Jake Gittes

Three weeks ago I went to see it in IMAX the fourth (and last) time and during the re-entry scene I got a lot more emotional than on any of the previous viewings. Just chills and tears, man. Maybe it was actually because this time I was almost all alone in the theater, I dunno.

Since A Most Violent Year is already shooting, it should actually be ready for this year's awards season.

Ok. Here's your cookie.

I've seen plenty of arthouse films I could say this exact thing about, but I never understood this attitude with regards to Holy Motors. The main theme of the movie is identity, the way all people put on different masks in order to deal with various situations (or "tasks" or "missions") in their life, and, consequently, the way they might lose their one true, genuine self if they accumulate enough of those masks. The brilliance of Lavant's character is that, ultimately, we can't know what his true self is, whether or not he has one, or has lost it, or maybe has never had it. For all we know, he might be putting on acts for 24/7, 365, always performing (incredibly convincingly), never being himself - but then, what if his identity simply *is* that of a performer? It might not immediately explain some of the individual scenes in the movie (personally I'd like it a lot more if it lost the opening, as well as the final two scenes), but I thought the overall theme was crystal clear even before I left the theater. To me it's essentially a philosophical piece that escapes becoming overly serious and heavy and boring by throwing in plenty of entertaining quirky comedic elements and being carried by a fantastic actor in the lead role.

Just curious, what do you think about Primer (if you've seen it)?

FYC: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j5EmCKbWS6c

If Depp had still been doing as consistently great work as in 1990-2005, he could have won already by now. The Pirates sequels and AIW really drowned him. I mean, 6 years since Sweeney Todd, and the only instance of the man doing something really good and inspired was him voicing an animated chameleon. Still, there's always the chance that he eventually gets tired of doing lazy work for paychecks, receives a late-career part that he could get passionate about, knocks it out of the park and wins awards for it. Everyone loves a comeback. Di Caprio will win. I have no idea when, but unless, uh, something happens, the guy could realistically be going for another 30+ years. I don't think even the Academy would like him to end up like Peter O'Toole. At worst, he'll get rewarded for a Pacino-style attention-grabbing scenery-chewing fest; at best, he'll continue doing consistently good work, perhaps even becoming a better actor as he ages (I often agree with those people who keep saying Di Caprio almost never becomes his characters, but I'll be damned if he didn't amaze me in WOWS), and at one point gets his statue. Kinda like, I don't know, Paul Newman, John Wayne or Jeff Bridges, except I hope Leo doesn't have to wait until he's a senior citizen.

I completely forgot about this. I'm still up for doing it, though.

2. You talkin' to me? - Taxi Driver (1976) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQkpes3dgzg As far as cinematic character studies go, Martin Scorsese's Taxi Driver is nearly unbeatable, and as far as film characters go, Travis Bickle remains one of the greatest and most fascinating to ever appear on the screen. As written by Paul Schrader and performed by Robert De Niro (both of whom received Oscar nominations and deserved actual Oscars for their work), Bickle is a tragic and scary product of his environment - a Vietnam veteran who, after the war, is left for a lost, lonely, sleepless life in the depressed, despair-filled and crime-ridden New York. As both anger and confusion build up in him, his desire to "do something" leads him to purchase several guns, after which he tries to imagine a confrontation that would give him a chance to fire. Travis' iconic monologue in front of the mirror has been emulated and considered "badass" - i.e., completely misunderstood - by a fair share of viewers (one of whom, as is well-known, went as far as to attempt to assassinate Ronald Reagan in order to impress Jodie Foster), but it's much easier to convincingly argue that it's at once the most tragic and disturbing scene in the film. Coming from Bickle, "You talkin' to me?" is undeniably confrontational and indicative of his desire for violence, yet, on a deeper level, it's also a desperate desire for some - any - kind of genuine human connection. Paul Schrader does not take credit for the line, saying that his script only read, "Travis speaks to himself in the mirror", and that De Niro improvised the dialogue. However, Schrader went on to say that De Niro's performance was inspired by a routine by "an underground New York comedian" whom he had once seen, possibly including his signature line. In his 2009 memoir, saxophonist Clarence Clemons said De Niro explained the line's origins when Clemons coached De Niro to play the saxophone for the movie New York, New York. Clemons says De Niro had seen Bruce Springsteen say it onstage at a concert as fans were screaming his name, and decided to make the line his own. Taxi Driver won the Palme d'Or at the 1976 Cannes Film Festival and remains one of the most celebrated films ever made, American or otherwise. In 2012, Sight & Sound magazine named it the 31st best film ever created on its decadal critics' poll, and the 5th greatest film ever on its directors' poll. "You talkin' to me?" was voted the 10th greatest line of all time by the AFI.

