The academy almost always thumbs its nose at action and comedy (not to mention sci-fi and comics),
I was surprised at the amount of times they mentioned that during the ceremony. Will Smith, Hugh Jackman, Rogen and James Franco all had a dig at the academy for this. It wouldn't surprise me if a mainstream film got nominated next year.
It's Slumdog Millionaire. Now let the backlash begin! Danny Boyle, all style, no substance. Best Oscar show in years though.
It was completely all style and no substance, but what style it was. Although not great art by any means, I like that Slumdog Millionaire won. Although I would have been absolutely delighted if Wall-E or Gran Torino had won instead.
"He’s a man way out there in the blue, riding on a smile and a shoeshine. And when they start not smiling back—that’s an earthquake. and then you get yourself a couple of spots on your hat, and you’re finished. Nobody dast blame this man. A salesman is got to dream, boy. It comes with the territory." Death of a Salesman
I'm always extremely moved by the part of the show where they do the video montage of film people who've passed away.
This year, I was a bit annoyed by the way the show's director cut to long shots of the auditorium screen for some of the stars, rather than just putting them on the television X-(
Tell me about it. It was really hard to focus, although I was delighted that they ended with Paul Newman. That said, where was Heath Ledger? ?:)
I bloody hate Kate Winslet. Play the music please Mr Conductor. Get her off the stage.
Sorry JD. I adore Kate, and although I'm yet to see The Reader, I was delighted that she finally won, and I loved her speech. Plus, it meant that Meryl Streep didn't win for her vastly overrated performance.
5)I can't believe that neither Waltz With Bashir or The Class won Foreign Language Film.
"He’s a man way out there in the blue, riding on a smile and a shoeshine. And when they start not smiling back—that’s an earthquake. and then you get yourself a couple of spots on your hat, and you’re finished. Nobody dast blame this man. A salesman is got to dream, boy. It comes with the territory." Death of a Salesman
Of course. I had completely forgotten. I loved the speeches his family gave BTW.
"He’s a man way out there in the blue, riding on a smile and a shoeshine. And when they start not smiling back—that’s an earthquake. and then you get yourself a couple of spots on your hat, and you’re finished. Nobody dast blame this man. A salesman is got to dream, boy. It comes with the territory." Death of a Salesman
RogueAgentSpeeding in the Tumbler...Posts: 3,676MI6 Agent
edited February 2009
How tacky and disrespectful was it for whomever was in charge of the In Remembrance segment to pan the camera away as much as they did instead of just flashing everyone's image onscreen?
Why did they feel that showing those who've passed on in such a manner? It was annoying as hell. X-(
BTW, Benjamin Button stole alot of Oscars undeserving of it...I don't want to bring up Slumdog... 8-)
Mrs. Man Face: "You wouldn't hit a lady? Would you?"
Batman: "The Hammer Of Justice isUNISEX!"
-Batman: The Brave & The Bold -
BTW, Benjamin Button stole alot of Oscars undeserving of it...I don't want to bring up Slumdog... 8-)
Benjy Button would be a great film, if it was 15 minutes long and had no dialogue. Still I liked it more than Milk, or Slumdog. Of the 5 Frost/Nixon was my favourite. But there were better films for me last year. Like In Bruges, Changeling, Tropic Thunder, or the lovely, bone-crunching Punisher: War Zone.
RogueAgentSpeeding in the Tumbler...Posts: 3,676MI6 Agent
Benjy Button would be a great film, if it was 15 minutes long and had no dialogue. Still I liked it more than Milk, or Slumdog. Of the 5 Frost/Nixon was my favourite. But there were better films for me last year. Like In Bruges, Changeling, Tropic Thunder, or the lovely, bone-crunching Punisher: War Zone.
Agreed JD. BB was an extremely overrated film. It was my least favourite of the Best Picture nominees (yet to see The Reader.) My favourite of the five would have to be a tie between Frost/Nixon and Slum Dog Millionaire, followed by Milk and then Benjamin Button. I was extremely disappointed with BB, especially as David Fincher is one of my favourite directors.
