Folks -
The time is here. That time every year when I get goofy and can't stop
rambling on about the Oscar nominations. First, I'd like to list my top ten
films of 1999. I delayed and delayed this list till just now, racing to see
as many of the 'Big Time' movies of the year that were hard to find while I
was on the ship. Read on, knowing that I STILL missed out on "Topsy-Turvy",
"The Hurricane", "The Cider House Rules", "Sweet & Low Down",
"Tumbleweeds", "The End of the Affair", "Boys Don't Cry" and "Girl,
Interrupted." Knowing that those fine films are left out, that says alot
about what's left in (also, I've tried not to give anything away, but be
cautious if you want to):
10. Bowfinger - Any time Steve Martin returns to top form, it makes my list
(Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Roxanne, All of Me). Call me bias, but the guy is
genius to me. And he's had such a drought
lately, I'm thrilled that this picture made $80 million! Plus, it's Eddie
Murphy's best performance(s) in years. He absolutely KILLS as both Kit and
Jiff. It's getting so Frank Oz can do no wrong.
9. American Beauty - A great film with a where's-it-gonna-go-next? final half
hour. You also can't beat the dead-guy-as-narrator approach that's worked
since "Sunset Boulevard". I only wish there was more Lester. Spacey was
great. This film also has Chris Cooper's best performance (as Spacey's Marine
neighbor).
8. Being John Malkovich - If someone gave me the plot idea that you could go
into John Malkovich's head for 15 minutes, I probably wouldn't have created
the absolutely MESSED UP love triangle that exists in this film. Malkovich
himself is having more fun than ever, and Cusack's loser is one for the
books. It's ending reminded me of "The Fly". TOTALLY original stuff.
7. The Insider - A lengthy film that felt 60 Minutes long. Pacino is in
"sedate" mode, and it totally serves his scenes with Russell Crowe, who
lives up to the potential he showed in his earlier films like "Romper
Stomper". If you hate the cigarette industry (like I do, and that may,
again,
make me biased), this really fuels the fire.
6. Fight Club - The most UNDERRATED film of 1999. It has a twist in it that
isn't quite as satisfying as the one in The Sixth Sense, but it is a marvel
in it's hyperkinetic style. All hail the year that gets good perfomances
(which they're capable of ) from Brad Pitt and Keanu Reeves. Pitt let go of
that stuffiness that didn't really suit him in "Meet Joe Black" and "Seven
Years in Tibet" and gives a swaggering, macho BS performance that is really
intoxicating. And Edward Norton is the usual bedrock of the story. This plot
is almost unimaginable, that's a wonderful trait of all the best films from
this year. I love to leave a film and say "Where the hell did they come up
with that?"
5. Election - Funny, funny, funny. If you haven't seen this - DO. If you
haven't seen Citizen Ruth -DO. Alexander Payne is making the most
intelligent adult comedies today. It soared above all the teen tripe this
year (Cruel Intentions, 10 Things I Hate About You, Varsity Blues), and shows
you what school is REALLY all about. Broderick and Witherspoon are great.
4. Magnolia - People often say that PT Anderson "fed his ego" with this film.
I was enthralled from beginning to end. And the beginning of this film is a
more impressive achievement than half the crap studios churn out in a year's
time. EVERYONE in the movie is worthy of a supporting actor/actress Oscar.
He pulls from the best talent pool - Julianne Moore, William H. Macy, John C.
Reilly, and Philip Baker Hall gives his career performance as a talk-show
host who's life is crumbling. There is much to talk about concerning this
film that can't be mentioned until you see it. Let me know if you have!
3. Toy Story 2 - No question as good as the original. This is the kind of
film all animated movies should be. Smart enough for the adults, so it
trickles down to the children. DO NOT CONDESCEND. So far, Pixar's formula of
keepin'-it-smart is paying off. Randy Newman has his best shot ever at an
Original Song Oscar here with "When she loved me". These characters really
ACT, and the results get more impressive with every film.
2. The Sixth Sense - The second-highest grossing film of the year, and for
good reason. How can you not see it again! There has never been a more
DELIBERATE film. There is no excess in this movie, and it lives, really LIVES
in the rules it creates for itself. I was knocked-out impressed by the
success of writer/director M. Night Shymalan. This is a beautiful love story.
