| Author |
 Topic  |
|
|
Wheelz 
"FWFR%u2019ing like it%u2019s 1999"
|
 Posted - 02/14/2008 : 03:42:44
|
If you�ve seen all five of this year�s Best Picture nominees, raise your hand.
Okay, maybe here in the fourum there�s a higher percentage of arms in the air than would be in the general populace� But speaking just for myself, I don�t believe I�ve ever seen all of a single year�s nominees before the awards ceremony. As of now, I�ve seen Juno and that�s it. (Loved it, by the way � sorry, Joe Blevins.)
The main reason is that I just don�t get out to movies as much as I used to. Most of the films I watch are on DVD or cable. It�s just so much easier. The last two movies I�ve seen are Smokin� Aces and Little Miss Sunshine. I�m not exactly current.
But I do get out occasionally. So last weekend Mrs. Wheelz and I decided we wanted to see No Country For Old Men. I looked on line for showtimes and came across THIS.
On February 23, AMC theaters across the U.S. will be screening all five Best Picture nominees back-to-back. I was intrigued by the idea and (to my surprise) so was my wife.
So I want ahead and got some tickets and next Saturday, me, the missus, and a friend of ours will be sitting through more than 12 hours of Oscar celluloid, including breaks. I thought I�d bring it up now in case any other fwiffers want to check it out. I�ll come back and tell you how it went afterward.
I�m really excited about this. As my friend put it, �It's crazy goofy, of course, which is why it's so awesome.�
|
|
|
BaftaBaby 
"Always entranced by cinema."
|
Posted - 02/14/2008 : 05:38:19
|
quote:
Originally posted by Wheelz
If you�ve seen all five of this year�s Best Picture nominees, raise your hand.
So I want ahead and got some tickets and next Saturday, me, the missus, and a friend of ours will be sitting through more than 12 hours of Oscar celluloid, including breaks. I thought I�d bring it up now in case any other fwiffers want to check it out. I�ll come back and tell you how it went afterward.
I�m really excited about this. As my friend put it, �It's crazy goofy, of course, which is why it's so awesome.�
Yeah, my hand is up. But I'm really interested what you and Mrs Wheelz think of your marathon. Now you'll have a tiny taste of what it's like if you're a critic covering a film festival and have to see between 4-5 films a day for 3 weeks running!
I have one word for you ... coffee! 
|
Edited by - BaftaBaby on 02/14/2008 05:38:41 |
 |
|
|
turrell 
"Ohhhh Ohhhh Ohhhh Ohhhh "
|
Posted - 02/14/2008 : 16:54:43
|
| Yes but he has the advantage of garbage mixed in with the rare pearls. |
|
|
|
RockGolf
"1500+ reviews. 1 joke."
|
Posted - 02/14/2008 : 17:46:08
|
| I think it's agreat idea, but I called the AMC Theatres in around here and it's not being offered in Canada. Unperturbed, I found the number for the National Sales Office for Cineplex and put a bug in their ear for the idea. We'll see if it has any effect. |
|
|
|
silly
"That rabbit's DYNAMITE."
|
Posted - 02/14/2008 : 20:23:41
|
If the missus and I ever found 12 hours without kids, watching movies (even great ones) would not be at the top of our list of things to do...  |
|
|
|
Wheelz
"FWFR%u2019ing like it%u2019s 1999"
|
Posted - 02/14/2008 : 23:54:31
|
quote:
Originally posted by silly
If the missus and I ever found 12 hours without kids, watching movies (even great ones) would not be at the top of our list of things to do...
You won't be surprised to learn, then, that there are no little Wheelz rolling around the house...  |
|
|
|
Sal[Au]pian 
"Four ever European"
|
Posted - 02/15/2008 : 09:17:20
|
| Yep, I've seen them. Hopefully, Juno will win (although probably No Country for Old Men will). I'd hate There Will Be Blood to. |
|
|
|
Joe Blevins
"Don't I look handsome?"
|
Posted - 02/16/2008 : 02:32:02
|
quote:
Originally posted by Salopian
Yep, I've seen them. Hopefully, Juno will win (although probably No Country for Old Men will). I'd hate There Will Be Blood to.