Like you, there were many films I preferred more: Wall-E, In Bruges, Gran Torino, Changeling, Waltz With Bashir, The Class, Iron Man, The Bank Job and, this may shock you, Revolutionary Road. :v
"He’s a man way out there in the blue, riding on a smile and a shoeshine. And when they start not smiling back—that’s an earthquake. and then you get yourself a couple of spots on your hat, and you’re finished. Nobody dast blame this man. A salesman is got to dream, boy. It comes with the territory." Death of a Salesman
DS, you jest surely. Wall-E best screenplay? What dialogue was there?
Not at all. I loved the screenplay. It's true that there was almost no dialogue, however that's not a requirement. Afterall, all films, even silent ones, have to start somewhere, and I think that what was expressed without words in Wall-E was more beautif :xl than what was expressed in countless talk-fests.
"He’s a man way out there in the blue, riding on a smile and a shoeshine. And when they start not smiling back—that’s an earthquake. and then you get yourself a couple of spots on your hat, and you’re finished. Nobody dast blame this man. A salesman is got to dream, boy. It comes with the territory." Death of a Salesman
RogueAgentSpeeding in the Tumbler...Posts: 3,676MI6 Agent
BTW, Benjamin Button stole alot of Oscars undeserving of it...I don't want to bring up Slumdog... 8-)
Benjamin Button won three Oscars; two of which I have no problem with. Visual Effects, however, should have gone to Iron Man.
I remember turning to my son and saying that IM got hosed on that one.
It felt that the only reason IM got nominated at all was the committee trying to show that they could be hip or something. What a joke. 8-)
Mrs. Man Face: "You wouldn't hit a lady? Would you?"
Batman: "The Hammer Of Justice isUNISEX!"
-Batman: The Brave & The Bold -
It does. I hated it. No wait, that makes sense now. The Reader is a load of pompous nonsense. If you want a troubling Nazi love story, watch The Night Porter instead. Though Winslet is good in it and probably deserves her Oscar, though her over-emoting during her speech made me want to eat my television and puke it up.
Though Winslet is good in it and probably deserves her Oscar, though her over-emoting during her speech made me want to eat my television and puke it up.
I loved her speech. Her comment about being a little girl and rehearsing a speech using a shampoo bottle in her bathroom reminded me, that for all her fame, fortune and success, she's just a fan at heart.
"He’s a man way out there in the blue, riding on a smile and a shoeshine. And when they start not smiling back—that’s an earthquake. and then you get yourself a couple of spots on your hat, and you’re finished. Nobody dast blame this man. A salesman is got to dream, boy. It comes with the territory." Death of a Salesman
I loved her speech. Her comment about being a little girl and rehearsing a speech using a shampoo bottle in her bathroom reminded me, that for all her fame, fortune and success, she's just a fan at heart.
She said she was 8 years old. I'm sure she meant 28.
She said she was 8 years old. I'm sure she meant 28.
Probably. )
"He’s a man way out there in the blue, riding on a smile and a shoeshine. And when they start not smiling back—that’s an earthquake. and then you get yourself a couple of spots on your hat, and you’re finished. Nobody dast blame this man. A salesman is got to dream, boy. It comes with the territory." Death of a Salesman
BTW, Benjamin Button stole alot of Oscars undeserving of it...I don't want to bring up Slumdog... 8-)
Benjamin Button won three Oscars; two of which I have no problem with. Visual Effects, however, should have gone to Iron Man.
I remember turning to my son and saying that IM got hosed on that one.
It felt that the only reason IM got nominated at all was the committee trying to show that they could be hip or something. What a joke. 8-)
Since Button was completely shut out of all the "prestigious" awards, I guess the academy felt they could make up for it by throwing it a few technical ones instead. I can understand recognizing makeup, but no way on special effects.
