Thursday
Dec282017
Open Thread
Thursday, December 28, 2017 at 8:00AM Ooof. I must have been on Santa's naughty list this year as he brought me a fever for Christmas that finally broke yesterday. I have barely moved for 36 hours. Hopefully I'll be back amongst the living soon. I hope you are only recovering from how much fun you had during the holiday break. What's on your mind?
Reader Comments (42)
I just watched Prizzi's Honor last night after many years of not seeing it. And although I was so thrown off by the awkward tone of the film, I thought the performances were all great, especially Kathleen Turner who was like the only person associated with the film that WASN'T nominated. So who would you have kicked out to put Turner into the Actress lineup (assuming you agree she was robbed of a nom)?
Geraldine Page (The Trip to Bountiful), Anne Bancroft (Agnes of God), Whoopi Goldberg (The Color Purple), Jessica Lange (Sweet Dreams), Meryl Streep (Out of Africa).
Still thinking about why Gerry mooned over Gwyneth in Sliding Doors when Jeanne Tripplehorn was Right. There.
In your VFX predictions, you say the last time an Alien movie was nominated for Oscars was Alien³, 25 years ago.
You forgot that Prometheus was nominated for Best Visual Effects just 5 years ago.
Kathleen Turner was great in Prizzi's Honor but I would not nominate her.
Nah...Cher deserved to be in that 1985 Best Actress line-up.
I think of how the cast of Stranger Things has gotten good film deals coming out of Season 1 (David Harbour being the new Hellboy, MBB in Godzilla, Charlie Heaton in New Mutants), and I always keep asking: Where's Winona Ryder's big film deal?
I am glad that Stranger Things has kept her employed. But I would love to see her in bigger film roles. I am excited to see her in Destination Wedding with Keanu Reeves, though.
Yes, Cher and/or Mia Farrow in The Purple Rose of Cairo.
Get well soon, Nathaniel! I can't imagine you were on Santa's naughty list!
Is Lady Bird a missed Oscar opportunity for Annette Bening?
1985 is so rich in great performances. You're all forgetting Norma Aleandro in The Official Story. The Turner should have won Best Hair at least.
With all the snow and below freezing temperatures, I keep thinking of Mandy Walker, cinematographer for "The Mountains Between Us".
Mandy Walker has gone from the Australian desert in "Tracks" to the peaks of the Rocky Mountains.
I remember how "The Revenant" played up the cold and the technical difficulties of shooting in the lowlands, at the base of the mountains.
Mandy Walker was shooting thousands of feet higher in altitude, accomplishing a more difficult task with good cheer and a positive attitude.
So strange that no woman has ever been nominated for an Oscar in cinematography.
My top 3 actresses for 1985 are Coral Browne for Dreamchild, Vanessa Redgrave for Wetherby and Glenn Close for The Jagged Edge. And Jessica Lange for the Oscar.
So a few people have responded to my initial 1985 Best Actress question, and it really reminds me of this current year where there are just too many great contenders for 5 slots. SOMEBODY is guaranteed to be disappointed. Seems like just yesterday we were dealing with year after year of "the same 5 at every award show because we can't seem to nominate anybody else!!".
I've been thinking about Joe Wright's Anna Karenina, a film I really love. I saw Darkest Hour the other day, and it made me think about Wright's movies, which I tend to love or really dislike. The strange exception being Darkest Hour, which I didn't really have a strong reaction about one way or another.
Oh, and Kristin Scott Thomas is divine and I wish she had had a larger part in DH, or just in movies in general.
I hope you feel better soon Nathaniel!
Charlea - If I had to kick someone out of that lineup, I'd pick the woman who somehow won - Geraldine Page. Not my favorite performance, felt overacted to me. Whoopi should have walked away with the award.
I still love when watching the clip, F. Murray Abraham says "I consider this woman to be the greatest actress in the English language" and thinking that all five actresses had a legitimate claim. (Of course, most of them - except maybe Anne Bancroft, who looks like she's saying "you mean me??" - knew who he was talking about.)
Kathleen Turner belongs on that list too, but Prizzi's Honor was most definitely not my thing ("awkward tone" is a huge understatement). But yes, Mia Farrow... how did she never get nominated for a Woody Allen movie? Almost everyone else who's ever worked with him has. I'd drop Meryl (sorry, but Meryl in accent mode is not my thing either).
