Let's Talk Movies #35 – Sparrows and Panthers and Dinosaurs…Oh My!

[Kasey]

I’m doing the Oscar week movie pass thing...3 Billboards is one of the most profoundly uncomfortable times I’ve had watching a movie. And Phantom Thread was “extremely British”, as my sister put it. More when Im not on my phone ?

 

[PeterG]

Barbra Streisand on How She Battled Hollywood’s Boys’ Club
http://variety.com/2018/film/news/barbra-streisand-oscars-sexism-in-hollywood-clone-dogs-1202710585/

This article mentions three movies that Streisand has wanted to make: Gypsy, The Normal Heart (which Ryan Murphy eventually made) and a bio-pic about Margaret Bourke-White. I've heard of her interest in these projects for DECADES. What I don't understand is that all three movies she directed made money. The Prince of Tides was made for 30 million (double that to add in the publicity budget) and made 110 million. Why studios haven't given Streisand more chances to direct is beyond me. Even if she is "difficult"...who cares - as long as she is making you money, just give her the budget she wants for as long as she's making you a profit...and get out of her way. That's what they do with male directors.

 

[Vash01]

Has anyone seen Red Sparrow? I was planning to, but the imdb reviews are mixed. Some say it is very boring. Others are raving over the political thriller. If it is sleep inducing, it may not be the right movie for me. I fall asleep in almost 30 percent of the movies i see. Some of them are even good movies. LOL.

When i read that she plays a Russian ballerina, i had my doubts. Blond hair alone does not make a Russian. apparently she trained in ballet for 4 months to prepare for this movie, but she had never studied ballet. Can she really do Russian accent? Did they Have to recruit her for this role just because her name sells? Anyway, i will see the movie in the next few weeks. Have to lower my expectations though.

 

[watchthis!!]

Corman’s World: Exploits Of A Hollywood Rebel is as much fun as it is interesting. This 2011 documentary is about movie producer and director Roger Corman, who is famous (infamous?) for his low-budget (often schlocky) movies, which he started making in 1954. Some of the movies he's made include:

Sharktopus vs. Whalewolf
A Very Unlucky Leprechaun
Bloodfist 2050
Spacejacked

...and there's a LOT more! Corman has over 400 producer credits to his name but in addition to the drive-in B-grade movies he's made, he's also a trailblazer in the world of independent movies, is an honourary Oscar winner and was there in the beginning for the careers of Jack Nicholson, Francis Ford Coppola, Peter Fonda, Bruce Dern, Martin Scorsese, Sandra Bullock, Ron Howard, Dennis Hopper, Charles Bronson, Peter Bogdanovich, Jonathan Demme, James Cameron, Robert De Niro, James Horner and David Carradine. Not too shabby.

I definitely recommend Corman's World, it's enjoyable to watch if you like movies, if you like any of the famous people whose careers started out with Corman (many are interviewed for this movie) and if you like (alternatives to) how movies are made. One standout scene is when Jack Nicholson is being interviewed and gets very emotional about the part Corman played in his career. I've never seen Nicholson like that ever.

Trailer for Corman's World: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngsD17ZAglE

I fall asleep in almost 30 percent of the movies i see. Some of them are even good movies. LOL.

Who else wishes to vote for Vash01 to set an earlier bedtime?

 

[Kasey]

So Oscar best picture thoughts, after having seen all of the nominees finally:

Get Out....it took me two viewings to really get the full depth of this one, but I liked and appreciated it so much more the second time. It's more layered than it originally appears, and I'm glad it was nominated, although I don't know if the Academy is going to award such a genre film at this point. Daniel Kaluuya and Jordan Peele are also worthy of their noms.

Dunkirk...I felt like this was a spectacle movie. A lot of sight and sound, but the plot didn't really move as well to me as many of the others. It's great for effects, sound and directing, but not a great movie to me.

Darkest Hour...could have used some spectacle to it. Gary Oldman of course owned the whole thing, but the movie itself was a cut above mediocre in my mind. Not that mediocre movies haven't won before.

