Posted on March 8, 2010 by Darren
I’ll probably have a more well thought out reaction tomorrow, but woot! My brother owes me €10!
He looks kinda like an Oscar statuette!
Other than that though, didn’t this seem like the most predictable Oscars ever, with the acting categories all sewn up even before nominations were announced? Still, great to see Mo’Nique and Christoph Waltz win. I particularly liked Mo’Nique’s confirmation it could be “about the performance and not the politics” – though I’m cynical enough to see her season-long disengagement as a calculated political move, it still made me smile.
Filed under: Movies | Tagged: 82nd academy awards, best picture, film, Movies, news, Oscars, the hurt locker | 7 Comments »
Posted on March 7, 2010 by Darren
Here’s a little treat to get you in the mood for this evening’s festivities. BAFTA hired artist Tavis Coburn to basically design retro-style posters for their own awards – you know, like Turner Classic Movies did last summer. Since there’s significant overlap between the Oscars shortlist and the BAFTA shortlist, it’s a nice way to get yourself geared up for an interesting night. It’s a shame there isn’t an Inglourious Basterds poster, as that movie is arguably the best suited to a retro reimagining, but I guess the recent charity redesigns will have to do.
The posters are below. Click for bigger versions.
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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: an education, avatar, awards, baftas, best picture, best picture nominees, best picture oscar, chic, design, movie posters, posters, precious, Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire, retro, the hurt locker, up in the air | Leave a comment »
Posted on February 25, 2010 by Darren
It’s fun to analyse the Oscars. It’s even more fun before any individual awards have been handed out. I’ve already given my thoughts on the Best Picture race and the acting nods, but I was just thinking specifically about Paramount’s Oscar campaign this year. Making the infamously misguided decision to champion The Lovely Bones at the expense of all others, they were left empty-handed and red-faced when the film imploded. In hindsight, it looks like they made the wrong choice in pushing forward their prospective Best Picture nominees. Maybe they would have been better-pushed to get behind Star Trek?
Saorse wasn't the only lost during The Lovely Bones...
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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: 82nd academy awards, academy, best picture, best picture nominees, Oscars, paramount, paramount pictures, Shutter Island, star trek, the lovely bones | Leave a comment »
Posted on February 12, 2010 by Darren
Sometimes a movie lands (pardon the pun) at the right time. If you had told me that a movie about a guy looking to earn 10,000,000 frequent flyer miles in first class would be arguably one of the most interesting explorations of the recession that Hollywood would offer, I would have laughed in your face. But, against all odds, it works. That the guy in question is George Clooney and the man behind the camera is Jason Reitman undoubtedly helps.
It isn't plane-sailing for Ryan...
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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: best picture, downsizing, films, george clooney, ivan reitman, Movies, non-review review, recession, review, up in the air | Leave a comment »
Posted on February 9, 2010 by Darren
Well, it’s been a week since the nominations were announced. I think I’m as adjusted as I’ll ever be to this year’s crop of Oscar contenders. Am I happy? Relatively. Am I delighted? No. Am I as filled with disappointment and rage as I was last year? Not nearly. Does this mean we can judge the ten horse race a success? I’m not so sure. Let’s take a look at the good, the bad and the worse of this year’s nominations, snubs and just inexplicable nods. I’ll be taking a look at the acting nominations later in the week, because this post just ballooned. Rather fitting given the expansion of the category, no?
Let the speculating and analysis and moaning begin...
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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: (500) Days of Summer, 82nd academy awards, academy, AMPAS, avatar, best director, best picture, best picture oscar, district 9, favourites, films, inglourious basterds, james cameron, kathryn bigalow, Movies, odds, Oscars, precious, Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire, slumdog millionaire, the blind side, the blindside, the hurt locker, the reader, up, up in the air, voting | 2 Comments »
Posted on February 2, 2010 by Darren
The Oscar nominees have just been announced. In the next few hours, in-depth analysis from all manner of sources will take place and discussions will begin on whether the conversion of the Best Picture Oscar to a ten horse race has made the nomination phase anymore exciting. I don’t think it has – we’ve all been talking about the big five like it were any other year – Up In The Air, Inglourious Basterds, Avatar, The Hurt Locker and Precious – and that doesn’t really seem to have changed. However, there’s been a whole heap of discussion about the remaining places on the list. Though that doesn’t exactly ‘shake up the Oscar race’. Once we get a taste for how the Oscars choose the next five (and I suspect it will be on the same basis as the first five), picking ten will seem as simple as picking five did. But I digress. Nominees and preliminary analysis below. Note I’ll probably offer a more in-depth look at the race tomorrow.
