NonP
Legend
Since most of us are still stuck in (semi-)WFH mode I'm extending my Oscar coverage here for at least one more year. I'm guessing y'all already know that this has been the longest film awards season yet thanks to the world-wrecking b@stard, but for those of you who are wondering why we're seeing several 2021 titles here I suggest you pay closer attention to the thread title or check out this article.
A word on the ceremony before moving on the picks/prognostications: I'll leave it to an insider like Moose to provide the full dish on the logistics, but anyone who has stepped inside the cavernous Union Station should know it can well accommodate the glitterati with room to spare, which is why it can and will remain open to all transit riders throughout the whole thing. As for the satellite transmission from international locations I just can't see Soderberg and Co. doing even worse than the HFPA who I actually thought did a decent job with the Globes despite all the hand-wringing, so expect a fairly smooth sailing with a couple unexpected hitches.
Speaking of which you may wanna check out my post on some of the GG nominees because I'm still catching up on their Oscar siblings and at this late point even a cursory overview is impossible. I'll try to return with capsule reviews of worthy nominees either here or in the movie thread after tonight.
Now without further ado:
Best Picture - Nomadland is expected to take it, with Minari potentially extending the Korean(-language) invasion of Hollywood for another year. Since I've yet to see the latter I'll just add that much of the backlash to Zhao's modern road movie by way of a Western strikes me as ideological when it seems to be making the very opposite point, and said detractors' glib dismissal of Westerns as capitalist fantasies could be applied to just about every other film genre. Personally I'm more bemused by with Zhao's characters who are less full-bodied persons than ingredients of an MFA thesis.
Of course the real scandal here is the absence of Pedro Costa's Vitalina Varela, Kelly Reichardt's First Cow and other worthy contenders which almost certainly gave us more to chew on than any of this year's nominees, but they committed the cardinal sin of being limited to arthouse circuits which somehow disqualifies them as a "Best Picture" of any sort. The howling over Minari's exclusion from most award categories has been welcome, but the fact of the matter is that Lee Isaac Chung's latest feature enjoys the full backing of indie darling A24 who put Reichardt's in the less favorable early-year slot, and Costa's can't even claim this limited support to begin with. Until we tackle this widespread supremacy of advertising in the industry any talk of diversity will ring hollow.
Directing - Ditto, although there's a slim chance that Vinterberg will play spoiler in one of the biggest upsets in Oscar history. And I can't believe I'm saying this but I hope the erstwhile Dogme 95 brat pulls it off.
Actor in a Leading Role - If there's anything preordained about this year's Oscars it's that this one will be won by the late Chadwick Boseman, but while his Levee Green is a fine performance there's something rather studied about the role that precludes a wholehearted endorsement of my own. I understand some of my reservation must be attributed to August Wilson himself whose original play is probably among the weakest in his Pittsburgh Cycle, but I continue to be mystified that this adaptation seemingly can do no wrong according to the critics while the same criticism they leveled against Denzel Washington's superior (IMO, yes) Fences - namely that it's not cinematic enough - could easily be made of Ma Rainey's Black Bottom as well, if not more so. And while Boseman can be forgiven for not quite measuring up to the presumably greatest actor alive I felt Viola Davis herself made an uncharacteristically by-the-book Ma Rainey vs. a more energetic Rose Lee Maxson in the earlier adaptation.
And I thought Hopkins overdid his mommy routine in The Father. So I'm giving it to Riz Ahmed for his commendably sympathetic portrayal of the deaf Ruben Stone in Sound of Metal, again with my earlier caveat about Minari.
Actress in a Leading Role - See above re: Davis. But Carey Mulligan is another strong contender as Cassandra "Cassie" Thomas and though I hated the movie I wouldn't mind her taking home the Oscar and spreading the glitter around.
Actor in a Supporting Role - Once you saw Daniel Kaluuya's fiery "I am a revolutionary!" speech as Fred Hampton you knew he was winning the Oscar. And I've made my position on SBC in this role vs. his latest Borat outing clear and Paul Raci's Joe is hardly less impressive than Ahmed's Ruben Stone, but who am I kidding? Daniel FTW.
Actress in a Supporting Role - Youn Yuh-jung as Soon-ja is the fave here though Maria Bakalova's breakout turn as Tutar Sagdiyev offers strong competition. But any of the remaining nominees would be a worthy winner, and while there's next to zero chance Glenn Close will finally end her drought tonight stranger things have happened at the Oscars.
