Hey folks, it’s been a while…
I have so much to comment on and I’m way too late.
First of all, the Oscars.
If you read my post last year, you know I love the obligatory photo of the smiling foursome of winning actors. These four are a little more reserved than usual – no clinking of the Oscars – but still a happy and attractive bunch. Lupita Nyongo is a glowing change of pace and welcome “surprise”.
What was particularly nice this year was the sincerity of the acceptance speeches. They all gave very genuine and heartfelt speeches, especially Lupita, whose emotion was so exhilarating and refreshingly un-pretentious – actually, much like her “competition” Jennifer Lawrence the year before. These are the moments I watch the Oscars for, when people from out-of-nowhere win the lottery and we all get to live vicariously through them and celebrate the victory of talent over the longest of odds.
Otherwise, I thought the show was pretty good overall. Ellen maybe relied on the audience stuff a little too much, but I liked the way she relaxed the crowd and made the whole thing more accessible. I would definitely ask her back for next year. It moved along at a fair clip, the music was generally good.
Of course, the same cynical critics were out the next day carving it up like a Thanksgiving turkey. That never changes. I love when people complain about the length of the show as if it’s something new. It’s like complaining about the length of the Super Bowl! (Which this year would be apt, given the performance of the Broncos) I do have to agree with the people who criticized the film montages. I usually love those segments, but this year they seemed pointless. Even the In Memorium section wasn’t that well put-together…and as much as I admire Bette Midler, it is probably time to retire “Wind Beneath My Wings”. Almost any other song would have landed better.
Generally, I was happy – but maybe that has more to do with the two bottles of champagne we drank and the fact that I got 22 out of 24 on my Oscar pool!
I didn’t win much money, but it’s been years of losing and a matter of (wounded) pride.
What else?
True Detective, the HBO miniseries, was all the buzz the last couple months.
I was hooked like everyone else, but in the end, probably didn’t love it quite as hysterically as some of the other fanboys online. It was slightly too contrived and self-aware. But, man, it delivered some exciting moments. The actors did an amazing job and the dialogue was often a real treat. I’m on board for the next season, anxious to see how they change up the tone and setting and who they cast as the leads. Rumor is it will be two female detectives. I just love the idea of anthology series becoming hot again – it would make TV so much more interesting.
Meanwhile, the most memorable thing about THIS season was…
…Alexandra Daddario, who just about broke the internet with her nude scene. It was one for the ages. Wow. It’s safe to say she has a dedicated following now.
Words fail me. Thank you? God bless you? Excuse my drool.
Ahem. No good segue here…
Like so many movie fans, the tragic death of Philip Seymour Hoffman hit me hard. It’s not an exaggeration to say he was one of the most brilliant actors of our time and the fact that we have been cheated out of 30 or 40 more years of his genius really stings. However, great talent is often coupled with great personal pain…and at least now he is at peace.
Not that I would have ever actually been able to get it made, but I long had a film idea that involved Hoffman and Jack Black as middle-aged fuck-up brothers with nothing but failure and each other to lean on. I think it could have been a classic pairing. I would have loved to see how they bounced off each other comedically and the natural pathos underneath that bond. I think Black is a hugely underrated talent. I predict he will be Oscar-nominated himself someday.
Can you see it?
Somebody would definitely have put those two together…
I also finally caught up with a lot of movies I hadn’t seen –
I thought Dallas Buyers Club was excellent and deserved all it’s awards and more. I was surprised the director didn’t get nominated – he injected such anarchic energy into what could have been a staid TV movie. Same goes for Nebraska – which would have been my choice for Best Original Screenplay instead of Her. Bob Nelson, just another anonymous working hack of a screenwriter, wrote it over twelve years ago and it’s just beautifully constructed and paced.
All Is Lost, with Robert Redford, was less impressive than it’s reputation in my opinion. I think it would have worked much better with a different lead. Redford has never been able to show true vulnerability as an actor. That’s just not what he does. The best we get here is close-ups of his weathered leathery face, but there’s nothing much behind it, so, I never felt the desperation of his situation the way I should have. It’s a shame but Redford is ultimately a big disappointment these days, as an actor and as a director. He runs a mean film festival, I’ll give him that.
Just look at what Bruce Dern does with every scene in his film, whether he has any lines or not – the way he communicates so much with so little, a mere flicker of an eye – the way he allows himself to be not just vulnerable, but frail, with all vanity thrown to the wind – this is what separates a gifted character actor from a rather limited leading man who no longer can play the romantic lead.
Redford may be old, but he won’t allow himself to BE old on screen. He has never let go of his vanity. In his whole storied career, he has never really transformed himself into another person.
He was just a movie star.
Which brings us right back to the great loss of this man…
That’s it for now.
