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Befade

Posted: Sat Mar 01, 2014 1:45 pm

Joined: 20 May 2004 Posts: 3784 Location: AZ

Out of the loop here. I like Oprah Winfrey for supporting. And Her for everything it can get.

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Lost in my own private I dunno.

inlareviewer

Posted: Sat Mar 01, 2014 2:04 pm

Joined: 05 Jul 2004 Posts: 1949 Location: Lawrence, KS

Befade wrote:

Out of the loop here. I like Oprah Winfrey for supporting. And Her for everything it can get.

Certainly concur on Mr. Jonze's masterpiece. Cannot wait for the DiViD, to see if Spike gives us the hour or so he took out of his first cut. My favorite picture of 2013, the paternal and maternal identification factors of "Nebraska" and "Philomena," respectively, notwithstanding.

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"And take extra care with strangers/Even flowers have their dangers/And though scary is exciting/Nice is different than good." --Stephen Sondheim

marantzo

Posted: Sat Mar 01, 2014 6:43 pm

Guest

" I like Oprah Winfrey for supporting. "

Betsy, I couldn't agree more (and I'm no Oprah fan). She should have been nominated and she should have won.

billyweeds

Posted: Sat Mar 01, 2014 7:48 pm

Joined: 20 May 2004 Posts: 20618 Location: New York City

inlareviewer wrote:

...it's N'yongo's to lose. [/i]

Apparently the correct spelling is Nyong'o. FYI and because she may soon be a major player.

jeremy

Posted: Sat Mar 01, 2014 8:04 pm

Joined: 21 May 2004 Posts: 6794 Location: Derby, England and Hamilton, New Zealand (yes they are about 12,000 miles apart)

inlareviewer wrote:

...the raw power and physical demands of Lupita's performance are weightier than the wacky bravura and obviated technique of Jennifer's...

In a microcosm, you have summed up why I feel 12 Years should win big.

Last edited by jeremy on Sun Mar 02, 2014 12:29 am; edited 1 time in total
_________________
I am angry, I am ill, and I'm as ugly as sin.
My irritability keeps me alive and kicking.
I know the meaning of life, it doesn't help me a bit.
I know beauty and I know a good thing when I see it.

inlareviewer

Posted: Sat Mar 01, 2014 10:20 pm

Joined: 05 Jul 2004 Posts: 1949 Location: Lawrence, KS

After tonight's Indy Spirit victories, am fairly certain "12 Years" and Ms. Nyong'o are shoo-ins. Ditto Mssrs. McConaughey and Leto, and Blanchett Du Bois was always going to win everything. It's her Helen Mirren as Elizabeth II year.

Still hope "Her" takes Original, though most Oscarologists think that one's an "American Hustle" sure bet. Sigh.....

Per The Oprah, didn't see "Lee Daniels' The Butler," so cannot comment.

_________________
"And take extra care with strangers/Even flowers have their dangers/And though scary is exciting/Nice is different than good." --Stephen Sondheim

jeremy

Posted: Sun Mar 02, 2014 3:21 am

Joined: 21 May 2004 Posts: 6794 Location: Derby, England and Hamilton, New Zealand (yes they are about 12,000 miles apart)

I saw “Saving, Mr Banks” tonight, a film that, to the irritation of some, was all but ignored when the Academy announced its nominations, but I can see why, it was ignored, that is. The structure and nature of the film was different from that I was expecting and probably better for it. However, , it was ultimately undone by disingenuously making Disney, the man and the corporation, the hero of the piece, at the expense of P L Travers (Emma Thompson), the author of Mary Poppins.

For those that don’t know, “Saving, Mr Banks” tells the story of the two weeks Travers spent at the Disney studios trying, as she saw it, to make sure Disney did not ruin her work by drowning it in schmaltz, turning it into a musical, using animation or missing the point entirely. She had yet to sign over the rights, but regardless, in retrospect, it doesn’t look like she won many of those battles.

