Monday, 03 February 2014 09:24
The Oscars' Road to Perdition


Hollywood just announced its 2014 Oscar nominations for 2013 movies, and we have to say that these are among the most disappointing Oscar nominees in years.

The vast majority of the nominees are boring, uninspiring, tasteless, elitist, senseless, or politically correct.

For example, in the Best Picture category, Oscar voters senselessly nominated sloppily made, mostly R-rated, and sometimes politically correct, adult dramas; often with disagreeable, unsympathetic characters.

They nominated only two really superb movies, Gravity and Captain Phillips. Nebraska had some uplifting moments, but its director foolishly refused to delete one obscenity from his movie to get a PG-13 rating instead of an R rating.

Also, only one of the Best Picture nominees, Gravity, appealed to families. Why couldn’t they nominate a couple of animated family movies? Movieguide liked Frozen and Despicable Me 2 the most, but The Croods and Monsters University were also very good.

The press keeps talking about the Oscar snub against The Butler and the hype surrounding 12 Years a Slave, but there were two much better movies this year about African Americans: the crowd-pleasing and inspiring 42 and the lesser known Black Nativity, one of the most moving films of the entire year.

Unlike 42 and Black Nativity, The Butler and 12 Years a Slave contained some politically correct attacks on Christians and conservatives.

For instance, The Butler levels some false, anachronistic slanders against President Reagan at the end. The film 12 Years a Slave, which has a lot of thematic and structural problems, stereotypes Southern Christians during the time of slavery. It also depicts its protagonist as rather less than heroic, more as a cardboard cutout victim than a heroic individual willing to sacrifice himself for others.

The less said about The Wolf of Wall Street, the better perhaps. But this shameless, depraved, and painful movie is 20 minutes longer than the Hobbit movie!

Speaking of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, why not give this exciting, well-structured movie some major kudos? The acting performances in Smaug, for instance, are terrific, especially those of Richard Armitage and Martin Freeman.

While we’re at it, why not send some love to such blockbuster action movies as Iron Man 3, Man of Steel, and the second Hunger Games movie, Catching Fire?

Robert Downey, Jr. continued to astound audiences in Iron Man 3. He was supported by Oscar-worthy performances from Gwyneth Paltrow and Ben Kingsley.

Man of Steel, meanwhile, brings Superman back to full life in a heroic movie worthy of the accolade “super.”

And, the script, direction, and editing in Catching Fire had a much better screenplay and better editing and direction than Oscar-nominated dramas such as American Hustle, 12 Years a Slave, Philomena, and The Wolf of Wall Street.

Finally, what about Tom Hanks in both Captain Phillips and Saving Mr. Banks (two of his best performances in years), Emma Thompson and Paul Giamatti in Saving Mr. Banks, the great performances in Black Nativity (not to mention the fine acting in the small Christian movie Grace Unplugged).

Or, what about George Clooney’s wonderful performance in Gravity, probably his best so far? Or Matthew McConaughey’s performance in Mud, which was far more interesting than what he did in the obscene Dallas Buyers Club.

At least the Oscar voters nominated Sandra Bullock for her tremendous performance in Gravity, a real tour de force.

The American public tends to agree with us about all this. The movies listed above that we prefer generally made the most money at the box office.

Also, American Hustle garnered a measly “B+” with the audience poll CinemaScore, the same rating that recent flops such as 47 Ronin and Grudge Match received.

Martin Scorsese’s Wolf of Wall Street is one of the least-liked movies in theaters currently, with a “C” grade on CinemaScore.

Movieguide has heard story after story about moviegoers getting disgusted at Wolf’s first couple of minutes and walking out of the theater. One eyewitness told us he talked with an older couple who walked out of the movie and went to see Frozen instead.

Of course, you can find out what were the truly great movies of 2013 by seeing who Movieguide nominates for its 22nd Annual Faith & Values Awards Gala and Report to the Entertainment Industry, to be held February 7 at the Universal Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles.

Ultimately, it’s movies like Frozen, Gravity, Despicable Me 2, Iron Man 3, Man of Steel, Black Nativity, Grace Unplugged, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, and 42, which reach audiences with larger-than-life, inspiring messages, that deserve your celebration, acclaim, and entertainment dollars.

Es war doch schon immer so, dass speziell bei den Oscars, Blockbuster oder Publikumslieblinge alleine deswegen keine Berücksichtigung fanden. Wie oft wurden Filme ausgezeichnet, die keine Sau sehen wollte? Oder was sollen erst Darsteller sagen, die schon sechsmal nominiert wurden und trotzdem immer wieder leer ausgehen? Da steckt viel Politik hinter den Kulissen. Und wenn es mal ein Publikumsmagnet dann doch mal geschafft hat dann oft deshalb, weil in dem Jahr eben kaum Konkurrenz herrschte bzw. keine erwähnenswerte Filme der "gehobenen" ins Bild passenden Kategorie gedreht wurden.
Ich nehme speziell den Oscar schon seit Jahren nicht mehr ernst. Wird auch immer langweiliger. Die Golden Globes gehen noch u.a. auch deshalb, da es dort mehrere Kategorien in Sachen Film gibt. So werden auch Komödien und Musicals ausgezeichnet, die bei den Oscars nie Chancen haben.
Deshalb glaube ich auch nicht, dass Hobbit, die 3. Chancen haben wird, und wenn der Richard noch so gut spielt.