1. South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut - The last great musical of the
Millenium. I cannot say how smart this film is. I was wildly impressed by
their skewering of EVERYTHING! Literally, EVERYTHING gets hammered, from
Bryan Adams to Star Wars to Disney. And there's more to see every time you
watch it. I could go on. I attached myself to this film more than any other
this year. Quite often satire fails miserably, this film deserves any
success it gets.
One theme I found most prevalent in the great films of 1999 is that of the
male in decline. Lester in "American Beauty" is just a mess. He is
considered even worse when he starts to make himself happy. (By the way, my
one problem with the film is the Three's Company-esque "misunderstanding" the
neighbor has. Granted, with more dire repercussions, but it still seems like
"Oh, no, he only knows half of what's really going on!" was a little much.)
Nevertheless, the waning male theme continues in Election. Here's a lousy
sap of a man who's life is in the toilet and he doesnt' even know it. He
sees his entire meddling with the school students and his affair as perfectly
just things to do. When in reality, it's nuts. He's the man as terrible
decision-maker. Then there's Fight Club, a wall-to-wall, credits-to-credits
trashing of the current, pussified state of the male ego. Two actors
presenting the varied states of a machismo with no outlet, have to create one
for themselves. Then Being John Malkovich has women undergoing incredible
changes when presented with the mind-entering porthole's power. Cusack's
character starts a loser, and actually ends a BIGGER loser. He's the man as
absloutely pathetic. In Magnolia, men flock to hear Tom Cruise talk about
how grand the penis is. I particularly enjoyed this 'cause I was waiting for
the "Fight Club"-esque comment that these classes were to reinforce a
weakened male persona, but it turns out Cruise was merely pro-SEX. Hilarious.
So there's an essay for ya.
The worst films of the year:
- Big Daddy - Not funny at all, AND it had the balls to try and be EMOTIONAL
at the end and FAILED MISERABLY. Not a decent actor in the cast.
- The Blair Witch Project - What a concept!! What a poor execution of that
concept. IN MY HUMBLE OPINION As I've said before, Macauley Culkin got lost
in NY, that wasn't scary either...
- Random Hearts - you have to know how much this hurts to say. Boring,
boring, boring, with some of the worst dialogue I've EVER heard - awkward and
unbeleivable.
- Inspector Gadget - an overblown waste. WORSE than a video.
Then, of course, there are films that are sure to be bad, so I avoided them:
Bats
Trippin'
Dudley Do-Right
Chill Factor
The Mod Squad
and when's "The Bachelor" opening anyway?
On to the awards:
>
> 1. Best Picture:
> "American Beauty,"
> "The Cider House Rules,"
> "The Green Mile,"
> "The Insider," WTS
> "The Sixth Sense."
Missing - Naturally, South Park, Magnolia, Toy Story 2 and Election. I
thought for sure that Toy Story 2 had a chance, especially with the Golden
Globe win. They're just trepidatious with animated films. Beauty and The
Insider are worthy contenders. The Green Mile is a OK, I got a lukewarm
reaction to that, Man on the Moon and Mr. Ripley. All three were considered
THE films for contention, all three were OK. I think The Cider House Rules presence here is part of the Miramax marketing machine. They had alot of films to boast about last year (Shakespeare in Love, Life is Beautiful), this year they had ONE, and were GOING to see it nominated.
will win - American Beauty
should win - The Sixth Sense
> 2. Actor:
> Russell Crowe, "The Insider";
> Richard Farnsworth,"The Straight Story";
> Sean Penn, "Sweet and Lowdown";
> Kevin Spacey, "American Beauty";
> Denzel Washington, "The Hurricane."
>
Missing - Eddie Murphy for Bowfinger and Jim Carrey (naturally, I hope that he and Steve Martin will be recognized for comedy, like in "Liar, Liar" and "All of Me"). The only problem is who
to take out! This is a great category.
will win - Denzel
should - he or Spacey, I'm seeing The Hurricane Monday
> 3. Actress: Annette Bening, "American Beauty";
> Janet McTeer, "Tumbleweeds";
> Julianne Moore, "The End of the Affair";
> Meryl Streep, "Music of the Heart";
> Hilary Swank, "Boys Don't Cry."
missing - REESE WITHERSPOON!!! She got robbed for her performance in
Election!! Meryl was good, and I actually enjoyed that film more than I
thought I'd like another "teacher-makes-good" story, but it's run-of-the-mill
in comparison. Julianne Moore could've been nominated for any of the four or
five film she was in this year.
will win - Swank
should win - her, based on hype only. Haven't seen "Boy's Don't Cry"
> 4. Supporting Actor:
> Michael Caine, "The Cider House Rules";
> Tom Cruise, "Magnolia";
> Michael Clarke Duncan, "TheGreen Mile";
> Jude Law, "The Talented Mr. Ripley";
> Haley Joel Osment, "The Sixth Sense."
