Oscars 2016: the unintentional CB4 sequel

Way back in 1993, just after departing Saturday Night Live, Chris Rock starred in and co-wrote a pretty underrated comedy/musical on the hip-hop/r & b music scene of the day; not to mention a look at African-American culture as perceived by black people thinking of how white people saw them.  It was named CB4; and was ostensibly a parody and homage to Dr. Dre and N.W.A and Public Enemy along with other like minded artists.  Typical of audiences at the time, CB4 was give good write up yet meager box office.  It did not even matter that Phil Hartman was in this movie, as were a litany of important African-American celebrities.  Few Caucasian audiences saw CB4, nor even bothered to understand the social commentary within the laughter.

So we flash forward 23 years, and it is the night of the 88th annual Oscars, or Academy Awards if you are more perfunctory.  I watched it, and I was quite impressed with Chris Rock throughout the night.  I also applaud the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in their commitment to be more diversified in their minority outreaches.  Yet, here is the rub: and mind you, I do say this being a white Caucasian man of 33.  As the night went on, the knowledge of the current African-American issues and the white counterparts were becoming a bit much.  Now, it was supposed to become a bit much.  However, it appeared that we were watching a real life CB4 occur.

By that I mean, a lot of what was mentioned was brilliant and thoughtful.  None the less, for every two brilliant observations, thee were at least the same amount of questionable and awkward moments.  Once again even the awkward moments were unintentional, yet there they were.  For instance,  was there a need for Stacey Dash's appearance? I am not so sure putting forth an appearance from a rare Republican-oriented celebrity was successful.  Also, while I do applaud the quick and important pledge drive for audience members to donate $65,000 for the Girls Scouts; it did come on the same night a number of African-American artists, including Ava Duvernay, were hosting a fundraiser in Flint, Michigan in support of alleviating the poisoned water crisis.  The donated totals for that fundraiser were less than the amount of money donated to the Girl Scouts on Oscar night.

In addition, when the three young Asian-American men were presented as members of Price Waterhouse Coopers, I think the joke fell flat on its face.  Fortunately, that is about the only missteps I had noticed.  Pretty much everything else was on point and rather hilarious.  What might be found as awkward are moments I thought were brilliant.  Now, there is a big difference between the Oscars and the Grammys:  in the Oscars, the awards matter along with the show.  Indeed, the awards make the show and always have.

Well, I was not 100% on my predictions. Indeed, some of my predictions were way off.  So, you may be wondering, what do I think of these newly minted award winners?  On the surface, I have few to no complaints whatsoever.  None the less, were I to go category by category, here is what I would consider of these award winners.

Best Visual Effects: I was genuinely surprised to see Ex Machina win.  A damn good movie, one in which I hope more people will look at in the near future.  It was amazing how Alicia Vikander looked in that movie.

Best Film Editing:  No surprise it went to Mad Max: Fury Road

Best Makeup and Hairstyle:  Once again it was Mad Max: Fury Road

Best Production Design:  Mad Max: Fury Road won the award.  I had an idea it would go that route.

Best Sound Editing:  it was Mad Max: Fury Road once again.  I of course am quite pleased with the decision.

Best Animated Short Film:  This was one of the biggest surprises of the night.  I was expecting World Of Tomorrow to have won the award.  In its place the Oscar went to Bear Story, which is unique in it is the first Chilean movie to receive an Oscar of any sort.

Best Live-Action Short Film:  The award went to Stutterer, a short film which I was not certain would win the Oscar.  I was not expecting it, and indeed I have yet to see the short film.  Hopefully it is well made.

