{"id":1249,"date":"2015-02-15T15:49:56","date_gmt":"2015-02-15T15:49:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/geneseymour.com\/?p=1249"},"modified":"2015-02-18T16:12:37","modified_gmt":"2015-02-18T16:12:37","slug":"seymour-movies-calls-responds-to-the-2015-oscars","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/geneseymour.com\/?p=1249","title":{"rendered":"Seymour Movies Calls & Responds to the 2015 Oscars"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"EMMA-STONE-BIRDMAN\"<\/a><\/p>\n

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\"the-grand-budapest-hotel-official-clip-im-not-leaving-2014-ralph-fiennes-hd\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Boyhood<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Why am I handicapping the Oscars yet again? Because I still can\u2019t afford to buy live ammo, live trout and a barrel thick enough to withstand the former and big enough to carry the latter.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s how easy this game is, despite mass media\u2019s insistence on playing it over and over and over, year after year after bloody year. It\u2019s gotten so that even when there\u2019s the prospect of suspense, as there was a year ago, the evening itself ends up being about as suspenseful as a congressional Electoral College vote. Even the things I was wrong about last year, didn\u2019t surprise me; notably \u201c12 Years a Slave\u201d winning Best Picture, though I was mildly surprised to have been right about its screenwriter, John Ridley, winning one.<\/p>\n

Anyway, since I think this year\u2019s crop is even easier to forecast than usual, I\u2019m going to do to try making things interesting (at least, for me) by adding a For Whatever It\u2019s Worth (FWIW)<\/strong> section beneath sundry categories. Mostly, I\u2019m going to suggest missing contenders. Otherwise it\u2019ll just be whatever pops into my jejune lil\u2019 head.<\/p>\n

Oh, and my projected winners, as usual, are in bold.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Best Picture<\/strong>
\nAmerican Sniper<\/em>
\nBirdman<\/em><\/strong>
\n Boyhood<\/em>
\n The Grand Budapest Hotel<\/em>
\n The Imitation Game<\/em>
\n Selma<\/em>
\n The Theory of Everything<\/em>
\n Whiplash<\/em><\/p>\n

Boyhood<\/em> seemed ahead by many lengths at the start of this season; not so much, now, even though some still believe its BAFTA prize keeps it in the game. They\u2019re wrong \u2013 and this says as much<\/a> as (and far better than) I could as to why this is now a foregone conclusion. The only thing I might add to Mark\u2019s diagnosis is that Hollywood narcissism is as much a device for denial as it is for self-congratulation. Editors and pundits, especially those who have no idea what movies are about, believe that controversy and buzz are all a movie needs to become anointed Best Picture. You\u2019d think that, by now, they\u2019d know that\u2019s the LAST thing the Academy Awards want unless \u2013 and only unless \u2013 they can somehow exalt themselves by recognizing the controversy and embracing it. But all the money American Sniper<\/em>‘s raking in isn’t going to make these people any braver about such things.\u00a0Not in this century, folk. At least not yet.<\/p>\n

FWIW<\/strong> \u2013 Overall, a good-but-not-great list appropriate for a good-but-not-great year. Only Lovers Left Alive,<\/em>\u00a0for those who keep asking, was my number one movie of last year and, similar to what one of its characters says about Detroit (where it\u2019s set), it is the one 2014 movie I think is best equipped to endure and ultimately prevail through 2064.<\/p>\n

Best Director<\/strong>
\nAlejandro Innaritu, Birdman<\/em>
\n Richard Linklater, Boyhood<\/em><\/strong>
\nBennett Miller, Foxcatcher<\/em>
\nWes Anderson, The Grand Budapest Hotel<\/em>
\nMorten Tyldum, The Imitation Game<\/em><\/p>\n

For reasons already mentioned, I\u2019m less sure about this one than I was several months ago, though Best Picture\/Best Director splits have at least since the century\u2019s turn gone from being a rarity to a semi-regular occurrence. Innaritu\u2019s winning the DGA prize boosts his standing, though it doesn\u2019t necessarily make him inevitable. I\u2019m still inclined towards Linklater because just his investment of time and effort is too impressive to ignore, no matter how you may feel about the result.<\/p>\n

