Oscars Discussion - Nominations in First Post - Red Carpet Time!

[baumer]

I liked Midnight In Paris immensely. I also liked Hugo. I'm just not convinced that they were best picture kinds of films.

[Dementeleus]

THE ARTIST was far better (and more efficient) than many films today in terms of visually moving the plot forward and keeping things concise and straightforward. I don't necessarily want to see a ton of silent movies getting made (which, let's face it, is not gonna happen), but movies today could take a tip from it about how to visually tell a story."Nostalgia" was the obvious theme of last year. HUGO, ARTIST, MIDNIGHT IN PARIS, THE TREE OF LIFE, WAR HORSE... even "modern" films like MONEYBALL and EXTREMELY CLOSE were about our collective mentalities a decade ago. And you can extend the trend beyond just the BP nominees: SUPER 8 and DRIVE were both total 80s-nostalgia pieces (even though DRIVE was set in the present day).

[GiantCALBears]

the first half of the 2000s was a much better period in film than the current half we all agree 2011 was a weak year or at least most do

[Dementeleus]

I liked Midnight In Paris immensely. I also liked Hugo. I'm just not convinced that they were best picture kinds of films.

This.(Well, I still haven't gotten around to seeing MIDNIGHT IN PARIS... I'm just not that big of a Woody fan.)Then again, I felt that way about most of the BP nominees, so it's hard to me to get riled up over any of them, since my personal fave (WAR HORSE) didn't have a chance in hell of winning.

[TLK]

Awards were predictable but my top 5 highlights of the night.

1. Jim Rash striking the Angelina Jolie pose. I'm still laughing at that.

2. Emma Stone

3. Chris Rock's 45 second award presentation being funnier than anything Billy Crystal did all night.

4. Jean Dujardin winning Best Actor and then acknowledging Douglas Fairbanks in his speech.

5. Zach Galifinakis and 'It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp' .

[CoolioD1]

Your #1 is my #1 as well. As I said earlier that was the only thing I found amusing through the whole show. Though Seacrest getting Kim Jong Il ash dumped on him on the red carpet was fucking hilarious.

[egoplant]

Glad Dragon won editing.

[CJohn]

My first is SBC. I was laughing out loud when it hapenned and I still laugh everytime I see the clip. Emma Stone, RDJ and Galifianakis/Ferrel moments were also great.

[CloneWars]

All of the aforementioned are advantages, with the possible exception of it being French, but any language issue is resolved by the fact that it was silent in the first place. I have not seen it, but just knowing about it gave me every reason to suspect that it would be on a short list for awards including the one that it did win.

All of those reasons you mention are advantages for it. Plus, the Weinsteins produced it so that automatically makes it an oscar contender.

Um, no. It is in no way an advantage being a silent film. That was a risk, and I don't think the director had any thought of winning BP when making the film. I'm sure that when it starting getting all the awards that it came as a huge surprise. One doesn't make a silent film expecting it to win BP.

[baumer]

Um, no. It is in no way an advantage being a silent film. That was a risk, and I don't think the director had any thought of winning BP when making the film. I'm sure that when it starting getting all the awards that it came as a huge surprise. One doesn't make a silent film expecting it to win BP.

Of course the director didn't think he was going to win best picture. This wasn't even going to get a North American release until the fuckersteins got involved. But then a film like this comes along and it is something the old fat asses in the academy can relate too. So they go home, get the film, jerk off to it and reminsce about the good old days and then nominate it for everything. I'm shocked it didn't get a nom for best sound. You know they wanted to do it but thought they wouldn't be able to get away with it. But they clearly don't give a shit about what we think. It's a good old boys club where they drink brandy, smoke cigars and nominate films that people don't care about.

[DAR]

And in the end it really has no effective on any of us.

[GiantCALBears]

Saw The Artist today coming in with all kinds of questions and my simple reply B and correction is everyone should see it THEN post their personal opinionexpands to 2000+ theaters this weekend and its worth a look especially compared to the other trash released the over the course of the previous year

[Kevin Bacon]

the first half of the 2000s was a much better period in film than the current halfwe all agree 2011 was a weak year or at least most do

Meh, not really. We got total classics in TDK, WALL-E, The Social Network, Inglourious Basterds, The Departed, etc.

[Kvikk Lunsj]

I personally think the 21st century in general has become weak. FIlms in the 60's, 70's, 80's, 90's. Last decade was not that great and so far this decade has started off bad.

[rockNrollaDIM]

I can't judge. The past 15-20 years constitutes the vast majority of what I know. It's what I grew up with. Sure easy to cherry pick some classics from the 60s-80s but when 90% of films you've seen are from the 90s/00s how can we say past decades are better or worse?