The heft and surprising grit in “Saving, Mr Banks”, a film that I expected to be the lightest of comedies, comes from how the story is interwoven with episodes from Travers’ emotionally scarring childhood in Australia. These scenes elicit some empathy for the prim and repressed Travers and attempt to show how Mary Poppins is run through with autobiographic detail and feeling. Heavy with disappointment, they movingly capture the disillusionment and guilt of a daughter who witnesses her adored parents lives disintegrating in front of her. I have to admit certain moment brought tears to my eyes, as I suspect they did to those of everyone else in the cinema. However, I didn’t look to check for fear that they’d see that I’d been crying too. These emotionally rich scenes helped the audience appreciate Travers’ reluctance to let go of the rights to her book. Unfortunately, having labelled Travers neurotic, the film is then framed to show how Walt Disney (Tom Hanks at his most apple pie and cream) gently coaxed and melted the icy writer, depicted as a stereotypically uptight English woman, to entrust her cherished work to America’s favourite uncle. In holding out, Travers would have unreasonably deprived us of all memorable moments and songs reprised or rather shown for the first time during the film.

In a different world, one that feels more true, Travers was more interesting in as many ways as Walt Disney was not quite as lovable as drawn. A fiercely independent, bi-sexual, single mum who fought to protect her work from those who she feared would play fast and loose with it, for her time, Travers exhibited a rare and laudable strength and presumption.

Emma Thompson was excellent, as was Hanks to be fair, and she would surely have garnered an Oscar nomination were it not for the film’s other faults. As a Disney production, I guess it was too much to expect a more honest film. For sure, it would have been too jarring to have Tom Hanks baiting Jews, beating-up on unions or treating women badly. These are different truths that belong in a different film. However, some some period verisimilitude - a few elements hinting that fifties America or Burbank wasn’t quite heaven on earth for everyone - and an acknowledgement that Travers may have had a point, would have raised the film to a higher level.

Although at the time I felt her outburst was a little intemperate, having seen “Saving, Mr Banks”, I can now better understand why Meryl Streep chose to praise the performance of her friend, Emma Thompson, whilst at the same time castigating dear departed Walt. It’s the type of reaction dishonesty induces.

***½(out of five)

_________________
I am angry, I am ill, and I'm as ugly as sin.
My irritability keeps me alive and kicking.
I know the meaning of life, it doesn't help me a bit.
I know beauty and I know a good thing when I see it.

jeremy

Posted: Sun Mar 02, 2014 4:33 am

Joined: 21 May 2004 Posts: 6794 Location: Derby, England and Hamilton, New Zealand (yes they are about 12,000 miles apart)

I'm sorry, but For me, Dallas Buyers' Club feels like just another faux-transgressive, pat-yourself-on-the-back Hollywood film. In contrast to the excoriating honesty of "12 years A Slave" - and we're talking about feel rather than facts - it seems fake. For all his bad boy come good back story, the manifest qualities of his performance in DBC are contaminated. Similarly, Leonardo DeCaprio shouldn't win for TWoWS. The Oscar should go to Chiwetel Ejiofor.

billyweeds

Posted: Sun Mar 02, 2014 7:28 am

Joined: 20 May 2004 Posts: 20618 Location: New York City

Well, jeremy, we agree on Saving Mr. Banks, although you neglected to mention (as I would have) the significant contribution of Colin Farrell's performance as Travers's alcoholic dad to the Australian sequences.

About Ejiofor, McConaughey, DiCaprio, and 12 Years a Slave we couldn't be farther apart. The movie is bombastic and verges on torture porn. Ejiofor is a good actor, but his decision to underplay the role was not his finest choice. With Michael Fassbender's outrageous overacting competing with him, Ejiofor's too-restrained perormance blends even farther into the woodwork than it would otherwise. As for MM and Cap, they are both sensational, with Leo's one-in-a-million turn getting the edge.

