Oscar 2017 - Best Picture

I was considering skipping the final Oscar entry for this year. Besides the fact that I rushed the previous, I'm also disappointed of what we have on the list... I kept hoping this week when I watched the last couple movies that I'll finally get to "the one". Well, I didn't ... although maybe there's still a small exception...

I did write about "Arrival" already. It's an interesting idea in the "time travel" context, but hardly believable given the way it's explained in the end. Ultimately it's the fault of the book, not of the movie, but even the movie, it's not Villeneuve's best ... Enough said.

"Fences" adapts a play, whose author is also posthumously nominated for the script. We have some excerpts from the not so happy life of a black family. The movie gets across the racial aspects issues, and delves into a more general area of family problems. I would actually say that the second half of the movie could be used as definition for the idea that "families are very complicated", and it also might touch some sensitive aspects depending on the viewer. However, to get there, you have to get through the first half of the movie, which has too many unnecessary lengths...

I did write also about "Hacksaw Ridge". That's the small exception in this list I was referring to. Still, even though the movie is undeniably good, and Gibson's comeback as director is a really nice surprise, something still seems missing... Something that we had in "Apocalypto", in "Passion", and mostly in "Braveheart". There's some feeling there which here is faded, not completely but it is :) ...

"Hell or High Water" is a revenge story. And as any revenge story has a sort of catchy romantic side. Two brothers, from yet another family with problems (that's a recurring theme this year), decide to solve the issue of a mortgage with the "help" of the bank that set it. Up to some point I would say that the movie is ok, but in the end it got a bit too rough due to some unnecessary kills... or maybe I'm getting too disgusted about the reality of life and I prefer watching fairy tales :)...

"Hidden Figures" is a sort of biopic of three black women who worked at NASA in computing during the first space missions. The movie is not bad, but from somebody who's active in a technical area I can't get over some obvious exaggerations. Besides that, somehow brought back to me memories on a "A Beautiful Mind", and we can't compare that with this...

And we're getting to the "La La Land" about which I also wrote already. Given the massive appreciation this seems to get, I think that people are fed up with life issues, may these be family related, poverty, social/racial/whatever inequity and others, and expect from a movie exactly what I'm saying since ages that I think a movie should offer = a time to clear your head of reality's daily issues with a story. And I have to admit that "La La Land" is probably the closest in this list, although... even even here, the ending brings you back from the fairy tale.

"Lion" presents another incredible life story, of a child from India who gets lost more 1500 km away from his mother, ends up adopted by an Australian couple, and finally after around 25 years finds his way back to his still living relatives... The story is touching, but even though the irony is that his life probably turned more positive like this, it has some really really sad parts in it...

"Manchester by the Sea" brings us another family with issues. The main character has to move back to his town he left after an arson he unwillingly provoked years ago, when his brother dies, and his nephew needs a legal guardian. The interesting part here is a calm that the movie expresses from start to finish. It somehow tells you that things will eventually settle, no matter how complicated the situation is... Is it like that, it's not like that... In any case, it's more comforting :)

"Moonlight" moves through three periods of the life of a young black gay living in a rough community somewhere in Florida. We don't get rid of the "family issues" factor. Even harsher and bitter than the previous, and without an actual "solution" in the end. It's not what I expect from a movie, I'm sorry. However, this sorts of get as second favorite in various polls for getting the award. I hope it stays like that...

Verdict: Well... "La La Land" doesn't seem to have much competition, so I doubt we'll see a surprise again :). I'll stick to my personal option of "Hacksaw Ridge" being the best movie in this list. At least due to the unreal of the reality that gets it closer to a fairy tale ;) ...

Oscar 2017 - Supporting Actors

Yet another quick entry. I never liked commenting too much the acting, but on the other hand, the "supporting" area seems to me this year that deserves more attention than the "leading", so I'll just quickly roll out a couple clips and the wrapping prediction...