FWIW<\/strong> \u2013 The omission of Selma<\/em>\u2019s Ava DuVernay from this category caused an outcry of such breadth that it came across like the pop-cultural equivalent of Ferguson\/\u201dI Can\u2019t Breathe.\u201d In terms of racial profiling (as in raising of profiles as opposed to diminishing races), I don\u2019t think things are as bad in Hollywood as they once were, say, fifty, thirty, even ten years ago. But as this shortsightedness proves, they could still be a lot better. And the movies better recognize that on this and many other matters, TV is way out in front. The Unbearable Whiteness of this year\u2019s Oscars will, I think, end up as an anomaly, but can we talk sometime about Dear White People\u2019<\/em>s complete absence, <\/a>too?<\/p>\n

Best Actor<\/strong>
\nSteve Carell, Foxcatcher<\/em>
\nBradley Cooper, American Sniper<\/em>
\nBenedict Cumberbatch, The Imitation Game<\/em>
\n Michael Keaton, Birdman<\/em><\/strong>
\nEddie Redmayne, The Theory of Everything<\/em><\/p>\n

It\u2019s essentially a race between the last two names on this list and as impressed as Hollywood can be with actors who go through the kind of physical transformations Redmayne does here, it\u2019s the larger, deeper transformations embedded in Keaton\u2019s weathered visage that will make more of a difference with voters.<\/p>\n

FWIW<\/strong> \u2013 Lots of MIAs here; notably Timothy Spall in the title role of Mr. Turner<\/em> and Ralph Fiennes’ embattled concierge of\u00a0The Grand Budapest Hotel<\/em>. The first is something you\u2019ve never seen before while the second is a polished exemplar of Mannered Screwball reminiscent of movies made in the decade its movie purports to chronicle. Though Philip Seymour Hoffman wouldn\u2019t have won for A Most Wanted Man<\/em>, a posthumous nomination would have been a nice gesture. And while I wasn\u2019t a huge fan of Gone Girl<\/em>, I was sure Ben Affleck\u2019s wry, limber rendering of sad sap Nick Dunne would get a nomination, especially given his previous snub for a Best Director nod two years back for Argo.<\/em> He wouldn\u2019t have won here either. But his absence points to the kind of harder-than-it-looks acting style that the Academy routinely overlooks in favor of the Big Bravura Effect.<\/p>\n

Best Actress<\/strong>
\nMarion Cotillard, Two Days, One Night<\/em>
\nFelicity Jones, The Theory of Everything<\/em>
\n Julianne Moore, Still Alice<\/em><\/strong>
\nRosamund Pike, Gone Girl<\/em>
\nReese Witherspoon, Wild<\/em><\/p>\n

Done deal. And she deserves it\u2026<\/p>\n

FWIW<\/strong> \u2013 \u2026but Cotillard, the most compelling film actress in the world, deserves it more for a performance that is (once again) too subtle and contained to satisfy the Academy\u2019s inclination towards the aforementioned Big Bravura Effect (hereafter known as BBE). Here\u2019s a little \u00a0irony to put in your tea: Seven years ago, Cotillard\u2019s grand, eerily detailed rendering of Edith Piaf in La Vie en Rose<\/em> won this award over the favored Julie Christie, whose performance as an Alzheimer victim in Away From Her<\/em> that year was a much rawer depiction of the disease\u2019s ravages than Moore\u2019s, which, as noted, has unsettling graces of its own.<\/p>\n

Best Supporting Actor<\/strong>
\nRobert Duvall, The Judge<\/em>
\nEthan Hawke, Boyhood<\/em>
\nEdward Norton, Birdman<\/em>
\nMark Ruffalo, Foxcatcher<\/em>
\nJ.K. Simmons, Whiplash<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

As with Christopher Plummer a couple years back, he\u2019s so inevitable that he\u2019s already sweeping up the foam packing peanuts that came with the statuette\u2019s advance delivery to his home. But as long as we\u2019re here, let\u2019s idly speculate. What if Simmons\u2019 performance had been placed where it properly belongs: In the lead actor category? Would he have been as decisive a shoo-in as he is here? Let\u2019s go even crazier. Since Denzel Washington is the only living actor who could have matched Simmons volt for volt in this role, would HE have been given a lead actor nod because of his relative professional standing? Or would he have likewise been nominated for supporting actor? Keep in mind that my comparison with Denzel doesn\u2019t shortchange but, if anything, amplifies the dimensions of Simmons\u2019 work here and I can only hope that the good vibes continue for him well beyond awards season.<\/p>\n