Fassbender and Jennifer Lawrence in American Hustle are giving the two most ridiculously overhyped performances of 2014. (IMO these performances are not just not-great but actively bad.) If either of them wins, it will be a travesty to rival Glenda Jackson's victory for her lame attempt at rom-com in A Touch of Class and Angela Lansbury's loss for her indelible work in The Manchurian Candidate. Of course, Lawrence (through no fault of her own) has already perpetrated quite a travesty by beating Emmanuelle (Amour) Riva last year. Lawrence is a good actress and seems like a terrific person, but her only award-worthy turn was in Winter's Bone, for which (needless to say) she didn't win.

jeremy

Posted: Sun Mar 02, 2014 12:10 pm

Joined: 21 May 2004 Posts: 6794 Location: Derby, England and Hamilton, New Zealand (yes they are about 12,000 miles apart)

I totally agree about Farrell's contribution in Saving Mr Banks and that he warranted a mention, but I was conscious of the length of what I'd written.

I half agree about Lawrence, less so about Fassbender. However, I won't deny that DiCaprio's performance was an entertaining tour de force and I wouldn't begrudge him the win.

Last edited by jeremy on Sun Mar 02, 2014 1:53 pm; edited 1 time in total
_________________
I am angry, I am ill, and I'm as ugly as sin.
My irritability keeps me alive and kicking.
I know the meaning of life, it doesn't help me a bit.
I know beauty and I know a good thing when I see it.

Syd

Posted: Sun Mar 02, 2014 1:33 pm

Site Admin Joined: 21 May 2004 Posts: 12893 Location: Norman, Oklahoma

If I were nominating a supporting actor for 12 Years a Slave, it would be Cumberbatch rather than Fassbender.

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I had a love and my love was true but I lost my love to the yabba dabba doo, --The Flintstone Lament

inlareviewer

Posted: Mon Mar 03, 2014 2:57 pm

Joined: 05 Jul 2004 Posts: 1949 Location: Lawrence, KS

Speaking strictly from an armchair perspective, and flying into the face of hundreds of thousands of negative responses from critics and viewers alike -- an inevitable by-product of The Quickening's digital instant access -- this year's Industry Celebration of Itself actually went by relatively quickly, as 3 1/2 hour events go, at least if you didn't think about it too hard, and I didn’t.

Getting the (almost) worst out of the way first, the stage set bordered on the atrocious, wasted opportunity after wasted opportunity (although had to chuckle when there was suddenly a field of roses straight out of Derek McLane's "Loveland" set for the 2012 "Follies" revival). Nor was there a shortage of awkward transitions/missed camera shots in and out of commercial breaks, or, in the case of dear Sally Hawkins, after nominee performance clips.

That is all the more lamentable given that, from the ABC On the Red Carpet prologue into the show, the whole thing was more clearly designed for/skewered toward telecast values rather than in-house energies than ever -- if there was any doubt that the Oscars have become literally indistinguishable from Olympic, Super Bowl or WWF coverage, it was erased on Sunday.

Still, likely because of the wildly mixed reception to Mr. "Family Guy's" more outlandish antics last year, Ellen -- whom I maintain dibs on should gay men and women ever have to go back to beard marriages -- essentially kept things moving and kept it relatively nice, or at least, congenial. That, obviously, is part of Ellen's persona, and certainly the opening monologue had only the slightest bit of the benignly sarcastic flavor of her stand-up days (Open memo to AMPAS: Bring. Back. Bruce. Vilanch.).

Therein occurred perhaps the single biggest sub-conscious problem with the show: between the positioning of certain comments --- it was clear from her closing zinger that "12 Years a Slave" was going to win, and so it proved -- and the ordering of certain nominees/presenters, the cat was out of the bag in almost every category.

Even if one hadn't correctly predicted pretty much every outcome (no real achievement, given the glut of precursor awards and simple statistics available before March 2), there wasn't a lot of suspense, also correctly predicted. So, between the “Gravity” demi-sweep and the various forecast winners sashaying up to the mike, it fell upon Ellen to try to make the show, if not exactly exciting, then at least accessible. In that respect, the host went for charm and comfort over razzle and dazzle, and I personally liked that. What’s wrong with gentle humor, especially with much of the world watching? (Until, as inevitably happens around the halfway point, much of it isn't any longer).