Viola Davis in "Fences":

Naomie Harris and Mahershala Ali in "Moonlight":

Nicole Kidman and Dev Patel in "Lion":

Octavia Spencer in "Hidden Figures":

Michelle Williams and Lucas Hedges in "Manchester by the Sea":

Jeff Bridges in "Hell or High Water":

Michael Shannon in "Nocturnal Animals":

Verdict: For actress is pretty clear that the monologue in "Fences" sets Viola Davis with the highest chances on winning this. For actor to be in trend with what the critics say, the winner will most probably be Mahershala Ali. My opinion though, is that his role in "Moonlight" is a short one that doesn't show much - the act of Jeff Bridges in "Hell or High Water" was much more consistent.. I would even say the best part in that movie. But I'm not voting ;)...

Oscar 2017 - Adapted Screenplay

It's late, I'm tired, I obviously didn't read the scripts, so let's just "compress" this to catchy all-in-one essential movie quotes in a record-short Oscar blog entry ;) ...

If you could see your whole life from start to finish, would you change things? ("Arrival")

Some people build fences to keep people out, and other people build fences to keep people in. ("Fences")

Three Negro women chasing a white police officer down a highway in Hampton, Virginia in 1961. ("Hidden Figures")

It would take a lifetime to search all the stations in India. ("Lion")

At some point, you gotta decide for yourself who you're going to be. ("Moonlight")

Verdict: "Moonlight" will nail this, but I'm subjectively rooting for "Fences".

Oscar 2017 - Cinematography

I don't agree since quite some years with the results for the Oscar cinematography. Because the Oscar for cinematography is not really given lately for cinematography, but for collateral stuff that falsely makes camera work to look deserving. It's either VFX, editing, or as most probably this year, production design. Still, it's not so wrong as in the previous... But, let's cut this short.

Bradford Young for "Arrival". I don't know how hard is to stay limited to an area with grey shades and filters that keep the gloomy feeling of the movie from the beginning to the end, but probably that's the main merit here. Nothing more.

Linus Sandgren for "La La Land". Full contrast with the above. But besides that we also have a contrast between the first and second half of the movie, which is supported well by the cinematography, even though it always keeps a very lively chromatic. Another difference comes from the framing and movement part, which is obviously at a different level here, at least through the need of dancing shots. All in all... how much of what we see comes from production design, and how much from camera work... I wonder.

Greig Fraser for "Lion". Well... maybe I'm too conservative, but finally what we have here is indeed pure camera work. It spans on almost everything, from panoramas to close shots, from good use of kinetic to fixed tracking shots, filters a bit less but we have these too. And maybe one of the most impressive is the composition of some fixed frames. The clip below doesn't do justice for all we have here, but unfortunately I don't have time to look for more now... Just watch the movie ;)

James Laxton for "Moonlight". The movie is shot ok-ish, but I don't find it much better overall than "Arrival". Probably the most impressive part is the sequence below... There are few frames "to remember" in the rest.

Rodrigo Prieto for "Silence". Scorsese's movie, adaptation of a book on the torment of several missionaries in the Middle Age Japan has an implicit factor of "cinematography boost" = the historical/epic character coupled with the open air action. In brief, it gains a bit from the open shots, the rest is ok overall, but not impressive.

Verdict: "La La Land" will probably get it, but I will keep my fingers crossed for "Lion".

Oscar 2017 - Directing

I was thinking to leave this entry for later, but at this time I still didn't see enough to write about smth else, so let's get this one done. Especially considering that the "Anatomy of a Scene" series saves me of commenting too much besides the actual nominees :).

Denis Villeneuve gets a first nod for "Arrival". I only can say that the guy deserves recognition as one of the best active directors, but ... for other movies like "Prisoners" or especially "Incendies". "Arrival".. not that much ...

Mel Gibson is back :) ... as I was saying in an entry not long ago. And I'll continue repeating myself since "Hacksaw Ridge" confirmed my opinion of setting him #1 in my own "top directors". Therefore, I would be subjective to comment more, so...

