Okri wrote:According to the roundup, we haven't done Best Picture, 1984 (though I could've sworn rain bard did it already), so I'll give that one to Reza.
If we have done that category, Reza gets original screenplay, 1971.
I guess it's Best Picture 1984 as it remains blank on the results page.
Amadeus
The Killing Fields
A Passage to India
Places in the Heart
A Soldier's Story
I actually like all the films in this lineup. However, what a thrill to give the award to David Lean's A Passage to India.
Well, no passes = no Streisand or Hepburn. Both are good performances, but I'd probably only consider Hepburn, and probably not for very long (and wouldn't it be mean to give someone with no passes left the best actor/1932 category?)
So who's left? Redgrave - I haven't seen. I really like her as an actress, though. Neal? She's quite good, actually, but I'm gonna go with Woodward's lovely performance
According to the roundup, we haven't done Best Picture, 1984 (though I could've sworn rain bard did it already), so I'll give that one to Reza.
If we have done that category, Reza gets original screenplay, 1971.
Original Screenplay 2000 is a pretty good lineup. The winner, Almost Famous, is a wonderfully personal script filled with rich characters; I have no passes left, so must look elsewhere.
Erin Brockovich is a very strong entry in the woman-bucks-the-system subgenre; You Can Count On Me is a marvelous character study that offers terrific roles for the actors; and even Gladiator is a well-constructed epic.
But I'm giving the PenelopOscar to Billy Elliot, a genuinely heart-warming study of class and gender, that never gets maudlin or sentimental, but always inspiring.
Okri: a bit of a tricky category, due to a tie win--Best Actress 1968.
"...it is the weak who are cruel, and...gentleness is only to be expected from the strong." - Leo Reston
"Cruelty might be very human, and it might be cultural, but it's not acceptable." - Jodie Foster
To Kill a Mockingbird is a wonderful and fully deserving winner but I'm not using my final pass on it. The award goes to the hardly less deserving Lolita.
2000
CINEMATOGRAPHY
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon ***
Gladiator
Malena
O Brother Where Art Thou?
The Patriot
My winner would be CTHD. The cinematography in 'Gladiator' was wonderful, and that of 'Malena' and 'The Patriot' very good but not particularly award-worthy. My vote goes to Roger Deakins and 'O Brother Where Art Thou?'.
Leo Genn - Quo Vadis
***Karl Malden - A Streetcar Named Desire
Kevin McCarthy - Death of a Salesman
Peter Ustinov - Quo Vadis
Gig Young - Come Fill the Cup
Noooooooo!!!!!! I can't give the award to the role I once played (badly)! There was nothing about the performances in Death of a Salesman I found award-worthy, but the other two I have not seen. So, I will award the PenelopOscar to Gig Young, for no other reason then that They Shoot Horses, Don't They is one of my favorites of all time.
Cinemanolis: Cinematography...in the year two-thousand!
"Jesus! Look at my hands! Now really, I am too young for liver spots. Maybe I can merge them together into a tan."
I thought that this lineup was truly fantastic (even Juno which I actually enjoyed). No Country for Old Men was an inspired choice. I thought There Will Be Blood was absolutely riveting. Michael Clayton was a throwback to the great character dramas of the 70's anchored by some fantastic performances, particularly Swinton and Clooney. I couldn't take my eyes off of it for a second. Atonement was a difficult novel to transition to the screen and was done successfully.
There Will Be Blood gets the PenelopOscar.
barrybrooks8: Best Supporting Actor, '51.
Edited By flipp525 on 1223256435
"The mantle of spinsterhood was definitely in her shoulders. She was twenty five and looked it."
I just can't believe Juno won. Easily, it's out...
My first choice was Michael Clayton, a film I really liked, unpretentious, nicely done, well acted... the screenplay is good but the term "original screenplay" has always struck me as if the word "original" actually makes some weight in the end.
Ratatouille is also definitely out. I'm a Pixar fan, I find Finding Nemo both entertaining and touching, and also daring, original, imaginative and so on. The Incredibles is extremely entertaining and amusing and I have some nice words to the other films. However, I found Ratatouille a fiasco. Great visuals but the screenplay was too "Deus Ex Machina" for my taste: SPOILER: the realistic enviroment and suddenly the rat plugs the hair and the arms fallows the movement? and for some reason I couldn't connect with the human main character.
The Savages has some wonderful lines. The dialogue is its best thing but then again, it's not that original.
Lars and the Real Girl takes the award. An original, honest and touching film, smart as very few films can nowdays. Michael Clayton came 2nd...
Flipp, Picture 2007
Edited By HarryGoldfarb on 1223092196
"If you place an object in a museum, does that make this object a piece of art?" - The Square (2017)
Fred Zinnemann – From Here to Eternity
George Stevens – Shane
Charles Walters – Lili
Billy Wilder – Stalag 17
William Wyler – Roman Holiday
Lets see. I don't mind tossing From Here to Eternity one bit- it's not bad but it's not particularly special either. Zinnemann is kinda the quintessential winner in this category in the 1950s.
I have not seen Lili yet. Shane and Stalag 17 have their merits, but I don't believe direction to be primary among them. So it's gonna be William Wyler, who integrated Hollywood style with a bit of a neorealist aesthetic and turned Roman Holiday into a film that transcends its genre.
Tough one. How do you differentiate between the tonal differences in 'E.T' and 'Tootsie'? To me, the triumphs of 'Tootsie' feel less calculated and assured than that of Spielberg's in 'E.T.'. This is America's most underrated sentimentalist on display so I'm giving it to Steven.
OscarGuy wrote:That's really too bad. Carol Channing is smashingly funny in Thoroughly Modern Millie. It's also a pretty fun film and if you haven't seen it, you really should. It's a great Julie Andrews flick.
That's really too bad. Carol Channing is smashingly funny in Thoroughly Modern Millie. It's also a pretty fun film and if you haven't seen it, you really should. It's a great Julie Andrews flick.
Wesley Lovell
"Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both." - Benjamin Franklin
