Oscar 2014 - Best Picture

So .. "the final entry" for Oscar 2014. A bit "faster" than I had planned a month ago, but let's not start with the boring details. Finally, we got to the list of the 9 "best picture" nominees. Where, well .. they might not be actually "the best", but at least are at a level good enough to (hopefully) justify your time spent watching.

"American Hustle" is a movie that I didn't expect to like. I've did a bit of research before seeing it. A quick read about ABSCAM on Wikipedia left me completely cold as interest. A corruption story in New Jersey, in the beginning of the '80s, practically started from nothing. The FBI "invented", by its own will & power, a wealthy "sheik" who tried to obtain a series of favors from various politicians. Otherwise said, a sort of "let's throw a bait, and see if there's fish in lake". Maybe I'm a bit too distrustful in human integrity, but I guess you can always find "fish in the lake". Fortunately, not always the bait is good enough. But, following the rule of "make the bait more & more attractive", I'm afraid that slowly, with patience, you can catch all the fish = with different degrees of tolerance, pretty much every country would need anticipated elections & extra room in prisons. To draw a line, I found the "justice victory" in the presented case a bit "self-justified", and I was expecting an idiot movie that glorifies it without reason. Au contraire .. what I've seen was way different, but I'll hold from spoilers ;) In any case, we won't see the Oscar here, although there might be some chances for the script ...

"Captain Phillips" doesn't need much presentation. A cargo ship attacked by pirates and the resulted problem. Another real-story (dominating as in the last years this category), which in the end .. it's not clear how real it is. Apparently, the crew brought some harsh critics on captain Phillips' handling of the situation. Who knows .. What's certain is that Hollywood likes heroes ;) .. About the movie, it's ok. Not very impressive (at least not for me). A very particular exception is the ending. Where I've seen one of the most realistic depictions of what after-shock panic means and how it's handled (way more accurate than other "disaster movies") ...

"Dallas Buyers Club" shows us how a guy diagnosed with AIDS in the '80s manages to prolong his life expectation of 30 days with about 7 years. Besides the brilliant acting (possible Oscars landing here), it's a very interesting view and critic over the pharmaceutical industry practices of the time. Adding also the direct effects in the patient handling by medical institutions. I don't know how things evolved until this day on drug testing, approval & marketing. However, as I wrote in a previous entry (despite the irony, for who knows me better), I think the movie gets a bit too radical sometimes in its pro self-medication stance. It's always good to get a certified opinion. I have to admit though, that I felt really good seeing a movie that clearly states that you should have some self-awareness and double-check what the doctor prescribes :)

"Gravity" got already enough space on my blog, starting with a full entry last year, so I won't repeat myself. According to my previous posts, it might seem that the best picture Oscar of the year will get here. It's possible, since at least as quantity, it's probably the movie which will nail the most awards. Still, all the predictions in my previous entries (partial exception on directing) are on the technical area. As actors & story, "Gravity" doesn't look good. Despite the metaphor theory, and how much the clip below tries to convince us about this. A metaphor can be appreciated as long as it keeps a certain depth. Here it starts to lose its metaphor status given how often the movie hits you with it (= the depth gets shallow) ...

"Her" is, as I wrote before, I movie I wanted to skip. I can leave aside my whole IT research background ( + security to make it even "worse" :) ) = the objective part which stamps a big red warning on such idea. But even subjectively speaking, a story like "romance between a guy and his OS" is .. I don't know ... disturbing. I could make fun of the movie, and get into ironical comments .. but it would be (partially) hypocritical. It's clearly a bit cheesy here & there, but overall it's ok. I can at least complain about Scarlett Johansson's husky voice ;) not the best choice for "the virtual girlfriend". Term which, as attractively intriguing it might seem, the "scary factor" on the social outcome still looks too bad. And I'm also afraid that "a real version" would lead to a different ending ...

"Nebraska" is a sort of road-trip movie, which "stumbles" in a small town where nothing happens, located, obviously, in Nebraska. As more extended summary, it's a bitter comedy centered on the relation between a drunk old alcoholic father, and the son who decides to "play along" and grant him a wish = the road-trip in the attempt to claim a non-existent prize in a cheap lottery. The movie is good, but it doesn't shine (and it's not about being in black & white). It has enough comedy moments to relax it .. but for some reasons, I still found it sufficiently depressing to stop here the discussion.

