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The Photo of the Oscars 2010

Kudos to The Film Cricket for pointing it out over at Screenwriter, but this has to be the photo of this year’s Oscars cermony.

Who says James Cameron doesn’t have a sense of humour? Either that or he really wants to put his ex-wife in the Hurt Locker.

It’s the Hurt Locker!

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.

Best Picture Poster Porn…

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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Has the Email Controversy Hurt The Hurt Locker’s Chances?

Well, balloting is official closed. The deadline has passed and, by the time you read this, counting will more than likely be under way. It’s been an interesting Oscar season, and – since this is my last post before the ceremony – I should probably make some sort of generic observation about the competition. In truth, the acting races seem to have been sewn up since before nominations were even announced, but it looks like there’s a genuine race on for the Best Picture Oscar. In the interest of objective journalism (okay, blogging), I should concede that I have a €10 bet with my brother on the race. He expects Avatar to win because (and I quote) “it looks awesome”. I was backing The Hurt Locker, but part of me wonders if the anti-Avatar fiasco means that I should just give him the tenner now and be done.

Chartier attempts to defuse the situation...

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Reaction to the Best Picture Oscar Nominations…

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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And The Oscar Nominees Are…

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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Non-Review Review: The Hurt Locker

I’ve always said that great movies take the audience on a trip somewhere, so it’s really appropriate that The Hurt Locker brings viewers on a trip to hell. Or as close as it is possible to get to hell on earth. A place where flies roam the bodies of the still living in the desert heat or where even the cats walk with limps and scars or where the dead are stuffed with explosives to mount an attack upon any member of the living not callous enough to know better than to care. This is Iraq, where anything – and anyone – could turn out to be fatal and this is the story of those who survive there, those who die there and – against unlikely odds – those who thrive there.

Sadly, Guy Pierce's improvised retelling of "Moon", complete with homemade space suit, did little for troop morale...

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Awards Season Forecast…

It’s summer time! That means blockbusters, comic book movies! It’s comic con time! That means more blockbuster and more comic book movie gossip! It seems that everything from the Tron viral campaign to the impending release of the Alice in Wonderland teaser is generating a lot of buzz. And quite right, too. We do live in the era of the geek. However, once we get into autumn proper, there are more prestigious films approaching. Looks like the studios are sticking to the tried-and-true “cram as many Oscar contenders as you can into the least amount of time” method, and there’s a huge schlock of films coming out. Here are just some of the main ones I’m looking forward to during awards season.

Starring Morgan Freeman? Check. Directed by Clint Eastwood? Check. Story of an iconic figure? Check. Story of triumph over adversity/prejudice? Check. Set in the past? Check. Oscar Gold? Check.

Starring Morgan Freeman? Check. Directed by Clint Eastwood? Check. Story of an iconic figure? Check. Story of triumph over adversity/prejudice? Check. Set in the past? Check. Oscar Gold? Check.

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