Best Documentary Short Subject: I was hoping Claude Lanzmann: Spectres Of The Shoah would have taken the all important prize.  Seeing as how Shoah is one of the most important movies in recent memory, one would have thought a recognition by the Academy would suffice after a considerably long wait for recognition.  None the less, the award and perhaps some financial funding for the film makers' next project was given to A Girl In The River: The Price Of Forgiveness.  I did indeed get to see the documentary when it was on HBO, and it is quite compelling.  In point of fact, the reaction to A Girl In The River is promising, with the hope that honor killings in Pakistan will be eliminated.  Perhaps I should have taken the impact of a documentary on a government as more important than a legacy of a great film and its astounding director.

Best Costume Design:  I was hoping Sandy Powell would have received her Oscar for her impressive designs in Carol.  Alas, the award went to costume designer Jenny Beavan for her designs used in Mad Max: Fury Road.  I have no complaints on this matter, as the designs were quite important to the visual aspect of Mad Max, all four of the films to be precise.

Best Sound Mixing:  I was under the assumption that Gary Rydstrom would have received another Oscar due to his involvement in Bridge Of Spies.  None the less, the award went to Chris Jenkins, Gregg Rudloff and Ben Osmo for their sound designs utilized in Mad Max: Fury Road.  This marked the sixth award Mad Max: Fury Road won, the most of any movie.  And again, it was quite an important aspect for one of the bravest action movies to come in at least my lifetime.

Best Documentary Feature:  I was really expecting the Joshua Oppenheimer film The Look Of Silence to be honored.  Interestingly, the award went to Asif Kapadia and James Gay-Rees for their film Amy.  Sadly, I have yet to see this interesting documentary on Amy Winehouse; on that matter, I had thought the Nina Simone biographical documentary What Happened, Miss Simone? would have taken the award.  Perhaps I should now see Amy.

Best Animated Film:  Interestingly, I did get to see Anomolisa just before the Oscars.  And I was equally impressed and even emotionally floored with Charlie Kaufman's newest movie.  Heck, I think Tom Noonan should have gotten a Best Supporting Actor nomination, and you will know why once you see it. None the less, I was pleased when Pete Docter won the award for his movie Inside Out.  Do go see Inside Out, both children and parents.  You will not regret the experience.

Best Foreign Language Film:  No surprise, it went to Laszlo Nemes and his debut movie Son Of Saul.  I have only seen clips of this movie, so I do hope to get to see the full movie fairly soon.

Best Original Score:  In a rather touching and meaningful gesture, Ennio Morricone won his First Oscar outside of an honorary one for his work in The Hateful Eight.  I still have not seen that movie yet, though I have listened to the score and it is fantastic. I am not certain if it is among his best, though an award of this magnitude is legitimate.

Best Original Song:  I thought it was a given that Lady Gaga and Diane Warren were to win the Oscar this year.  Gaga's performance of Till It Happens To You had me in tears.  In a surprising move, Sam Smith won the Oscar for his song The Writing's On The Wall, as heard in Spectre.  It is a decent song, and I do commend Sam Smith for his interesting writing and performing.  Yet, it is far from being even among the best James Bond songs.  In my opinion, this one is.

Best Cinematography:  Well, Emmanuel Luzbeki won his second Oscar involving The Revenant.  Well deserved, though I am now wondering if Roger Deakins will ever receive an Oscar now.  Yet, that is irrelevant, as Luzbeki is one of the best DPs in the business these days.

Best Original Screenplay:  I am extremely pleased that Tom McCarthy won this award for Spotlight.  I have been impressed with McCarthy's prowess ever since he was involved with The Wire; and we can now see that early period pay off well.

Best Adapted Screenplay:  In a rather brave and ballsy move, Adam McKay won for the screenplay based on Michael Lewis' book The Big Short.  I thought it was quite an impressive storytelling technique and was pleased with the overall messages displayed.  Indeed, The Big Short has led me to reconsider McKay's other films, both with Will Ferrell and on his own.  Mr. McKay is a very socially and politically keen filmmaker.