"Philomena" is a bitter story, based on a real case of a an Irish woman who got split from her son while residing in a nun convent. After 50 years, she finally decides to search for the lost child. For this she gets help from a former high-profile political journalist, who got fired and is in a position that leaves him no choice than to accept apparently more "tame" stories. I'll hold from more spoilers. The movie though, would deserve its own separate blog entry, but I'll try to wrap up here. It's a superb example of how to handle a harsh subject in such a manner that it's not only digestible .. but it also gives a lesson saying that life moves on, and you should take it lightheartedly. Sometimes, although it doesn't completely heal the wounds, it helps a lot bearing them. That's as base main message. In another more particular sense, the movie makes a clear difference between organized religion and just simple faith. Position taken quite critically, sufficiently enough to be probably labeled as anti-catholic (although the idea is more general). Not the least, it's the first movie where I found Steve Coogan's acting actually good, and the chemistry between him and Judi Dench is delightful (despite the fact that there's no romance involved = just pure friendship). It's impossible that this movie ends up as winner, but I really hope it will get at least a chance for adapted screenplay, because it deserves it.

"12 Years a Slave" is the nomination which has probably the highest chance to nail the award for 2013's best picture. But this year it's hard to predict. It scores in many areas. Yet another real story, of a free black male from the North, kidnapped and sold in the South where he's kept as a slave for 12 years. The movie has a sort of a particular "epic factor" in it, maybe a bit hard to define, but relying on the harshness of the drama and the length of the persecution, still ending well. Besides that, we have a good directing, a decent script, an impeccable casting, and also a nice sound mixing which was though skipped in the nominations. The problem is, that despite having a full range of qualities to target best picture, it looses on almost each piece of the ensemble in front of other different movies. And this brings up some questions. We'll see the outcome ...

"The Wolf of Wall Street" is the latest movie by Scorsese, and as said last time a good one, but still sort of unpolished. I can say though, that I'm pleased of seeing him getting back to the usual themes after "Hugo". Or to what Scorsese knows to do best, digging into the deep dark corners of the human character. It's done though with a comedy note this time, based on (again) a real case of a broker, not very orthodox in his business practices. It's debatable if you can call a happy-end for the story, but what's certain is that the story is sometimes so unlikely in how it develops that it really deserved a movie. I don't know how much is true and how not, but the sequence of events in the second part of the movie is a sort of proof that if you play with fate, the fate might play back with you, in twisted & creative ways ;)

That's it ... This year is the first since I started this blog when, for various reasons, I couldn't manage to cover at least the sections where I've seen all the nominations. I had to make a choice, and I gave up on actors, on actresses (although I still should see a movie there, and anyway I'm too subjective = Amy Adams & Sally Hawkins don't stand a chance), on scripts ... I also decided to carry on a small boycott on soundtracks, given that Hans Zimmer didn't get a nominee neither for "12 Years of Slave", nor for "Rush" (even though the first is a bit self-plagiarizing, and the theme of the second is sort of close to "Rains of Castamere" from Game of Thrones by Ramin Djawadi).

I said it before, that the predictions I make in these entries are just "for fun". The real purpose is to discuss a bit some good movies, and parts that get less visibility. But still, for this, at least the list of nominees has to be decent. When we have a "Rush" which is completely ignored = nothing for editing, nothing for sound, not even supporting actor .. a "Prisoners" which hardly manages to get one single nomination for ... cinematography .. and I think I can add more titles to the list .. I'm sorry but I have to admit that it starts to see a tendency to get "political" in the nomination process (and this isn't new but was not as bad as now).

Fortunately, good movies are still made, and there will be independent of any taken award. And with all the lacking lists, I still managed to point some titles to be watched I guess. Which might be sometimes better than a weekly blog entry with an average "3 out of 5". So, if fate smiles & time allows, who knows .. maybe we'll do another round next year ;)

Oscar 2014 - Directing

I finally got to see the full list of movies nominated for directing. It's actually a relatively weak year on this side, at least compared to others, again with a nomination which leaves a bit behind the rest. But, let's cut the chit-chat and dig in ...

