Oscar Shorts - starting this weekend

[Ghoulish Delight]

Still have one more at home to watch (Logorama), so I'll reserve final judgment until then, and of course we're still missing two of the live action (aww, but I wanted to see child slavery!!). But here are my thoughts thus far.

Agreed with iSm re: New Tenants. Started out so strong, but just got...gratuitous, blunt, and clunky. And you can't blame it on the talent, they had some heavy hitters acting wise. Gotta chalk it up to writing and/or directing. Bleh. Plus, I was distracted the whole time trying to figure out which This American Life contributor was playing the smoker because I KNOW that voice (it's David Rakoff).

We may be missing 2 of the nominees, but thank god we got to see at least one oppressively heartbreaking film. Phew, thought we were going to make it through a year without. I guess the door thing is a Russian tradition. For a second I thought he was making a table out of it in an elaborate attempt to commit suicide by accelerating his, and his wife's, own radiation poisoning.

I really like Instead of Abracadabra. Maybe not the most poignant clever bit of film, but well executed in every way. It has my vote, it'd be nice for a non-message film to win it.

On the animated side: Man am I sick of big-headed 3D old people. Really really sick of it.

That said, Sleeping Beauty was delightfully fun. Best of the bunch (before seeing Logomania).

Wallace and Gromit was Wallace and Gromit. Entertaining but more of the same. Actually, less of the same. Not a single piece of cheese in sight and only mentioned once?! What's with that?

French Roast was odd. I didn't really see the point of it. And why the hell was the old lady in the bathroom so damned long?

The Lady and The Reaper bleh. Scooby Doo schtick? Really? That's what they're nominating now? No thanks.

I wouldn't call this a down year, per se. There haven't been any that left me thinking, "WTF did I just watch?!" as in previous bad years. But nor is it a stellar year.

[Cadaverous Pallor]

Don't know if anyone else is going to see these, but if you want to avoid spoilers, you'll want to skip my post.

Originally Posted by Ghoulish Delight

The Lady and The Reaper bleh. Scooby Doo schtick? Really? That's what they're nominating now? No thanks.

I wouldn't call this a down year, per se. There haven't been any that left me thinking, "WTF did I just watch?!" as in previous bad years.

I agree with GD on his post except for this part. After Lady and the Reaper ended, I said, out loud, what the f was that? Cartoony chase antics against a backdrop of the right to die issue? I'm not sure if the silly gags weren't very good or if it was just the disturbing concept clouding my enjoyment. I almost felt I was mistaken in what this was really about and felt oddly vindicated when she killed herself, as in, "see, I KNEW this was a f'd up story." Maaaaybe it could have worked if it didn't have endless staircases, swooning nurses, etc - a bit further from Bugs Bunny might have helped.

Anyway - I loved Instead of Abracadabra. The mom and dad were great characters, and the magician himself was a perfect balance of ridiculous and ultimately believable. But then, I'm a sucker for geek stories, especially when they end up winners. When he really did bring the "gothic darkness" it warmed my heart.

Sleeping Beauty was great. Even if the CG textures weren't visually up to Pixar quality (at least in the bedroom), the camera angles and story beats were spot on, which is the important part. The storybook animation was gorgeous and smart.

The Door was yes, horribly depressing, but it made me realize I hadn't seen anything on Chernobyl in forever and never had it been humanized like this. I'm sure Russia is full of film/books/theater about this but it's not often talked about here. I kind of appreciated this quick look into what happened there - and I do mean quick, you're not going to catch me watching a full length cancer pic anytime soon.

French Toast kept me somewhat interested but fell extremely flat by the end. Wallace and Grommit is always fun, their formula works very well, though I wish it were a little more laugh-out-loud funny.

Bummer about New Tenants. Started out great. You could almost taste the cigarette smoke. As soon as the husband sat down and started talking about his wife, I knew it was over. The looks on the other guys' faces were almost saying "we were doing a great scene, what are you busting in for?"

[innerSpaceman]

Originally Posted by Cadaverous Pallor

As soon as the husband sat down and started talking about his wife, I knew it was over. The looks on the other guys' faces were almost saying "we were doing a great scene, what are you busting in for?"

BwaHaHa, how true!

The Lady and the Reaper was our crowd favorite at the screening. Not mine. Perhaps I like things more irreverent, but I preferred Sleeping Beauty and, especially, Logorama. They had a warning about language and violence before that one - it was left on screen for at least 2 full minutes to give people a chance to exit the auditorium. It did not disappoint. I'm surprised it was nominated. I'd be blown over it it wins, but it gets my vote.


Hope you get to see it soon. (If you do, please post where you found it - I'd love to watch it again.)