Miscellaneous Movie Musings - Page 421

innerSpaceman · 04-05-2009, 10:23 AM

Maybe your player just has good taste.

Not Afraid · 04-05-2009, 10:36 AM

I'm glad to hear Slum Dog is out on DVD so I can watch it.

Ghoulish Delight · 04-05-2009, 10:45 AM

Oh blast! The ONE time I forget to check woot before going to bed....$30 upconverting DVD player. Already sold out this morning.

wendybeth · 04-05-2009, 10:50 AM

We watched 'Slumdog' last night- while I enjoyed it and thought it was a very good film, I was really questioning the Best Picture award. It was good, but not that good.

Ghoulish Delight · 04-05-2009, 11:26 AM

Yes, but were any of the others that good either? Milk and Frost/Nixon are the only two we've seen. Both good, but not amazingly good where I'm surprised that something else won. I could see the argument that Milk "deserves" a leg up because of its timely emotional and political importance, but those are external factors and don't change the fact that outside of its context it's just a pretty good, maybe very good, but not great film. I imagine that people for whom the realities of Indian poverty is an important issue would feel that Slumdog deserves the same artificial leg up due to ITS timely emotional and political importance.

innerSpaceman · 04-05-2009, 11:51 AM

Nope, I think MILK was very good. Hard to separate my bias, but as soon as I watched it, I felt its script was way beyond standard biopic kaliber and deserved the Oscar (which it won), and that Penn's performance was his best in forever and deserved an Oscar (which he won). The film was very well directed, and packed an emotional wallop (hence me crying many times) ... yeah, perhaps more of one for me, but everyone has a different emotional threshhold anyway.

So, with all those things going for it .... why not Best Picture? It was waaaaay better than Slumbog in every conceivable quality.

OK, it's all subjective. I happen to LOVE Chicago.

But that's because I'm so GAY ... and that's not the reason I love MILK.

innerSpaceman · 04-05-2009, 11:52 AM

For the record, for the widespread raves it got, Wall-E should by rights have won Best Picture.

Same with The Incredibles. Easily the Best Picture that year. Probably true of many Pixar films.

The Best Animated Feature category is a rip.

Gemini Cricket · 04-05-2009, 12:57 PM

Slumdog was glossy and the music was great. I don't know if it's Best Pic either but I'm beginning to care less and less about who/what the Academy picks for their awards. For me, a movie validated with an Oscar doesn't mean much any more. I don' know if it's just me getting older or having worked in the industry for a period of time but movies that I love are ones that impact me personally or which have such a unique and interesting take on a subject that it makes me take notice. Some awards can be bought and can be way too political to deserve much merit. Milk was not perfect but it hit me in a specific way that many, many others before it have not. That makes it a good picture, that makes it important to me. And, ironically, the awards Milk won are also political. Not sure if it would have won the two it won if Prop 8 didn't rear its ugly head close to its release. But I guess the Oscars mean stuff to lots of people and if it makes people actually watch the film then I guess I'm fine with that aspect of the awards thang regarding Milk and my own gay activism. I guess if you've read this far, you've realized that I'm just thinking 'out loud' and am rambling.

---------------

On a completely different note, Jackie Earle Haley is apparently going to be the new Freddy Krueger in the new Nightmare on Elm Street movie. I'm sure that'll make him some dough, but I'm not sure I'd accept the part in fear of being type-cast as Freddy.

Ghoulish Delight · 04-05-2009, 01:52 PM

Wall-E was not best picture material.

Alex · 04-05-2009, 02:22 PM

Wall-E was better than Slumdog Millionaire, so while I agree I wouldn't pick it for best picture I'd say it was more deserving than the one that won.

No, it wasn't a great year. None of the actual nominees really soared and the Oscar bait movie I liked better was roundly canned by critics and did nothing at the box office.

But of the five nominees I rated Slumdog fourth or fifth (I'd have to go back and find where I said it to be sure of my mood at the time).

For me, Slumdog was simply poverty porn where we get to pat ourselves on the back for feeling bad about how such people live because poverty doesn't deprive you of the life-fulfilling happiness of true love, and hey maybe one of them will get lucky and win the lottery. In my opinion it infantilized those it was portraying.