"American Hustle": Is by far the best directing by now from David O. Russell, at least between the three movies that earned some prizes (the other two being "Silver Linings Playbook" and "The Fighter" .. and I could add also "Three Kings" to the list from the extra I've seen). To be concise, style-wise, it's a movie that's more Scorsese-like than Scorsese's nomination below. And probably that's why is the first which makes me think that this guy may have something to show after all. Because until now I didn't see any reason for the recent years' wave of appreciation.

"Gravity": Is again the nomination that sort of detaches from the rest, as the most probable winner here. Although I did like more how "Children of Men" was driven by the same Alfonso Cuaron, I have to admit that here the directing is, besides the technical part, what manages to give an edge to this movie. It's why despite a short weak story, despite minimal character development, despite a script which doesn't do much else than to throw at you the same metaphor of "no matter what, there is hope" each ten minutes (until you're not able to call it a metaphor anymore), somehow you still don't reach for your watch to see how much is left until it ends ( otherwise said, the construction manages to keep up also the illusion that "there is hope" for something more in the movie too ;) ).

"Nebraska": As opposite compared to the first nominee, this is the weakest movie directed by Alexander Payne among the three I've seen by now (the other two being "Sideways" and "The Descendants"). Not necessarily weak as directing, or bad, the movie is ok overall. But it shows that compared to the rest, the script is written by somebody else. Payne still does what he knows to do best = the place, the context, the medium - Nebraska, has a "role" which is comparable in intensity with the rest of the characters. And still, without subjectivity since I didn't get there :), Hawaii ("Descendants") or California Wine Valley ("Sideways"), "acted" a bit better than the one here.

"12 Years a Slave": It's the first movie directed by Steve McQueen I've seen, not that are too many besides shorts by now. And that explains probably my feeling that it's good, but there's room for better (and I'm convinced we'll see better). It's probably the only film this year which might produce a surprise here, although objectively put the level is on par with "American Hustle". Subjectively though, it might leave a better impression - it looks like a movie that's hard to drive from beginning to the end: 12 years from a slave's life don't seem to have much variation. And, as I've said it before, that's probably the reason why we have some lengths, although in a decent amount to keep you still with the eyes on the screen, but also feel a bit .. the 12 years.

"The Wolf of Wall Street": The story of the out-of-common life of a former broker (Jordan Belfort) is brought to screen by Martin Scorsese in a long movie. Maybe a bit too long ( I can start some ironic comparison with the 12 years above, but I'll hold from it ;) ). The story itself clearly deserved a movie, and it got a movie. But more about this, next time. Anyway, the directing is not among Scorsese's best unfortunately. It's a bit too unpolished. The second half is good, but the first is way, way too extended, and I guess a director's cut, which should be a effectively a "cut" could make it much better by removing at least half an hour. That might explain somehow, that among 8 directing nominations by now, this is just the 2nd (since '88 - "Last Temptation of Christ") when Thelma Schoonmaker, the usual Scorsese's editor, doesn't get a parallel nod for editing ( checked fact ;) )

Oscar 2014 - Production Design & Set Decoration

It's hard to find conclusive clips for this area, so I've tried to go for B-Rolls. Which are not actually intended for showing what gets into production design/set decoration, but in any case they give a sufficiently varied perspective taken while shooting the movie. More important, they do it without the post-processing = VFX, editing, etc, so you can relatively clearly see what was "on the set". Unfortunately, B-Rolls are not available for every nomination, but let's see what we got ...

"American Hustle" takes us to a early '80s New Jersey. Stopping in restaurants, hotels, an airport landing track and others. Nice, and surprisingly varied for the movie topic, but still a bit average among the nominees.

"Gravity" might be good on the technical side, but the nomination for production design & set decoration is a bit for free. Ok, let's accept it for production design, but set decoration ... really ? At some point I remember I've seen a clip showing how Sandra Bullock's helmet floating inside the space pod, was added over a scene. I don't know how much is CGI, and how much is real stuff in the next clip, but I couldn't find another one to show more of an interior.

