The Criterion Collection

[Vinyl]

Originally Posted by captveg

I find it hilarious when people try to criticize the technique/process of uniquely made films like Boyhood, Memento, the Artist, etc., as gimmicky. It's part of the point of those films to be made in those particular ways. Boyhood is mostly about the passage of time, and the real time construct of it is purposefully drawing attention to itself to contextualize the whole. Of course it would be more shallow and mundane if done in two months with makeup and several kid actors. Doing that would remove the primary element of time that is keystone to the entire film.

I loved Memento and the Artist when I first saw them and got what they were doing. All stories have been told a million times. What makes them work is a good story/script and good acting told from an interesting perspective.

[pedromvu]

I Have to join the club of those who think Boyhood has got undeservedly high praise, i still liked it but it's not near as good as any of the Before series films, not even as good as Dazed and Confused so why the sudden Oscar praise in a year with so many great films, somehow i doubt the process of the 12 years doesn't have anything to do with it.

I don't think i will miss Boyhood if it never enters the collection, just give me the Before trilogy

[cakefactory]

Originally Posted by joie

They should create a new Oscar: Best scoreless picture. I recently rewatched "Once Upon a Time in the West" and noticed that each major character had a musical theme, like the poor, bereaved, unfortunate widow theme played whenever Claudia Cardinale's character appeared.

Aren't scores a throwback to the silents? Some of them could be b-o-r-i-n-g without their music. Antonioni made several movies with little or no scoring. I suppose that music emanating from a cafe or car's radio could be used, but not deliberately selected or written music whose purpose seems to be provoke an emotional reaction. Isn't using music rather than dialog or action to create an impression of a character a crutch?

You could say the same thing about virtually any aspect of any genre of movies other than like, mumblecore. Throwing out the score since it's a "crutch" is just as arbitrary as throwing out special effects or sound recorded in post or any kind of stylized photography or using actors instead of real people.

[cakefactory]

Originally Posted by pedromvu

I Have to join the club of those who think Boyhood has got undeservedly high praise, i still liked it but it's not near as good as any of the Before series films, not even as good as Dazed and Confused so why the sudden Oscar praise in a year with so many great films, somehow i doubt the process of the 12 years doesn't have anything to do with it.

I don't think i will miss Boyhood if it never enters the collection, just give me the Before trilogy

I don't like Dazed and Confused at all, which was a big part of my surprise at adoring the Before films. I still don't understand all the praise it receives. I've watched it four times now and just don't get it. Bernie, Boyhood, even School of Rock and Waking Life all seemed much more interesting.

[SammyJankis]

Originally Posted by pedromvu

I don't think i will miss Boyhood if it never enters the collection, just give me the Before trilogy

Give me both.

[Spanish Scott]

Just checking in to say "Go Marion!". I'm cool with Moore finally winning an Oscar and everything, and at this point I'm just glad the Academy recognized her work in Two Days, One Night. Would be swell though if they make her the first two-time winner for a performance in French.

If nothing else, I hope they play the scene with Timur and her at some point, but I doubt they will, there are probably more Oscar bait-ish scenes in the movie they'll use.

[SammyJankis]

Cotillard would make me leap off the couch and shout with joy. No way that's happening, though. Moore deserved the award for past performances, but not for this one. She's great, but not the best.

It helps that Cotillard's film is actually good.

[octagon]

Boy, I can't wait until I get caught up on all the 2014 nominees.

By 2020 the past twelve or so hours here should make a lot more sense

[lukejosephchung]

J.K. Simmons just Best Supporting Actor as expected for his performance in "Whiplash"...

[SammyJankis]

Originally Posted by mdawg1972

Forget Boyhood! Any ideas when the Criterion flash sale will be?

There's a good chance it'll be Tuesday. No one around here knows for sure.

[shadedpain4]

Originally Posted by Rich Pure Doom

The soundtrack was just pop hits. Another negative. It shouldn't be nominated for anything except razzies.

I can only imagine how thrilled Wilco will be to find out they have pop hits.

[cakefactory]

Originally Posted by SammyJankis

Cotillard would make me leap off the couch and shout with joy. No way that's happening, though. Moore deserved the award for past performances, but not for this one. She's great, but not the best.

It helps that Cotillard's film is actually good.

Agreed. Cotillard was the only major award nominee I cared about at all this year, all of the best actors were dullsville, as were all the other best actress nominees, especially Julianne Moore in that oscar bait junk. Didn't like any of the best picture nominees as much as Two Days, One Night either, but oh well. I guess I should just be happy that American Sniper didn't win any non-technical awards. I was sort of sad Boyhood was mostly shut out besides for Patricia Arquette, but not a big deal, as we established in the last couple pages it's good but not a masterpiece or anything. The awards went to all the favorites, the only real suspense was "will it be Birdman or Boyhood that wins all the last awards?!" I guess supporting actress was slightly up in the air. I liked a few of them, Keira Knightley and Emma Stone would also have been just fine in my book, I'm just relieved Meryl Streep didn't win for that awful screeching performance in Into the Woods, she was almost as bad as Johnny Depp in that movie.

[jw007]

Man, I was bummed Michael Keaton didn't win for best actor at the Oscars tonight, but happy to see all the awards for Birdman. I predicted it correctly... and its truly an amazing, innovative film. Boyhood sure sucked pavement though.. wish Interstellar had won for best original score (Grand Budapest Hotel winning for best score was a letdown). Totally shocked Redmayne won for best actor though (but I guess he was great... still didn't see The Theory of Everything). Julianne Moore FINALLY got her first oscar though which made my night.

Okay, that's all for my annual Oscar rant...back to your regularly scheduled programming.

