Oscar Matters: 80th Academy Awards - Winners!

The 80th Academy Award winners and my thougts about them.

Best Motion Picture
WINNER: "No Country for Old Men"
• "Atonement"
• "Juno"
• "Michael Clayton"
• "There Will Be Blood"

I love the Coen Brothers and I'm happy they won a bunch of Oscars. My vote would have gone to “Atonement,” but that's because I'm obsessed with British entertainment.

Performance By An Actor In A Leading Role
WINNER: Daniel Day-Lewis in "There Will Be Blood"
• George Clooney in "Michael Clayton"
• Johnny Depp in "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street"
• Tommy Lee Jones in "In the Valley of Elah"
• Viggo Mortensen in "Eastern Promises"

There is no question that Daniel Day-Lewis is one of the best actors of our time. His win was not a shock, but I hoped the Academy would finally give Johnny Depp his due. Hopefully he'll get another shot.

Performance By An Actress In A Leading Role
WINNER: Marion Cotillard in "La Vie en Rose"
• Cate Blanchett in "Elizabeth: The Golden Age"
• Julie Christie in "Away From Her"
• Laura Linney in "The Savages"
• Ellen Page in "Juno"

I've only seen two of these films but Julie Christie was freaking amazing in "Away From Here." Netflix that today. Ellen Page was cute in "Juno," but come on, Best Actress?

Performance By An Actor In A Supporting Role
WINNER: Javier Bardem in "No Country for Old Men"
• Casey Affleck in "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford"
• Philip Seymour Hoffman in "Charlie Wilson's War"
• Hal Holbrook in "Into the Wild"
• Tom Wilkinson in "Michael Clayton"

This might have been the strongest category of performances. Tom Wilkinson is brilliant, but he has an Oscar. The exact same thing goes for Philip Seymour Hoffman. Hal Holbrook, who I thought was dead, should be up for an Honorary Award soon. Casey Affleck is the man and I expect to see him up on the Oscar podium in years to come.

Performance By An Actress In A Supporting Role
WINNER: Tilda Swinton in "Michael Clayton"
• Cate Blanchett in "I'm Not There"
• Ruby Dee in "American Gangster"
• Saoirse Ronan in "Atonement"
• Amy Ryan in "Gone Baby Gone"

Tilda Swinton looked amazingly bad...ass when she accepted her Oscar. Amy Ryan is someone to watch. Be sure to check her out on "The Wire." The kid from "Atonement" is cute, but seriously, Best Supporting Actress?

Achievement In Directing
WINNER: Joel Coen and Ethan Coen for "No Country for Old Men"
• Julian Schnabel for "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly"
• Jason Reitman for "Juno"
• Tony Gilroy for "Michael Clayton"
• Paul Thomas Anderson for "There Will Be Blood"

The Coen Brothers RULE!

Adapted Screenplay
WINNER: "No Country for Old Men" by Joel Coen and Ethan Coen
• "Atonement" by Christopher Hampton
• "Away From Her" by Sarah Polley
• "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" by Ronald Harwood
• "There Will Be Blood" by Paul Thomas Anderson

The Coen Brothers=Awesome. Cormac McCarthy’s entire corpus is on my must read list. Look for Emily Muth's review of "Away From Her" coming soon to "Entertainment Matters".

Original Screenplay
WINNER: "Juno" by Diablo Cody
• "Lars and the Real Girl" by Nancy Oliver
• "Michael Clayton" by Tony Gilroy
• "Ratatouille" by Brad Bird, Jan Pinkava and Jim Capobianco
• "The Savages" by Tamara Jenkins

"Juno," the cute indie movie that could was written by a stripper. I can't write that well with my clothes on. See?

Achievement In Music Written For Motion Pictures (Original Song)
WINNER: Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova for "Falling Slowly" from "Once"
• Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz for "Happy Working Song" from "Enchanted"
• Jamal Joseph, Charles Mack and Tevin Thomas for "Raise It Up" from "August Rush"
• Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz for "So Close" from "Enchanted"
• Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz for "That's How You Know" from "Enchanted"

There was some controversy that “Falling Slowly,” a song that I've had on my iPod since last spring, wasn't written for the film. Who cares? The part it plays in the film is essential. All of the “Enchanted” songs, save for the sappy "So Close" are destined to be classics. Amy Adams' performance was magical. I love her. Seriously.

