Instead of asking if Despicable Me can possibly come close to Toy Story 3 or How to Train Your Dragon, maybe a fairer question would be to ask how Despicable Me compares with a dozen other tentpole tarballs gumming up the summer multiplexes. And if our answer is that most animated movies have more to recommend them that their live-action counterparts, what’s the reason for that? Could it be that packaging an animated film has to begin with a worthy script, instead of some high-concept lowbrow formula with just enough lumbering clout to get greenlit?
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Oscar Predictions: You Don’t Need a Weatherman to Know Which Way the Wind Blows
22 Jan 2012
Back in 1999, when Oscarwatch.com first began, the highest of priorities was to correctly predict the Oscar race. There was only one other site, for the most part, that predicted the Oscars – Tom O’Neil’s GoldDerby.com. Tom’s site collected mostly film critics who lined up to give their Oscar …
(275 Comments)
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The Descendants Poised to Upset in Best Picture?
20 Jan 2012
There are few movies that feel like they could give The Artist some heat: Hugo and The Descendants. Perhaps, as many a Tweeter will tell you, “it’s been The Artist since Cannes.” And okay, fine. Maybe. What makes The Artist such a threat? It is loved by many, hated by …
(265 Comments)
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The State of the Race: Of Bridesmaids and Dragon Tattoos – Year of the Woman or Just Another Year?
16 Jan 2012
It was hard not to notice Robin Wright at the Critics Choice awards, striding out onto the stage with her still impossibly youthful legs, and announcing that 2011 was the Year of the Woman. She referenced Bridesmaids and Dragon Tattoos, probably because she couldn’t say housemaids. Either way, …
(86 Comments)
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The State of the Race: DGA Fallout – And Yeah, David Fincher
10 Jan 2012
It’s been a funny year for Oscar movies. The trial separation between critics and the industry has widened to a full blown divorce. The Artist and Moneyball are heading down the track to Oscar’s Best Picture with the most outstanding response from critics. Decent reviews have befallen most of the …
(145 Comments)
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DGA Nominations – Fincher in!
9 Jan 2012
WOODY ALLEN Midnight in Paris (Sony Pictures Classics) DAVID FINCHER The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (Columbia Pictures, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures) MICHEL HAZANAVICIUS The Artist (The Weinstein Company) ALEXANDER PAYNE The Descendants (Fox Searchlight Pictures) MARTIN SCORSESE Hugo (Paramount Pictures) WOW! EARLIER: The year feels so wide open, with three locks …
(459 Comments)
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The State of the Race: The Changing of the Guard
2 Jan 2012
As I re-watched Avatar last night, or tried to, I was thinking about the future of cinema. I was thinking about how hard it is to sell dramas now to the general public. I was thinking about the Academy, and how difficult it must be for them to evolve out …
(123 Comments)
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Fincher’s Dragon Tattoo: What it Feels Like for a Girl
31 Dec 2011
Men Who Hate Women. That’s what Stieg Larsson called his book, which then became The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. To know this story is to know Larsson. If you forget about him, the key to this story is lost. The story is about men who hate women and the …
(75 Comments)
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Trouble in Mind – Diving Down Deep with Best Actress
30 Dec 2011
Three of the year’s strongest female performances threaten convention, the one that says females are usually cast as supporting, loving, noble characters who give of themselves in the service of the male lead. It’s not always the case, especially not so in the Best Actress race; what better way …
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Best Director 2011: When I Paint My Masterpiece
28 Dec 2011
“I’d imagine the whole world was one big machine. Machines never come with any extra parts, you know. They always come with the exact amount they need. So I figured, if the entire world was one big machine, I couldn’t be an extra part. I had to be here for …
(165 Comments)
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Oscar Flashback: The 100m $ Baby and The Dismal Tide
26 Dec 2011
“You gotta trust me on this one thing. You need a lot of drinks.” “To break the ice?” “To kill the bug that’s crawled up your ass.” — Terms of Endearment, one of the best Best Pictures. The day after Christmas we look at the box office to try …
(47 Comments)
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Oscar Predictions: You Don’t Need a Weatherman to Know Which Way the Wind Blows
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