Best Supporting Actor:  I was hoping Tom Hardy would have won and I was expecting Sylvester Stallone to win.  So you can imagine that it came as a complete surprise to see Mark Rylance win for his involvement in Bridge Of Spies.  I liked Bridge Of Spies and consider it to be one of Steven Spielberg's better films from his more recent period.  I was also impressed with the screenplay which involved the Coen Brothers.  Indeed, Mr. Rylance stood out in a role which marks only the second time an actor won for a Steven Spielberg film.

Best Supporting Actress:  I thought Rooney Mara sould have been the winner, and while I did not see The Hateful Eight I did see Jennifer Jason Leigh in her moving role in Anomolisa and hoped an Oscar would have come for her.  Instead, it went to Alicia Vikander in The Danish Girl.  I have yet to see that movie, and am aware that not everyone thought it was great.  I did however see Ex Machina, and was impressed with Ms. Vikander in that particular role. So for me, I feel Alicia Vikander won mainly for her role in Ex Machina, rather than The Danish Girl. In that regard, I can easily justify her Oscar win.

Best Actor:  Leonardo DiCaprio at long last won an Oscar in The Revenant.  Though I still think the Academy should have nominated more worthy candidates along with DiCaprio, including Michael B. Jordan, Abraham Atta, the cast of Straight Outta Compton, Jacob Tremblay and David Thewlis to name a few; Mr. DiCaprio deserved this Oscar and I a pleased with it.  To think, it has now been 25 years since he became a known actor, starting with one of the Critters movies.  How far we come.

Best Actress:  I liked Cate Blanchett and Saoirse Ronan in their movies, and think Charlotte Rampling is an underrated performer.  Yet I was happy to see Brie Larson win for her role in Room.  It is a most brilliant movie, and deserves the accolades it has received.  My only regret is that Jacob Tremblay was not nominated for Best Actor, and Joan Allen for Best Supporting Actress.  Of course Ms. Allen is well known, and I expect Ms. Larson and Mr. Tremblay to be well involved in films for years to come.

Best Director:  for the second year, the award went to Alejandro Gonzalez Innaritu for his film The Revenant.  Mr. Innaritu is one of the most visually impressive filmmakers around today, and The Revenant was quite the master work.

Best Picture:  many times, a Best Director win means a Best Picture win.  So I was by the end of the night expecting The Revenant to collect the top prize.  Instead, Best Picture went to Spotlight, produced by Michael Sugar, Steve Golin, Nicole Rocklin and Blye Pagon Faust.  I have said before that Spotlight was the best movie I saw in 2015, and I am pleased the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences thinks the same way.  By the way, it is still in theaters and now on demand, as are many of the movies discussed in these past essays.  Do see them, and especially go see Spotlight.

Well, those are my thoughts on the Oscars this year, where social and political matters were rightfully at the forefront of the awards and ideas were presented.  I must say this needed to be published earlier.  None the less, I have been attempting to conjure what and how to respond to this ongoing political problem we call the 2016 Presidential Primaries.  It did make its way to the Oscars, of course.  None the less, we now have nine months for the election to take place.  And at some point, this will be warranted to be said when all heck breaks loose.

A more playful of the famous words Martin Lawrence uttered in Bad Boys 2.

Take care and more political discussions to come,

Robert

PS.  By all means, do go see CB4.  It is rather good and still topical.

We blew it!

The title refers to one of the iconic lines in movie history, when Captain America (Peter Fonda) disagrees with Billy (Dennis Hopper) on their success of their cross country trek in Easy Rider.  A little afterwards, both main characters are killed by a ragtag group of ignorant rednecks.  In retrospect, it may not have been the best idea to have the two leads make their money off of drugs and getting in on a wild mind trip.  These sorts of ambiguities are not shown in most movies.  Indeed, the rare times these ambiguities are shown involve the drug war.  We can go on a long discussion regarding the drug war and its abject failure; that will be for another time.

