Oscar Pool 2013 pt.2

Throughout the entire Oscar broadcast, Josh continually checked his phone and giggled while reading his favorite comedians tweet their thoughts on the spectacle of the celebration. 

In a rare moment, there was a tie in the Best Sound Editing category. A collective gasp rolled in from the audience as Mark Whalberg assured everyone it wasn’t a gag. “No BS,” he said.

Adam “MCA” Yauch and Nora Ephron were two of the very few who elicited an audible applause during the memoriam montage that honored well known, and some not-so well known, contributors to modern and classic cinema.

Quentin Tarantino took home the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay. “Yeah I know. I know. I’m getting off,” he said as the music began to play… “Peace out.” 

The night’s first standing ovation went to Ang Lee when he won Best Director for “Life of Pi. “Thank you movie God,” he began. Our room exploded after this Spielberg-upset.  Toward the end of his speech, Lee thanked his lawyer and got some hearty laughs from the crowd. “I have to do that,” he said.

Jennifer Lawrence won Best Actress for her performance in “Silver Linings Playbook.” She had a misstep on her way up the stage, but shrugged it off pretty well with, “You guys are just standing up because you feel bad that I fell and that’s really embarrassing, but thank you.” 

I’m kicking your guys’ asses,” Josh humbly reminded us, checking off his fifteenth correct win.

Daniel Day-Lewis became the first actor to win three Best Actor awards. “Greatest actor of all time - you can safely say that now,” Josh said. Lewis referred to his fellow nominees as “betters” and thanked his wife for living with numerous, different men (his characters... I'm guessing) over the years.

Michelle Obama made a video feed appearance to introduce the Best Picture category, before handing it back to Jack Nicholson. “And the Oscar goes to... ‘Argo,’” he said with his classic grin.

And the director of “Argo,” Ben Affleck kept it classy with a great speech that not only looked back on his win for “Good Will Hunting,” but gave props to Canada.

Photobomb by Joseph Gordon-Levitt

Overall, I really like this year’s Academy Awards. So often, one film sweeps or at least wins several of the major awards. This year, the major awards were pretty evenly dispersed among all the major nominees: “Argo,” “Life of Pi,” “Lincoln,” “Django Unchained” and “Les Miserables” were all pretty equally recognized. 

“I liked it, Josh said. “He did a good job (referring to MacFarlane’s hosting duty execution). Last couple years have been super boring.”

Garrett came in fourth with 5 wins on his ballot, Annie came in third with 8 wins, I came in second with 10 and Josh took home the gold with 17… but he cheated.

I had a great night. I began this blog thinking I would focus on awards in general, but I‘ve found myself gravitating back to the Academy Awards. I don’t hold a grudge against the Oscars or the Academy’s voting trends. It might seem like I do, but I truly love this celebration of creativity. I don’t see it as an entire community giving each other shoulder massages. I see it as an encouraging pat on the back to those who truly love creating and sharing their work. Of course there’s a degree of overindulgence, but there’s a lot of love too. These people love what they do, and I find that inspiring. 

Oscar Pool 2013 pt.1

The 5th Annual J&A Oscar Party started before anyone arrived at Josh and Annie’s house this Feb. 24, with Josh frantically cleaning the living room while preparing brats and mets for the grill. And to be clear, it’s actually more of a get-together than a full-blown party – just a few friends and few dollars in the pot (reserved for the winner of the pool). This year, it was just Josh, his wife Annie, Garret and myself. Unfortunately one of our best friends, Eric, couldn’t make it due to a last minute family obligation. But he texted in his ballot picks and wished us a fun night.

The night started off with some light drama, when Annie found out that Josh had been doing some online research before filling out his Oscar ballot.

“Alright, well I’m not going to cheat – I’m just going to choose,” Annie said while putting her laptop away and picking up her ballot sheet.
"I didn’t cheat! That’s not cheating,” shot back Josh.

While E! Channel correspondents went back and forth, “oohing” and “aahing” over the nominees’ designer choices, we had a few beers, laughed and debated the Academy’s nominations.


(from left to right) Garrett, Josh and Annie

“Damn. I haven’t seen the rest of these, said Garrett, examining his ballot.
“How many have you filled out so far?,” I asked.
“…One.” We all laughed, and Garrett, glancing up at the clock said, “20 minutes. I’m going to need the rest of that to finish this.”

