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The 84th Oscars: Aftermath and Postgame Coverage
As I watched the telecast of Sunday’s awards, going over the mixture of predictably safe choices, three words kept circling through my head, like scrolling text on the side of a blimp: BUSINESS AS USUAL. It’s been known for a while that the French silent film “The Artist” was scheduled to take home many of the top awards including Best Picture and Best Director. However, what was not expected was that the sweep would be split between it and Martin Scorsese’s family film (I feel like my hatred towards it spawns mostly from having to join those four words together), “Hugo,” which matched “The Artist’s” total of five wins. In simplest terms, I’d describe these wins as safe, mundane and boring, but honestly, what else is new? Read more…
“Natalie Portman Cries A Lot”
A friend of mine, Mike Eisenberg over at Screen Rant, created this tickling montage. Natalie Portman is a great actress, maybe one of the best of her generation, and in “Black Swan,” she displays perhaps the finest work of her career. However, some people may not realize (though after seeing this, it’s impossible to deny) that she cries in probably about ninety percent of her screen appearances. I mean, wow. Those who know here movies will see clips from “Leon: The Professional,” “Where the Heart Is,” Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium,” “Closer,” “Goya’s Ghosts,” “The Other Boleyn Girl,” “Brothers,” “Revenge of the Sith,” “V for Vendetta,” “Heat” and “Cold Mountain.” All Natalie Portman. All crying. All day.
Crying on screen is fantastic talent, but one has to wonder if that line on her resume is bolded, italicized and underlined. I only spent the montage waiting for the line in “Garden State”: “I look forward to a good cry. It feels pretty good.”
Let’s all shed a tear with Natalie Portman and hope that she continues to deliver great work, post-Oscar.
“Rabbit Hole” Trailer
I have been skeptical as of the Oscar chances of this little film since I first heard about it. For one thing, Nicole Kidman has been out of the nomination business for nearly a decade, with many hopeful projects falling by the wayside. Plus, John Cameron Mitchell, while a great filmmaker, has never been the sort to be recognized by the AMPAS, mostly for his racy subject matter.
However, with the release of this new trailer, the film looks like it could have some serious legs. All of the leads look outstanding, the subject matter has depth and the film looks, overall, rather wonderful. I wouldn’t be surprised to see a number of the players in the running over the next few months, especially the females (Dianne Wiest is quite a pro in the Best Supporting Actress category, being the only woman to have won that honor twice already).
The Edge of the Frame 