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Chip R
02-02-2010, 10:40 PM
http://www.etonline.com/awards/oscars/2010/2010/02/83640/index.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+ETTopStories+(Entertainment+Ton ight:+Breaking+News)&utm_content=Google+Feedfetcher

Best Picture
"Avatar" James Cameron and Jon Landau, Producers
"The Blind Side" Nominees to be determined
"District 9" Peter Jackson and Carolynne Cunningham, Producers
"An Education" Finola Dwyer and Amanda Posey, Producers
"The Hurt Locker" Nominees to be determined
"Inglourious Basterds" Lawrence Bender, Producer
"Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire" Lee Daniels, Sarah Siegel-Magness and Gary Magness, Producers
"A Serious Man" Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, Producers
"Up" Jonas Rivera, Producer
"Up in the Air" Daniel Dubiecki, Ivan Reitman and Jason Reitman, Producers

Actor in a Leading Role
Jeff Bridges in "Crazy Heart"
George Clooney in "Up in the Air"
Colin Firth in "A Single Man"
Morgan Freeman in "Invictus"
Jeremy Renner in "The Hurt Locker"

Actor in a Supporting Role
Matt Damon in "Invictus"
Woody Harrelson in "The Messenger"
Christopher Plummer in "The Last Station"
Stanley Tucci in "The Lovely Bones"
Christoph Waltz in "Inglourious Basterds"

Actress in a Leading Role
Sandra Bullock in "The Blind Side"
Helen Mirren in "The Last Station"
Carey Mulligan in "An Education"
Gabourey Sidibe in "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire"
Meryl Streep in "Julie & Julia"

Actress in a Supporting Role
Penélope Cruz in "Nine"
Vera Farmiga in "Up in the Air"
Maggie Gyllenhaal in "Crazy Heart"
Anna Kendrick in "Up in the Air"
Mo'Nique in "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire"

BuckeyeRed27
02-02-2010, 10:45 PM
Best Picture
"Avatar" James Cameron and Jon Landau, Producers
"The Blind Side" Nominees to be determined
"District 9" Peter Jackson and Carolynne Cunningham, Producers
"An Education" Finola Dwyer and Amanda Posey, Producers
"The Hurt Locker" Nominees to be determined
"Inglourious Basterds" Lawrence Bender, Producer
"Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire" Lee Daniels, Sarah Siegel-Magness and Gary Magness, Producers
"A Serious Man" Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, Producers
"Up" Jonas Rivera, Producer
"Up in the Air" Daniel Dubiecki, Ivan Reitman and Jason Reitman, Producers

Actor in a Leading Role
Jeff Bridges in "Crazy Heart"
George Clooney in "Up in the Air"
Colin Firth in "A Single Man"
Morgan Freeman in "Invictus"
Jeremy Renner in "The Hurt Locker"

Actor in a Supporting Role
Matt Damon in "Invictus"
Woody Harrelson in "The Messenger"
Christopher Plummer in "The Last Station"
Stanley Tucci in "The Lovely Bones"
Christoph Waltz in "Inglourious Basterds"

Actress in a Leading Role
Sandra Bullock in "The Blind Side"
Helen Mirren in "The Last Station"
Carey Mulligan in "An Education"
Gabourey Sidibe in "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire"
Meryl Streep in "Julie & Julia"

Actress in a Supporting Role
Penélope Cruz in "Nine"
Vera Farmiga in "Up in the Air"
Maggie Gyllenhaal in "Crazy Heart"
Anna Kendrick in "Up in the Air"
Mo'Nique in "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire"

Those are who I think will win not really who I think should win.
My favorite movie this year has been "Up In the Air" although I really did enjoy "The Hurt Locker". To be honest I liked all of the best picture nominees except for "Precious"

Degenerate39
02-02-2010, 10:49 PM
I havent seen any of these movies

reds1869
02-03-2010, 08:19 AM
If there is any justice Christoph Waltz will win Best Supporting Actor. He absolutely made that movie.

savafan
02-03-2010, 08:30 AM
I haven't seen The Lovely Bones, but I'm happy to see Stanley Tucci get nominated, he's an amazingly talented actor.

