Re: The Alternate Oscars: Best Picture (1969-Present)
Posted: Mon Aug 28, 2017 9:54 am
It's crazy how many films from this year have a connection to Lionsgate.
2016
Arrival
While this is unquestionably Villeneuve's best film it still has a few elements that leave some dissatisfaction in my mouth. My main issue is how the film conceives of memory and thought as a reflected by editing. Instead of developing a language akin to the process of the aliens with their circle Villeneuve just does a lame Malick imitation. Even though Villeneuve flops on this it is easily the best part of the film with the political element just not working on any level due to being underbaked from someone with less sense of geopolitics than it does of linguistics. The script for the most part and the performances though patch up this and other unsatisfying editing decisions overcoming Villeneuve though not to the degree of being as good as Interstellar or the film version of Slaughterhouse Five.
Fences
I could see this working better with a better director (particularly one who could make Washington give a good performance rather than just ham) and a willingness to cut the speeches so that they work better for cinema. The editing and blocking in particular are so bad it actively makes the film silly even with good performances like Davis'. Basically this is indistinguishable from those television inspired play adaptations from the '50s. There are some fully successful moments such as the conversation after the money is paid back and I can see how with just a little bit of effort this could have become a genuinely great film rather than an occasionally good one carrying some significant flaws.
Hacksaw Ridge
Should have just watched SGT. York instead.
Hell or High Water
The genre stuff works, but the attempts at being taken seriously flop pretty hard. Chris Pine is also just not convincing at all as some scummy Texan.
Hidden Figures
Could have been better; could have been worse. A bit like The Help this probably does better to be seen in the woman's picture genre rather than anything on race. That said occasionally it comes on an interesting idea about race like connecting their potential to upward mobility with the number of holocaust survivors working at NASA. Also some of the casual obstacles are really interesting such as the pee run. That's pretty minor for the film at large though which is a problem in many ways, but given how the relationship of women is under represented as well I'm okay with this as a tradeoff as long as it's well done which it kind of is here. I am annoyed though that mainstream American films seem to only be able mention religion when the main characters are black. It is weirdly overemphasized here, but not in similar films. Also it is just entertaining which immediately after Silence is making me very forgiving.
La La Land
Meh. The people complaining about white people in jazz are just being dumb and I haven't really heard a great argument for the film as anything more than fun either. That said JK Simmons little head nod at the end is enough to make the whole film worth it.
Lion
This is about as good as a Weinstein prestige thing can be expected to be in this day and age. Like others I feel the stuff with the kid is significantly better just because it tells so an interesting story that doesn't feel made up or dramatized from the facts (whether or not that was the case). Even when he gets to Tasmania there are a lot of interesting things going on with the interplay between the family and mentally disturbed brother. I'd have loved to see more of that. Instead we get an appropriately modern altar to the place technology has in our lives which just isn't as interesting as the very tough family dynamic.
Manchester by the Sea
This is the film with a full range of emotions that really understands everything about its protagonist and the world he lives in. It manages to underplay everything in a way that makes the very little movement we see here be very meaningful while understanding that it is largely just a few weeks of the life of some guy. That's really hard to pull off and makes me instantly a fan of Lonergan.
Moonlight
I'm saddened by what a disappointment this was. Every time the film suggested it was going to be as good as I was hoping it thundered down with something incredibly bad. The opening shot is a perfect example of this where we have a pretty simple dialogue scene setting up Ali and the world of the film, but Jenkins has to show he's a real artist with this over the top long shot that is too self interested and distracting. Each segment, fortunately, gets better then the last with the hand job and the last segment's conversation in particular working pretty well. That doesn't stop this from being a weak film from people who will probably become better artists though.
My vote: Manchester by the Sea
2016
Arrival
While this is unquestionably Villeneuve's best film it still has a few elements that leave some dissatisfaction in my mouth. My main issue is how the film conceives of memory and thought as a reflected by editing. Instead of developing a language akin to the process of the aliens with their circle Villeneuve just does a lame Malick imitation. Even though Villeneuve flops on this it is easily the best part of the film with the political element just not working on any level due to being underbaked from someone with less sense of geopolitics than it does of linguistics. The script for the most part and the performances though patch up this and other unsatisfying editing decisions overcoming Villeneuve though not to the degree of being as good as Interstellar or the film version of Slaughterhouse Five.
Fences
I could see this working better with a better director (particularly one who could make Washington give a good performance rather than just ham) and a willingness to cut the speeches so that they work better for cinema. The editing and blocking in particular are so bad it actively makes the film silly even with good performances like Davis'. Basically this is indistinguishable from those television inspired play adaptations from the '50s. There are some fully successful moments such as the conversation after the money is paid back and I can see how with just a little bit of effort this could have become a genuinely great film rather than an occasionally good one carrying some significant flaws.
Hacksaw Ridge
Should have just watched SGT. York instead.
Hell or High Water
The genre stuff works, but the attempts at being taken seriously flop pretty hard. Chris Pine is also just not convincing at all as some scummy Texan.
Hidden Figures
Could have been better; could have been worse. A bit like The Help this probably does better to be seen in the woman's picture genre rather than anything on race. That said occasionally it comes on an interesting idea about race like connecting their potential to upward mobility with the number of holocaust survivors working at NASA. Also some of the casual obstacles are really interesting such as the pee run. That's pretty minor for the film at large though which is a problem in many ways, but given how the relationship of women is under represented as well I'm okay with this as a tradeoff as long as it's well done which it kind of is here. I am annoyed though that mainstream American films seem to only be able mention religion when the main characters are black. It is weirdly overemphasized here, but not in similar films. Also it is just entertaining which immediately after Silence is making me very forgiving.
La La Land
Meh. The people complaining about white people in jazz are just being dumb and I haven't really heard a great argument for the film as anything more than fun either. That said JK Simmons little head nod at the end is enough to make the whole film worth it.
Lion
This is about as good as a Weinstein prestige thing can be expected to be in this day and age. Like others I feel the stuff with the kid is significantly better just because it tells so an interesting story that doesn't feel made up or dramatized from the facts (whether or not that was the case). Even when he gets to Tasmania there are a lot of interesting things going on with the interplay between the family and mentally disturbed brother. I'd have loved to see more of that. Instead we get an appropriately modern altar to the place technology has in our lives which just isn't as interesting as the very tough family dynamic.
Manchester by the Sea
This is the film with a full range of emotions that really understands everything about its protagonist and the world he lives in. It manages to underplay everything in a way that makes the very little movement we see here be very meaningful while understanding that it is largely just a few weeks of the life of some guy. That's really hard to pull off and makes me instantly a fan of Lonergan.
Moonlight
I'm saddened by what a disappointment this was. Every time the film suggested it was going to be as good as I was hoping it thundered down with something incredibly bad. The opening shot is a perfect example of this where we have a pretty simple dialogue scene setting up Ali and the world of the film, but Jenkins has to show he's a real artist with this over the top long shot that is too self interested and distracting. Each segment, fortunately, gets better then the last with the hand job and the last segment's conversation in particular working pretty well. That doesn't stop this from being a weak film from people who will probably become better artists though.
My vote: Manchester by the Sea