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[Dead]

Manipulating digital environments. That stuff wasn't there. The cinematography is in a computer. When you see any great CGI sequence in any movie ever, you don't say, "wow, the director did a great job directing this scene!" No, you say it was a great special effect. If realizing worlds like in Avatar is worthy of a best director Oscar than someone making an animated film should also be able to win.

When Cameron directed the film, he saw the CG right in front of his eyes

He directed the film within the CG world.

 

[Staccat0]

Thread needs more An Education love.

I guarantee you John Williams contributed a lot to the passionate feelings people have toward Star Wars.

I actually agree. The score is 40% of what makes me love the films (and I DO love Star Wars)

 

[Dirtbag]

I don't agree. The Hangover is one of the best comedies of the decade.

Wedding Crashers
Meet the Parents / Meet the Fockers
Knocked Up
Austin Powers 2
Shaun of the Dead
Finding Nemo
The Incredibles
Old School
Superbad
American Pie
Harold/Kumar White Castle
40 year old virgin
Zoolander
Office Space

 

[OneEightZero]

I guarantee you John Williams contributed a lot to the passionate feelings people have toward Star Wars.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Oc4qgjbmHE

 

[Teddman]

But all Stephen Lang did was stomp around and screech while spouting his hilariously terrible dialogue extolling the virtues of "SHOOTING FIRST AND ASKING QUESTIONS LATER"?

You're right, that's all he did.

Dude, you're a mod, try to be a role model here for thoughtful arguments instead of pandering to the crowd and dragging things down to the lowest denominator.

 

[EviLore]

I wasn't expecting best picture, but IB lost best original screenplay to fucking Hurt Locker? Wow.

 

[KHarvey16]

When Cameron directed the film, he saw the CG right in front of his eyes

He directed the film within the CG world.

So the interface is now the important point of distinction?

 

[-COOLIO-]

Manipulating digital environments. That stuff wasn't there. The cinematography is in a computer. When you see any great CGI sequence in any movie ever, you don't say, "wow, the director did a great job directing this scene!" No, you say it was a great special effect. If realizing worlds like in Avatar is worthy of a best director Oscar than someone making an animated film should also be able to win.

id say all of those things

 

[AFreak]

He pretty much knew he was not going to win in any category, so he spent most of the night hamming it up. :lol

Sounds great, wish I could watch it. Oh and here is the edit I posted, I'll post it again so people can see.

BTW: Chinese internet is so slow, most of these gifs only give me the first second and then start to loop, so if there is mroe to this gif, you have to explain it.

 

[BowieZ]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Oc4qgjbmHE

Chills.

 

[brianjones]

I wasn't expecting best picture, but IB lost best original screenplay to fucking Hurt Locker? Wow.

ya this one kind of burns too.

i love hurt locker but I don't think the screenplay is terribly original.

 

[RadioHeadAche]

Holy shit, Ben Stiller, you creepy-ass mother fucker!

 

[HK-47]

Gotta love the ridiculously broad populist sentiment that the winner should be the movie that is "more entertaining" or "more fun to watch" :lol Fuck Schindler's list, they shoulda given it to Groundhog Day!

Ehh Groundhog Day wouldnt have been a bad choice. It gets better every time I see it and that pretty rare for a movie.

I completely agree that movies are not just entertainment and fun. In fact thats true of every medium. However, just cause something is fun and entertaining doesnt mean it isnt worthwhile. Artistry and entertainment arent mutually exclusive.

Unlike Avatar, which was very simple and very dumb, but quite pretty and flashy.

 

[YYZ]

I wasn't expecting best picture, but IB lost best original screenplay to fucking Hurt Locker? Wow.

The Academy has something against QT, don't they? Maybe it's expected that he won't get anything for the last two awards, but not best original screenplay? ReallY?

 

[harSon]

I wasn't expecting best picture, but IB lost best original screenplay to fucking Hurt Locker? Wow.

I'm not surprised, the Academies seem to have something against him...

 

[Dirtbag]

Can someone tell me what the hell Sean Penn was talking about?

They need to stop giving him a microphone.

 

[WrikaWrek]

I wasn't expecting best picture, but IB lost best original screenplay to fucking Hurt Locker? Wow.

Yeah, it was a stupid upset. Like Bullet winning actress.

 

[teiresias]

That must explain why Avatar was nominated by the WGA

Oh, I wouldn't want to anger the WGA by pointing out the plethora of horrid writing in Avatar now would I?

