Oscars 2017: The Results

A little later than planned, here's the breakdown of just how accurate my well informed analyses/random guesses into the whole 2017 Oscar circus were. As a whole, I mostly agreed with the Academy's winning choices, but there were a number of wins - politically driven, I'm sure, which I don't even really mind (I just hate being in the wrong) - I disagree with vehemently. Oh well, it makes the whole annual affair that much more interesting...

Best Film:
First Choice: Correct. I didn't watch the ceremony live, so I didn't hear about the big winner screw-up until well after, but I never really doubted Moonlight winning. That movie deals with heavy themes like identity, ethnicity and sexuality, while La La Land is mostly plain fun. And the Academy's track record of rewarding plain fun is far from stellar.

Best Actor:
First Choice: Correct. Even though I wasn't wholly impressed by Casey's performance myself, I can say the same thing for the other nominees. All of them delivered strong performances, but none that will prove truly memorable. In this case, the buzz proved correct, and I just merrily went along with the buzz, I'll admit.
  
Best Actress:
First Choice: Incorrect. This choice I feel is undeserved. Stone did a fine job, but so did her male counterpart Gosling, also nominated (but for Best Actor, obviously). Point is, La La Land was a two-person job in terms of acting. In my mind, the pair carried the movie, not just the girl or the boy. Stone winning I feel is degrading to Gosling, who was equally up to his job, but is left in the cold. On the other hand, my choice, Natalie Portman, had to carry an entire movie by herself, demanding emotional intensity in every scene. She delivered just that, which makes Stone's win all the harder for me to bear. At least Portman already has one of those gold statues in her possession.
Second choice: Incorrect.

Best Supporting Actor: 
First Choice: Correct. No surprise here. Though I sense some political motivation for both this and the next category may also have been involved, to prove #OscarsSoWhite wrong. I don't mind, I fully agree with both choices.

Best Supporting Actress:
First Choice: Incorrect. In this case it's clear why one should watch a movie before judging its performances. I didn't have that option, because Fences was released locally rather late in the awards season, well before I posted my predictions. If I had seen it earlier, Viola Davis would have been on top of my list. Quite a strong show!
Second choice: Incorrect.

Best Director:
First Choice: Incorrect.
Second choice: Correct. Like I said, whoever wins Best Film won't win Best Director. I put all my money on Moonlight, but by my own reasoning, this one was gonna go to La La Land. Which it did.

Best Screenplay:
First Choice: Correct. In hindsight, I think the year's strongest script was Hell or High Water's. But I didn't think it would win.

Best Adapted Screenplay:
First Choice: Correct. As it should be.

Best Animated Film:
First Choice: Incorrect.
Second choice: Incorrect. Now this one makes me mad. Zootopia was a great film, no doubt. But it wasn't in any way innovative, nor was its animation so superb as in my own two choices. I really feel Zootopia's underlying political message was what won the Academy over, rather than the actual animation which this category is supposed to honour. I remain convinced this was the year's biggest snub on the part of the Oscars, and I'll always defend both The Red Turtle and Kubo and the Two Strings over Zootopia.

Best Foreign Film:
First Choice: Incorrect. Also a politically motivated win, a clear anti-Trump statement. Director Ashgar Farhadi won, but wasn't allowed into the country to pick up his Oscar, making the USA look bad (and rightfully so). However, Toni Erdmann is definitely the better movie, and I've noticed most fellow critics tend to agree.
Second choice: Correct.

Best Cinematography:
First Choice: Correct. Here's where La La Land starts to take most of the technical acclaim.

Best Editing: 
First Choice: Incorrect.
Second choice: Incorrect. Okay, so not this one. But I was never very impressed with Hacksaw Ridge in whatever way.

Best Production Design:
First Choice: Correct.

Best Costume Design:
First Choice: Incorrect.
Second choice: Correct. Poor Jackie really got screwed over well.

Best Hair and Make-up:
First Choice: Incorrect.
Second choice: Correct. Like I said, Suicide Squad deserved to win and surprisingly enough, it did. I don't mind being wrong on this one.

Best Score:
First Choice: Correct. No-brainer.

Best Song:
First Choice: Correct. I preferred the other song for which La La Land got nominated though.

Best Sound Mixing:
First Choice: Incorrect.
Second choice: Incorrect. Wow, this one came as an unwelcome surprise. Where's the time the sounds of Star Wars were the safest bet in the galaxy?