And then the curtain rose. “Welcome to the Oscars! And the quest to make Tommy Lee Jones laugh begins now,” said the host, Seth MacFarlane, as he kicked off the 85th Academy Awards.

The first award of the night was a bit of a surprise as the Best Supporting Actor award went to Christoph Waltz for “Django Unchained.” Waltz gave an eloquent and humbled acceptance speech as usual and even quoted his character before acknowledging his fellow nominees and Quentin Tarrantino. Josh and I, who pride ourselves on being the big movie-lovers in the group, struck out. Josh picked Tommy Lee Jones in “Lincoln,” and I picked Alan Arkin in “Argo.” We had immediately fallen behind to Annie and Garrett.

The first time the music queued to play off a long-running acceptance speech, we all laughed at the same time, recognizing the melody at the same time as the “Jaws” theme. The winner had just said, “I urge you to remember…” and then was cut off. We spent the next five minutes complaining about how the vindication of this man’s work over the past year was just cut short in lieu of a ten second Diet Coke spot.

About an hour in, Josh’s mother-in-law Tweeted, “Oscars  so far - LAME.” This sparked a quick debate over the best Oscar host of all time.” I thought Chris Rock did a great job,” I said. “I like Billy Crystal… the old ones were more entertaining,” retorted Garrett. And Josh facetiously added, “What about James Franco?” He then added, “He was high the whole time! It was interesting watching how uninterested he was.”

To be continued...

Dances with Wolves

In this 63rd Annual Academy Award Best Picture winner, starring and directed by Kevin Costner, First Lieutenant John J. Dunbar volunteers to solitarily man a post, Ft. Sedgwick, in the western frontier after recovering from a leg injury he suffered during the American Civil War. While there, Dunbar eventually gains the trust of a nearby Native American tribe, the Sioux, who begin to share their language and customs with him after he helps an injured tribe member, tracks down migrating buffalo and dances with... you guessed it.

However, another film was released in 1990, and it deserves another look. “Goodfellas,” directed By Martin Scorsese, focuses on three mafia members, played by Ray Liotta, Joe Pesci and Robert De Niro, as they struggle through what would become the film’s tagline, “three decades of life in the mafia.” The film is based on the true story of Henry Hill, played by Liotta, who is adopted into a crew as a boy and grows up to become an integral member of a powerful New York City Cosa Nostra. As his criminal resume builds, so does his risk - especially after the Lufthansa heist, a $5 million robbery at John F. Kennedy International Airport in 1978. 

From a technical standpoint, this film is Scorsese’s greatest achievement since “Raging Bull.” The legendary Saul Bass designed the opening title sequence. The film is narrated by Liotta, as Hill. However, we also hear Karen, played by Bracco, in dual narration. Scorsese builds upon this even further in “Casino” by adding a third narrator (one who gets killed no less). Another nontraditional choice Scorsese makes is to pause the film at certain points, like inserting still photographs to suspend moments and add suspense. And of course, there’s “the long take.” This 3 minute, eleven second tracking shot follows Liotta and Bracco through the bowels of the Copacabana on their first date. "Then He Kissed Me" by The Crystals blare as the two take the back entrance, exposing the hustling, dirty kitchen in a moment of foreshadowing that mirrors the equally chaotic underworld that Bracco’s character, Karen, is unknowingly stepping into. She is taken aback by the glitz and disregards the grime. And to wrap it all up, the last “shot” in the film pays homage to the classic, last “shot” in the 1903 Western, “The Great Train Robbery.”

"Didn't matter. It didn't mean anything... We ran everything. We paid off cops. We paid off lawyers. We paid off judges. Everybody had their hands out. Everything was for the taking. And now it's all over."

Another skill that Scorsese possesses is his remarkable and often surprising use of music. In “Goodfellas,” Scorsese pushes the plot forward, invokes emotion and gives insight into the characters through pop music. Tony Bennett’s “Rags to Riches” sets the tone in the opening credits. Cream’s “Sunshine of Your Love” signals De Niro’s decision to whack Morrie. Robbie Vinton lip syncs his father’s, Bobby Vinton, tune “Roses are Red” in the Copacabana. The beauty of the piano exit in Derek and the Dominos’ “Layla” stands in horrifying juxtaposition to Pesci’s murderous rampage. The Rolling Stones are heard, as they often are in Scorsese’s gangster films. And Sid Vicious sings us out with his rendition of “My Way,” popularized by Frank Sinatra. This last piece brings closure to the film and Hill’s life as a gangster (Sinatra’s version was later reported by “the Guardian” to be the most popular pop song played at British funerals). 

