Oscars

[Former Principalities]

So, how many of you watched the Oscars? What did you think of the results?

http://oscar.go.com/oscar-night/winners ... ut_livenow

I think that District 9 was kind of gypped, personally.

PS: Normally, I really wouldn't care, but hey

I was surprised "Avatar" didn't get Best Picture or Best Director. Glad for Sandra Bullock and Jeff Bridges.

The show seemed oddly muted. Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin were merely okay.

I think that's because they had to stop them going at each others throats with humour.

[Aelosia]

I'm honestly surprised Avater didn't get more awards, I was sure it would win best picture. I'm not saying that it deserved more awards, personally I'd give Avatar 2/5 stars, it's just that people seem to love anything that has good effects, explosions, 3d, and sex scenes in it.

I agree that District 9 got screwed, Blomkamp should have gotten best director IMO. I laughed when I saw that both Avatar and D9 were nominated for best visual effects, Avatar had a 300 million dollar budget and a 10 year production time, D9 had 30 million, that's so lopsided it's comical.

On a related note:

What did Blomkamp of creative cinematographically speaking in District 9? Don't get me wrong, I liked District 9. I thought it was creative in many fields. But direction? Not really.

The Hurt Locker was a relatively creative movie. More creative than Avatar's storyline and way of narrating things.

I don't think it's hard to have a more creative storyline than Avatar considering it was a rip off of Pochahontas.

Noticed it. Before the meme, I said it was a ripoff of Dance with Wolves. But Pocahontas is indeed more accurate.

Am I the only one who haven't even heard of the movie until The Oscar? I haven't seen any advertisement or trailer for it...at all.

It's really good, if you're not the military. Pretty much everyone who dies, dies because he acted in a way totally contrary to military procedure.

Watch it if you want to see how civilians given uniforms would handle a war.

Everyone is a civilian too. All military were civilians once, too. Military is not another race or breed of men. Military personnel behave like civilians all the time in real life too. Oh, or was, just throwing a cliché example, Abu Ghraib military procedure too?

And yeah, my favourite director Quentin was the true rejected. No love for Inglorious. Waltz was a fact, although.

[Qazox]

So Glad the The Hurt Locker beat Avatar.

WARNING PRO-US MILITARY OPINION WILL BE SHOWING!

A movie that villifies (to a point) the US Military should NEVER beat a movie that doesn't villify the US military.

BACK TO NORMAL in 3...2...1...

As for the remainder of the awards, very predictable as most of the people whom i thought or wanted to win, won.

[New Olwe]

I'm surprised at all the love for Hurt Locker/Kathryn Bigelow. With the way the camera was bouncing around, there was no way to understand what was going on... took me right out of the movie, I fucking hated it except for Jeremy Renner's excellent performance. Hollywood really needs to get over handheld cameras, they contribute nothing except annoyance.

[Qazox]

The Hurt Locker was a relatively creative movie. More creative than Avatar's storyline and way of narrating things.

I don't think it's hard to have a more creative storyline than Avatar considering it was a rip off of Pochahontas.

Slight Correction: Avatar is a rip-off of FernGully: The Last Rainforest. (read the plot of FernGully and it is almost the exact same as Avatar!)

[The Parkus Empire]

Everyone is a civilian too.

But the definition of "civilian" means "not in the military".

All military were civilians once, too. Military is not another race or breed of men. Military personnel behave like civilians all the time in real life too. Oh, or was, just throwing a cliché example, Abu Ghraib military procedure too?

Abu Ghraib isn't combat or defusing a bomb; that's a moral lapse, which is different than making a dangerous situation more dangerous by totally neglecting protocol. If soldiers are going to act like they've never received any training, then what's the point in training them?

I'm not talking about a different race, I'm saying soldiers are like doctors or lawyers (some even have similar jobs). Sure, doctors and lawyers weren't always doctors and lawyers, and sure, they occasionally do things that morally contradict their training, but I still expect a lot more competence from them in their chosen field than I would from someone who was untrained.

[Aelosia]

I'm surprised at all the love for Hurt Locker/Kathryn Bigelow. With the way the camera was bouncing around, there was no way to understand what was going on... took me right out of the movie, I fucking hated it except for Jeremy Renner's excellent performance. Hollywood really needs to get over handheld cameras, they contribute nothing except annoyance.

Well, she managed to make a handheld without overusing it and making people dizzy as in other movies. That is what critics took as her achievement in direction, worth of an Oscar. The way she managed the handheld was more stable, less overused, and with better context than in previous movies. I can understand that you don't like handheld. (Me neither, I hate it), but nevertheless you need to recognize that there is a considerable improvement over past movies that used that method.

Avatar, in the other hand....Made history is Visual Effects, then its Oscars. In direction? Nothing worthy or new under the sun.

[The Parkus Empire]

So Glad the The Hurt Locker beat Avatar.

WARNING PRO-US MILITARY OPINION WILL BE SHOWING!

A movie that villifies (to a point) the US Military should NEVER beat a movie that doesn't villify the US military.

BACK TO NORMAL in 3...2...1...