Achievement In Music Written For Motion Pictures (Original Score)
WINNER: Dario Marianelli for "Atonement"
• Alberto Iglesias for "The Kite Runner"
• James Newton Howard for "Michael Clayton"
• Michael Giacchino for "Ratatouille"
• Marco Beltrami for "3:10 to Yuma"

The typewriter in the “Atonement” score was awesome. I wish the Radiohead inspired score of “There Will Be Blood” would have nominated. It was intensly scary, but spot on for the film.

Achievement In Cinematography
WINNER: Robert Elswit for "There Will Be Blood"
• Roger Deakins for "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford"
• Seamus McGarvey for "Atonement"
• Janusz Kaminski for "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly"
• Roger Deakins for "No Country for Old Men"

The cinematography in "There Will Be Blood" captures the majesty of the American West perfectly. Shooting from the perspective of a one-eyed quadriplegic is an amazing achievement. It's also depressing. The only thing that happens in "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford" is cinematography.

Achievement In Film Editing
WINNER: Christopher Rouse for "The Bourne Ultimatum"
• Juliette Welfling for "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly"
• Jay Cassidy for "Into the Wild"
• Roderick Jaynes for "No Country for Old Men"
• Dylan Tichenor for "There Will Be Blood"

There are so many cuts in "The Bourne Ultimatum" that I seriouly got a headache. Great job.

Achievement In Costume Design
WINNER: Alexandra Byrne for "Elizabeth: The Golden Age"
• Albert Wolsky for "Across the Universe"
• Jacqueline Durran for "Atonement"
• Marit Allen for "La Vie en Rose"
• Colleen Atwood for "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street"

How many awards can 16th century costuming receive? Apparently one more.

Achievement In Art Direction
WINNER: Dante Ferretti and Francesca Lo Schiavo for "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street"
• Arthur Max and Beth A. Rubino for "American Gangster"
• Sarah Greenwood and Katie Spencer for "Atonement"
• Dennis Gassner and Anna Pinnock for "The Golden Compass"
• Jack Fisk and Jim Erickson for "There Will Be Blood"

The blood pallet in "Sweeney Todd" was fully explored in glorious gruesome detail.

Best Animated Feature Film
WINNER: "Ratatouille"
• "Persepolis"
• "Surf's Up"

I don't know where Disney is going with the whole adorable rodent thing. You can't build an empire on something like that. I think the Academy is all penguined out. And a cartoon about Islamist oppression sounds cute and wholly depressing.

Best Animated Short Film
WINNER: "Peter & the Wolf"
• "I Met the Walrus"
• "Madame Tutli-Putli"
• "Même les Pigeons Vont au Paradis (Even Pigeons Go to Heaven)"
• "My Love (Moya Lyubov)"

These are the scariest and most bizarre cartoons I have ever scene. I liked (i.e. didn't want to hide from the scary images) “Peter and the Wolf” and “Even Pigeons Go to Heaven,” but even those where excessively morbid.

Best Live Action Short Film
WINNER: "Le Mozart des Pickpockets (The Mozart of Pickpockets)"
• "At Night"
• "Il Supplente (The Substitute)"
• "Tanghi Argentini"
• "The Tonto Woman"

Every single one of these films is worth seeing and I would have been happy with any of them winning. "The Mozart of Pickpockets" has a really cute thieving child and the dumbest criminal duo since those guys in “Home Alone.” "At Night" is a heart wrenching story about three women with cancer who spend New Year's Eve together in a hospital ward. "The Substitute" is an extremely funny story about the merits of misbehaving. "Tanghi Argentini" reassures audiences that giving is better than receiving. And finally, "The Tonto Women" is a western that deals with beauty and femininity in new and fascinating ways.

Best Documentary Feature
WINNER: "Taxi to the Dark Side"
• "No End in Sight"
• "Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience"
• "Sicko"
• "War/Dance"

Read my post about "Taxi to the Darkside", see the movie and then go see "No End in Sight" and "Operation Homecoming." I haven't seen "War/Dance" and "Sicko" is next in my queue, but I'm assuming they are both must see films. The real world matters and we can no longer afford to not see it.

