Oscars: Best Picture

[Emmitto]

http://oscar.go.com/nominees

I've seen Django, Lincoln, Beasts, and Les Mis. Of those I probably was most entertained by Django or Les Mis, underwhelmed by Lincoln although I see why I should like it more, and am conflicted by Beasts. Probably will catch Zero this weekend.

I'm disappointed not to see End of Watch nominated, loved it. Even The Grey, thought it was strong too.

What's your pick? What got snubbed?

[pkaib01]

Lincoln was stellar. Saw the rest.

[ursidman]

I've seen Lincoln, Argo, django, and Zero (tonight). Best was Lincoln for a lot of reasons although Zero was very, very good - go see it. wife liked Zero more.

[G8rChuck85]

Haven't seen any of them. I need to get to the movies!!

[ThePlayer]

Highly recommend Rust and Bone...incredible cinematography and special effects.
Raw emotion and tragedy, beautifully told.

[StrangeGator]

Disappointed that Skyfall and Moonrise Kingdom weren't nominated for best picture, but it was an amazing year in filmmaking. Even more encouraging was the commercial success of substantial films. Probably the best thing this year contributing to the across the board quality of films was that Michael Bay didn't release anything. Doubt we'll be so lucky this year. It's not like you have to go see his films, but it's pretty hard to avoid the trailers.

[Emmitto]

Originally Posted by StrangeGator

Disappointed that Skyfall and Moonrise Kingdom weren't nominated for best picture, but it was an amazing year in filmmaking. Even more encouraging was the commercial success of substantial films. Probably the best thing this year contributing to the across the board quality of films was that Michael Bay didn't release anything. Doubt we'll be so lucky this year. It's not like you have to go see his films, but it's pretty hard to avoid the trailers.

Agreed. Bay is producing and/or directing at least six films this year, starting with The Purge, Pain and Gain, and The Last Ship. He also has multiple TV shows in the pipeline. Our Bay-less utopia is going to be destroyed, big time.

[Wuerffel5220]

Flight for me

[wci347]

Originally Posted by G8rChuck85

Haven't seen any of them. I need to get to the movies!!

Same here. Didn't even know some of them were movies.

[StrangeGator]

Originally Posted by Emmitto

Agreed. Bay is producing and/or directing at least six films this year, starting with The Purge, Pain and Gain, and The Last Ship. He also has multiple TV shows in the pipeline. Our Bay-less utopia is going to be destroyed, big time.

That was actually a very good book. It will be interesting to see how he screws that one up. Stephen Soderbergh owned the option to that project years ago, but I can see how that didn't fit in with what he was trying to do. Six films is a lot to do in one year, but it depends on what kind of support he has, including the TV shows. His fellow Wesleyan alum have proven to be a great support network for each other, though everyone seems to try to separate themselves from him.

Don't know what's up next for the Transformer franchise, but safe to say, he's not invited to shoot in Chicago anymore. IMHO, he's an incredibly talented buy who got distracted by his fascination with violence, special effects and ROI.

[alphaOmegator]

I've seen Les Miz and Silver Linings Playbook. Silver Linings was excellent,IMO. Treated a sometimes delicate subject(mental illness) and brought it out of the closet through comedic efforts by its characters, played by:Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, and Robert Di Niro. Some of the interactions among the characters were hilarious.

I didn't care that much for Les Miz--rather dreary picture. I thought the acting was good, particularly Hugh Jackman..

[UFDelt1]

The 3 best movies I have seen this year are Silver Linings Playbook, Moonrise Kingdom, and Life of Pi. All 3 were absolutely incredible and very refreshing given all the sequels/remakes and superhero movies that have recently dominated the silver screen...

[Emmitto]

Saw Zero last night and really liked it. Of the five I've seen I can't pick a clear favorite. All make solid cases. I don't consider any of them all-timers but no duds yet either.

[Wuerffel5220]

Originally Posted by Emmitto

Agreed. Bay is producing and/or directing at least six films this year, starting with The Purge, Pain and Gain, and The Last Ship. He also has multiple TV shows in the pipeline. Our Bay-less utopia is going to be destroyed, big time.

What's funny is after Zero Dark Thirty, I said "wow, it took 2 and a half hours to kill Osama Bin Laden. If Michael Bay were directing this, he would've had that guy blown to bits by minute 27.

[Emmitto]

Originally Posted by Wuerffel5220

What's funny is after Zero Dark Thirty, I said "wow, it took 2 and a half hours to kill Osama Bin Laden. If Michael Bay were directing this, he would've had that guy blown to bits by minute 27.

