82nd Academy Awards (Oscar Predictions) February 23, 2010

I’ve put this off for a while for a few reasons, the first of which is: This will be a damn weird year. There are ten Best Picture nominees, but also there is a weighted ballot system (rank your films from 1 to 10, as opposed to check your favorite and that’s it). Plus, I’m in Korea so it is unlikely I will be able to watch the Oscars live, so I may as well have some fun with my predictions this year.

It’s also a weird year because the movie winning most of the awards if ‘The Hurt Locker’, which made practically zero money, and the movie winning almost no big awards, ‘Avatar’, made the most money ever. Here’s a rundown of what I think will win and what I would vote for.

Best Picture
Prediction: The Hurt Locker
My pick: Avatar

There are plenty of good movies, but everything nominated has flaws. I’ve listed them elsewhere so I won’t retype them here. ‘Avatar’ deserves to win because it was the most seen movie of the year, by far, and it will be remembered (by some, spitefully) many years from now. I do have a feeling, though, that ‘Inglourious Basterds’ may be closer to the top prize than most think….

Best Director
Prediction: Kathryn Bigelow (for ‘The Hurt Locker’)
My pick: Kathryn Bigelow

She deserves it, she was the best director of the year, give her the Oscar.

Inglourious Basterds (a lengthy analysis) February 15, 2010

Chapter One
Get the Tarantino Talk out of the way

I plan to discuss ‘Inglourious Basterds’ at length and, with that, to not confuse the movie itself with its writer/director. I do admire Quentin Tarantino for a few reasons and think ‘Pulp Fiction’ is a truly great film. He has had a good career with one great film (Pulp Fiction), three good films (Kill Bills, Basterds), and handful of films I can stand to watch, but could do without (Death Proof, Reservoir Dogs, Jackie Brown). But, having made a great film, doesn’t that put him above at least 90% of the directors working today? Sure it does. Is he the best currently-working writer/director? Nah.

Chapter Two
I Bet You’re Glad…

… that I didn’t make the first chapter as long as Tarantino did in ‘Basterds’. We’ll get to that in a moment.

One thing Tarantino has always done (and what makes his writing so unique) is take roundabout paths to get to his point. Let’s look at the scene in ‘Pulp Fiction’ where Jules is interrogating Brett about Marsellus Wallace. His whole point is to get Brett to admit that he tried to fuck Marsellus Wallace (if you need a refresher, you can watch the scene here). But Jules begins by asking what Marsellus Wallace looks like, ending up at “does he look like a bitch?” and ultimately “well then why’d you try to fuck him like a bitch?” That scene is almost old enough to be deemed a “classic”. But my point is that the whole scene takes us in loops and we really don’t know what’s going on until the end — and then it’s all so clear. Once it is finished we feel like we went on a ride.

This works when it is with dialog for a few minutes. The problem comes when it is for an entire scene (that is more than a few minutes), which happens at least twice in the movie.

The first is during the opening chapter. At about 17 minutes, we get three things: Hans Landa is The Jew Hunter, smart, and toys with people; that Shosanna escapes and her family was killed by Nazis; and we are placed in World War II. This scene could have been sufficiently shorter and given us the same things. Hans Landa seems to be wasting both LaPadite’s (the farmer’s) time and ours. I understand on a first viewing this scene is tense. I was anxious, just as you were. But when it was finished, I found myself wondering, was all of that really necessary? The problem is that it is at the beginning of the film and we know nothing of Shosanna and her family. Maybe Tarantino was counting on our sympathies for the Jews to make the scene tenser, but I don’t think that was accomplished. Also, whatever happened to LaPadite? Shosanna wasn’t pissed at him, or want revenge against him?

(A Belated) Top 10 of 2009 January 31, 2010

This is about four weeks belated, but, as they say, “Oh well.”

And with a new year starting, an old one comes to a close. Some films from 2009 have settled in my mind over the last few weeks (or months) as great, and other have faded. That is truly the test of a film’s strength. So here is the Top 10 of 2009.

1. The Informant!

Steven Soderbergh has been very prolific lately, and despite the shallow ‘The Girlfriend Experience’ released earlier this year, he also directed ‘The Informant!’. This film manages to deal so well with deception, family issues, mental health issues, and even moral dilemmas — all in the most creative of ways. Credit is also obviously due to the great screenplay (by Scott Z. Burns), the book (by Kurt Eichenwald), and an excellent performance by Matt Damon.

2. An Education

This is a cute, touching film about a girl who discovers a bit about life and a lot about herself through her relationship with an older man. It is wonderfully made, but the film belongs to Carey Mulligan. Read more writing by me on the film here.

