Oscar Predictions - Box Office vs. Quality

As the 2009 awards season heats up, the Best Picture race seems foggy with a few films fighting it out to claim the big prize. Before this past Sunday’s Golden Globe ceremony, I believed Kathryn Bigelow’s war epic “The Hurt Locker” would nab the Best Picture prize at this year’s Academy Awards. Now, after James Cameron’s “Avatar” clinched both Best Director and Best Picture this past Sunday at the Golden Globes, the category has shifted into a two-horse race, “Avatar” vs. “The Hurt Locker” with Quentin Tarantino’s “Inglourious Basterds” remaining the only possible dark horse.

As for Jason Reitman’s “Up in the Air,” the comedy-drama’s buzz has diminished in the Best Picture category. Unfortunately for Reitman, the film peaked far too early as audience reactions failed to match the enthusiasm of many critics. And while “Up in the Air” received top marks from many critics, it never bested “The Hurt Locker” in terms of critical adulation. While “Up in the Air” won the top prize at the National Board of Review, it failed to clinch the Best Picture/Best Director awards with any other major awards group. The Los Angeles Film Critics, the New York Film Critics, the Broadcast Film Critics Association, and the National Society of Film Critics all awarded “The Hurt Locker” with Best Picture and Kathryn Bigelow with Best Director.

While “The Hurt Locker” has garnered the most critical acclaim, Cameron’s “Avatar” boasts a hefty box office total that could catapult the film to a Best Picture win, not unlike Cameron’s other previous juggernaut, “Titanic.” So, in a sense, the 2009 Best Picture race will pit Box Office against Quality – “Avatar” vs. “The Hurt Locker.” Many will disagree with that last statement. Many will moan that I’m a whiny elitist. But, alas, it is my opinion. While “Avatar” features some great action sequences and whiz-bang visual effects, it simply does not match Kathryn Bigelow’s expert mix of character and action in “The Hurt Locker.”

However, personal opinion aside, Best Picture is shaping up to be an exciting category at this year’s Oscars. Let’s hope the races remains suspenseful until the winner is announced at the Kodak Theater in March.

"Avatar" Review

Since its debut last week, “Avatar” has drawn much hyperbole from both critics and audiences. While “Avatar,” and its director James Cameron (“Titanic,” “Terminator”), should be praised for the film’s groundbreaking motion capture technology, the film is by no means a masterpiece. For all of the film’s visual accomplishments, its script is riddled with flaws that prevent it from reaching the blockbuster heights of the original “Star Wars,” or even Cameron’s prior success, the “Terminator” franchise.

“Avatar” follows Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), a former marine, as he joins a program searching for desirable minerals in an alien planet called Pandora. To visit Pandora, Jake becomes an avatar – a hybrid between a human and a Na’vi, the alien race on Pandora. As an avatar, his mission is to convince the Na’vi people to sacrifice the minerals found on their homeland. However, his mission becomes complicated when he falls for a Na’vi princess, Neytiri (Zoe Saldana).

Pandora, as created by Cameron, is a completely digital world, filled with dazzling imagery that lights the screen with bright colors and mesmerizing detail. When Jake first enters Pandora, the immense beauty of this new world is almost overwhelming. With lush forests, misty waterfalls, and a serene skyline, the film intoxicates its audience with its sheer gorgeousness. In short, James Cameron has made special effects beautiful again.

Unfortunately, only half of the film takes place on the planet of Pandora. The film’s other settings include a various assortment of labs and bases where the scientists and soldiers conduct experiments and devise battle plans. It is in these scenes that “Avatar” really falters and the film’s poor screenwriting becomes apparent. Nearly all of the human characters in “Avatar” are either cliché or uninteresting. Instead of making his villains complex, Cameron instead opts for boring, obvious villains like a merciless military colonel (Stephen Lang) and a greedy, insensitive businessman (Giovanni Ribisi). Through these caricatures, Cameron filters a blatant political message. Instead of conveying the film’s message through subtext, Cameron hammers his point home with blunt, unrealistic dialogue. To say the film lacks subtlety is a gross understatement.