Best Sound Editing: 
First Choice: Incorrect.
Second choice: Correct. Hmm, La La Land didn't actually win so many technical awards after all. I'm glad Arrival reaped some reward.

Best Visual Effects:
First Choice: Correct. Very obvious choice.

Best Documentary: 
First Choice: Correct. Also no surprise.

Correct: 11
Second choice: 5
Incorrect: 5

Big reveal here is my number of Corrects and Correct Second Choices has remained the same compared to last year. So I remain consistent. But there's also no improvement. Story of my life I suppose.

Oscars 2017: The Predictions

 'Tis the season to hand out all kinds of awards to people who're in the movie business. There's this particular lavish award ceremony hosted by a certain Academy I have this annual routine of predicting wins for. Though the world around us is rapidly changing (and none for the better it appears), I see no reason to change this routine any time soon and thus, what follows below is my usual round of Oscar predictions. I've seen many of these movies (not all of them have been released here yet) and know a fair amount about the rest, so let's see whether I can nail who wins what better than last year. Even with the odd random guess, I'm bound to get a few of 'em right. It's true!

Best Film:
First Choice: Moonlight. A daring view of a troubled young man's existence told in three chapters and acted out by three wholly different but equally brilliant actors. Not to mention issues of race, gender, 'nature versus nurture' and destiny. An inexperienced director weaving all of this together seamlessly. This film works on so many angles it would suit the Academy well to reward it for many of them. However, all those angles conspire to deny the film the award as well, since there's the risk of a few of them not sitting well with more conservative Academy members. If not Best Film, than Best Director for sure.
Second choice: La La Land. Because it's just what the world needs in this particular period of history.

Best Actor:
First Choice: Casey Affleck. Ben got his due, Casey had to stick with nominations. Until now I bet. The other lead actors all did a good job, but Casey's just sticks out.
Second choice: Denzel Washington. I'm rooting for Viggo Mortensen, but Washington is a safer bet. There's this enfant terrible quality to Viggo that just makes him an unlikely winner.

Best Actress:
First Choice: Natalie Portman. That was one hell of a transformation, downright to the silly voice. if you can get away with carrying a motion picture on such intense emotional levels with that voice and  pink outfit, an Oscar is well deserved.
Second choice: Ruth Negga. Huppert's picture is too controversial, Streep is too conservative and Stone's acting just wasn't special enough, so Negga remains. Admittedly, I have yet to see Loving.

Best Supporting Actor: 
First Choice: Mahershala Ali. Playing a drug dealer you can only love despite everything is quite a feat.
Second choice: Jeff Bridges. I've never seen such a loathsome likable character, apart, from Ali's above.

Best Supporting Actress:
First Choice: Naomie Harris. I've never felt such a revulsion for such a lovely and talented actress.
Second choice: None of the others really stand out of this crowd of four. Randomly, I'd say Octavia Spencer.

Best Director:
First Choice: Barry Jenkins. For the same reasons as Best Film.
Second choice: Damien Chazelle. But these two could easily be vice versa, as is the case for Best Film. I doubt either of them will win both.

Best Screenplay:
First Choice: Manchester by the Sea.
Second choice: La La Land. I'm rooting for this film, even though I think it's not the script that carries this film, despite the bittersweet ending. 

Best Adapted Screenplay:
First Choice: Moonlight. Finally a category where this film and La La Land are not in each other's way. Sure win.
Second choice: Arrival.

Best Animated Film:
First Choice: The Red Turtle. Simple but beautiful and hugely emotional animation, no speaking parts throughout. Something else entirely. The rest is good, but not as unique. I nearly cried, you know.
Second choice: Kubo and the Two Strings. Some of the finest stop motion animation ever.

Best Foreign Film:
First Choice: Toni Erdmann. Can't see this one lose.
Second choice: The Salesman. If it wins, I consider it more of a political statement.

Best Cinematography:
First Choice: La La Land. Not only is the musical back in business, so are the sweeping shots that are a part of its DNA since the Golden Days of Hollywood.
Second choice: Arrival.

Best Editing: 
First Choice: Moonlight.
Second choice: Arrival.

Best Production Design:
First Choice: La La Land.
Second choice: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.

Best Costume Design:
First Choice: Jackie. The extreme faithfulness to the iconic dresses, suits and hats matters at least as much as Portman's portrayal to this period piece. And they look equally gorgeous in black and white.
Second choice: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.

Best Hair and Make-up:
First Choice: Star Trek Beyond. Not because I agree, but because it's the safer bet.
Second choice: Suicide Squad. Because it deserves it. So the movie wasn't great, but the make-up sure deserves credit. Just look at Killer Croc, waah...