>
Tom Cruise's nomination is one of 3 favorite nominations on the board this
year. He's FANTASTIC. His bawdy motivational speaker gives him great
scenery-chewing scenes, but his post-speech interview is a thing of beauty,
where he is ravenous one moment, and emotionally imploding the next. Give it
to him. But also good for the Academy for recognizing Osment.
will win - Cruise (Hollywood wants to reward him, too)
should win - Cruise
> 5. Supporting Actress:
> Toni Collette, "The Sixth Sense";
> Angelina Jolie, "Girl, Interrupted";
> Catherine Keener, "Being John Malkovich";
> Samantha Morton, "Sweet and Lowdown";
> Chloe Sevigny, "Boys Don't Cry."
>
My second of three nominations that I LOVE is Collette's. She received no
awards up to now, was not nominated for a Golden Globe, but the Academy saw
what I saw. She was absolutely believable as a mother at the end of her rope.
Not mad all the time, but ocassionally sad, trying REALLY HARD to be
beautiful, and I bought every second.
will win - Jolie, sadly enough
should - Collette
> 6. Director: Sam Mendes, "American Beauty";
> Spike Jonze, "Being John Malkovich";
> Lasse Hallstrom, "The Cider HouseRules";
> Michael Mann, "The Insider";
> M. Night Shyamalan, "The Sixth Sense."
>
Obviously missing from this list is John Lasseter of Toy Story 2, who blended
humor, friendship, emotion, ACTION and made you forget it wasn't real. ANY OF
IT. It's good to see Mann nominated, and Jonze for his exceptionally
original FIRST film. Still, I think they should do away with this award, an give an Oscar to the director of whatever wins Best Picture.
will win - Mendes
should - Shyamalan, for his economical work.
> 7. Foreign Film: "All About My Mother," Spain; "Caravan," Nepal;
> "East-West," France; "Solomon and Gaenor," United
> Kingdom; "Under the Sun," Sweden.
>
Where the hell is Run Lola Run!!! What the hell!!! That just pisses me off!
will win - oh, I'm sure Nepal's film was AWESOME
should - you tell me...
>
> 8. Screenplay (written based on material previously produced or
> published):
> John Irving, "The Cider House Rules";
> Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor, "Election";
> Frank Darabont, "The Green Mile";
> Eric Roth and Michael Mann, "The Insider";
> Anthony Minghella, "The Talented Mr. Ripley."
This is a pretty decent category. I probably would've found something besides
"Ripley".
will win - ???
should - Election
>
> 9. Screenplay (written directly for the screen):
> Alan Ball, "American Beauty";
> Charlie Kaufman, "Being John Malkovich";
> Paul Thomas Anderson, "Magnolia";
> M. Night Shyamalan, "The Sixth Sense";
> Mike Leigh, "Topsy-Turvy."
>
EXCELLENT category. It is as sure a thing as the Best Supp. Actor that this
category is filled with great work. Again, throw South Park and Toy Story 2
in there and I LOVE it. By the way, my runner's up for year's best film
include:
Notting Hill
The Matrix
Three Kings
Run Lola Run
These are pretty damn original, too, and could take the place of
"Topsy-Turvy", which I hear was mostly improvised.
will win - American Beauty
should -The Sixth Sense
>
> 10. Art Direction: "Anna and the King," "The Cider House Rules," "Sleepy
> Hollow," "The Talented Mr. Ripley,"
> "Topsy-Turvy."
>
You've got to include "The Matrix" here. And Fight Club.
will win - Ripley
should - Sleepy Hollow
>
> 11. Cinematography: "American Beauty," "The End of the Affair," "The
> Insider," "Sleepy Hollow," "Snow Falling on
> Cedars."
