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gromit
Posted: Sun Feb 27, 2005 10:32 pm Reply with quote
Joined: 31 Aug 2004 Posts: 9005 Location: Shanghai
Fun stuff.
Some interesting choices.

Yesterday I was going to post that it was hard for me to vote for Eternal Sunshine for anything, because I saw it such a while back, whereas most everything else I saw within the last 2 months. I nearly voted for Kate Winslet, but ended up abstaining from that race. Ironically, I was too memory-challenged to vote for ESoftheSM.

I remember mostly enjoying Eternal Sun, but somehow expected more. When it was providing its payoff towards the end, I was still expecting another 1/3 of the film to come. I thought there was somewhere else it was going to go to, another level or another plot development ... or something. Too long ago to analyze that slight feeling of disappointment .

Definitely a surprise winner, according to my self-damaged brain. Nice to see people didn't overloook a film from the early (and much more feeble) first half of the year. Maybe I need to watch it again, now that it has such prestige.

I hated the Kill Bills, but can see how Uma's performance might excite some. I was pleased to see that we pulled the plug on Million Dollar Baby's buzz.
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Earl
Posted: Sun Feb 27, 2005 11:00 pm Reply with quote
Joined: 09 Jun 2004 Posts: 2621 Location: Houston
gromit wrote:
I was pleased to see that we pulled the plug on Million Dollar Baby's buzz.


Disagree with the sentiment, but that was a clever bit of phrasing.
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Melody
Posted: Mon Feb 28, 2005 12:00 am Reply with quote
Joined: 20 May 2004 Posts: 2242 Location: TX
Blanches were awesome, guys. Sorry I couldn't attend. I'm so psyched about
House of Flying Daggers!!!!

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censored-03
Posted: Mon Feb 28, 2005 12:25 am Reply with quote
Joined: 24 May 2004 Posts: 3058 Location: Gotham, Big Apple, The Naked City
Gromit wrote:
Quote:
I remember mostly enjoying Eternal Sun, but somehow expected more. When it was providing its payoff towards the end, I was still expecting another 1/3 of the film to come. I thought there was somewhere else it was going to go to, another level or another plot development ... or something.
Isn't this a bit of Kaufman's M.O. really. Not that I have a problem with him at all..he's just..he's just..different!

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jeremy
Posted: Mon Feb 28, 2005 6:49 am Reply with quote
Joined: 21 May 2004 Posts: 6794 Location: Derby, England and Hamilton, New Zealand (yes they are about 12,000 miles apart)
A fantastic show Lorne, I was sorry I couldn’t catch it live (I had a 06.00 GMT flight booked). Also thanks to Marilyn and her army of minions.

I picked The Incredibles, Uma, Kaufman and The House Of Flying Daggers, which for me was pretty good going. Though it wasn't my choice, I was also quite happy for ESOTSM to take best film. Million Dollar Baby and The Aviator are solid Hollywood fare, but, for me, essentially uninteresting. Admit everybody, you only voted for Marty for old times sake.

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lshap
Posted: Mon Feb 28, 2005 12:45 pm Reply with quote
Site Admin Joined: 12 May 2004 Posts: 4246 Location: Montreal
Anyone wishing to see last night's Blanche Award presentations can see the show from the beginning here:

http://www.thirdeyefilm.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=42795#42795
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chillywilly
Posted: Mon Feb 28, 2005 1:27 pm Reply with quote
Joined: 20 May 2004 Posts: 8250 Location: Salt Lake City
Hey Lorne..

Were you going to do a summary list of winners? Just curious. I know you did a lot of work and it's wonderful, but nothing completes an awards show like a list of winners.

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Chilly
"If you should die before me / Ask if you could bring a friend"
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Kate
Posted: Mon Feb 28, 2005 1:37 pm Reply with quote
Joined: 20 May 2004 Posts: 1397 Location: Pacific Northwest
Lorne and Marilyn,

Just wanted to say thanks for the excellent job - it was very fun, even if I could not vote.
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Marilyn
Posted: Mon Feb 28, 2005 1:39 pm Reply with quote
Joined: 20 May 2004 Posts: 8210 Location: Skokie (not a bad movie, btw)
You're welcome. That's the idea of the Blanches--to have fun. I'm sorry some people's favorites didn't win, but there was a little something for everyone this year, and that makes me very happy. Now everyone, go see Open Water and see what really should have swept the Blanches!

