-
Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.
Oscar Nominations 2016 |OT| 5:30am PT Thur Jan 14
- Thread starter BowieZ
- Start date
- Status
Or popular.
Freewheelin'
Member
You've pretty much just described the Revenant
I don't dislike it because its popular. It's just a pointless movie with surface level characters, surface level plotting, nothing interesting to say and true pretensions to be something more than it is. And Leo's performance most decidely is Oscar-bait.
The Big Short was pretty good. I am not its target audience at all - a 22 year old British student with no interest in economics or knowledge of the 2008 collapse, so I can only imagine how impressive it was to others. Not my pick for best film, but I see its value.
ashecitism
Member
Was thinking this or Spotlight. DGA will be interesting now, if McKay wins that, then yeah, TBS wins the two big ones.
Good fuckin deal. The Big Short is probably the most accolade worthy release this year, and it wasn't even on my radar initially.
I said it in another thread somewhere but The Big Short has all the makings of an Oscar winner despite its overlooked status going in.
A cast of white, male Hollywood darlings, about a topic that can make Academy liberals feel smug about themselves for choosing and plays that sort of humorous but serious tone the Oscars seem to love a lot.
Which is a damn shame because it is a very good film.
A cast of white, male Hollywood darlings, about a topic that can make Academy liberals feel smug about themselves for choosing and plays that sort of humorous but serious tone the Oscars seem to love a lot.
The Big Short is going to feel this wrath very soon if it beats out Mad Max for Best Director and snags Best Picture.
Which is a damn shame because it is a very good film.
Bobby Roberts
Banned
It'll suck, but I don't think it'll "feel wrath" at all.
Freewheelin'
Member
Film felt like the bastard child of Wolf and American Hustle. And its quality is roughly slap bang in the middle of those two as well.
Bobby Roberts
Banned
Took me a second to realize you meant Wolf of Wall Street.
I thought you were talking about that weird werewolf picture with Jack Nicholson and Michelle Pfeiffer.
Freewheelin'
Member
what if i am
I'm speaking mostly about on GAF.
If it wins Best Director and the Best Picture over Mad Max I think it certainly will.
Not saying it will reach Crash levels of backlash around here but it can be picked apart in areas if people want and given its already tepid enthusiasm and lack of exposure(couldn't even break 30 posts in the thread I made on the film) it winning the two major categories will probably garner a lot of "hate watch" exposure around here.
Bobby Roberts
Banned
So am I
"feeling wrath" is pretty hyperbolic.
And the Max fans (you're speaking to its bullet farmer, more or less) will likely be happy that it scored a shit-ton of nominations, considering almost all of us here on GAF had no real belief it would even get those for most of the summer.
I mean, I'm sure it'll be fun to dress up strawmen in their hyperbolic best in order to swing brickbats later, but I don't think there's gonna be too much "wrath" being felt. Especially if anyone's paying attention to what's happening in the next month. If it starts to look like Miller's not gonna get Director, I'd imagine the Max fans are gonna be like "shrug. Fuck it. We still have the movie."
We will have to agree to disagree on this one, I've been around GAF a long time and have seen the cycle happen time and again. It's already a fairly divisive film if you visit any of the threads.
Mad Max is my personal film of the year too but you have to remember most of GAF is not
as rational when it comes to their processing of accolades and snubs. If something can be torn down it will be. Give it an Oscar for directing over GAF's darling and the Best Picture? Yeah, it's gonna feel some pretty heavy hate IMO. Lots of people(dare I say a large majority of gaffers) haven't seen it and will go in very skeptical when it's won over something else they loved.
Which would be unfortunate because it is a genuinely good film and its a damn incredible primer for the financial crisis.
Bobby Roberts
Banned
We frequently do, I've found.
I dunno. Even if "wrath" was due to be felt, it's not that much of a concern. It's not really wrath. It's also easily avoidable.
brianmcdoogle
Member
I thought The Big Short was ok, but it felt like a lot of spaghetti being thrown on the wall and seeing what stuck in terms of its style, direction, and approach (some of it did, a lot didn't). I understand the admiration of its subject matter, but I would say there's also admiration in Driving Miss Daisy.