[Kvikk Lunsj]

I can't judge. The past 15-20 years constitutes the vast majority of what I know. It's what I grew up with. Sure easy to cherry pick some classics from the 60s-80s but when 90% of films you've seen are from the 90s/00s how can we say past decades are better or worse?

I mean in terms of great films like Oscar films. In 11 years there is only handful of great films that I am going to say that are going to be consider classics. Do you think in 30 years people are going to be talking about the following films: The King's Speech, The Hurt Locker, Slumdog Millionaire, The Descendants, An Education, Winter;s Bone, True Gritt, The Kids All Are Right, The Hours, Chicago, Crash, Lost in Transition, Mystic River, Seabisscuit, Traffic, Erin Brockovich, Chocolat, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, The Queen, Babel, Good Night and Good Luck, Hustle and Flow, Frost/Nixion, Up in the Air, Precious, A Serous Man, and The Reader.All of the these films won BP or where nominated for BP. The only BP winner that will be remembered in LOTR: ROTK some of the other ones might but that is the only film that is for certain. Edited February 29, 2012 by Dexter of Suburbia

[Kvikk Lunsj]

Look at how many of those films are still remembered. Show there are some that are not but 90's look a lot better than the last 11 years in terms of drama Oscar films.

1999

American beauty

The Cider House

The Green Mile

The Sixth Scene

The Insider

1998

Shakespeare in Love

Saving Private Ryan

The Thin Red Line

Life is Beautiful

Elizabeth

1997

Titanic

Full Monty

Good Will Hunting

As Good as it Gets

LA Confidential

1996

The English Patient

Fargo

Jerry McGuire

Secrets and Lies

Shine

1995

Braveheart

Apollo 13

babe

Il Postino

Sense & Sensibility

1994

Forrest Gump

Four wedding and a Furnel

Quiz Show

Pulp Fiction

The Shawshank Redemption

1993

Schindler's List*

The Fugtive

In the Name of the father

The Piano

The Remains of the Day

1992

Unforgiven*

The Crying Game

A Few Good Men

Howards End

A Scent of a Women

1991

Silent of the Lambs*

Beauty and the Beast

Bugsy

JFK

Prince of Tides

1990

Dance with Wolves*

Awakening

Ghost

Godfather part 3

Goodfellas

[Dementeleus]

Of course the director didn't think he was going to win best picture. This wasn't even going to get a North American release until the fuckersteins got involved. But then a film like this comes along and it is something the old fat asses in the academy can relate too. So they go home, get the film, jerk off to it and reminsce about the good old days and then nominate it for everything. I'm shocked it didn't get a nom for best sound. You know they wanted to do it but thought they wouldn't be able to get away with it. But they clearly don't give a shit about what we think. It's a good old boys club where they drink brandy, smoke cigars and nominate films that people don't care about.

The Oscars are the equivalent -- literally -- of a country club deciding which members get the recognition at the end of the year. They have no great significance except as an indicator of what the Academy (essentially a members-only trade organization) likes. Sometimes they match up well with the critics, sometimes they don't. Same thing with each of our individual tastes.

[MovieMan89]

IMO, The Artist this year was a way better choice than The King's Speech last year.

It was better in the sense that it was the 2nd best movie nominated, opposed to the 5th or 6th best movie nominated like TKS was. As for which is the better film overall though I'd probably give TKS the edge.

[MovieMan89]

Of course the director didn't think he was going to win best picture. This wasn't even going to get a North American release until the fuckersteins got involved. But then a film like this comes along and it is something the old fat asses in the academy can relate too. So they go home, get the film, jerk off to it and reminsce about the good old days and then nominate it for everything. I'm shocked it didn't get a nom for best sound. You know they wanted to do it but thought they wouldn't be able to get away with it. But they clearly don't give a shit about what we think. It's a good old boys club where they drink brandy, smoke cigars and nominate films that people don't care about.

It's funny that you seem to think the only reason The Artist got all this recognition was because the Academy is a bunch of old farts and they're the only ones that can relate to or enjoy it. Yet from my personal experiences just the opposite has been true. I went to the movie with a few of my friends once, and then my mom and sister the other time. It was my friends and my sister who liked or loved the movie, and my Mom who thought it was mediocre and didn't want to watch a silent movie. If anything I think the Artist comes off as refreshing to a lot of younger audiences because we've never seen anything like it. And most critics mentioned what a breath of fresh air it was. That's likely to be the real reason it got so many accolades, not because the people who give these awards are all 80 or 90 year olds that can remember Chaplin. Edited February 29, 2012 by MovieMan89