FWIW<\/strong> \u2013 Some people consider Norton the runner-up while I think Hawke\u2019s work in Boyhood<\/em> is every bit as committed and resonant as that of the woman who\u2019s a lock for Best Supporting Actress. (See below.) \u00a0The guy who got screwed here is Josh Brolin, whose gonzo LAPD cop in Inherent Vice<\/em>, was inspired, magnetic daffy-duckiness.<\/p>\n

Best Supporting Actress<\/strong>
\nPatricia Arquette, Boyhood<\/em><\/strong>
\nLaura Dern, Wild<\/em>
\nKeira Knightley, The Imitation Game<\/em>
\nEmma Stone, Birdman<\/em>
\nMeryl Streep, Into the Woods<\/em><\/p>\n

As with Moore and Simmons, it\u2019s hard to imagine a scenario where this doesn\u2019t happen. And Arquette\u2019s pitch-perfect evocation of a smart, decent woman seemingly condemned to making foolish choices in life partners stood out in her movie even more than its twilit reveries.<\/p>\n

FWIW<\/strong> \u2013 I\u2019ve already mentioned Affleck\u2019s understated comedic turn in Gone Girl<\/em>, whose one great performance belonged to Carrie Coon. As Nick\u2019s sister, she was the beating, breaking heart of that movie. She didn\u2019t get a nomination, but she\u2019s now got my attention, and deserves yours.<\/p>\n

Best Adapted Screenplay<\/strong>
\nAmerican Sniper<\/em>
\nThe Imitation Game<\/em><\/strong>
\n Inherent Vice<\/em>
\n The Theory of Everything<\/em>
\n Whiplash<\/em><\/p>\n

I could imagine any of these walking away with the statuette, but I can\u2019t imagine Harvey Weinstein\u2019s typically robust campaign on behalf of his leading entry coming away from this thing empty-handed.<\/p>\n

FWIW<\/strong> \u2013 Any script that would even try to adapt a Thomas Pynchon novel for the screen, even one as relatively accessible as Inherent Vice<\/em>, is worthy of a party favor, even if the result bemused as many people as it amused.<\/p>\n

Best Original Screenplay<\/strong>
\nBirdman<\/em>
\n Boyhood<\/em>
\n Foxcatcher<\/em>
\n The Grand Budapest Hotel<\/em><\/strong>
\n Nightcrawler<\/em><\/p>\n

Birdman\u00a0<\/em>\u00a0is Wes Anderson\u2019s only worry here. That\u2019s more of a director\u2019s movie. Which is to say Wes Anderson has nothing to worry about.<\/p>\n

FWIW<\/strong> \u2013 There were some who believed Whiplash<\/em> belonged here and would have won easily if it had been in its rightful category. Simply put, yes and no.<\/p>\n

Best Animated Feature<\/strong>
\nBig Hero 6<\/em>
\n The Boxtrolls<\/em>
\n How to Train Your Dragon 2<\/em><\/strong>
\n Song of the Sea<\/em>
\n The Tale of Princess Kaguya<\/em><\/p>\n

This has already won an \u201cAnnie\u201d in this category and nothing else here seems to have the legs to beat it.<\/p>\n

FWIW<\/strong> \u2013 Always easier to handicap when Pixar has an entry. Except they don\u2019t this year. (Whaaaat?)<\/p>\n

Best Documentary Feature<\/strong>
\nCitizenfour<\/em><\/strong>
\n Finding Vivian Maier<\/em>
\n Last Days in Vietnam<\/em>
\n The Salt of the Earth<\/em>
\n Virunga<\/em><\/p>\n

You ignore currency and\/or vitality in this category at your peril, as recent winners have proved. Nothing else in this year\u2019s group has both in such quantity.<\/p>\n

FWIW<\/strong> \u2013 Still, I was beguiled by Vivian Maier\u2019s one-of-a-kind story and wish there was still room for such quirky, gnomish movies to finish with the gold. We \u2013 most of us, anyway \u2013 don\u2019t live in a quirky, gnomish world.<\/p>\n

Best Foreign Language Film<\/strong>
\nIda<\/em><\/strong>
\n Leviathan<\/em>
\n Tangerines<\/em>
\n Timbuktu<\/em>
\n Wild Tales<\/em><\/p>\n