Call Me By Your Name...the movie that stayed with me the longest after leaving the theater. The entire film is so beautiful and full of soul, and so many little subtle nuances that are meaningful in little ways. Chalamet is revelatory to me, although I think Stuhlbarg and Hammer would have been worthy nominees as well (I can see not nominating Stuhlbarg because his stellar moments are literally that, 4 or 5 minutes, and he is passively present for the rest of the movie, but Hammer held his own with Chalamet). Just lovely.

Shape of Water...very sweet, very heartfelt, and very unique, which is why I think it is a slight favorite to win. I think it does quite well being and doing multiple things at once...but to me, it never found it's voice, because it was being multiple things at once. I left the movie feeling a bit like there was no actual closure with it.

Phantom Thread...Daniel Day-Lewis plays a control freak a$$hole quite well. The movie was very slow going, and a bit tiresome at points, when he was just being a bullying jerk. With about an hour left, a twist make it much more bearable, and makes it very sad to me that Lesley Manville, rather than Vicky Krieps, was nominated for supporting actress (Manville was wonderful as well, but her role was more one-note). A movie that does indeed leave an impression.

3 Billboards...one of the more uncomfortable movie watching experiences I've had watching a film. The intensity was almost overpowering, although nothing overpowered Frances McDormand, who was completely stellar. I love Woody Harrelson, and I think his character was underrated by some, but yeah, Sam Rockwell certainly had the meatier supporting role. A movie that sticks with you, and keeps you a bit unsettled throughout.

Lady Bird...so very sweet, and such a beautifully documented coming of age. Saoirse Ronan is completely amazing, and should be winning Oscars sooner rather than later. It's another one that I felt a better connection with on the second viewing, and it definitely gives "the feels". Wonderful performances by all involved, both main and supporting roles.

The Post...great ensemble cast, great story. But really, nothing stood out for me. I don't know that I disagree with Meryl's nomination, but it isn't up to her best. Tom Hanks is as solid as always, but it's not up with his best either. I felt like I should like and appreciate this movie more, but it kind of left me feeling flat (so much so that I had to google the nominations to figure out who I was forgetting!)

This is the first time I've ever seen all of the nominees for best picture, and it was fun! I may have to make a point of it again this next year!

 

[PeterG]

I nostri ragazzi (The Dinner) is a 2014 Italian movie about two brothers and their familes when...things go very wrong. I can't say more than that because I'd be giving too much away. It's an amazing movie, I added it to my "other favourites" section of my Top 100 favourite movies of all time. So it didn't quite make my top 100, but it's a movie I'll definitely want to watch again at some point in my life. Giovanna Mezzogiorno and Luigi Lo Cascio play the main couple and they are brilliant. Both have scenes where just how they use their eyes and faces show better acting than many people who are given scenery-chewing monologues to deliver. Giovanna looks liked a young Debra Winger and deserves to have a career outside of Europe. So if she becomes a household name...you heard about her here first. I couldn't find an English language trailer for the movie, but here's some options at youtube:

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=english+trailer+the+dinner+I+nostri+ragazzi

 

[watchthis!!]

The Hindenberg (1975) is an okay movie, a fictionalized version of what happened when the Hindenberg went down. Kinda weird to see a story made up about this, but I guess it's no different than what's been done with the Titanic. This is your average 70's era disaster-drama type pic, but movies like Earthquake and Towering Inferno were more fun. Quite a few famous faces in this one, including George C. Scott, Anne Bancroft, Burgess Meredith and Charles Durning. A decent-enough pic, but not one to bump high up on your viewing list if you've got one.

