Slant Magazine's Predictions

Sabin
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Post by Sabin »

OSCAR RACE 2009: WINNER PREDICTIONS - SHORT (LIVE ACTION)
By: Ed Gonzalez On: 02/01/2009 14:37:15 In: Oscars Comments: 0

Manon on the Asphalt - 10%
New Boy - 30%
On the Line - 10%
The Pig - 10%
Toyland - 40%

Manon on the Asphalt is a whimsical evocation of a woman's life flashing before her eyes, but On the Line is the real standout here: The story of a department store security guard obsessed with a book clerk, Reto Caffi's short risks meet-cute contrivance until a horrifying act of violence provokes the main character to examine the implications of his infatuation. From Denmark, The Pig begins as mysteriously as On the Line ends, with an interesting relationship imagined between an older gentleman and the painting of a pig that hangs from his hospital room, only to devolve into a shrill, rather supremacist why-can't-we-all-just-get-along rant. If On the Line bears a striking resemblance to Revanche over in the foreign language category, so too does New Boy bring to mind The Class. Except this is a noticeably dumbed-down version of Laurent Cantet's Cannes prizewinner—one in which a young African immigrant boy struggles with bullies during his first day of class, his embarrassment intercut with scenes from his experiences inside his previous place of learning in violent, succulently shot Africa. Director Steph Green's literally infantilizes the struggle of immigrants trying to cope with their new surroundings, and though there's no doubt the short will appeal to the Academy (here's looking at you fans of Crash, Blood Diamond, The Visitor, and Frozen River), it's probably unwise to vote against Toyland. Throughout this WWII-set story of a woman who convinces her son that her Jewish neighbors are headed to Toyland, director Jochen Alexander Freydank risks the gross insult of The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, but he makes interesting use of chronology throughout, in the end foregrounding a woman's frightened courage and conviction to preserving life rather than making a tacky spectacle of death.

Will Win: Toyland

Should Win: On the Line
"How's the despair?"
Sabin
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Post by Sabin »

OSCAR RACE 2009: WINNER PREDICTIONS - SHORT (ANIMATED)
By: Ed Gonzalez On: 01/31/2009 16:23:49 In: Oscars Comments: 0

Lavatory Love Story - 25%
La Maison et Petit Cubes - 35%
Oktapoid - 10%
Presto - 15%
This Way Up - 20%


Strange that the only time Pixar won here was the same year it lostand tragically soin the race for Animated Feature. Nine years later, it seems doubtful that Presto, which accompanied WALL-E throughout its theatrical run, will end what's slowly becoming a Susan Lucci-esque losing streak: The story of a bunny who takes vengeance on the magician who denies him a carrot, the short is adorably feisty but forgettable. If you spend much of the film wondering what Chuck Jones could have done with it, you'll likely balk at Oktapoid, in which two octopi struggle to escape from the clutches of a delivery man, for seeming too much like an audition on the part of its six directors for a job at, yes, Pixar. Like Presto, Oktapoid lacks for poignancy, but neither film is as flippant as This Way Up, the story of two glum undertakers whose attempt to bury an old woman is constantly and inexplicably thwarted by the world around them. If This Way Up trivializes death, Lavatory Lovestory cutely celebrates the possibility of love blossoming in unexpected places, but Konstantin Bronstin's memorable short doesn't hold a candle to the only other 2D short in the category, La Maison en Petits Cubes. The strange account of an old man who builds his house up toward the heavens as the water that drowns the world continues to rise, Kunito Kato's production initially cries out for context, until the old man loses his pipe and his attempt to retrieve it from the lower levels of his home literally opens the floodgates of memory. The Triplets of Belleville cult will go nuts for Kato's expressionistic drawings and his intuitive evocation of loss and loneliness.

Will Win: La Maison en Petits Cubes

Should Win: La Maison en Petits Cubes




Edited By Sabin on 1233611127
"How's the despair?"
Sabin
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Post by Sabin »

OSCAR RACE 2009: WINNER PREDICTIONS - MAKEUP
By: Eric Henderson On: 01/30/2009 14:23:59 In: Oscars Comments: 1

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - 35%
The Dark Knight - 25%
Hellboy 2 - 40%

It's probably foolish to immediately write off the movie nominated in 12 other categories, but if there was one moment in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button that threw me clean out of the movie's up-to-then pretty seamless illusion, it was the moment the crane shot landed on Brad Pitt on that fishing boatthe precise point where the visual effects team hands the reigns of ancient Pitt over to the makeup team, who handle middle-aged Pitt. Granted, the movie doesn't truly get lost in Uncanny Valley until the VFX team makes their encore performance to turn the clock back (forward?) on Pitt's face, suggesting a PIXAR remake of Legends of the Fall. In any case, Benjamin Button has to have a better shot than The Dark Knight, unless all 38 Academy members who are both male and under 40 want to show their gratitude for helping them out with their Halloween costumes this year. (Like elderly Pitt, Two-Face is really more a VFX triumph.) Though Academy members might find its rogue's gallery a lot less Alice in Wonderland and a lot more Hellraiser, we're betting Guillermo Del Toro's Oscar goodwill continues here.

Will Win: Hellboy II

Should Win: Hellboy II




Edited By Sabin on 1233515918
"How's the despair?"
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