04-05-2009, 10:23 AM	#1
innerSpaceman Kink of Swank Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Inner Space Posts: 13,075	Maybe your player just has good taste.
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04-05-2009, 10:36 AM	#2
Not Afraid HI! Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 17,108	I'm glad to hear Slum Dog is out on DVD so I can watch it.
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04-05-2009, 10:45 AM	#3
Ghoulish Delight I Floop the Pig Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Alternative Swankstyle Posts: 19,348	Oh blast! The ONE time I forget to check woot before going to bed....$30 upconverting DVD player. Already sold out this morning. __________________ 'He who receives an idea from me, receives instruction himself without lessening mine; as he who lights his taper at mine, receives light without darkening me.' -TJ
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04-05-2009, 10:50 AM	#4
wendybeth Nevermind Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 7,847	We watched 'Slumdog' last night- while I enjoyed it and thought it was a very good film, I was really questioning the Best Picture award. It was good, but not that good. __________________
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04-05-2009, 11:26 AM	#5
Ghoulish Delight I Floop the Pig Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Alternative Swankstyle Posts: 19,348	Yes, but were any of the others that good either? Milk and Frost/Nixon are the only two we've seen. Both good, but not amazingly good where I'm surprised that something else won. I could see the argument that Milk "deserves" a leg up because of its timely emotional and political importance, but those are external factors and don't change the fact that outside of its context it's just a pretty good, maybe very good, but not great film. I imagine that people for whom the realities of Indian poverty is an important issue would feel that Slumdog deserves the same artificial leg up due to ITS timely emotional and political importance. __________________ 'He who receives an idea from me, receives instruction himself without lessening mine; as he who lights his taper at mine, receives light without darkening me.' -TJ
	Submit to Quotes

04-05-2009, 11:51 AM	#6
innerSpaceman Kink of Swank Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Inner Space Posts: 13,075	Nope, I think MILK was very good. Hard to separate my bias, but as soon as I watched it, I felt its script was way beyond standard biopic kaliber and deserved the Oscar (which it won), and that Penn's performance was his best in forever and deserved an Oscar (which he won). The film was very well directed, and packed an emotional wallop (hence me crying many times) ... yeah, perhaps more of one for me, but everyone has a different emotional threshhold anyway. So, with all those things going for it .... why not Best Picture? It was waaaaay better than Slumbog in every conceivable quality. OK, it's all subjective. I happen to LOVE Chicago. But that's because I'm so GAY ... and that's not the reason I love MILK.
	Submit to Quotes

04-05-2009, 11:52 AM	#7
innerSpaceman Kink of Swank Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Inner Space Posts: 13,075	For the record, for the widespread raves it got, Wall-E should by rights have won Best Picture. Same with The Incredibles. Easily the Best Picture that year. Probably true of many Pixar films. The Best Animated Feature category is a rip.
	Submit to Quotes

04-05-2009, 12:57 PM	#8
Gemini Cricket ... Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 13,244	Slumdog was glossy and the music was great. I don't know if it's Best Pic either but I'm beginning to care less and less about who/what the Academy picks for their awards. For me, a movie validated with an Oscar doesn't mean much any more. I don' know if it's just me getting older or having worked in the industry for a period of time but movies that I love are ones that impact me personally or which have such a unique and interesting take on a subject that it makes me take notice. Some awards can be bought and can be way too political to deserve much merit. Milk was not perfect but it hit me in a specific way that many, many others before it have not. That makes it a good picture, that makes it important to me. And, ironically, the awards Milk won are also political. Not sure if it would have won the two it won if Prop 8 didn't rear its ugly head close to its release. But I guess the Oscars mean stuff to lots of people and if it makes people actually watch the film then I guess I'm fine with that aspect of the awards thang regarding Milk and my own gay activism. I guess if you've read this far, you've realized that I'm just thinking 'out loud' and am rambling. --------------- On a completely different note, Jackie Earle Haley is apparently going to be the new Freddy Krueger in the new Nightmare on Elm Street movie. I'm sure that'll make him some dough, but I'm not sure I'd accept the part in fear of being type-cast as Freddy.
	Submit to Quotes

04-05-2009, 01:52 PM	#9
Ghoulish Delight I Floop the Pig Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Alternative Swankstyle Posts: 19,348	Wall-E was not best picture material. __________________ 'He who receives an idea from me, receives instruction himself without lessening mine; as he who lights his taper at mine, receives light without darkening me.' -TJ
	Submit to Quotes

04-05-2009, 02:22 PM	#10
Alex . Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 13,354	Wall-E was better than Slumdog Millionaire, so while I agree I wouldn't pick it for best picture I'd say it was more deserving than the one that won. No, it wasn't a great year. None of the actual nominees really soared and the Oscar bait movie I liked better was roundly canned by critics and did nothing at the box office. But of the five nominees I rated Slumdog fourth or fifth (I'd have to go back and find where I said it to be sure of my mood at the time). For me, Slumdog was simply poverty porn where we get to pat ourselves on the back for feeling bad about how such people live because poverty doesn't deprive you of the life-fulfilling happiness of true love, and hey maybe one of them will get lucky and win the lottery. In my opinion it infantilized those it was portraying.
	Submit to Quotes