>
You've got to include Three Kings here, and Run Lola Run. Besides the man
thing, 1999 was defined by an eccentric visual style. Sure, Sleepy Hollow had
that, but how about Kings, Lola, The Matrix, Magnolia and FIGHT CLUB for the
love of God! These movies told you stories like no other movies before.
They put a stamp on the year that'll continue into 2000.
will win - American Beauty
should - American Beauty
>
> 12. Sound: "The Green Mile," "The Insider," "The Matrix," "The Mummy,"
> "Star Wars – Episode I: The Phantom
> Menace."
>
> As disappointed with the story as many were, the SPECTACLE remained, and
Star Wars is due here.
will win - Star Wars
should - Star Wars
>
> 13. Sound Effects Editing: "Fight Club," "The Matrix," "Star Wars –
> Episode I: The Phantom Menace."
Ditto, but it's great to see Fight Club nominated here.
will win - Star Wars
should - Star Wars, simply 'cause it demanded more, including providing sound
to things that weren't there.
>
> 14. Original Score:
> "American Beauty," Thomas Newman;
> "Angela's Ashes," John Williams;
> "The Cider House Rules,"Rachel Portman;
> "The Red Violin," John Corigliano;
> "The Talented Mr. Ripley," Gabriel Yared.
>
How could you not nominate Angelo Badalamenti for The Straight Story. That's
a real injustice.
will win - Ripley
should - Ripley
> 15. Original Song:
> "Blame Canada" from "South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut," Trey Parker
> and Marc Shaiman;
> "Music of My Heart" from "Music of the Heart,"Diane Warren;
> "Save Me" from "Magnolia," Aimee Mann;
> "When She Loved Me" from "Toy Story 2," Randy Newman;
> "You'll be in My Heart" from "Tarzan," Phil Collins.
>
This category is hot, and naturally, contains my third favorite Nomination of
all - South Park!!! I would've entered "What Would Brian Boitano Do?" into
competition, but they entered 'Blame Canada'. I'm gonna crap smiles when this
song is performed at the ACADEMY AWARDS!! How cool is that gonna be!!
Especially lines like "My son Eric had my picture on his shelf. And now when
he sees me he tells me to F**K myself!!" And it's surrounded by excellent
competition. Not a bad apple in the bunch (no Beautiful Stranger,
basically....)
will win - Toy Story 2 - a risk, you'd think Phil's song is more accessible,
but Newman's due.
should win - Newman, only because it's not "Uncle F**ka"
>
> 16. Costume: "Anna and the King," "Sleepy Hollow," "The Talented Mr.
> Ripley," "Titus," "Topsy-Turvy."
Where's The Matrix here? Or Star Wars? Oh, well, give it to Burton.
will win - Ripley
should - Sleepy Hollow
> 17. Documentary Feature:
> "Buena Vista Social Club,"
> "Genghis Blues,"
> "On the Ropes,"
> "One Day in September,"
> "Speaking in Strings."
>
Is there something so wrong with Errol Morris? This category is always a
damn joke...
will win - between "Ropes" and "Buena Vista"
should - Ropes
>
> 19. Film Editing: "American Beauty," "The Cider House Rules," "The
> Insider," "The Matrix," "The Sixth Sense."
>
Again, the editing contributed just as much as anything else to the
fast-paced look of Run Lola Run, Three Kings, Magnolia and Fight Club. Yet
they're not nominated.
will win - Beauty
should - The Sixth Sense - for more deliberateness.
> 20. Makeup: "Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me," "Bicentennial Man,"
> "Life," "Topsy-Turvy."
thank God those rubber-faced dudes from Star Wars didn't get nominated!!!
will win - Topsy-Turvy, so the Academy can stay highbrow
should - ???
>
> 23. Visual Effects: "The Matrix," "Star Wars – Episode I: The Phantom
> Menace," "Stuart Little."
>
Give it to The Matrix!!! Star Wars will probably win, but The Matrix was
more ingenious.
will win - Star Wars
Should - THE MATRIX!!!! This is the future of sci-fi, not Jar-Jar Binks
>
> Oscar winners previously announced this year:
>
> GORDON E. SAWYER: Dr. Roderick T. Ryan, who created a film processor for
> use in special effects.
>
> IRVING THALBERG MEMORIAL AWARD: Warren Beatty.
>
> HONORARY AWARD: Polish filmmaker Andrzej Wajda.
>
Have fun and write back,
Paul