Über die Oscars lache ich schon seit Jahren... Das ist eine dekadente Gesellschaft, die sich selbst feiert und hochleben lässt. Ekelerregend! Die Drahtzieher im Hintergrund sind ebenso einflussreich wie unermesslich vermögend-reich, das es unsere Vorstellung komplett sprengt. Gut gemachte Filne oder wahre Schauspielkunst werden dort kaum noch anerkannt geschweige denn honoriert. Sollte es wider Erwarten einmal in den kommenden Jahren zu einer Nominierung oder gar zu einem Gewinn von Filmen bzw. Schauspielern kommen, die mir etwas bedeuten, fress' ich einen Besen!

Das wird vielleicht auch der Grund sein, warum einige gute Schauspieler (nicht nur Richard) kaum Hollywood-Rollen bekommen, während andere (BC, TH) überhäuft werden mit Angeboten.

Oder liegt es nur daran, dass Richard ernste Sachen machen will (wie auch OB nach den Blockbustern in den ersten 10 Jahren nach HdR) und in Hollywood schlicht und einfach die Drehbücher dazu nicht zu finden sind? Oder vielleicht eine Mischung von beiden?

Oder die entsprechenden Regisseure trauen eine Rolle wie 'Der große Gatsby' oder 'Der Wolf von der Wallstreet' einem Hollywood-Newcomer wie RA oder einem 'alten Hasen' wie OB nicht zu weil diese 10 Jahre lang beinahe nur Action gespielt haben.

Congratulations to Andy Serkis!

Andy is to receive this year’s Vanguard Award in recognition of his work in performance capture. The award will be presented at CinemaCon in March.

Andy is, of course, famous for his role as Gollum in The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. His next film, Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes, will be out in July.

Mitch Neuhauser, managing director of CinemaCon, said,“Simply put, Andy Serkis is a genius in our magical world of the movies. When it comes to ‘performance capture’ he has no equal and has pioneered an art form that has changed the world of acting. While he may in his own way be Hollywood’s best kept secret, legions of fans around the world have been captivated and mesmerised by Andy in having created such memorable characters as King Kong, Gollum and of course, Caesar in thePlanet Of The Apes franchise.”

CinemaCon is at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, 24-27 March, 2014. Andy will be presented with his award at the gala on 27 March.

:samekind:
Und ich unterstelle einfach mal so, das es auch Vetternwirtschaft bei der Oscarverleihung ist.
Oder extreme Politik die im Hintergrund stattfindet .
Ich geb nichts auf die Oscars, ich trau dem ganzen Gedönses da überhaupt nicht.
Egal, vielleicht erhebt Richard gar nicht den Anspruch soooo berühmt zu werden.
Wenn er sich in den Kreisen der " hollywoodgrößen " bewegen muss um etwas zu erreichen, dann wünsche ich mir ( nur mir Persönlich ) das er wieder nach England zurückkehrt.
Mir widerstrebt es irgendwie ihn in den Kreisen mancher Botox- überkandidelten Leute zu sehen.
Obwohl ich denke das er da schon schlau genug ist Abstand zu wahren, trotz alledem , ich kann mir ihn einfach nicht zwischen den Tussis, und dem Hollywoodspektakel vorstellen.
Sorry, ich bin da vielleicht etwas voreingenommen, aber wenn ich lese was da alles so in der Presse steht ....
Ja, schon klar es gibt auch Ausnahmen .

The Desolation of Smaug receives eight Saturn nominations

FEBRUARY 26, 2014 at 9:03 AM BY DEMOSTHENES -
220px-Saturn_AwardThe Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films has just released the nomination list for the 40th annual installment of the Saturn Awards, and The Hobbit: the Desolation of Smaug has tied with ‘Gravity’ for the most nominations. Both received eight.

The gongs that The Hobbit: the Desolation of Smaug is up for are:

Best fantasy film
Best supporting actor (Benedict Cumberbatch)
Best supporting actress (Evangeline Lilly)
Best director (Peter Jackson)
Best writing (Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, Peter Jackson and Guillermo Del Toro)
Best production design (Dan Hennah)
Best music (Howard Shore)
Best make-up (Rick Findlater, Richard Taylor, Peter King)
Best special/visual effects (Joe Letteri, Eric Saindon, David Clayton and Eric Reynolds)
The Academy was founded in 1972 by noted film historian Dr. Donald A. Reed to honour films often overlooked by mainstream awards.

Over the years, the Academy has expanded its reach to include recognising excellence in television and home entertainment, as well as other genres, including adventure, thriller and action. Robert Holguin, president of the Academy:

“This has been an incredible year for genre entertainment which I affectionately refer to as enhanced or exaggerated reality. The films and shows we honor continue to lead in box-office success showcasing a cadre of great talent helming today’s works of wonder. I’m thrilled to see the organization reach its fourth decade of dedication to the most imaginative creations on the silver screen and fantastic visions on the television screen.”

This year’s Saturn Awards will be presented in June in Burbank in California. Read the full list of nominees here.

Aber sowie bei Star Trek es sich schon gezeigt hat, wird es sich wohl auch bei den Hobbit Filmen zeigen. Nämlich sie werden einige Jahrzehnte in Erinnerung bleiben. Und vermutlich sogar in 20 Jahren (und mehr) noch immer wieder neue "fans" beigeisterte Leute an Land ziehen. Das ist doch viel mehr Wert als die Oscar Statue.