Salopian, you and I are like Samuel L. Jackson and Bruce Willis in Unbreakable. I can't say which of us is Willis and which is Jackson, but the simile works either way.
|
|
|
|
Joe Blevins
"Don't I look handsome?"
|
Posted - 02/16/2008 : 03:10:06
|
quote:
Originally posted by Wheelz
If you�ve seen all five of this year�s Best Picture nominees, raise your hand.
Okay, maybe here in the fourum there�s a higher percentage of arms in the air than would be in the general populace� But speaking just for myself, I don�t believe I�ve ever seen all of a single year�s nominees before the awards ceremony. As of now, I�ve seen Juno and that�s it. (Loved it, by the way � sorry, Joe Blevins.)
That's okay. I certainly wanted to love it. Heck, I don't venture out on a snowy day and plunk down $10 to see something I think I'll hate. (If I wanted to see movies I think I'll hate, there's always Comedy Central.) There was this article recently on Slate.com which suggested that the Juno backlash was somehow due to the way the picture was marketed and the fact that it's essentially a heavily-promoted studio picture masquerading as a scrappy little indie flick. The theory goes that the anti-Juno people resent the huge marketing push that Fox has given this film.
I don't buy into that theory at all. The marketing campaign certainly got me into the theater and made me want to see the movie, and once the picture started rolling, I couldn't care less whether it was a "real" indie or not. Who gives two damns where the budget came from or how many bus ads they could afford? In fact, I find it frustrating when a review spends too much time talking about a movie's budget or its marketing campaign. (You get a lot of that during the summer blockbuster season. Critics spend the first five paragraphs of their reviews talking about the budget and the ad campaign and whether or not the movie "lives up" to the hype.) None of that has any bearing on whether a movie is good or not. A critic should be a critic and not an accountant, after all. It was the movie's script I had problems with and not its ledger sheet.
But I digress...
All five of the BP nominees are playing near me. Still haven't caught Michael Clayton or Atonement. They both might well be masterpieces but they have all the appeal of homework assignments for me. Especially Atonement, since it stars Keira Knightley, an actress who has had difficulty keeping my attention in the past. I don't know what it is about Keira Knightley, but she'll start speaking in a movie, and pretty soon my mind starts to wander and I'm thinking about what I need to pick up at the grocery store. Before you know it, I've missed a plot point. I suppose she's pretty enough and enunciates well, but for some reason I just don't find her compelling as an actress. I look through her IMDb resume, and I see hours of my life lost to boredom and distraction. Atonement looks like a slog, and I'm just not in the mood for a slog.
But be clear: if I decide to see Atonement or Michael Clayton, you'd better believe that I go in to the theater hoping to love them. |
|
|
|
Wheelz
"FWFR%u2019ing like it%u2019s 1999"
|
Posted - 02/16/2008 : 16:02:32
|
quote:
Originally posted by Joe Blevins
Still haven't caught Michael Clayton or Atonement. They both might well be masterpieces but they have all the appeal of homework assignments for me.
In fact, Michael Clayton and Atonement are the two that I would be least likely to choose to see on my own. ...Which is one of the reasons I was drawn to this idea -- I like the thought of having to see a film or two that might otherwise be outside my areas of interest. Maybe I'll hate them both, but I'm going in with an open mind. Who knows, one of those two may turn out to be my favorite of the five! |
|
|
|
randall
"I like to watch."
|
Posted - 02/17/2008 : 21:41:47
|
I've seen them all, and in a theater, except for MICHAEL CLAYTON, and I hope I have gamed my Netflix queue so that I can catch that before Sunday. If I can, it will be the first year in a long time that I've gone five for five.
