Academy Award | the m0vie blog

John Barry, RIP

Posted on January 31, 2011 by Darren

I had hoped to end James Bond January as a celebration of one of the most iconic film franchises ever produced. It as a fantastically organised event – thanks to the legend that is Paul Thain over at Paragraph Film Reviews. Through the month, we had some surprising good news. Despite the shadow that loomed over MGM, the next Bond film (Bond 23, as it is known) would enter production. It would be released for the film’s fiftieth anniversary, would see Daniel Craig return and would be directed by Oscar-winner Sam Mendes. That was good news, and it really contributed to the atmosphere of the month.

1933-2011

Unfortunately, as the month came to a close, there was bad news. It’s tragic to end the month with the passing of John Barry. Barry had a tremendous career that others can do far more justice to than I would dare attempt. A legendary composer, his work is instantly recognisable – even if you don’t know you’re listening to it. It’s rare for a composer to exude pure and refined class and sophistication, while still remaining truly accessible. Barry did that. He won an Oscar for his work on Born Free, a soundtrack that I can sing along with even though I have never seen the film. I imagine there are more than a few readers who can say the same thing.

There are those who will sum up his career more eloquently than this truncated blog post, but he was a master. He worked on twelve of the Bond films, however his work was so iconic that the only major departure from his style occurred with GoldenEye (and this was promptly corrected for Tomorrow Never Dies). Perhaps his most iconic Bond theme is for Goldfinger. There’s a video below embedded of Barry conducting an instrumental rendition.

However, my own personal favourite John Barry theme comes from You Only Live Twice:

And I have a soft spot for Diamonds Are Forever, where he famously coaxed Shirley Bassey to give it lots and then some.

Rest in peace.

Filed under: Movies | Tagged: Academy Award, born free, daniel craig, diamonds are forever, GoldenEye, Goldfinger, james bond, James Bond music, John Barry, john barry rip, rip, sam mendes, Shirley Bassey, you only live twice | 4 Comments »

Are the Oscars Still a Pipe Dream for Christopher Nolan?

Posted on January 25, 2011 by Darren

As I write this, the clock is counting down. The Oscar race is in full swing. And I look back, and I really haven’t written too much about it. There are two reasons for this. The most obvious is that I haven’t seen too many of the contenders. Of the headliners, I have seen both The King’s Speech and The Social Network. I have yet to see The Black Swan, 127 Hours or True Grit. Of the lower-tier Oscar films, I have really only seen Inception and The Kids Are All Right. It isn’t that I don’t want to see them, it’s just that it has been a busy January and things have gotten in the way. The other reason I haven’t been blogging about it is because – barring what the competition between The King’s Speech and The Social Network says about the Academy – it has been a pretty bland year. There are so many “locks” that the race has become almost boring. In fact, the only real question I’m at all concerned about is whether Christopher Nolan will finally get that Best Director nomination he so sorely deserves.

Could this turn the Oscars upside down?

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: Academy Award, Academy Award for Best Picture, academy award for outstanding direction, best director, best director oscar, Christopher Nolan, coen brothers, Darren Aronofsky, David O. Russell, films, Inception, King's Speech, Movies, snobbery, The Dark Knight | 9 Comments »

Swanky Lady: Spare a Thought for Hilary Swank…

Posted on January 18, 2011 by Darren

I feel sorry for Hilary Swank right now, but also a little hurt and confused. Swank should be a respected character actor at the very least, and I’d argue that she has the potential for a distinguished and competent leading lady. After all, the woman has two Oscars on her shelves and she’s not even forty (for Million Dollar Baby and Boys Don’t Cry). That’s some kind of spectacular acting accomplishment right there. We should be looking at the next Meryl Streep, a woman who can grow old with dignity and remain a well-respected and admired performer. So, I am quite surprised to find that Swank is starring in a direct-to-video Hammer horror film, The Resident.

And I’m trying to understand how that can happen.

I thought an Oscar was supposed to open doors...

