Thoughts on 'Lion' and Others [Updating...]

Within minutes of this posting the Critics' Choice Awards will start, the first televised awards show of the season. But since it's happening a month earlier than it normally does, it will hardly count as the most significant awards news of the upcoming week. Tomorrow will see the unveiling of the Golden Globe nominations, followed by SAG nominations on Wednesday.

As all this happens, more contenders begin creeping out of their limited release hidey holes. I caught up with one such contender this afternoon, The Weinstein Co.'s big hopeful Lion, which hasn't been that healthily represented in first half-dozen-or-so critics awards, but the Academy will rectify that.
The movie is pretty great.

Oscar Telecast Retrospective Part 3: The Big Shock, and Failing Gags

Let's set the stage: Mad Max had just gone six for seven in the crafts, and Andy Serkis arrives to announce the outcome of its 8th nomination, Best Visual Effects.

First of all, having Serkis presenting this category is kinda inspired (though not as inspired as giving him an actual Oscar nomination would be), but I take umbrage with his introductory clip reel featuring only two of his various performance-capture characters he's played, Gollum and Caesar. Where's King Kong? Captain Haddock? Jeez, even Supreme Ruler Snoke? Talk about a diversity problem!

But I barely had time to tweet my nagging quibble, because moments later the collective jaw of Oscar watchers hit the floor when he announced Ex Machina as the winner. I was so gobsmacked that I didn't even realize the orchestra was playing “Get Down Saturday Night” from Oscar Isaac's much gif'ed sexy dance interlude from the film. Too much fun!

MPSE tie keeps Sound Editing Oscar race tight

As though it weren't already tough enough to predict the sound categories for tonight, the Motion Picture Sound Editors went and split their top honour (Feature FX/Foley) between the two presumed Oscar frontrunners for Best Sound Editing; The Revenant and Mad Max: Fury Road. I think this very neatly epitomizes just how closely the craft categories are going to be contested between these two movies, whether in the sound categories or design categories or editing or cinematography or effects. It'll be interesting to see how it all shakes out 10 hours from now.

In other (happy) news, Love & Mercy, Inside Out and Son of Saul also received Golden Reel Awards last night for their terrific sound work, even though Oscar sadly didn't take notice. Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Bridge of Spies took one apiece as well. Lots of wealth spread by the MPSE.

Best Sound Editing: Feature English Language – FX/Foley (TIE)
MAD MAX: FURY ROAD & THE REVENANT

One Category at a Time (x2): Sound Mixing+Editing

It seems like every year I end up saying something along the lines of, "the sound categories are especially tough this year". In truth, they're just hard every year. Which precursor do you believe in? Do you double down on one movie winning both (usually the case), or do you hedge your bets by predicting a split? Will it even be the right split?

I twist myself into a pretzel every year running over the permutations, so this year I'm gonna do myself a favour and just get Sound Mixing and Sound Editing over with quickly in one brief post. Like ripping off a band-aid.

One Category at a Time: Visual Effects

Every since 1971, the rule has held that no Best Picture nominated film has lost Best Visual Effects to a film not also nominated for Best Picture. It certainly buttresses the belief that Academy members simply vote for the movie they like in categories they don't really understand, and visual effects is arguably the most "technical" of the so-called "technical" awards (I always find that term so vulgar).

But if ever that rule was to be broken, this would be the year.

One Category at a Time: Original Score

Another tricky call this year presents itself in Best Original Score. It's a category that almost always goes to a Best Picture nominee, of which there's only a single one in play. And yet... it doesn't really sound like a winner.

My Award Nominations: Visual Effects

There's so much swell work out there this year. Not only are the Visual Effects in these five movies extremely proficient, but what I love most about them is that they have personality. It's easy to take photoreal illusions for granted these days, so it bears reminding that thy are created by artists who truly are thinking about deeper things than "How real does it look?". Watch some of the embedded featurettes to see what I mean.

Visual Effects Society winners

Not a lot of love spread at the VES honours last night, as Star Wars: The Force Awakens took four prizes (two for the Millenium Falcon chase alone) and The Revenant three (two for the bear sequence alone), leaving but a single consolatory win for presumed Oscar frontrunner Mad Max: Fury Road (for its sandstorm). Granted, the prominence of stunts and in-camera effects was always going to make Mad Max a tough sell with the guild, but this doesn't help.

I've been wondering if this is the year the Academy finally bucks the trend of always opting for a Best Picture nominee in this category given the chance. There are three of them up for the VFX Oscar after all (Mad Max, The Martian and The Revenant), and split allegiances could create a perfect storm for Star Wars to speed up through middle. This seems the natural place the recognize it for its record-breaking box office. As in many craft categories, I'm waiting for BAFTA to shed some light.

