2015 Academy Award Nominations

[Mad Old Lu]

I actually took his tirade as mocking the people who are *against* superhero movies, but the fact that it came up at all, and during the opening of the entire ceremony shows that Hollywood likes to pretend that they're above those types of films even though they are the ones making them.



Good. I've never liked American Beauty. And I agree that Pulp Fiction has aged MUCH better than Forrest Gump, though Gump is still very good.

I was glad to see Alejandro González Iñárritu recognize that even though he was accepting the award for Best Picture, only time will ultimately determine how well Birdman ranks against other films. I think it will hold up very well but so often we see some big flash in the pan film just fade away compared to other, better films that came out that same year.

Very good point. Let's laugh at those silly unoriginal kid movies while we celebrate more serious art films!

 

[Khev]

Very good point. Let's laugh at those silly unoriginal kid movies while we celebrate more serious art films!

While half the people on stage have starred in one or more comic book films.

It was a bit a trip hearing the words "Star Wars" coming out of Julie Andrews' mouth. Glad that they aren't suddenly pretending that the work of John Williams doesn't exist.

The fact that studios complain about genre blockbusters just comes across as nothing but sour grapes to me. Far more independent films/dramas get released each year than Marvel/DC movies. Oh boo hoo, TWS, DOFP, and GOTG made a lot of money this year. That's three films out of over a hundred. Get over it.

 

[The Clown Prince of Crime]

Is it true Batman shows up at some point during the show? I didn't see that part I was probably watching TWD.

 

[Khev]

He appeared during the "Everything is Awesome" musical number.

 

[The Clown Prince of Crime]

Cool. That makes sense.

 

[The Ween]

I guess I'm in the minority, at least here. Forrest Gump > Pulp Fiction any day.

 

[The Clown Prince of Crime]

Forrest Gump has more replay value, imo. Pulp Fiction is good, but it's only good every 5 years The dialogue gets old pretty quick, and the film's format, although cool, it's unnecessary. A cool gimmick, but after you watch it once, it doesn't do much for the story....same goes for a lot of the dialogue. I think FG is a superior film, story, and it has better characters, maybe not cooler, but definitely better written.

 

[karamazov80]

Pulp Fiction is good, but it's only good every 5 years

I agree, but I think that's the case for about 90% of movies that aren't made by the Coen Bros.

 

[The Ween]

Superhero films were verbally chided twice on stage at the Oscars (once by Jack Black, again by Liam Neeson or rather Liam Neeson's teleprompter) and again at the Independent Film Awards.

James Gunn responds:

Guardians Of The Galaxy Director Eloquently Defends Superhero Movies | Comicbook.com

What did Liam Neeson say?

 

[Khev]

What did Liam Neeson say?

When introducing clips for some of the Best Picture nominees he said: ""Hollywood is often criticized for making too many movies based on toys, comic books and best-sellers. Perhaps that's true. But not of tonight's best film nominees."

 

[EVILFACE]

Did he hesitate any? Lots of his flicks are based on comics, toys and best sellers.

 

[Khev]

Did he hesitate any? Lots of his flicks are based on comics, toys and best sellers.

I can't remember. I think he read the prompter pretty monotone. I just don't get why comic movies, etc., had to be brought up in a derogatory fashion at all. Aren't the Oscars supposed to be celebrating ALL movies? It just seemed tacky and indicative of someone feeling threatened by the monetary/cultural success of genre films and blockbusters. You don't see people who make superhero movies whining about "boring" or "pretentious" independent films or whatever. Just promote your own movies and shut up about the rest.

Dramas, biopics, and documentaries aren't going to suddenly disappear. Blockbusters have been around for decades.

 

[EVILFACE]

I guess the Oscars believe that only serious business movies are worthy. If Forrest Gump was marketed as a comedy, it would not have won best picture. The Hurt Locker was a pretty good film, but one I don't ever have the desire to see any part of again. The Dark Knight or Winter Soldier? Sure, I'll fire them up.

Movies are for entertainment. Serious drama, comedy, action. And to discredit those based on things designed for kids is silly. Fauk the Oscars.

 

[The Ween]

Oh okay. That was a script.

If it wasn't for those kinds of movies, most actors would be poor.

 

[Khev]

I wonder if films like ROTK, The Dark Knight, and Avatar finally made members of the Academy say, "whoa, wait a minute. Some movies are supposed to be mindless escapes and others are supposed to be artistic and worthy of awards. If LOTR and Avatar get to crash our party then where does that leave us since we'll never get to cross over into THEIR success (box office/cultural impact, etc.) Screw it, best to just shut 'em out. Don't even give them token Visual Effects awards anymore."

At the end of the day "who cares" because it's all meaningless but it's still silly nonetheless.

 

[The Clown Prince of Crime]

I wonder if films like ROTK, The Dark Knight, and Avatar finally made members of the Academy say, "whoa, wait a minute. Some movies are supposed to be mindless escapes and others are supposed to be artistic and worthy of awards. If LOTR and Avatar get to crash our party then where does that leave us since we'll never get to cross over into THEIR success (box office/cultural impact, etc.) Screw it, best to just shut 'em out. Don't even give them token Visual Effects awards anymore."

At the end of the day "who cares" because it's all meaningless but it's still silly nonetheless.

To be fair, a lot of people hate on TDK and Avatar now, it's the cool thing to do. 10 years from now those two films will be the new Forrest Gump I do think TDK should have been nominated for best picture. And it's not a matter of opinion, TDK had a 94% critic approval, yet "The Reader" had a 61% critic approval and it got mixed reviews and it was nominated for best picture.

 

[Khev]

TDK had a 94% critic approval, yet "The Reader" had a 61% critic approval and it got mixed reviews and it was nominated for best picture.

Crazy....

And there was a pretty quick backlash against Avatar. But TDK? I don't know that I've really seen that.

 

[The Clown Prince of Crime]

Crazy....

And there was a pretty quick backlash against Avatar. But TDK? I don't know that I've really seen that.

Maybe it's only among Batman fans then. But I've seen it, especially from those who love the Burton films or the animated series. Any chance they get, they take shots at TDK. Just like I've seen a lot of hate on Ledger too recently, again...from the Burton or BTAS fans

 

[The Clown Prince of Crime]

Actually, now that I think about it. It's not just comic book films. What was the best reviewed film of 2007? Ratatouille. In 2008, WallE had 96% critic approval. In 2009, UP had a 98% and was the best reviewed film of the year. 2010, the top film was Toy Story 3, with 99%. 2014, the Lego film got 96%.

 

[Sidewinder]

Backlash happens to so many movies that were popular. I don't care if it's cool to hate Titanic or Avatar these days. I love both films and have them both in my collections. Kate and Leo are still A list actors today, almost 20 years later.

As for this years awards, Birdman was not my favourite. I didn't mind it, but it is probably a film I wouldn't rush to watch again.