That is not to diminish the film’s other accomplishments, which, in many respects, are unparalleled. One just wishes Cameron would have spent as much time on the screenplay as he did on the visuals. The transitions from Pandora to live action often stall the pace as well. Thankfully, the scenes on Pandora are engrossing enough to compensate for the film’s intermittent pacing. The characters on Pandora feel more interesting and well-drawn than the cartoons off planet. And, frankly, the acting is much better. Zoe Saldana delivers a convincing, emotional performance through the motion-capture. She knows exactly when to let Neytiri’s fierce guard down to show emotion. The character of Neytiri also sheds light on Cameron’s unabashed feminism. Not only is Neytiri beautiful, she’s also confident and strong. She matches, and even surpasses, the skilled bravery of her lover.

The film’s other performances are admirable, particularly Sigourney Weaver as Dr. Grace Augustine, a tough-as-nails botanist, but Cameron’s revolutionary special effects remain the film’s true star. However, the film also boasts some fantastic action set pieces, including a magnificent chase scene involving both humans and avatars, as well as an epic battle scene between the humans and the Na’vi. Cameron paces these sequences perfectly, making sure they do not become messy, convoluted, or incoherent. Mr. Cameron puts posers like Michael Bay and Roland Emmerich to shame. Very few filmmakers direct action as deftly as him.

In conclusion, “Avatar,” although cloyingly obvious in its morals, succeeds as a sci-fi, action epic. To put it bluntly, “Transformers 2” does not hold a candle to this imaginative, if deeply flawed, work of art.

B

Have you seen "Avatar?" If so, leave your opinion in the comments.

What's Left?: Cinema Soups' Most Anticipated Films for the Rest of 2009

As the film year reaches its midpoint, you may be wondering, well, what's left?

Well, my friends, there are many things to look forward to. And we will explore some of the most anticipated (at least in this blogger's eyes) films of the rest of the year in this two-part series. So, let's dive in!

Let's start with the big banana - the film everyone has been anticipating, the film that will shatter the earth and cure all diseases. Well, maybe not that last one. James Cameron's "Avatar" has been in production forever. There's been so much hype surrounding Cameron's supposedly ground-breaking new motion capture technology used in the film, yet we have not even seen a simple trailer, and the movie comes out in December! The average person who does not follow internet movie hype has probably never even heard of it. And the movie's budget is supposedly around $300 million + ! Things just don't seem to add up. How will the movie live up to its hype? How will it ever make its money back? What the heck is it even about? Well, I think we have an answer to that last question- albeit a vague one. "Avatar" follows a man named Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) as he explores a new world called Pandora. But in order to get into this new world, he has to make a duplicate of himself called an "avatar" which will disguise him from the Na'vi race (see left picture) on Pandora's planet. Sigourney Weaver and Zoe Saldana are also set to star. I can't wait, but, let's just say, I am a little more skeptical than most film buffs. "Avatar" opens wide December 18th, 2009.

Next up is Spike Jonzes's adaptation of Maurice Sendak's classic children's book "Where the Wild Things Are." You can hear me rave about the trailer here. There really isn't much more to say. The film looks beautiful, emotional, and creative. Hopefully, it will entertain children and adults alike, and do gangbusters at the box office (wishful thinking). I also hope that it is as good as the trailer makes it out to be. I fear that the movie studio may try to tinker with it and tarnsish Jonze's vision. Sigh. Sometimes, you just got to let the director do his thing. And usually great things happen (EXAMPLE). Here's hoping that great things will happen when "Where the Wild Things Are" opens on October 16th, 2009.

When I first heard about Lone Sherfig's "An Education," I thought the film was going to be typical, shlocky Oscar bait. However, once the trailer (embedded below) appeared, my mind changed in an instant. The film, unlike many award hogging character dramas, does not seem to be drenched in its own self-importance. Rather, the film seems light, funny, and powerful without feeling pretentious or heavy-handed. "An Education" follows Jenny (Carrey Mulligan), a young girl about to set off to college in the 1960s, as she engages in a relationship with an older man (Peter Sarsgaard) much to the dismay of her overbearing father (Alfred Molina). And, as the trailer suggests, Jenny soon learns that "sometimes an education isn't by the book." Well, let's hope this film is one "for the books" when it arrives in theaters on October 9th, 2009.

Well, that's all for part one of this series. Expect part two to be up sometime next week.

Be sure to leave your thoughts in the comments below!

Peter Jackson Talking About Hollywood's Slump

Recently, at the San Diego Comic Convention (which is now really a movie convention), Mr. Peter Jackson (director of "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy) talks about Hollywood's recent creative slump, and the unique power of film.

See for yourself:

Amen, Mr. Jackson. Amen.

Thanks to In Contention for the video.

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