Best Documentary Short Subject
WINNER: "Freeheld"
• "La Corona (The Crown)"
• "Salim Baba"
• "Sari's Mother"

"Freeheld" tells the story of a New Jersey police officer who earned a pension for her 24 years of service and as she was dying of lung cancer she wanted to make sure she could pass her pension benefits would be passed on to her spouse who happened to be a women. A powerful story that deserved the Oscar. "La Corona" tells the story of a beauty pageant in a Columbian woman's prison and it's hilarious. "Sari's Mother" tells the story of a child who contracts AIDS through a blood transfusion in Iraq. Done without narration, the harsh reality of the subjects lives is seared to the viewers mind. "Salim Baba" is a light-hearted story about a man in Kolkata who is passing his family movie business to his sons. The family pushes an old fashioned movie theater on wheels around the city. It's about the power of film blah blah blah, this is the only one of these films you should skip.

Best Foreign Language Film
WINNER: "The Counterfeiters" (Austria)
• "Beaufort" (Israel)
• "Katyn" (Poland)
• "Mongol" (Kazakhstan)
• "12" (Russia)

I saw none of these films. Thank God for Netflix.

Achievement In Visual Effects
WINNER: Michael Fink, Bill Westenhofer, Ben Morris and Trevor Wood for "The Golden Compass"
• John Knoll, Hal Hickel, Charles Gibson and John Frazier for "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End"
• Scott Farrar, Scott Benza, Russell Earl and John Frazier for "Transformers"

Great.

Achievement In Makeup
WINNER: Didier Lavergne and Jan Archibald for "La Vie en Rose"
• Rick Baker and Kazuhiro Tsuji for "Norbit"
• Ve Neill and Martin Samuel for "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End"

I really wanted Norbit to win an Oscar.

Achievement In Sound Editing
WINNER: Karen Baker Landers and Per Hallberg for "The Bourne Ultimatum"
• Skip Lievsay for "No Country for Old Men"
• Randy Thom and Michael Silvers for "Ratatouille"
• Christopher Scarabosio and Matthew Wood for "There Will Be Blood"
• Ethan Van der Ryn and Mike Hopkins for "Transformers"

Bourne was an auditory assault of Oscar worthy proportions. I defiantly understood more of what I heard then what I saw.

Achievement In Sound Mixing
WINNER: Scott Millan, David Parker and Kirk Francis for "The Bourne Ultimatum"
• Skip Lievsay, Craig Berkey, Greg Orloff and Peter Kurland for "No Country for Old Men"
• Randy Thom, Michael Semanick and Doc Kanefor "Ratatouille"
• Paul Massey, David Giammarco and Jim Stuebe for "3:10 to Yuma"
• Kevin O'Connell, Greg P. Russell and Peter J. Devlin for "Transformers"

Bourne was an auditory assault of Oscar worthy proportions. I defiantly understood more of what I heard then what I saw.

Oscar Matters: Joining the Conversation

Movies influence our national conversation and the Academy offers Oscar nominated films to frame a specific discussion. This year I find myself less concerned about the winners and more interested in finding out what the Academy has on its mind. So, I decide to see as many Oscar nominated films as I can.

On Saturday, February 23 I spend nearly six hours at the National Archives to watch three hours and forty-two minutes of Oscar nominated short films. The two hours and change not spent watching film is spent standing in line outside. The temperature on the National Mall peaks at 36 degrees while a wintry mix drizzles non-stop. I don't mind the weather conditions because I'm in a robust conversation with several people about the film scene in DC, this year's Oscar nominees, and the movies in general. No doubt some of the people out here want to ensure they win their office Oscar pool. I point those competitors to David Carr's comment about the Oscar nominated Live Action, Animated, and Documentary shorts in The New York Times, "If you really are forced to choose these obscurities in your office pool, you should probably switch jobs." Picking Oscar winners is not hard. At my own Oscar shindig, having seen more nominated pictures than anyone in the room, I should be the expert, but I fail to pick more winners than anyone else. There are reasons, other than the hollow glory obtained by guessing more Oscar winners than your cubicle mate, why I or anyone else spends an entire Saturday watching these particular Oscar nominees.

Granted, there are practical considerations. These short films live obscure lives on film festival screens mostly in Europe. Of the 14 nominated shorts, 11 of them are made outside of the United States. Americans love the movies and will pay $10 or $12 to see Spider-Man 3, but we are not going bundle up the kids , drive to the movie theater, buy $40 worth of refreshments and watch a 20 minute movie about a child who recently contracted AIDS in Iraq. Even if avid film enthusiasts want to see short film, their local art house might show the Oscar nominated shorts for few days a year, but that will be the extent of their yearly short film schedule. (The same sort or analysis applies to many of the films nominated this year. Juno is the only nominated film that grosses over $100 million at the US box office. It doesn't win.) Living in DC, I can go to the E Street Theater and pay $30 to see these films or I can go to the National Archives and see the films for free. As one of my fellow film goers says, "I don't know what these films are about, but the price is right."