Johnny Footstool
02-03-2010, 12:26 PM
Sharlto Copley deserved a nomination for Best Actor. His performance changed District 9 from a standard sci-fi shoot-'em-up into something special. It was astonishing, especially for an untrained actor.

Blimpie
02-03-2010, 12:35 PM
If there is any justice Christoph Waltz will win Best Supporting Actor. He absolutely made that movie.I could not agree more.

Hoosier Red
02-03-2010, 12:42 PM
Kinda picked the wrong year to expand best movie to 10.

Caveat Emperor
02-03-2010, 01:13 PM
Those are who I think will win not really who I think should win.
My favorite movie this year has been "Up In the Air" although I really did enjoy "The Hurt Locker". To be honest I liked all of the best picture nominees except for "Precious"

I'm pretty certain they're going to split Best Director and Best Picture between "Hurt Locker" and "Avatar", but I can't decide which it's going to fall yet.

On one hand, I think Bigelow would be the political choice for Best Director since there has never been a female recipiant of the award and she would be the first. On the other hand, Cameron's major accomplishment with "Avatar" is directing the thousands of techs, extras, actors, etc. that worked together to bring the vision of the film to life -- and that's in addition to the work he did in pushing for the technology to make the movie possible.

Whichever way the Academy goes for BD, they'll go the other way for Best Picture.

Right now, I'm leaning more towards "Avatar" as Best Picture and Bigelow as "Best Director" (with "Hurt Locker" getting a script award too) -- but I'm nowhere near certain.

pahster
02-03-2010, 02:48 PM
I'll be disappointed if Avatar wins Best Picture or Best Original Screenplay, though I can see giving it the nod for Best Visual Effects, Cinematography, and Director.

Blimpie
02-04-2010, 07:40 AM
Kinda picked the wrong year to expand best movie to 10.Werd.

How could 10 movies be nominated for Best Picture, and The Hangover not be among them?

PedroBourbon
02-04-2010, 10:04 AM
If there is any justice Christoph Waltz will win Best Supporting Actor. He absolutely made that movie.

And how in the world could Avatar not win best picture? It wasn't the best story or the best movie but the numbers speak for themselves. It's rewriting history weekend after weekend and will likely not be toppled for sometime. (3-5 years maybe, LOL!)

Eric_the_Red
02-04-2010, 10:13 AM
And how in the world could Avatar not win best picture? It wasn't the best story or the best movie but the numbers speak for themselves. It's rewriting history weekend after weekend and will likely not be toppled for sometime. (3-5 years maybe, LOL!)

Because the award is Best Picture, not Most Money.

PedroBourbon
02-04-2010, 10:39 AM
Because the award is Best Picture, not Most Money.

I am well aware and fully agree. The movie storyline (Avatar) was very plain and predictable but you have to admit that the numbers do factor into the awards. The previous record holder Titanic won best picture. IMO, it was not a great movie either. It was a love story where a big ship sank. I think it competed with Good Will Hunting and As Good as it Gets which, IMO, were better movies. I would be shocked if Avatar didn't win.

Oxilon
02-04-2010, 12:13 PM
I am well aware and fully agree. The movie storyline (Avatar) was very plain and predictable but you have to admit that the numbers do factor into the awards. The previous record holder Titanic won best picture. IMO, it was not a great movie either. It was a love story where a big ship sank. I think it competed with Good Will Hunting and As Good as it Gets which, IMO, were better movies. I would be shocked if Avatar didn't win.

The Dark Knight earned the most money at the box office last year and they only came away with two oscar nominations, neither of which were for best picture. Honestly, if there was ever an award show were money wasn't a factor, it would be the Academy Awards.

redsmetz
02-04-2010, 01:36 PM
And how in the world could Avatar not win best picture? It wasn't the best story or the best movie but the numbers speak for themselves. It's rewriting history weekend after weekend and will likely not be toppled for sometime. (3-5 years maybe, LOL!)