Best Score:
First Choice: La La Land. It's the songs that you remember, but the music that accompanies them that makes them great.
Second choice: Jackie.

Best Song:
First Choice: La La Land. Nominated twice, so an unlikely loser.
Second choice: Moana. Disney songs, eh?

Best Sound Mixing:
First Choice: Rogue One. Never bet against the sounds of the Star Wars universe.
Second choice: La La Land.

Best Sound Editing: 
First Choice: La La Land.
Second choice: Arrival.

Best Visual Effects:
First Choice: The Jungle Book. Because it makes the actual jungle a replaceable thing to many people and that's a scary thought. But it goes to show the innovation here.
Second choice: Doctor Strange. VFX rarely got this trippy.

Best Documentary: 
First Choice: O.J.: Made in America. Introducing a new genre: the epic documentary.
Second choice: Life, Animated.


That's it for this year. There are certain wins for La La Land, Manchester by the Sea and Moonlight, it's unavoidable. It's just the exact categories that are harder to determine. Or maybe I am just completely wrong and the Oscars will go to movies I never even considered worthy of the nominations (Lion, Hacksaw Ridge). I've got a feeling the Academy won't have that many surprises in store for us this year though. February 26 will prove me right or wrong.

Oscars 2016: The Results

So now that annual Oscar ritual is over and done with for another year, let's see how many of my predictions turned out more than just a hunch.



Best Film:
First Choice: Incorrect.
Second choice: Also incorrect. But apparently, the same goes for most other people who figured The Revenant would come out on top. Few guessed correctly that the underdog Spotlight would take home this particular trophy. It seems that in an overly conservative mood, the Academy decided against going with the flow of what's popular (which I generally applaud) and gave the Award to this conservative drama piece. A good film to be sure, but simply not noteworthy by most accounts. Solid drama, some damn fine acting, a topic that still shows social resonation... but hardly a piece of cinematic innovation or exploration that will haunt audiences for years to come. People who complain about Oscar snubs will cry foul at the sight of this one for a few years. I'll get over it a lot sooner.

Best Actor:
First Choice: Correct. This feels like making up to predictability now. Everyone opted for Leo, so Leo won, almost as if by popular demand. The Academy always throws in one or two of these to keep the masses contented. But hey, few will consider his work on The Revenant as unworthy of this praise. Not me at least, as I, too, was part of Team Leo.
  
Best Actress:
First Choice: Incorrect. Don't be such a Blanchett fanboy, guy...

Best Supporting Actor: 
First Choice: Incorrect.
Second choice: Correct. Past success again proves to be no guarantee for present results.

Best Supporting Actress:
First Choice: Incorrect.
Second choice: Incorrect. This was a tough one. To be honest, I'm a bit mad at the Academy for nominating Vikander for the disappointing The Danish Girl rather than the terrific Ex Machina in this category. She did a heck of a job in both films, but I reckon it was harder to pull off for the movie that didn't get the nomination here (what with all the CGI and such). Danish Girl turned out to be a letdown in every way but the acting. Seems that saved the day for Vikander here. It pays to play in more than one film each year.

Best Director:
First Choice: Incorrect.
Second choice: Incorrect. Also a choice I hold umbrage against. Inarritu already won last year. Miller is 71 years old and has much shots at the gold left. This ought to have been his moment to shine. Whine whine, nag nag... This is another time the Oscars prove life sometimes just isn't fair.

Best Screenplay:
First Choice: Correct. I may not think Spotlight was the year's best film, but I never said it wasn't well written.

Best Adapted Screenplay:
First Choice: Correct.

Best Animated Film:
First Choice: Correct. Well, that one was a no-brainer.

Best Foreign Film:
First Choice: Correct. Also no real competition here. He said not having seen any of these films...

Best Cinematography:
First Choice: Incorrect.
Second choice: Also incorrect. Dang it, I knew I should have gone with Inarritu after Birdman! What was I thinking...

Best Editing: 
First Choice: Incorrect.
Second choice: Correct. Another tough one.

Best Production Design:
First Choice: Correct. I told you, seeing is believing on this one.

Best Costume Design:
First Choice: Incorrect.
Second choice: Correct. Man, I really thought those dazzling Disney dresses would do the trick again. Guess the Academy doesn't fall for those anymore...

Best Hair and Make-up:
First Choice: Correct. Obvious.

