OSCAR Predictions - Despite the fact that I will Still Boycott!

[ednbarby]

I agree.  I wouldn't feel too sorry for Little Miss Sunshine if I were you.  I hear the studio marketed the living daylights out of that one (sending screeners to *all* Academy members during the nomination voting) to even get it nominated, much like a certain "film" which shall remain nameless here.  And like that other movie, it didn't even deserve to be nominated.  It was OK overall and had a few good moments.

United 93 makes you feel like you're part of the action like nothing I've ever seen, too.  And now that you mention that about Children of Men, I'll have to see it!  Though I don't know if I want to mess up my stomach again like I did watching the former.  (I think it's still messed up as a result of it, actually.)

In a perfect world, no jokes this time, these are what should have been nominated for Best Picture IMO:

United 93
Pan's Labyrinth
An Inconvenient Truth
The Last King of Scotland
Little Children

Yes, I am now even venturing to say that The Departed doesn't deserve a nod in light of these other movies, either.  It's an extraordinarily good action movie.  That's all.  If it deserves a nod, then so does Casino Royale, which actually had better character development.

[opinionista]

Perfume: The Story of a Murderer ,  that film was just sublime.  Ben Whishaw should have been nominated for Best actor.  Of course i know why it's ignored, it was so badly marketed. that most people haven't even heard of the film .

I agree that The Perfume is a great movie, well done and well acted. However, the fact that it didn't make the Oscars didn't suprise me.  On one hand, I think it was mostly targeted to the european market, since the original novel was a success here. I never heard of it while I was in America.  On the other hand, despite the fact that I liked the movie, I don't think it was Oscar material. It failed to capture the essence of the story which are precisely the odors Jean Baptiste senses, and separates into different categories.  In fact, I honestly think this story should have never become a movie because it really kills its meaning since it's very hard to translate odors into visuals. That's precisely what made me like this novel so much, that as you read you could actually smell all the odors described.

[Penthesilea]

In fact, I honestly think this story should have never become a movie because it really kills its meaning since it's very hard to translate odors into visuals. That's precisely what made me like this novel so much, that as you read you could actually smell all the odors described.

Amen to that. I didn't like it at all. I thought it was overdone. E.g. the "smelling scenes". There were too many of it; I understood the principle the first time it was shown, I could've accepted if it had been shown a second time - but they showed similar scenes/shots in length throughout the movie They beat the audience over the head with it - and yet failed to convey it convincingly.

And the one crucial scene, the "execution" scene and what followed - this was already hard to accept in the book (if memory serves right, it's more than 10 years ago I read it) - but in the movie this scene was nothing but ridiculous.

I think you're right: they never should have tried to make a movie out of it.

[oilgun]

In fact, I honestly think this story should have never become a movie because it really kills its meaning since it's very hard to translate odors into visuals.

Well I, for one, am very grateful that they decided to make the film.  I haven't read the book of course, which is probably why I loved every second of the film.   I thought Jean-Baptiste Grenouille (strangely offensive name for a French guy, I thought) was one of the most tragic characters I've seen since, well , since Ennis Del Mar.  The only sour note was the absence of male/male couplings in the orgy scene, that's inexcusable.

Someone mentioned Casino Royale, which I loved.  Unfortunately, the scene in Venice in the collapsing palazzo, ruined its chances of a BP nom but Daniel Craig's performance should have been recognized, he's the only actor who can challenge Sean Connery for the title of best Bond ever.

[Meryl]

Someone mentioned Casino Royale, which I loved.  Unfortunately, the scene in Venice in the collapsing palazzo, ruined its chances of a BP nom but Daniel Craig's performance should have been recognized, he's the only actor who can challenge Sean Connery for the title of best Bond ever.

I agree about Daniel Craig, oilgun.  Could you expand on your reasons for why that particular scene ruined the film's chances?

[SFEnnisSF]

From Boxofficemojo:  'Epic,' 'Aces' Smoke Oscar Nominations
http://www.boxofficemojo.com/news/?id=2242&p=.htm
"Two lowbrow pictures, Epic Movie and Smokin' Aces, topped the weekend box office, overshadowing the highfalutin ones nominated for Academy Awards. Overall business dipped eight percent from the same frame last year when Big Momma's House 2 dominated." (And when Brokeback Mountain was selling up a storm!)

This only goes to prove my theory that the Academy tries to nominate movies that are doing poorly at the box office to increae box office sales (i.e. Munich, Babel, Venus, etc.) and it ain't working, the public still ain't buying tickets to those movies.  Hey Academy, try nominate movies based on Merit, not this industry pat on the back business crap, and maybe you'll instill the integrity into the Awards that is sorely missing and corrupt.  What a charade.

[Scott6373]

How do you REALLY feel Eric?  LOL   

[ednbarby]

Actually, I just saw Venus yesterday, and it was pretty damned good.  In fact, here's my newly-revised list of what *should* have been nominated:

United 93
Pan's Labyrinth
An Inconvenient Truth
The Last King of Scotland
Venus

None of these did very well at all at the box office, but each one is far superior, IMO, to every movie actually nominated.

To me, it should never be about box office sales, because, let's face it - if it were, these are what would be nominated this year:

Pirates of the Caribbean 2 - Dead Man's Chest
Cars
X-Men: The Last Stand
The Da Vinci Code
Night at the Museum

Do these really represent the best Hollywood has to offer?

I know you're talking about going for a happy medium, but I don't think any of these is worthy, nor is any of the next five:

Superman Returns
Ice Age: The Meltdown
Happy Feet
Casino Royale
Over The Hedge

I *loved* Casino Royale.  But Best Picture?  I think not.

Sorry to be a film snob, but it should be about quality and artistic achievement.  Unfortunately, they totally missed on that count this year, too.  My five nominees will stand the test of time.  Will any of theirs?  I can't think of a single one of them I'd ever want to watch again, as much as I enjoyed a couple of them.

By the way, it's starting to look like Little Miss Sunshine might just win it this year.  And nobody here should be happy about that - that studio got it there in the first place by sheer marketing savvy, not based on any artistic merit.  And now they just won the SAG as well as the Producers Guild Award.  Good grief.  I mean, I liked it, but REALLY.

(And you thought Eric was the outspoken one.)

[Scott6373]

(And you thought Eric was the outspoken one.)

I have NO illusions about your ability to speak your mind...LOL

[SFEnnisSF]

If Da Vinci Code had been released in December, it probably would have been nominated...