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Syd
Posted: Mon Feb 28, 2005 3:01 pm Reply with quote
Site Admin Joined: 21 May 2004 Posts: 12887 Location: Norman, Oklahoma
Quote:
ehle64

Quote:

Syd wrote:
Where the hell did that Uma win come from.


From a kick-ass multi-layered performance. Duh.


Sure, but so was a lot of the competition. Kate Winslet got so many nominations I thought she was going to win.

By the way, The Aviator got six votes for Cinematography, Hero five, House of Flying Daggers four, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Kill Bill, Vol 2 three each. (See, every vote does count!) I figure the Chinese films killed each other off and The Aviator slipped in. Certainly not an unworthy winner, of course.

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inlareviewer
Posted: Mon Feb 28, 2005 11:18 pm Reply with quote
Joined: 05 Jul 2004 Posts: 1949 Location: Lawrence, KS
On the 77th Aclademy Awhoreds:

Speed, and I don't mean methamphetamine, was one distinct attribute this year, and it still ran over three hours. Even with Tivoluting through the commercials, the clipped, rainy-pavement-slick proceedings had a certain anticlimactic quality. Partly this was my being spoiled by the vastly superior celebrations around these parts, partly because the Racso's are now the last of the prizefests, and the suspense was thinner than a trophy model's forearm.

Then again, with so few big water-cooler talk films of 2004 represented (somehow I suspect Michael Moore, no matter what he may say, now regrets his withdrawing Fahrenheit and Passion was never going to get a Best Picture nod, no matter what its fans Believed), it may have been inevitable that Chris Rock, who always rocks my world, felt rather shoe-horned in, at least in the opening monologue. The Industry slams didn't necessarily unnerve (and, according to onsite sources, were received by the house with the sort of non-reaction that would dignify Letterman's "Uma, Oprah" line, if not Whoopi's "What colour is your wind?" quip). Even the Bush knocks were, for this firecracker, comparatively safe, and only the (hilarious) comments from the Magic Johnson Cinema really ventured into genuine satire/comment.

In other words, it was Chris Rock behaving himself, and that's only half a Rock. The whole fuss about the tape-delay, etc., was revealed as the ratings bait that it was.

That said, Le Rock was, as ever, welcome company, and he made me snort more than thrice. The business with the groups of non-performance nominees onstage and/or in-house was certainly efficient, if a bit like a cross between a political convention and Let's Make a Deal. I suspect they'll revive one or the other ploys, but not both.

It was nice to have all four acting categories represented by clips again. Am undecided whether omitting the Best Picture snippets was cagey or not, but the opening montage was energizing in the best Workman workmanlike manner, and the obit montage was very fine, given that Yo Yo Ma had to compete with the inevitable applause (and thank heavens they had the good sense to end on Brando).

This one of the "special" touches felt quite special indeed.

Like Antonio B. and The Great Santana doing (YES!) the most deserving Best Song winner with such self-contained mutual intimacy, or Jorge Drexler's wonderful a capella sung acceptance. To me, many memorable moments (save for Mr. Foxx, but we'll get back to him) in acceptance came from non-actors -- Charlie Kaufman's (YES!) desire not to take his time but get off stage, or the Ray sound mixer's reminder that such categories are artistic, as in artisans, as in craftspeople. Here, and in the Best Short Documentarian's casual acknowlegment of same-sex partnership, and Sidney Lumet's thanking of the movies, to name three, there was, if not cutting-edge, a genuine spontaneity, and both The Sea Inside and Born to Brothels made me re-determine to see them.

In fact, there were very few "dud" speeches, just as there were very few "dud" jokes (the Jude Law business was unfortunate at the top, but Le Penn's rejoinder was even less well-judged), though the business with Adam Sandler and Le Rock as an "absent" Mrs. Michael Douglas was Racso lameness personified.