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: Academy Award, Direct-to-video, Halle Berry, hammer horror, hilary swank, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Jerry Maguire, meryl streep, Million Dollar Baby, the resident | 2 Comments »

Non-Review Review: The King’s Speech

Posted on January 8, 2011 by Darren

The King’s Speech seems like the perfect storm of awards buzz. Released as we enter the year of a big royal wedding, featuring a lead actor who was nominated for the Best Actor Oscar last year, it seems to have an edge. In fact, my inner cynic went into the cinema listing off all the standard stereotypical Oscar bait criteria that the movie met: person overcoming adversity; unlikely friendship across social class; beautiful period costumes; hint of class; historical true story; tied in some way to the Second World War; a cast of respected and veteran character actors. I don’t think it would have been possible to plan a movie that so perfectly designed to win prestigious awards. I guess we should be thankful that it’s really very good.

Heavy is the head that wears the crown... but it does have great hair, though...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: Academy Award, colin firth, David Seidler, Geoffrey Rush, George V of the United Kingdom, George VI of the United Kingdom, helena bonham carter, King's Speech, non-review review, review, Timothy Spall, Tom Hooper, winston churchill, world war ii | 5 Comments »

Pete Postlethwaite

Posted on January 3, 2011 by Darren

The quote from Spielberg about “probably the best actor in the world today” has been doing the rounds today, understandably, as well as Postlethwaite’s good-natured response (he remarked that it sounded like “a beer commercial”), but I think the below quote pretty much sums up my respect for Postlethwaite and his strength as an actor.

There are some moments that work. Pete Postlethwaite, as a big game hunter who flies onto the island with a second wave of dinosaur mercenaries, doesn’t step wrong; he plays a convincing if shallow character, even if he’s called upon to make lengthy speeches in speeding Jeeps, and to utter arty lines about “movable feasts” and having “spent enough time in the company of death.’‘ He alone among the major characters seems convinced that he is on an island with dinosaurs, and not merely in a special-effects movie about them.

– Roger Ebert reviews Jurassic Park: The Lost World

It’s not his best role, nor his most notable. However, even then he managed to shine on the screen, and – when I think of him – that’s the quote that comes to mind. His career featured any number of fantastic films (The Usual Suspects, Inception), but he always brought his best – even when the movie probably didn’t deserve it. I won’t go on at length, because far more authoritative and eloquent individuals have already offered their feelings.

Rest in peace. You will be missed.

Filed under: Movies | Tagged: Academy Award, ben affleck, Brassed Off, In The Name Of The Father, Lost World: Jurassic Park, Pete Postlethwaite, steven spielberg, Usual Suspects | 6 Comments »

Should There Be a Distinction Between The Best Picture and the Best Director Oscar?

Posted on October 22, 2010 by Darren

Ignoring the fact that, in practice, the Best Director Oscar simply exists to be a “runner-up” award in a really tight Best Picture race (like with Crash and Brokeback Mountain), with there being a huge overlap between the winners in both categories, I have been thinking a bit recently about whether there should be a more practical distinction between the two. Perhaps we should divorce the two awards, and decouple them in public consciousness. Of course, this is a purely academic argument (as the Academy voters will continue to associate them), but is the link between the two yet another indication of Hollywood’s director-centric culture?

Is it two for one?

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: Academy Award, academy award for best director, Academy Award for Best Picture, academy awards, best film, best picture, Brokeback Mountain, Christopher Nolan, Hurt Locker, jim carrey, Movie, Oscars, ridley scott | 10 Comments »

Why The Social Network isn’t an “Outside” Choice for Best Picture…

Posted on October 18, 2010 by Darren

I enjoyed The Social Network. Hell, I loved The Social Network. I think it’s easily one of the best films of the year. It has – deservedly in my humble opinion – generated a huge amount of buzz about the Best Picture Oscar. However, the more interesting facets of discussion measure the film against the other favourites, like The King’s Speech or Black Swan. A number of these arguments suggest that The Social Network deserves the Oscar because it is “more socially relevant”, even painting the Oscar voters at a crossroads – forced to choose between a modern film (The Social Network) and a classy but stuffy period piece (The King’s Speech). However, I find this argument rather disingenuous. While the Oscar voters in that situation would undoubtedly be choosing between two solid films, I think it clearly misrepresents the appeal of David Fincher’s deconstruction of the American Dream.