Trailer for The Hindenberg: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJBKLIi1XLM

 

[PeterG]

The Razzies were given out today:

38th Golden Raspberry Awards

The Emoji Movie won four awards (picture, director, screenplay and worst screem combo) and Fifty Shades Darker (worst sequel and supporting actress for Kim Basinger) won two. Basinger becomes the 16th actor to have won both an Oscar and a Razzie. The others:

16 Actors You Didn’t Know Won Razzies And Oscars

 

[PeterG]

On a more positive note, the Independent Spirit Awards were also given out today:

33rd Independent Spirit Awards

Three of the four acting awards are the same as who most are predicting will win the Oscar tomorrow night. But with best film, director and screenplay, the Independent Spirit awards were not afraid to hand out some trophies to African-Americans and women. Will be interesting to see if Oscar does anything similar or if it will be the straight, white, male show once again.

 

[Jay42]

I'm so bored by the projected winners in the Acting categories this year. It's like one person starts winning in their category and suddenly everyone is awarding the same people. What happened to Saoirse Ronan and Timothée Chalamet? Why are all of this years projected winners white people over the age of 40? Is the Academy seriously going to give Gary Oldman, a man accused of domestic violence, who has also made racist comments about Jews and African Americans, an Oscar after the #MeToo movement and the controversy of awarding Casey Affleck who has also been accused of sexual harassment?

Also, while I understand Disney/Pixar is an animation juggernaut, do we really have to award the Disney and/or Pixar movie every year for Best Animated Film? Other animated movies exist too but every year lately it seems like it's been either Disney or Pixar winning. I believe Coco is projected to win tomorrow night. What about Loving Vincent? The movie that's literally hand painted animation? I'm also still at a loss as to how Boss Baby got nominated, I had to see that movie at work every day for several months, there is nothing Oscar worthy about it.

Also, technically this is more of a question for last years Oscars but I'm asking it now anyway, Amy Adams has been nominated for the same amount of Oscars in a shorter period of time than Leonardo DiCaprio was before he finally won. Where's her meme? Why is there no collective sense of outrage on the internet that she hasn't won yet? What does she have to do to win an Oscar? Because she really should have won by now.

I feel a tiny bit like a snob, but I'm mostly interesting in the Screenplay categories (especially Adapted because of Logan), Cinematography, Best Picture and Director. Usually I get pretty excited for the Acting categories, but outside of Allison Janney, who I will always love based off of 10 Things I Hate About You alone, as well as her being amazing in everything I've ever seen her in, I got nothing. I can't even get excited about Sam Rockwell and he's been great in everything I've seen him in.

I'm done ranting now. I think I held this in for too long .

 

[Mad for Skating]

I'm definitely gonna see A Wrinkle in Time! It was one of my favorite books as a kid and I can't wait to see how it's interpreted. Also I love Chris Pine and cannot lie.
Red Sparrow sounds super cool but I'm not allowed to watch R-rated movies yet lol. Maybe in a couple years...

 

[Aussie Willy]

Has anyone seen Red Sparrow? I was planning to, but the imdb reviews are mixed. Some say it is very boring. Others are raving over the political thriller. If it is sleep inducing, it may not be the right movie for me. I fall asleep in almost 30 percent of the movies i see. Some of them are even good movies. LOL.

When i read that she plays a Russian ballerina, i had my doubts. Blond hair alone does not make a Russian. apparently she trained in ballet for 4 months to prepare for this movie, but she had never studied ballet. Can she really do Russian accent? Did they Have to recruit her for this role just because her name sells? Anyway, i will see the movie in the next few weeks. Have to lower my expectations though.

I saw it on Friday. And today I saw Film Stars don't die in Liverpool.

My thoughts - I think it was quite good (sorry that sounds a bit indecisive). I do think Jennifer Lawrence is quite convincing as a Russian. Occasionally the accent drops but she does a good job. There were some very squeamish inducing scenes which I had to look away. I think they took the usual approach with a movie about Russians by making everything dark and gloomy.

As for Film Stars don't die in Liverpool, it was like watching Billy Elliott all grown up. Jamie Bell has turned into a gorgeous looking man. The film would not have worked if the chemistry and relationship between the leads wasn't convincing but I think they succeeded. And both Bell and Bening were very good. I would recommend take your tissues.