For now, our focus is the drug war's effect on law enforcement and public policy.  Two weeks ago, the newest film from Denis Villeneuve, Sicario, was released.  It marks Villeneuve's second collaboration with Academy Award nominated Roger Deakins, and involves a great screenplay from newcomer Taylor Sheridan.  As well, Thad Luckinbill (J.T. Hellstrom on The Young and the Restless) was one of the producers of this movie, along with his twin brother Trent, as part of their new Black Label Media company.  By all accounts, this is a great movie; in fact one of the best films of this year, along with some of the best acting people like Emily Blunt and Benicio Del Toro have shown in quite some time.  Like many of these sorts of fictional works, Sicario tells us a heck of a lot more about our failed drug policies than what we can usually expect from our leaders.  Rarely if ever will you see a political figure declare the "War On Drugs" to have failed and been bad policy from the word go.  Because to do that would reveal greater truths that would cause the public great outrage.

By this point, I am going to expose some important plot points this movie explores; although going in you should know that Denis Villeneuve does not go for happy endings. Just about every film of Villeneuve's involve moral ambiguity.  Sicario brings this to the forefront in the last hour or so. While not going into full detail, what seems like a clear cut operation to curtail the finances of Mexican drug lords turns into a continuation of US Government policy in effectively running the drug trade.  It is evident when Victor Garber's character pretty much sanctions these extrajudicial means of obtaining a drug cartel's finances; it is more pronounced when Emily Blunt's character gets into a one-night stand with a corrupt Texas cop played by Jon Bernthal that is found to be a bag man for the cartel's leaders.  And it is most obviously evident when twice in Sicario Benecio Del Toro's character is mentioned by his code name Medellin.

If you are not familiar with the word and meaning of Medellin, or if you only remember it as Vincent Chase's first movie he directed yet was panned (see Entourage), the Medellin drug cartel in Colombia was during the late 1970's through early 1990's the most profitable drug running operation known to man.  And while it was Pablo Escobar that ruled society with sort of an iron fist before he was gunned down in 1993; the financial whirlwind was benefited most by (gasp!) the United States Government.  This is pretty much explained after the second time we hear Del Toro's character mentioned as Medellin after Alejandro (Del Toro) pretty much seeks out his wife and daughter's killer alone.

It is that second time when Kate (Blunt) hears the phrase; leading to her punching Josh Brolin's character, a CIA task force leader, in the face.  Afterwards, Brolin's character states that the US Government needs to resurrect the Medellin cartel in order to curb the turf wars in Mexico.  And it is due to, as Matt (Brolin) states "20 million people snorting and smoking this stuff"; this stuff being cocaine, of course.  And yes, Alejandro does get to murder the drug cartel leader and his family while having dinner.  And it is implied that Kate leaves the agency after signing papers legislating the legality of the drug operations.  All the same, nothing is truly ended.  The side story of a father and cop from Juarez doing supply routes in order to get some extra money just to get by ends in that cop being killed by Alejandro.  The last scene shows his wife and son attending a soccer game the son is playing; you can hear gunfire as the game goes on.  Indeed, that reminded me of how for many in thee countries the way out is through sports, association football in particular.  Even so, there is no guarantee one will get out alive through sports.  The year after Pablo Escobar was killed; Andres Escobar (no relation) was gunned down by a rival cartel after accidentally causing Team Colombia to use their quarterfinal round in the 1994 World Cup: the infamous own goal game.

It is quite amazing yet sad that a great deal of policies and funding for programs and other matters pertaining to the United States is continually done through the proliferation of illegal drugs.  I know the easiest thing to do would be to have everyone stop taking this shit; yet it is this same shit that finances these extrajudicial operations the United States Government does without consequence.  I firmly believe a movie can tell people a greater truth than what we may witness in our real life news reports.  For me, this is the second film in as many years that exposes our country's double standards at least regarding drug usage and proliferation.  Last year Kill The Messenger, one of the better movies of 2014, did not get as much public attention as it should have; apparently the truth is still a bitter pill to swallow among moviegoers at large.  Fortunately, Sicario is still playing at theaters near you; and you can also eventually see it on demand or on Blu-Ray; same goes with Kill The Messenger.  Do go see this movie.  I will have more to say regarding the drug war culture soon enough.

