Though I guess it was announced a few days ago, I'll put down some of my takes on this year's Oscar nominees. I actually don't give much credit to the Oscars, but hey, they are something to talk about. I know this is a down year for best picture nominees in terms of box office, but being no box office snob, I was shocked to discover I had only seen one of the films, Ray. Admittedly, I wouldn't have mind seeing 3 of the other nominees, but I never made it to the theater. Misremembering my personal history I thought it was typical for me to see only one of the nominees, but after a little research I discovered that last year that I definitely didn't see two or more of the films in the theater before the Oscars was in 1989 when the nods went to Rain Man, The Accidental Tourist, Dangerous Liaisons, Mississippi Burning, and Working Girl. In fact, I'm not even positive that I've ever seen any of those films in their entirety, though I do remember most of Rain Man and Working Girl.
Surprises: Thought The Passion of the Christ would be up for more things like best picture and best actor. I'm not sure if it was hurt more for its religious story or the fact that it came out in March and if a film doesn't come out in December, than it really doesn't want the Oscar. Also in my mind I kind of thought Spider-Man 2 deserved a nod for Best Picture. Yeah, it was a summer popcorn movie, a sequel, and visual effects are almost always a sign that you aren't a serious movie, but the emotional subtext of the film dealing with Parker's struggle to find himself matches those of the other nominees.
Pleasant Surprises: The lack of Fahrenheit 911 on this list, though Moore didn't even submit it for best documentary. This really isn't due to the subject matter, but more to the fact that it was a really horribly assembled movie with no direction. I think someone with an eMac, iMovie, and some home films could put together a better documentary. Though I didn't see the other nominees in the category, Super Size Me really deserves to win the Oscar. Terrific movie.
Posted by shs4 at January 27, 2005 01:13 AM | TrackBack