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February 27, 2008 By idawson Leave a Comment

Tuesday Evening Quarterback: The 2008 Oscars

Well it is official – these Oscars were the lowest rated (in the United States anyway) since the new ratings system was put in place in 1974. This is according to an article on the BBC.

I have a few theories in no particular order:

1.     Ambivalence due to the just recent writer’s strike

2.     The independent nature, or I daresay “spirit” of the films nominated

3.     Early talk that predicted many of possible winners were not originally from the USA

4.     American mainstream cinema was just pretty lame and catered to the lowest common denominator

5.     When I watched clips from the red carpet I immediately lost interest – I was like there are plenty of actors here tonight, but where are the movie stars?

6.     Many of the female stars are pregnant or just had a kid

7.     There was no Vanity Fair after party – a bit of a shaky point – seeing that many attendees of the annual party usually skipped the formal ceremony

8.     After being out of work all this time, many of the “celebs” were not red-carpet ready

9.     In a contradiction of #4, where were movies that achieved a critical and commercial appeal; “American Gangster” immediately comes to mind.

10.   Maybe with noted exceptions this was just one of those years of polar opposites (?)

(that is all I can think of now)

This comes to a head when one thinks the Academy may be at a tipping point. For years there has been much talk about the politicizing of the nomination and awarding process. With that talk has been the justifiable argument that what SHOULD be awarded is “excellence in filmmaking,” an objective measurement at best. For the first time when you look across all categories, I feel that if that is the objective of the Oscars, then they got it right. But they do it at the peril of holding on to the mainstream audience.

In addition, this highlights (as I do in reason #5 above) demonstrates that there is clearly a difference and being a movie star or idol and a genuine thespian. And what most people want to see at an event like this is star wattage. This in spite of the various questions people asked about “Why is Miley Cyrus/Jessica Alba/Katherine Heigl, etc. at the Oscars?” I guess you can have it both ways but this year it was not that way.

————————–

I can wholeheartedly admit that like every year I have not seen all the movies that were nominated. In fact I only saw “Atonement” (which I loved). But in discussions with other fans of cinema that saw any of the nominated films, there was not much of a real desire to, say, go out and catch “There Will be Blood.”

Also complicating the matter is that for studios it will continue to be a win-win; studios currently own the very indy film companies that produced many if not all of the nominated films. This makes the line drawn in the sand between mainstream and indy very hazy indeed.

Overall, from my understanding, those that were recognized did all deserve to be honored; with obviously many omissions. This process is never going to be to everyone’s satisfaction but this year the Academy was rather niche in its choices than in previous years.

As the rest of the industry and film going world tries to figure this one out, I am popping in “Hot Fuzz.”

Filed Under: Reviews Tagged With: 2008, academy awards, awards season, films, oscars

November 7, 2007 By idawson 1 Comment

Beyond the Gates (USA rel. 2007, dir. Michael Caton-Jones)

 

 

original poster
Background

For the record, I saw this film under the UK-release titled Shooting Dogs1, and I saw it before I saw Hotel Rwanda. Actually that would have been a better basis for me to review the film on but for better or worse, since then I have actually seen Hotel Rwanda and invariably when I review Beyond the Gates I am obviously drawing oblique comparisons to both films. So I will try in earnest to not make this blog a comparative review but rather focus on Shooting Dogs/Beyond the Gates and why I feel it had such an enormous impact on me2.

 

So for a while after this movie was released overseas I followed its trail across ti he Atlantic in earnest waiting to see if and when it would get picked up; finally in late 2006 IFC Pictures purchased the US distribution rights and the film was finally released in March 2007.

 

 

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Filed Under: Reviews Tagged With: africa, ashitey, caton-jones, dancy, film, genocide, rwanda, true events

October 17, 2007 By idawson 2 Comments

DVD Pick: Children of Men

The Human Project Lives

Actually this is a movie pick – it is currently on a loop on cable television. But I recommend a DVD purchase for posterity.

Introduction

Admittedly the movie that I was anticipating view when I saw it in January is not the film I experience after I left the theater nearly two hours later.

Initially I sat there flummoxed at all the images was flashing across the screen. Literally there is a lot to take in … your visuals are assailed (and assaulted) from the very beginning.

At the conclusion of my first viewing, I was aware that I had not seen a bad film but had been witness to something different than I had experienced in quite some time. It was only after my recent second viewing that I felt comfortable giving my opinion and (a minimal degree of) insight into what my cinematic experience was.

Visually it is a remarkable film – a certain credit to the fine cinematography (thank goodness Mr. Emmanuel Lubezki received an Oscar nomination for his efforts).

Also great credit goes to the director, Alfonso Cuaron, who has helmed pictures such as Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (my personal favorite book AND film of the series) and Y Tu Mama Tambien, a film that I must admittedly go back and re-watch because frankly, I was left scratching my head on that one too.

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Filed Under: Reviews Tagged With: dvd, film, futuristic, mystery, review

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