 

[Justin Timberlake]

Oh stop.

Do you want to know why AHBUHDAR lost? The real dirty secret?

James Cameron is a VERY polarizing person in Hollywood, especially after Titanic.

There are people that would flatout not vote for him.

The main reason he won the GGs was because it's voted on by the Hollywood Foriegn Press and in many ways, that shielded him from the backlash.

Hey I believe it. When the best movie of the year by far loses, there has to be a reason.

There is absolutely no reason that Avatar should lose to The Hurt Locker on a film against film basis. Its all the other shit that had to make it lose, because its so vastly superior.

LOTR was a good film with good CG. Avatar was a pedestrian, poorly written film full of high-school level philosophy with good CG. That's the line the Academy draws - a line for good films.

:lol :lol :lol

....:lol

Whats with all the "pedestrian writing" bullshit everyone is peddling? Maybe you didn't like Avatar because you couldn't wear the glasses with your monocle in the way.

Movie criticism can be like politics sometimes. It makes even the most intelligent people sound like idiots.

 

[Dead]

So the interface is now the important point of distinction?

Yes.

Youre saying the director has no say on how it looks.

But Cameron does.

He sees the CG world in front of him and knows when things need to change or what needs to be added. Not to mention that he is always overseeing and in contact with the special effects houses.

Saying just because its CG that the Director doesnt deserve credit is just ignorant nonsense.

 

[MThanded]

I wasn't expecting best picture, but IB lost best original screenplay to fucking Hurt Locker? Wow.

this 1000 times over. I just dont understand.

 

[-COOLIO-]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Oc4qgjbmHE

that's some good goddamn music

 

[Staccat0]

Moon exists due to 2001

Either way, Moon isn't some insanely original revelatory work of Science Fiction.

I agree!
It also doesn't owe shit to Star Wars, which is my point. None of those "good/great" sci fi films do.

 

[border]

Saldanna for sure (though the performance is aided by animators), and I thought Stephen Lang was one of the best villains in recent memory.

The villain in Avatar was fucking terrible. He's your high school gym teacher with nukes. He's the dumb jock who became a police offier because it was the only way he could continue to exercise authority and pick on the weak. He's just some asshole with a little bit of power.

To say he's one of the "best villains in recent memory" is an insult to the likes of Christoph Waltz, Javier Bardem, Heath Ledger, Gary Oldman, etc. It's like saying McDonald's makes one of the best hamburgers in recent memory. Yeah, it's not terrible and it satisfies an urge, but it's hardly superlative. He's not even motion-captured heavily (if at all), so I don't even see how the CG excuse should rule him out of the running anyway.

Saldanna I liked okay, but as I said her phony crying is kinda corny and embarassing. It's like an 8 year-old feigning tears because daddy wouldn't buy her a pony.

 

[Tobor]

And don't forget the magical

Spoiler

goo that the alien spent 20 years collecting so he'd have enough to power the docking ship and STILL had enough for it AFTER a good amount splashed on Wikus' face.

C'mon man...

Point is, I disagree with your assessment that it is greater than AHBUHDAR.

And you disagree with me.

But I gave you reasons why.

Ahhh, I'm too tired to go into all my Avatar nitpicks, don't make me do it. I'll try to find my post from the Avatar thread later.

 

[harSon]

They need to stop giving him a microphone.

I hate having to see him talk, it's always awkward. He was on Bill Maher on Friday and it was similar to watching a really nervous student give a speech in front of the class, which is weird considering his profession.

 

[Amir0x]

You're right, that's all he did.

Dude, you're a mod, try to be a role model here for thoughtful arguments instead of pandering to the crowd and dragging things down to the lowest denominator.

I play to my own crowd. I've said this exact argument word-for-word in THE AVATAR thread when everyone left was just giving the film a handjob, even about Stephen Lang's character. The idea that these performances and these poorly written characters deserve nominations is just absurd, and I'll submit the opinion anytime, any place. No crowd required.

Of course, then again, Sandra Bullock won an Academy Award. So sometimes absurd things happen.

To say he's one of the "best villains in recent memory" is an insult to the likes of Christoph Waltz, Javier Bardem, Heath Ledger, Gary Oldman, etc. It's like saying McDonald's makes one of the best hamburgers in recent memory. Yeah, it's not terrible and it satisfies an urge, but it's hardly superlative. He's not even motion-captured heavily (if at all), so I don't even see how the CG excuse should rule him out of the running anyway.