(To be continued....)
A word on the ceremony before moving on the picks/prognostications: I'll leave it to an insider like Moose to provide the full dish on the logistics, but anyone who has stepped inside the cavernous Union Station should know it can well accommodate the glitterati with room to spare, which is why it can and will remain open to all transit riders throughout the whole thing. As for the satellite transmission from international locations I just can't see Soderberg and Co. doing even worse than the HFPA who I actually thought did a decent job with the Globes despite all the hand-wringing, so expect a fairly smooth sailing with a couple unexpected hitches.
Speaking of which you may wanna check out my post on some of the GG nominees because I'm still catching up on their Oscar siblings and at this late point even a cursory overview is impossible. I'll try to return with capsule reviews of worthy nominees either here or in the movie thread after tonight.
Now without further ado:
Best Picture - Nomadland is expected to take it, with Minari potentially extending the Korean(-language) invasion of Hollywood for another year. Since I've yet to see the latter I'll just add that much of the backlash to Zhao's modern road movie by way of a Western strikes me as ideological when it seems to be making the very opposite point, and said detractors' glib dismissal of Westerns as capitalist fantasies could be applied to just about every other film genre. Personally I'm more bemused by with Zhao's characters who are less full-bodied persons than ingredients of an MFA thesis.
Of course the real scandal here is the absence of Pedro Costa's Vitalina Varela, Kelly Reichardt's First Cow and other worthy contenders which almost certainly gave us more to chew on than any of this year's nominees, but they committed the cardinal sin of being limited to arthouse circuits which somehow disqualifies them as a "Best Picture" of any sort. The howling over Minari's exclusion from most award categories has been welcome, but the fact of the matter is that Lee Isaac Chung's latest feature enjoys the full backing of indie darling A24 who put Reichardt's in the less favorable early-year slot, and Costa's can't even claim this limited support to begin with. Until we tackle this widespread supremacy of advertising in the industry any talk of diversity will ring hollow.
Directing - Ditto, although there's a slim chance that Vinterberg will play spoiler in one of the biggest upsets in Oscar history. And I can't believe I'm saying this but I hope the erstwhile Dogme 95 brat pulls it off.
Actor in a Leading Role - If there's anything preordained about this year's Oscars it's that this one will be won by the late Chadwick Boseman, but while his Levee Green is a fine performance there's something rather studied about the role that precludes a wholehearted endorsement of my own. I understand some of my reservation must be attributed to August Wilson himself whose original play is probably among the weakest in his Pittsburgh Cycle, but I continue to be mystified that this adaptation seemingly can do no wrong according to the critics while the same criticism they leveled against Denzel Washington's superior (IMO, yes) Fences - namely that it's not cinematic enough - could easily be made of Ma Rainey's Black Bottom as well, if not more so. And while Boseman can be forgiven for not quite measuring up to the presumably greatest actor alive I felt Viola Davis herself made an uncharacteristically by-the-book Ma Rainey vs. a more energetic Rose Lee Maxson in the earlier adaptation.
And I thought Hopkins overdid his mommy routine in The Father. So I'm giving it to Riz Ahmed for his commendably sympathetic portrayal of the deaf Ruben Stone in Sound of Metal, again with my earlier caveat about Minari.
Actress in a Leading Role - See above re: Davis. But Carey Mulligan is another strong contender as Cassandra "Cassie" Thomas and though I hated the movie I wouldn't mind her taking home the Oscar and spreading the glitter around.
Actor in a Supporting Role - Once you saw Daniel Kaluuya's fiery "I am a revolutionary!" speech as Fred Hampton you knew he was winning the Oscar. And I've made my position on SBC in this role vs. his latest Borat outing clear and Paul Raci's Joe is hardly less impressive than Ahmed's Ruben Stone, but who am I kidding? Daniel FTW.
Actress in a Supporting Role - Youn Yuh-jung as Soon-ja is the fave here though Maria Bakalova's breakout turn as Tutar Sagdiyev offers strong competition. But any of the remaining nominees would be a worthy winner, and while there's next to zero chance Glenn Close will finally end her drought tonight stranger things have happened at the Oscars.
(To be continued....)
