Awards Season 2005

[The Invunche]

How did Jon Stewart do?

[che-etienne]

As for Dion Beebe - a perfect displacement choice for the "denied Heath"- indeed. (Im sure he was never denied anything in his little life)/Oz actor award/ EX-Oz DP, now LA schmoozer.

This year, the oscars were disappointing. I totally agree ... wow a lot's changed, which is why they don't even really disappoint me anymore since I don't expect much (nor have I since about the eighth grade). Still I'd like to defend Dion Beebe who I think is a very talented photographer, and having read an interview he did earlier in the year and seen his press conference spiel, I have to say he seems like a humble and interesting man. Look at it this way: Michael Mann trusts him enough to have replaced Dante Spinotti (at least for now)

[nyasa]

Just been watching Fox News - out of anthropological interest - where they're giving the Oscars the thumbs down because 'we [the Right] didn't have a horse running,' this being the year of 'gays and pimps'.

I must stop watching Fox News before I put my foot through the TV.

[Fletch F. Fletch]

As for Dion Beebe - a perfect displacement choice for the "denied Heath"- indeed. (Im sure he was never denied anything in his little life)/Oz actor award/ EX-Oz DP, now LA schmoozer.

This year, the oscars were disappointing. I totally agree ... wow a lot's changed, which is why they don't even really disappoint me anymore since I don't expect much (nor have I since about the eighth grade). Still I'd like to defend Dion Beebe who I think is a very talented photographer, and having read an interview he did earlier in the year and seen his press conference spiel, I have to say he seems like a humble and interesting man. Look at it this way: Michael Mann trusts him enough to have replaced Dante Spinotti (at least for now)

Agreed! Yeah, Beebe shoulda won for Collateral but I digress.

I thought Jon Stewart was pretty good, with his opening bit with many of the past hosts from the last 15 years being the highlight. He wasn't great but he didn't suck either.

Altman's speech was nice and I loved Lily Tomlin and Meryl Streep paying homage to his style by overlapping their dialogue and "adlibbing" all over the place. I believe they cut away to Reese Witherspoon at one point and she had no idea what they were doing. Heh.

I also thought Clooney's win for Syriana was a nice touch -- he was quite good in that one, really disappearing into the role.

[Michael]

Altman's speech was nice and I loved Lily Tomlin and Meryl Streep paying homage to his style by overlapping their dialogue and "adlibbing" all over the place. I believe they cut away to Reese Witherspoon at one point and she had no idea what they were doing. Heh

.

Same here. As Altman came on the stage, everyone stood applauding, etc..Heath and Michelle looked at each other like "who the hell is he?".

The whole Oscar ceremony was okay.. I enjoyed the film noir montage which contained a good number of my favorite films. Jon Stewart was kind of bland, nothing like Billy Crystal or Whoopie but definitely much better than last years Chris Rock. Rachel Weisz (my favorite winner of them all) was the most beautiful woman of the night. So very happy that she won because her performance really made The Constant Gardener very riveting to watch. I simply adore her.

What was wrong with Diana Ossanna?! On valium or totally botoxed out? "I'm an aaaaahhhhtist. I am a wriiiiiitah." Good grief! Philip Seymour Hoffman.. hurray! But did anyone get anything out of his speech? I can't remember one single word he uttered other than the expected "thanks". Reese Witherspoon and her speech = my partner described the best: "a windup toy". Ang Lee's speech made me cringe big time. He started the speech by stealing BBM's line: "I don't know how to quit you". Then he went on about the greatness of love, again pushing gay folks to the side. That alone made me even happier that BBM lost the big prize. Actually my partner and I cheered when BBM lost.

[Satyajit's Son]

Citizen Kane - Denied, Raging Bull - Denied, Brokeback Mounatin - Denied. Fucking idiots!

[Michael]

Citizen Kane - Denied, Raging Bull - Denied, Brokeback Mounatin - Denied. Fucking idiots!

You better be kidding! Citizen Kane, Raging Bull.. yeah! BBM.. oh come on. Do you really think that Ang Lee will ever become legendary like Welles and Scorsese?