 

[cocotaffy]

Watched a bunch of movies recently.

The Square: interesting critic of the life in a big western european city. It's set in Stockholm but could easily have been set in Paris, London, Milan or Berlin. The construction of the film is different as it tells many stories without really telling us how they end. Everything is a bit up in the air which can be a bit unsettling. It is a critic of the so-called cultural elite facing its own contradictions about how to act human and not just talk the big talk but act in consequence. The director had already directed this very good movie Force Majeure which I highly recommend.

Three billboards outside Ebbing missouri: great movie with knockout performances from the whole cast. It's very thought provoking dealing with the subject of grieving and taking justice in your own hands. It's not a tearjerker which considering the subject is a miracle. It's tough and rugged like Frances McDormand's caracter.

The shape of water: out of those three movies I really wanted to watch, there had to be one which would be a disappointment and this is it. First off, the start of the movie reminded so strongly of Amélie Poulain: the cinematography, the music, the quirkiness of the female character, everything. Not a good start as I think Guillermo del Toro has usually such a personal vision to offer. Then the first half is not bad till the

Spoiler

big escape

After that it turns a bit ridiculous with the bad guy being such a caricature. The message is a lovely one but hardly new or groundbreaking apart maybe for the

Spoiler

inter specie sex

It was a much more simple story than I expected told in a fairy tale like manner but it lacked the impact of his earlier works: the Devil's backbone ( a stunning film, extremely chilling) and Pan's labyrinth.

 

[smurfy]

I finally finished seeing the best pic noms... random notes (JMHO)..

My favs for best picture - so hard to compare:
Dunkirk - just a beautiful film showing the horrors of war, no soap opera type story, just the rawness of war.
Has some traditional aspects of a best pic - sweeping landscape.
The Post - I had been warned by many it was very much an over Spielberged movie, so I went into it with skepticism -but I really loved it, very well done. A traditional pic
The Shape of Water - I love how Guillermo del Toro creates a whole world.
Get Out - what a great film, but not a traditional choice. Daniel K was so amazing. Even with hearing a lot beforehand, I love that I did not know what was going to happen.

Great movies that have or lack something that i feel are not best picture...
3 Billboards - I would highly recommend for anyone to see for the acting - all wonderful performances. But the story was choppy, and by the end I went whatever. And I saw it twice.
Phantom Thread - I enjoyed it, but I can see how some would not like what I call the 'WTF' just happened. The costumes are gorgeous. So much thought put in to everything.
Call Me By Your Name - a beautifully filmed movie, I love, love, love TimotheeC - what a gem, but I think Hammer was miscast, just off
Darkest Hour - love this movie - but I found the political intrigue vs the home scenes not matching.
Ladybird - lovely movie, just not best picture.

Acting
Timothee C and Daniel K - - both just amazing young actors - so looking forward to their futures.
Gary O is great in Churchill and is deserving.
To echo previous comment - I hate how when just one person gets all the awards. Spread the wealth among a few.
I think any of the 5 ladies are deserving, but Meryl already has some. Sally Hawkins was mesmerizing, and Saoirse Ronan was so real as a teen.
Supporting Men - I did not see DaFoe, but what I have heard - i want to see The FL Project. I think C Plummer is least deserving. Rockwell is excellent, and Harrelson gave such a lovely understated performance.
Supporting Lady- I saw all the movies - and everyone of them is deserving of the award. I adore A Janey - every since the West Wing - so am rooting for her, but all are worthy.

From others comments -
Phantom Thread - I so agree - why wasn't Vicky Krieps nominated - she held her own with DDL

I just did the last 2 Saturdays at the AMC Best Pic Showcase. I had seen 4 of the 9 movies already, and it was good to see them again. My buddy and I have fun poking each other when someone from one of the movies pops up in another. That happens every year. Timothy C, Bradley Whitford, Michael Stuhlbarg...