Freewheelin'
Member
I do think some of its stylistic choices will date it very quickly, think McKay tried too hard sometimes with all the montages and edits and whatnot. But scenes when the actors were allowed to converse at length, when it breathed a little, were the strengths.
Will date? They are there for posterity. In fact the montages are already aged.
Freewheelin'
Member
I guess I think showing images of Ali G randomly and whatnot will hurt the movie in 30 years when no one has a clue who Ali G is
Yes it sets it in a time and place, but it just seemed unnecessary to me; the story isn't served by referring so explicitly to such cultural images.
Why does the audience need to recall everything about who Ali G is? That's hardly the point of showing him. The point was that money was being commoditized even in the media that was being sold to the general population. While Wall Street scandals were going on under everyone's nose.
But in terms of pure cinematography, is it here to serve a purpose and the story ? Is it ingenious ? Does it bring something new to cinema history ? Do you have sequences that stayed you remember because how good they portrayed the director's intentions ? Does the composition, lighting, shadows, depth of field, type of shots, tempo, rhythm bring something to how the movie visually tells its story ?
If you can answer yes to these questions then it probably deserves its nomination and maybe even the oscar for best cinematography (best picture is another question since it adds up pretty much every technical aspect and asks if this is a masterpiece)
brianmcdoogle
Member
I guess I don't mean specifically the montages using various clips, but more of the cumulation of the voice overs, narration, false narration, 4th wall breaking, handheld guerrilla camerawork, montages, the onscreen quotations, the cutaways, and so on. That's a whole lot of stuff that, on my first and only viewing thus far, doesn't feel cohesive or consistent. That's what I meant by my thrown spaghetti comment; the filmmakers certainly tried a bunch of stuff, and some of it certainly worked, but not all, and it felt like overcompensation or desperation at times.
And, on a separate note, I found those scenes where a celebrity explained a complex financial issue to not be funny and quite condescending, but I'm very much in the minority on that since most people seem to love them. *shrugs*
It's a fine movie, and not bad, but I'm just a bit surprised that this is something a lot of people are circling.
And, on a separate note, I found those scenes where a celebrity explained a complex financial issue to not be funny and quite condescending, but I'm very much in the minority on that since most people seem to love them. *shrugs*
It's a fine movie, and not bad, but I'm just a bit surprised that this is something a lot of people are circling.
Freewheelin'
Member
It certainly didn't feel like that. It felt like "lets put in something that was popular around this time".
The film was pretty much a two hour YouTube video telling me about how the financial crisis came about. It was entertaining. It had a point. It mostly achieved its intentions. It was very well acted. It is a relevant piece of cinema. But it was largely a bunch of characters explaining to one another how this all came about; most of its bum notes were scenes exploring Bale or Carell very briefly.
Still enjoyed it, and far more purpose than The Revenant had. Would be a good film to show economics classes.
The answer to all of those for me is no. Lubezki was poorly served by the script. Nothing for him to do but paint pretty pictures.
Awesome for The Big Short. What will clench it is if it wins Ensemble at SAG tonight over Spotlight. Here's hoping for the best.
Heh, it's funny, because someone I know pointed out to me that McKay has an advantage at the DGA that he won't have the Oscars: his TV connections. Honestly, if McKay wins the DGA, I could still see him being upset at the Oscars now, but I'd still bet on him winning. It's also funny because I rewatched Fury Road two days ago and now I'm definitely rooting for Miller despite predicting McKay.
So it won't be too much crow.
Heh, it's funny, because someone I know pointed out to me that McKay has an advantage at the DGA that he won't have the Oscars: his TV connections. Honestly, if McKay wins the DGA, I could still see him being upset at the Oscars now, but I'd still bet on him winning. It's also funny because I rewatched Fury Road two days ago and now I'm definitely rooting for Miller despite predicting McKay.
So it won't be too much crow.
Lionel Richie
Member
So, in the past few days I watched The Revenant, Steve Jobs and Danish Girl. Between the three oscar favorites for actor, Michael Fassbender had the best performance IMO. He was incredible, like he pretty much always is. When do we start talking about him being snubbed like we do about Leo?