[Satyajit's Son]

Maybe and maybe not, but BBM is by some distance the best film of the year just like Kane and Bull before it.

[franco]

Lee Ang really just wanted to make a love story in an area unfamiliar to him. I am thrilled that he won (mainly because he and I grew up in the same country). Any grudge about the reception of Brokeback Mountain shouldn't be directed to its humble director.

[cdnchris]

How did Jon Stewart do?

He was quite funny I thought. His pointing out, for those that are keeping score, "Three 6 Mafia - 1 Oscar. Martin Scorsese - 0 Oscars." There were some nice little jabs through out the show, like at the endless montages they seem to do every year. I'd definitely watch again if he hosted.

Just been watching Fox News - out of anthropological interest - where they're giving the Oscars the thumbs down because 'we [the Right] didn't have a horse running,' this being the year of 'gays and pimps'.

I must stop watching Fox News before I put my foot through the TV.

Dude, it was Fox news. That's a friggin' oxymoron.

[justeleblanc]

Maybe and maybe not, but BBM is by some distance the best film of the year just like Kane and Bull before it.

Not to start-up the BBM discussion, but looking back at the year, I don't think any film can stand up to Kane or Bull or Vertigo or really anything from the past. Were there any films this year that really inspired you to want to make films or want to watch films or moved you to say "Ang Lee is Cinema!" or any other director for that matter. I've kind of felt this way for the last few years.

Jon Stewart was pretty funny. I liked his comment about everyone coming on stage to pull down the statue of the oscar in order to spread democracy across hollywood. And the ad campaigns were very funny as well.

[Fletch F. Fletch]

Rachel Weisz (my favorite winner of them all) was the most beautiful woman of the night. So very happy that she won because her performance really made The Constant Gardener very riveting to watch. I simply adore her.

Yeah, she is wonderful and I also enjoyed her a lot in The Constant Gardener. It was nice to see her win and she delivered what seemed like a truly heartfelt speech. Plus, her beau, Darren Aronofsky finally had a date to the Oscars that won something!

[Andre Jurieu]

Altman's speech was nice and I loved Lily Tomlin and Meryl Streep paying homage to his style by overlapping their dialogue and "adlibbing" all over the place. I believe they cut away to Reese Witherspoon at one point and she had no idea what they were doing. Heh

.

Same here. As Altman came on the stage, everyone stood applauding, etc..Heath and Michelle looked at each other like "who the hell is he?".

Most of the audience did understand what Tomlin and Streep were doing, including (somewhat surprisingly to me) Jennifer Aniston.

I enjoyed the film noir montage which contained a good number of my favorite films.

I liked the montage itself ("even Rocky had a Montage!"), but the whole idea just seemed so random. I'm probably missing something, but was there any real specific reason behind "honoring Film Noir" this year, other than to make it clear that Lauren Bacall needs glasses? Also, the whole "epics" montage just seemed like a commercial for movies, as if the Academy was attempting to combat against TV again by making sure we understood the benefits of widescreen.

Jon Stewart was kind of bland, nothing like Billy Crystal or Whoopie but definitely much better than last years Chris Rock.

I thought Stewart was a bit too restrained, but I certainly wouldn't mind if every ceremony from now on was hosted by Stewart and Rock. Having personalities who are not entrenched in Hollywood, such as Stewart and Rock, makes the whole event seem less self-involved. If Crystal and Whoopie never host again, it will be too soon for my taste.

What was wrong with Diana Ossanna?! On valium or totally botoxed out? "I'm an aaaaahhhhtist. I am a wriiiiiitah." Good grief!

Agreed. What the hell was her deal? She looked like someone had botoxed her brain. I've witnessed better charisma from navel lint.

Philip Seymour Hoffman.. hurray! But did anyone get anything out of his speech? I can't remember one single word he uttered other than the expected "thanks".

Yeah, me mentioned how his mom raised 4 kids all by herself and how she would stay up late with him to watch the NCAA Final Four. I appreciated that comment, considering the Final Four is my favorite sporting event and also because my mom would always cheer against the team I was cheering for, no matter what team it was. Having suffered through that as a young sports-fan (my mom would rub it in when my team lost even though she didn't care about the sport), I can totally understand where Hoffamn was coming from. I had forgotten he was a basketball fan, but now I remember seeing him at MSG during a Knicks game. Actually, I somehow manage to spot him quite frequently whenever I'm in NYC. Also, Sean Lennon, for some reason.

[Andre Jurieu]

Were there any films this year that really inspired you to want to make films or want to watch films or moved you to say "Ang Lee is Cinema!" or any other director for that matter. I've kind of felt this way for the last few years.

Are we talking about the nominated films or just films in general? If we are talking about films in general, then I would have to disagree. A few films from 2005 inspired me quite a bit.

I don't know exactly what age you are justeleblanc, but from what I've gathered over the years, you seem - like many of us around here - to be somewhere in your twenties or early thirties. I found that when I was just getting out of university, I had that same feeling about contemporary movies being less than inspiring. Personally, I found that it was just a phase, but it does appear to be a feeling that never leaves some people. I sort of forced myself to re-evaluate my own perspective and then just realized that I had grown far too comfortable to a certain way of viewing and interpreting films.

I think Martin Scorsese once said that the movies that matter the most to us, or that make the biggest impression on us and our viewing habits, are often the movies we watch during our adolescence. I think that makes sense considering our mind is beginning to mature and also because we have a tonne of hormones running through our body, so everything reaction feels heightened. However - perhaps unfortunately - that same level of enthusiasm diminishes over time, so we don't have the same level of reaction. I guess that makes us feel as if we are not as inspired by movies, but I think we just have to adjust our perspective to our current sensibilities.

[justeleblanc]

Were there any films this year that really inspired you to want to make films or want to watch films or moved you to say "Ang Lee is Cinema!" or any other director for that matter. I've kind of felt this way for the last few years.

Are we talking about the nominated films or just films in general? If we are talking about films in general, then I would have to disagree. A few films from 2005 inspired me quite a bit.

I don't know exactly what age you are justeleblanc, but from what I've gathered over the years, you seem - like many of us around here - to be somewhere in your twenties or early thirties. I found that when I was just getting out of university, I had that same feeling about contemporary movies being less than inspiring. Personally, I found that it was just a phase, but it does appear to be a feeling that never leaves some people. I sort of forced myself to re-evaluate my own perspective and then just realized that I had grown far too comfortable to a certain way of viewing and interpreting films.

I think Martin Scorsese once said that the movies that matter the most to us, or that make the biggest impression on us and our viewing habits, are often the movies we watch during our adolescence. I think that makes sense considering our mind is beginning to mature and also because we have a tonne of hormones running through our body, so everything reaction feels heightened. However - perhaps unfortunately - that same level of enthusiasm diminishes over time, so we don't have the same level of reaction. I guess that makes us feel as if we are not as inspired by movies, but I think we just have to adjust our perspective to our current sensibilities.

I totally agree with you. And I appreciate your optimism.

Also, something that was interesting this year at the Oscars was the emphasis on the montages. I used to remember a montage at the beginning, and then one for all the dead people. This year they to have many and they were focused on noirs, biopics, and political films (though I did notice Something's Gotta Give in that pile) and I wonder if that has anything to do with DVD sales of classic films and the fact that studios have begun to show more interest in releasing box sets of classic films. Maybe I'm wrong.

[rs98762001]

I liked the montage itself ("even Rocky had a Montage!")

Thanks to TEAM AMERICA, I can't ever watch any kind of montage ever again without laughing hysterically.

[Fletch F. Fletch]

Most of the audience did understand what Tomlin and Streep were doing, including (somewhat surprisingly to me) Jennifer Aniston.

Yeah, that caught my attention too. Maybe there's hope for her yet.

And what was up with the set piece for the musical performance from the song from Crash?! I swear, if the "background artists" had started out to break out in a Fosse-style dance number I was gonna change the channel. Good to see that Stewart commented on the absurdity of it.

[scotty]

Could the Academy have begged for theater patrons any more distastefully than with those endless, random-yet-self-congratulatory montages? What do those things really communicate? You can barely get your bearings on one film before a cut to another one, and that's if you've seen enough old flicks to not get totally lost. Not a move that is going to generate new fans and too much of a mind-bend for the older folks.