Earlier this week - I did see All the Money in the World. It was good, not great. Michelle Williams was excellent.
I did find myself trying to figure out where they were splicing scenes with Plummer. Plummer was very good, but not spectacular. I can see how he seems warmer than Spacey would have been. The story was a little choppy. They show Michelles' character negotiating a divorce settlement, then jump a few years later - how is she supporting herself? Then later on a line about her not paying rent. Just a couple of lines could have been inserted to help explain some things.

 

[PeterG]

Also, technically this is more of a question for last years Oscars but I'm asking it now anyway, Amy Adams has been nominated for the same amount of Oscars in a shorter period of time than Leonardo DiCaprio was before he finally won. Where's her meme? Why is there no collective sense of outrage on the internet that she hasn't won yet? What does she have to do to win an Oscar? Because she really should have won by now.

Two reasons.

#1 - After a certain amount of time, an Oscar kind of becomes a career achievement kind of thing. As you've stated, Adams' nominations have come in a shorter amount of time, so she's had less time to have the buildup which DiCaprio had. He's been acting since he was a child.

#2 - The number of projects both have been in. Well, big-name projects as Adams actually has more acting credits than DiCaprio. But he's been in more big movies than Adams, so he's had that to create goodwill and make connections. Plus DiCaprio has made connections with people in his behind the scenes work as well, with two writing and 29 producing credits. Adams has stuck to acting.

But don't worry. I can't imagine Adams won't be rewarded in time. Although I've thought that way about Glenn Close for quite a while...

 

[MacMadame]

For you guys who are always bitching about the Academy getting it wrong, here's an article about all the times they got it wrong:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...-of-the-past-42-years/?utm_term=.c94f82736b07

My objection to the article is that they never pick a picture that wasn't even nominated. Also, they picked Titanic so they are obviously deranged.

 

[Vash01]

On a more positive note, the Independent Spirit Awards were also given out today:

33rd Independent Spirit Awards

Three of the four acting awards are the same as who most are predicting will win the Oscar tomorrow night. But with best film, director and screenplay, the Independent Spirit awards were not afraid to hand out some trophies to African-Americans and women. Will be interesting to see if Oscar does anything similar or if it will be the straight, white, male show once again.

Nice to see Chalamet win the best lead actor award. I was getting tired of Oldman winning everything. I would actually pick Chalamet over Oldman. The latter was 50 percent makeup. Chalamet gave a deeply sensitive performance without such external help.

Why is Vicky Krieps not getting any recognition? She should have been nominated for and even won some awards in a supporting role.

Nice to see 'Get out' win the independent films award. I want to see this movie again.

Like Smurphy, I loved Dunkirk (10/10 for me) and The post (9/10).

I have no doubt that the Oscars will have a lot of diversity this year.

 

[allezfred]

I watched Quo Vadis (1951) a while back, I think because it starred Deborah Kerr and I had seen her in something else which made me want to see more of her movies. Quo Vadis was nominated for eight academy awards (including best picture and two supporting actor nominations) but won none. Which I'm okay with because I didn't think it was that great. Only Peter Ustinov's performance stood out as bringing some life to the movie, although I'm sure many might think his performance was too over-the-top to be taken seriously. Ustinov was one of the two best supporting actor nominations for the movie and I thought his performance was a lot of campy fun. But overall, the movie lacked spark. Maybe Ustinov's lively performance was so big, it over-shadowed the rest of the movie. I found it to be standard 50's era historical drama. Imdb.com rates the movie quite high, at 7.2, but I gave it a 5.0. Robert Taylor also stars alongside Kerr and Ustinov.

I have seen Quo Vadis so many times growing up that I now default cheer for the lions to eat the insufferable Christians.

 

[MacMadame]

Did you guys know that Rachel Morrison is the first women EVER to be nominated for a Cinematography Oscar? FiveThirtyEight wrote a whole article about it:

https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/women-in-cinematography-oscars/?ex_cid=Weekly4

 

[peibeck]

I spent the last two Saturdays at a nearby AMC seeing all the Best Picture nominees and I have to say that overall, I was extremely underwhelmed by most of the movies. My brief snarks (erm, I mean reviews) are:

"Phantom Thread" Well acted but utterly pretentious crap. Paul Thomas Anderson was far more relevant to me as a filmmaker when he still had a sense of humor.