But besides practical considerations I brave the elements to learn the vocabulary for this year's Academy discussion. Innovation in film making is always on the Academy's mind. The reason the Academy honors Live Action, Animated and Documentary shorts is because, and I'm stealing this from Margaret Parson, Curator, Department of Film Programs, National Gallery of Art, these films, unencumbered by commercial constraints, are the laboratories for film experiments. Hollywood serves a fickle public so it must present new and different techniques to keep the public interested. Sort of. Only three of the short "laboratories of film" were made in America. Hollywood leaves the lab work to someone else and capitalizes on their innovations when the market is ready. In the mean time the Academy rewards many of these innovators by giving them Oscars and enough time at the podium to stammer in broken English until they give up and thank their friends and families in their native language. To me this suggests that, as far as craft, that is the mechanics of telling stories using film, Hollywood is looking abroad for ideas. But this discussion, while interesting to film nuts, is really for the industry professional. I care more about what the stories are telling us.

Atonement defends fiction's place in telling us stories which is interesting and innovative but the Academy seems more interested in films that ask Americans, "Who are we?" Four of the Best Picture nominees are American films that deal with U.S. specific issues. No Country For Old Men, a western, the most American of genres, wins best picture. But it isn't a western that we've seen before. There is no show down at high noon at or near the OK Corral. The West in this picture seems to have the same rules, but not all the players know the rules and if they do they break them intentionally. This is very unsettling to see as an American. Our entire national myth is tied up in our expansion West and if the rules that govern that place are falling apart, how are we falling apart? This idea is further explored in Michael Clayton and There Will Be Blood, where the American Dream belongs to corporations who rent it to individuals as long as they protect corporate interests. And finally Juno unmercifully strips away the glossy veneer of the American family. These films show that America is not the woman she used to be. She's maturing, and we can not keep treating her like a child. She's an adult and needs to start acting like one.

I encourage you to see as many nominees as you can so the next time I run into you we can talk about what Hollywood thinks is important and try to come to a consensus on whether or not it matters.

Oscar Matters - Taxi to the Darkside @ National Archives

Taxi to the Dark Side

On February 21st at 5:51 PM I arrive at the Special Events entrance to get my ticket for "Taxi to the Dark Side." Free tickets are going to be handed out at 6:00 PM and there is already a line out to the sidewalk on Constitution Ave. My fellow movie goers are all bundled up passing the time by doing "The Onion" crossword or reading a tattered copy of "Atonement" or talking about today's New York Times article about Senator McCain's "concubine." I'm standing next to a young woman who is holding a spot in line for family member who shows up in a well worn HRC hat. An employee of the National Archives walks out and tells us the rules: 1) Tickets will be handed out at 6 o'clock; 2) Doors will open at 6:30; 3) Visit the Starbucks or the Potbelly's across Pennsylvania but be back no later than a quarter of seven. The man in the HRC hat tells his young female relation, "Honey, my philosophy is if you think young, act young, and look young, it will help you stay young." Then he points to his face and says, "That why I got work done." This is a liberal crowd ecstatic to see a film that brings into sharp relief the failings of the Bush Presidency.

The wind is cutting through the pockets of my jacket as I wait for the doors to open. I'm doing everything to keep my hands warm but I know they won't be warm until I get inside. I'm envious of the woman who is being escorted into the building before doors officially open. A National Archives employee shouts ahead, "This is the speaker." The speaker reminds me of my Victorian Lit professor. She's carrying at least three bags and has a vague, confused expression on her face. I can't remember reading anything thing about speakers on the Web site, so I assume she is some sort of academic.

After I find my seat in the lavish William G. McGowan Theater I take a look at the program and read that Ann Hornaday, Washington Post film critic, is the speaker. As she sits in the audience before she's called to the podium I look over her shoulder and see a half page of typed notes. She's been asked to set aside her proclivity to assess the merits of individual films and talk about the DC film scene. Her comments are limited to the half page she had with her. After thanking foundations and vocalizing her hope that Charles Guggenheim's daughter is in the audience, she says, this theater is the center of the film scene in Washington. She goes on to note that seeing these nominated documentaries and short films is a new phenomenon and a privilege. She concludes by saying the films in this series, and any film worth is salt, approach the question, "Who are we?" in interesting and engaging ways.