Talk to you shortly,

Robert

Idol...Out!

I remember the day 13 years ago like it was yesterday.  A high school friend of mine, Danny Kean, was being interviewed on Fox and Friends in an early June day in 2002.  The previous May, Danny was in Hollywood auditioning as one of some 40 semi-finalists for a show on Fox premiering that night named American Idol.  Now, I knew Danny was pretty darn good at the craft, having written his own songs and being able to play the piano and sing quite well.  Of course, being interviewed in New York City where he resides to this day meant that he did not make it to the live finalist telecasts to be voted on by a viewing audience.  Fortunately, Danny Kean has done well for himself ever since.

So that night, I watched the premier of American Idol in the hopes that Danny would be featured.  He was not, either that week or the next week.  What was featured were for the most part rejects that first week.  They were being looked at by three record industry bigwigs, for which two I knew about (Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson) and one I had become aware of his reputation and his track record (Simon Cowell).  It was hosted by two Los Angeles radio and/or stand up guys that I had no idea whom they were; although one of them looked uncannily like MTV personality Rikki Rachtman.  In any case, the rejects were the highlight of the show.

There was the one female that was clueless of her rejection that she came back.
The kid named Derek that looked dejected and was told that he sucked by Simon and other people at the New York audition.
The one guy that wanted desperately to make it into the business; to as he put it "be somebody's product."
The African-American female that when rejected told off Simon.
The one guy who auditioned by singing Silent Night and forgetting the lyrics (Silent Night; I said a Silent Night)
The one young man that deadpanned American Pie that made Simon mention that the music (as it were) just died.

To their credit, it got serious as the weeks went on.  Indeed, numerous celebrities became fans of the show; enough to fill the Dolby Theater for the season finale.  More importantly, it was on Idol Season 1 that we were introduced to an artist that I think is perhaps the successor to Linda Ronstadt in her varied talents.  That of course would be Kelly Clarkson; who has done extremely well in the 13 years since winning the first American Idol. 

It was Season 2 which began in January 2003 and ended that May when American Idol hit its stride.  That year, the rejected weeks were extended and were possibly even funnier than the year before.  I mean, who could ever forget that one woman who tried to sing Unchained Melody as the seasons went by?:).  More notably, it was the first year that I felt torn between who should win, as did many fans.  Ruben Studdard, Clay Aiken and Kimberly Locke were the top three that year; and any one of them could have won and there would not be an outcry.  In the end, all three got recording contracts, and Ruben Studdard won the title of American Idol.  This was also the first year when the non winners, namely Clay Aiken, made a greater impact than the winners.  In fact, it happened again the next year.  Fantasia won, and deservedly so.  Yet, Jennifer Hudson became the Oscar winning singer and actress that shined brightest. 

One year after that, American Idol introduced us to a highly successful artist in Country Music.  Arguably, Carrie Underwood has had along with Kelly Clarkson the greatest success of any Idol winner.  To do that while basically sticking to a field of music true to her core was and still is rather ballsy and brave.  That was in 2005.  2006 was I think the start of things getting rotten.  While that year brought artists such as Katherine McPhee and Daughtry to the forefront; the winner that year was Taylor Hicks.  Hicks basically copied Joe Cocker move for move; an idea which I was not personally interested in.  Taylor Hicks also became the first Idol winner to not entirely have that great of a success as the years went by. 

The next year, Jordin Sparks took home the title of Idol; and for that year, she was the best.  In 2008, American Idol had one of its best seasons; David Cook won that year in one of the more closely watched seasons for finalists.  I think 6 of the top 10 went on to get recording contracts and enjoy comparative success.  Personally, I felt David Archuleta was more deserving; yet I have no complaints. 