I'm here, will post #2 within an hour.

I need to be gone for about an hour and a half, so if anyone wants to do line #3, go for it. Then I'll do #2.

4. You're gonna need a bigger boat - Jaws (1975) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2I91DJZKRxs First of all: Peter Benchley's original novel, first published in 1974, is not very good. What it has going for it, however, is one hell of a hook: a man-eating great white shark attacking beachgoers at a small resort town. When Steven Spielberg was brought in to direct the film adaptation, he instantly recognized both of those things, and as a result, his film is a masterpiece of storytelling, one in which nothing is superfluous and not a single second is wasted. Getting there, however, was incredibly difficult, even before we take the infamous mechanical shark into account. Benchley himself wrote three drafts of the screenplay, changing things that Spielberg suggested (notably, an affair between Ellen Brody and Matt Hooper was thankfully gone at this early stage); after that, at various points, Tony- and Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Howard Sackler, comedy writer and actor Carl Gottlieb (who largely rewrote the film while it was already shooting and also has a small part in the film), John Milius, Sugarland Express writers Matthew Robbins and Hal Barwood, Spielberg himself and actor Robert Shaw all worked on the final screenplay. (Benchley and Gottlieb are given the official credit in the film). Yet none of these men was responsible for the one line of the film that ultimately became, by far, the most iconic and celebrated. Perhaps we could actually give the mechanical shark some of the credit for this one: since it didn't work for so long, Spielberg could mostly only suggest its presence for the first 60% or so of the film, and when the beast finally appears in all of its glory, it sends chills down your spine even if you've already seen it a dozen times. When the film came out, the audiences reacted with screaming, and before that, all the way back when the scene was being shot, Roy Scheider came up with one of the most inspired ad-libs in film history. "You're gonna need a bigger boat" became as ingrained in collective consciousness as very few lines before or after it, ending up as a go-to response to virtually any problem that turned out to be bigger and more ominous than originally assumed. The AFI named it the 35th greatest line of all time. Fun bit of insider info: ShawnMR was the last member of the panel to present his personal Top 100, and before he did, this line had actually been #1 on our collective list.

I'll do a write-up on line #2.

Oh yeah Behind the Candelabra

Actually 2/5. Ejiofor and Di Caprio, that's it. No idea what aDIM is talking about lol.

12YAS should win at least 2 Oscars in addition to BP to save some face (the best bets are obviously Supp. Actress and Adapted Screenplay), in that case we'll basically have a Godfather / Cabaret repeat. (Which would be fine with me). If it wins BP and one other Oscar, or only BP, it'll just look embarrassing IMO.

They might not be female, but Costner, Redford and Gibson all won BD with their first nomination. Affleck is the exception to the rule.

First it has to deliver. My personal hope is that Linklater finally gets himself some statues next year, but I'd be much more convinced of that happening if it was Fox Searchlight, Focus or (obviously) Weinstein behind BOYHOOD and not IFC. Still, his narrative is unique and awesome for its own reasons, the movie has already garnered acclaim from every corner, and if the Academy rewards the director of a 3D space thriller this year they might want to reward the director of a quiet down-to-Earth comedy/drama next year, so... maybe?

I thought if history taught us anything it's that you don't predict Oscar nominees, much less winners, a year in advance.

A 1932 film that won the Oscar for Best Picture... and for nothing else.

Yeah at this point it wouldn't shock me.

Best Picture

Pretty awesome and 100% deserved.

Best Actress - Cate Blanchett