Ida<\/em> has swept most of the critics\u2019 awards and will likely continue its run here. It\u2019s an austere, beautiful piece that mostly lives up to its hype.<\/p>\n

FWIW<\/strong> \u2013 But, I dunno, I preferred Leviathan<\/em>\u2019s overall weight and power; the kind that usually mugs austerity in Oscar\u2019s back alleys. Wouldn\u2019t be an upset if it won here.<\/p>\n

Best Cinematography<\/strong>
\nBirdman<\/em><\/strong>
\n The Grand Budapest Hotel<\/em>
\n Ida<\/em>
\n Mr. Turner<\/em>
\n Unbroken<\/em><\/p>\n

Any of these would be a legitimate winner, but I\u2019m guessing the voters will prefer the one that makes sure you can see an almost-naked man walking through Times Square.<\/p>\n

FWIW<\/strong> \u2013 Mr. Turner, Mr. Turner, Mr. Turner, Mr. Turner, Mr Turner\u00a0<\/em>\u00a0(If I say it often enough, will they come to their senses? I\u2019m pressing on, anyway!), Mr. Turner, Mr. Turner<\/em>\u2026..<\/p>\n

Best Original Score<\/strong>
\nThe Grand Budapest Hotel<\/em><\/strong>
\n The Imitation Game<\/em>
\n Interstellar<\/em>
\n Mr. Turner<\/em>
\n The Theory of Everything<\/em><\/p>\n

Alexandre Desplat finally wins one. But for which one? Competing against yourself in the same category seems a formula for canceling yourself out. But Budapest<\/em>\u2019s music is far more striking than Imitation Game<\/em>. So Desplat beats Desplat here by a length.<\/p>\n

FWIW<\/strong> \u2013 I, too, would have liked seeing Antonio Sanchez\u2019s trap-set dynamics for Birdman<\/em> in this group. But there\u2019s no way Hollywood tradespeople give props to a lone musician inventing a score as he goes along. The Oscars go to\u2026people who help make more work (and money) for everybody in the industry, whether in ensembles or orchestras.<\/p>\n

Best Original Song<\/strong>
\n\u201cEverything is Awesome,\u201d The Lego Movie<\/em>
\n\u201cGlory,\u201d Selma<\/em><\/strong>
\n\u201cGrateful,\u201d Beyond the Lights<\/em>
\n\u201cI’m Not Going to Miss You,\u201d Glen Campbell: I\u2019ll Be Me<\/em>
\n\u201cLost Stars,\u201d Begin Again<\/em><\/p>\n

No one, not Joe Califano, not Harvey Weinstein, not Maureen Dowd, is going to stand in this one\u2019s way\u2026<\/p>\n

FWIW<\/strong> — \u2026though \u201cEverything is Awesome\u201d may yet become the anthem of the next collectivist revolution. (As if.)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      Why am I handicapping the Oscars yet again? Because I still can\u2019t afford to buy live ammo, live trout and a barrel thick enough to withstand the former and big enough to carry the latter. That\u2019s how easy this game is, despite mass media\u2019s insistence on playing it over and over and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[124],"tags":[639,644,664,652,641,640,665,658,647,659,660,653,663,657,662,654,655,643,646,650,490,661,512,648,645,642,651,649,656],"class_list":["post-1249","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-movie-reviews","tag-2015-academy-awards","tag-alejandro-innaritu","tag-alexandre-desplat","tag-ben-affleck","tag-birdman","tag-boyhood","tag-carrie-coon","tag-denzel-washington","tag-eddie-redmayne","tag-edward-norton","tag-ethan-hawke","tag-gone-girl","tag-inherent-vice","tag-j-k-simmons","tag-josh-brolin","tag-julianne-moore","tag-marion-cotillard","tag-mark-harris","tag-michael-keaton","tag-mr-turner","tag-only-lovers-left-alive","tag-patricia-arquette","tag-philip-seymour-hoffman","tag-ralph-fiennes","tag-richard-linklater","tag-selma","tag-the-grand-budapest-hotel","tag-timothy-spall","tag-whiplash"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/geneseymour.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1249","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/geneseymour.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/geneseymour.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/geneseymour.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/geneseymour.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1249"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/geneseymour.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1249\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1274,"href":"https:\/\/geneseymour.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1249\/revisions\/1274"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/geneseymour.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1249"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/geneseymour.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1249"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/geneseymour.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1249"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}