I’m thinking about how I keep seeing The Lost City of Z on the Top 10 list of sooo many critics I read. It makes me feel like even with the December glut, I’d better make time to see that one before I call it a year.
Can you make a list of Best Performances by people who have Fevers in Movies?
Feel better. I broke my arm falling on ice in Columbus, but am now back in Los Angeles, where heat is prevalent. I prefer heat.
Get Out is going to win Best Picture.
I’ve just been obsessively refreshing the home page waiting for Nathaniel’s Top 10 Post to appear. Sorry you’ve been so sick, I’ll try to practice patience while you get well.
I think Bancroft is the weak link in that line-up, but then again, she is given the worst material. I'm not crazy about Page either, but I do think she deserved career honors. I wish she had won for Interiors. I love Meryl, Whoopi and Jessica.
Laurie Metcalf is perfect in Lady Bird. Why would anyone want to recast that performance?
Having watched the nutcracker trailer last night, what do we think of Keira Knightley's career? Is anyone surprised she doesn't have more nominations by now? (Especially since she was the go to girl for period pieces) Her Atonement costar has the same amount of Oscar nominations and soon will most likely be ahead of her and has come closer to winning. Did anyone predict that ten years ago?
Could Mira Sorvino get her career back on track?
Well, I`ve finally watched THE KILLING OF A SACRED DEER and what a masterful piece of cinema it is. Nicole Kidman`s performance is something right up there with her career best turn in Birth. Also watched THE MOUNTAIN BETWEEN US, what is that with Kate Winslet and soapy movies ? ( everytime she tries it , it`s a disaster- Collateral Beauty and Labor Day anyone?) plus I`m so , so sorry that Idris Elba isn`t getting the right material ( The Black Tower?) he`s always awesome. Why nobody`s talking about a supporting actress nod for Sienna Miller in THE LOST CITY OF Z ? She`s so much more than a pretty face , she`s a fierce actress. And I don`t know if it`s true but just read on IMDB something called "Untitled Martin Scorsese/Sharon Stone Project " which makes me thank Santa, about time Sharon (btw, cannot wait for her HBO mini series Mosaic in January) , and PLEASE nominate Jessica Chastain for MOLLY' S GAME , she's superb (as always).
1985 was a great year, because I would actually recommend all those films: Geraldine Page (The Trip to Bountiful), Anne Bancroft (Agnes of God), Whoopi Goldberg (The Color Purple), Jessica Lange (Sweet Dreams), Meryl Streep (Out of Africa).
Another great year for the ladies was 1988: Jodie Foster (The Accused), Glenn Close (Dangerous Liaisons), Melanie Griffith (Working Girl), Meryl Streep (A Cry in the Dark), Sigourney Weaver (Gorillas in the Mist).
2017 -- I think -- will be remembered as a great year for movies (Dunkirk, Get Out, The Shape of Water, Three Billboards, The Post, Lady Bird, I, Tonya, etc.). This also includes the five women who will be nominated for Best Actress. They are ...
Norma Aleandro in The Official Story - top 10 female performances ever
Finally watched Get Out and it is such an incredible film. I don't need to add to the praise the film has received, but it is all very well deserved. I hope Kaluuya receives a nomination in Best Actor. I wish Alison Williams performance was being honored more because it is so brilliant and well thought out.
I also recently watched Atomic Blonde and wish that it was at least in discussion for Production Design, Cinematography, and Costumes. I also absolutely loved Charlize Theron and James McAvoy in the film.
Right now I'm just wishing that certain films would just come to a local theater, specifically Call Me By Your Name. I am really beginning to hate these limited release games.
Feel better soon and this is a day made to stay in and watch movies
Am I the only person who is experiencing a slow build of dread that Christopher Nolan is actually going to miss out on a Best Director nomination yet again?
@ Steve
I can see it.
@ Trevor
And it would be hilarious. The internet would collectively lose their minds.
@James from Ames-I thought I was the only one who thought of that? Hell, I always thought Jeanne Tripplehorn was far more attractive than people think. Plus, I was more into her than Sharon Stone in Basic Instinct.
How can Nolan not be nominated for "Dukirk"? No I don't think "Get Out " will get the best picture- yes it's a very good movie but it's still basically a horror picture.
Can't imagine Nolan missing this time. There's just nothing controversial enough about the film to negate it. They'd have to be really showing animus for Nolan to snub him this time.