EDIT: Wheelz, don't worry about sitting there too long. Festival schedules make you do the same thing. If you're well rested and have something to eat, you'll remember them all.
One of our most treasured days of live theater was a year ago, when we watched all three portions of Tom Stoppard's THE COAST OF UTOPIA on a single day, in the first "marathon" performance of the NYC run. Nine hours of theater, interrupted by food breaks, and when the cast finally took their calls at the end of Play III, more than 12 hours after we had first sat down, they were as fired up as the audience. I remember Ethan Hawke thrusting his fist up in the air as if to say, "We did it! We did three plays for the same people sitting in the same seats, and we did it together!"
Don't worry about a "festival day" or two. You'll love it. |
Edited by - randall on 02/17/2008 22:13:15 |
|
|
|
Wheelz
"FWFR%u2019ing like it%u2019s 1999"
|
Posted - 02/24/2008 : 20:04:21
|
Made it thought the day, and had a great time. 
I'm a bit pressed for time today, so I'll post a full acount on Monday.
My pick for Best Picture: No Country For Old Men. |
|
|
|
Wheelz
"FWFR%u2019ing like it%u2019s 1999"
|
Posted - 02/26/2008 : 23:00:00
|
OKAY, in case anybody�s still interested (I�d hoped to have my account posted before the actual Oscars, when it may actually have been relevant, but oh well  )�
Mrs. Wheelz and I started the day with a good hearty breakfast at the IHOP on the way to theater. I like popcorn and Raisinets as much as the next guy, but we figured some protein would be a good idea to help our focus early on.
We arrived at the theatre at 9:45 am, an hour and a quarter before the first film, picked up our passes and headed in to the nearly empty auditorium. We staked out some good seats with our coats and I went back out to the lobby to meet Mike, and old friend of mine from High School who�s a huge movie buff and aspiring screenwriter. I couldn�t not invite him to this. Mike arrived at the prescribed hour of 10:00, and immediately mocked me for wanting to get there so early upon seeing only about a dozen other people in the room. About 15 minutes later he ate his words as patrons had been streaming in steadily and the seats started going fast. The place was near capacity when the lights went down, but people kept showing up a good 10 minutes into the film, which got a bit annoying. Nothing like somebody who can�t bother to show up on time asking you to move over while you�re trying to pay attention to a movie so he and his girlfriend can have two seats together in the exact center of the auditorium (we didn�t move). But the seating situation sorted itself out at the first break, there were no incidents, and I was very glad not to be in the front row staring straight up for 12 hours.
11:00 � MICHAEL CLAYTON
Based on some of the things I�ve heard about this film, I wasn�t expecting a lot. But I liked it much more than I thought I would a lawyer-takes-on-evil-cancer-causing-corporation tale. The performances were superb � Tilda Swinton deserved her win and I think Tom Wilkinson would have walked away with the statue had it not been for Javier Bardem - and there was enough moral ambiguity to stave off the shrill earnestness of, say, an Erin Brockovich. My biggest criticism, though, was (INVISIBLE SPOILER!) the big �GOTCHA� moment at the end. Even though Swinton�s Karen Crowder character was clearly in way over her head from the start, I couldn�t buy that she�d be thick enough to fall for the old �I need to hear you say it out loud!� bit. �And I need you to say it into my jacket, right about here! There ya go.� But even though I saw that coming right down Main Street, Mrs. Wheelz and Mike both claimed they didn�t, and the audience cheered wildly.
And while we all enjoyed this one, we also all agreed that it was the one film of the five that had zero chance of winning Best Picture.
Filled up my complimentary popcorn bag at the break and got myself a large lemonade (still caffeinated enough from the coffee at breakfast). My butt�s not sore and I�m ready for more. 