Taxi to the Dark Side illuminates a dark and complex subject matter; the use torture in the war on terror. Like many of the war policies that come out of the Bush White House, the original torture policy is created hastily and implemented without consideration of long term consequences. The movie, in stark contrast to this mode of reasoning, carefully dissects each aspect of the story to find the underlying truth and lessons to be learned. Taxi and No End In Sight are must see films for every citizen concerned about American's standing in the world. What they ultimately show is that the promise of America lives within the thousands of civil servants who wake up each day to protect our nation and her interest. They also expose the greatest weakness of our nation: a complacence and apathetic public. The packed theater, the funding of several major foundations and organizations, and the general atmosphere of the evening reassure me that we have the capacity to learn from our mistakes and heal our wounded nation.

Oscar Matters - Obsure Nominees at the National Archives

Showcase of Academy Award Nominated Documentaries and Shorts - William G. McGowan Theater - February 20 - February 24, 2008

The Academy of Motion Arts and Sciences, The Charles Guggenheim Center for the Documentary Film and the Foundation for the National Archives have gotten together for the last four years to screen the Oscar nominees for Documentaries and Shorts at the William G. McGowan Theater located at the National Archives in Washington D.C.

These are films that are rarely seen by the public. Documentary features have enjoyed wider releases over the past decade or so, but these films are usually only in theaters for a short time. As for the shorts, unless you are an academy voter, there is little to no opportunity to see these films on the big screen.

Thank goodness for billionaires who had so much money they had to give some of it to the arts. And thank goodness I live in DC where most things artsy are free. I can't make it to every screening but check the blog for the screening I do get to attend.

Music Matters - Vampire Weekend

Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend, XL Records
Download Now - "A-Punk"

Last Wednesday I braved the hardened streets of Northeast DC to see Vampire Weekend play to a sold out crowd at the Rock and Roll Hotel. This was the first stop on the bands self-titled debut album tour. The band is comprised of four young guys from the hallowed halls of Columbia University. Ezra Koenig (lead vocals and lead guitar), Rostam Batmanglij (producer and keyboards), Christopher Tomson (drums), Chris Baio (bass). The band generated more buzz than a bee hive in 2007 by tickling the ears of music reviewers with their short and snappy EP. Their effervescent three minute pop song format made for a energetic, polished and short performance. The band hit the stage at around 9:45 and were packing up at around 10:30. I have to agree with Bob Boylan of All Songs Considered, "this band has it."

Music Matters @ Entertainment Matters

I'm reletivly new to the world of serious popular music. When I was growing up my mother forced me to listen to Christian radio and she didn't mind if I listened to oldies. I didn't take a hold of my own music tastes until I was in college and even then I did so half-heartedly. After I graduated I resolved to figured out how to navigate the current musical landscape.

Every journey into the unknown requires a map. Their are no shortage of map makers in the music world, but finding the right one took me some time. The obvious leaders, such as Rolling Stone and Billboard seemed too be for the seasoned traveler but I couldn’t trust my journey to the cartographic sketch artist of the blogosphere. At the time, my general intellectual musings were guided by various Washington media outlets including The Washington Post, NPR and City Paper and each had a pretty good sign posts for music. Then one day I stumbled across Paste Magazine. I might not have ever looked at this magazine, but Philip Seymour Hoffman was on the cover (the first non-musician to grace the publications cover) and it was the first music magazine that I had ever seen with a sampler CD. Finally, a sonic map for a sonic landscape. In June 2007 I bought an Ipod and started downloading NPR's All Songs Considered and with that I had all of the direction I needed to start my adventure through the contemporary musical world.

I say all of this to help you understand how much of a novice I am when it comes to music. As I read all the reviews of Vampire Weekend, I was struck by the sheer number of references to bands from the 80's, sounds from South Africa, and the other musical building blocks that make this band who they are. After reading all of this I realized that I hadn’t heard most of the music the reviewers were referring to. I also realized that I listen to music with one thing in mind, do I want to hear this song again?

Such is the plight of me and the unwashed masses who can't tell that Vampire Weekend draws from Congolese rhythms and South African guitar rifts. We love music without knowing how it got here. Listening to Vampire Weekend is like a Cliff's Notes version of the musical genres and influences from which they are born. I know I should read the book some day, but sometimes, I'm fine with just knowing how the story ends.

So, at Entertainment Matters, I will cover music as sophistically as I can, but I have young ears. Join me on my journey to find music that matters.