Unofficial Academy Awards Discussion Board

It's so daunting to comment on this show. There's such richness to it, I keep thinking, no matter how much I write, I'll omit something I meant to mention. On the macro level, the show is juggling so many balls at once the mind boggles. Obviously we have the dual/opposing moods of the Draper family...

By this point I was really hating Marsha Mason. That she made this list, rather than Diane Keaton (whose performance in Manhattan is far superior to much of this group) was appalling then and now. As I said in '78, I think Starting Over is the moment of Clayburgh's maximum likability. Not that she ...

Big Magilla wrote:Hal Holbrook (is his film even getting an Oscar qualifying run

It opened this past weekend here in NY. The Times didn't even assign one of its top-tier critics to review it, and it had a gross under $10,000 at its one theatre. I think it's dead.

Tee. I'm delighted you responded so favorably to Balthazar. I hope this will lead you to watch ,ore Bressons. I especially love L'Argent and Pickpocket. He's a truly remarkable, unique filmmaker. Yeah, I plan to get more under my belt in the coming months -- though I try to space out my exposure to...

Don't forget the only screens showing Precious right now are in New York and Los Angeles, where movie ticket prices are rarely if ever less than ten dollars. More like 12 or more, I'd guess. $12.50, in fact, at NY's Lincoln Square, where Precious is playing. And don't imagine there are cheaper pric...

At the risk of re-igniting a flame war...I watched Au Hasard Balthazar over the weekend. Put me clearly in the "Wow -- what a film" camp. I confess I'd steered clear of Bresson all these years because I kept hearing his stye described as "austere" -- which to me suggested arty a...

It is definitely seeping into the public consciousness. More like "being pushed" into it. Don't underestimate the Oprah noise machine. I love Oprah's infinite power and I'm glad she's pushing Precious into the stratosphere. Wasn't it getting plenty of buzz on its own merit after Sundance ...

FilmFan720 wrote:It is definitely seeping into the public consciousness.

More like "being pushed" into it. Don't underestimate the Oprah noise machine.

Tee, Same Time Next Year was not firected by Gene Saks, but by the great Robert Mulligan, and his special ability to convey connectivity between characters is very much in evidence here, making it a much richer, heartfelt and moving film than Bernard Slade's Neil Simon-esque script had any right to...

I don't see any reason why Mortensen would be ahead of Damon on anyone's list. It's true, as Oscar Guy has noted, that The Informant! didn't get across-the-board raves, but its reviews were way better than what I've seen for The Road. And Damon's personal reviews for The Informant! compare with any...

I'd seen Burstyn do Same Time Next Year onstage, opposite Charles Grodin, and, while the material was the same, it played alot better. I can't say if it was Alda's callow performance or Saks' dismal direction that ruined it for film, but everyone is right to dismiss Burstyn out of hand in this race...

I wonder if EW has had a look at Lovely Bones, or if it's just guessing it's going to be the big one out of the unopened Christmas packages. Last year they correctly pinpointed Benjamin Button as the one to watch from the as yet unseen. As someone at Sasha's site wrote the other day, Bones, Invictu...

Last weekend I watched Running on Empty, which you'd probably assume I'd have seen long ago, but I was working on a play with a similar subject at the time the film was current, so I thought it best to stay away from it. After that, general apathy kept me from it for years. But, Oscar completeness ...