Actually, it's fascinating to see how movies such as Avatar stack up historically when adjusted for inflation. I don't know when this list was made, but at the time, it was ranking 21st, although I think this might be a couple of weeks old because I think Avatar has closed in on (or passed) Titanic. Still, the grandaddy of them all is still Gone With The Wind which in 2010 dollars had a box office draw of over a billion and a half dollars, albeit, as the site notes, over multiple releases (I think there was a reshowing of the movie some time in the 1950's or 1960's). Still that's a tremendous record.

http://boxofficemojo.com/alltime/adjusted.htm

bucksfan2
02-04-2010, 02:32 PM
I don't think Avatar should win best picture. I think it the plot itself was a little tired. The screenplay and special effects were first rate. To me Avatar is similar to The Lord of the Rings in the screen play and effects, but the actual story of Lord was much better.

BuckeyeRed27
02-04-2010, 08:39 PM
I don't think Avatar should win best picture. I think it the plot itself was a little tired. The screenplay and special effects were first rate. To me Avatar is similar to The Lord of the Rings in the screen play and effects, but the actual story of Lord was much better.

Avatar won't win. The story was just to simple and that won't sit well with the people that vote.

Really good chance it will be "The Hurt Locker" and the darkhouse is "Up in the Air".

Christopher Waltz is a complete shoo in for Best Supporting.

Razor Shines
02-04-2010, 11:15 PM
And how in the world could Avatar not win best picture? It wasn't the best story or the best movie but the numbers speak for themselves. It's rewriting history weekend after weekend and will likely not be toppled for sometime. (3-5 years maybe, LOL!)

I think both The Hurt Locker and Up in the Air were much better movies. Probably Inglorious Basterds too. I think The Hurt Locker should win, but wouldn't be upset if it's Up in the Air.

Blimpie
02-05-2010, 11:13 AM
Avatar won't win. The story was just to simple and that won't sit well with the people that vote.It sure sat well with those who gave "Rocky" the best picture nod.

Not a whole lot that was complicated about that storyline either.

Caveat Emperor
02-05-2010, 01:02 PM
Avatar won't win. The story was just to simple and that won't sit well with the people that vote.

It sat well enough with the Hollywood Foriegn Press to earn the Golden Globe for Best Drama. They're usually not terribly far-off when it comes to Best Picture, agreeing with the Academy in 4 of the last 9 years -- and at least the HFP hasn't had a truly "WTF" moment the way the Academy did when they gave the BP Oscar to "Crash" back in 2005.

If anything will torpedo Avatar it isn't the story (which, while derivitive, wasn't nearly as simple or bad as people have made it out to be), but rather it's the fact that Cameron's motion-capture CGI technology probably strays a little too close to cartoon-dom for the actors (who make up the largest Academy voting bloc) to be comfortable.

Razor Shines
03-07-2010, 01:15 AM
Well the Hollywood Stock Exchange has The Hurt Locker currently leading Avatar in the best picture race, and they hit almost 90% correct last year. http://www.hsx.com/security/feature.php?type=awardoption

I've been hearing that Gabourey Sidibe has a really good shot at Best Actress. I think she should certainly get it considering she starred in two Oscar nominated movies this year, Precious and The Blind Side.

Caveat Emperor
03-07-2010, 11:35 AM
Well the Hollywood Stock Exchange has The Hurt Locker currently leading Avatar in the best picture race, and they hit almost 90% correct last year. http://www.hsx.com/security/feature.php?type=awardoption

I've been hearing that Gabourey Sidibe has a really good shot at Best Actress. I think she should certainly get it considering she starred in two Oscar nominated movies this year, Precious and The Blind Side.

I'm sticking to my guess that Avatar and Hurt Locker split BP and Best Director.

As to the Best Actress award, I'm thinking that this is where the actors/actresses reward Sandra Bullock as a kind of "lifetime achievement" award, since this is the first (and probably last) shot she's had at an acclaimed role.

