There is a lot of love from critics for Bradley Cooper’s A Star is Born, certainly enough to put it in contention for the major awards, as predicted already by many. Lady Gaga is singled out for her work and presence overall. Manohla Dargis makes it a critics’ pick, and ends her review this way:
Male self-aggrandizement is baked into the story’s foundation but not ruinously. Jack doesn’t just help turn Ally into a star, giving her the big break she needs. His trauma — she’s insecure, but he’s damaged — becomes a deep well that she draws from, allowing her to become a greater artist. In part, the story is as creaky as that of Pygmalion, the male sculptor who turns a beloved carving into a woman. Yet one of the pleasures of “A Star Is Born” in all its renditions is that it is also about a woman whose ambitions are equal to those of any man and who steadily rises as she weeps and sings toward fabulous self and sovereignty.
And though it’s behind a paywall, Joe Moregenstern at the Wall Street Journal also clearly went for it.
It clocks in with only 9 negatives on Rotten Tomatoes, and is on track to make a lot of money. Pundits have it predicted to win Best Picture. And in the old days of the Oscar race it definitely would be on track to do just that. But the race doesn’t work the way it used to and there are a lot of things that have to happen before that happens. It does, however, seem to be a film that, if there were only five contenders, it would be in the top five. It just depends where it goes from here, what the chatter is around it, what the general sentiment is. Was it hyped too much? Does it hit the sweet spot? Is it “important” enough? Can Lady Gaga win? Can Cooper win Best Director?
These are all unanswerable questions. As with all things Oscar, you just have to wait it out.
Sam Elliot has several Oscar moments. I thought Ben Foster had a better role.
I think Gaga was very good. Her best moments of course happen when she sings. Good enough for Best Actress? I’m not so sure, but she’s a lock for Shallow. That moment in the film is electric. Cooper on the other hand is heartbreakingly good and I think he’s definitely a front runner for Best Actor. There’s a humanity in his character that wasn’t in the previous versions. He was outstanding. Elliott as well should be nominated. He’s good throughout, but his final two scenes were like a gut punch, especially his last scene with Cooper. It’s not a perfect film, but it’s pretty close.
Sorry, her best moments are not only when she sings. She has some astonishing dramatic scenes here including the rehab one later in the film, the scene with Sam Elliot and the scene in the parking lot.
11 nominations:
Picture
Director
Actor
Actress
Supporting Actor
Adapted Screenplay
Cinematography
Film Editing
Sound Mixing
Original Song: “Shallow”
Original Song: “I’ll Never Love Again”
My gut says no screenplay, but omg here’s hoping!
Really? I think it’s easily second or third in the category. Adapted at this point seems to be pretty clearly Beale Street, BlacKkKlansman, A Star Is Born and First Man with Can You Ever Forgive Me? and Widows duking it out for the fifth slot.
Oh I can surely see it getting in, I just won’t be surprised either way. Musicals often don’t make it in, and considering it’s a 3rd remake, no matter how fresh of a take it is, some voters might still think it’s following the same formula.
Going tonight at 7:00!
Enjoy!!!!
https://www.forbes.com/sites/markhughes/2018/09/29/review-a-star-is-born-will-win-best-picture-at-the-2018-oscars/#3744f40d46a3
Here’s another critic calling this the winner of BP …it’s greatest asset is its authenticity !
It’s going to open early but I predict the Gaga fans will rave and keep it in the news and building momentum …this is the 2019 BP winner !
You don’t need an encyclopedian knowledge of movies to recognise a winner when it’s lying there in plain sight ..it blends and neatly dovetails with the zeitgeist
I’m pretty good at solving murder mysteries and ”Who Dunnits ” and this is the one who Dunnit
I like both Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga, so I am glad things are turning out well for A Star is Born. I have to admit, however, that because of the fervor with which Gaga fans protect their idol, we might be heading towards a rather intolerable Oscar season. Recently Lady Gaga fans have been spreading fake negative reviews of Venom just because they don’t want Venom to beat A Star is Born’s opening weekend numbers. I wonder: will we have to put up with the same behavior from Lady Gaga fans once the Oscar season becomes more competitive? Will we start to see Lady Gaga fans trashing Roma, First Man, Glenn Close, or any movie or actress they deem a threat to A Star is Born or Lady Gaga?
Unfortunately yes. They don’t call the fans “Little Monsters” for nothing. They are even worse than Nolan fan boys.
Clever! By the way, Lady Gaga fans are not anywhere near the dreaded “Beyhive” who work to destroy the careers of people who dare to criticize Beyoncé.
Taylor Swift fans too. I was taunting them when someone thought she could play or be equal to Joni Mitchell.