There was a time when the academy would at least throw genre movies a bone and recognize them for their technical achievements. These days it seems they've become too stodgy to do even that.
1)I can not believe that Milk won Original Screenplay, ahead of both In Bruges and Wall-E. X-(
Agree wholeheartedly with Dan on this point. Milk tells the true story of Harvey Milk the openly gay mayor of San Francisco, who was tragically killed, essentially a biography. Wall-e tells the story of a small waste collecting robot, the last surviving thing on earth, that falls in love with a probe robot and saves the human race. Throughout the movie Wall-e communicates his thoughts and feeling without uttering a word. Wall-e's story is inventive, fresh and unique, far more deserving than Milk.
DS, you jest surely. Wall-E best screenplay? What dialogue was there?
Dialogue wasn't necessary, the screenwriters were inventive enough to write a story and create situations, that allowed Wall-e to communicate without speaking. Far more creative than writing dialogue.
Throughout the movie Wall-e communicates his thoughts and feeling without uttering a word. Wall-e's story is inventive, fresh and unique, far more deserving than Milk.
The clip read out from the Wall-E screenplay was beautifully written. I have yet to see the film, but that convinced me to have a look. And I thought Steve Martin and Tina Fey did the best job of presenting an award. Also Ben Stiller's p***-take of Joaquin Pheonix was pretty funny.
Agree wholeheartedly with Dan on this point. Milk tells the true story of Harvey Milk the openly gay mayor of San Francisco, who was tragically killed, essentially a biography. Wall-e tells the story of a small waste collecting robot, the last surviving thing on earth, that falls in love with a probe robot and saves the human race. Throughout the movie Wall-e communicates his thoughts and feeling without uttering a word. Wall-e's story is inventive, fresh and unique, far more deserving than Milk.
{[]
"He’s a man way out there in the blue, riding on a smile and a shoeshine. And when they start not smiling back—that’s an earthquake. and then you get yourself a couple of spots on your hat, and you’re finished. Nobody dast blame this man. A salesman is got to dream, boy. It comes with the territory." Death of a Salesman
And I thought Steve Martin and Tina Fey did the best job of presenting an award.
The Screenplay awards weren't televised in Australia, so I youtubed the presentation. Martin (whom I adore) and Fey (whom I'm in l :xve with) were fantastic.
Also Ben Stiller's p***-take of Joaquin Pheonix was pretty funny.
It was. )
"He’s a man way out there in the blue, riding on a smile and a shoeshine. And when they start not smiling back—that’s an earthquake. and then you get yourself a couple of spots on your hat, and you’re finished. Nobody dast blame this man. A salesman is got to dream, boy. It comes with the territory." Death of a Salesman
What wasn't funny, Jennifer Anniston and Jack Black, their dialogue was awful. I also didn't care for the guys (sorry I forget who it was) who presented for Best Short Film, completely botching the winners name and then sophomorically laughing about it. And finally, Bill Maher first whining that he wasn't nominated for his film, and then making a comment that we need to stop worshipping all these gods (paraphrase). Only in Hollywood.
Reviewing my thoughts on the Oscars. First off I did not see any of the Major films nominated, except for Dark Knight, but I'll catch up.
Without a score card it was impossible to follow the nominees, or a lot of the winners for that matter, how about some text on the screen? The actor's celebrating their co-workers on stage might have seemed to be a good idea, but it just made me squirm in my chair (with a few notable exceptions) it really showcased why these actors no longer do live TV. I missed seeing lengthy clips from the nominated films, it did a disservice to the audience at home and certainly didn't make me want to rush out and see any of the films. Whoever wrote the dialog for the presenters was off the mark as well tonight, only Steve Martin and Ben Stiller's take on ex-film star current "rapper" stood out, I think I laughed once. The Remembrance seqment was also a travesty, how about some silence and respect for your follow professionals, tacky, tacky, tacky.
Again I will give them credit for mixing it up this year, but it was a HUGE failure in my opinion. It seemed to me the emphasis on song and dance is misplaced and time consuming, again this should be a celebration of film, let's see some.