The same held for the fashions, with nary a swan-dress or self-designed on-the-bias monstrosity to be seen. Of course, all the fashionistas round Tinseltoon made rapturous over Ms. Swank's blue jersey. It was most striking, though I prefer not to see nippling through fabric and the follow-the-back-to-my-butt bareness was too severe for the rest of the look. Loved the gowns on both Kate W. and Cate B. Ms. Madsen, Ms. Portman, Ms. Okenedo, and Ms. Staunton were other favorites, while Salma! Hayek! and Li'l Emmy and, yes, Mother-of-Twins?NOT really Roberts looked very Old Hollywood smashing. So did Okrah, but she's getting on my nerves lately; Li'l Renée needs to eat something, approaching Flynn Boyle stick-figure levels. Moreover, she, La Linney, Ms. Berry and Scarlett Dearest had, for me, distracting hair. And isn't it ALWAYS about the hair? (Beside, nobody got the jump on Beyoncé: her John Singer Sargeant black number on the Rad Corps-pit was beyond deevoon. Her styles throughout the tripartite performance slots were somewhat more obviated, but she certainly is a vision. As for her singing, well, it was valiant but rather misplaced in a French chanson and wasted in the deadly Lloyd Webbed pablum. I can say that the last number found her totally outsinging He Whose Name I Shall Not Utter For Fear Of Melting Like The Nazis in Raiders, even if that song made me vow to swear off all public television for the duration, treacle gone Annenberg Foundation-toe-curly). Liked it that Prince did a sort of ambisexual C.K. Dexter Haven thing, and the trend to blue was only fitting. I especially liked Johnny Depp's strange tie, though his hair was another story, and oh, those gold teeth.

As expected, was thrilled that some spread-the-wealth was in evidence, as in Mr. Kaczmarek's (deserved) Best Score win, or Mssrs. Payne and Taylor's (also deserved) Adapted Screenplay victory. Perhaps if Mrs. Gummer had been in contention to even out the playing field, or I'd seen Hotel Rwanda, I wouldn't have felt quite so much pang for Yes, Virginia, There Is Life After Candyman (the heart of her film), or Natalie Ascendent (amazing in the trickiest role in Marber's play). Only major disappointment in Morgan Freeman, i.e., God When Frances Conroy's Not Working, winning his doubtless deserved, beautifully received award was that meant that Clive, Clive, Be Still Our Hearts, Clive didn't get to be seen beyond his presenting. Still, the clips of La Blanchett were kind of scary, and we all know of my Hepburn Worship, so it was nice to see her win.

If I hadn't seen Mr. Foxx and Ms. Swank win at the Globules, I think I'd have been overwhelmed by their speeches. As it was, I found him wholly touching, her wholly authentic, and that, for me, outweighed the lack of tension in their wins (How adroitly Mrs. Warren Beatty maintained her composure).

But in the end, it was the East Clintwood Show, that some proponents of Buzz had predicted, not the Chris Rocks Oscar's World Debauch that many had hoped for. My sympathy for Scorsese! was tempered by the suspicion that in Aviator he's mellowing his style, and I prefer the Marty of Taxi Driver and Mean Streets. Call me kooky, but that's the Scorsese! for me.

Then again, one's old boss Roger Mayer was a perfect, just-prepped-enough choice for the Hersholt. Not exciting, not inspiring, but sincere and certainly deserving.

My pique over the non-inclusion of Eternal Sunshine, Motorcycle Diaries, Mr. Giamatti and Mr. Carrey, Marc Foster and Michel Gondry, and so forth, remains tongue-in-cheekily acute, and I agree with others earlier on this forum that Sandra Oh! But She's Good was overlooked everywhere, all year, and she sorta was the dry ice at the tasty tasting party that was Sideways. Then again, she sleeps with her director, and he's now a Racso-winning scribe, so that's all right. There's always next year. inla out.

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lshap
Posted: Mon Feb 28, 2005 11:22 pm Reply with quote
Site Admin Joined: 12 May 2004 Posts: 4246 Location: Montreal
Open Water was a very intense, very worthwhile film. Probably in my Top 10 of the year.

Here's my own "Shake-head-in-frustration" moment: I wonder what the voting would've been like if more of you had seen The Machinist.
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lshap
Posted: Mon Feb 28, 2005 11:28 pm Reply with quote
Site Admin Joined: 12 May 2004 Posts: 4246 Location: Montreal
Inla,

Great post! And this is a great line:

inlareviewer wrote:
the suspense was thinner than a trophy model's forearm.
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lshap
Posted: Mon Feb 28, 2005 11:30 pm Reply with quote
Site Admin Joined: 12 May 2004 Posts: 4246 Location: Montreal
Chilly -- Yeah, definitely need to corral the winners into one byte-sized poster. Will do, but not for another few days. More deadlines and, I hope, a C.O.D. cheque as my much-needed reward.
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marantzo
Posted: Mon Feb 28, 2005 11:34 pm Reply with quote
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inla, thanks. You're a hellofa reviewer. [/url]

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