"Lady Bird" Brava! Lovely performances, competent story-telling, writing, and honest emotion. Of course, it stands no chance to win the big prize.

"Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri" Well acted, but a complete and utter insult to "small town" America. Yes, there are "backward" people out in the sticks, but to say I completely loathed all of these characters almost from start to finish would be too fine of a point. And the final 10 minutes? After everything which preceded it? Kumbaya falseness to the Nth degree. (I truly want to vomit that this stands a good chance of being the big winner tonight.)

"The Shape of Water" Again very well acted, great look, music, cinematography.... but why wasn't I drawn in? Probably because the script was just too clunky. Del Toro has had much better work (esp Pan's Labyrinth), but at least the movie has a p.o.v. and is well executed. This is the other supposed big contender, and if it wins tonight, I'll be grateful it isn't "3 Billboards."

"Dunkirk" A well made series of action set pieces in search of a script.

"The Darkest Hour" 125 minutes with Gary Oldman chewing the scenery, which is not necessarily a bad thing. Again, the script is a bit of a let down, but Joe Wright's direction helps lift the storyline through its more awkward moments.

"Call Me By Your Name" Like "Lady Bird" a film which actually focuses on the smaller, most delicate moments of coming of age, and like "Lady Bird," the only other resounding success for me as cinema. I'm a bit bummed it was not also nominated for cinematography, which was beautiful, but that was also a packed field.

"The Post" In the end, I think being rushed into production did not help this film. Again, the script is lacking in areas and it never brings to the fore the urgency needed to propel this picture from good to great. Streep, Hanks, reliable as always. The amazing Sarah Paulson gets one great monologue, while a lot of other good actors really just play scene dressing.

"Get Out" I admit I am a bit confuzzled by the great love for this movie. I guess if you need a "horror" movie to beat into your head that racism and slavery are bad this might be revolutionary filmmaking. Otherwise, it really is just a movie beating a message into your head.

 

[LeafOnTheWind]

"Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri" Well acted, but a complete and utter insult to "small town" America. Yes, there are "backward" people out in the sticks, but to say I completely loathed all of these characters almost from start to finish would be too fine of a point.

I have often found the the "creative" people writing movie scripts rely on stereotypes and this is also one of my pet peeves. It's tired, old, boring and insulting.

 

[PeterG]

My objection to the article is that they never pick a picture that wasn't even nominated. Also, they picked Titanic so they are obviously deranged.

They did in 1985. I only noticed because they thought Back To The Future (!!!) was the best movie of the year. The nominees by Oscar were The Color Purple, Kiss of the Spider Woman, Out of Africa, Prizzi’s Honor, Witness (Out of Africa won).

Vicky Krieps

Thanks for mentioning her performance (in the Phantom Thread). She hasn't been on the radar for awards season, but sometimes a break-out performance becomes a stepping stone for recognition later on. I might go see Phantom Thread tomorrow.

"Dunkirk" A well made series of action set pieces in search of a script.

THANK you. I found the movie acceptable, but as far as story goes...well, there wasn't really any story. Plus I have a hate-on for Dunkirk because it has the most horrid soundtrack of all time.

 

[Seerek]

From what I have read, there was much more of a backstory as it relates to the family history of Cyril and Reynolds Woodstock that never made it to the final cut of "Phantom Thread".

That makes sense now since Daniel Day Lewis and Lesley Manville really have at it at times, yet not much context to these exchanges.

 

[MacMadame]

More articles about the Oscars by the numbers!

