And 5 films is a record for me I think
.
I sort of hope this is a record for me just because I saw four times as many movies this year as in others,
but it's still not a great record haha.
I had to check up on this to see if it really was a record for me.
Yep, it was. I have so many new threads to make in this forum heh, so without ruining things I meant to do for those, I'll just say that I've seen 20 films (so far). Before now, the most I'd ever gotten was 12 Oscar-nominated films, which I did twice. Cool!
It's harder to be dramatic and thus requires more acting.
More acting?
It's all acting up there, man. And good is good, regardless of the genre. I think it's really unfair to say that the best dramatic actor is better than the best comedic one, as that is the sort of attitude that eventually awards dramatic performances that are much poorer than a really fantastic comedic turn. Bullshit, in my opinion.
I talk about comedy and drama because they are at opposite ends of the spectrum, but that is not to exclude genres like horror, fantasy, musicals, etc. With that in mind, how would you categorize some of them? A lot of horror films are rather serious dramas, but they get absolutely
no respect from awards ceremonies, while musicals are often grouped in with comedies because I guess they're lighter fair.
Ace Venture puts a smile on my face more than pretty much any other movie and Jim Carrey sells his character perfectly but that doesn't mean he should get an Oscar for that performance.
Why not?
That's very elitist if you refuse to acknowlege what you yourself consider to be a brilliant performance just because it's in a comedy. Dramas were not created to win awards, same as comedies were not created to make money at the box office. They are all meant to be good and entertain, or at least make audience's think. If they accomplish just that, why ignore them?
You don't need to be brilliant in a comedy, usually, you do in a high profile drama like TD.
Am I on the right track when I suggest you think that comedies by their very nature are slackers of the movie world? As in, they don't matter, while heavy-duty dramas are the only ones worth mentioning? Because I would argue that you
do need to be brilliant in your film, no matter what it is or how many people will see it. Otherwise, why bother? So few actors and movies end up getting recognition anywhere, but it's no excuse to refrain from trying. I mean, Johnny Depp is a big deal now, but he's given dozens of great performances over the years and boy was it worth it. If it's worth doing at all, it's worth doing right.
The situations in which characters are placed in in a drama/action film like TD are much more diverse than what characters are placed in in a comedy, such as LMS. You can smile on command, you can't cry on command, if you take my meaning...
I do take your meaning, but what I'm talking about is quality
period, not quality dramas as opposed to quality comedies. Anyone can smile, but are they doing it with feeling? Likewise, there are lots of crying scenes, but are they over-doing it or am I crying along with them? I don't see how the situations are more diverse in dramas over comedies, sorry. That is entirely up to the individual films, there is no general answer for this.
You still haven't answered my question about the difference between ensembles and cast acting. I could be wrong, but it's like a lot of your arguments are why The Departed is better than Little Miss Sunshine, which I'm not trying to contest as it has long since been established how you feel about the two of them. Telling people why they should think this or that about certain movies is not my game, so don't assume that's what I'm doing here.
I found there to be more brilliant performances in TD than in LMS yet LMS got twice as many acting nods.
You have to look at it case by case. Was TD going to get a Supporting Actress nomination? No. LMS? Had a good chance which we now know worked out. Was TD going to get any Supporting Actor nominations? Hopefully, but as there were so many to choose from, votes could be split. This happens a lot. For example, with THE GODFATHER, it had three nominations in that category and still didn't win. The people who might've voted for the film more than the individual actor split the votes amongst the three of them and in doing so, another actor was able to sneak in for the win. I bet there were tons of nomination ballots for TD but they were all split between Matt Damon, Nicholson, DiCaprio, and obviously Mark Wahlberg. It probably didn't help that people didn't know whether to put Leo in for lead or supporting. LMS had fewer performances to get mixed up with. It's pretty obvious who's lead and who's supporting. No lost votes amonst that cast.
If I wanted to get pissed off, I could remind myself that MEN IN BLACK won more Oscars than THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION (which still bothers me sometimes),
but the fact is that Shawshank had major competition in it's year of released and wasn't the cult classic that it is now, while I guess MiB didn't have as much competition in the makeup category which is why it managed to win. Doesn't mean the Academy is stupid for giving it more awards than Shawshank, it's just how things happened. If you think the acting is better in TD than in LMS, there you go.
I guess the only way you can relate is remmber how many great performances there were in ROTK and how the fans were not pleased when there was not a single acting nod, including Sean Astin as sam.
It's a damn shame, that is for sure, but with so many actors, I realize that they would've split the vote. Instead of LOTR-supporters uniting under a single flag, they would've been voting for McKellen, Mortensen, Astin, maybe Elijah Wood, or Karl Urban or David Wenham. Hard to say.
IMHO the Globes did it better this year, at least they nominated Leo and Matt both for TD.
