Finally, an extensive look at my Top 23 Films of 2011 and why. ‘But it’s February?’, I hear you ask. I know, I know, I’ve been slack, ok! Better late than never I say. And besides, the list kept changing! Before we begin, I ask that you please forgive the fact that some of the writing will seem pre-dated. I began putting this particular blog together well over a month ago (yikes). Off we go then, Thisfilmisonners! (more…)
Usually, in this first paragraph I tend to waffle on about prediction techniques and voting bodies. In fact, I wrote a few paragraphs about just that last night, but tablets being tablets, somehow my draft wasn’t saved. Be thankful, faithful reader, as it really was just a load of fanboy/voting body waffle. I’m waffling, aren’t I?
I only ask that you remember what makes the Academy Awards so prestigious and so exciting. They are voted for by the most qualified of filmmaking specialists, all of which have either won or have been nominated for an Academy Award themselves. On top of that, they are peers to every nominee that will be announced tomorrow afternoon in Los Angeles. And as many acceptance speeches in February will acknowledge, there’s no greater honour in film than being recognised by your peers.
Before I unveil my (I’d like to think educated) predictions to you here, exclusively on Thisfilmison.com, I’d just like to raise the point that I personally feel it has been an especially exceptional year for filmmaking. In Hollywood, and as far as Iran, stories have been told in the most beautiful fashions throughout the last 12 months. So much so that my Top Ten list had to be expanded to a Top 25 just to be able to recognise the films that I felt were the best. Twenty-damn-five, which is part of the reason that I haven’t published it yet. It will surface soon, in depth, I promise you.
On to the serious business though. Deserved films and performances will be acknowledged tomorrow, and some will be left out. The ugly truth is that there just isn’t room for everyone, which sad as that may be, does make for an extremely tense and incredibly exciting ten minutes as the Academy prepares to unveil their annual nominations. Without further ado…
Finally, the first big night of awards season is upon us. The critics associations have more or less had their say, and it’s been wide open. Even with ‘The Artist’ claiming the majority of the buzz at the moment, it’s still anybody’s award to win, in almost every category. Prestige that seemed secured only a month ago has been scattered to the wind as latecomers like ‘War Horse’ and ‘The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo’ have fought tooth and nail to find themselves smack dab in the middle of the tightest overall race in a fair few years. The latter providing an unexpected Directors’ Guild nomination for David Fincher and as a result thrusting ‘Tattoo’ into the Best Picture…erm…picture.
The Hollywood Foreign Press Association have included more than a fair share of heavyweight productions in their nominations for their two Best Picture categories, and also given true, quality comedies a chance to shine this year in the form of ’50/50′ and ‘Bridesmaids’. With all to play for, and excellence oozing in every category, let’s have a look at how things could prospectively pan out from 0100 GMT, a time of night familiar to all you awards buzz-heads.
Over the last few years or so, it seems that the meaning of taboo has gotten lost. For the most part, we have become desensitised to extreme violence and sexual content. Hell, violence is becoming forever sexualised, with sex being occasionally and manipulatively violencised (I’m not the first person on the internet to ever use that word before). And religion? You can pretty much say or depict it in any way you please without hardly offending anyone, it seems. That infamous scene in 1971′s ‘Straw Dogs’ has become entirely socially irrelevant. In fact, not only has it been all but forgotten about, it’s been remade this past year to the sound of little controversy. Where a certain film’s graphic scenes of torture once ignited conversation about how they made us squirm, we all now laugh at the many sequels that followed, praising the most creative ways in which a filmmaker can take a life. So what is left to shock us? What is left to challenge our principles and arouse what is left of our senses?
One of the more interesting angles you can take when putting together a film that is intended for a wider appeal is that of a hard-hitting family drama. ‘The Blind Side’, anyone? That’s right. We all remember the 2010 Best Picture nominee that took white people and black people, football and family, threw them all into a Sandra Bullock powered mixer and ended up raking in over a quarter of a billion dollars at the US box office. That staggering figure was based purely on a wide appeal. Susie Homemaker-mothers saw the trailer and instantly bundled their tough-guy, Coach Carter of a husband and four strapping quarterback sons into the Town & Country, and it was off to the multiplex. ‘This will be nice,’ she thought. I can only imagine the increasing moisture in the corner of her eye as Leigh Anne ‘intimidates’ some ghetto hoods by threatening that if they were to be threatening her son they would in turn be threatening her also. Realistically, following her emotionally charged street outburst we would have witnessed a nine pressed firmly against her forehead as she began to cry and beg pitifully for her life. Now THAT’S hard-hitting family drama.
