My first complete Oscar predictions of the year

[criddic3]

I love Lost in Translation. I like Titanic quite a bit. I didn't like Inception when I saw it the first time or the second. And that's okay.

Okay, you're right. I didn't mean to imply that everyone had to like the movie. I was just saying that there seem to be people who like to say they hate something (and vice versa) just to stand out from the crowd, regardless of what they really think. Those people annoy me, because I'd rather they were honest about it, and not just being contrary for the sake of going against the crowd.

[Sabin]

(criddic3 @ Dec. 11 2010,12:48)

I found the DiCaprio character's obsession in Inception to be quite moving.

I suppose different strokes for different folks. I found it absolutely impossible to become emotionally engaged in his obsession because his relationship with Mal (FUCK. OFF. NOLAN!) was such joyless, never-ending torture. I have the same problem with Innaritu. At a certain point for me to enjoy these characters, I have to experience some form of joy. Repeat: I have to experience some form of joy. Now, I can't experience that joy if A) I'm being told and re-told everything that happened to them in never-ending expo-dumping, and B) there is no joy!

(criddic3 @ Dec. 11 2010,12:48)

And it's funny because when it was in theaters everybody was saying how much they loved it, and now people are saying it's confusing.

Speaking for myself, I never said I loved it. I never said I liked it. I found it confusing because when I saw it, I was quite tired. And then I remembered their motivation for delving into Fisher's brain and it occurred to me why I was incredibly uninvolved in the plot: because I don't care about Fisher.

(criddic3 @ Dec. 11 2010,12:48)

Reminds me of what happened with Lost in Translation. People who saw it when it originally in theaters said they loved it, but when it came out on VHS and then DVD, people started saying they hated it. Same with Titanic (an even closer comparison, since both are epic visual F/X movies starring DiCaprio). I think people just like to contrast themselves to the popular opinion. When something becomes too popular, they think it's not cool anymore. This is especially true of those who want to differentiate "art" from "popcorn." Once in a while art and popcorn are in sync, so the "art" crowd likes to pretend it's just "popcorn" so they can deride it as trash.

Every year or two, a film attracts an especially obnoxious flock of fans who embrace a film like it's the second coming of a messiah that gives them film school hand-jobs. This year, it is Inception with a bullet. People who love Inception are fucking obnoxious, especially in their insistence that if I don't like Inception there is something wrong with me. I love Lost in Translation. I like Titanic quite a bit. I didn't like Inception when I saw it the first time or the second. And that's okay.

(Sonic Youth @ Dec. 11 2010,10:04)

(criddic3 @ Dec. 11 2010,1:48)

Once in a while art and popcorn are in sync, so the "art" crowd likes to pretend it's just "popcorn" so they can deride it as trash.

Or bad art.

Your bad art's in my bad popcorn! Your bad popcorn's in my bad art! Together they taste like obnoxious.



Edited By Sabin on 1292201520

[dreaMaker]

you can't form emotional attachment to anything

I found the DiCaprio character's obsession in Inception to be quite moving. I also have thought that people calling this a confusing film must have missed portions of the movie, because while it was playing I followed it pretty well. Now I couldn't explain the movie in one paragraph without tripping over the details, but while it was moving I found it very entertaining and actually a lot of fun. And it's funny because when it was in theaters everybody was saying how much they loved it, and now people are saying it's confusing. Reminds me of what happened with Lost in Translation. People who saw it when it originally in theaters said they loved it, but when it came out on VHS and then DVD, people started saying they hated it. Same with Titanic (an even closer comparison, since both are epic visual F/X movies starring DiCaprio). I think people just like to contrast themselves to the popular opinion. When something becomes too popular, they think it's not cool anymore. This is especially true of those who want to differentiate "art" from "popcorn." Once in a while art and popcorn are in sync, so the "art" crowd likes to pretend it's just "popcorn" so they can deride it as trash.

Exactly what I thought, criddic!

[Sonic Youth]

Once in a while art and popcorn are in sync, so the "art" crowd likes to pretend it's just "popcorn" so they can deride it as trash.

Or bad art.

[FilmFan720]

I haven't seen Inception yet, but a lot of these people were railing against it back in the summer too. I heard just as many negative reviews in July as I did positive ones.