It's that time of year again...
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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: 82nd academy awards, avatar, best director, best picture, best picture oscar, best picture race, best screenplay, ceremony, films, Movies, oscar nominess 2010, oscare nominees, Oscars, oscars 2010, populist, Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire, the hurt locker, up in the air | 2 Comments »
Posted on January 26, 2010 by Darren
Last week, I posted about the inevitable post-Oscar analysis we would see if James Cameron took home the Oscar for Avatar. I bemoaned the possibility that this would be sold as the moment the Academy re-engaged with mainstream culture, observing that they would only give it to him because he was James Cameron, not because of the box office numbers or the fact the film had resonated with the public. Those who read this blog with any regularity will know that I’m not the biggest fan of the film, I have several huge problems with it, but I feel the need to clarify my position on Avatar. I don’t think that it doesn’t deserve to win – and yes, that’s a double negative. I wouldn’t feel robbed if James Cameron got another little gold statuette. I can even concede that Avatar might have earned it.
James Cameron is probably going to need a bigger Oscar cabinet...
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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: avatar, best picture, best picture oscar, james cameron, Oscars, oscars 2010 | 4 Comments »
Posted on January 22, 2010 by Darren
With the Golden Globe firmly in hand, James Cameron’s double victory at the Golden Globes cemented Avatar as a serious contender for the Best Picture Oscar. Not that there was ever really much doubt about the film receiving a nomination: the Academy loves Cameron. It still just seems a surprise in a race that has generally seen debate over Precious, Up in the Air and The Hurt Locker, with a fringe advocating Inglourious Basterds. Still, give the people what they want, right? An Oscar win for Avatar clearly indicates that the Academy is moving back to embrace popular tastes, right? I’m not so convinced.
Yes, that's James Cameron biting his lips to stop himself from reminding you how awesome he is...
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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: 81st academy awards, academy awards, avatar, best picture, best picture race, golden globes, james cameron, Oscars, oscars 2010, populism, populist, The Dark Knight | 8 Comments »
Posted on January 13, 2010 by Darren
As anyone who visits the site will know, Inglourious Basterds was my film of last year. I just dug it – the post-modern aspects of it, the juxtaposition of Tarantino’s style with the historic backdrop, the ending. And I’m more than delighted to think that Christophe Waltz will earn an Oscar statuette for his work, making it three years on the trot of amazing Supporting Actor turns. But will the film itself score one of the big nominations? Of that, I’m not quite so sure.
That's one way of convincing Academy members...
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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: 81st academy awards, academy, AMPAS, best picture, best picture 2010, best picture race, inglourious basterds, Movies, oscar nominations, oscar nominees, oscar race, Oscars, oscars 2010, quentin tarantino, weinstein company | 4 Comments »
Posted on October 23, 2009 by Darren
We are well and truly in Oscar season, in case you didn’t pick up on the Toronto International Film Festival as the kick-off of events (in fairness, it’s been going on longer than that – Oscar season is like Christmas advertising, it gets earlier every year. It’s fun the way that (even at this stage) every minor bump in the road for any picture is seen as potentially the end of its run. I’m not an Oscar-ologist, so I will concede I’m outside my field of expertise. It’s stunning that the perceived snubbing of perceived Oscar-lock Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire (heck of a title, there) at the Gotham Awards. It’s got a lot of film critics and Oscar-watchers pondering if the mainstream support that stars like new Academy member Tyler Perry and Oscar-nominee Oprah Winfrey may have actually harmed it. Are AMPAS such snobs that a showing of support from Oprah can ground a film’s chances?
Cruising for a bruising at Oscar season?
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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: AMPAS, awards snub, best picture, best picture 2010, gotham critics, gotham film awards, oprah, oprah winfrey, Oscars, oscars 2010, precious, Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire, Push, snub, tyler perry | Leave a comment »
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