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[Speevy]

I think Boyhood's biggest problem is that there isn't a scene in it where you could tell people "Like WOW, you have to watch this."


It's being appreciated as an ambitious project and commitment for all involved. It also has a refreshingly honest take about the rocky road of growing up.

It's easy to appreciate, but hard to love because it's just not that entertaining.

 

[starchild excalibur]

I feel a little upset at myself for not being as outraged at some of these comments as others (not necessarily on GAF, but elsewhere) seem to be.

I liked Boyhood and consider Richard Linklater an excellent director, but I think there were far better films that came out this year. And it's not surprising that the kid's acting was uneven at times - children often aren't the best actors to begin with. The comment about Arquette was a bit silly though.

I love PT Anderson, but Inherent Vice was his first mis-step in his canon so far for me. I put it mostly on the source material, which I tried to read a year ago but could never get into, and not so much his directing talent though.

I haven't seen Selma, so I generally haven't been as outraged about its lack of nominations. There are always great films that get overlooked. Both Children of Men and Beasts of the Southern Wild were criminally under-nominated in the years they were up for Oscars. The larger issue pertains to the lack of quality films representing minorities and not so much "Is [x] film not getting more nominations due to race?"

 

[CassSept]

That second guy really liked Theory of Everything.

The Sound editing was pretty great IMO, what were the complaints?

While mixing was off, sound design of Interstellar was impressive at times.

Spoiler

Docking scene was designed perfectly

 

[zoukka]

How these Clint Eastwood crapfests keep getting nominated is beyond my comprehension. Does he have friends in the academy?

 

[CassSept]

How these Clint Eastwood crapfests keep getting nominated is beyond my comprehension. Does he have friends in the academy?

And yet Gran Torino did not get nominated for a single Award.

 

[Serpentine]

I don't typically want things to happen solely for the reaction, but i do I hope Interstellar wins all the awards for sound.

And yet Gran Torino did not get nominated for a single Award.

...whoa. I didn't actually know this.

 

[Discotheque]

And yet Gran Torino did not get nominated for a single Award.

not even best song?!!

lol

 

[ZackieChan]

And yet Gran Torino did not get nominated for a single Award.

Rightly so. It's a goddamned travesty.

 

[Joni]

On weird criteria for choosing Best Actor:

If you don't like a movie that basically centers around a certain actor, it makes sense not to vote for them as best actor. The 'failure' of the movie is also their failure as a main character.

 

[MattKeil]

She's definitely right about Boyhood and Best Editing. Even if you didn't like the film, the editor pulled off a miracle of their craft.

I don't know about GotG getting a Best Picture nod, but it definitely should have gotten a nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay.

 

[JNA]

To be fair, Boyhood was one of the most boring movies I have ever seen.

How that movie is nominated let alone winning a Golden Globe is beyond me.

 

[Game4life]

The remarks about Boyhood was too generous.

The only opinion I could agree about is the Boyhood one. Boring movie about a boring boy and his even more boring family.

 

[Charles Foster Kane]

If you don't like a movie that basically centers around a certain actor, it makes sense not to vote for them as best actor. The 'failure' of the movie is also their failure as a main character.

Not necessarily. Best actor/actress is (and should be) about the performance.

It's not uncommon in Academy history to reward a performance from a mediocre/bad movie either. Recently, Streep winning for The Iron Lady comes to mind.

 

[titiklabingapat]

What do you even have to do to be a member. Can you just like sign up?

I didn't ask the specifics but IIRC, you have to work in the 'industry' (meaning tvs and movies) and be respected in your craft. Not necessarily just actors directors or producers. You can be a senior camera guy, costume designer, set designer, etc, and not necessarily nominated in the past. You also have to be invited by the Academy. It's been years since we dated though and that exactly didn't last very long so I might be remembering it wrong.

 

[VaultBoy101]

How these Clint Eastwood crapfests keep getting nominated is beyond my comprehension. Does he have friends in the academy?

Clint Eastwood is 84 years old and has been working in Hollywood for 60 of those years. I think it's safe to say that, yes, he has friends in the Academy.