[criddic3]

you can't form emotional attachment to anything

I found the DiCaprio character's obsession in Inception to be quite moving. I also have thought that people calling this a confusing film must have missed portions of the movie, because while it was playing I followed it pretty well. Now I couldn't explain the movie in one paragraph without tripping over the details, but while it was moving I found it very entertaining and actually a lot of fun. And it's funny because when it was in theaters everybody was saying how much they loved it, and now people are saying it's confusing. Reminds me of what happened with Lost in Translation. People who saw it when it originally in theaters said they loved it, but when it came out on VHS and then DVD, people started saying they hated it. Same with Titanic (an even closer comparison, since both are epic visual F/X movies starring DiCaprio). I think people just like to contrast themselves to the popular opinion. When something becomes too popular, they think it's not cool anymore. This is especially true of those who want to differentiate "art" from "popcorn." Once in a while art and popcorn are in sync, so the "art" crowd likes to pretend it's just "popcorn" so they can deride it as trash.



Edited By criddic3 on 1292050381

[Mister Tee]

Sandy Powell was kind of blase when she won her third Oscar this year and sort of called out the Academy on only nominating/giving Costume Design Oscars to period pieces and almost never for contemporary work. I think some people didn't like that.

Well, when it comes to nominations for Oscars, those "some people" would have to constitute a majority of the Costume Department for her not even to be included in the top five costumes of the year.

Yea, I'd argue there ar alot of costume designers -- the ones not working on period pictures -- who very much appreciated what she said.

[rolotomasi99]

Sandy Powell was kind of blase when she won her third Oscar this year and sort of called out the Academy on only nominating/giving Costume Design Oscars to period pieces and almost never for contemporary work. I think some people didn't like that.

Well, when it comes to nominations for Oscars, those "some people" would have to constitute a majority of the Costume Department for her not even to be included in the top five costumes of the year.

[anonymous1980]

Sandy Powell was kind of blase when she won her third Oscar this year and sort of called out the Academy on only nominating/giving Costume Design Oscars to period pieces and almost never for contemporary work. I think some people didn't like that.

[rolotomasi99]

Having seen the trailer for The Tempest, I am sure it will be nominated for Costume Design. The clothes look to be an amalgam of period and contemporary, but they sure as call attention to themselves with their flamboyance. And as Tee pointed out, all three of Julie Taymor's previous movies received nominations in this category.

Sandy Powell making costumes for a Julie Taymor film adaptation of a Shakespearean play guarantees a nomination. I think it is actually written into the Academy rules or something.

[Damien]

Having seen the trailer for The Tempest, I am sure it will be nominated for Costume Design. The clothes look to be an amalgam of period and contemporary, but they sure as call attention to themselves with their flamboyance. And as Tee pointed out, all three of Julie Taymor's previous movies received nominations in this category.

[Sabin]

Why would it piss me off? All the Harry Potter movies I've seen sound great. And I don't need to see it to assume this one is no different. Does Alexandre Desplat have better things to do be doing with his talents than scoring Harry Potter and goddamn Twilight movies? Sure, but a new boat's a new boat.

[anonymous1980]

I loved Desplat's scores for The Ghost Writer and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 (I know how much that pisses you off, Sabin).

[Sabin]

I just listened to Alexandre Desplat's score for The King's Speech. It's kind of a shame that after three superior nominations (let alone Birth, Girl with a Pearl Earring, The Beat My Heart Skipped, Lust, Caution, and The Painted Veil) that he's going to win for this. It's good in a Rachel Portman sort of way, but he's capable of so much more. This year alone, his scores for A Prophet and The Ghost Writer were miles better. Last year's score for Fantastic Mr. Fox was absolutely delightful. And I'm steadily more and more impressed with his work on The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Banish any prayer of Trent Reznor holding an Oscar from your mind.

[rolotomasi99]

After spending most of the end of 2009 and the beginning of 2010 railing against Best Picture going to a bloated f/x driven Hollywood monstrosity like AVATAR over the quiet beauty of an art house film like THE HURT LOCKER, I must say I would be quite happy to see INCEPTION win the top prize over any of the smaller films this year.
While the last few Best Picture winners have been pleasant surprises (with the exception of SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE), I would be happy to see the Academy branch out into genres they do not usually acknowledge. THE RETURN OF THE KING took care of Fantasy, so now we need a good Sci-fi and Horror film to win Best Picture. Just for something different.
Even if I agree with everyone that INCEPTION is not the best film of the year, I feel like it would be such a boost to the stodgy Academy. I have no problems with many of the films being discussed as possible BP winners, but both THE SOCIAL NETWORK and THE KING’S SPEECH seem guilty of forgetting cinema should first and foremost be a visual medium. The screenplay’s and acting are good in both, but the director’s seemed to think all they were expected to do was make sure the images on camera were pretty rather than a third voice for the audience. The dialogue and actors cannot be the only way to relay information in a movie.
I appreciated INCEPTION telling its story visually. If you just paid attention to the dialogue, then maybe it was pretty confusing. However, Nolan puts in many visual cues for the audience. He is using the art of cinema to tell a story in a way no other medium could. To me, that deserves rewarding.