#26
Posted: 11/12/04 at 6:30pm
I don't know if this was posted or if anyone has seen this, but it's part of a very positive review of the movie. (I shortened it since it was really long but I'm giving you the highlights.
"It's very scary to go out on the tightrope alone… and I don't really like to make declarative statements in the heat of a still developing Oscar season… but here I go…
The only movie that can keep The Phantom of The Opera from winning Best Picture is The Aviator.
Breathe.
Let me say it again. This is not about locking in a nomination. This is not a guess because the film is one my favorites, so it's got to happen. This is a film whose buzz has come, so far, 100%, from a handful of people who saw it in long lead screenings and have been pissing on it ever since. But they are wrong.
The Aviator is the only movie still little seen that has the size and the potential weight to kick Phantom out of a Best Picture win. It could do it two ways… it could beat The Phantom outright or it could create a split in the voting for the two big Old Hollywood pictures and allow a smaller film to sneak in through the back door. So it's not 100%. But anyone who thinks The Phantom Of The Opera isn't being nominated is, well, to be kind, just wrong.
I was expecting that the film would be pilloried by critics… and some will shriek. I would now estimate a Rotten Tomatoes response in the high 70s, a little lower for "The Cream of The Crop" perhaps. But the negatives will be for what the movie is, not for how the movie was made.
I'm not going to get any further into the movie itself, since I saw it only as an accomodation to prepare me for tonight's MCN Screening Series screening, which will be followed by a Q&A by Joel Schumacher. It is not the time for anything remotely resembling a review. (Honestly, I'll probably get yelled at for saying anything at all…)
But I can say this… it delivers on its aspirations. And even if you are not a Lloyd Webber fan, if you let yourself get into it, you will be drawn in.
To put it in Oscar terms, if Chicago was the new millennium answer to Cabaret, The Phantom of The Opera is the new millennium answer to Oliver. 11 nominations, 5 wins, including Best Picture. "
David Poland
"It's very scary to go out on the tightrope alone… and I don't really like to make declarative statements in the heat of a still developing Oscar season… but here I go…
The only movie that can keep The Phantom of The Opera from winning Best Picture is The Aviator.
Breathe.
Let me say it again. This is not about locking in a nomination. This is not a guess because the film is one my favorites, so it's got to happen. This is a film whose buzz has come, so far, 100%, from a handful of people who saw it in long lead screenings and have been pissing on it ever since. But they are wrong.
The Aviator is the only movie still little seen that has the size and the potential weight to kick Phantom out of a Best Picture win. It could do it two ways… it could beat The Phantom outright or it could create a split in the voting for the two big Old Hollywood pictures and allow a smaller film to sneak in through the back door. So it's not 100%. But anyone who thinks The Phantom Of The Opera isn't being nominated is, well, to be kind, just wrong.
I was expecting that the film would be pilloried by critics… and some will shriek. I would now estimate a Rotten Tomatoes response in the high 70s, a little lower for "The Cream of The Crop" perhaps. But the negatives will be for what the movie is, not for how the movie was made.
I'm not going to get any further into the movie itself, since I saw it only as an accomodation to prepare me for tonight's MCN Screening Series screening, which will be followed by a Q&A by Joel Schumacher. It is not the time for anything remotely resembling a review. (Honestly, I'll probably get yelled at for saying anything at all…)
But I can say this… it delivers on its aspirations. And even if you are not a Lloyd Webber fan, if you let yourself get into it, you will be drawn in.
To put it in Oscar terms, if Chicago was the new millennium answer to Cabaret, The Phantom of The Opera is the new millennium answer to Oliver. 11 nominations, 5 wins, including Best Picture. "
David Poland
Luv ya both. Wow. That is a great review. Go Phantom. Woot! Woot!