Just like any fanbase, there are assholes who do stuff like that who we can all agree are not really fans if that’s the way they behave. So yes, let’s call them out, but let’s not generalize and say that anyone who’s a Gaga fan is gonna act that way please.
Instead of trashing Venom I bought tickets for 5 showtimes this week, that’s how a “real” fanatic shows support lol
I didn’t mean to besmirch the reputation of her entire fanbase. I apologize if it came out that way. As I said before, I actually like her myself. I was merely pointing out what a lot of her fans are doing. They think they are doing Lady Gaga a favor, but in reality, they are just turning people against her. Your way of showing support is definitely preferable. 🙂
I’m seeing this….this weekend! Keep a thread open so I can give my opinion and such lol
I’d say the strongest attributes of the film are the music (duh) and Cooper’s acting. Gaga’s acting is pretty good, as is Cooper’s direction, but not unequivocal home runs or anything. The supporting cast is also great; I’d love to see a SAG nom.
At risk of saying “Lock” in early October, the locks (for nominations) seem to be Actor, Actress, Picture, Song, Sound Mixing. The momentum should also garner a Director nomination, and if it was directed by anyone else I’d call it a lock, but since Cooper is already in Actor, I would not be shocked if he’s excluded, considering how the Directors branch has gone for some out-of-the-box nominees lately.
If I were to bet money today, I’d call it for Best Picture, Actor, Actress, and Song.
Heading further into the season, thinking about winners, I think Cooper for Actor may be the surest bet (aside from Song).
Cooper may miss BA but get BD ..I’m not convinced that Cuaron will win BD
This is a plausible scenario.
Is there a reason why you’re not predicting “Shallow” in the Best Song race? It’s literally the song that will WIN the Oscar, let alone be nominated. Mary Poppins doesn’t have a chance. Unless the LadyGaga/Cooper track is not eligible. But I was under the impression the entire album was original.
Yeah it’s eligible. Gaga has had ASIB under Song on her contender tracker, not specifically Shallow since a different song could surge, but I think she’s predicting it.
I saw it last night and LOVED it, but have a feeling it’s going to pull an American Hustle – 10 noms, no wins. We’ll see. WAY too early to tell.
Should be a lock for Song, but yeah I could see a sweep of nominations with little show for it. But hoping for Gaga and Cooper, and Pic 🙂
I would love it to receive Actor and Picture, but, it’s pretty early! I don’t think she’s a lock for Song because Lin-Manuel Miranda has something on the way and he’s one “O” away from his EGOT…
No way. If anything will pull an American Hustle, it will be Vice. But I’m actually thinking that film might not get any Oscar nominations.
My two cents.
Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper will be double nominees.
They can both win. Song and Lead Actor, respectively.
Six nominations are likely : picture, actress, actor, song, sound, sound editing. Maybe Sam Elliott.
I would be surprised if it received nods in Director or Screenplay.
And if two songs get into Best Song, Gaga will be a triple nominee, garnering her 2nd, 3rd and 4th Oscar nominations all by the age of 32.
I hate to tell you, but I hated it. Lady Gaga is NOT Judy Garland, and this story is soooo old, it’s boring. Cooper shouldn’t’ve directed it himself. It’s WAY too long and her songs are monotonously similar. Anthony Ramos from “Hamilton” steals with film right out from under her as her gay best friend, a Hispanic whom they don’t name. The drag queens were all excellent however. In the beginning, in the drag club and her “La Vie En Rose” was the high point. They kept it going into the park lot scene.
Cooper is NOT going to get nominated for Best Director, but he could SQUEAK into a Best Actor nomination, though it’s chancey. I don’t feel the Academy is going to let them forget Judy. And as Pete just said on Gold Derby yesterday “A Star is Born ALWAYS underperforms. It gets nominations but nobody ever wins.”
I wanted to love it. I WAS a fan, but now I’m worried for her. Him, too, but less so. Maybe they’ll nominate him for Clint’s movie, which he’s also in. I would’ve like to see Clint direct THIS, but he probably didn’t want to. Too much kissing. Yes, they ENDLESSLY make out. I was so bored.
Congrats.
…a couple of things:
No attempts were made to make Gaga the new Judy Garland.
Anthony Ramos’ character is “Ramon”, you must have missed the few times it was said.
The Academy didn’t even give Judy the Oscar for ASIB, because she was a terrible actor to work with and they didn’t care to validate her behavior or inflate her ego. As such, the Academy voters today (many of whom weren’t even alive when Judy’s version came out) don’t hold some secret grudge against anyone who dares to remake a Judy Garland movie. Not sure why you’re so stuck on that.
Have a good evening.
With Supporting Actor looking kinda light (Timothee Chalamant and Mahershala Ali being the only front runners so far) and think it’s a good bet Sam Elliott will get in.