The Oscars
Before i begin to write something relevant to this topic i must say that last month i had grand plans to upload around 8 new posts but well,all that grand plan went down the crapper.Lots of work at the institute has made it impossible for me to find the time to post anything.Since the Oscar buzz has started and i would like to say a few things regarding the Oscars.Lately,having watched quite a few films which had been nominated for the oscars i find it even harder to expect justice to be done even this year.Granted i have not seen any of the nominees for this year but i am all psyched for quite a few films-namely,Brokeback Mountain,Munich,Goodnight and Good Luck.I had hoped Jarhead would get some nomination at least for its camerawork by Roger Deakins but that didnt happen.Over the years i have seen the Academy ignore deserving candidates and give awards for popular contestants.To name a few-
Two of the most over hyped films in history to win so many oscars-
Unforgiven and Gladiator.To say that Unforgiven is a disappointment is a terrible understatement.Anyway,no matter how much i rant about how bad this film was it wont change the fact the Clint Eastwood's film won so many awards.
The best Actor/Actress awards are also no exception.I recently saw Fargo ,in which Frances McDormand won the Best actress Oscar for a 12 minute role.The shortness of the role isn't a problem.Fargo isnt a bad film,but that same year Emily Watson was nominated for Lars Von Triers' Breaking the Waves and that role was immensely more difficult.Similarly Ellen Burstyn was nominated for Requiem for a Dream .That year Julia roberts won for Erin Brockovich.That same year even Juliette Binoche was nominated.Dont get me started.We all know how Russel Crowe won the oscar beating Tom Hanks for CastAway.That particluar one hurts.In recent years,Sean Penn won for Mystic River(another overrated film) when Sir Ben Kingsley had a much more memorable performance in House of Sand and Fog.Sean Penn was nominated for I am Sam but did not win,though admittedly that was a difficult choice with Denzel Washington winning that year for Training Day.I plan to watch Training Day again some time soon to refresh my memory of Denzel's performance.Last year Jamie Foxx's win for Ray,beating Don Cheadle for Hotel Rwanda is another one i find unfair.Having seen both the films i can say that in my humble opinion,Foxx's role was overhyped.Throughout the film's shoot he either wore dark glasses or wore skin colored monocles to help him act the role of a blind man.Think 14 years back when Al Pacino did the role of a blind man in Scent of a Woman.Hell and Heaven difference.Moreover out of the 8 or 9 odd songs in the film he sung only 2.The rest was sung by Ray Charles himself.That in my eyes at least reduces Foxx's achievement considerably.Don Cheadle made the role of Paul Rusesabagina's role so lifelike that i was in tears in the hall.All this is only natural in a country whose favourite critic calls Sean Penn's role in I am Sam very easy and gives the film 2 stars while giving XXX a 3.5 star amazing adventure fest.This very same critic calls Forrest Gump unbelieveable and Cinema Paradiso boring and melodramatic.Oh well, i just hope that this year the Academy makes less unfair choices than all the previous years.
A little trivia before i end my post-did you know that Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon is one of the 4 films in the history of cinema to be nominated for both Best Picture And Best Foreign Language film simultaneously?The film holds the record for the most Oscar nominations for a "foreign" film. It was nominated for 10 Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Music (Song), Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay), Best Film Editing, and Best Costume Design.Ang Lee rocks!
Until my next post,goodnight.
posted by Tamal @ 9:27 PM
7 Comments:
Brokeback...Wooo Hoooo! Yee Haw!! Two thumbs up!!
"Brilliant", says Osanwe Centa's Rohan Misra.
So many good films this year, it's unfair. While I haven't seen any, I do believe they deserve accolades just for being made. Brokeback? Munich? Oscar wins will open up hitherto inaccessible markets, and hopefully, people's minds.
Ang Lee rocks.... Yee Haw!
The only reasons why I would be interested in the Oscars are - a. I get to make a list of good movies that I should definetly watch ( from both nominees and winners) and b. Oscar winning performances and nominations gather a lot of hoopla which allow the films to come to India faster.