This movie has tons of acting talent: DeNiro, Pesci, future Sopranos’ players Lorraine Bracco and Michael Imperioli, a cameo by Samuel L. Jackson, and of course Paul Sorvino. Liotta gives a career-defining performance as our protagonist, but he is not the main character. The main player in this film is the city of New York itself.  The dialogue and demeanor of the characters hailing from the various Burroughs is distinct and stylized. The sounds and hustling background noise of the city adds to the hectic, chaos of the plot. These kinds of elements seep into the film, and Scorsese is able to capture and utilize them not as elements of the background, but as an interactive component of the story.

“Goodfellas” means a lot to me for a lot of reasons. Although I was rather young when I first saw it, it immediately struck me as something wholly original and intriguing. I immediately began looking at movies differently. After “Goodfellas,” I became more aware of what I was watching and began to view film as an artistic medium, and not just simple entertainment.  In my eyes, Scorsese is America's greatest living director.

"For a second I thought I was dead. But, when I heard all the noise, I knew they were cops. Only cops talk that way. If they'd been wiseguys, I wouldn't have heard a thing. I would've been dead."

Ben Affleck

…well actually, no it didn't. Of course it didn't; the 85^th Academy Awards haven't even commenced yet. However, the nominees have been announced, and one name (Mr. Affleck’s) didn’t get called. But I’m sure he’ll be in attendance as his film, "Argo," is nominated for Best Picture. On Feb. 24, Affleck will have to sit on the Oscar sidelines with fellow snubbed and possibly equally confused un-nominated directors: Kathryn Bigelow, Tom Hooper and Quentin Tarantino.

Illustration by Concepción Studios.

The Oscars are almost set up to invoke controversy. With twice as many Best Picture spots as Best Director spots, someone’s bound to be left out. It gives movie lovers something to talk about, it’s good for publicity and no news is bad news. Just like no blogs are bad blogs - don’t think about that last sentence, just keep reading. 

This year, the Best Director category includes Michael Haneke for "Amour," Benh Zeitlin for "Beasts of the Southern Wild," Ang Lee for "Life of Pi," David O. Russell for "Silver Linings Playbook" and Steven Spielberg for "Lincoln." The big guns here are Lee, Russell and Spielberg. And all three have done amazing work this year. Lee helms the tale of a young, shipwrecked man who is forced to share a small boat with a Bengal tiger, Russell directs the story of two troubled outsiders who find hope with each other after striking an odd deal, and Spielberg tries to make us forget about “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.”

It’s a bit harder to poke fun at Affleck’s directing resume. True, the odds are with him with a shorter filmography than someone like Spielberg, but still, he’s no one hit wonder. His directorial debut, "Gone Baby Gone" and his follow-up, "The Town" both scored 94 percent on Rotten Tomatoes. "Argo," which has hit 96 percent on the Tomatometer, is based on the true story of the CIA’s attempt to extract hostages from a post-revolution, Khomeini-led Iran.  At this year’s Golden Globes, Tina Fey joked, “Ben’s first two movies took place in Boston, but he moved this one to Iran because he wanted to film somewhere that was friendlier to outsiders.”

Getty Images

So far this award season, "Argo" has done fairly well for itself. The film has won Best Picture or Best Film from the AFI Awards, the BAFTA Awards, the Golden Globes, the Florida Film Critics Circle Awards, and the San Diego Film Critics Society Awards. The ensemble cast, Alan Arkin, editing, score, screenplay and set design have all been shown appreciation from critics and awards. Ben Affleck won the Best Director award from the Golden Globes, the Australian Film Institute, BAFTA Awards, Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards, Florida Film Critics Circle Awards, and a Special Achievement in Filmmaking Award from the National Board of Review. Winning Best Director at the Globes without an Academy Award nomination seemed oddest of all, as it often seen as a bit of a precursor of what can be expected on Oscar night. During his acceptance speech at the Critics Choice Movie Awards, Affleck said, "I would like to thank the Academy... I'm kidding, I'm kidding. This is the one that counts."

And it’s not like the Academy has any prejudice against actors-turned-directors. Robert Redford, Kevin Costner, Clint Eastwood and Ron Howard have proven that unequivocally. This year, "Argo" has been nominated for Best Picture. The film has been deemed worthy of that consideration, so where’s the love for the film’s creator? I don’t think it’s the political aspect of this story, I don’t think it’s the slight tinkering of history within this story, and I certainly don’t think it’s the precision in which this story is told. 