As for the remainder of the awards, very predictable as most of the people whom i thought or wanted to win, won.

Most guys I know in the military prefer Avatar to The Hurt Locker. We really don't care if films vilify us.

That said, I don't care for Avatar.

[Braaainsss]

Well, for those of you who want a Lacanian critique of Avatar, Zizek has written a review. Not sure if I agree with the hyperreality point, but I did find the noble savage thing to be trite.

[Gauthier]

So Glad the The Hurt Locker beat Avatar.

WARNING PRO-US MILITARY OPINION WILL BE SHOWING!

A movie that villifies (to a point) the US Military should NEVER beat a movie that doesn't villify the US military.

BACK TO NORMAL in 3...2...1...

As for the remainder of the awards, very predictable as most of the people whom i thought or wanted to win, won.

Avatar wasn't even aimed at the U.S. military. If anything it was a commentary on aboriginal expulsion like happened in history. Of course the fact that The Hurt Locker had so many military inaccuracies ought to be something noted don't you think?

[Serene corruption]

Wow, they really loved The Hurt Locker.

I was thinking the same thing.

I don't tend to care what happens at the Oscars or any other reward show for that matter normally because they always seem to focus on one movie that i didn't see or don't remember. The Hurt Locker is a perfect example of this fact.

[Serene corruption]

So Glad the The Hurt Locker beat Avatar.

WARNING PRO-US MILITARY OPINION WILL BE SHOWING!

A movie that villifies (to a point) the US Military should NEVER beat a movie that doesn't villify the US military.

BACK TO NORMAL in 3...2...1...

As for the remainder of the awards, very predictable as most of the people whom i thought or wanted to win, won.

Avatar wasn't even aimed at the U.S. military. If anything it was a commentary on aboriginal expulsion like happened in history. Of course the fact that The Hurt Locker had so many military inaccuracies ought to be something noted don't you think?

burn!!

[Tahar Joblis]

So Glad the The Hurt Locker beat Avatar.

WARNING PRO-US MILITARY OPINION WILL BE SHOWING!

A movie that villifies (to a point) the US Military should NEVER beat a movie that doesn't villify the US military.

BACK TO NORMAL in 3...2...1...

As for the remainder of the awards, very predictable as most of the people whom i thought or wanted to win, won.

... Because all media should be jingoistic. Right.

This is actually one of the things I dislike about Hollywood. Watch "This FIlm is Not Yet Rated." It has a nice scathing critique of how jingoistic Hollywood tends to be. I would rather judge a film on its ability to provoke thought, rather than looking at it as a simple jingoistic glorification or villification.

Hurt Locker actually wasn't particularly jingoistic by Hollywood standards. If you're paying close attention beyond the fact that the heroes are US soldiers and the villains are the insurgents, it poses the critical question of whether we become addicted to war, and asks what waging war does to the soldiers who survive. It's a pointed question.

The Hurt Locker was a relatively creative movie. More creative than Avatar's storyline and way of narrating things.

I don't think it's hard to have a more creative storyline than Avatar considering it was a rip off of Pochahontas.

Slight Correction: Avatar is a rip-off of FernGully: The Last Rainforest. (read the plot of FernGully and it is almost the exact same as Avatar!)

Nothing is "new." The story of Hurt Locker is dramatized from reality and [rather loosely] based on reality. (Hence the lawsuit. There's one particular guy whose stories most inspired Hurt Locker.) So how original is it, again?

When you're dealing with summaries on the level linked above, I could switch Star Wars and Star Trek. And then go backwards from there. In the case of Avatar and Pocahontas, the similarities are likely as strong as they are due to common sources more than any direct copying. Avatar leans heavily on reference to the expulsion of the Native Americans from the west. I could probably find a film set in the US West in the late 19th century that shares even more commonalities. It's neither original nor difficult to take two otherwise "original" stories and show them to be the same if you simplify them enough.

At the same time, there are also some differences in how the story is told. Avatar is very similar to District 9 in its juxtaposition of both literal and metaphorical alienations and transformations, in its examinations of the give-and-take between the pursuit of science, military power, and money. Quite frankly, there's a lot going on in both films. Where, pray tell, is the discussion of the pursuit of knowledge in Pocahontas? Where are the gross historical inaccuracies in Avatar? (Hint: It's not a "historical" film.)

It's not surprising that if you flatten out one side of it and close one eye, Avatar looks rather two-dimensional and familiar. The pieces should look familiar, especially after you've flattened them. But the whole is really quite special, in perspective. Avatar didn't crack the billion mark internationally by being derivative and simplistic; it did so by pushing the technological boundaries of film-making while telling a very grand story of a future echoing the past - a story complex enough to offer something to most of those watching it.

[Dakini]

When you're dealing with summaries on the level linked above, I could switch Star Wars and Star Trek. And then go backwards from there.

No, you really couldn't. Star Trek is sci-fi about exploring the galaxy, Star Wars is sci-fi/fantasy about defeating a galaxy wide, evil empire. The plots are nothing alike, the only thing they have in common is that they both take place in space.

