Big Magilla wrote:Two categories in two weeks. At this rate, we should get through the categories one-by-one by the end of the summer.
Hey, I'm doing my bit. Anybody wants to jump in, they're welcome.
I'm the opposite of BJ, here: I've seen nothing and am totally basing my judgment on buzz (which one friend of mine has always insisted is the best way to win the Oscar pool). The only one I've really come close to seeing is available-on-demand Sicko -- but, between my wife's and my own encounters with the healthcare and insurance industries this year, I don't think I could stomach watching it.
I worry when people say Operation Homecoming tugs at the heartstrings. Given how many in the limited universe that votes for this prize are stuck in World War II nostalgia, it might be somethings that hits their sweet spot.
Mostly, though, I think it's down to Sicko and No End in Sight. Oscar Guy rightly points out that Sicko has been a more dominant winner this season, despite perception that No End in Sight had far more critical acclaim. On the other hand, I think alot of people -- even those who sympathize with him -- are weary of Moore, who's been amply rewarded already, and truly doesn't need any more publicity. (I was annoyed to see him all over the airwaves giving commentary on the writers' settlement)
Iraq still remains an important issue for the Hollywood crowd, and No End in Sight is so highly regarded, I think it should win in the end.
Sicko is the only one I've seen, and it's probably Moore's worst film. The problem with Moore is that with every new film, he seems to be less and less interested in common people, and more and more interested in making a political statement. Sicko is an excellent film for as long as Moore keeps the camera pointed at common people. But a lot of the film is just Moore moralizing and making propaganda. It's boring, and it's bad filmmaking. The film would be far more effective if Moore would just stay behind the camera, and let audience draw their own conclusions about what they are seeing on screen.
Big Magilla wrote:Two categories in two weeks. At this rate, we should get through the categories one-by-one by the end of the summer.
Yes, where IS everybody? It's so odd that the Board should be so quiet at this time year. Has the prospect of no Oscar show dampened everyone's enthusiasm?
"Y'know, that's one of the things I like about Mitt Romney. He's been consistent since he changed his mind." -- Christine O'Donnell
Greg wrote:As I've mentioned before, I think Sicko has an advantage to win due to the probable advanced age of many of the voters in this category and the importance of the issue of health care to them.
On the other hand, Academy members are generally well-off financially, so the issues in the film may not affect them directly.
"Y'know, that's one of the things I like about Mitt Romney. He's been consistent since he changed his mind." -- Christine O'Donnell
As I've mentioned before, I think Sicko has an advantage to win due to the probable advanced age of many of the voters in this category and the importance of the issue of health care to them.
I don't think Taxi to the Dark Side is going to win. We must remember that the people who vote this category are the same ones who have time to sit and watch all of the nominees. They tend to skew older and less contrary. I think War/Dance and Operation Homecoming could appeal to them.
I also think it's a bit narrow to say No End in Sight is the obvious winner. In terms of precursors, it is surpassed in overall numbers by Sicko, which also won the PGA award for Best Documentary. And neither won the DGA award, which went to the non-nominated Ghosts of Cite Soleil.
I think three Iraq-war documentaries could siphon votes from one another. The more anti-war choosing Taxi, the least anti-war choosing Operation Homecoming and the rest going for No End in Sight. Sicko or War/Dance could easily come from behind and nab a victory on this and I might even suggest Sicko will. The fact that Moore was nominated again means there aren't as many negative feelings towards him as we may think. I fully expected him to lose out on a nomination this year, but he didn't.
Wesley Lovell
"Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both." - Benjamin Franklin
Damien wrote:(It's also fairly dull in terms of filmmaking, but then again that's never been a barrier in this category.)
This is very true, but I don't think of ANY of the films in this category are top-notch examples of "filmmaking." (None of the war films this go-round hold a candle to the visual wow of last year's Iraq in Fragments.)
I wonder if Taxi to the Dark Side might have given No End in Sight some competition in the crix derbies had it opened in '07. This might have been a much tighter race.
I'm wondering if now, because the conevnrional (but incorrect) "wisdom" is that the so-called surge is working, No End In Sight may have lost some of its sense of urgency and immediacy. (It's also fairly dull in terms of filmmaking, but then again that's never been a barrier in this category.)
Although health care is perhaps on more people's radar than it was even just last year, Sicko seems as if it came out a long time ago and may be regarded as yesterday's news. And I think maybe enough people don't want to listen to a self-aggrandizing acceptance speech by Moore to stynie the film's chances.
I've heard nothing but splendid things about Taxi To The Dark Side. And it seems like a vote for it is the most overt political statement an Academy voter can make in this category this year.
"Y'know, that's one of the things I like about Mitt Romney. He's been consistent since he changed his mind." -- Christine O'Donnell
Nominees:
No End in Sight
Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience
Sicko
Taxi to the Dark Side
War Dance
Most of us have been (rightfully) interested in discussing Tuesday's election results...but the Oscars are only several weeks away, so we better start plowing through some of these categories. I'm probably one of the few on this board who's had the opportunity to see all the nominees in this category, so I'll start off this one.
This branch was lambasted for its pathetic taste for many years, and rightfully so, but I'll give them credit when it's earned: while none of the films in this lineup are great-great, it's a mostly impressive list.
What's particularly interesting is how different the three Iraq War films are. No End Sight is an exhaustive, journalistic examination of the blunders that led to the Iraq disaster. It enters the race with a mountain of buzz and critics trophies, and it's certainly the odds-on favorite to win.
I think Taxi to the Dark Side -- a more specific critique of the U.S. torture policy in Iraq and Guantanamo -- is equally good, and the angriest of these docs. My exposure to prison photographs and video has been pretty limited to newspapers and news spots, and I was outraged and horrified to see some of the footage in this film. It's very, very difficult to watch.
Operation Homecoming tugs most at the heartstrings, as it features a series of letters and thoughts written by the soldiers themselves. While the visuals strain at times -- it can feel like a book on tape set to images -- the words themselves are heartfelt and powerful. Maybe not a great film, but a worthy, emotional document.
Then there's Sicko, which for me is Michael Moore's quintessential film. Not his best, but the one that most exemplifies everything that's right and wrong with Moore's brand of filmmaking. The humorous sequences are outrageous (sailing to Cuba might be the funniest movie scene of the year) and the tragic ones are devastating (who couldn't be moved by the vignette about the woman who lost her child because no hospital would see her) -- Moore's ability to blend both within the same film without seeming tasteless is sort of remarkable. At the same time, Moore's worst trait -- his reliance on overstating the same simple point again and again -- is in abundance, and once the film gets into its second hour there's a feeling of redundancy. A significant picture, but one that could have benefited from the sprawling sense of complexity of No End in Sight.
War Dance is easily my least favorite of the bunch. While it has its moments of power, it's the sort of "authentic" portrait of a "foreign" community that feels whitewashed and pre-programmed. While not a complete waste-of-space nomination like March of the Penguins, it's strictly from the Born Into Brothels school of bland exoticism.
Since Bowling for Columbine, the obvious nominee in this category has prevailed, and I see no reason why No End in Sight won't continue this trend. It would be a deserving winner, though I do hope the attention given to Taxi to the Dark Side will cause more people to check out that film.
