printIf Kirk Douglas stole the show, you have got to know that there was not much to steal. So blared an MTV online headline describing the 2011 Academy Awards. (Headline here.) Previously, I watched the Grammys for you guys and came away with the conclusion that the winner was Auto-Tune, “the ‘holy grail of recording,’ that ‘corrects intonation problems in vocals or solo instruments in real time,” and without which the tartlets I watched ‘sing’ would have been even more inaudible and tuneless. (Here.)
The Oscar’s self-aggrandizing crowd proved too much for me. Stutterers are the cause célèbre (because of “The King’s Speech”). Helen Mirren, full of airs and graces, really does believe she’s a queen, and so does everyone else. When I see Mirren’s name paired with that of Simon Schama in the Financial Times, I ask myself what a well-known historian (and superb writer) like Schama is doing interviewing a woman who makes a living imitating other people? (Here) Shouldn’t she be interviewing him? I’m not in-sync with the times, I know.
The unfunny shtick, the specter of the poor, palsied Kirk Douglas spluttering incoherently while the pretentious onlookers cooed: You get the picture.
The last simply superb picture I watched was “The Secret In Their Eyes,” a film without loud-mouthed, humorless, self-referential Hollywood hedonists. It won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film at the 82nd Academy Awards. Naturally I will be on the lookout for more such gems in this category.
UPDATE I (Feb. 28): TRUE PUKE.
Mike D.: For me film is not really about striking the right ideological tone; it’s about weaving a yarn and avoiding that wagging ideological finger. I will not be lectured by pin-heads. I’d like them to weave a story that I have not figured out in the first 5 minutes.
I would never watch—much less wax fat about (as some libertarians have been doing)–“Atlas Shrugged” when placed in the hands of Hollywood. (I believe Dagny takes to green energy, or something along those lines.) And the snippet I saw of the “You Go Girl,” aka “True Grit,” was the standard emotional rubbish from Hollywood. Mike, you seem no longer able to even detect the abiding themes that ought to repulse you: young courageous girl sets lax, libertine, drunk adult on the right track and awes all with her moral certitude. They should provide vomitoria in the cinema for this kind of fare.
Such hackneyed, corrupting pabulum ought to repel the intelligent viewer. It’s Hollywood’s revival of the Noble Savage, only applied to kids; they are always the prescient sages; adults are the dolts needing the guidance and direction of babes barely out of diapers. Puke.
And if saintly, snotty-nosed kids are not enough, then you have “The Social Network”: fast talking, hubristic Millennials, making, if to go by Mike’s advisory, “profound” statements about the Culture of the Commons. Yeah, that’s just what I crave. Wisdom from Meghan McCain’s peers. Remember the dot.com kids to whom errant adults were praying, not so long ago?! Get a grip!
UPDATE II: Salutations From the Stutterers. A disease has been born. A new adversity to diagnose, medicate, write soppy stories and scripts about overcoming, launch campaigns for, and discuss, if you are lucky, while plonked on Oprah’s load-bearing couch.
Ilana, what is your opinion on Natalie Portman’s award as best actress?
If you enjoy westerns, the Coen brother’s have given us a great remake “True Grit”. Doug French writes about the film’s constant attention to commercial bargaining http://mises.org/daily/5021/True-Grit-and-True-Commerce interesting stuff.
The Social Network is a treat. You haven’t heard snappy dialog like this in a long time. Some interesting statements about the modern age of the internet. What I liked was how the film seemed to be associating the concept of intellectual property with mercantile privilege of the old aristocracy, versus entrepreneurial genius and talent. Mark Zuckerberg is a flawed hero, and we love him anyways.
Inception, despite some flaws, is a thrill. An action movie with a brain, with some of the most breathtaking and original sequences in recent memory.
127 Hours is a visceral story about the human drive for survival. True story about Aron Ralston, the man who cut off his own arm after getting it caught under a boulder. Despite the moments of horror and squeamish discomfort, actor James Franco manages to inject moments of humor and lightness, its hard not to enjoy his character (disregard his cringe-worthy moments as last night’s host of the Oscars). Unfortunately, master director Danny Boyle (of such wonderful works as Trainspotting, 28 Days Later, Sunshine, Slumdog Millionaire) chooses an ADD riddled editing style with overuse of split screens, jarring sound effects, and constant cutting (not to mention the occasional amateurish camera angle). Still, the film manages to overcome its flaws. Watch it if you can stomach uncomfortable moments.
Black Swan is quite indulgent. The story is not good enough to earn the piles of melodrama that this movie oozes. There are things to be admired here; the cinematography and camerawork are near flawless, the performances are good (again, they aren’t necessarily earned though, but thats the screenwriter and director’s fault, not the actors). You can skip this one unless you fancy lots of over the top drama and/or like ballerinas.
Winter’s Bone and Exit through the Gift Shop are supposed to be worth checking out, but have not yet had the chance. Everyone was expecting Exit Through the Gift Shop to take home best documentary, but instead the very-political Inside Job won. Big surprise and upset. People are speculating that its because Banksy, filmmaker/star of ETtGS, has an unknown identity, and rumors circulated that if he won, he would accept his award on stage wearing something akin to a gorilla mask. The Academy is notorious for hating such antics, and that could have swung many voters from avoiding any risk of such a situation.
Regarding your update, I have combined my distaste for TV viewing with a refusal to spend money at the theater. Most of the stuff being churned out in Hollywood is targeted at an the rubes who find American Idol and Dancing with the Stars to be riveting. Count me out.
If I hear rave reviews for a film, I’ll get the DVD. No sticky floors, no one chatting on cell phones, and I can bypass the six awful previews.
Gee, I don’t get it. I stuttered when i was 8. My dad one day told me to “stop it immediately!” and I was so angry with him that I did. I don’t see what the big deal is around that movie.
[Me too. It’s a function of being a shy person.]
I was absolutely amazed that they even recognized The King’s Speech. I thought any recognition of monarchical legitimacy was forbidden in Hollywood. Kings are only to be portrayed as evil tyrants oppressing the valiant proletariat!
That a movie that portrayed a British king as someone who instilled pride and confidence in the common Briton as he prepared to face off against the NAZI abomination could win Oscars really fills this cynic with optimism. Plus I thought it was a really good movie.
Ah but Bob, you msut remember that in the new hierarchy of Evil, NAZI is till greater than Monarch. Or from a different angle: anything in opposition to Nazism is automatically immune to any wrong. They were just playing by their own rules.