For whoever is about to gasp at what I write. I apologize.
So, best picture. Well this category is probably one of the most flawed categories in the Oscar system. I mean, what is allowed to count vs. what counts, etc. etc. Not to mention who is voting on what counts.
I mean Curious Case, Frost/Nixon, Milk, The Reader and Slumdog were not even the best pictures worldwide last year.
On Rotten Tomatoes, the top three films world-wide (not counting documentaries) are The Wrestler, 4 Months, 3Weeks, 2 Days and Let the Right One In.
So. The whole "award" "Best Picture" actually means, best picture associated with Southern California.
Their is absolutely, not one person in the world not associated with Frost/Nixon or Curious Case, that will tell you those films are better then The Wrestler. The Wrestler is sad, lonely, dark portrayal of life, its perfect. And will go down as a classic that lost to a stupid film, as does this happen all the time. (Ala Titantic vs. Shawshank, Shawshank is now reasonably rated the number one film of all time, or at least more important then Titanic in the realm of cinematic history by FAR).
So saying that. the best film out of these is Milk or Slumdog. I have to completely rule out The Reader because I hate films that are done in in English using accents of the country they're in. Its so preposterous. WHY NOT JUST MAKE A FUCKING GERMAN FILM AND USE GERMAN ACTORS! Then they will say, BECAUSE IT WONT SELL AND WON'T BE INTERESTING TO AMERICAN AUDIENCES. Really? Like The Lives of Others wasn't a beautiful film? It didn't do just as good as The Reader will do. I didn't hate The Reader, but why on god's green earth did you need an English cast for that film? Kate W. is a stellar actress, ten alive, but hearing her do a German accent is so silly, its like Sean O'Connery doing a Russian accent in the Hunt for Red October, its the cliche that makes Hollywood films so silly, when each one could be a Renaissance painting. We can't speak the language so lets do a english verse in the accent that person would have if they spoke english. Rubbish and tacky bullshit.
That being said. I am confused how just because Slumdog had an American director (co-Director really, Danny Boyle ain't familiar with the slums of India, he had help. Look it up, he had a co-director.) can be counted as a flocking best picture. IT was definately an all Indian cast and crew, why can't the Flight of the Red Balloon, better movie, 4 Months, 3 weeks, 2 Days, also a better film, The Counterfeiters. which was a beautiful film be nominated? Oh. They didn't speak english, so it can't A) count B) be treated as the best picture.
Its frustrating and silly. I really think The Wrestler deserves to be here. The Brad Pitt / Fincher backed Curious Case and Grazer/Howard backed Frost/Nixon are two films completely overrated and undeserving to be here. Along with The Reader, which is a Weinstein powerhouse backed film, its who you know and hype. Honestly Milk is the only film here based on its "quality and skill", nothing else.
Milk or Slumdog is the best picture of the "group", I could care less who wins.
The Wrestler is the best American film of the year, why in f-sakes name isn't it in here.
Stupid Oscars, And Hugh Jackman for three hours? Yikes, on live TV too... Isn't he scared that he'll get outed? Not to mention, how ironic would it be for Hugh to be standing by while Penn gets the best Oscar award for a gay rights activist and if Hugh came out of the closet he would lose all his credibility. Seems like, Harvey Milk's work still has a long way to go.
It's a pity that it's the least interesting, most cinematically conventional of van Sant's films that has gotten the most attention. Not surprising, but still a shame. The best film I saw last year (given the difficulty of screening the film, I'm not sure if it counts as a 2008 or 2009 release) is Frownland, by miles and miles. Good luck ever seeing it in a theater though! I dragged everyone I could (ie two people) to the very few showings at the Silent Movie Theater in Los Angeles and without exception sparks flew from everybody's asses. And the two people were a computer programmer and an engineer, not art geeks. A film with amazing editing and cinematography and a wonderful story told with immense reserve is Ballast, which you might have been able to see for as long as a week. I don't think the general public are actually too stupid and too venal to understand or enjoy non-mainstream films, it's more that they just never get a chance. These smaller films, on the rare occasions they're shown, are pitched as 'art films' and people are taught that art is something scary that they can't appreciate without a PhD and some kind of emotional abnormality. Few of us are hardy and devoted enough to brave a long line full of douchebags with moth-eaten beards and body odor at the Angelika to see a film nobody's ever heard of. No wonder that formulaic, easy wins are plastered into every cineplex.
Comments
Despite it's snub, Wall-E is
Despite it's snub, Wall-E is my pick for Best Picture this year.
Hartwell
www.matthartwell.com
Contributing Writer @
www.elephantwords.co.uk
GEM !
