March 8, 2008

Last Year Bleeding into This Year...

Hi all, Joey here...with the back to back bloodsoaked wins of The Departed and No Country for Old Men, it seems that the trend for rejecting a film for being "too violent" is done. Likewise, the era of rewarding the "Oscar Movie" (Atonement probably fit the term best of late) seems to be dying as well. That being said...what is this all going to mean for the upcoming crop of films looking to head to the Kodak next year?

Should Stop-Loss just stop because it's a war/Iraq film?

Should Frost/Nixon freeze over because it's something built for the Academy to love?

Should Revolutionary Road cease its Revolutionary ways because it's a period piece that a short time ago would undoubtedly get Oscar all hot and bothered?


What do you guys (and gals) think? Are anti-Oscar movies the new Oscar movies?

6 comments:

  1. I think it could just be a sign of the times, like when downbeat and unhappy cinema ruled the 70's (The French Connection, The Godfather Parts I and II, The Deer Hunter).

    Check out The Oscar Nazi for year-round predictions and analysis.

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  2. On top of what The Oscar Nazi was saying: Patton, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, and Kramer vs Kramer won Best Picture in the 70s too, which are downbeat and unhappy. On top of that I think it shows a greater receptibility to critic's picks. NCFOM was the best reviewed live-action film this year (and all the nominess accept Atonement had a fresh meter of over 90% on Rotten Tomatoes) and last year The Departed was the best reviewed American film.

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  3. Doesn't mean that they shouldn't be made or released. Not every promising film needs to be an Oscar film. Personally, I want to see all three of the ones you mentioned.

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  4. I think we are seeing a shift in the average Oscar movie. Also look at some of the films, like Little Miss Sunshine and Juno, that are getting major buzz and nominations. The Academy has been leaning more towards not only action but indie comedy. It will be interesting to see how this evolves in the coming years.

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  5. I think we're going to see some kind of comedy win soon, they've been getting close. Followed by a Foreign Language picture, which have also been getting close the last few years. Which would only really leave one kind of film left to win: animated.

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