1:20 � THERE WILL BE BLOOD
At 2 hours and 38 minutes, it�s the longest of the five, but I sat transfixed the whole time. An absolutely brilliant picture. We split along gender lines on this one, though. While Mike agreed with me that it was utterly compelling, Mrs. Wheelz said it was �boring� and �way too long,� and that it completely lost her attention more than once. We did all agree that Daniel Day-Lewis was incredible, and I think it can be argued that Day-Lewis�s performance was the film. So Mrs. Wheelz decided that said performance was �too testosterone-y� to keep her hooked. (I�d be interested in other females� take on that.) Despite our disagreement, There Will Be Blood became my early favorite.
I decided to hold off on getting more popcorn, but felt it was time for a little boost, so I switched from Lemonade to Mr. Pibb. Good move.
4:20 � ATONEMENT
Another gender split on this one. Mrs. Wheelz liked it a lot more than Mike and I did. Not to say I hated it, by any means. I thought the story was cleverly told, the performances ranged from good to great, and the whole thing was superbly crafted, technically speaking. It just didn�t grab me emotionally. It also struck me as the result of somebody deliberately setting out to make an Oscar-winning film. British upper-crust: check. Star-crossed lovers: check. Epic war scene: check. You get the idea.
I liked Michael Clayton better, but I concede that this one had a better chance of winning the Oscar.
A 40-minute break, the longest of the day, and a good time for it. We walked from one end of the 30-screen multiplex to the other, twice, just to work the stiffness out. People were doing stretching exercises in the lobby. Hunger was setting in as well, so I refilled my popcorn and Pibb. The audience was starting to get punchy now, too. The same 3-minute loop of movie trivia had been running on the screen all day between films, and people (including me, I confess) took to shouting out the answers before the questions appeared. �Austin Powers!� �Sandra Bullock!� You know what we need right about now? A comedy.
7:00 � JUNO
Juno came at the perfect spot in the program. After the previous 3 offerings, the crowd was ready for some laughter, and laugh they did. A number of lines were even drowned out by audience response.
As I mentioned before, Mrs. Wheelz and I had seen Juno already. I wondered how it would hold up to a second viewing and made a point to look for all the offensive things that people claim to see in this film. I didn�t find them. I found it just as charming and moving as the first time around. I�d also wondered how my 45-year-old male friend would like this story about a pregnant teenage girl. He absolutely loved it.
4 of 5 down and we�re in the home stretch! If anybody�s stamina had been flagging earlier, we were now re-energized and ready for the day�s final screening. I had expected some attrition, but the crowd hardly thinned from start to finish. In for a penny, in for a pound, I suppose.
9:00 � NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN
By now, all the sitting was starting to get to me. My legs took turns falling asleep as I crossed and un-crossed them, trying to stay comfortable. This, however, could not begin to lessen the degree to which I was captivated by No Country For Old Men. Mike had seen it twice before, and was actually excited about the prospect of his third viewing. He warned Mrs. Wheelz, though, that he had yet to meet a female who didn�t hate it, and pointed out that the ending was widely despised in the blogosphere.
I�ve always been a fan of the Coens, however, and I was perfectly willing to go wherever they took me. What a ride. The script, in my humble opinion, was a masterpiece � and I don�t throw that word around lightly. Every performance was simply spot-on; what can I say but: Javier Bardem. And I had no beef with the ending; in fact I�m hard-pressed to think of any other way it could have ended. This is it, I thought. This is the Best Picture, without a doubt. Mike asked Mrs. Wheelz what she thought, and her reply was, �That was freakin� great!� The audience must have agreed, as they burst into raucous applause the moment the credits appeared -- Of course, I think we were applauding ourselves just as much, for having made it through this long long day.
11:02 � IT�S OVER.
I thought I�d be totally wiped out, but I wasn�t. The three of us headed to the brew-pub across the parking lot for a few pints, some appetizers, and some spirited discussion for another hour and a half.
Would I do this again? ABSOLUTELY! I hope they offer this next year, and I hope the nominees are as good. 
|
Edited by - Wheelz on 02/26/2008 23:01:37 |
|
|
| |
Topic |
|
|
|
Oscar Movie Marathon