Apart from that I like to listen out the host, who has generally got a good bag of jokes to offer.
There is something which I would like to mention. There is a definite gay trend in the movies, case in point - The Family Stone. The subject is being more openly dealt with in the movies. Recently India's "Bobby Darling" won accolades for Best Supporting actor. Society seems to be warming up to the new way of life. The winds are a changing....
Cheers
An addendum. Rohan felt that it was almost inevitable that he would comment on the Jet-Sahara deal being so closely connected to the aviation industry. Tamal is almost expected to put up a strong post on Oscars.....it just seems that every body just has to make a point...
i know this is not leading anywhere but i just felt that i should express this point...
i am expected to make a point??but who expects me to make a point?quite friankly i posted this article on an impulse and no requests or talk had been started on the oscars.As for the gay trend in movies,how is it different than the straight trend that has been in cinema as long as it has existed?But more importantly it is not the new way of life.It has been there for a long time.The Greeks have pracitced it,so did the Romans.And it is extremely prevalent in the animal kingdom so it is not a recent phenomenon.One thing though adi,i didnt understad what you meant by "it just seems that every body just has to make a point".Elucidate please.
Tamal,
Nobody needs to initiate these talks. You have a passion for movies and more over you are now very closely related to the flicks. What I intend to say is that being connected to the line, you would have something valuable, insights to express. Do not take me wrong, I am not putting this in a bad light but it is just a statement.
About the gay thing..the difference between the gay and the straight trend is that there is no straight trend, it is just there. There is irrefutable evidence of gay incidences and references in history but it is neither popular nor accepted by society in general. But the movies/news - media has started including a decent amount of material. I am sure that what is being done is not enough and more awareness is required but I see a flow forming...
Gay incidences in history?! Mwahahahahahahaha!!
As for the connotation that there is a deliberate (for whatever reasons, good or bad) agenda in the media exposure of gay stuff, I can point out a couple of things.
A few days ago, an 18 year old boy walked into a gay bar in North Bedford, Massachusetts, and shot and killed two people. There were other seriously injured. Did you hear about it in the media?
A 24 yr old was brutally stabbed in the back, just outside his home; on his way back from a primarily gay bar; in Cambridge, England. The police have arrested a 17 and 18 year old for the crime. Did you read or hear about it in the media?
A few years ago, a university student called Matthew Shepard was entraped and killed by a bunch of other students in Wyoming. His funeral was picketed by Church groups, who said he was burning in hell for his sins. A look at the group's website just now shows their memorial for Matthew, which states, and i quote, "Matthew Shepard has been in hell for 2680 days." End quote.
I could go on.
As for it being "neither popular nor accepted by society in general", I can only say you have no idea. They may not announce their presence, but they're there. I can safely say you probably know at least 10 people who are. They're everywhere. They're in your friend circle, they're in your family, your office...
Yeah, that's a conservative estimate. I kid you not.
humm...you say that "About the gay thing..the difference between the gay and the straight trend is that there is no straight trend, it is just there."cant the same thing be said about homosexuality?Just like heterosexuality it is just there??nevertheless,dont you think that the media has been quite selective in its telling of hate crimes?As for rohan,dont try to scare aditya.whats with the "They're everywhere. They're in your friend circle, they're in your family, your office..."lines??Are you talking about some alien??Sounds like a line from a horror film.But one thing though, the fact is for every film that is made on people who are considered by the self proclaimed normal people to be freaks or outside society,10 children are being taught how to hate them.These are the people who wont flinch while posting stuff like "Matthew Shepard has been in hell for 2680 days." This breeding of intolerance(It is more a lack of acceptance than it is intolerance)is against what i believe humanity should be.Intolerance like this led to millions of jews,gypsies,blacks,homosexuals and lesbians being mass murdered just 60 years ago..Look how little time it takes people to learn to hate.Man ,truly a wonderfull creature.
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