"The Great Gatsby" is a re-adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel. I ignored this movie for a while, since I remember that the older version starring Redford bored me a lot when I've seen it = long, long ago. What's ok in Baz Luhrmann's movie, is that it manages to keep your attention on a romance story which after all is quite simplistic. And much of "the catchy factor" is represented by the visuals, mostly the impact of the environment = a very colored and flamboyant New York of the 20's. I think this is quite predictable as Oscar winner, despite the fact that's the only of the nominees here that's not present in many other sections.

"Her" is a romance between a guy and ... his operating system. A movie that I wanted to skip. As somebody working in IT research for who the idea itself, objectively, is somewhere between "freaking weird" - "highly dangerous", I already can set a reason. Subjectively, I guess I would have some others too ... I did see the movie after all because it simply has too many nominations this year to totally ignore it. I'll keep my focus on the topic. For other stuff, there is time ... The movie is set somewhere in a near future when the technology will presumably permit stories like this one. The film is probably the nicest surprize I've ever had for production design/set decoration from a production that doesn't have many opportunities to offer you much = relatively contemporary as story time, and without exotic locations. The environment in the movie adds a lot to a feeling of .. I don't know how to name it .. existential claustrophobia in "open spaces". Because, if you take separately the space in which the action develops, it's apparently a very relaxing environment. Not for the main character though, but that's in the story = not now ...

"12 Years a Slave" ends the nominees list. If "Gravity" wouldn't have been here, I could put this one at the bottom. Even so it's not far from there. We have indeed a time piece, in which everything has to be in place (and it is) as it was in the XIXth century. However, nothing out of common or that wasn't seen before.

Oscar 2014 - Film Editing

I'm definitely not in my best shape for writing (I know, I'm saying this a lot, but now's really without the ""). So, I'll just do a lightning pass through the editing section, to get it checked on the list.

"American Hustle" is the first of the nominees. Alphabetically. A story about corruption (more or less) from the New Jersey's beginning of the '80s. I didn't know how did this movie get on this category up to watching half of it. After that, I started to get the reasons. Solid ones. Even so, it was still after one full half ...

"Captain Phillips" is probably the only movie that can snatch the editing Oscar from "Gravity". One reason is that this is the best aspect of the entire movie. And since the editing Oscar tends to get to either action films, or real life adapted stories .. with a lot of action ... To be fair, the movie is quite nicely cut, and the editing is after all the hidden reason why you're still caught by what's going on, knowing the ending from the beginning ...

"Dallas Buyers Club" is another movie that I don't know how it got here. There are some nice cuts, especially in the beginning, or towards the end, but not much in the rest. As a general summary, we have the real story of a HIV patient who managed somehow = mostly self-medicated, to survive for 7 years after an estimation of 30 days to live. Overall, I found slightly radical the movie position ( ironically that I'm writing this today :) ) despite the fact that generally speaking I'm quite on the same line of thought. But let's develop another time ;) ...

"Gravity" again ( I'm starting to lose count ... ) I have to say, and admit that it deserves it, has the best chances for an Oscar here. It's useless to get into the deep details. I prefer the clip below. Although not as long as the full 17 minutes opening scene, it should be enough to show how good are woven the individual takes in order to create the impression of a continuous flow ...

"12 Years a Slave", which ends the nominees list, is another real story, of a free guy who got enslaved for 12 years. Although it may sound ironic - and it's not, the main merit I see in the editing of this movie is that the 12 years seem to be 12 years. Meaning that we have a bit too many lengths .. but I guess the script is the main part "guilty" for this. I couldn't find something very relevant for this topic, so I'll just go for the clip below ...

Oscar 2014 - Cinematography

I'm writing ... in a pause on writing an article on IT security for a conference where I don't think I'll meet the deadline. To add some extra to the time crisis, I'm also struck by a horrible migraine since this morning. Ergo, don't expect much coherence in what follows. And consequence 2: I've decided, as never before, with apologies for my laziness, that instead of searching for clips from every movie, to choose a very well done mix on the topic, with some comments on which I agree 90% or more. Credits go to fandor.com :

Now .. if the clip was not enough, and you have patience to get extra bored by me, let me throw a couple lines on the subject ...

