2013 Awards Season Thread- Page 8

[best12bars]

Posted: 2/17/14 at 6:50pm

Hi, ray!

I did see "12 Years a Slave," and I commented on it in the thread for the movie. You can find it on the link below, on Page 3, followed by a brief discussion with other posters.


12 Years a Slave Thread

[best12bars]

Posted: 2/17/14 at 6:57pm

If anybody wonders why I have such a familiarity with the process, I had a very close friend who was in the Actors Branch for over 50 years and voted every year. For sixteen years, I would go through each Oscar season with her, and we would go to screenings together, watch screeners together (when that trend started), and I would even help her fill out her ballots (which was so much fun to discuss what we had seen one last time before writing everything down). We had very similar tastes, so she liked having me as a "movie buddy."

That's why I have a hands-on knowledge of what these ballots look like, how they are filled out, tallied, mailed in, etc. My friend passed away (at age 84) ten years ago now, and the rules do change once in a while. But after reading through the Academy website, I'm confident that little (if anything) has changed in the FINAL balloting process (not the nominating process, but the vote for the actual award).

The preferential system for Best Picture and the number of nominees is probably the biggest change since I was "hands on" during Oscar season.

Updated On: 2/17/14 at 06:57 PM

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 2/17/14 at 6:57pm

I think it'd be a shame to see GRAVITY lose to 12 YEARS.

[strummergirl]

Posted: 2/17/14 at 7:16pm

I think outside of The Wolf of Wall Street (which I ranked third behind Frances Ha and Inside Llewyn Davis on my personal best of list), 12 Years a Slave is the highest on my Best Of list but I still think American Hustle/Gravity/Her/Nebraska are good films albeit I am still not sure a few of those fully achieve what they are going for (personally, Her as a concept is one of the most interesting films but I don't know, it made me all Team Sofia w/r/t its unmistakable Lost in Translation connections). It's not going to be a shonda for me if either Gravity/American Hustle/12 Years a Slave win. I think that idea is what really is a strong negative against awards season by boxing those films in as such. It makes me feel bad that a film like American Hustle, that I actually think is an interesting David O. Russell does a 70s movie, but one of those 70s films that want to a be 30s/40s films than anything else, had to get such heat for either being Scorsese-lite (again, I really never saw it) or lighter than Gravity/12 Years a Slave.

It's like when The Artist won in 2011. I can't really hate the winner. I liked the film and there was little chance my personal favorite (of the nominees Tree of Life of the BP nominees and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy as an awards contender, Melancholia my actual favorite) had an actual shot. But unlike 2011, I actually think there is solid representation this year whereas 2011 was at 1999 levels of poor representation of that film year.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 2/18/14 at 1:11pm

Just watched Nebraska. Halfway through the film, I was enjoying its Coen-esque quirkiness (though it took me a while to wrap my head around those characters), but I couldn't grasp its BP nomination. By the end of the film, I got it. Very understated, but extremely thought-provoking and poignant. Last night, I felt like it was something I enjoyed, but doubt I would feel compelled to watch again. This morning, I already have the urge to watch it again.

[henrikegerman]

Posted: 2/18/14 at 2:37pm

Mister Matt, I felt exactly the same way through much of Nebraska, but by the end, it won me over so completely (and I so clearly understood and appreciated how the early part of the movie brought me to the climax and conclusion) and I left so blissfully enriched by it that it's my favorite of the best picture nominees I've seen (which exclude Dallas Buyers Club, Captain Phillips and Philomena, all of which I plan to see soon).

NEBRASKA and HER are my two favorite movies of the year (that I've seen), followed closely by AMERICAN HUSTLE and INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS. I loved all four of them. I also loved WOLF OF WALL STREET, greatly admire GRAVITY and while 12 YEARS didn't quite work for me as a whole, there are many things about it which I also greatly admire. PRISONERS, though not completely successful, was another notable 2013 release.

IMHO 2013 was a much better year at the movies than it seems to many.

flipside: HATED AUGUST: OSAGE and LA GRANDE BELLEZA. And while the acting in BLUE IS THE WARMEST COLOR is extraordinary, the movie itself left me asking "wtf was that and why did it take three hours?"

Updated On: 2/18/14 at 02:37 PM

[ArtMan]

Posted: 2/20/14 at 6:19pm

I just got back from seeing Nebraska. (This is the first year I have seen every nominated Best Picture). What a beautiful, lovely film. It will be in my top three favorites for the year. If you have elderly parents or parents who have passed, you can't help but identify with the story. Strongly recommend.

[ArtMan]

Posted: 2/20/14 at 6:19pm

double post Updated On: 2/20/14 at 06:19 PM

[strummergirl]

Posted: 2/20/14 at 7:08pm

Nebraska was sweet but it remains one of the least useful uses of black and white cinematography I have seen. I actually would prefer to see the color version. I can't believe what its Cinematography beat out at the Oscars for its nomination spot.

I agree with Mister Matt. It seems too small in aims, it being a first-time screenplay is obvious but understandable. I much prefer it to The Descendants, a film in which its praise I will never get but Bruce Dern, Bob Odenkirk, and Stacy Keach (I thought Forte was too quiet for even a passive lead and June Squibb got too broad) gave it gravitas. The ending was sweet and I am still a bit surprised by the defensiveness of critics that Payne has a bone to pick with Middle America. That felt more like my family than say a good chunk of August: Osage County.

I just saw The Counselor's directors cut. I still can't believe 20th Century Fox let Ridley and Cormac do that film or that they thought its wackness was salvageable by cutting 20 minutes. It's.... something. Not an awards movie but if you told me it had just 1/5 of The Wolf of Wall Street budget, I would've laughed at you. Incredibly well-crafted and Ridley Scott pulling a Peckinpah in a way that I had no idea was still in him. Honestly, as much as I admire The Wolf of Wall Street, if The Counselor had Scorsese's name on it and not Ridley's it probably would be in the same position as Wolf. Also, Brad Pitt soaring in McCarthy dialogue is one of the biggest cinematic shocks of the year for me. Marty has curried enough reputation and respect that he can make a practical NC-17/Fellini-esque corporate orgy after making a kids film and both films are Best Picture nominees. Ridley has been stuck on neutral for so long that I personally pegged Tony as better filmmaker for years.

[henrikegerman]

Posted: 2/21/14 at 10:10am

It might well be a great night for Mexico and for Mexico City!

Not only Cuaron's likely win, but Lupita Nyong'o. The Kenyan actress, like the Mexican director, was born in Mexico City and is named after Nuestra Señora de Guadaloupe. She also spent time in Mexico as a teenager.

"y tu Lupita También!"

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 2/25/14 at 2:28pm

So, I finally finished watching all the Best Picture nominees and this is how I would personally rank them if I were voting:

1. Gravity
2. Nebraska
3. Dallas Buyers Club
4. Her
5. Captain Phillips
6. American Hustle
7. Philomena
8. 12 Years a Slave
9. The Wolf of Wall Street