca 2019
    • When Your Time is Short, Go See a Short! (Tribeca 2019)
    • LINDA RONSTADT: The Sound of My Voice
  • London Film Festival 2019
    • BFI London Film Festival 2019 – My 1st Time!
    • The Aeronauts (2019) was Fun (Kinda)
    • Knives Out: A Highlight on My Cinematic Calendar
    • A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood: A Review
    • Ford v Ferrari (Le Mans ’66)
  • 100 “Must-See”
  • About Me
Home Archives for Awards

January 14, 2016 By iluvcinema Leave a Comment

Oscar Nomz

Happy New Year all! I just realized that this is my first post in the Year of our Lord, 2016. Which makes me happy and sad – happy because, well I have finally gotten around to it and sad, because the subject of this post is to do the recently announced 88th Academy Award nominations.

Oh the irony

When I originally outlined my notes for this post, I was looking forward to waxing poetic about why I prefer the nominations announcement to the actual ceremony. Sure it is a cool idea to celebrate and honor the collective and individual achievements in cinema. My problem has always been with singling out one above all in such a heavily politically driven process. Film appreciation is subjective in that generally, what one loves is in the eye of the beholder – one man’s Citizen Kane is another man’s Plan 9 From Outer Space. Go figure.

Recent years have been a boon for many smaller independent productions and this year has proven no different. How many people would have seen Room (by Frank director Lenny Abrahamson) or Brooklyn or Ex-Machina for that matter, if not for the buzz surrounding their potential award-worthiness? But I digress and am entering a territory that leaves me frankly exasperated.

There are a few problems afoot here – two I would like to discuss particularly in this post; I will mention the “easier” of the two first – it’s to do with the question of what it means to be awards ‘worthy.’

With each passing year, I look at the cinematic calendar, and have grown more and more accustomed to the following pattern forming …

  • Jan-Feb = Meh. The occasional film I do enjoy, but in general not much to recommend.
  • Mar-late April-ish? = It’s getting interesting. Spring has sprung and we are rapidly approaching the “summer season.” There are always a few surprises that get me in the theater. This is the warm-up for the main event …
  • May-August (mostly) = Popcorn and 3D specs time, y’all it’s blockbuster season! No further explanation necessary.
  • September can be a bit of a lull until we arrive in OCTOBER. From here on in, it is “look at me and take me seriously because I am a serious film” time. And then the rush to get the films for award consideration out by the end of the year.

Granted, this is an approximation because as studios are trying to carve out larger shares of the annual global box office, they are littering some of their potential money makers at less “conventional” times of the year (e.g. big budget Batman v. Superman is scheduled for release at the end of March).

That current aberration aside the above leads me to my first point – #1 –  we now have a situation that essentially takes the guess work out of what should be in contention for awards consideration. Sure, there are a few buzzy films that come out during the calendar (can’t predict EVERY cinematic success) but it would appear that the closer a studio gets its film out to the end of the various awards eligibility windows, the better since it is clear that these films will be foremost in the mind of those who vote.  In other words, this predictability has taken some of the fun and a lot of the mystery out of the alchemy of who gets nominated for what.

And now for #2 – the (un)surprising lack of diversity once the nominations do come out. Much like the past two national elections have proven not to be the racial panacea for a country that has a difficult time embracing the great, the good, the bad and the ugly aspects of its history, so too the awards success 12 Years a Slave two years ago and a lot of behind the scenes shuffling of the decks at the Academy has seemingly done nothing to “solve” the Academy Awards’ diversity “problem,” particularly in the acting category.

Of course, if you take the swath of world cinema over the course of the year, there are many, many folks who should be considered for accolades. In fact, this article on mic.com cites 8 worthy performances for your consideration. Now I would venture a guess that a few of these received many votes in the nominating process, but sadly not enough to make the final list. One could also initially glance at this list and (wrongly) speculate that maybe these performances did not the films themselves were largely overlooked. But alas, every one of these performances is attached to a film that has received a great share of recognition/ press from other entities, or, as in the case of Creed and Ex Machina, is honored with some love from the Academy this year. So clearly something else is going on.

