those people would be called Indie Whores.

The Oscars are often suckers for scope over quality, but I don't think that's a good thing. I disagree that it should be about scope. It should be about quality. Scope is irrelevant when it comes to quality. The celebration of size over quality is a disease that AMPAS has always suffered from.

If the Oscars just celebrated movies with 'scope' I'd probably stop watching. The idea that there has to be an epic in the five is folly. The size of something, big or small, is not important. Or, SHOULD not be.

If the best movies are small, so be it.

That said, Munich WILL be nominated. Loyal, you are right that the Oscars aren't the Indie Spirits. Thus, we get the Munich nomination.

again, gotta agree with yoshue.

Though one might not often know it, the Acadamy Awards are supposed to be about "recognizing excellence in cinema achievement." If that happens to mean awarding smaller films than bigger less deserving ones (and they actually DO so, which they OFTEN don't), hey, good on em.

And, again, "indie whores" or not, the 5 in question (or at least 4 of the five) are generally very well liked films.



Of course, I agree with you personally...GNAGL could very well end up being the only film I really "like" (WTL will be forgotten completely in 6 mo, though I did rather enjoy it.) I'd LOVE to see Kong or...well, something else...get recognized. But I think you're being rather harsh on this year in particular.

you and Yosh should move in together Kypade. Or better yet, get a job on a ranch.

A point is being made by touting this particular crop of films. If 5 blockbusters were nominated, I wouldn't be happy either. Balance balance balance. Having 5 nominees that are embraced by film snobs but unseen by the public isn't a good thing. There's no way to argue that point.

Last year was a great year. The battles between Sideways and Million Dollar Baby were great. This year just seems meh, nothing to write home about.

Isn't a good thing for ratings? Sure, ok. But I don't think you can say it's just "bad." It's certainly good for those 5 films and all the people who worked on them, to get recognition even though they didn't hit 3500 theaters. And it will make the people who like them happy. It might introduce the regular joe to something more than just Munich or Kong (surely playing in their town anyway (again, i'd prefer either of them to Crash)). I'm just saying, despite your personal feelings towards the films, it's not the end of the world...and that if those 5 are truly what the voters think are the best of the year, I'm glad they will nominate them instead of just some "big" film for "balance." Yknow? I dunno. I would like to reiterate that I probably will not agree with more than 2 of the noms, but...

I dunno, what exactly does "balance" do, in your view? Besides extra viewers? Does it help anything? Who knows, Crash winning Best Pic could pave the way for some similar film two years from now that really has something to say...but the Spielberg's of the world will ALWAYS be able to get their "important" films made.

balance helps my chi.

I own a movie website. Clearly when the Oscars ho-hum, it ruins my day.

If by winning BP Crash can pave the way for similar films, I need a drink.

where's Roo, I need my wonder twin.

Wasn´t so bad compared to other years. If I use your system, I was rooting for 1 and a half movies, which sucks big time.

The Oscars are always going to go for the big guys, don´t worry.

Only that when the big guys suck (in their opinion) they go smalled and award films that they normally overlook cause they´re too small. Sounds pretty fair to me.

In fact, The Green Mile, American Beauty and The Sixth Sense all sit well in my all-time Top 50 and Cider House Rules was about B+-worthy, whereas The Inisider sits at around C+.

Secrets and Lies should have swept that year. With Fargo being runner up in all major categories (with the exception of lead actress). I'll give English Patient a token Cinematography, I guess, even though the photo session with the woman who had been in an accident in Secrets and Lies put everything else to shame that year visually.

I don't knwo why anyone would call this Oscar season among the worst. It's probably among the best!

The movies themselves are another story, but the race has been the most interesting I have ever kept up with!

Its actually a decent year for me if Munich and Capote are up there.

I'd love to see GNAGL, Munich, Capote, BBM, fifth History of Violence would be icing on the cake.

I like the tie between Williams and Adams...makes the supporting actress category the most intense this year.

I do with Strathairn was getting a few more early nobs, so that the Leab Male category wouldn't be blown open by the time the Oscars come around. I like nail biters, and my favorite two (American) male roles this year are Hoffman and Strathairn. If Ganz was up there too (I know, but a girl can dream) I'd be in heaven.

I don't really want to get into an argument (which is why I haven't posted here), I have so much to do this week. But here is my take, so nobody read it as a declaration of war, because it's not:

"Scope" is not really the point, in my view, the way it's being defined above. There were at least 5 major, major releases this year that are at least as good as "sure bet" Walk the Line and Capote (which I haven't seen, but seems to be more of an actor film than a full package... a lot of people on here don't think it is all that brilliant, although some do). There were also some mid-ranged films that were excellent as well.