"The Grandmaster" is yet another movie about Ip Man (or Yip Man depending on the orthography). Yet another = there are no less than 5 (five) movies made in China in the last 6 years which have this main character. Sorry .. who's Ip Man ? Apparently somebody quite important in the world of kung-fu schools, who people say that had also Bruce Lee as student at some point. This movie is directed by Wong Kar Wai, one of the most appreciated Chinese filmmakers, nominated quite often at Cannes. For who knows what we're talking about, there's probably no surprise that "The Grandmaster" is not a "kung fu movie" by definition. Is a melancholic chaos typical for WKW, hard to follow, and even more hard to understand if you see it one small part at a time as I finally managed to do. Even so, it's hard for me to give any circumstance for how "dis-articulated" the production proved to be. It's quite far from better titles by WKW as "Ashes of Time" or "2046". About the cinematography, it's indeed the best part of the movie, but even here, despite the fact that pleases the eye, it's a bit too much excess of gros-plan and slow motion. Overall it looks good, but still Phillipe Le Sourd (the director of photography) is not Christopher Doyle (again, check out "2046" or "Chungking Express"). And that rain is a bit too artificial ...

"Gravity" gets again in the top Oscar contender position, especially given the fact that since "Avatar", this award was unfortunately given too the most visual spectacular movie, and not really for the best cinematography. The comment in the clip is very objective on the question of where does cinematography start and where does it end ? Well ... we still have something called VFX, and we still have something called film editing, and for me there are three different things. Anyway, unlike "Avatar" where the Oscar was given as well as you could give a cinematography Oscar to an animation (by the way, the winner - Mauro Fiore in his whole career by now had only one nomination except "the blue movie" and that on something called DVD Exclusive Awards), in "Gravity" at least we have cinematography. There are close-ups, the camera is playing with the shadows, you get to see super-angular framing, we have out of the ordinary tracking shots. I have to admit, that besides all the VFX it has, "Gravity" has also an excellent cinematography, although in my opinion not the best one this year. Still, Emmanuel Lubezki should've got the Oscar anyway for "Tree of Life", and lost against "Hugo", so ...

"Inside Llewyn Davis" is the main reason (besides the lack of time) for which I preferred the clip above. The second scene presented there perfectly completes what I was saying last time when I wrote about sound mixing. You can feel the winter ... If there is to be any surprise this year, it will come from here (and I'd really like to happen). Bruno Delbonnel has his own well defined style as director of photography, which you can also recognize in "Amelie", in "Un long dimanche de fiançailles" (probably the most close to what we have here), and even in "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince". Maybe I'm a bit subjective, because from all that gets into cinematography I'm most fond of chromatic filtering, but this movie has more than that. I'll repeat myself, but the second scene presented in the clip, especially in the context where is set in the movie is supported in a very powerful manner by the light & shadows work for obtaining a sensation of "getting lost in life" ...

"Nebraska" is a movie shot in black and white. The first using this technique directed by Alexander Payne. I'll talk more about the movie another time (there are plenty of occasions left) since I'm quite on the rush now. What can I say about the cinematography ... Phedon Papamichael is the usual director of photography working with Payne, and the cinematography wasn't exactly the best part of the movies, by now. In this case we have an exception, especially due to some wide shots. Unfortunately the clip above doesn't present a panorama with a moving car on a U.S. interstate highway, which is probably the most significant scene visually. In any case, since "Schindler's List" I don't think I've seen any black & white movie to emit serious claims for an Oscar. This year neither ...

"Prisoners" is a movie I've written already before, so I'll end quickly, especially since I completely agree with the clip's comment that is a bit on a different league than the others. It's quite far actually from the best of Roger Deakins = "Shawshank Redemption", "The Reader" or "True Grit". I start to believe that the Academy has a sadistic pleasure to just nominate this guy (also last year without much chance for "Skyfall") considering he is for the 11th time on the list, and again quite unlikely to win. There's still time though, maybe next year ;) ...