It looks like Affleck is going to have to sit this one out, but some have brought up the point that a nomination could be secured at the zero hour via a write-in vote. In 1935, Hal Mohr, cinematographer for "A Midsummer's Night Dream," became the first and last person to win an Oscar by these means. The concept of allowing a write-in vote has now nearly been all but forgotten by the Academy. But the way things are looking for Affleck, I think Bryan Cranston’s character in "Argo" said it best - “this is the best bad idea we have, sir… by far.”

Affleck as Tony Mendez - Photo by Keith Bernstein

Patton

This 43^rd Annual Academy Award Best Picture winner follows US Army General George S. Patton, played by George C. Scott, through his controversial, but ultimately praised World War II career. As a tank commander, Patton works his way from North Africa to the war’s end in Europe, earning fear from the Axis and resentment from the Allies. His ability to fulfill what he believes to be his destiny is jeopardized after a temper-fueled incident forces him out of lead command during the Normandy Invasion.

However, another film was released in 1970, and it deserves another look. “Five Easy Pieces,” directed by Bob Rafelson, stars Jack Nicholson as Bobby Dupea, a rebellious and well-educated wanderer who gave up a possible career as a concert pianist and is currnenlty working on an oil-rig in California. He lives with, but isn’t really attached to his ditzy, good-hearted girlfriend, played by Karen Black. When Bobby gets word that his father has taken a turn for the worse, he is forced to return to his home and the commune of upper-class family members that live and study music there. This change in his day-to-day affords him yet another excuse to pull out of his current situation in life and begin pursuing a new path. As he spends more and more time back home, he is forced to face his father and family, as well as his life’s decisions and failures. With this exposure, Bobby subconsciously gives himself an ultimatum to either continue running from himself and situations or to find stability and connection with others.

If you watch the film counting how many times Bobby presents his “skills” as a pianist, hoping he’ll hit number five before the credits roll, you’re in for a disappointment. His pieces are internal and barely add up to create the portrait of a full man. He is a fractured soul, broken by years of disappointment, anger and emotional solitude. Each of these five pieces holds its own contradiction: a man who would violently push away an excited girlfriend, only to bark back at a stranger in her defense; a man who breaks his back working in an oil field, only to turn around and insult his friend and coworker with, “It's ridiculous. I'm sitting here listening to some cracker a--hole, lives in a trailer park, compare his life to mine." As we are gradually introduced to the different pieces of Bobby, we become more and more confused. In our confusion, we are closest to fully understanding him. This puts us right in his shoes. We are lost.

Most character-study films let their protagonist drive the plot forward from the norm, through the interruption of the status-quo, and finally toward the resolution. But there is no normalcy to be found in Bobby’s life. And Bobby ain’t at the wheel. This film’s plot spins around its protagonist, and he seems increasingly aware of that lack of control, but is still unable or unwilling to do anything about it.

Apart from this film, only two other movies held scenes that have forced me to tears. The first being Tom Hanks losing his volleyball in “Cast Away,” and the second being Bill Murray’s Dali Lama speech in “Caddyshack.” The first struck an unexpected and horrifying chord regarding loss, loneliness and trepidation in the face of the great unknown. The latter found dark humor and randomness in delusion.  Bobby’s journey through “Five Easy Pieces” hits all of these notes, simultaneously. 

There are two deafening moments at this film’s end: the silence of Bobby’s glare into a gas station's bathroom mirror, and the roar of a departing semi truck. And the last words we hear are of Bobby whispering to himself, in what could be assumed to be a lifelong mantra that only helps to aid his detached, distanced submission to the spiraling world around him, “I’m fine. I’m fine. I’m fine…”

This film looks forward, in style and substance, just when American cinema needed it the most. Looking back, especially in an effort to understand and expose ourselves to the horrors and triumphs of the Second World War, is an admirable and valued endeavor. “Patton” does this excellently. But America wasn’t in the midst of a particularly admirable or valued war in 1970. Cinematic expression was about to explode in a mainly independently-funded blitzkrieg of uncompromising, intimate, experimental, and sometimes exploitive expression of American culture. 

It was a decade that birthed “The Godfather,” “The Deer Hunter,” “One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest” and “Taxi Driver.” “Five Easy Pieces” knew the score and helped get the ball rolling. It shows the desolation of a man stuck in time, but symbolizes the momentum that would become 70s cinema.