MWM
03-08-2010, 10:35 AM
I thought Hurt Locker and Crazy Heart were equally deserving with Up in the Air pretty close. I hated to see Up in the Air get shut out. It was a fantastic film with strong performances. I enjoyed Avatar, but I'm glad to see it didn't win tons of awards.

Eric_the_Red
03-08-2010, 10:58 AM
I won our party picks with 15 of 24 correct, despite only seeing a handful of movies this year.

The dance troupe with the Best Score category was waaaaay too long.

reds1869
03-08-2010, 11:03 AM
I was very happy that Hurt Locker won so many awards. Overall, the show was the same self-praising snore-fest as always, but I did enjoy Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin.

Chip R
03-08-2010, 11:27 AM
I was very happy that Hurt Locker won so many awards. Overall, the show was the same self-praising snore-fest as always, but I did enjoy Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin.


They were good.

BuckeyeRed27
03-08-2010, 11:46 AM
I won our party picks with 15 of 24 correct, despite only seeing a handful of movies this year.

The dance troupe with the Best Score category was waaaaay too long.

I really liked that part because there were a lot of dancers from "So You Think You Can Dance?". The Oscars were produced by Adam Shankman so he was able to get a lot of dancers in apparently.

I'm happy that Avatar didn't win the big awards because I don't think it deserved it at all, but I really don't think Hurt Locker did either. Solid movie and I would suggest seeing it, but certainly not the best.
Agree with the above statements about Up in the Air and CrazyHeart (which I can't believe wasn't nominated). Also recently saw An Education which was excellent as well.

Caveat Emperor
03-08-2010, 12:15 PM
I thought Hurt Locker and Crazy Heart were equally deserving with Up in the Air pretty close. I hated to see Up in the Air get shut out. It was a fantastic film with strong performances. I enjoyed Avatar, but I'm glad to see it didn't win tons of awards.

Hurt Locker was a good movie, I don't have a problem with it winning the BP award. The whole Hurt Locker-Avatar scenario reminds me greatly of the Annie Hall - Star Wars debate from 1977. Two very good movies, and I think even hardcore fanboys would have a tough time claiming either winner didn't deserve the award.

Having said that, at some point, the Academy needs to recognize science fiction as a legitimate film genre. They've snubbed every major science fiction movie that's ever been up for the Oscar. For a genre that has produced so many compelling and fantastic films, it's borderline criminal that one of them hasn't been recognized by the Academy yet.

Hoosier Red
03-08-2010, 12:24 PM
I suppose Lord of the Rings doesn't count as Science Fiction but generally movie people regard Science Fiction/Fantasy as one genre.

bucksfan2
03-08-2010, 12:29 PM
I suppose Lord of the Rings doesn't count as Science Fiction but generally movie people regard Science Fiction/Fantasy as one genre.

That is what I thought as of well. The Lord of the Rings was about as out there as Avatar was, and The Lord of the Rings won everything.

The story of Avatar was pretty basic and the acting wasn't all that impressive either. It was fascinating to watch but I don't think it deserved to win.

The only 3 movies up for best picture that I saw were Avatar, Blind Side, and The Inglorious Bastards. I thought Blind Side was the best of the bunch, but I haven't seen Hurt Locker yet (chose Inglorious over it).

Roy Tucker
03-08-2010, 01:00 PM
I was a little sorry to see "Up in the Air" get shut out. Not that I didn't want "Crazy Love" and "The Hurt Locker" get their awards, I just thought it was equally deserving to get *something*. I think its release timing hurt it.

Haven't see Avatar yet but I plan to soon.

Quite the extravaganza show but lousy pace. The first half was too slow and the second half too fast. The Best Picture award went way too quickly. C'mon guys, you can afford to go another 30 seconds over. At least announce the nominees.

I liked Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin. I could see them doing the show a few more times.

klw
03-08-2010, 01:08 PM
My complaint with the show is that it should give longer amount of time for the accceptance speeches. The most glaring example of this was when there was a award (for a short movie I think) in which there were two people accepting. First gives a short speech but the second person got cut off after one word but they then went immediately into Ben Stiller's bit which should never have taken place. Shorten the banter by presenters, lengthen the time to say thanks.