On the animated side of things, the VES finally, for the first time I can remember, didn't give all four prizes to the same movie. The Good Dinosaur won three (which, quite frankly, it deserved), but they threw a bone to Inside Out for the beautifully expressive character animation of Joy. Good call.

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature
“Star Wars: The Force Awakens”

Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature
“The Revenant”

One Category at a Time: Editing

It used to be you could always count in the ACE winner to guide your prediction for Best Film Editing, but in the four years since The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo stunned on Oscar night, this has become the hardest craft category to gauge. Sometimes they go with the Best Picture winner, sometimes the presumed Best Picture runner-up, sometimes something whose editing is just more conspicuous.

Auld Acquaintances

The eve of the New Year is inevitably a time to cherish old friends, and for the last two weeks movie audiences have been taking that cue by turning out in droves for Star Wars: The Force Awakens. For fans of the original trilogy, it plays like a long awaited reunion with cherished characters from the past, whilst introducing a new roster of charismatic heroes for the younger generation.

The whole thing unspools more or less as an affectionate retread of the 1977 mega-hit that spawned the series, with enough slight variations to satiate the geeks. And if there are plenty of earnest nits to fondly pick (and there are), at least they never feel outright dumb or insulting, which can't be said of another franchise rehash which earned serious bank this year.

Early Oscar Predictions: Visual Post-Production

Once principle photography has wrapped, the long, laborious post-production process begins. Editors splice together all the footage while visual effects artists and animators complete the effects shots.

The editing branch has a habit for mostly cribbing from the Best Picture lineup for their own nominees. That doesn't give us much to go on from a predictive standpoint, but there are a few early contenders that wouldn't be terrible bets.

Sunday Top Ten - Pre-CG special effects films

All aspects of filmmaking evolve over time, but none so conspicuously as visual effects. The advancements made even over the last few years continue to amaze audiences. But for all the wonderful possibilities these technical achievements have opened up to filmmakers, I sometimes find myself yearning for a simpler time. Computer-generated images may make for convincing and exciting special effects, but am I alone in feeling that the digitization of this art has somewhat diminished the "specialness" of those effects? When you see a spaceship being blown up on screen today, you know how it was done; CGI. When you see a lifelike ape play the lead role in a movie today, you know how it was done; CGI. Wouldn't it be grand to watch a movie nowadays and legitimately wonder, "how did they do that?"

There was a time when you could, and the effects, though widely considered dated by today's standards, are still truly special in my eyes. For my money, these are the ten best pre-CG special effect showcases.

Sunday Top Ten: Sound effects

Time has been somewhat tight for me this week, so you're getting an abbreviated edition of the Sunday Top Ten; a quick countdown of some of my favourite movie-related sound effects.

Sunday Top Ten: John Williams scores

I've always been a sucker for the music John Williams. There's something about his melodies and orchestrations that just stick with me. I'm not alone, apparently. He was an Academy favourite for decades, amassing 45 nominations in 38 years. Granted, he hasn't been nominated since 2006, a long layoff by his standards, but he could be back with one or two Best Original Score nominations this year courtesy of Spielberg's Tin Tin and War Horse.

After hearing Michael Giacchino's apt impersonation of the composer in Super 8 two weeks ago, I felt compelled to revisit the his works and dedicate this week's top ten list to his finest film scores.

Sunday Top Ten: Responses to people who try to tell you Star Wars sucks

This Wednesday marks the 34th anniversary of the U.S. Release of Star Wars, a film that helped define the modern blockbuster. Yet, as beloved as it is many, it's just as commonly despised. It's not a film franchise for everyone. Neither is this top ten list. Whenever Star Wars detractors contradict my often enthusiastic advocacy for the films, I usually whip out one of the following chestnuts in their defense. If you're a Star Wars fan, enjoy the list! If you're Star-Wars-averse, feel free to retaliate with your own rejoinders.

Sunday Top Ten: Movie vehicles I wish I owned

What I hope to get out of this Sunday Top Ten series (which officially starts today – right now, in fact!) is a collection of lists that reflect a bit about me. Needless to say, all the opinions on this blog are my own personal ones, so don't be expecting any thoroughly researched expert analysis. For instance, dork that I am, I would ill qualified to write about the ten “coolest” movie vehicles of all time. But ten movie vehicles I myself would love to own, that's something I can write about. So why not make that the inaugural countdown: