Another Big Night for "Argo"

As it did two weeks ago at the Golden Globe Awards, Ben Affleck's "Argo" was the big winner at the Screen Actors Guild Awards last night.  At the Globes, "Argo" won best picture and, more significantly, Affleck was chosen Best Director, after his snub by the Motion Picture Academy.  Last night at the SAG awards, "Argo" was awarded the "Best Ensemble Acting" award, the SAG equivalent of Best Picture.

And make no mistake, Affleck was definitely snubbed by the Academy.  Last week I heard an interview with Stephen Hunter, former movie critic for the Washington Post.  His thought was that Affleck is generally perceived as a lightweight "pretty boy" actor by many in the Hollywood community, who decided to try his hand at directing, and, lo and behold, he is very good at it and it seems that this is where his true talent lies.  When it came time to nominate for Best Director, many of those directors who struggled through film schools and working their way up via numerous low level behind-the-camera jobs, obviously decided to take it out on Affleck, who they have decreed has had it too easy in his path to being a premier film director.  Makes sense to me.

What does this portend for the Oscars in a few weeks?  My own hunch is that "Lincoln" will win for Best Actor, Daniel Day-Lewis, Supporting Actor, Tommy Lee Jones, and that Steven Spielberg will nail the Best Director prize, but my guess is that the Best Picture award is now a horse race between "Argo" and "Lincoln".  Hey, I loved both movies, but if I had to vote, I would ask myself this question:  which movie am I most likely to watch again and again over the next ten years or so?  If that's the criterion, then I'd have to say "Argo".

The Oscar Nominations....and Snubs

The Oscar nominations announced yesterday are more notable for who was NOT nominated than who was.

"Lincoln" led the way with 12 nominations.  No surprise there.  I'm going to go way out on a limb right now and call a win for Daniel Day-Lewis for Best Actor.  You don't need to be Nate Silver to call that one.

Next with 11 nominations was "Life of Pi." I have seen the previews to this one several times.  It appears to be about a kid stranded on the ocean in a small rowboat with a wild tiger on board.  Sure, that kind of thing happens all the time.  Kind of like that movie a few years ago where James Franco cut off his own arm.  Nothing in that preview makes me want to see this movie.  Nothing.

The biggest story, as I mention in the title was who did not get nominated.  Big name directors with Best Picture nominated movies did not get a Best Director nomination - Tom Hooper (Les Miserables) , Katheryn Bigelow (Zero Dark Thirty), Quenton Tarentino (Django Unchained), and, most regrettably, in my opinion, Ben Affleck (Argo).  I don't get the snub of Affleck.  Seems to me that much of the Hollywood establishment holds it against Affleck that he is popular, once dated Jennifer Lopez and, thus, was a paparazzi target for many years, and he made some poor choices in acting roles (notably, "Gigli") early on in his career.  All I know is that in the past couple of years, he has directed three movies - "Gone, Baby, Gone", "The Town", and "Argo" -  that are among the best movies that I have seen in that time period.

Instead, some guy named Michael Haneke gets nominated as Best Director for a movie named "Amour".  This is a French language movie about an aging couple nearing the end of their lives.  Sounds fun, huh? It doesn't open in Pittsburgh until sometime next month.  I guess that when all is said and done that maybe seven or eight hundred people will actually go and see this movie across the USA.  This is the kind of movie that the Academy showers with nominations every year to prove that it, the Motion Picture Academy, is all about art, and not necessarily about what people actually like to see, and  Ben Affleck misses out on a nomination that he surely deserves.

Lots more on the subject of the Oscars in the weeks to come.

Movie Review: "Lincoln"

A week ago I wrote that after all the hype, and considering the high powered talent involved in making this movie, if it was anything less that terrific, it would have to be considered a disappointment.  I am now here to tell you that  no, it is most definitely not a disappointment, and yes, it is terrific.

The movie centers on a relatively brief, but tremendously important and historic time during President Lincoln's administration - the time following his reelection in 1864 and prior to his inauguration in March, 1865, when he sought to get the 13th amendment to the Constitution passed by the House of Representatives.  Yeah, this is a movie about a piece of legislation.  How boring can you get, right?  Considering all that was involved: abolishing slavery, ending the Civil War, a President dealing with a bunch of recalcitrant Congressmen, and even some recalcitrant cabinet members, this becomes a real political thriller.  The movie is two and one-half hours long, but is so totally compelling and mesmerizing, that it goes by in the proverbial blink of an eye.

Of course, one bad thing about this movie is that it may take away all sense of drama and suspense come Academy Awards night.  Expect nominations for the Best Picture, director Steven Spielberg, screenwriter Tony Kushner, and, of course, actors Daniel Day-Lewis, Tommy Lee Jones, and Sally Field, and probably a few others who might deserve nods, but might be crowded out like David Strathairn and James Spader, not to mention all of the technical awards nominations it will no doubt receive.  I wish I could take credit for this line, but I will quote Post-Gazette critic Barry Paris who said that Day-Lewis looks like he stepped right off of a five dollar bill to play Abe Lincoln.  An absolutely amazing and terrific performance.  Of course, there is no film footage of Abe Lincoln, but I imagine that this representation is exactly what he was like.

Great movie.  Do not miss it.