Yeah, all that talkin' and cipherin' and shots dragging on past three seconds would not be tolerated in a Baysterpiece.

[StrangeGator]

Originally Posted by Emmitto

Agreed. Bay is producing and/or directing at least six films this year, starting with The Purge, Pain and Gain, and The Last Ship. He also has multiple TV shows in the pipeline. Our Bay-less utopia is going to be destroyed, big time.

To his credit, he might be good at TV, especially if he collaborates with some of his fellow alum. There's a core group of Wesleyan grads from the same era that have absolutely dominated TV and film over the last few years, many of them collaborating with each other, and/or JJ Abrams; Alex Kurtzman, Akiva Goldsmith, Zak Penn, Joss Whedon and David Cohan to name a few.

[StrangeGator]

I really liked Beasts of the Southern Wild. Don't know why I didn't vote for that film. It wasn't really the best made film, but it would be great to see them win. It was a great achievement.

[thedyc09]

My vote (Other) is for Moonrise Kingdom. Sure, it's something of a simple movie, but it was as immaculately detailed as any big-budget period piece because Wes Anderson is a meticulous genius and one of the best shot creators in the business. I swear his brain thinks in camera. And I stand by this - I have not come across any other movie that has had such universal acclaim among my peers. I don't know a single person that has seen it and not fallen in love with the world Anderson creates.

Is it quirky just for quirkiness' sake? I dunno - maybe. Does it recycle a little too much from the rest of Anderson's filmography? I dunno - maybe. Dammit, no movie has made me feel so happy after watching in at least the last 3 or 4 years. I wanted to applaud when the credits rolled.

[Sylez_G_Koolaid]

Originally Posted by Emmitto

Agreed. Bay is producing and/or directing at least six films this year, starting with The Purge, Pain and Gain, and The Last Ship. He also has multiple TV shows in the pipeline. Our Bay-less utopia is going to be destroyed, big time.

Pain and Gain is the one with The Rock and Mark Wahlberg playing Miami roid-heads, right? Finna see that, playah!

[StrangeGator]

Originally Posted by thedyc09

My vote (Other) is for Moonrise Kingdom. Sure, it's something of a simple movie, but it was as immaculately detailed as any big-budget period piece because Wes Anderson is a meticulous genius and one of the best shot creators in the business. I swear his brain thinks in camera. And I stand by this - I have not come across any other movie that has had such universal acclaim among my peers. I don't know a single person that has seen it and not fallen in love with the world Anderson creates.

Is it quirky just for quirkiness' sake? I dunno - maybe. Does it recycle a little too much from the rest of Anderson's filmography? I dunno - maybe. Dammit, no movie has made me feel so happy after watching in at least the last 3 or 4 years. I wanted to applaud when the credits rolled.

You have found a kindred spirit. Go back about six or seven months and you'll find a thread where the OP (me) goes on and on how smitten he was by this film. It still haunts me to this day. I see a trailer or even just an banner ad and I flash back to scenes from the film. I am as jaded a film viewer as you will find and not a complete Wes Anderson fanatic, but this film caught me square on the jaw and landed me on my back. Yes it was sentimental. Every frame was crammed with cuteness and Anderson's rich kid vision of the world. Some of the dialogue was forced. But everything worked. The casting was brilliant, especially Bob Balaban. The acting knocked it out of the park. Was really hoping Bruce Willis and Kara Hayward would get nominated. Still can't believe that it wasn't nominated for Best Production Design. The opening scene alone had more meticulous design used to greater effect than anything I've seen since Alien.

This may have recycled a little from Anderson's body of work, but more than that, it's a culmination of his aesthetics and his best instincts. He and Coppola are a great screenwriting team. They need to stick together. Part of what made this work better than all of his other films was that it got moving faster, that has to be RC's influence. The other part is the episodic nature of the film. Things just didn't happen in his other films. It was just people talking. This one never stopped moving. The characters were also much more likable, even if some were hardly believable.

Moonrise Kingdom is a gem. It's a film for the ages. I've watched it four times on the big screen and once on my 40" screen at home. I see something new every time. I catch an inside joke or cultural reference that I didn't notice before. But even the scenes that I know frame by frame, some are so heartfelt, so visceral, they leave me gasping for breath. The scene on the beach was a masterpiece. What a gorgeous tribute to French New Wave, but also a knowing look back at adolescent love. That rack focus on Kara Hayward's face was delicious. Never seen a 12 year-old girl melt the lens like that. She was smoldering.

Screw the academy. This movie will be immortal on its own merit. Hopefully it will give Anderson the insight and courage to expand his vision and fulfill his potential to be the most gifted and stylistically distinctive American filmmaker of our time.