Nobody's saying that it isn't "fair", we're just saying that the Academy's gaze is so utterly narrow this year. It all speaks to the same demographic (save for Walk the Line and Crash leaks out of it a little) and has the same tone, even my beloved Good Night, and Good Luck. And even in the cess pool of 2002 I really haven't felt the awards as this narrow of an eye in quite a long time. 1992 was the last time I think the nominees were mostly undeserved.

It's really a product of what failed and what didn't. If Memoirs would have delivered it would have been a lush romance film that would have given the awards one of those kicks of pretty and melodramatic beauty. Jarhead, The Producers, even if something like Kingdom of Heaven was successful and good, or dare I say one of the big productions like War of the Worlds, Kong, Batman... there could have been a stretch out to something more grand. Gosh maybe even a foreign film like Kung-Fu Hustle, maybe even something that was funny enough to put a smile on your face for a minute or two.

I reject the notion that there is nothing in "popular cinema" worth awarding. Quite frankly, I'm a fan of foreign, classic, indie, pretty much whatever, and there seems to be the same level of crap and excellence everywhere.

I think the recent example of an amazing year was 2001, which had the best in indies, the best in blockbusters, the best musical (and my favorite film of the decade), an interesting english based ensemble piece and a middle of the road, but effective tearjerker.

To me, those years were just more colorful. But don't get me wrong, I am enjoying being the miser this year to an extent. The season has been enjoyable, but the results won't be, I'm sure. Loyal and I will also continue to be here throughout the rest of the year.

To me, film is a wide, wide, wide, wide, wide world. So when the Oscars, which usually tap into that a bit, ignore it, they set themselves apart from what I believe is really going on in cinema. But that's their collective choice to do so. It's not really even critisism of the Academy as much as it is just a generic response to a group of movies that collectively say nothing about where film is in 2005 (in my opinion).

Anyway, that's my take. I view 2005 as the critical leftovers because other films didn't pull their weight.

God I wish I liked Brokeback Mountain more. Maybe on DVD. All this debate and the nominations are still a week away!

I think andaroo's post sums up my feeling pretty well.

well done Roo, as usual.

I'll be the devil's advocate and say that I love this year's awards season. I love most of the movies that are likely to be nominated for BP (I usually love 2 at most), I love the movie most likely to win BP, I don't openly despise any of the major contenders (i.e. no Seabiscuit), and I think the movies most likely to be snubbed deserve to be snubbed. The only thing that really bugs me is the likely inclusion of Walk the Line but eh, you can't get everything and the acting in that movie was really top-notch. But I hardly ever agree with the majority during Oscar season - cases in point being that I was rooting for The Aviator/Sideways over Million Dollar Baby, I couldn't stand American Beauty, I was happy A Beautiful Mind won, and etc.

OK okies

So, if the scope is too small, what should be nominated for BP? King Kong? (Which, I liked. And I've yet to see BBM and Capote, so, yes, its one of my personal selections for that slot until I see the aforementioned. So ha!)

They should just buckle down and nominated something like 40 Year Old Virgin or March of the Penguins. Movies that everybody loves to death, that have great support everywhere, that people would actually cheer for. There was a time when Star Wars, a sci-fi, went against Annie Hall, a comedy.

Now it... Brokeback Mountain vs Crash. Ughhhhh... Worst. Battle. Ever.

At least next year looks promising. Or, you know, the Departed and Flags could both fail up, and we'll get left with a bunch of shitty indies again. Hopefully not though.

I'm not picking on Andaroo but I will point out something he takes use of in his latest post...

We seem to be placing the horrible choices are the narrowness on the Academy when they haven't even released their nominations yet.

I think

Brokeback Mountain
Crash/Good Night, and Good Luck (not both)
King Kong
Munich
Walk the Line

as much as I despise any critical acclaim WTL recieves as a film would be quite a great line-up. Fact of the matter is King Kong being replaced with something like Capote would suddenly tip the balance considerably for some.

I see Andaroo's point and somewhat agree on many points. I don't know what it is, everyone is whining too much this year, including me! I know we were disappointed in how Jarhead and Geish and to an extent, Munich turned out but that's not the voters' fault and not the season's fault.

We still have around 9 weeks? Let's see what else happens

If munich or atleast narnia isnt nominated then i wont watch this years oscars,talk about a crappy oscar season.

Well, at least you admit you think It´ll be crappy cause the films you love are probably not going to get anything.

I understand that.

haha, you're funny dar.

!!!!

The Academy almost always nominates a blockbuster/epic. It's their sympathy vote!

Shit.

It always happens. When I try to be serious, people actually laugh. And the other way round.

I guess this post must be hilarious.