Best Score:
First Choice: Correct. My ears served me well on this one. It was just too beautiful to be anything else.

Best Song:
First Choice: Correct. Good title for a song, it turned out!

Best Sound Mixing:
First Choice: Correct.

Best Sound Editing: 
First Choice: Incorrect.
Second choice: Correct. The times Star Wars dominated the galaxy of sounds have ended. A new order has risen. Oh well, better luck next year, Star Wars!

Best Visual Effects:
First Choice: Correct. Because even the Academy thought Alicia Vikander was a Visual Effect in this one. Apparently, they considered her acting the same, otherwise they would have nominated her for this film. But all's well that ends well.

Best Documentary: 
First Choice: Incorrect.
Second choice: Correct. Indonesian genocide is so 2012, Amy Winehouse is all the rage today. And never again.


Correct: 11
Second choice: 5-4.
Incorrect: 9

Blast, these results are worse than last year... (Correct: 14, Second choice: 5-2, Incorrect: 7, FYI). Plenty of glaring obviousness again this year, but some major surprises and snubs. The Academy never makes things easy for both gamblers and movie insiders. Or people with a blog and too much time on their hands.

Oscars 2016: The Predictions

It's late January, so it's time for another round of predicting who will and won't go home with one (or more) of them little gold statuettes. Based on uncanny prior experience deducting winners, in-depth knowledge of the Academy's politics and personal acquantaince with all its members, I should get a lot of these right. Too bad I have little of the above, I'm just a guy with a gut feeling and an opinion, coupled with above average knowledge of movies and stuff. So there's bound to be a few misses here, but then, the Academy sadly never asks what I think. 


Best Film:
First Choice: I wanna say Mad Max: Fury Road, since that's the film I thought best of all the movies nominated I've seen. Which is less than half of them, admittedly. Gimme a break, the other half hasn't even been released here yet! I plan on seeing the rest ASAP. That being the case, I have a hunch it's gonna be The Revenant.
Second choice: The Big Short. Because Inarritu already won Best Picture only last year, so it wouldn't be fair to the others. Mind you, a lot of black people will remind you fairness is not something the Academy takes into account...

Best Actor:
First Choice: Leonardo DiCaprio. Nominated six times before. So don't you think it's about time as much as 'about time' can get?
Second choice: Michael Fassbender. Even though he didn't look much like Steve Jobs physically, he certainly got the rest right to make for a memorable performance.
 
Best Actress:
First Choice: Cate Blanchett. Because, you know... Cate Blanchett!
Second choice: Brie Larson. For getting stuck in a room and acting her way out.

Best Supporting Actor: 
First Choice: Christian Bale. Another hunch, but I'm not that impressed by this batch of candidates.
Second choice: Mark Rylance. Such a sweet, mild mannered performance. For a spy hellbent on destroying the US of A and the assorted freedom that goes with it. But still we like him.

Best Supporting Actress:
First Choice: Rooney Mara. Because I like to think Cate Blanchett's talent is highly inspirational. Getting intimate with her increases the acting capabilities of others, perhaps? Not to say Mara was no good prior to meeting Cate. Far from it in fact.
Second choice: Rachel McAdams. Because I've seen the other options on the big screen and I can't pick.


Best Director:
First Choice: George Miller. Because I want him to win, not because I think he actually will. Anybody capable of crafting such an insanely fantastic world at his advanced age and getting embraced by audiences and critics alike deserves to win.
Second choice: Adam McKay. A more likely scenario.

Best Screenplay:
First Choice: Spotlight. Seems the least unlikely candidate.
Second choice: Inside Out. It's gonna win Best Animated Feature for sure, but it quite deserves this one as well.

Best Adapted Screenplay:
First Choice: The Big Short. Because it's so highly intelligent and complicated. Oh no, it isn't, that's just what Wall Street wants you to think so nobody asks them the hard questions and they keep getting away with the shit they pull. And that's exactly what this script makes painfully clear.
Second choice: The Martian. A hunch. And because science is fun again.

Best Animated Film:
First Choice: Inside Out. Duh.
Second choice: I wanna say Shaun the Sheep, because I almost cried, but reason makes me say Anomalisa. Because it's unlike most animated features getting this nomination. It's not for kids, for one thing. So that makes it a different thing which deserves a chance to shine. But Inside Out is gonna take its glory, make no mistake.

Best Foreign Film:
First Choice: Son of Saul (Saul Fia). No competition.
Second choice: El Abrazo de la Serpiente. Still, no competition though.