Actually loved the "history-making" group Selfie (although Judy II's failed attempt at inclusion was a bit awkward); also the ordering pizza notion (though I did find myself worrying about all those costly frocks and tuxes), even if it really didn’t pay off. Thankfully, for once, the Scary Orchestra, sequestered east of the venue in the Capital Records building, was in abeyance, and if only recipients could learn to simply "Thank..." rather than "I'd like to…" or "I want to…" a few more minutes might be sheared off the show….as IF.

Still bitter, as have been for several AMPAS cycles now, that the honorary awards aren't a part of the main telecast -- would very much like to have heard what The Lansbury had to say, for instance -- but then, things like Mrs. Brad Pitt's extraordinary Jean Hersholt acceptance speech are now readily available on the Internets, so am resigned to that, but it still feels wrong-headed and disrespectful to just give us a snippet.

Conversely, as almost never in recent years, the groupings of three nominated films at a time, sadly now permanently turned into trailers, sort of worked, and the nominated song performances actually had some punch and point. Pharrell and those "Glee"-meets-the Young Americans dancers went for infectious broke, as Ms. Nyong'o, Ms. Adams and Mrs. Gummer demonstrated from Nominee Alley, AKA Row A. Karen O and Ezra Koenig went the other way with their out-of-context “Her” song, almost turning the Dolby into an intimate excerpt of “Austin City Limits.” Being a part of the population who is happy just to hear U2 being named, was fine with the “Mandela” song, even if that number came perilously close to an “American Idol” Results Finale outtake. We’ll get to the last nominated song presently
.
When the tribute to the 75th anniversary of My Favorite Film is more memorable for Judy Garland’s children being quasi-Kiwanis Club honorees in Row B; or for Whoopi wearing Margaret Hamilton stockings and ruby platforms; or Ellen arriving after-interval in Glinda mufti; than the classic being celebrated, the priorities of the organization and the producers are clearly out of sync, and don’t get me started on Pink, not when Anna Kendrick was present and accounted for. Nor did the fleeting, ultimately pointless "theme: heroes" montages, which felt like Chuck Workman doodles or something, remotely sparkle.

Small wonder and major mercy that the most spontaneous and meaningful aspect of the evening was the acceptance speeches, which had more combined polish and heartfelt eloquence than any Oscars show in recent or even distant memory. Mr. Leto set the tone immediately at the outset, along with Ms. Nyong’o, who was indelible, articulate and unmistakably sincere -- both of them made me cry. La Blanchett also came off remarkably perspicacious and witty -- no surprise, given how much advance practice she’d had at accepting awards already -- and if Mr. McConaughey seemed more individuated, to put it mildly, (a) he had to follow Cate, and (b) he certainly meant what he said. Am sure I’ll figure it out in 10 years.

Most of the other speech-makers, particularly though not exclusively the foreign-born winners, seemed truly grateful, with Mr. Cuarón and Mr. Lubinzki quite animated and off-the-cuff-seeming, given their foregone conclusion status, and Darlene Love all but stealing the evening with her "Eye is on the Sparrow" riff.. The producers of “The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life” had clearly read their Fred Rogers Acceptance Speech Playbook, beautifully touching. Ditto “12 Years” scripter John Ridley, incredibly so. "Frozen" songwriters Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez were adorable, and, being someone who loves Spike Jonze’s idiosyncratic personality, not only his win but what he said had me cheering and clapping.

Really, there were probably more Genuinely Worthy speeches than ever this year, and that’s got to count for something, if only to all the spouses, children and parents that got cited. If Mr. McQueen fell prey to Rushed Laundry List Syndrome at the final award, that was completely understandable, and his jumping up and down like an NFL victor was pretty endearing; plus, he might have also needed to get his circulation going again after his 3-plus-hour wait.

The presenters varied, though I got choked up at Bill Murray’s shout-out to the late Original Mensch, and a deep frisson when Ms. Jolie and Sidney Poitier came out together. Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Emma Watson need to do movies together, like, yesterday -- effortless chemistry and regard. Was a little unsettled by Kim Novak, for reasons both obvious and obscure, but at least she’s Vintage Star, and if Holdie Gawn seemed more clearly aged and less perky than usual, that might be at least partly due to her wearing one of daughter Kate’s old dresses.

