A Mandatory Pre-Academy Awards Post

February 22, 2015 Leave a comment

I just want this to be in time before the show begins. I have not watched all, but a few of the oscar nominations. The list is – The Imitation Game, The Theory Of Everything, Foxcatcher, Birdman, American Sniper. And then, the minor contenders like Interstellar, Guardians Of The Galaxy, Dawn Of The Planet of Apes, XMen Days Of Future Past, Gone Girl, etc.

So, I really don’t have a valid opinion on the best movie category. But I definitely have one on the best actor and a couple of other categories. But before that, a quick roundup and opinions about the primary five.

First things first. Mostly, they are all average fair that, even if you’d seen them before the list was announced, you would know straight away that more than honest cinema, they are a well planned attempt to win an oscar. They tick on all the basic parameters… Apparently true or theo-philosophical, perfect use of long silences, a level of darkness or morosity, a fundamentally flawed centerpiece, method acting…

But thats what you come to expect of oscar lists over a period of time. Therre is a patterrn to them. Almost like how Shahrukh Khan gets nominated for most awards even after delivering a Happy New Year. Or how Stardust looks at the last minute attendance confirmation to decide the optimal allocation of the available trophies. Everyone should get a return gift for having attended the ceremony. Even Tiger Shroff. or, Abhishek Bachchan.

Second, four of the movies are based on true stories, and one is a semi tragicomical shoutout to hollywood, with Keaton who played Batman once upon a time taking a dig at the superheroes and the larger than life supermormal hollywoodian personalities like himself and others as they try to discover true art, that is, broadway… And if you extend the logic a bit, Academy awards maybe.

Anyways, I am trying to come across as someone who is contending for the oscars for the best oscar blogppst. Profound and shit like that.

Actors… Redmayne is avearge. For a change, so is Cumberbatch. Cooper doesnt belong. That leaves us with Keaton and Carrell. I want Carrell to win, but I think Keaton has a better chance.

Supporting actor.. Hulk Norton is up against Hulk Ruffalo. I am rooting for Ruffalo. I think Ethan hawke might be the real contender. But I want Ruffalo to win.

Director.. Inarritu for Birdman from my list. Or, maybe Linklater for Boyhood. I have only seen parts of boyhood, and I am impressed. Will wrap it up soon.

And by that logic, the other person or movie could win the best film. It will be too obvious to give the same movie both the awards. And Academy folks hate being seen as Obvious.

For the other categories, I do not have enough data points. I did find Felicity Jones brilliant in The Theory Of Everything. Way better than Redmayne. Definitely better than Rosamund Pike.

I don’t think either Keira Knightley or Emma Stone deserve supporting actress award.

Oh and yes, best visual effects, I am torn between Interstellar and Dawn Of The Planet Of Apes. And for the best makeup, I think Guardians of the Galaxy is what I would vote for.

What do you guys thnk? Who gets your vote?

Filed under Movie Review Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Zero Dark Thirty – Entertaining Without Being SuperHeroic

February 16, 2013 2 Comments

zero-dark-thirty1

I  had a lot of apprehensions about watching this movie. For one, I was afraid of super-heroics. Second, it could a little too loaded on the American vantage point, and how they’ve figured out everything too easily, and hence, a little too biased. Third,  if neither of the above, then a boring docu-drama. Fourth, making it seem too either too profound or too easy.

My point is that there are so many reasons I may not have liked the content of the movie. And with all those apprehensions, the movie was sitting comfortably on the queue, giving space to the others. (Note: The last Oscar movie pending for me is Amour after this. And I still think its between Lincoln and Argo. Though Argo may win because of overcompensation)

Last night, the biwi insisted, and I agreed to take the plunge.

The movie runs for about two and a half hours (which is long), but is not boring. It’s very well paced, except for the probably the first five ten minutes as your mind settles into the rhythm. Watching a serious movie at home is different from watching it in a theater. Home has too many distractions to offer. Including the typical neo-urban habit of checking twitter, email ad facebook updates. So, does that mean score one for ZDT? Yes.

The movie, thankfully, doesn’t do too much of either of the problems I might have had. It shows the evil side of the pursuit, as well as the personal side. The tortures, the loneliness (“do you have any friend?” moment), the contrived judgement calls, the references to Iraq WMD fiascos. It’s detailed to the extent of being a documentary, heroic enough to seem like a victory, and yet does not go too crazy. It does not glorify anything, apart from the need for the job to be done. It’s a single minded (almost entirely fact based) retelling of the hunt for Osama Bin Laden, and Maya’s (Jessica Chastain) focused pursuit of the most dreaded terrorist, with that one solitary important lead. The approximations make you wonder if it really happened, and whether one fine morning, we won’t again see a videotape of Osama Bin Laden. And therein, to me, is the biggest success of Katheryn Bigelow and Mark Boal’s work.

Jessica Chastain starts of as an unlikely choice for being the centerpiece of this movie, but she is top grade. It’s very difficult to not come out of this movie and not root for as a top choice for best actress. The others needed to be good/adequate, and they all are. Jason Clarke is impressive though.

The ending makes you feel a little cheated, but its bound to happen in such movies. And as I mentioned, the movie is not really about heroics.

If you have time this weekend, do enjoy this one. I won’t go out on a limb supporting this for best picture like I would for Lincoln. But it’s a super fine movie. Loved it.

Where do I rate it? Probably, a 4 on 5.

 

(Image source: Boingboing.net)

Filed under Hollywood, Movie Review Tagged with , , , , , ,

Design a site like this with WordPress.com
Get started