Christoph Waltz by itself embodies a villain that is worth the sum total of five billion Stephan Lang's.

 

[WrikaWrek]

Every character in Avatar sucked.

 

[Dr.Acula]

Moon exists due to 2001

Either way, Moon isn't some insanely original revelatory work of Science Fiction.

I quite liked Moon. I thought Sam Rockwell was interesting, and I liked how the psycho computer voiced by Kevin Spacey was

Spoiler

actually nice and helpful. And it had a happy ending, and the clones actually worked together and helped each other. Sure, simply going the other way on every sci-fi cliche does not equal originality, but

I'd prolly put it in my top 10 for 2009.

Star Wars IS science Fiction RE-WRITTEN. Every sci-fi flick that exist does so due to what Star Wars did.

Star Wars is FANTASY re-written.

 

[OneEightZero]

Yes.

Youre saying the director has no say on how it looks.

But Cameron does.

He sees the CG world in front of him and knows when things need to change or what needs to be added. Not to mention that he is always overseeing and in contact with the special effects houses.

Saying just because its CG that the Director doesnt deserve credit is just ignorant nonsense.

"Thank you for watching The Academy Awards. Sponsored by Maya and Poser."

 

[PantherLotus]

Nomination issues aside, I'm genuinely curious what YOU would have liked to win this year. ^_^

I didn't see Precious, Up in the Air, An Education, The Blind Side, or a Serious Man. I believe Up in the Air is probably pretty damn good, but I have to admit the subject matter hits a little close to home for me atm so I'd probably not be fair to ask. I have no idea what Serious Man is about, and Precious looks awesome but I'm not interested in that type of film. Regarding Blind Side, I'm letting my pre-judgment of its commentary on white paternalism prevent me from seeing it. That said, it's hard not to like Sandra Bullock.

The remaining films that I actually rank in the following order in terms of "what typically belongs in a best picture category."

1. Avatar
2. District 9
3. Inglorious Basterds
4. The Hurt Locker

And Up doesn't belong on this list in a million years. Take the first vignette and throw it in with the animated short category and call it a day.

 

[Talamius]

I wasn't expecting best picture, but IB lost best original screenplay to fucking Hurt Locker? Wow.

I would love THL GAF to explain this one as well. It really seemed like the Academy was looking for an acceptable "Non-Avatar" movie to push through, and it's too bad they picked the wrong one. IB is the superior movie.

 

[Rezbit]

Abu Dhabi was robbed!

 

[Dresden]

Saldanna I liked okay, but as I said her phony crying is kinda corny and embarassing. It's like an 8 year-old feigning tears because daddy wouldn't buy her a pony.

To be fair, it's hard to look serious while weeping when you're some giant blue catperson.

 

[Mgoblue201]

Out of all of the Oscars, I actually thought that best original screenplay was the most unexpected. A lot of Inglourious Basterds was the acting, but a lot of that was also on the page. But The Hurt Locker owes a lot of its existence to things like directing, which it also won for. It's not something that's apparently great with the screenplay. So I would have voted for IB.

 

[Staccat0]

Hey I believe it. When the best movie of the year by far loses, there has to be a reason.

There is absolutely no reason that Avatar should lose to The Hurt Locker on a film against film basis. Its all the other shit that had to make it lose, because its so vastly superior.



:lol :lol :lol

....:lol

Whats with all the "pedestrian writing" bullshit everyone is peddling? Maybe you didn't like Avatar because you couldn't wear the glasses with your monocle in the way.

Movie criticism can be like politics sometimes. It makes even the most intelligent people sound like idiots.

pft. Dude, c'mon. You really think that?
If you think Hurt Locker is some pretentious chin stroker and AVATAR is the everyman's film... you should see the two films.

 

[KHarvey16]

id say all of those things

Then I'm not the one with the unorthodox opinions .

Yes.

Youre saying the director has no say on how it looks.

No I'm not.

But Cameron does.

He sees the CG world in front of him and knows when things need to change or what needs to be added. Not to mention that he is always overseeing and in contact with the special effects houses.

Saying just because its CG that the Director doesnt deserve credit is just ignorant nonsense.

All I keep seeing is "No it didn't just have good special effects but it had special effects that were done well!" No one is arguing the movie doesn't look spectacular. What they are arguing is that this isn't enough, especially when everything else was pretty bad.

 

[Shurs]

this 1000 times over. I just dont understand.