2009 I think was the last great year for American Idol.  I along with many others became impressed and instant fans of Adam Lambert; definitely one of the best performers and showmen to grace the stage of the series.  Much of the top 12 were pretty darn good themselves.  And while I was not too impressed with Kris Allen; he did alright for himself.  Sadly, I do not think much of America were ready to accept Adam Lambert's lifestyle and theatrics at the time. That of course has since changed.  This was also the year Paula Abdul left.  That was quite a loss; I had like the banter Paula, Simon, Randy and Ryan Seacrest had going at that point.

I was not impressed with the following year.  Many of the finalists seemed mediocre compared to past years.  Though I really liked Crystal Bowersox and had hoped she would win.  That of course did not happen.  Lee DeWyze was the winner that year; a good singer who has done okay, yet it could have been a lot better.  I knew Lee DeWyze would not live up to past winners when his ending signature song was a cover of the U2 anthem Beautiful Day.  More importantly, Simon Cowell left after that year to focus more attention on The X Factor; as well as developing an American equivalent, producing the Got Talent series, leading his production company Syco, and becoming an innovative and on demand producer and talent manager.  Artists like One Direction, Cher Lloyd, Susan Boyle, Leona Lewis, Jackie Evancho and Fifth Harmony got their starts from these Simon Cowell produced shows. 

Not only did Simon leave, so too did Kara Dioguardi; who I thought made a damn good fourth judge.  As well, Ellen DeGeneres left American Idol so as to not exhaust herself from her other programs.  When that happened, American Idol changed.  Probably not for the better. 

The next year felt more like American Country Music Idol than anything else towards the end.  Not a bad thing; I do like Lauren Alaina and Scotty McCreery, the latter of whom won that year.  Indeed, McCreery has become I think the successor to George Strait in the new traditionalist mold.  However, I am not much of a country music fan nowadays.  You all know how much I loathe bro-country, so I will leave it at that.  2012 though was better; the year we were introduced to the rather interesting singer songwriter Phillip Phillips.  He has done well for himself; indeed I think he was the first Idol winner to have his ending signature song be one he wrote, Home.  Much of the time then and now, Phillip Phillips reminds me quite a bit of Dave Matthews.  Yet, he is unique.  That year though saw the departure of Randy Jackson.  It was that departure that sank Idol into the abyss, I think.

So, the first 11 Idol winners and the many runners-up are well known.  Since 2013; admittedly, who the heck cares.  Not many in my family, myself included, were satisfied with Candace Glover winning.  Caleb Johnson has done virtually nothing.  And only time will tell if Nick Fradiani stands the test of time.  Which brings us to now.  Next year will be the 15th and last season of American Idol.  So much has happened particularly since 2012 that has caused Idol to end, to say nothing of losing its relevance.  This of course will need to require another weblog essay just to analyze why it is now ending. 

The follow-up will come by tomorrow, I hope.  Let me though say one thing: Kanye West and Arcade Fire, to name two different artists, broke through also around 2002-2003.  They did not need American Idol to become amongst the best artists of their time.  Heck, neither did this band.

And they sold out Madison Square Garden for their final concert before breaking up!

Talk to you tomorrow,

Robert

This did not win an Oscar?!?

Winning an Oscar is one of the more crowning gems a filmmaker and craftsman can have.  It certainly means something to any person who has ever won the award.  There are times, however, when we look back at a particular award given out in a given year and we think: this was an Academy Award winner?  That movie did not get an Oscar?  It is a practice we see far too often.

It often falls into the winners of Best Director and Best Picture that eyes start to roll.  In point of fact, several of the winners in these categories are not as remembered today.  Some simply defy logic and all explanation.  Can it honestly be said that in retrospect the winner was better than the alternatives?  Here are some examples.

1932: Grand Hotel wins Best Picture, Frank Borzag Best Director (Bad Girl).  Ernst Lubitsch's Trouble In Paradise did not win either.