[cakefactory]

Redmayne is great in the role, the script is just incredibly lame. It's like if you made a movie about a famous musician and didn't include any performance scenes, just a couple scenes of him playing some scales.

[Polaroid]

Interstellar didn't get best score!?

Did Julianne Moore deserve the oscar for Still Alice? I haven't seen it but when I saw trailer it didn't exactly stand out for me - will check it out though!

Would have loved Keaton and Stone to have won for best actor and supporting actress though, although not seen Whiplash so can't really judge Simmons performance!

Oscars did seem pretty fair this year, like - no film really got all the attention which is nice!

Oscars 2015: Lady Gaga Performs 'Sound Of Music' Tribute At The Oscars - YouTube

Oh my! Thanks to Lars Von Tier when I hear 'My favourite things' I feel depressed and want to cry and die a little.

[BohemianGraham]

Originally Posted by octagon

Boy, I can't wait until I get caught up on all the 2014 nominees.

By 2020 the past twelve or so hours here should make a lot more sense

Didn't watch the Oscars last night, only reading up now. I chose to watch It Happened One Night, the first film to win the big 5 Oscars instead.

I watched the Best Picture nominees though, and can't say I agree with The Academy on the winner. Birdman just left me cold. Wasn't fussy about Boyhood either, but it was still bettter than American Diaper and Birdman. I knew my favourites The Imitation Game and Selma had no chance. I wouldn't have minded Whiplash or Grand Budapest Hotel either. The Theory of Everything was enjoyable for Redmayne, but ultimately a bunch of Disney-fied twee.

Honestly, there were a lot of other movies that probably could have been nominated, and ditto for actors. I am very surprised that HTTYD2 lost out to Big Hero 6, as that was everyone's prediction. I'm kinda glad, as Lego Movie was totally robbed.

[octagon]

Originally Posted by BohemianGraham

Didn't watch the Oscars last night, only reading up now. I chose to watch It Happened One Night, the first film to win the big 5 Oscars instead.

I had it narrowed down to The Artist and American Beauty before deciding to go with The Four Feathers. I even had The Artist in the player for a couple minutes.

It's not even 4am here though. I can probably work in a little All About Eve before bed.

[WonderWeasel]

I just watched a very poignant, heartbreaking film called 'Hachikô monogatari', starring Kurosawa regular Tatsuya Nakadai.

[Show spoiler] It's a beautifully written and filmed story about the loyalty of a man's dog, even after his death.

I don't typically get misty-eyed while watching a film, but this one definitely evoked some emotion from me; I gave my dog a big hug when I got done watching it It may be a bit hard to come by, but if you're an animal lover, it's worth tracking down. If you can't find it, there's a good remake that was directed by Lasse Hallstrom and starring Richard Gere that is fairly easy to find.

If it were more popular, I think it'd make a good candidate for a Criterion release. I mean, it does have Nakadai.

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by BohemianGraham

Didn't watch the Oscars last night, only reading up now. I chose to watch It Happened One Night, the first film to win the big 5 Oscars instead.

I watched the Best Picture nominees though, and can't say I agree with The Academy on the winner. Birdman just left me cold. Wasn't fussy about Boyhood either, but it was still better than American Diaper and Birdman. I knew my favorites The Imitation Game and Selma had no chance. I wouldn't have minded Whiplash or Grand Budapest Hotel either. The Theory of Everything was enjoyable for Redmayne, but ultimately a bunch of Disney-fied twee.

Honestly, there were a lot of other movies that probably could have been nominated, and ditto for actors. I am very surprised that HTTYD2 lost out to Big Hero 6, as that was everyone's prediction. I'm kinda glad, as Lego Movie was totally robbed.

I chose to watch my Scorpion Releasing Blu-ray of Screamers (Something Waits in the Dark) last night. I was totally detached from the Oscar vibe, to say the least.

It Happened One Night is a tremendous Criterion release, and I love every minute of it.

Of the 2015 Academy Award Best Picture Nominees, American Sniper is the only one that I have seen so far. It's one of Clint Eastwood's better directorial efforts in recent memory, and it stands well alongside his other anti-war films/hero mythology deconstruction films from years past, but it was nowhere near my favorite film of 2014.

I have not yet seen Birdman, Boyhood, The Theory of Everything, The Imitation Game, Selma, Whiplash, or The Grand Budapest Hotel, and, truth be told, I probably won't bother anytime soon, because I'm simply not feeling it. I may pick up Birdman from a Redbox rental booth at some point, but, then again, it might join Argo and The Artist as another Best Picture that passed me by.

[Ausjdm]

Originally Posted by jw007

Man, I was bummed Michael Keaton didn't win for best actor at the Oscars tonight, but happy to see all the awards for Birdman. I predicted it correctly... and its truly an amazing, innovative film. Boyhood sure sucked pavement though.. wish Interstellar had won for best original score (Grand Budapest Hotel winning for best score was a letdown). Totally shocked Redmayne won for best actor though (but I guess he was great... still didn't see The Theory of Everything). Julianne Moore FINALLY got her first oscar though which made my night.

Okay, that's all for my annual Oscar rant...back to your regularly scheduled programming.

Oscar recap:
Totally agree. Birdman was great!
Boyhood burned out too early I guess...
Surprised Keaton lost and interstellar lost best score.
I agree Redmayne is good the script is poor for it though.
Interstellar, Under the skin, Inherent Vice will be those forgotten movies ten years from now people call awesome.
Good to see Patricia and Julianne and JK get praise finally.
Now damnit everyone go buy, Criterion of SAFE! I saw that 15 years ago, wow where does time go.