Hey, That’s My Name

Netflix It (if you dare)

I’m a big Kate Winslet fan. I’ll see pretty much anything she’s in, secure in the truth that even if the movie is total crap (which, thankfully, it usually isn’t), I’ll have seen a stellar performance. And thus, I ended up in a theater in December to see The Reader, a film I was not terribly excited about, but I was at least ready to give it a sporting shot. I’m sorry to report that my instincts were accurate.

This movie is not good. And it’s not only not good in that it’s-so-obvious-they’re-just-courting-Oscar kind of way. It’s just NOT GOOD. In fact, I’m struggling to recall the last film I saw that was as devoid of emotion as this one. I mean, it’s a really dramatic concept, but the narrative surrounds two characters that are cagey and unemotional through most of the movie. It’s a total waste of the phenomenal talents of Winslet and Ralph Fiennes. Instead, the emotional weight of the film rests on the shoulders of young David Kross, who was 17 when they began filming the movie, and it proves too great of a burden for him to carry.

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THE NOMINEES

Anne Hathaway, Rachel Getting Married – A couple of months ago it seemed like Anne Hathaway might take this one, but in the time since then, we’ve seen the incredible momentum of Kate Winslet grow, in addition to that of Meryl Streep. It true, this category does have a history of awarding young ingenues, but it’s looking like this isn’t going to be one of those years after all. In this crop of roles and nominations, Hathaway is actually my favorite. I like the movie, I like the part and I think she does a very good job in what could have been totally overacted. It is, of course, only her first nomination, and at 26, if she keeps picking smart roles like this one, I’m sure we’ll see her here again eventually. Let’s just hope she doesn’t have to wait quite as long as Winslet did.

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THE NOMINEES

Courtney Hunt, Frozen River – One of the reasons the Best Original Screenplay category is always one of my favorites at the Oscars is because small movies like Frozen River usually get squeezed in. Still, in my eyes, Frozen River is very comparable to another movie that I’ll discuss in “The Forgotten” section below, and I do think that this one isn’t as good, so I’m less thrilled about its presence in this category. It’s chances of winning are pretty slim and it doesn’t really deserve to. It mostly seems like it’s here to throw a bone to the independent crowd (and also to make the screenplay categories a little less boy-only).

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I don’t generally put a lot of stock in what wins Best Picture each year. As I mentioned in a previous post, I tend to look more fondly at the winners and nominees of the screenplay awards. There’s usually at least one nominee in this category that disappoints, but this year, the Academy has excelled at mediocrity in the their list of the five best films of the year. I don’t think it was a particularly great year for film, but I still think that even they could have done far better.

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This one is pretty transparent. Not to minimize some of the other nominees (well, actually, I will be doing that with at least two of them), but this is one man’s Oscar to lose. Continue Reading »