Damien Chazelle is I guess one of the youngest ever to be nominated here, and he gets it for "La La Land". Despite the obvious appreciation enjoyed by this movie, I'll stick to the opinion that the direction is not that good. Indeed, you can appreciate the way the contrast between the first and second part is built, probably the most obvious quality at a wider look. Which somehow results in the worse part - the first half being so positive that it gets horribly annoying...

Kenneth Lonergan comes here with a nice surprise in "Manchester by the Sea", a story of a guy who, against his will, is given parenthood for a nephew after his brother dies. What you can say about a movie that's supported by life issues and still manages to offer you what you expect froma a movie = getting your mind away from your life issues, it's just that is really well written and directed. Enough said.

Barry Jenkins is another new name getting a nod here for "Moonlight". I would say it's somewhere between the rest. The directing is good, the three parts of the movie having each some slightly different personality. Still it's not the best around.

Verdict: Damien Chazelle will probably get it for "La La Land", but my option would be Mel for "Hacksaw Ridge".

Oscar 2017 - Film Editing

This year we start the editing section with "Arrival". What I can say is that "Sicario", which was edited by the same Joe Walker and directed also by Denis Villeneuve seemed to have a better cut than what's seen here. But we don't have "Sicario" among the nominations, just "Arrival"...

The editing of "Hacksaw Ridge" is probably besides the directing the strongest asset of this movie. I won't deny that's probably more permissive given the context to get maximum out of a scene cut for a war movie, but even so you have to know how to. And here it's almost perfect.

"Hell or High Water" it's just for filling the section. The movie is good, but for the editing the chase sequence below is probably the only standing out with anything.

And we're getting to "La La Land" where you have some interesting glimpses along the movie with transitions between slow and fast scenes, colored or more gray-ish, but the "coup-de-grace" comes in the end. The dream sequence in flashback, which I wasn't able to find anywhere available online, shows the impact that editing can have in a movie.

"Moonlight" is somewhere at the level of "Arrival". We're moving through three different periods in the life of a person who are not edited very differently, although this split could've been more interestingly speculated. Scene by scene though the work is nice, but not really at the level of some of the above.

Verdict: I think "La La Land" will get this.

Oscar 2017 - Production Design

Early flight next morning => quick entry now. Production Design aka Art Direction including Set Decoration, brings this year the following...

"Arrival" where we have as focus the inside of the alien ship. Apparently effectively built. Not that it doesn't fit with the movie... but the movie is sort of dry and so it's also this part => let's move to next one...

"Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" was released last year as a sort of sequel to the Harry Potter universe, which unfortunately for me always had the status of an unpolished salad, where the author built each new episode not knowing exactly what's next (but something should've to keep the cash flow alive). And that's obvious also in this one. Well... I've watched this to have a complete view for this entry, so let's stick to production design, where things are very simple to summarize: I didn't see anything noticeable on top of what I've seen already in the previous HP episode. Next...

"Hail, Caesar!" is the latest movie of the Coens, maybe not as good as others, but for what we're discussing now deserves some attention. 1) It's a low budget movie. 2) We have such a variation in the set decoration part that it doesn't let you notice the 1) part. The action is set in the '50s in Hollywood prin anii '50 and walks us through an entire series of movie sets which include stuff ranging from Roman Empire decorations up to siren lakes and some extra bonuses = a Russian submarine. This was nice...

"La La Land" has a context for production design somehow similar with the one above, but which doesn't offer such a various range on what you'll see. It still keept the same colored tone, which is also quite in line with the general look of the movie, stuff that apparently was quite appreciated. For me it's a bit overrated. After all it's the most .."common" entry here, but well...

