BOFFY IV: The 4th Annual Box Office Theory Awards! (CEREMONY TOMORROW AT 2PM EST)

[Blankments]

Sadly I'll be arriving late to the ceremony or perhaps not at all. You're holding it too early for me  

[Dan9]

Unfortunately as I didn't foresee having to work 10 days in a row (majority of which I've been staying away from home) I haven't really had much time at home, less so to get on the computer where my write-up is currently located  If anyone has the time today to do one for Inside Out then please send it in! 

[The Panda]

Showing up to the BO Carpet in style

 

[Ezen Baklattan]

Ground control to write-up #4.

 

THE MARTIAN

 

 

“The Martian, one of the nominees for Best Picture at the BOFFYs, is a movie that captivated audiences in theaters and members within this forum. Set at some point in the near-future, The Martian is the story of a manned mission to Mars that is forced to abort and leave one of its members behind for dead…except he’s not quite finished yet. Stranded on an inhospitable world with limited tools and resources, the astronaut, Mark Watney, is forced to rely on every ounce of ingenuity he has in order to survive and find a way to contact NASA, so they can scramble together a way to get him home. The Martian was a box office success, earning nearly $615 million worldwide. It was also a critical smash, earning rave reviews and seven Oscar nominations, including Best Picture of the Year.

 

The film stars Matt Damon as Mark Watney, the titular character, and features a large ensemble of supporting cast members, including Jessica Chastain, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Jeff Daniels, Kate Mara, and many more.

 

The ensemble cast works very well together, but make no mistake, this is Matt Damon’s movie. With a light sense of humor and an aw-shucks charisma, Damon definitely channels a bit of Tom Hanks in portraying Mark Watney, who though possessing an irreverent personality and having superhero-level botany and engineering skills, manages to come across as an everyman, your average guy caught in a situation out of his depth and struggling to overcome it. He naturally wins the audience’s sympathy and support as he toils against the obstacles in his path, making light of what he can, but also unleashing anger and anguish when things seem to be going really south for him. It’s no surprise that Damon received a BOFFY nomination and an Oscar nomination for Lead Actor. It’s a winning, eager performance that doesn’t rely on classic Oscar-bait emoting scenes and instead focuses on presenting a lively character who feels real and who earns our respect and backing.

 

Ridley Scott, a director with an impressive pedigree who has also become a bit of a punchline on this forum with several recent efforts that were to many members lukewarm at best, returns to form with an incredibly skilled management of the movie. The sets, the actors, the effects, they are all staged brilliantly as the film charges ahead. The film, which runs 141 minutes and features characters and action in numerous locations, could have ended up as feeling bloated, sprawling, and overburdened, but Ridley keeps it a tight and focused ship with a laser-like precision. There are no wasted scenes in this movie. As comebacks go, this is quite the coup for Sir Ridley, as his management and coaching of the nuts and bolts is superb.

 

The Martian features impressive set design, painstakingly laying out in detail the habitat Mark finds himself stuck in for countless months as well as the vehicles and equipment he uses in his quest to stay alive. Even though all of these vehicles are purely theoretical or experimental, they have the look and feel of things we could build and use right now today. The Martian also features a killer soundtrack, including numerous classic songs from the 70s, including disco music, to set the mood while also playing it as a running joke due to Mark’s utter distaste for the songs. It adds to the movie’s grinning sense of humor and ability to lighten the mood and engage the audience, even after a disaster nearly scuttles any chance of survival.

 

Perhaps the most remarkable thing about The Martian is that there is no antagonist. Everyone involved is working together to find a way to bring Mark Watney home and the film carries with it an optimistic and upbeat message of how the human race has the innate ability to unify and collaborate when faced with a seemingly insurmountable obstacle. It would have been easy for the film to go the standard Hollywood route and have Jeff Daniels’ character or someone else at NASA or the government be a cliché corporate/government bureaucrat who is willing to sacrifice Mark’s life for some nebulous advantage elsewhere while acting like a scumbag. But the film doesn’t do that. When Jeff Daniels shoots down the Purnell Maneuver, it’s because he has a legitimate concern for the safety of the other astronauts on the Hermes. Like Apollo 13, The Martian is a movie that says “We can do this. We can achieve the impossible if we come together and figure this out with our combined wits and skills.” In a Hollywood landscape of grim blockbusters and nihilistic Oscar-baits that wallow in showing the darker depths of the human condition, The Martian presents a wonderful contrast by instead presenting humanity as it could be.

 

For these reasons, and more, I am proud to present The Martian as one of the nominees for Best Picture at the BOFFYs.”

-Numbers

 

 

 

“In space, no one can hear you scream- that is, unless you can contact Earth millions of miles away. The Martian tells the harrowing story of a mission to Mars gone wrong. When a storm is approaching, the Ares III crew must abort their mission and evacuate the planet. Botanist Mark Watney is knocked out by a piece of shrapnel and is unable to be found in sufficient time. Presumed dead, Mark wakes up alone on Mars and has to make the most out of limited supplies and contact Earth to rescue him. Director Ridley Scott and screenwriter Drew Goddard adapt the story through comedy, drama, action, science, and disco, leaving you on the edge of your seat anticipating every next step of the rescue.”

-WrathOfHan