With the Academy Awards show this Sunday, February 24, everyone is wondering which movie will win Best Picture this year. Most prognosticators believe Argo will walk away with the big prize because it has been cleaning up with other awards. A few wonder whether Argo will win because Director Ben Affleck was not nominated in the directing category. Yet, while some pull for a dark horse like Silver Linings Playbook, it seems clear that Argo is the front-runner going into Sunday.
I will not make a guess, but I do think this year was one of the best years for movies in recent years. In addition to Argo, I enjoyed many of the other nominated films like Life of Pi and Django Unchained. But if I had a vote for the Best Picture Oscar, I would vote for Lincoln.
Of course, nobody knows who will win this year, but we can look back on past Best Picture winners. Nelson Carvajal has created this cool video of all of the Academy Award Best Picture winners. How many can you identify?
The music for this Oscar montage is “November” by Max Richter.
Which film do you think should win Best Picture? Leave your two cents in the comments.
While we wait for the Oscars announcements this weekend, Malcolm McDowell and Uggie (The Artist) recently announced the winners of the Pawscars Awards. The American Humane Association gives these annual awards for best animal and animal-related performances in movies as part of the organization’s work to ensure humane treatment of animals in films.
Winners this year include Django Unchained (2012) for “Best Horsemanship.” The American Humane Association specifically noted the work by Jamie Foxx, a horse rider since childhood who used his own horse Cheetah in the film. Check out the other winners from McDowell and Uggie in this video.
On a regular basis, the American Human Association awards movies with the famous words “No Animals Were Harmed®” at the end of the film. But this is the fifth year the Association also has given out the Pawscars Awards.
What was your favorite animal performance this year? Leave your two cents in the comments.
One is tempted to compare Rocket Science (2007) to other quirky adolescent comedies like Rushmore (1998) and Napoleon Dynamite (2004). Rocket Science writer-director Jeffrey Blitz does appear influenced by Rushmore, using music that would not feel out of place in that movie, and he features a young hero, played by Reece Thompson, who looks a bit like Jason Schwartzman, the star of Rushmore. But Rocket Science is its own movie and one worth seeking out.
Rocket Science tells the story of the 15-year-old Hal Hefner (Thompson), who has a bad stutter but joins the high school debate team to be near the team’s star, played by Anna Kendrick, who has gone on to star in other films like Up in the Air (2009). It took me awhile before I warmed to Rocket Science, but the film slowly draws you in. Despite featuring some cliche’s of this genre, like “the obnoxious brother,” the movie does not go for easy or predictable resolutions.
At the 2007 Sundance Film Festival, Blitz won the Dramatic Directing Award, and the movie garnered some attention but not as much as other similar movies. I am tempted to say, “if you liked Rushmore, you’ll like Rocket Science,” but actually, if you go in looking for something like Director Wes Anderson’s Rushmore you will probably be disappointed.
But if you are looking for a different kind of coming-of-age film that maintains a fair amount of realism, this film that is based in part on Blitz’s own adolescence is worth the rental. And at least for now, the full film is on YouTube, while the trailer is below.
Other Reviews Because Why Should You Trust Me?: Rotten Tomatoes gives Rocket Science an 84% Critics Rating and a 71% Audience Rating. (Rushmore has a similar Critics Rating at 87% but a much higher audience rating at 91%.) Margaret Pomeranz from Australia’sAt the Movies said the film is “wryly funny in parts, poignant, interesting, frustrating, but never less than really engaging.” On the other hand, David Cornelius at DVDTalk praises the cast but said the film “toss[es] us attention-grabbing nuttiness that never once feels earned, or needed, or true.”
{Missed Movies is our continuing series on good films you might have missed because they did not receive the recognition they deserved when released.}
What did you think of Rocket Science? Leave your two cents in the comments.
News reports today are saying that Donald Trump is suing Bill Maher for $5 million dollars because of a joke Maher made at Trump’s expense. After Donald Trump made his famous offer that he would pay if President Obama released his college transcripts, Maher responded to Trump with his own offer on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, creating the basis for the lawsuit.
On The Tonight Show, Maher referred to his “New Rules” segment on his own Real Time show, when they had supposed that “Donald Trump had been the spawn of an orangutan. . . .” Then Maher added, “I’m not saying it’s true . . . . But unless he comes up with proof, I’m willing to offer $5 million to Donald Trump that he can donate to a charity of his choice.” The video is no longer available for embedding, but you may watch it on YouTube.
After Maher’s “offer,” Trump presented his birth certificate proving that he is not the son of an orangutan. Salon reported that Trump even explained that he did not believe Maher was joking. While Maher’s line on Leno was not one of his cleverest jokes (and I’ve often thought that most Trump hair jokes are lazy attempts at humor), I suspect that everyone else in America got the joke. If it goes that far, I am sure the courts will figure it out quickly (although some folks think Maher should pay).
Since Donald Trump has proved he is not the world’s most famous orangutan, it raises the question of who carries that title. While some may make a case for Clyde from Every Which Way But Loose (1978), the most famous orangutan in film is probably King Louie from Disney’s The Jungle Book (1967). Louie in the film is voiced by singer and trumpeter Louis Prima, who passed away in 1978, while Baloo’s voice is from Phil Harris. King Louie’s big moment is “I Wanna Be Like You,” a song written by Robert and Richard Sherman (the pair who also wrote Walt Disney’s favorite song).
This interesting video at the link (not available for embedding) explains how some of the animated action was inspired by Prima and his band. Prima used to lead his band members in a line into the audience, which was copied by the animators when they had King Louie lead his short procession. Also, in the movie, King Louie plays his hands at one point like Louis Prima played his horn. Prima’s dance moves provided further inspiration. Unlike Donald Trump, Louis Prima did not mind being associated with an orangutan.
Who can hear “I Wanna Be Like You” and not feel happy? So, for Mr. Trump, here is a little something to cheer you up (without implying any relation between you and the singer).
Who is your favorite orangutan? Leave your two cents in the comments.
Check out the new trailer for Inside Llyewn Davis, the upcoming film from the Coen brothers. The film about the 1960s folk movement is reportedly roughly based on singer Dave Van Ronk’s book The Mayor of MacDougal Street. The film, which is scheduled to open February 8, features Oscar Isaac in the lead role, and you will see John Goodman in the trailer too. The film also features Justin Timberlake, Carey Mulligan, and F. Murray Abraham.
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