NCFOM won the SAG Ensemble award, Producer's Guild Award and Director's Guild Award. These are stronger indications of its support in the film community than the critics' prizes, since its they draw from the same block of voters. Brokeback didn't win all of those awards.

Also, the idea that the most "epic" film will win Best Picture is just as often not true -- in the last ten years, there are many instances of the most epic nominee, the film with the widest scope in terms of geography or storytelling or number of characters or ambition, losing to another film, even where the epic film was (like TWBB) regarded as the closest competition to the winner. "Saving Private Ryan" lost to "Shakepeare in Love". "Lord of the Rings 1" lost to "A Beautiful Mind". "Gangs of NY" and "Lord of the Rings 2" lost to "Chicago". "The Aviator" lost to "Million Dollar Baby". "Babel" lost to "The Departed". So I agree that often the epic film can win, or be a close second, but it just as often happens that it doesn't.

I agree with what Peewee stated in his breakdown of the Best Picture race. I've been championing the fact that if there wasn't any Little Miss Sunshine nomination, there'd be none for Juno. As much as I do wish for There Will Be Blood to win, No Country for Old Men is just way far ahead. The last time the Coen Brothers were up for a Best Picture award, they lost to a boring epic in The English Patient. However, I don't think that will happen because like Peewee noted, there just isn't a lot of love for Atonement. Not many people gush about its heart-wrenching story, the beautiful storytelling, etc. That isn't to say I didn't like the film—I very much did—but I just don't see it winning.

I've seen all of the Best Picture nominees and I did like all of them but for me, at least, nothing compares to There Will Be Blood. Upsets do happen, like with Crash against Brokeback Mountainm but I don't see one coming this year.

I liked all the nominated Best Pics -- in fact, I think this is quite an amazing year for nominees in that every film nominated is very good, or better. Usually, among the nominees is at least one film that I think is a piece of junk or seriously flawed, and that isn't the case this year. But as films, to me there is no question that the two frontrunners -- NCFOM and TWBB -- are artistically head and shoulders above the other nominees, in terms of the overall skill with which they have been put together. I happen to prefer NCFOM, which I think is a masterpiece, absolutely perfectly conceived and executed on every level from beginning to end, but I loved TWBB and greatly admire the intensity and vision and eccentricity of it. If it won, that would be a bold and laudable statement for the Oscars.

Now, if only Laura Linney could win for The Savages ....

'Dream On!" with a melodramatic Steven Tyler vocal to provide you with consolation. I'm voting for Marion Cotillard. Laura should've won for You Can Count On Me.

Well, yes, it is a long shot... (Cue The Smiths' "Please, Please, Please Let Me Get what I Want").

Marion C was great, and I'd be happy to see her win (Cue, "Moi, Je Ne Regrette Rien").

Michael Clayton is getting a lot of late best picture love from a number of journalists. I heard three or four of them predict a win on my way to work this morning.

quote:

Originally posted by Ish:
Two Points.

1. Has anyone else noticed that the nominees are nearly exclusively of a recent release date? I know it's common for noms to focus on movies which come out close to Xmas, but this year seems more about the last quartern than any other I can recall

2. Shockingly, the Romanian drama; 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days was not nominated. Extremely disappointing to see this remarkable film shafted on an even bigger audience.

Great film.

quote:

Originally posted by tabuno:
[QUOTE]FragileKidA "Forum Moderator"
Super Bad-Ass Jedi
Posted 22 January 2008 02:26 PM

I'm one of the few that didn't feel RATATOUILLE was that great of an animated movie. It was good and solid, but not as special as say SPIRITED AWAY (2001) or THE INCREDIBLES (2004). Both of these presented subjects uniquely suited to animation and on a level that geniunely addressed elevated emotional issues.

Amen, amen, amen

quote:

Originally posted by That Guy!:

quote:

Originally posted by tabuno:
[QUOTE]FragileKidA "Forum Moderator"
Super Bad-Ass Jedi
Posted 22 January 2008 02:26 PM

I'm one of the few that didn't feel RATATOUILLE was that great of an animated movie. It was good and solid, but not as special as say SPIRITED AWAY (2001) or THE INCREDIBLES (2004). Both of these presented subjects uniquely suited to animation and on a level that geniunely addressed elevated emotional issues.

Amen, amen, amen

I love those other movies, too, but thought Ratatoullie was nearly a perfect movie -- animated or otherwise. Many times, directors push for spectacle in animated movies, but I liked how Ratatoullie was just a nice, small-scale story.

quote:

Originally posted by Wilsonna:
I love those other movies, too, but thought Ratatoullie was nearly a perfect movie -- animated or otherwise. Many times, directors push for spectacle in animated movies, but I liked how Ratatoullie was just a nice, small-scale story.

To me, that was kind of the problem: small-scale. There wasn't much going on, and I think it would have been the perfect subject for a short animatedfilm. Not like a ten-minute one, but I don't think there was enough to hold the viewer's interest (or at least mine) for 90-120 minutes

quote:

Wilsonna Know-It-All
Posted 31 March 2008 01:04 PM
quote:
Originally posted by That Guy!:

quote:
Originally posted by tabuno:
[QUOTE]FragileKidA "Forum Moderator"
Super Bad-Ass Jedi
Posted 22 January 2008 02:26 PM

I'm one of the few that didn't feel RATATOUILLE was that great of an animated movie. It was good and solid, but not as special as say SPIRITED AWAY (2001) or THE INCREDIBLES (2004). Both of these presented subjects uniquely suited to animation and on a level that geniunely addressed elevated emotional issues.

I love those other movies, too, but thought Ratatoullie was nearly a perfect movie -- animated or otherwise. Many times, directors push for spectacle in animated movies, but I liked how Ratatoullie was just a nice, small-scale story.

I looked over my brief review of this movie and I was surprised to observe that I had a much better impression of the movie than I recollected. I still maintain that while this movie is excellent doesn't have the same stature as other animated movie classic. That Guy! has a point when he talks about subject matter...as time goes on, animated classics will need to begin to be more than good quality entertainment to distinguish themselves for future posterity. Serious substantive content will alsos be a crucial element of future animated movies which doesn't mean that the portrayal of serious content has mean a serious animated drama though that would be an curious endeavor. A Scanner Darkly (2007) might be an example of this trend.