To say nothing of the ahistoricism of the film noir intro and clip series, the smarmy "issue" one that featured that awful film on global warming next to Do the Right Thing with a heavy dose of Gregory Peck for dessert . . .

Mindless. And yet I watch every minute.

[Len]

I loved how Stephen Colbert got all (well, the five most important ones atleast) the Oscars right with his Da Colbert code last thursday, including Crash's "Surprise win". As for Stewart, I was a bit disappointed, but I'm guessing he was on a pretty short leash.

Without commenting on the other Oscars, anyone else feel that especially Maria Bello got totally robbed? To me, her performance in 'History Of Violence' was one of the finest I've seen in ages, and it's a disgrace that she didn't get even a nomination (especially since William Hurt got one, and he wasn't anything special compared to Bello or Mortensen, who were both amazing). Dunno, maybe the members of the academy didn't like the stairs scene.

[marty]

Way too many montages this year. What was the reason for the Film Nor montage? The poltical films montage? Other than the flimsy reason of the picture nominees... There should just two montages at best - one at the beginning and then one where everyone croaked it during the year.

I thought the opening was great with the digital effects with all the great actors etc and the use of former hosts.

I liked Jon Stewart. It was his first one and very funny, most of the time. A couple of jokes fell flat. If he is given another chance next year which he should then I think he will be much better. It's his first time so we need to cut him some slack.

I agree about Maria Bello but I think, as in every year, too many great performances are left out for whatever reason.

[tryavna]

To say nothing of the ahistoricism of the film noir intro and clip series, the smarmy "issue" one that featured that awful film on global warming next to Do the Right Thing with a heavy dose of Gregory Peck for dessert . . .

And did you notice that the Academy included a brief shot from John Wayne's Green Berets? Hardly one of the more progressive films ever made....

This was the first Oscars I'd made an effort to watch in years -- mainly because of Jon Stewart, who was decent but (as everyone else has been pointing out) was pretty restrained.

BTW, at almost exactly 3.5 hours, this has got to be one of the shortest Oscars in years.

[bunuelian]

I thought Match Point and Good Night, and Good Luck were both vastly superior to Crash. I haven't seen Brokeback but I think the Academy probably chose between that and Crash when selecting for best film - and went with the "surprise" so everyone can think about how racist they are in addition to how homophobic they are, and at the end decide that no, they aren't as bad as the people in these movies. Hurray!

[flyonthewall2983]

I give the Academy more credit than deciding on what's good purely because of personal or social phobias. But they will always seem to reward the wrong film with the gold, or so it seems. I'm just as guilty since my disappointment over Road To Perdition getting only two (I think) noms a few years back. But I digress. It's obvious now that the popularity of the Oscars is going down a steep landslide, esp. since the Nielsen's show that it got 10% less ratings than last year's show which wasn't particularly a winner either.

BTW, who's bright idea was it to show Bad Boys 2 on Fox running opposite the Oscars??? I mean, I'm sure they could have gotten that percentage down more if they had new episodes of The Simpsons and Family Guy.

[pzman84]

People, people, people!!! All this talk of BBM and Crash and you forget the most important truth revealed @ the Oscars: It's hard out there for a pimp!!!

Right now, as we debate film aesthetics, pimps are having a very hard time! I hate to get all political, but your lack of concern disgusts me . Remember this next time you sit down in front of your computer screen.

[Satyajit's Son]

Maybe and maybe not, but BBM is by some distance the best film of the year just like Kane and Bull before it.

Not to start-up the BBM discussion, but looking back at the year, I don't think any film can stand up to Kane or Bull or Vertigo or really anything from the past. Were there any films this year that really inspired you to want to make films or want to watch films or moved you to say "Ang Lee is Cinema!" or any other director for that matter. I've kind of felt this way for the last few years.

Were there any films this year that really inspired me to want to make films or want to watch films or moved you to say "Ang Lee is Cinema!" or any other director for that matter. Well yes actually it was called Brokeback Mountain.