Bobby Roberts
Banned
So it won't be too much crow.
Your benevolence is noted and appreciated
Freewheelin'
Member
Am I right in thinking everyone votes for BP, yeah?
Obviously the biggest guild is the SAG so they'll likely lend their support to Spotlight or The Big Short. Is there enough numbers in all the smaller categories that Mad Max could shock?
Obviously the biggest guild is the SAG so they'll likely lend their support to Spotlight or The Big Short. Is there enough numbers in all the smaller categories that Mad Max could shock?
It's better than every winner of the prize since 2009 (with the exception of 12 Years a Slave maybe), at least.
The short answer would be when he gets to be as popular in the public as Leo has been. As respected as Fassbender is as an actor, he's not a major box office draw yet and he hasn't starred in some of the most popular films of all time. He doesn't even have a public yet for there to be a public outpouring to parrot a snubbery narrative.
Bobby Roberts
Banned
Fury Road was never a serious contender for Best Picture, despite being the best reviewed film of the year. It did have a legit shot at Best Director, but if DGA doesn't go for him, Oscar probably won't either.
I hope not. Those cutaways should be a easy ice breaking staple in a number of introductory college classes and maybe even high school.
I hope his fanbase never becomes as annoying as Leo's.
A large part of The Big Short's strength (for me anyway) is its relevance and ties to something that is still having a significant negative impact on people's lives. It's not fluff like Slumdog or The King's Speech or The Artist, that you can enjoy on its own and then kind of forget about; what the movie's about still stings for millions of people, and will continue to do so for as long as Wall Street is left to their own devices.
If it wins -- which seems like a more or less of a sure thing now -- it'll be one of the more deserving winners in a long time, imo. Spotlight, much as I really enjoyed it, I think would've fit your description more.
Androidsleeps
Member
Fassbenser had quite a year with Slow West, Macbeth and Steve Jobs. As much as I want and think Leo will win this year, it would be amazing to see Fassbender takes the gold just for the internet meltdown alone.
Lionel Richie
Member
Still need to watch Macbeth, but Slow West is terrific as well. I haven't watched Frank until recently as well and dear God what a great movie. His agent is almost as talented as he is.
If either him or Redmayne pull out the upset, they might receive death threats lol but I really think both were better than Leo in their roles.
Androidsleeps
Member
So...
Revenant won at the Golden Globes
The Big Short won the PGA
Spotlight won SAG
I can only wish that Carol wins at BAFTA
I wonder if these three movies will end cannibalizing each other with the Oscar voters. Mad Max wins confirmed!
Well, they don't hand out acting awards at PGA, but seeing that actors make up the largest voting bloc at AMPAS and those same actors just handed Leo an award, I would say that comfortably places him as the surest bet this side of "hey, Pixar made something people liked this year, so that wins" for animated feature.
Voysa Reezun
Banned
Saw the Short Animated Films Oscar nominees last night. They were weaker than any year since 2011's nominations. The Story of a Bear is your probable winner; it had nice stop-motion animation and was a decent, if depressing allegory for Pinochet-dominated Chile. Prologue is probably the second most-likely winner just because of the beautiful pencil animations. I'd say that We Can't Live Without Cosmos is the third most-likely short to win this year.
I thought that The World of Tomorrow had the same message as last year's honorable mention The Missing Scarf with about a third of the charm, which indicates to me that this year we had underwhelming nominees. Usually, we also get a really fun honorable mention like The Cow Who Wanted to Be a Hamburger or that one where all the roosters and hens portrayed Louis XIV's court, but this year, we didn't really get anything at that level.
I thought that The World of Tomorrow had the same message as last year's honorable mention The Missing Scarf with about a third of the charm, which indicates to me that this year we had underwhelming nominees. Usually, we also get a really fun honorable mention like The Cow Who Wanted to Be a Hamburger or that one where all the roosters and hens portrayed Louis XIV's court, but this year, we didn't really get anything at that level.
All great movies. What a good year.
- Status
Similar threads
- Locked
- Locked