There’s apparently been a great deal of snark about the Divine Miss M. doing the “In Memoriam” segment, which I don’t really understand. It certainly wasn’t her fault the producers opted to show the pictures of that Staggering List of Departed Icons before rather than during her song, then showing a Facebook page mural afterwards. She also made me cry, as did the sheer scope of whom we’ve lost in a year, and it was one of the more respectful obituary sequences in memory.

Gowns were mostly free of snafus, though wasn’t entirely convinced by the peplum/skirty thing around Ms. Adam’s midriff, but thought Ms. Nyong’o, La Belle Penelope, Viola Dearest, Ms.Lawrence and Ms. Theron were all especially stunning, and Mrs. Gummer, Sally Field and Ms. Squibb showed how a mature woman can come off with understated yet high chic. On the distaff side, the Leto/McConaughey white 50s prom look and Leo’s electric midnight-blue tux were mighty sporty. The less said about various stars' visible plastic surgery, the better, and as for the hair -- it’s ALL about the hair -- well, there was a lot of it, generally favoring either chignons, cruller-like upswept twists, post-Veronica Lake peek-a-boos, a few truly unnerving Dye Jobs, and/or, in the case of Mr. Leto, Jesus locks.

Ultimately, what really came through Sunday, loud if not always so clear, is that ALL televised award shows have become virtually interchangeable from reality-show competitions and sporting events -- one big homogenized Blob of Self-Congratulation, and that’s just The Way Things Are. I enjoyed it in this case, evidently more than it merited, but, between the aforementioned lack of distinction and the clear need for more rehearsal, would really prefer two other producers than that team I refuse to name since they ruined my favorite made-for-TV-musical decades back, no further comment.

Finally, must be honest: the laughing jag that resulted once my jaw returned to its proper place after Mr. Travolta’s now-immortal name-garble keeps recurring; speaking of defying “Gravity,” can only hope the Tony-winning singer of the eventually awarded Best Song does another Broadway tuner, soon. To paraphrase Ms. Midler on “I Remember Mama,” I never miss an Adele Dazim musical. That is all. inla out.

To edit is to edit is to edit

Last edited by inlareviewer on Tue Mar 04, 2014 11:40 am; edited 15 times in total
_________________
"And take extra care with strangers/Even flowers have their dangers/And though scary is exciting/Nice is different than good." --Stephen Sondheim

billyweeds

Posted: Mon Mar 03, 2014 3:38 pm

Joined: 20 May 2004 Posts: 20618 Location: New York City

inlareviewer--Two things for you:

1) Adele Dazim is opening in a new musical, and soon. It's called If/Then and you'll be hearing about it. It's written by Tom Kitt of Next to Normal and directed by Michael Greif of Rent.

2) This from my Facebook (and real-world) friend Baker Man: "Travolta was just trying to squelch the aggressive Gay rumors by pretending he does not know who Idina Menzel is. You just KNOW that he goes home and takes the toupee off and dances around the house to 'Defying Gravity.'"

inlareviewer

Posted: Mon Mar 03, 2014 3:48 pm

Joined: 05 Jul 2004 Posts: 1949 Location: Lawrence, KS

billyweeds wrote:

willybeeds:

1) Of course she is, and that will hopefully only be good for all concerned.

2) Makes sense, though am still not sure it wasn't some secret Scientology language, or sump'n. Am still unable to stop laughing, more's the pity....

_________________
"And take extra care with strangers/Even flowers have their dangers/And though scary is exciting/Nice is different than good." --Stephen Sondheim

jeremy

Posted: Mon Mar 03, 2014 3:59 pm

Joined: 21 May 2004 Posts: 6794 Location: Derby, England and Hamilton, New Zealand (yes they are about 12,000 miles apart)

Lupita stole the show: her radiant smile, her first-up dancing, that dress, her natural, slightly girlish elegance and, best of all, a beautiful acceptance speech, delivered impeccably.

In stark contrast, it was a shame that Steve McQueen felt obliged to read out a shopping list of acknowledgments - the moment was crying out for something more.

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