Oscar 2014 - Sound Editing & Mixing

Ok .. We're getting to more complicated stuff. As usual, I guess here's a bit confusing what gets into editing and what into mixing. And again, I guess I should re-re-rewrite the description of apples, pears and why both are fruits. But I'm awfully lazy at the moment, so I'll go for a link that explains quite nicely the background of the sound in a movie: Film editing stages - Sound . I guess that still doesn't clarify the Oscars separation though, but at least lets me skip some definitions :). So .. the work on ADR, dialogue, effects and the foley part as far as I know gets (mainly) into editing. The location mixing or live recordings & the re-recording mixing or the final track gets (mainly) into .. guess what, mixing. "Mainly" means that the line between one and the other is quite thin. In rough lines, everything starts with the recordings during filming (= mixing department), it goes to editing that sound and adding effects (= editing department) and ends with mixing & tuning the final track (= mixing department again). Obviously, in all this flow there's enough interaction between the various stages. Well, it seems I sort of re-explained it again after all ... Let's get to the nominations, where thanks again to the very comprehensive clips from Soundworks Collection I can write less, and leave more experienced people to talk more ;)

"All is Lost" is nominated only on sound editing. What we have here is a movie about a guy stranded in the middle of the Indian Ocean after his yacht hits a .. drifting container, probably lost by a cargo ship. It's a sort of "Life of Pi", but with a stronger sense of reality. The movie stars only one actor (Robert Redford). Consequence 1: the dialogue (or monologue) is minimal. Consequence 2: the sound (what's beside the dialogue) has a major impact in the movie. I can even say that it could be considered as the second actor. It's so nicely worked out, and it contributes a lot to the sensation of isolation and pressure that doesn't predict anything good, from the cracks in the damaged boat to the far thunders forecasting a storm, and many more. As personal choice I would pick this for sound editing, and if "Gravity" loses at any of the two categories I hope it's this one and "All is Lost" will be the reason.

"Captain Phillips" is another movie set in the Indian Ocean, but on a bigger boat. Which is attacked by Somali pirates. Which results in gunshots. Which results further in nominations on both of the sound categories. I wasn't very impressed, and on the mixing side I don't think the movie has much chance. On the editing I can notice a tendency of the Academy to get easily convinced by the bullets swish (e.g., "The Hurt Locker" or "Zero Dark Thirty"). But even for this "quality" we have another contender that might fit even better the profile ...

"Gravity" has the strongest chances to nail the Oscars on both sound categories. On editing we have plenty of effects and ADR to get the job done ( "there is no sound in space" :) remember ? and not a very decent one in the studio mics either when Sandra Bullock panics with an astronaut helmet on ;) ). And even if on editing maybe we can get a surprise, I find hard to believe that "Gravity" can lose the Oscar on mixing. The final track for me is the best part in this movie after VFX. I didn't watch it in a cinema with Dolby Atmos (one of the latest surround environments) for which was done as I got from the clip, but in a normal hall I can say that it already sounds far more than ok.

"The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug" is probably the "fill up" nomination for both sound sections. Obviously, it's not bad. However, on editing, besides Smaug's voice I didn't notice much, and for the final impression on mixing the credit goes more to Howard Shore's score than anything else, so ...

"Inside Llewyn Davis" is the latest movie by the Coen brothers, following a week in the life of a folk singer from the '60s. One without a home, dropping from a friend's house to another, and getting in conflict with most of them = the result is a sort of "surreal life" passage, but a bit lighter than other Coen films as "Barton Fink", "The Man Who Wasn't There" or even "A Serious Man". Folk music is quite far from what I listen, but I really liked the mixing, for which the movie got the nomination. If I would remove "Gravity" from the category, this one would clearly stand as the option of choice. In particular, we have a sequence at some point, somewhere on a highway, during night. You can feel the winter .. and 50% of that is caused by the sound mix. About the rest, we'll talk when we get to cinematography ;)

"Lone Survivor" closes the series of nominations both on editing and mixing. Neither one, nor the other impressed my ears, and I don't see much chance of winning any of them. But still, we have again lots of bullets swishing by the voters ears, in a movie which tells the real story of a war mission failed in Afghanistan, so who knows ... In any case, it's the only movie for which I couldn't find (or maybe I didn't have the patience to look enough) a decently conclusive clip. Even for the trailer, I had to get to the 2nd version to have something a bit more close to the current entry topic, given what you can hear from the movie track ...