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R. Dittmar
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
USA
420 Posts |
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Sardu
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
1126 Posts |
 Posted - 01/30/2008 : 5:41:17 PM
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That's often the case, I think, although LOTR couldn't be denied as a popular and critical hit. However, to be fair,what the masses flock to and what *should* constitute Oscar material are rarely the same thing. I'm glad Transformers isn't getting serious consideration. On the other hand, I don't think the academy voters would generally know a really good film if it jumped up and bit them. I have a feeling that my pick of the bunch this year would be No Country as I'm a big Coen Bros. fan, but I haven't seen it yet. That's the other thing that reporter doesn't take into account; these aren't the kinds of movies a lot of us run to the theater to see. I spent some money building a decent home theater because commercial theaters generally suck. I'll be waiting on the BluRay...
"Meeting you makes me want to be a real noodle cook"
--Tampopo |
Edited by - Sardu on 01/30/2008 5:41:40 PM |
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twitterpate
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
Canada
1026 Posts |
Posted - 02/04/2008 : 9:28:28 PM
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Actually, I think there's been a major shift over the past one or two decades, with Hollywood deciding, in its self-delusion, that it's "indie". All the bang-bang-kiss-kiss blockbusters are being made only to finance the REAL artistes, you know.
If you look back at previous decades, you'll be surprised at just how "mainstream" most of the nominees for Best Pic were. The Godfather, I and II - The Sting - Jaws - Patton - American Graffiti - cripes, Star Wars was nominated. These were all pictures that made a ton of cash, were seen (and loved) by millions of people, and yet have (IMHO) stood the test of time as valid artistic efforts. In fact, at one time Hollywood accepted that if people actively sought out to buy tickets to your movie, it was reasonable evidence that you must have done something right.
Nowadays, I don't see that type of movie (the artistic crowdpleaser)being made. They're either "Let's face it, we're in this to rake in the punters with our sex, violence and sfx, hero is square-jawed and handssome, heroine has big bazoombas, neither of them acts worth a darn" blockbusters, or gloomy and obscure movies whose makers clearly don't want to have their artistic visions sullied by having the general public actually desire to watch them.
Which is probably why, except for Ratatouille, I've not bothered to go to the theatres all year. |
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zombiewhacker
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
USA
1475 Posts |
Posted - 02/05/2008 : 10:14:23 AM
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| I might be alone on this, but I certainly thought Batman Begins qualified as an artistic crowdpleaser. Strangely, though, it was shut out of the Oscar noms. Perhaps, ironically, because it wasn't big enough a hit to warrant the Academy's attention. Batman Begins made a ton of cash, sure, but it was never really that much of a phenomenon that it would warrant that kind of "serious" critical attention. |
Edited by - zombiewhacker on 02/05/2008 10:14:58 AM |
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Ericb
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
USA
648 Posts |
Posted - 02/05/2008 : 11:17:35 AM
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quote:
"Let's face it, we're in this to rake in the punters with our sex, violence and sfx, hero is square-jawed and handssome, heroine has big bazoombas, neither of them acts worth a darn"
The trend with Hollywood making this kind of movie rather than the Godfather-Jaws-Patton type movie may have something to do with the internationalization of the market that Neville mentioned on another thread. Big, action packed moves with more explosions than dialogue are easier to market overseas than movies with lots of characters and plots. Everything works within a form of cliched shorthand that pretty much anyone in the world will understand even without dialogue.
"I reserve the right to look as well as be boring." - Robert Fripp |
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twitterpate
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
Canada
1026 Posts |
Posted - 02/05/2008 : 4:27:46 PM
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| Excellent point, Ericb. In a way, some of the action blockbusters are almost "silents" in the way they rely on visuals over dialog. |
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throughthelookingglass
Minister of the Sacraments of Jabootu
USA
47 Posts |
Posted - 02/05/2008 : 6:03:09 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by zombiewhacker
I might be alone on this, but I certainly thought Batman Begins qualified as an artistic crowdpleaser. Strangely, though, it was shut out of the Oscar noms. Perhaps, ironically, because it wasn't big enough a hit to warrant the Academy's attention. Batman Begins made a ton of cash, sure, but it was never really that much of a phenomenon that it would warrant that kind of "serious" critical attention.
I think that's what it was trying to be. Whether it succeeded is a matter of debate (don't get me started), although I'm not a great barometer for Oscars. |
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BradH812
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
USA
1294 Posts |
Posted - 02/05/2008 : 6:12:12 PM
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I'm with Zombie on Batman Begins being an artistic crowdpleaser. In my opinion, it was better than several of the more-nominated films of '05.
Of course, we still do get artistic crowd-pleasers. Lord of the Rings, anyone? Pixar's films can go into this category, the Harry Potter movies have a pretty good claim here, and I wouldn't shut out the Spider-Man movies, which did a bang-up job (even 3, which had the most problems, was still a lot better than most of the stuff coming out of H'wood these days).
Unfortunately, these are usually the exceptions. |
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Huntress
Preeminent Apostolic Prelate of the Discipleship of Jabootu
USA
118 Posts |
Posted - 02/05/2008 : 6:22:00 PM
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I would argue that "We Own the Night" also qualified as an artistic crowdpleaser, even if it didn't do boffo box office. But you're right, this type of movie is few and far between.
"If it's not hard to get, against the law or fattening, we don't want it." - Looking for Love |
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Flangepart
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
USA
2329 Posts |
Posted - 02/06/2008 : 3:48:24 PM
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I care not for the Oscars. I like what I like, nuff said.
And yeah, the high Hollywood honchos are determined, for the most part, to have an 'In house' attitude that puts them above those who are in "They're' circles.
Marvin the Paranoid Android to Buzz Lightyear "Too infinity and beyond-i've been there, its rubbish!"
"Hoody Hoo, i waste 'em with my cross bow!" Bob Herzog- KODT
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Prankster
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
Canada
727 Posts |
Posted - 02/09/2008 : 7:19:52 PM
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I've now seen all five Best Picture nominees, and it's an unusually strong field this year. If there's a dud in the bunch, it's Michael Clayton, and that's not really bad, just kinda dull. No Country is typical Coen greatness (even though the ending ticks a lot of people off), There Will Be Blood is fairly brilliant, and Juno is extremely entertaining. Atonement probably isn't everyone's thing, and it has some flaws, but it's still well done.
I disagree that artistic crowdpleasers--or let's just say "quality crowdpleasers"--aren't made any more. The last year hasn't been great for them, no (though we did get Hot Fuzz, Ratatouille, Knocked Up and the aforementioned Juno) but 2006 was a fantastic year for great movies that reached, or should have reached, a wide audience: Casino Royale, The Departed, Pan's Labyrinth, Children of Men, The Prestige, and United 93. I personally wasn't a huge fan of The Illusionist, Stranger Than Fiction, or Little Miss Sunshine, but some might add them to the list as well. And 2008 looks to have a pretty darn strong crop of contenders just among the summer blockbusters, particularly Wall-E, Iron Man and The Pineapple Express (the latter, by the way, is a stoner-action comedy produced by Judd Apatow and directed by arthouse director David Gordon Green...how's THAT for a merging of artistic and mainstream?)
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Check out my online comics at [URL]http://www.phantasmictales.com[/URL]! |
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