It's not surprising that if you flatten out one side of it and close one eye, Avatar looks rather two-dimensional and familiar. The pieces should look familiar, especially after you've flattened them. But the whole is really quite special, in perspective. Avatar didn't crack the billion mark internationally by being derivative and simplistic; it did so by pushing the technological boundaries of film-making while telling a very grand story of a future echoing the past - a story complex enough to offer something to most of those watching it.

Yes, and that's why it won for effects.

[Ifreann]

So Glad the The Hurt Locker beat Avatar.

WARNING PRO-US MILITARY OPINION WILL BE SHOWING!

A movie that villifies (to a point) the US Military should NEVER beat a movie that doesn't villify the US military.

BACK TO NORMAL in 3...2...1...

As for the remainder of the awards, very predictable as most of the people whom i thought or wanted to win, won.

Now, I didn't pay very close attention to the plot in Avatar(because there wasn't much of one), but I was of the impression that all the Bad Guys With Guns were mercenaries, a la Blackwater. Some of them were ex-military, but then, so was Cripply Mc Smurf, the protagonist.

[Risottia]

Which makes tonight kind of a cool David vs. Goliath thing. Especially when you take into account Bigelow is Cameron's ex-wife.

Or, if we prefer, a Na'avi vs Earthlings sort of thing.


Btw, I'm surprised at the choice for the Foreign Language Film.

[Ifreann]

Which makes tonight kind of a cool David vs. Goliath thing. Especially when you take into account Bigelow is Cameron's ex-wife.

Or, if we prefer, a Na'avi vs Earthlings sort of thing.

The latter looks cooler. It's like Braveheart, but if that wasn't woad on Wallace's face.

[Ashmoria]

So, how many of you watched the Oscars? What did you think of the results?

http://oscar.go.com/oscar-night/winners ... ut_livenow

I think that District 9 was kind of gypped, personally.

PS: Normally, I really wouldn't care, but hey

I was surprised "Avatar" didn't get Best Picture or Best Director. Glad for Sandra Bullock and Jeff Bridges.

The show seemed oddly muted. Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin were merely okay.

i was suprised too. but it IS rare for the academy to give best picture to the biggest grossing film of the year.

not that i thought avatar was best picture, im just sayin'

[Duckside]

I'm realllllllllyyyyyyyyyy happy Avatar did not win cause this means I'm going to get $50 from a bet with a friend

seriously though, the only nice thing about avatar was the visual effects, the rest was

[Ifreann]

I'm realllllllllyyyyyyyyyy happy Avatar did not win cause this means I'm going to get $50 from a bet with a friend

seriously though, the only nice thing about avatar was the visual effects, the rest was

Well, yeah. That's the only reason anyone went to see it.

[Doitzel]

I want to know how the Academy defines the word "Best". You don't have to be in the military to recognise that "Let's split up, we'll cover more ground" is both counterintuitive and a cliche way of killing people off.

I think the Oscars to The Hurt Locker were probably alimony. It was a thoroughly forgettable film.

Oh well. Maybe when those snobs stop trying to prove to us that they're high artists with some superiority of taste they won't have to rely on the movies they snub for ratings.

[Flameswroth]

I'm surprised so many people are surprised D9 was snubbed. I mean, the visual effects were kind of cool I guess, but the writing was horribly, horribly lazy. When you have to use 'fuck' every other word for half the damn movie, you know somebody's just not up to snuff. I don't think it deserved any Oscars.

I've heard about Hurt Locker a lot on the public radio, particularly through interviews. It doesn't surprise me it won so much given how much it was talked about, although I've not seen it to confirm whether it deserved the awards in my own mind.

Me, I expected 'Precious' to net far more than it did, purely due to the PC nature of "leftist Hollywood" that is commonly espoused. I am pleased to see that was not the case.

[The_pantless_hero]

Wow, they really loved The Hurt Locker.

I was thinking the same thing.

Am I the only one who haven't even heard of the movie until The Oscar? I haven't seen any advertisement or trailer for it...at all.

Neither has almost anyone else but the academy. It got a limited release and made an even more limited amount of money.

[The_pantless_hero]

Noticed it. Before the meme, I said it was a ripoff of Dance with Wolves. But Pocahontas is indeed more accurate.

Bullshit. Avatar isn't Pocahontas; it's Ferngully

[Andaluciae]

I watched Hurt Locker on the recommendation of my older brother. It was great, though a little to dramatic for my tastes. I preferred Up In The Air.

Hurt Locker was definitely the superior film--especially when compared to Avatar (with the totally derivative plot and so many flat, uninteresting characters that I could choke). I didn't get a chance to see Up in the Air, I've heard it was delightful, but y'know how that goes.

District 9, while enjoyable, didn't seem to strike me in quite the same fashion that the other films did. Yes, it was visually impressive, it had a pretty good overall message and all of that, but for whatever reason I found the main character utterly unlikable, and I was unable to connect with him. Spoiled the entire movie for me. Is it Best Picture material? Possibly, but not if I'm the one issuing the award.