1937: Leo McCarey wins Best Director regarding The Awful Truth.  Not, as many would think, Make Way For Tomorrow; which does not win Best Picture either.  That goes to The Life Of Emile Zola. Also, nothing for Walt Disney's Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs.

1940.  John Ford wins Best Director regarding The Grapes Of Wrath.  It does not win Best Picture; which goes to Sir Alfred Hitchcock's Rebecca.  Incidentally, Hitchcock did not get an Oscar for that; since he did not produce the movie.

1941.  John Ford and How Green Was My Valley.  Not Orson Welles' Citizen Kane.

1952.  The Greatest Show On Earth wins Best Picture.  John Ford wins Best Director (The Quiet Man).  Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen's Singing In The Rain wins neither.

1955.  Delbert Mann and Marty.  Nothing for Nicholas Ray's Rebel without A Cause.

1959.  William Wyler and Ben-Hur.  Yet no wins for Francois Truffaut's The 400 Blows.

1963.  Tony Richardson and Tom Jones.  Hud, Hitchcock's The Birds, The Great Escape do not win.

1968.  Sir Carol Reed and Oliver!  Nothing for Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey.

1969.  John Schlesinger and Midnight Cowboy.  Yet nothing for Dennis Hopper's Easy Rider.

1973.  George Roy Hill and The Sting.  Yet no nominations for Nicolas Roeg's Don't Look Now.

1979.  Robert Benton and Kramer Vs. Kramer.  Sadly, not Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now.

1980.  Robert Redford and Ordinary People.  Yet not Martin Scorsese's Raging Bull.

1982.  Lord Attenborough and Gandhi.  No main awards for Steven Spielberg's E.T.  Not a nomination for Sir Ridley Scott's Blade Runner.

1983.  James L. Brooks and Terms Of Endearment.  Yet not one nomination for Gregory Nava and Anna Thomas' El Norte.  Not a nod for Wargames. 

1985.  Sydney Pollack and Out Of Africa.  Not one win for Steven Spielberg's The Color Purple.

1988.  Barry Levinson and Rain Man.  Not an award given to Martin Scorsese's The Last Temptation Of Christ. 

1989.  Driving Miss Daisy wins Best Picture.  However, Oliver Stone's Born On The Fourth Of July does not; it does win Best Director though.

1990.  Kevin Costner and Dances With Wolves.  Yet not Martin Scorsese's Goodfellas. 

1994.  Robert Zemeckis and Forrest Gump.  Surprisingly, not for Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction, Steve James' Hoop Dreams, Frank Darabont's The Shawshank Redemption, or Krysztof Kieslowski's Three Colors Trilogy.

1995.  Mel Gibson and Braveheart.  Not one nod for David Fincher's Seven.

1996.  Anthony Minghella and The English Patient. Not, sadly, the Coen Brothers' Fargo.

2001.  Ron Howard and A Beautiful Mind.  Not one important nomination for Cameron Crowe's Vanilla Sky. Also nothing for Steven Spielberg's A.I. Artificial Intelligence.

2002.  Chicago wins Best Picture.  Roman Polanski wins Best Director (The Pianist).  Nothing for Liliana Cavani's Ripley's Game, Spike Jonze's Adaptation, Martin Scorsese's Gangs Of New York, the Steven Spielberg movies Minority Report and Catch Me If You Can, Christopher Nolan's version of Insomnia, or even One Hour Photo.

2005.  Crash wins Best Picture.  Ang Lee wins Best Director (Brokeback Mountain).  Not Steven Spielberg's Munich, the George Clooney-Steven Soderbergh produced Syriana, or even the Clooney directed Good Night And Good Luck.

