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Those stupid Oscars — 14 Comments

  1. vanderleun: Jolie appeared to be a strange stick figure attempting to impersonate Jessica Rabbit and failing utterly.

  2. One year in the Nineties, I bought an all inclusive pass and spent a week watching movies at an independent film festival. The quality of the films impressed me. The independent film makers were making films as good as or better than Hollywood films, at a fraction of the cost.

    When it comes to Hollywood, it is very true that 2012≠1939.

  3. Whoa…1939 WAS a great year for films.

    I’m scratching my head about a memory of mine, concerning “Gone with the Wind”. I remember being taken to see that movie in Atlanta of all places. We stood in line for hours and sat in about the 3rd balcony in a downtown theater. But that was during WWII (when the USA was in it) and I’m pretty sure I was 5-6 years old. Maybe it was coming back through Atlanta a second time. Surely it wasn’t the first time it was shown in Atlanta. I would think that it might have been premiered there.

  4. How they can leave “Shakespeare In Love” off the list is a mystery to me. A cute little story but Oscar worthy? Puuulease!

  5. @Gringo, I feel the same way about independent publishing. I’ve lost count of all the $2.99 or less books I’ve thoroughly enjoyed on Amazon. especially in Sci-fi. It’s to the point that I scoff at anything much over $7.99 unless it’s just a must read or in a series I’m hooked on.

  6. Oh and what about Kim Bassinger for best supporting in LA Confidential? It was admittedly a weak year but I think Minni Driver for “Good Will Hunting” must have been a little stunned.

  7. Look at the credits on any movie in 1939 and you will see incredible talent. Many were Jews who fled Hitler. Writers, Directors and Composers who the studios knew how to use. Plus there was something about knowing you were on the cliff must have helped focus everyone. The late 30’s were also a time of increased independence of Americans after the initial mucking about of the New Deal. Wendell Willkie ran a credible campaign and people had an increased feeling of their own worth. Movies that appealed to this did well.

  8. Your list of 1939 movies was like a tip toe through the tulips. I saw almost all of them by the time I was ten. My two favorites were THE WIZARD OF OZ and DRUMS ALONG THE MOHAWK.

    I remember that I had to get my mother’s permission to see GONE WITH THE WIND because of Clark Gable’s cuss word. (“Frankly my dear, I don’t give a damn!”) Seems so tame today.

    They knew how to tell stories that got you involved. I was a big fan of movies and went regularly until the late sixties when things started tilting left in Hollywood.

  9. I did not find “Forrest Gump” boring at all. But for me the film was a window into another country, strange as it is. And in many episodes it was funny, with good humor and belivable personages.

  10. I didn’t mind “Forrest Gump,” although I didn’t think it was really worth an Oscar. “Life Is Beautiful,” however, was quite simply an abomination.

  11. “Forrest Gump” was thoroughly enjoyable. Ya gotta watch it through so that you will know when its memorable lines are referenced by Ace of Spades and others. GWTW was a great movie, but there are plenty of corny attempts at humor and cartoonish acting even there.

  12. For the most part I’m utterly bored by the entire Oscar thing. Considering who actually votes for the winning films, it’s no wonder that for the most part they’re films I don’t bother to see: http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/movies/academy/la-et-unmasking-oscar-academy-project-html,0,7473284.htmlstory

    However, “Life is Beautiful” is one of my top five most favorite films. Defining it as a “Holocaust comedy” is no more accurate than defining Cabaret as a “Holocaust musical.”

    Then again, maybe I just have weird tastes in movies…

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