MWM
03-08-2010, 01:15 PM
Roy, do you mean Crazy *Heart*? That's the second time you mentioned Crazy *Love* and I'm wondering if there's a good movie out there I'm missing. :)

Roy Tucker
03-08-2010, 01:24 PM
Roy, do you mean Crazy *Heart*? That's the second time you mentioned Crazy *Love* and I'm wondering if there's a good movie out there I'm missing. :)

Nah, I'm just an idiot. Its "Crazy Heart".

Chalk it up to a senior moment. ;)

Razor Shines
03-08-2010, 04:09 PM
My complaint with the show is that it should give longer amount of time for the accceptance speeches. The most glaring example of this was when there was a award (for a short movie I think) in which there were two people accepting. First gives a short speech but the second person got cut off after one word but they then went immediately into Ben Stiller's bit which should never have taken place. Shorten the banter by presenters, lengthen the time to say thanks.

Well Ben Stiller's skit was supposed to be funny but got changed because the producers were worried about hurting James Cameron's feelings.

Apparently Sasha Baren Cohen was supposed to play a role in that skit, but he was cut out.

http://www.rttnews.com/ArticleView.aspx?Id=1231881&SMap=1

Dom Heffner
03-08-2010, 05:03 PM
My complaint with the show is that it should give longer amount of time for the accceptance speeches. The most glaring example of this was when there was a award (for a short movie I think) in which there were two people accepting. First gives a short speech but the second person got cut off after one word but they then went immediately into Ben Stiller's bit which should never have taken place. Shorten the banter by presenters, lengthen the time to say thanks.

In regards to the short you are referring to- that was a bit of a Kanye moment there => http://marquee.blogs.cnn.com/2010/03/08/did-a-producer-pull-a-kanye-at-the-oscars/?hpt=C2

Only one person can accept- that lady interrupted and gave a speech. I liked the Stiller bit and would rather watch that than an endless list of thank you's....that's just me, though.

westofyou
03-08-2010, 05:44 PM
Hurt Locker was a good movie, I don't have a problem with it winning the BP award. The whole Hurt Locker-Avatar scenario reminds me greatly of the Annie Hall - Star Wars debate from 1977. Two very good movies, and I think even hardcore fanboys would have a tough time claiming either winner didn't deserve the award.

Having said that, at some point, the Academy needs to recognize science fiction as a legitimate film genre. They've snubbed every major science fiction movie that's ever been up for the Oscar. For a genre that has produced so many compelling and fantastic films, it's borderline criminal that one of them hasn't been recognized by the Academy yet.

Annie Hall is a great film, Star Wars a great Movie, the Oscars are for Films, just one film geeks opinion.

Rojo
03-12-2010, 11:56 PM
One film dramatizes brave American soldiers. The other film inveighs against imperalist destruction.

I wonder which one will take home the Oscar -- for about five seconds.

The American people felt differently.

cincinnati chili
03-13-2010, 10:16 AM
Hurt Locker was a good movie, I don't have a problem with it winning the BP award. The whole Hurt Locker-Avatar scenario reminds me greatly of the Annie Hall - Star Wars debate from 1977. Two very good movies, and I think even hardcore fanboys would have a tough time claiming either winner didn't deserve the award.

Having said that, at some point, the Academy needs to recognize science fiction as a legitimate film genre. They've snubbed every major science fiction movie that's ever been up for the Oscar. For a genre that has produced so many compelling and fantastic films, it's borderline criminal that one of them hasn't been recognized by the Academy yet.
__________________

It's funny you mention Annie Hall. I saw 500 days of summer referred to as the Annie Hall of this generation. I say it may be a notch below that, but that it should have been nominated for best picture and/or best screenplay.

MWM
03-13-2010, 11:11 AM
It's funny you mention Annie Hall. I saw 500 days of summer referred to as the Annie Hall of this generation. I say it may be a notch below that, but that it should have been nominated for best picture and/or best screenplay.