As the holiday season draws to a close, the only phrase that has been echoing in my mind since the news of Pete Postlethwaite’s passing is ‘the gift that keeps on giving’. Over the course of a career spanning 40 years, hard-hitting professionalism was as invented as it was redefined. Steven Spielberg called him ‘the greatest actor in the world’, and most would ponder intensely before dismissing that claim.
Born in Lancashire in 1946 to Roman-Catholic parents, Postlethwaite trained as a teacher before briefly teaching drama in Manchester. He proceeded to train as an actor at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School.
It’s been too long, my dear friends. Firstly, let me briefly apologise for my lack of content over the last year. As important as my writing is to me, I just haven’t been able to find the time to keep my blog going with the consistency that it had this time last year. Saying that, it’s awards season.
Following the first few critics’ associations pitching in with their end-of-year awards, today brings the first real signs of spring. The Golden Globe nominations were announced this morning and let me tell you, there were some truly shocking inclusions as well as some pleasantly surprising (but half-expected) ones. Sitting comfortably? The Thisfilmison Road To The Oscars begins now…
BLACK SWAN
THE FIGHTER
INCEPTION
THE KING’S SPEECH
THE SOCIAL NETWORK
Four out of these five were no-brainers. ‘The Social Network’ has been cleaning up at the critics’ awards so far so will be regarded as the front runner by a whisker, but only because ‘The King’s Speech’ is yet to receive it’s general release. Early reviewers have been nothing short of astounded with Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush’s performances being hailed as ‘magnificent’, so expect a heavily contested race come January.
Jim Carrey is so versatile it’s unreal. Although hugely successful, he’s always been a bit under appreciated when it comes to his talent. Of course by under appreciated, I mean he’s never been nominated for a ‘big one’. After two Golden Globes (‘Man on the Moon’ and ‘The Truman Show’), Carrey started to undertake challenging roles on a more regular basis. His performance in ‘Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind’ was a wonderful shock to the system for every Carrey fan, but alas there was still no Oscar nomination. In fact, I’d be interested to know if any actor has been nominated for more Globes without receiving an Academy Award nomination. Astonishing for a performer of his caliber. History aside, if they snub him this year after allowing Sandra Bullock to beat Meryl Streep then my faith in that particular voting body will be well and truly shaken.
‘The Hurt Locker’ brutalized ‘Avatar’ Sunday night. In fact, I don’t remember the camera cutting to Cameron at all during the second half of the broadcast apart from when they announced his ex-wife’s name. Crushingly for him, she was sitting but one row in front of him for the duration of this one-sided takedown. As he gazed at the back of her pretty, talented head, ‘The Hurt Locker’ proceeded to scoop six Academy Awards. Best Picture and Best Director yes, but that was (in my opinion) a foregone conclusion. It also picked up Best Original Screenplay which went to a controversial Mark Boal who (angry military man aside) wrote a script that matched the intensity of the action piece by piece. Personally, I think that Quentin should have been considered for this one. Shows how much I know about how screenplay voting. I thought ‘Up in the Air’ was going to walk the adapted category. Silly me, right? But, we’ll get to that later.
So, just after the nominations were announced I wrote (at length) about who I thought would reign supreme in each catagory. Not much has changed over the last month, apart from I’ve now seen ‘Crazy Heart’ twice and am fully in love with its soundtrack. I have also re-watched ‘Precious’, arthoused it for ‘Un Prophete’ and treated my parents to some great performances in ‘Invictus’. During this period, there have also been many an award ceremony and many a controversy (ie. naughty ‘Hurt Locker’ producers). Needless to say, ‘The Hurt Locker’ has picked up pace winning big at the BAFTAs and (impressively) at the DGAs. ‘Basterds’ winning at the SAGs may have shaken things up a bit, but only slightly. At best, it will mean a screenplay win for Tarantino.
