Top 8 "Things I missed at the Oscars"
And so… another movie awards season has ended with the Oscars last night. In the overall, I agree with most of them. However, there are a few remarks I would like to make regarding this year’s ceremony…
Zoe Saldana
And another year goes by where motion capture actors are not considered for the Oscars. Let’s be real, Zoe Saldana (among others) gives one hell of a performance in Avatar. Yes, we only see some blue CGI weirdos but the subtle details in Neytiri’s movements, words or facial expressions are worthy of a greater prize. At least some nomination would be fair.
Up in the Air & Inglourious Basterds
Regarding Up in the Air… Great movie about unemployment with a few nominations and… no prizes! There were great movies this year and I think this sweet tale about an old-school-business-master against a young-techie-wonderkid (in both the silver screen and the acting talent) deserved much more. Maybe in another year it would win… maybe it was a little too hyped for an “indie” movie…
As for Quentin’s latest… I believe he produced another masterpiece… however, it will take a while for the Academy to understand his genius! He will be best director, he will have his film as best movie. No doubt about it! Probably he’ll be like Scorcese and will win for a smaller (but more appealing to the Academy) film.
District 9
I guess the major Hollywood chiefs (cleverly?) missed the subliminal message in District 9 (South African anyone? Well, they missed the more direct Invictus so…). Moreover, Sharlto Copley perfomance is worthy of an Oscar nod at least! Well… I guess sci-fi is still far from being “accepted” in this kind of awards. But c’mon… that little bit at the end where the “new prawn” leaves a gift for his ex-wife…
Funny People
I sure missed Judd at the Oscars. And Adam Sandler. And Seth Rogen. And the entire comedy team behind them. I loved the story and the main idea behind the movie. However, just like sci-fi, comedy is still many steps away from being accepted in these kind of awards.
Where The Wild Things Are
This may be the child inside me talking, but WTWTA was a pretty cool movie. Max Records represents the average troubled children around the world. Conflicting (or single) parents, imaginary friends, no respect from older bullies… Furthermore, it also represents what lots of kids are missing these days: creativity, imagination. Internet and TV are killing kids’ imagination. Ask any 10 year old to write a small text with an imagined story… he will fail! At the age of ten, they are already talking online, playing online, watching MTV… It is killing their imagination and this is were WTWTA wins!
Europe
Christopher Waltz and The Young Victoria. And that’s it. No more awards for europeans. We should be ashamed: the biggest and most important movie ceremony and there aren’t any great european movies winning (or at least battling for) the most relevant awards.
(Forgetting) Politics
Another year, another movie heavy-charged with politics wins. I loved The Hurt Locker, nevertheless, if it was about a bomb squad in New York instead of Iraq it wouldn’t win that many awards. Moreover, it beat Avatar… and in 10 years everyone will remember Avatar and only a few will say “The Hurt Locker? Yeah… I think I remember… that movie about bombs in Iraq right?”
Moon
Duncan Jones and Sam Rockwell created a brilliant low-profile sci-fi flick. And it is wonderful. From the introduction of the characters to the “mysteriously” lost phone calls to the main cloning plot… it is utter brilliance! Ok, I surrender. It isn’t Kubrick with 2001, but it is so well played… At least an Oscar nod for Sam…