They didn't nominate Matt Damon. In fact,
no one has, unless it's been part of an ensemble or team.
In TD the characters were in all sorts of situations where they had to react differently, anger, fear, anguish, shock, that's what makes a brilliant performance worthy of an award
Anger, fear, anguish, and shock - yeah, those are so different from one another.
Is it variety you're looking for? Because technically, all films about characters with personality disorders should then win awards because they're hitting so many different reactions on the emotional scale, yes? One thing I've always had a problem with when it comes to the American/Canadian/World Idol shows is that if someone bombs on one of the theme nights, they get kicked out. They could be awesome rock or country singers, but they stink at showtunes, so let's stomp on their dreams. That doesn't make sense. While it's impressive that some performers are that multi-talented, what's wrong with buying a pop album from someone who kicks ass at pop songs? Likewise, it's great when an actor can
convincingly play different emotions, especially in the same film, but as long as it's good, I don't care how many tricks they pull out of their hat or if it's in a certain genre. I don't.
I know they say that the only way to accurately measure acting ability is to have two people play the same role and then decide between them
There's no such thing as accuracy when it comes to movie opinions. Bias runs rampant, and whether the same role comes out weeks or decades afterwards, people are always going to cheer on the first one simply because it doesn't have the stigma of being "not first". I mean, did anyone care about INFAMOUS? No. Because they saw it last year when it was called CAPOTE. If they remade GONE WITH THE WIND or LAWRENCE OF ARABIA or something, do you think the new Scarlett O'Hara or T.E. Lawrence would get a fair shake? Lmao, not a chance. So no, I don't think you'd be able to measure acting ability in that way.
So, I just saw Pan's Labyrinth. Superb movie. Simply superb.
Its not for the faint of heart though, there's violence, brutality and some genuinely nightmare inducing scenes. Just don't show it to your kids, ok?
I saw it Friday night and mostly agree with you. Was let down, especially by the ending, and it paled in comparison to Del Toro's THE DEVIL'S BACKBONE (a similar spooky tale about children and the terrifying adults who surround them), but it looked great and the lead actress was wonderful. I won't be having any nightmares, though - you're a wuss.
No, I tease, but without the stepfather character there would be almost no violence.
*E* - I wasn't a huge fan of The Departed as well. It was perfectly filmed in every way, and yet it was very empty and cold.
I'll have to see it again, but yes, I just didn't care one way or another. Major props for the last ten or so minutes, of course. That was the one thing I have to hand to them.
I've said this before, but it's like looking at two pictures of a person smiling. One is a real smile, and one is fake. You can tell which one is real and which one is fake, but you don't know why. There's something in the fake one that is missing. The eyes don't have that extra glint, or something.
That's the thing.
Some feelings I can explain and analyze, but most of the time I just know it to be true. It's really hard to discuss most films because I hate so few of them, and not many really blow me away. Everything else in between, I'm sort of blank on! If it didn't affect me, what is there to say about it, you know? No wonder I rarely write reviews.
I just saw Babel....
talk about a Crash wannabe that totally failed. It had potential to be a great movie, but fell flat on its face. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone.
As many people are putting it on their overrated list as their best of the year list. I still want to see it as soon as possible, but with trepidation. Could you tell me something? Spoiler mark it if you must, though I would prefer not to read any myself. One journalist was saying that the -I think- Rinko Kikuchi (she played Chieko) storyline was the only one that really dealt with language barriers while the others could've just been handled by someone with a translater. The Japanese sections of the film aren't made clear in the trailer, so I never knew what they were about. Could you elaborate on them? Thanks.
An Oscar nomination for editing?
A joke, surely.
I never really get the editing category. I know what it is, and I know some phenomenal examples, but the Oscars always seem to nominate 3 - 5 of it's Best Picture hopefuls, which makes me wonder what the heck
they think editing is.
It's a non-entity, in my opinion, because of this.
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Sorry for disappearing this week, but the internet connection at my dad's apartment was really horrible and I didn't want to lose posts over it. I was able to see BLOOD DIAMOND, DREAMGIRLS, and PAN'S LABYRINTH, in that order, and each was better than the last. Slowly but surely putting together my list of the best films from 2006.
In recent news, the SAG Awards were tonight. Here are the film-related winners:
- OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE - Eddie Murphy
OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE - Jennifer Hudson
OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE - Forest Whitaker
OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE - Helen Mirren
Best Acting Ensemble - LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE
I don't get the utter adoration that the DREAMGIRLS cast is receiving.
Hudson's
acting was amateur at best while I guess people are happy Eddie Murphy isn't doing more sequels to Doctor Dolittle or The Nutty Professor. He was okay, but nothing special at all.
None of the other Lead Actress nominees showed up. Mirren is such a shoe-in, I guess pyjamas and board games sounded better.
Next up is the Directors Guild awards on February 3rd, and the Writers Guild on the 11th.
*E*