 

[Joni]

I didn't ask the specifics but IIRC, you have to work in the 'industry' (meaning tvs and movies) and be respected in your craft. Not necessarily just actors directors or producers. You can be a senior guy, costume designer, set designer, etc, and not necessarily nominated in the past. You also have to be invited by the Academy. It's been years since we dated though and that exactly didn't last very long so I might be remembering it wrong.

- You have to be working in the production of theatrically-released motion pictures, not television.
- You have to be sponsored by two members that belong to the same 'category' you want to join, for instance a writer needs to be nominated by two writers.
- Or, you have to receive an Academy Award nomination. You don't need sponsorship then.
- The 51 member Board reviews all candidates including the nominees. Selected members will get invitations.

 

[True Savior]

How these Clint Eastwood crapfests keep getting nominated is beyond my comprehension. Does he have friends in the academy?

Clint Eastwood married (and divorced) all members of the Academy.

No leftovers.

 

[Anton Sugar]

If you don't like a movie that basically centers around a certain actor, it makes sense not to vote for them as best actor. The 'failure' of the movie is also their failure as a main character.

Disagree. A movie can fail despite the performances of the leads. Just because you didn't like a movie doesn't mean you should discount the performances.

In a system where "Best Director" and "Best Picture" don't have a 1:1 relationship, it makes sense that you could nominate/vote for "Best Actor" when you didn't like the movie.

 

[BioHazard]

wtf is GAF going through some sort of an anti-Boyhood and anti-Linklater phase? He has a "schtick"? His films are boring? Why? Not enough Marvel characters? It's probably not best picture and may be too likable, bland, or straightforward for some arthouse critics to champion as best of the year, but my god, going by this thread you'd think it was directed by Uwe Boll or something

 

[Anton Sugar]

Yeah, the hate for Boyhood is baffling, and I didn't even particularly love the movie.

 

[SolidSnakesMyStepDad]

wtf is GAF going through some sort of an anti-Boyhood and anti-Linklater phase? He has a "schtick"? His film's are boring? Why? Not enough Marvel characters? It's probably not best picture and may be too likable, bland, or straightforward for some arthouse critics to champion as best of the year, but my god, going by this thread you'd think it was directed by Uwe Boll or something

As someone who loved Bernie Boyhood was just such a letdown.

 

[Yaponchik]

Haven't watched Imitation Game and Selma yet, but so far imo by far, Whiplash should win BP.

 

[Staccat0]

I mean... Look...

Boyhood is more than the sum of it's parts because Linklater and the editing team killed it. It has some pretty lousy acting and whatnot.

Never saw Selma, but I'm cool with the people who made it being against the murder of black people though.

 

[Bobby Roberts]

Here's DAY FOUR:

I don't know enough about the real Chris Kyle to know if they got him right or wrong. He certainly comes off like a really good, gung-ho, A1 guy. Maybe he was an asshole — he certainly was not nice to his wife, spending four tours over in the Middle East — but you know what? It's a movie and you're entitled to take artistic liberties.

I have absolutely no idea what the difference is between this and sound mixing. [laughs] I vote for the movie that I like. I loved The Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies and I think the sound is such a big part of it — I have a great sound system at home.

I have not seen Last Days in Vietnam. Picking from the others, I went with Finding Vivian Maier. I loved [The] Salt of the Earth. Citizenfour's topic is interesting and she [Laura Poitras] did a good job, but I grew bored with it, to be honest with you. And Virunga, too — it just got too broad. But I was most impressed with the story of Vivian Maier.

 

[Charles Foster Kane]

Disagree. A movie can fail despite the performances of the leads. Just because you didn't like a movie doesn't mean you should discount the performances.

In a system where "Best Director" and "Best Picture" don't have a 1:1 relationship, it makes sense that you could nominate/vote for "Best Actor" when you didn't like the movie.

Exactly. That's what I meant in my post, but you said it better.

 

[Caspel]

I haven't seen all of the Best Picture nominees, but I have seen Boyhood and compared to Gone Girl and Budapest, I like it the least of the three. I'm eager to see Whiplash and Birdman to see how they compare.