Fair play, but then again I'm not sure ANY movies are generating that much hoo-ha, if you catch my drift. I don't think there's a layer of brilliant movies out there snobbishly unappreciated by Oscar imo. I didn't rate the blockbuster big hitters of last year much.
There's an interesting poll over at CNN which I think nicely demonstrates the Oscars' disconnect from the interests of mainstream audiences:
Question:
Do you plan on going to see the top Oscar winners?
Poll Results:
Yes - 8% - 1687
Already have - 8% - 1590
Will wait for DVD - 31% - 6165
No - 53% - 10534
I find it very enlightening that over half the respondents haven't seen any of Oscar's "heavy-hitters", and have no plan to ever see them.
Enlightening yes, but also sad IMO. Maybe not all, but some of the nominated films were very good IMO. I don't know anyone, other than John Drake, who saw Slumdog and wasn't impressed. (BTW John, you are entitled to your opinion, I just mentioned you because you ARE the only one I know)
I attribute the polls response to several things, some of the films are rather downbeat, times such as they are, no one needs any additional reason to feel down. Much of the country has an anti-Hollywood mentality. Hollywood is left leaning socially, and much of the country is not and I think they see some of these films as political in nature. Guys like Sean Penn and Bill Maher don't help Hollywood. Lastly, some of these films require a certain amount of concentration and thought, and some people want to go to the movies just to be entertained with light hearted fair. Nothing wrong with that, just different strokes for different folks.
All of the above is based on nothing but my conjecture and I may very well be wrong.
I don't know anyone, other than John Drake, who saw Slumdog and wasn't impressed. (BTW John, you are entitled to your opinion, I just mentioned you because you ARE the only one I know)
I think I may be the only person in the world who doesn't like Slumdog. ;%
It wasn't a great year for film to be honest. I've got a feeling next year will be the most mainstream Oscars we'll have seen in a long time. If they are losing viewers and advertising money, then they will do what they have to to make people watch. If that means opening up the Oscars to mainstream films, they'll do it.
I don't feel that any of the other four films nominated were small arthouse movies. They operate between the arthouse and the multiplex. Serious enough so people will be proud of themselves for seeing them, but not as demanding as proper art movies that ask something of the viewer.
There's an interesting poll over at CNN which I think nicely demonstrates the Oscars' disconnect from the interests of mainstream audiences:
Question:
Do you plan on going to see the top Oscar winners?
Poll Results:
Yes - 8% - 1687
Already have - 8% - 1590
Will wait for DVD - 31% - 6165
No - 53% - 10534
I find it very enlightening that over half the respondents haven't seen any of Oscar's "heavy-hitters", and have no plan to ever see them.
Quite illuminating.There was a time when I made a point of seeing as many nominated films as possible, but while the occasional esoteric movie is not without it's appeal,I generally prefer to see mainstream films.
At one ceremony years ago, the Academy only nominated independent films;but those--in marked contrast to most of what we saw honored last night-- were remarkably mainstream in content and style.They were practically throwbacks to old Hollywood.How times and styles change.
Genre films will never have an easy time with the Academy, many of whose members apparently believe that movies like Iron Man and Dark Knight are somehow less "important" than the equally fantastic but obvious Oscar-sniffing pictures like Benjamin Button.Maybe if Iron Man and Batman had also been created by F.Scott Fitzgerald things would have been different...
And whatever happened to the quality of original movie music?I suspect that the unfortunate and absolutely unmelodic Oscar winner "It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp" will be remembered long after the tunes from Slumdog Millionaire are forgotten.
The producers should've made sure that the viewers at home could easily see the "In Memoriam" montages.I didn't care for the cameras cutting away during this tribute.
Hugh Jackman did a wonderful job and I hope he's invited back for future Oscar telecasts.Time for the standup comedians to step aside for awhile.