This one is a chart of every category showing how often the same person / country was nominated for it:

https://fivethirtyeight.com/feature...scar-nominations-in-one-chart/?ex_cid=Weekly4

And here's a fun one about which Oscar-winning song is the worst. one. ever.

https://fivethirtyeight.com/feature...riginal-song-in-oscar-history/?ex_cid=Weekly4

Excerpt:

"In other words, I find the best original song category fascinating because its nominees span such a wide range in quality — the most timeless songs in cinema history and songs that prove the music branch will nominate a ham sandwich if Bono or Randy Newman was involved in making it."

Btw, I feel compelled to point out that the song I named for came out as the Absolute. Worst. Though in all fairness, they seemed to have picked an instrumental version with no words for the matchup. Um, songs have words. That's what makes them songs. In fact, it was the number 1 song of 1937 and sung by Bing Crosby.

TBH, it's pretty bad and might have lost anyway. The Chris Isaak version is slightly better. Just slightly.

 

[MacMadame]

They did in 1985. I only noticed because they thought Back To The Future (!!!) was the best movie of the year. The nominees by Oscar were The Color Purple, Kiss of the Spider Woman, Out of Africa, Prizzi’s Honor, Witness (Out of Africa won).

Oh, the format of the piece made it seem like Back to the Future was nominated. Okay, I take it back.

 

[allezfred]

Also, they picked Titanic so they are obviously deranged.

This. So much this.

And here's a fun one about which Oscar-winning song is the worst. one. ever.

Don't even need to look at this to know it is anything ever written by Randy Newman.

 

[PeterG]

Did you guys know that Rachel Morrison is the first women EVER to be nominated for a Cinematography Oscar? FiveThirtyEight wrote a whole article about it:

https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/women-in-cinematography-oscars/?ex_cid=Weekly4

Ugh. Pathetic. I thought she was the first black woman to be nominated, not THEE first woman. You hear stories about the progress that has been made and then you hear something like this and realize how far we still have to go.

This. So much this.

But which movie from 1997 deserved best picture over Titanic...As Good as It Gets, The Full Monty, Good Will Hunting or L.A. Confidential?

 

[allezfred]

But which movie from 1997 deserved best picture over Titanic...As Good as It Gets, The Full Monty, Good Will Hunting or L.A. Confidential?

Any of the last three (although As Good As It Gets is a guilty pleasure).

 

[Jay42]

Supporting Men - I did not see DaFoe, but what I have heard - i want to see The FL Project. I think C Plummer is least deserving. Rockwell is excellent, and Harrelson gave such a lovely understated performance.

I kind of think Christopher Plummer's nomination had more to do with the fact that he had 3 weeks to film his entire role in the movie. But then I haven't seen All The Money in The World. I have yet to decide if my love of Christopher Plummer is enough to make up for my intense dislike of Mark Wahlberg.

Two reasons.

#1 - After a certain amount of time, an Oscar kind of becomes a career achievement kind of thing. As you've stated, Adams' nominations have come in a shorter amount of time, so she's had less time to have the buildup which DiCaprio had. He's been acting since he was a child.

#2 - The number of projects both have been in. Well, big-name projects as Adams actually has more acting credits than DiCaprio. But he's been in more big movies than Adams, so he's had that to create goodwill and make connections. Plus DiCaprio has made connections with people in his behind the scenes work as well, with two writing and 29 producing credits. Adams has stuck to acting.

But don't worry. I can't imagine Adams won't be rewarded in time. Although I've thought that way about Glenn Close for quite a while...

I totally agree about Glenn Close. I just think Amy Adam's should have won by now. But Glenn Close should have at least won for Albert Nobbs.

 

[PeterG]

I kind of think Christopher Plummer's nomination had more to do with the fact that he had 3 weeks to film his entire role in the movie. But then I haven't seen All The Money in The World. I have yet to decide if my love of Christopher Plummer is enough to make up for my intense dislike of Mark Wahlberg.

Christopher Plummer was SOOOOOO good in All the Money in the World. I haven't seen Three Billboards yet, but I'm all ready to start a "Christopher Plummer wuzrobbed!!!" thread after I do.

P.S. Wahlbeg is entirely adequate opposite the brilliant Plummer and equally brilliant Michelle Williams.