I agree with that. I loved 500 Days and it would have had my vote over Avatar or The Blindside.

westofyou
03-13-2010, 12:01 PM
Annie Hall is a classic, it's a brilliant film especially when placed in the context of the era it was produced in, the 70's was a realism movement era and Annie Hall is an against the grain film, not sure if the same could be said for 500 Days.

cincinnati chili
03-13-2010, 12:22 PM
There were numerous unconventional storytelling techniques in 500 days. The hope vs. reality split-screen scene was great. The Hall n Oates dance routine wasn't gratuitous but actually fit to what he was going through in his life. In both Annie Hall and 500 days the characters were not everyday people but larger-than-life individuals who we wish we could be (celebrity in AH; young, handsome or attractive members of the leisure class in 500 days), but both spoke intelligently about things most of us ordinary people go through in relationships.

I think 500 days is just a notch below Annie Hall, seriously. But I thought it was a better movie, film, piece of cinema or whatever than Precious and a more intelligent story than Avatar (although I have no problem with Avatar being nominated due to the ground it broke). I only saw 3 of the 10 nominees, but I am skeptical that it was less deserving than about 5 of them.

Roy Tucker
03-13-2010, 03:13 PM
I was a big fan of 500 Days of Summer when it first came out and was a little surprised it didn't get any Oscar consideration. I thought it would be a good double feature paired up with The Time Travelers Wife.

Difficult for me to be objective about Annie Hall. I had lived a version of that movie just before it came out (even down to the point of I actually said "who's copy of Catcher in the Rye is this") so it nailed me between the eyes. Great movie of that era.

vaticanplum
03-13-2010, 06:07 PM
There were numerous unconventional storytelling techniques in 500 days. The hope vs. reality split-screen scene was great. The Hall n Oates dance routine wasn't gratuitous but actually fit to what he was going through in his life. In both Annie Hall and 500 days the characters were not everyday people but larger-than-life individuals who we wish we could be (celebrity in AH; young, handsome or attractive members of the leisure class in 500 days), but both spoke intelligently about things most of us ordinary people go through in relationships.

I hadn't given much thought to seeing 500 Days but I didn't know there was a Hall and Oates dance routine. Something just jumped to the top of my movie list.

savafan
03-14-2010, 12:11 AM
The strange thing I've discovered about 500 Days is that most of the men I know who've seen it liked it while most of the women who watched it hated it. Could it be the first non-chick chick flick?

Razor Shines
03-14-2010, 12:17 AM
The strange thing I've discovered about 500 Days is that most of the men I know who've seen it liked it while most of the women who watched it hated it. Could it be the first non-chick chick flick?

I don't know.....All the women I know that have seen it loved it, and most of the guys. This was the first movie I can think of that my wife had to own on bluray/dvd as soon as it came out.

savafan
03-14-2010, 03:09 AM
I don't know.....All the women I know that have seen it loved it, and most of the guys. This was the first movie I can think of that my wife had to own on bluray/dvd as soon as it came out.

I bought it on a blind buy, having not seen it nor heard anything about it prior. It was one of those situations where I'm at Blockbuster and they have the 3 for $20 used DVD sale, and I can find 2 I want, but need to find the 3rd one or I'll end up spending $10 more, and I chose 500 Days of Summer. I wasn't disappointed. You know, it's way more realistic than most movies out there. I related to it on a level that I didn't personally like, but I enjoyed the movie.

Roy Tucker
03-14-2010, 12:04 PM
My wife liked it a lot.

cincinnati chili
03-14-2010, 07:30 PM
The strange thing I've discovered about 500 Days is that most of the men I know who've seen it liked it while most of the women who watched it hated it. Could it be the first non-chick chick flick?

I read a negative review of the movie (I think by David Edelstein) saying that the female lead character was not well developed and that it really didn't present her side of the story. But I think that was kind of the point. The male lead didn't really know what she was thinking, and didn't really listen to the cues that she was giving him. The movie wouldn't have worked if the female lead wasn't kind of mysterious.