2010.  Tom Hooper and The King's Speech.  Nothing for David Fincher's The Social Network, or even Nolan's Inception.

2012.  Argo wins Best Picture; though it is not nominated for Best Director for Ben Affleck.  That goes to Ang Lee regarding Life Of Pi.  In either matter,  Jacques Audiard's Rust And Bone, or even Steven Spielberg's Lincoln were more preferable.

Heck, for this year, I would have added Christopher Nolan and Interstellar for both categories.  Somewhat related, the Steve James documentary Life Itself received not one nomination in any category.

There are lesser criticisms for awards like the acting categories.  Though they do pop up every so often.  I think, for instance, Denzel Washington should have won Best Actor in Philadelphia; not Tom Hanks. 

The moral is: just because a movie or an individual did not win an Oscar does not make the movie any lesser than the winner.  As well, just because a movie or person won the Oscar does not mean it was in retrospect the best of that time frame.  None the less, an Academy Award win or even nod means a great deal to any film or person. 

Do any of you fellow travelers have a gripe with a past or current winner and/or nominee that should have gone to someone else or another movie?  I would like to hear from you then.  Feel free to comment on this weblog and interact in this lively discussion.  Do remember to have a Google+ or G Mail account for authenticity. 

I will have more tomorrow.  See you then.

Robert

Oscar Week at the weblog

Hello to all that read this!

This week, I plan on devoting at least one post per day on the upcoming Academy Awards to be presented on ABC this Sunday, February 22.  As you all know, I am keenly interested in movies and the performing arts.  During what is now considered award season, I along with many others eagerly await for the time when the one award any filmmaker really wants, the Oscar, can be handed out.

An Academy Award nomination, or even a win, still matters not only to a film; it also matters to whom is being nominated and/or set to win.  Any time a person gets nominated; future prospects in the film industry do begin to increase.  It could be anything from higher pay to final cut to getting to star in the new action summer blockbuster.  Indeed, the value of getting called an Oscar winner, or even a nominee, means a heck of a lot more due to the prestige and worthiness of the award itself. 

This coming award ceremony looks to be keenly interesting.  I am pretty sure Boyhood, the seminal Richard Linklater film, will receive Best Picture and Best Director at the very least.  I am also interested in many of the other categories for awards that perhaps others give little heed for.  Will Roger Deakins, for instance, finally win an Oscar for Best Cinematography?  10+ nominations, yet never an award to show for it.  Who might perform Lost Stars?  I would be enthralled if it led to a New Radicals reunion.  How will Neil Patrick Harris do as a host? Will he succeed in a matter that is amongst the best, or as good for the time?  And of course, who will show up and surprise us all?

Each post will go into greater detail on what I think will occur, who might win, and I will even look back at past winners and whether the award should have gone to another film or person.  This will, I hope, culminate in me live blogging the Oscars in a fashion similar to what I did with Super Bowl 49.  Once again, the words may seem disjointed, yet they will make sense in context. 

There will certainly be a lot of ground to cover.  Some days will be shorter posts, others might take longer.  I do hope you will join me in this look at a most important night in film that comes but once a year.  And yes, anything that pops into my mind to write and later to show will arrive here.

With that, I end this post with an explanation on the New Radicals.  They were a duo consisting of Gregg Alexander and Danielle Brisebois that were around in the late 1990s.  Recently, Alexander and Brisebois have been writing songs for other artists; including the Oscar nominated Lost Stars, as performed by among others Adam Levine.  None the less, the duo are quite good performers themselves.  They only had one hit back in late 98-early 99; yet it is one of the best 5 minutes in recorded music.  And here it is.

The celebrity references at the end are quite dated, and do not reflect the overall message of the song.  A great example of what could have been had they stayed together.

Check back tomorrow,

Robert

PS.  I had gotten a chance to meet Philip Levine two years ago at a reading of his recent poems at my alma mater, Hofstra University.  Levine was one of the better modern poets I have read and heard.  He passed away on Valentine's Day, leaving behind a lifetime of letters, poems and ideas.  He certainly will be missed.