@Bruno
Or it just has to be a clusterfuck of a category - a la Argo/Affleck.
How come no one talked about The Lovers with Debra Winger and Tracy Letts. It's such an actorly movie. And so good.
Speaking of actorly, Tim Roth is doing some marvelous work in Tin Star on Amazon Prime. TV is where it's at for me right now.
Quick oscar history question. If DDL, Hanks, and Denzel all get nominated that will be three multiple winners in one acting category. Is that a record? Also if DDL and Streep both get in that’s two actors looking for win number 4. Has that ever happened? Thanks
I think that would definitely be a record for the second scenario. The only three time winners are Meryl Streep, Jack Nicholson, Daniel Day-Lewis, Ingrid Bergman, and Walter Brennan (Katharine Hepburn won four). I can't remember any year when two of them were nominated after winning three. It may not even be possible, given the differences in their ages and because I don't remember Day-Lewis being nominated after Lincoln. If Streep and Day-Lewis are nominated next year, it will be historic for multiple reasons.
Ditto Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington, but I don't know the answer to your first question.
Feel better Nathaniel, you did a great job this year and have at least a whole year ahead of you.
Get well soon!
Meanwhile here is one film on short docs lists I found accidentally today that can't be found by searching on youtube... but there it is:
Heaven is a traffic jam on 405: https://youtu.be/09M3C4VD1Fg
And if you haven't seen Edith+Eddie... you can find it here: http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/witness/2017/11/editheddie-story-love-elder-abuse-171120130503806.html
And short animation Negative space:
https://www.arte.tv/de/videos/062197-000-A/negative-space/
And live action short "Icebox":
http://www.ianaveryholliday.com/icebox-short-film-2/
I just watched Call Me by your Name and somehow it didn't resonate with me. I didn't cry, nor did the performances move me unlike that in Brokeback, Weekend and even Moonlight. That's not saying they aren't good - Timothee and Armie were excellent. It's just that I found the whole movie underwhelming after reading all the rave reviews (including here in TFE).
Whilst watching the film, I should be waiting for the moment when both leads confess to each other about their true feelings as in most love stories but here I couldn't care less. It kept meandering without keeping the story tight...there was hardly any anticipation or tension created for the audience to want to see both these characters consummate compared to his last movie (A bigger splash) where I felt emotionally invested in all three characters what with the slow build-up to its resolution.
Also, maybe on a shallow-minded level, I just can't see how a charming WASPY Oliver could be attracted to someone like Elio, the age gap notwithstanding, who's painfully skinny and pale-looking and doesn't even come across as fun, intellectual, or with an attractive character/behavior. At least I don't find Elio appealing as a whole package.
What was also lacking to me was the chemistry between the 2 leads. Maybe I'm the odd one here but it's just nothingness to me.
But I did like parts of the movie like the monologue by Elio's father, Sufjan's music and the seamless natural interplay between Elio and his parents.
Oh yes I also managed to watch Killing of a Scared Deer. Probably my favourite movie of the year! Kidman and Farrell were spot-on and the movie just sucked you into its quite chaos and finally exploding in your system in the final act.
Sorry forgot to add...Nat, get well soon!
Hanks could win and three-peat. It's a great year where no one knows who will win the top awards.
O dear Nat, I hope u r feeling betta tdy.. Get Well soon!!
K Turner shldve been nom for Romancing the Stone or Crimes of Passion released a yr earlier in 1984
For 1985, I'd replace Bancroft w Mia Farrow for Purple Rose o Cairo.
Ive been tinking o Indiewire Critic Poll's winners: Get Out, PTA, Ronan n Chalemet n wonder how many will match w Oscars. Get Out n Ronan n even Chalamet seems such huge possibilities now!! 😁 hope PTA cld at least get a nod for org screenplay, but it's such a crowded field this yr!!
I agree completely with Jans's first two paragraphs regarding Call Me By Your Name. In fact, "meandering" is the exact word I used to describe the film to my husband after we saw it earlier this week. I don't need every gay romantic drama to be tragic or weighty, but the stakes do need to be a bit higher for my emotional investment to rise to the level of caring about the characters more than I ultimately did. That isn't to say that there's nothing to recommend the movie, as it is well produced and acted, quite evocative, and sexy without being exploitative; however, it simply didn't do it for me as a holistic experience.
Get well, Nathaniel.