And then there is the matter of the Hollywood pipeline. Doing the festival circuit has been a cold comfort for me. As it gets (relatively) cheaper to make a film, the idea is not so far fetched that any aspiring auteur with a device that can capture quality video (remember Tangerine was shot on an iPhone) can get their picture made. This commodification of quality tech will go a long way in closing this gap in the storytelling. However, there seems to be a bottleneck at some point, where the path gets rather narrow, preventing many from ascending through the ranks. Every year, it seems like it is someone else’s turn to carry the baton for a new wave of cinema …

And this is just two points that I wanted to highlight here. So where does this leave someone like me, who LOVES movies, but is a little less passionate about this side of things? Right now, I just don’t have the answers …

 

Post script: this article on deadline.com also points to the problem tremendously: among the ‘snubs’ they list is a whole demographic, not just an individual.

Filed Under: Awards, Commentary Tagged With: academy awards 2016, commentary, thought piece, verbal dump

March 5, 2014 By iluvcinema Leave a Comment

Quick Recap of the 86th Annual Academy Awards

Photo Credit: Creative Commons License  (Attribution No Derivative Works) by ebbandflowphotography via Flickr
Photo Credit: Creative Commons License
(Attribution No Derivative Works) by ebbandflowphotography via Flickr

I debated doing a recap – there are so many out there that by now opinions are formed and the papers that covered the events of this past Sunday night are securely lying in recycle bins worldwide. So, I asked myself, “is my two cents needed or valid?” Well of course my opinion is valid – everyone’s is (I do not lack THAT much self esteem).

In the end, I resolved to drop a quick list on my reaction to the festivities.

  1. Most of the awards went as I predicted. Pays to check out the odds-makers for probabilities. Also, it has gotten to a point that there are so many awards between January and the Oscars (registered trademark) that a pattern definitely does start to emerge, to the point you end up
  2. Ellen was good. Sure I may have laughed-cringed at the Liza Minnelli joke (rather cruel, and speaks to a larger issue), but overall she kept the show moving and brought audience engagement to new heights with the pizza party and selfie tweeted around the world. I would post the image, but then I think I would have to pay some money to Bradley Cooper or something like that.
  3. Leading up to the show I was really wondering how they were going to fit P!nk into the show; in fact all advertising leading up to broadcast had me questioning if this show was morphing into the Grammys (registered trademark). But she did just fine. But my favorite(s) in the musical performance title was a three-way tie between Pharrell Williams (“Happy“), Bette Midler (“Wind Beneath My Wings” In Memoriam tribute) and Darlene Love’s impromptu song of praise following Twenty Feet From Stardom‘s win the Best Documentary category (good film by the way, check it out).
  4. I must really be a glutton for punishment because I endured an hour of a cable channel’s live coverage of red carpet arrivals. Not that it is bad to parade people in front of cameras and have them ogled at like show-horses or anything, but this take  At the moment I could switch to ABC for their own “Countdown” show, which while in the same vein, provided a little more cinematic insight and context in the buildup to the evening’s festivities.
  5. (really 4B) I always get tickled when I see all these really rich and famous folks in fancy frocks parade down Hollywood Boulevard and ascend the steps into the Kodak Dolby Theatre. I am tickled because the theatre is housed in what can be best described as a mall, albeit a very nice one. In fact on a trip to the Home of the Academy Awards (until 2021) several years ago, I was ‘allowed’ to peek inside and see the theatre. One day maybe I will be able to have a seat when it matters most!

Well, that is all I got! Did you watch the show? What were some of your favorite moments? Hit the comments section below and share, share share …

Filed Under: Awards Tagged With: 2014 recap, academy awards, academy awards 2014

March 1, 2014 By iluvcinema 4 Comments

T’was the Night Before the Academy Awards Ceremony ….

No. Do not worry that I am going to break out into cheap verse. I have neither the creativity nor the energy to go there today. In fact, my predictions for this year’s ceremony is quite simple:

People will win Oscars whilst wearing fancy frocks and suits.

And that is about it. Well, that really isn’t everything, as my most ardent wish is for awards success for Steve McQueen’s 12 Years a Slave.

10598835594_15b4429fb1_z
Photo Credit: Thomas Ormston (via Flickr)

Now, to switch gears a bit, I have previously been asked (*) to look a bit further down the line and put on my prognostication glasses. The mission: to ‘predict’ which young thesps currently in the game I think will probably be awarded film’s highest honor at some point in the future. For the sake of simplicity (and my sanity), I have divided the groups into 1) actors and actresses and 2) directors.