I liked "Passengers" both for the looks and as a movie. We have two passengers on a gigantic ship set on autopilot for 120 years, who are woken up before time. A surprise came from a couple nuances, which were more mature than I was expecting after checking some bashing reviews. On the topic, what we have here is obviously the ship, or more precisely the interiors, which are by far among the most eye-catchy I've seen in a SciFi context. On top of this it also creates somehow a sort of feeling that's similar with the "Dawn of the Dead" mall, where the ship = the apparently safe space providing everything & zombies = ever-growing malfunctions. I'm afraid though that this will suffer of the eternal problem: how much brings the decoration vs. the effects? ...

Verdict: "La La Land" will probably win, but my vote goes to "Hail, Caesar!".

Oscar 2017 - Sound Mixing

As usual, I should maybe start with the difference between "sound mixing" and "sound editing". Well, I won't. 1 - I explained this in too many of the year before already. 2 - I didn't have time to watch all what's need to cover both sections, so I'll just stick to mixing this time. Which is about the way the final track of a movie's sound is composed/arranged/worked by putting together everything that gets there - voices, effects, score, etc. So, let's start...

In "Arrival" we have an interesting mix. Besides the camera work, I think it's the second major element of the movie that keeps up the gloomy mood. Interesting fact: the two Canadians (if I'm not wrong...) who worked on this mix, Bernard Strobl si Claude La Haye, have also "The Red Violin" in their CV, which I think has one of the best sound mixes I've ever heard... However, that didn't even get a nomination, so...

"Hacksaw Ridge" has Kevin O'Connell behind, one of the most nominated people on this planet (21 times) who didn't get an Oscar yet (no, DiCaprio did not have this record). I actually know about this guy because, along Greg Russell who we have below, is the author of the highest impact sound mix I've heard in a movie, which is "The Rock". Maybe it's also a matter of taste, but I didn't hear anything better in 20 years. Leaving this aside, what we have here sounds good, but I wouldn't say it shines. At some points the score seems too thin, at some points it seems to cover too much what's besides it... In any case this is most probably one of the 2 most possible winners here. A more detailed analysis comes from Soundworks Collection:

"La La Land" might seem to gain from being a musical, which happened before (ex., "Les Miserables"). Still, I have to admit that the sound mix is almost flawless, and that considering I hate the genre. Despite the fact that you have indeed a lot of singing, the transitions are made in such a way that the result is not annoying, not even for people like me.

"Rogue One" has a good mix, but I won't say it gets on par with the rest. So, let's not stay too long here...

... and neither on "13 Hours" where we have Greg Russell I was mentioning above. It's an action movie sound mixing on a war movie based on real facts. What you hear sounds good, but a bit too artificial for the depicted context...

Verdict: I say that this year "La La Land" will win.

Oscar 2017 - VFX

I decided to start again (it becomes sort of "traditional") with the VFX nominations (not that I would really have a choice, it's the only section where I've seen all movies...). So... the effects in "Deepwater Horizon", the story of the disaster happened in 2010 on a drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico, are focused mostly on the fire during that event. Without too many comments, I find this entry a bit as an outsider here...

"Doctor Strange" has effects that reminded me of "Inception". However, a bit too colored for my taste...

"The Jungle Book" brings probably the best on-screen rendering since "Planet of the Apes" for CGI animals. Actually, pretty much everything seen there is CGI, and considering both the volume of effects in this movie and also that the result is a really nice piece of work makes this a favorite in this category. Leaving aside the topic of the current entry for one second, I did not expect to like the movie. It was a nice surprise. I have no idea how much of it was mere nostalgia but it's also a very catchy version for Kipling's stories. A different ending from the classic animation, surprisingly less mature I would say, but overall more happy :)

I wrote about "Kubo and the Two Strings" last year. Regarding the VFX it's probably the most complex animation I've ever seen. Maybe Aardman's stuff gets close, but I don't think they've reached this level yet. I have an objective preference here.

Finally, we have "Rogue One". We could get a surprise here, but I can't say that I've seen something very impressive. Although as a movie was better, the VFX was pretty much on par with "The Force Awakens". Maybe I'm subjective, but well...

Verdict: "The Jungle Book" will probably win, but my vote goes to "Kubo".