 

[Serpentine]

Here's DAY FOUR:

man shouldn't you have to watch all the nominees before voting

 

[FourMyle]

agreed w/ everything in the title

 

[Extra Sauce]

It doesn't matter at all. We live in a post-gender era now

Personally I don't see gender.

Which makes dating really awkward.

 

[Jacobi]

American Sniper is the winner of the year, whether or not it gets a single statuette, because for all of us in the movie industry — I don't care what your politics are — it is literally the answer to a prayer for a midrange budget movie directed by an 84-year-old guy [Clint Eastwood] to do this kind of business.

What the heck does that mean?

 

[kirblar]

American Sniper is the winner of the year, whether or not it gets a single statuette, because for all of us in the movie industry — I don't care what your politics are — it is literally the answer to a prayer for a midrange budget movie directed by an 84-year-old guy [Clint Eastwood] to do this kind of business.

What the heck does that mean?

It made a lot of money. It's like saying Hogan/Andre was the best match at WM3 because it drew the most people.

 

[Joni]

Disagree. A movie can fail despite the performances of the leads. Just because you didn't like a movie doesn't mean you should discount the performances.

In a system where "Best Director" and "Best Picture" don't have a 1:1 relationship, it makes sense that you could nominate/vote for "Best Actor" when you didn't like the movie.

Yes, but it is different for movies that are basically one character stories. If I were to look at The Imitation Game and dislike it, the chance is very small I like what the one main actor did. It is different from other movies where you have more of a generic bigger cast versus these biographical like movies. For instance, if I for instance disliked Avengers or Guardians, I could still appreciate RDJ and Chris Pratt. So, while I see your point, I can also see the point of the critic in this case.

 

[Charles Foster Kane]

Yes, but it is different for movies that are basically one character stories. If I were to look at The Imitation Game and dislike it, the chance is very small I like what the one main actor did. It is different from other movies where you have more of a generic bigger cast versus these biographical like movies. For instance, if I for instance disliked Avengers or Guardians, I could still appreciate RDJ and Chris Pratt. So, while I see your point, I can also see the point of the critic in this case.

There are mediocre/bad character driven movies that have good performances. I think then it comes down to whether or not one can separate the two.

 

[Blader]

I think Boyhood's biggest problem is that there isn't a scene in it where you could tell people "Like WOW, you have to watch this."


It's being appreciated as an ambitious project and commitment for all involved. It also has a refreshingly honest take about the rocky road of growing up.

It's easy to appreciate, but hard to love because it's just not that entertaining.

And yet, people seem to love it.

 

[Branduil]

DAY FIVE:

➻ BEST ANIMATED FEATURE

I only watch the ones that my kid wants to see, so I didn't see [The] Boxtrolls but I saw Big Hero 6 and I saw [How to Train Your] Dragon [2]. We both connected to Big Hero 6 — I just found it to be more satisfying. The biggest snub for me was Chris Miller and Phil Lord not getting in for [The] Lego [Movie]. When a movie is that successful and culturally hits all the right chords and does that kind of box-office — for that movie not to be in over these two obscure freakin' Chinese fuckin' things that nobody ever freakin' saw [an apparent reference to the Japanese film The Tale of the Princess Kaguya, as well as the Irish film Song of the Sea]? That is my biggest bitch. Most people didn't even know what they were! How does that happen? That, to me, is the most ridiculous thing I've ever seen.

MY VOTE: Big Hero 6

➻ BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

I didn't get around to seeing any of them. You want the truth? I shouldn't have voted, but I did. This is bad, but here's the power of advertising: everywhere I looked, I saw pictures of this stupid carcass — whatever the fuck that was — and I thought, "That's a cool-looking thing." And I fucking voted for a movie based on the dead whatever it was in the ad thinking that it looked cool. [laughs]

MY VOTE: Leviathan

➻ BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

It gets worse, for the same fucking reason. I didn't see any of the nominees, but goddamn Virunga is running commercials late-night every freaking hour, and those gorillas, man — I was like, "Wow, that looks heavy." I said, "That looks good," and I voted for it.