Overall,everybody seemed relatively happy and the awards were probably distributed as fairly as possible.Nice to see Jerry Lewis finally get some serious recognition from the Academy but it should've happened several years earlier.
Comments
I was surprised at the amount of times they mentioned that during the ceremony. Will Smith, Hugh Jackman, Rogen and James Franco all had a dig at the academy for this. It wouldn't surprise me if a mainstream film got nominated next year.
1)I can not believe that Milk won Original Screenplay, ahead of both In Bruges and Wall-E. X-(
2) I loved all of the songs nominated, especially 'Jai Ho' (which won) and "Down to Earth" from Wall-E.
3) Tell me about it.
4) Sorry JD. I adore Kate, and although I'm yet to see The Reader, I was delighted that she finally won, and I loved her speech.
5)I can't believe that neither Waltz With Bashir or The Class won Foreign Language Film.
In last year's montage.
Why did they feel that showing those who've passed on in such a manner? It was annoying as hell. X-(
BTW, Benjamin Button stole alot of Oscars undeserving of it...I don't want to bring up Slumdog... 8-)
Batman: "The Hammer Of Justice is UNISEX!"
-Batman: The Brave & The Bold -
Benjy Button would be a great film, if it was 15 minutes long and had no dialogue. Still I liked it more than Milk, or Slumdog. Of the 5 Frost/Nixon was my favourite. But there were better films for me last year. Like In Bruges, Changeling, Tropic Thunder, or the lovely, bone-crunching Punisher: War Zone.
Yes, thank you! {[]
B-) Glad you liked it.
Batman: "The Hammer Of Justice is UNISEX!"
-Batman: The Brave & The Bold -
Roger Moore 1927-2017
Agreed JD. BB was an extremely overrated film. It was my least favourite of the Best Picture nominees (yet to see The Reader.) My favourite of the five would have to be a tie between Frost/Nixon and Slum Dog Millionaire, followed by Milk and then Benjamin Button. I was extremely disappointed with BB, especially as David Fincher is one of my favourite directors.
Like you, there were many films I preferred more: Wall-E, In Bruges, Gran Torino, Changeling, Waltz With Bashir, The Class, Iron Man, The Bank Job and, this may shock you, Revolutionary Road. :v
I remember turning to my son and saying that IM got hosed on that one.
It felt that the only reason IM got nominated at all was the committee trying to show that they could be hip or something. What a joke. 8-)
Batman: "The Hammer Of Justice is UNISEX!"
-Batman: The Brave & The Bold -
It does. I hated it. No wait, that makes sense now.
That was a great film. Perverse, yes, but certainly great. {[]
I loved her speech. Her comment about being a little girl and rehearsing a speech using a shampoo bottle in her bathroom reminded me, that for all her fame, fortune and success, she's just a fan at heart.
She said she was 8 years old. I'm sure she meant 28.
Since Button was completely shut out of all the "prestigious" awards, I guess the academy felt they could make up for it by throwing it a few technical ones instead. I can understand recognizing makeup, but no way on special effects.
There was a time when the academy would at least throw genre movies a bone and recognize them for their technical achievements. These days it seems they've become too stodgy to do even that.
Agree wholeheartedly with Dan on this point. Milk tells the true story of Harvey Milk the openly gay mayor of San Francisco, who was tragically killed, essentially a biography. Wall-e tells the story of a small waste collecting robot, the last surviving thing on earth, that falls in love with a probe robot and saves the human race. Throughout the movie Wall-e communicates his thoughts and feeling without uttering a word. Wall-e's story is inventive, fresh and unique, far more deserving than Milk.
Dialogue wasn't necessary, the screenwriters were inventive enough to write a story and create situations, that allowed Wall-e to communicate without speaking. Far more creative than writing dialogue.
The clip read out from the Wall-E screenplay was beautifully written. I have yet to see the film, but that convinced me to have a look. And I thought Steve Martin and Tina Fey did the best job of presenting an award. Also Ben Stiller's p***-take of Joaquin Pheonix was pretty funny.
It was.