The movie could just as easily have been presented with the shoe on the other foot (i.e. the female was much more into the relationship than the male), and as the women on this board can probably attest, this is certainly often the case in the real world in many twenty-something relationships.

pahster
03-14-2010, 11:22 PM
I read a negative review of the movie (I think by David Edelstein) saying that the female lead character was not well developed and that it really didn't present her side of the story. But I think that was kind of the point. The male lead didn't really know what she was thinking, and didn't really listen to the cues that she was giving him. The movie wouldn't have worked if the female lead wasn't kind of mysterious.

The movie could just as easily have been presented with the shoe on the other foot (i.e. the female was much more into the relationship than the male), and as the women on this board can probably attest, this is certainly often the case in the real world in many twenty-something relationships.

Yeah. Without the mystery there is no conflict, and with no conflict the movie wouldn't be interesting.

RichRed
03-15-2010, 01:46 PM
My wife and I just watched (500) Days last night and both really enjoyed it. Great soundtrack too; the music is sort of an extra character in the movie.

oneupper
03-15-2010, 02:03 PM
I must be getting old or something, but I started this movie on a flight back from Europe and could not make it through more than 35 minutes or so (yeah, caught the Hall & Oates routine...only thing I liked).
Mind you, when I have 10 hours to kill I will normally watch ANYTHING.
IMO, Movie tries way too hard to be different...and you notice.

Rotten Tomatoes gives it an 86, so I guess I'm an old grouch.

TC81190
03-15-2010, 05:04 PM
I must be getting old or something, but I started this movie on a flight back from Europe and could not make it through more than 35 minutes or so (yeah, caught the Hall & Oates routine...only thing I liked).
Mind you, when I have 10 hours to kill I will normally watch ANYTHING.
IMO, Movie tries way too hard to be different...and you notice.

Rotten Tomatoes gives it an 86, so I guess I'm an old grouch.
Are we still talking 500 Days of Summer? No, I agree with you, you're no old grouch. I thought it was kind of shallow and boring, and an obvious pandering to the rising indie trend, tooled to reach the Pitchfork crowd.

vaticanplum
03-16-2010, 06:25 PM
Spurred on by this thread, I watched 500 Days of Summer the other night. I really liked it...even kinda destroyed me a bit. I don't know that it set the world on fire or even that it's a great movie, but it's quite a unique concept to explore a relationship that fails for no other reason except that the people involved aren't in the same place. You never see that in movies despite the fact that these hugely outnumber successful relationships...it's also a tough concept to pull off, but I thought it did so beautifully, very simply and plainly. Ironically, I thought it also captured early love/infatuation as well as almost anything I've seen, which is part of the reason it worked. The way it was structured, with all the flashbacks or whatever you want to call them, was brilliant. It's exactly how you look back at a relationship after it falls apart.

If it deserves an award, though, it's for making LA look appealing, almost NICE, a feat I would have thought unachievable. Which was great...like you're seeing it through his eyes, and as many here have mentioned, the story is through his eyes. What the heck was that building at the end, where he interviewed? Gorgeous.

Incidentally, I used to drink occasionally with the guy who plays the lead in this film. He lived around the corner from the bar where I worked and would come in late when things were winding down. He was a really good kid, pretty laid-back and just getting an adult career started. He also was not nearly as good-looking then as he is in this movie. Guess I missed that train.

cincinnati chili
03-17-2010, 01:54 AM
Incidentally, I used to drink occasionally with the guy who plays the lead in this film. He lived around the corner from the bar where I worked and would come in late when things were winding down. He was a really good kid, pretty laid-back and just getting an adult career started. He also was not nearly as good-looking then as he is in this movie. Guess I missed that train.

Wow. He struck me as very likeable, perfect for this part, and at the same time I can't really imagine him in a different role now. He hosted Saturday night live and pulled off a "Singing in the Rain" style dance routine on live tv. Gutsy.