MY VOTE: Virunga

➻ BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

I thought the Theory score was beautiful, but I voted for my friend Alexandre Desplat [who is nominated in the category for both The Grand Budapest Hotel and The Imitation Game] because I want him to win and, to be honest with you, I don't give a shit which movie he wins for. I texted a week-and-a-half ago and I said, "Okay, what do you feel is your strongest suit? Because I want to put some energy behind it." And he said, "I don't know." So I waited, and then when he won the BAFTA and a Grammy for Budapest, I wrote him back and said, "Well, dude, it's Budapest, baby!"

MY VOTE: The Grand Budapest Hotel

MY VOTE: Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

➻ BEST ANIMATED SHORT

➻ BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT

➻ BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT

I didn't do any of that.

MY VOTE FOR ALL THREE: I abstain.

 

[Empty]

The biggest snub for me was Chris Miller and Phil Lord not getting in for [The] Lego [Movie]. When a movie is that successful and culturally hits all the right chords and does that kind of box-office — for that movie not to be in over these two obscure freakin' Chinese fuckin' things that nobody ever freakin' saw [an apparent reference to the Japanese film The Tale of the Princess Kaguya, as well as the Irish film Song of the Sea]?

ahaha i'm glad lego film got snubbed now

 

[Goodstyle]

I don't know what I hate more about academy voters, their casual racism or their distaste for animated movies.

 

[Elwood Blues]

Boyhood is the movie that took 13 years to make, and felt like it took 13 years to watch.

 

[Kinyou]

DAY FIVE:

Gah, why vote in a category if you obviously don't give a shit

 

[pa22word]

I really don't get why people are not understanding what he's saying about American Sniper.

He's applauding its success because of how it succeeded given its budget, and how it might pave the way for more middle tier movie success stories in the future given that it may lead to studios being more inclined to take risks on smaller budget endeavors rather than throwing hundreds of millions of dollars on an all or nothing bombshells, like superhero movies.

Which personally I think is overstating it a bit, considering when all else fails you can always rely on a little ra-ra nationalism and a deft marketing campaign to get the american movie audience into the theaters, budget be damned.

 

[Toothless]

ahaha i'm glad lego film got snubbed now

I'm not glad, but it's hilarious that he complains about LEGO getting snubbed and then he votes for the worse of the two mainstream animations this year.

 

[Dr.Acula]

not even best song?!!

lol

Such an amazing film. When the credits came up and that song started I was like. Wow... that film was something else. And then when I heard Clint Eastwood singing the theme, that just put it over the top.

Walt Kowalski: You're wrong, eggroll, I know exactly what I'm talking about. I may not be the most pleasant person to be around, but I got the best woman who was ever on this planet to marry me. I worked at it, it was the best thing ever happened to me. Hands down. But you, you know, you're letting Click-Clack, Ding-Dong and Charlie Chan just walk out with Miss What's-her-face. She likes you, you know? Though I don't know why!

Thao Vang Lor: Who?

Walt Kowalski: Yum Yum. You know, the girl in the purple sweater. She's been looking at you all day, stupid!

Thao Vang Lor: You mean Youa?

Walt Kowalski: Yeah... Yum Yum... yeah... nice girl... nice girl, very charming girl... I talked with her... yeah. But you, you just let her walk out right out with the Three Stooges. And you know why? 'Cause you're a big fat pussy. Well, I gotta go. Good day, pussycake.

 

[Serpentine]

DAY FIVE:

what the fuck

 

[Ridley327]

DAY FIVE:

Yikes @ the Animated Feature blurb.

 

[mreddie]

DAY FIVE:

This HAS to be a joke right?

 

[beato_angelico]

wtf is GAF going through some sort of an anti-Boyhood and anti-Linklater phase? He has a "schtick"? His films are boring? Why? Not enough Marvel characters? It's probably not best picture and may be too likable, bland, or straightforward for some arthouse critics to champion as best of the year, but my god, going by this thread you'd think it was directed by Uwe Boll or something

yup.

 

[lazybones18]

Animated Feature part gave me quite the laugh

 

[Anton Sugar]

DAY FIVE:

 

[Charles Foster Kane]

DAY FIVE:

That IS one cool looking carcass.

 

[Riposte]

lol that guy must post on 4chan with that chinese cartoons comment.