|
i actually like clooney quite a bit as an actor and i also think he's a hollywood treasure as mandated by california law, but i can't believe that there's anyone who truly believes he gave one of the five best performances of the year. the descendants is an okay movie with some nice performances and george held his own, but the fact that it was ever considered a best picture contender or that clooney has won even a single award for best performance of the year-- in an unusually strong year for male performances-- is a testament to how out of control the award circuit's hard-on for clooney is. it was out of control back with up in the air. now it's been way over four hours and it's time to seek immediate medical attention. as for the rest of the field...
the fassbender snub is one of the worst in years. his performance was hands down the best of the year, and again, in a very strong year for male leads. i can't believe there's anyone on the planet who truly thinks his performance was inferior to clooney or pitt's. that's 100% beauty pageant politics, and it's disgraceful. i didn't think gary oldman was all that special in tinker tailor, but he's one of my favorites and i just found out this was his first ever nod, so i'll allow it. i have no idea how demian bichir snuck in for a film no one saw (and that actually wasn't that great outside of his performance), but he deserves to be there. out of this field though, dujardin would be my pick.
i was really glad to see extremely loud incredibly close get a best picture nod, despite the avalanche of criticism from people who "still haven't processed 9/11" (c) ryan from the office. i get that 9/11 has been used for a decade now to pull our strings in one way (iraq) or another (dumb arguments with friends), and i get that the subject has basically been emotionally poisoned for our generation. but the film on its own merits is fantastic. the relationship between thomas horn and max von sydow's characters (both deserving of nods IMO) is the best put on film this year. i understand why the girl with the dragon tattoo got snubbed: the academy frowns on films that are too entertaining (i'm being dead serious), but right now it's at the top of my best picture list. i thought the descendants and the help were just okay, but with nine nominees and neither of them having a chance to win, it's hard to get too worked up about it.
i don't know how you give a directing nod to woody allen for such a writing-driven film. great writing and he deserved a nod there, but anybody could've directed that. ditto for alexander payne. fincher got robbed. best director has to go to hazanavicius for turning a black and white silent film into one of the best moviegoing experiences of the year, but i haven't yet seen hugo so i can't say that too emphatically yet.
they say you can't give meryl streep an oscar every year, but, uh, yeah you can. she grabbed it by the throat this year. first glimpse of her in the convenience store, i kid you not, i was thinking, wow, how did they get margaret thatcher to actually appear in this movie? next thought: oh. next thought: my God. really glad rooney mara got in. she was supposedly on the bubble, when really she should be one of the favorites. grading on a curve, i didn't think viola davis or michelle williams were super special by their standards. glenn close was incredible though, and in many other years would have walked away with this.
i'm all for funny guys getting serious for roles, but outside of that dynamic, jonah hill wasn't award-worthy, just solid. i think the academy gets less and less relevant every year it ignores andy serkis. kind of like the emmy's ignoring the wire. standing slow clap though for recognizing melissa mccarthy, who stole every frame she was in and elevated the whole thing. with all the great work she's done recently, i'm glad to see jessica chastain get a nom, but truthfully the help was probably her third best performance this year. i'd have nominated her in something else, then given a nod to bryce dallas howard, who i thought made for a pretty fantastic real housewives of jim crow era villain. it'll be octavia though, and she earned it.
absolutely ecstatic to see undefeated get a documentary nod. it starts out with such a hollywood premise: white coach rides in to save black inner-city football program, but then does it so much better than hollywood ever could. it'll be high on my best picture list.
i'm hoping the best foreign film and screenplay nods for a separation means it'll be shown in a theater somewhere within a 200-mile radius of los angeles county at some point. i've heard nothing but the highest praise for it.
best soundtrack of the year was alexandre desplat for ELIC, and he didn't even get a nod. disgraceful. the song by brad pitt's daughter at the end of moneyball was absolutely pitch perfect. best connection of lyrics to film this year. again, no nod. like many others, i thought man or a muppet was one of the weaker songs in the film. life's a happy song was a no-brainer for a nomination.
so, yeah, this is longer than i intended. in conclusion, down with clooney. "i smack clowns with nouns, punch herbs with verbs..."
|
Printer-friendly copy 
Email this topic to a friend
Pass The Popcorn 
#/media/File:Firefly.png)