3. Avatar

This is the most entertaining film of the year. Yes, the script has problems, but those are more than compensated for. The visuals are unlike anything seen before (in 3D — I will admit the visuals may disappoint in traditional 2D) and, despite some writing flaws, we do still care about Pandora, the Na’vi, and the characters. And now that it’s the highest grossing movie ever, James Cameron has much to celebrate.

4. A Serious Man

A sad, humorous film about a normal man who has more than his share of troubles. The Coen Brothers pose some interesting questions about ethics, faith, and logical reasoning in their newest success. Read more writing by me on the film here

5. Coraline

When I started this list about 2 months ago ‘Coraline’ was the film to beat. This says two things: First, that 2009 was a relatively weak year for films (which is true), and second, that animated films outside of the Disney/Pixar realm have come a long way. Coraline is a cute, bratty girl who learns a thing or two, but the way she learns it is unique and visually stunning. And at times, very cringe-inducing.

6. The Hangover

Now this is a funny movie. There are no tricks or gimmicks. It was funny in theaters, and funny again on DVD. I’ve always liked Todd Phillips’ work (even critically panned ones, like ‘Old School’ or ‘Road Trip’), but here he hits a high point. There is not a full moment to be had.

7. The Hurt Locker

This is a gripping film, a great thriller, and should not be categorized as a “war” film because this is hardly about the war. This is not the perfect film many critics lead us to believe it is (the characters only have a three-point arc and some scenes are nothing more than anecdotal), but it is carefully crafted and very entertaining. Read more writing by me on the film here.

8. Fantastic Mr. Fox

It seems I’m spamming this post with “entertaining” and “creative”, but I promise that they are justified. Wes Anderson and frequent collaborator Noah Baumbach have made a fun film that can be enjoyed equally by children and adults. It was a great year for animated films.

9. The Cove

This is a documentary that doubles as a thriller and, in the end, a horror film. The second act of the film has problems with pacing, but that may just be because my brain is used to traditional films and I’ve only seen a few dozen documentaries. While maybe only the 9th best film, it is the most important and everyone should see it.

10. Inglourious Basterds

I am including this film simply for Tarantino’s effort. It was bold, but I don’t think the film is the masterpiece so many are pegging it as.

And there you have it. 2009 was a year of a few greats, many goods, and a plethora of awful movies. Bring in 2010.

Waiting on 4 Stars January 12, 2010

2009 has closed and I have seen most of the films that I want to see, and almost all of the films I need to see. Being in South Korea has delayed this process a bit, but it has occurred nevertheless.

One thing that I have noticed is that I am still waiting for at least one amazing release for 2009. I don’t think it is too much to ask for just one. Sure, there have been plenty of good films, but they have all lacked that little extra zzingh to make them great. It also doesn’t help that we had a phenomenal and a good year before (2007 had The Savages, Zodiac, No Country for Old Men, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, There Will Be Blood–2008 had WALL-E, Revolutionary Road, Slumdog Millionaire, and In Bruges. All of these are great films).

At least from the list of serious award contenders, let me give a short round-up:

The Hurt Locker: 3.5/4 – Great, but lacking an emotional core.
Avatar: 3.5/4 – Superb entertainment, but a bit too predictable.
Invictus: 3/4 – Means well, but seriously? Yawn.
Up in the Air: 3.5/4 – Good, and Anna Kendrick deserves praise, but lacking the aforementioned zzingh.
Precious: 2/4 – Don’t get me started. This uses every gimmick in the book, is painful to watch, and ends up exactly how you expect.
A Serious Man: 3.5/4 – Love the Coens. This is good, but not their best. They will never best Fargo.
Fantastic Mr. Fox: 3.5/4 – Entertaining. A good flick. Nothing spectacular.
An Education: 3.5/4 – Carey Mulligan deserves every award there is, but the film doesn’t deliver on all the levels it promises.
The Cove: 3.5/4 – Great, and more than anything, important, but a bit lackluster in the middle.
Inglourious Basterds: 3.5/4 – It would be nice if the Basterds were actually in this disorganized movie.
District 9: 3.5/4 – Yet again: Good, but with a predictable outcome and message. I want something unexpected!
500 Days of Summer: 3/4 – Give me a break. Starts good, has some good scenes, but ultimately corny.
Up: 3/4 – Has its moments but hardly up to Pixar quality. Barely places above ‘Cars’.
Star Trek: 3/4 – How is this a serious awards contender? Popcorn flick.
The Hangover: 3.5/4 – Great comedy, but still has a few problems.
Julie & Julia: 3/4 – Meryl is good, but not a good movie at all.
Coraline: 3.5/4 – Very enjoyable.

I realize my comment became more bitter as I got to writing. Oh well.

With all of this said, if I had to pick the best films of the bunch, it would be ‘An Education’, ‘The Hurt Locker’, and ‘Avatar’. I can support any of those three for the win. But is it asking too much to be wowed? I should think not.