Without a score card it was impossible to follow the nominees, or a lot of the winners for that matter, how about some text on the screen? The actor's celebrating their co-workers on stage might have seemed to be a good idea, but it just made me squirm in my chair (with a few notable exceptions) it really showcased why these actors no longer do live TV. I missed seeing lengthy clips from the nominated films, it did a disservice to the audience at home and certainly didn't make me want to rush out and see any of the films. Whoever wrote the dialog for the presenters was off the mark as well tonight, only Steve Martin and Ben Stiller's take on ex-film star current "rapper" stood out, I think I laughed once. The Remembrance seqment was also a travesty, how about some silence and respect for your follow professionals, tacky, tacky, tacky.
Again I will give them credit for mixing it up this year, but it was a HUGE failure in my opinion. It seemed to me the emphasis on song and dance is misplaced and time consuming, again this should be a celebration of film, let's see some.
Question:
Do you plan on going to see the top Oscar winners?
Poll Results:
Yes - 8% - 1687
Already have - 8% - 1590
Will wait for DVD - 31% - 6165
No - 53% - 10534
I find it very enlightening that over half the respondents haven't seen any of Oscar's "heavy-hitters", and have no plan to ever see them.
Roger Moore 1927-2017
Enlightening yes, but also sad IMO. Maybe not all, but some of the nominated films were very good IMO. I don't know anyone, other than John Drake, who saw Slumdog and wasn't impressed. (BTW John, you are entitled to your opinion, I just mentioned you because you ARE the only one I know)
I attribute the polls response to several things, some of the films are rather downbeat, times such as they are, no one needs any additional reason to feel down. Much of the country has an anti-Hollywood mentality. Hollywood is left leaning socially, and much of the country is not and I think they see some of these films as political in nature. Guys like Sean Penn and Bill Maher don't help Hollywood. Lastly, some of these films require a certain amount of concentration and thought, and some people want to go to the movies just to be entertained with light hearted fair. Nothing wrong with that, just different strokes for different folks.
All of the above is based on nothing but my conjecture and I may very well be wrong.
I think I may be the only person in the world who doesn't like Slumdog. ;%
It wasn't a great year for film to be honest. I've got a feeling next year will be the most mainstream Oscars we'll have seen in a long time. If they are losing viewers and advertising money, then they will do what they have to to make people watch. If that means opening up the Oscars to mainstream films, they'll do it.
I don't feel that any of the other four films nominated were small arthouse movies. They operate between the arthouse and the multiplex. Serious enough so people will be proud of themselves for seeing them, but not as demanding as proper art movies that ask something of the viewer.
Quite illuminating.There was a time when I made a point of seeing as many nominated films as possible, but while the occasional esoteric movie is not without it's appeal,I generally prefer to see mainstream films.
At one ceremony years ago, the Academy only nominated independent films;but those--in marked contrast to most of what we saw honored last night-- were remarkably mainstream in content and style.They were practically throwbacks to old Hollywood.How times and styles change.
Genre films will never have an easy time with the Academy, many of whose members apparently believe that movies like Iron Man and Dark Knight are somehow less "important" than the equally fantastic but obvious Oscar-sniffing pictures like Benjamin Button.Maybe if Iron Man and Batman had also been created by F.Scott Fitzgerald things would have been different...
And whatever happened to the quality of original movie music?I suspect that the unfortunate and absolutely unmelodic Oscar winner "It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp" will be remembered long after the tunes from Slumdog Millionaire are forgotten.
The producers should've made sure that the viewers at home could easily see the "In Memoriam" montages.I didn't care for the cameras cutting away during this tribute.
Hugh Jackman did a wonderful job and I hope he's invited back for future Oscar telecasts.Time for the standup comedians to step aside for awhile.
Overall,everybody seemed relatively happy and the awards were probably distributed as fairly as possible.Nice to see Jerry Lewis finally get some serious recognition from the Academy but it should've happened several years earlier.
This was one of the better shows.