I felt the tone of Inglorious Basterds was all over the place. It was a film of many excellent scenes, but I felt in the end, the sum was less than its parts.

 

[ryutaro's mama]

Hey I believe it. When the best movie of the year by far loses, there has to be a reason.

There is absolutely no reason that Avatar should lose to The Hurt Locker on a film against film basis. Its all the other shit that had to make it lose, because its so vastly superior.

Whoa, I didn't say all that.

I haven't seen THL, but having said that and having said I liked AHBUHDAR, I'm not sure it was the Best Picture among the nominees. I didn't see the rest.

I saw The Wrestler last night and it's my opinion that movie should have won some Oscar awards.

TBH, I think I was most sad that Princess and the Frog was completely snubbed.

 

[WrikaWrek]

To be fair, it's hard to look serious while weeping when you're some giant blue catperson.

Yeah but the sound of her crying was some cringe worthy shit. People were laughing.

I felt the tone of IB was all over the place. It was a film of many excellent scenes but I felt, in the end, the sum was less than its parts.

Absolutely. But Jew Hunt, and Basement, were the stuff of legend.

 

[MThanded]

I play to my own crowd. I've said this exact argument word-for-word in THE AVATAR thread when everyone left was just giving the film a handjob, even about Stephen Lang's character. The idea that these performances and these poorly written characters deserve nominations is just absurd, and I'll submit the opinion anytime, any place. No crowd required.

Of course, then again, Sandra Bullock won an Academy Award. So sometimes absurd things happen.



Christoph Waltz by itself embodies a villain that is worth the sum total of five billion Stephan Lang's.

Beginning of IB inside of the house is an amazing scenes.

 

[Dirtbag]

I hate having to see him talk, it's always awkward. He was on Bill Maher on Friday and it was similar to watching a really nervous student give a speech in front of the class, which is weird considering his profession.

I cant enjoy any of his movies thanks to how much I hate him in real life. He's way past modern day Tom Cruise for me

 

[XiaNaphryz]

What? Even George said the same thing about it being a kids movie when he got the best picture nom in the late 70s.

 

[SpeedingUptoStop]

this 1000 times over. I just dont understand.

Maybe they couldn't read with his spelling errors? I dunno man. I'd be hardpressed to think up more than maybe a handful of films I've ever seen that deserve the award more.

 

[teiresias]

You're right, that's all he did.

Dude, you're a mod, try to be a role model here for thoughtful arguments instead of pandering to the crowd and dragging things down to the lowest denominator.

The only instance of lowest common denominator here is trying to drag down the category of "Film's Best Villains" in order to include the likes of Lang in Avatar. Absolutely horrible to try and sell that as anything close to the memorable characters and performances that belong in such a category.

 

[ryutaro's mama]

Ahhh, I'm too tired to go into all my Avatar nitpicks, don't make me do it. I'll try to find my post from the Avatar thread later.

But you agree my gripes are valid, right?

 

[OneEightZero]

I didn't see Precious, Up in the Air, An Education, The Blind Side, or a Serious Man. I believe Up in the Air is probably pretty damn good, but I have to admit the subject matter hits a little close to home for me atm so I'd probably not be fair to ask. I have no idea what Serious Man is about, and Precious looks awesome but I'm not interested in that type of film. Regarding Blind Side, I'm letting my pre-judgment of its commentary on white paternalism prevent me from seeing it. That said, it's hard not to like Sandra Bullock.

The remaining films that I actually rank in the following order in terms of "what typically belongs in a best picture category."

1. Avatar
2. District 9
3. Inglorious Basterds
4. The Hurt Locker

And Up doesn't belong on this list in a million years. Take the first vignette and throw it in with the animated short category and call it a day.

Of the ones you didn't see (And of them, I haven't seen A Serious Man and An Education), I'd recommend you watch Up In The Air.

Interesting choice for first place. ^_^

 

[tekumseh]

Christoph Waltz by itself embodies a villain that is worth the sum total of five billion Stephan Lang's.

I'll even go this far: The Fed that Lang played in Public Enemies was a far more fully realized character than the one he played in Avatar, and in that movie he probably didn't have more than 15 lines of dialogue...

 

[Amir0x]

Beginning of IB inside of the house is an amazing scenes.

yeah. So was the scene in the restaurant with Shoshana's character. SO INTENSE.

 

[Frank "Trashman" Reynolds]

Avatar didn't win!? wooooooooo!