GEM !
Best Picture
For whoever is about to gasp at what I write. I apologize.
So, best picture. Well this category is probably one of the most flawed categories in the Oscar system. I mean, what is allowed to count vs. what counts, etc. etc. Not to mention who is voting on what counts.
I mean Curious Case, Frost/Nixon, Milk, The Reader and Slumdog were not even the best pictures worldwide last year.
On Rotten Tomatoes, the top three films world-wide (not counting documentaries) are The Wrestler, 4 Months, 3Weeks, 2 Days and Let the Right One In.
So. The whole "award" "Best Picture" actually means, best picture associated with Southern California.
Their is absolutely, not one person in the world not associated with Frost/Nixon or Curious Case, that will tell you those films are better then The Wrestler. The Wrestler is sad, lonely, dark portrayal of life, its perfect. And will go down as a classic that lost to a stupid film, as does this happen all the time. (Ala Titantic vs. Shawshank, Shawshank is now reasonably rated the number one film of all time, or at least more important then Titanic in the realm of cinematic history by FAR).
So saying that. the best film out of these is Milk or Slumdog. I have to completely rule out The Reader because I hate films that are done in in English using accents of the country they're in. Its so preposterous. WHY NOT JUST MAKE A FUCKING GERMAN FILM AND USE GERMAN ACTORS! Then they will say, BECAUSE IT WONT SELL AND WON'T BE INTERESTING TO AMERICAN AUDIENCES. Really? Like The Lives of Others wasn't a beautiful film? It didn't do just as good as The Reader will do. I didn't hate The Reader, but why on god's green earth did you need an English cast for that film? Kate W. is a stellar actress, ten alive, but hearing her do a German accent is so silly, its like Sean O'Connery doing a Russian accent in the Hunt for Red October, its the cliche that makes Hollywood films so silly, when each one could be a Renaissance painting. We can't speak the language so lets do a english verse in the accent that person would have if they spoke english. Rubbish and tacky bullshit.
That being said. I am confused how just because Slumdog had an American director (co-Director really, Danny Boyle ain't familiar with the slums of India, he had help. Look it up, he had a co-director.) can be counted as a flocking best picture. IT was definately an all Indian cast and crew, why can't the Flight of the Red Balloon, better movie, 4 Months, 3 weeks, 2 Days, also a better film, The Counterfeiters. which was a beautiful film be nominated? Oh. They didn't speak english, so it can't A) count B) be treated as the best picture.
Its frustrating and silly. I really think The Wrestler deserves to be here. The Brad Pitt / Fincher backed Curious Case and Grazer/Howard backed Frost/Nixon are two films completely overrated and undeserving to be here. Along with The Reader, which is a Weinstein powerhouse backed film, its who you know and hype. Honestly Milk is the only film here based on its "quality and skill", nothing else.
Milk or Slumdog is the best picture of the "group", I could care less who wins.
The Wrestler is the best American film of the year, why in f-sakes name isn't it in here.
Stupid Oscars, And Hugh Jackman for three hours? Yikes, on live TV too... Isn't he scared that he'll get outed? Not to mention, how ironic would it be for Hugh to be standing by while Penn gets the best Oscar award for a gay rights activist and if Hugh came out of the closet he would lose all his credibility. Seems like, Harvey Milk's work still has a long way to go.
GEM?
What?
W
dark knight!! ToRi<333333
dark knight!!
ToRi<333333
It's a pity that it's the
It's a pity that it's the least interesting, most cinematically conventional of van Sant's films that has gotten the most attention. Not surprising, but still a shame. The best film I saw last year (given the difficulty of screening the film, I'm not sure if it counts as a 2008 or 2009 release) is Frownland, by miles and miles. Good luck ever seeing it in a theater though! I dragged everyone I could (ie two people) to the very few showings at the Silent Movie Theater in Los Angeles and without exception sparks flew from everybody's asses. And the two people were a computer programmer and an engineer, not art geeks. A film with amazing editing and cinematography and a wonderful story told with immense reserve is Ballast, which you might have been able to see for as long as a week. I don't think the general public are actually too stupid and too venal to understand or enjoy non-mainstream films, it's more that they just never get a chance. These smaller films, on the rare occasions they're shown, are pitched as 'art films' and people are taught that art is something scary that they can't appreciate without a PhD and some kind of emotional abnormality. Few of us are hardy and devoted enough to brave a long line full of douchebags with moth-eaten beards and body odor at the Angelika to see a film nobody's ever heard of. No wonder that formulaic, easy wins are plastered into every cineplex.