 

THE ACTORS

  1. Chiwetel Ejiofor: Although I had decided to arbitrarily restrict my selections to the ‘Under 35s’ set, I made an allowance in this case. I have hoping for Ejiofor’s ascension to widespread recognition for quite some time. Although he is nominated this year (and not likely to win according to the odds makers), I hope that he will have another shot at receiving an acting accolade in the future.
  2. Adèle Exarchopoulos: Based on her breakout performance in the controversial Blue is the Warmest Color, I feel her success will continue in France and has the potential to translate into crossover success in the English language market. Which frankly will increase her chances of obtaining an Oscar in the future.
  3. Tom Hiddleston: This versatile Brit is bound in the near future to strike Oscar gold. That is all.
  4. Saoirse Ronan: In all her performances (yes even Byzantium) I remain captivated by the ethereal, otherworldly quality she possesses.
  5. Brie Larson: A critically recognized turn in 2013’s Short Term 12 has put this young woman on the map. I see bright (golden?) things in her future.
  6. James Franco: Due to his prolific nature in all aspects of the filmmaking process, I am sure he will strike lucky and at least get a nomination, if not take home Oscar at some point in his diverse career.
  7. Ellen Page: Although it seems like she has been around for a while, she is still quite young and has a long career ahead of her. I think she will secure an acting gong one day.

Honorable Mentions: Ben Whishaw, Romola Garai

Side Note: in doing my research, I ‘discovered’ a rather disturbing trend when looking up male versus female actors. When I searched for males, the top search results and subsequent lists spoke mainly of their talent and versatility. The lists for the female thesps, on the other hand, produced mainly “hot” lists. Color me slightly disappointed.

 

THE DIRECTORS

Now I admit I am not as knowledgeable with up and coming directors as I would like to be. That said, here are a couple of women I feel have the greatest potential of winning top prize for their work in directing a feature film:

Sarah Polley: She started out in front of the camera but has really made a name for herself as a creative force behind the camera with films such as Away From Her and Take This Waltz. There is great promise that a future dramatic feature will be recognized by the Academy.

Ava DuVernay: Another slight deviation from my ‘age’ rule, DuVernay won the Best Director prize at the Sundance Film Festival in 2013 for her film Middle of Nowhere (film also garnered her the John Cassavetes Award the same year). DuVernay’s career has also seen her recognized and win multiple accolades for her auteurism.

I wish I could speak to the other folks that make the movies – shame on me.

This is where audience participation comes in. Submit in the Comments section below what who you think in these or any other categories is Oscar-bound in the future.

(*) This post is part of the 31 Days of Oscar Blogathon sponsored by Outspoken & Freckled, Once Upon a Screen and Paula’s Cinema Club.

leigh-oscar-banner-flat

 

Filed Under: Awards, Blog a Thon, Fun Stuff Tagged With: future oscars

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • Next Page »

Recommended Read

contender

Added to My Video Library

the blob

Subscribe to iluvcinema

Enter your email address to receive notifications of new posts.

Centers of Film Study

  • JBFC
  • MoMA Film Screenings
  • The Picture House
  • University of California Press (Cinema and Media Texts)

Fast Film Resources

  • Alfred Hitchcock Wiki
  • Alfred Hitchcock-Master of Suspense
  • Film | The Guardian
  • Kermode & Mayo's Film Reviews
  • Park Circus
  • Rotten Tomatoes
  • The Internet Movie Database
  • Tribeca Film

Film Societies

  • BAMcinématek
  • Film Society of Lincoln Center

This is How We Blogroll

  • BBC Film: The Bulletin
  • Cinematic Corner
  • Comet Over Hollywood
  • Critical Women on Film
  • FlixChatter
  • Future of Flim (Tribeca Film Blog)
  • in so many words …
  • Kermode's Film Blog
  • Paula's Cinema Club
  • Roger Ebert
  • Sobriety Test Movie Reviews
  • Superhero Movie Talk
  • Sweet Freedom

Archives

Tweets by @iluvcinema
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact iluvcinema
totalfilm600movieblogs

Copyright © 2021, iluvcinema ·Streamline Pro Theme · Genesis Framework by StudioPress · WordPress · Log in