Best Cinematography:
First Choice: This one is really hard. All contenders have very bold, innovative cinematography.  Sicario and Mad Max: Fury Road sure impressed me, but I think it's gonna be The Hateful Eight.
Second choice: Sicario. Because it's kinda the underdog here, and everybody loves an underdog.
EDIT: Fuck that, it's gonna be The Revenant, too!

Best Editing: 
First Choice: Competition is not as strong here. The Revenant.
Second choice: Mad Max: Fury Road.

Best Production Design:
First Choice: Mad Max: Fury Road. If you've seen it, you know full well why. Crazy production design for an insane world.
Second choice: The Martian.

Best Costume Design:
First Choice: Cinderella. Lavish got a new dimension. In 3D.
Second choice: Mad Max: Fury Road. Again, crazy.

Best Hair and Make-up:
First Choice: Mad Max: Fury Road. It's becoming my mantra in the technical department, but I just have strong faith in it.
Second choice: The Revenant. That's that handsome Leonardo DiCaprio fella under all that mud and blood, you know?

Best Score:
First Choice: The Hateful Eight. Same reason as Leo: it's high time after six snubs. Plus, he has been a master at his work for decades and this score was just totally brilliant. More so than the movie itself in fact.
Second choice: Sicario. Because it scared me, which it was supposed to.

Best Song:
First Choice: Spectre. Because the writing's on the wall. I didn't much care for it at first to be honest, but it really grew on me.
Second choice: whatever. Youth.

Best Sound Mixing:
First Choice: Mad Max: Fury Road, same as before.
Second choice: Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

Best Sound Editing: 
First Choice: Star Wars: The Force Awakens actually. The soundscape of Star Wars is a universe on its own even now another has taken over, and at least one sound award should acknowledge that fact.
Second choice: Mad Max: Fury Road.

Best Visual Effects:
First Choice: Ex Machina. For being subtle and not drawing attention to itself, but still totally believable. For those who didn't know, Alicia Vikander doesn't actually look like that in real life, that's all VFX.
Second choice: Mad Max: Fury Road. Because of that whole Mad Max thing I got going here, in case you missed it.

Best Documentary: 
First Choice: The Look of Silence. Can't go wrong with Indonesian genocide. Part 2.
Second choice: Amy. Because it appeals to the masses more than Ukrain, Nina Simone or drug cartels.


Februay 28th will tell me how right, or rather, how wrong, I am. What a lovely day!

Oscars 2015: The Results

And so this year's Oscars have come and gone. I doubt anyone would have expected it would go down the way it did. There's been a few surprises, to say the least. Who could have foreseen the definite favorite Boyhood would be left almost entirely out in the cold, with the second choices of most, Birdman and The Grand Budapest Hotel, cutting up the pie between them for the most part? I sure didn't, which means my predictions of last month took quite a beating. Just when you think you understand the Academy, they go out of their way to turn the tables on you.

So let's compare my notes with hard reality, shall we?

Best Film:
First Choice: incorrect. Not so obvious apparently. While everybody had Boyhood on their mind, the Academy instead opted for a more off-beat candiate, seemingly applauding its criticism on the American movie industry and its satirical overtones. And thus, Birdman flew off with Best Picture.
Second choice: also incorrect. Of course the movie I preferred didn't win this category, what was I thinking?!

Best Actor:
First Choice: correct.

Best Actress:
First Choice: correct.

Best Supporting Actor: 
First Choice: correct.

Best Supporting Actress:
First Choice: correct.

And then the Academy goes and picks exactly the folks everybody anticipated would win, while for the other major categories they picked the less obvious candidates. Which means everybody is thrown off-guard even more by predictability's comeback in this whole circus. Good for me, as I at least got some categories correct.

Best Director:
First Choice: incorrect.
Second choice: correct. As is exemplary for American society, this show is usually a duel between two clear favorites, with one of them winning Best Picture and the other Best Director. Not so this year: Birdman got both. You'd think a 12-year project that got so much acclaim would qualify for Best Achievement in Directing, but apparently you'd be wrong.

Best Screenplay:
First Choice: correct. Say what you will about Birdman's execution, the script is for the most part top-notch, while Boyhood's is more of on-the-fly work and required less scripting. In that the Academy agrees with me, or vice versa.

Best Adapted Screenplay:
First Choice: incorrect.
Second choice: also incorrect. The straightforward narrative of The Imitation Game seemed to appeal the most to the Academy voters.

Best Animated Film:
First Choice: incorrect.
Second choice: incorrect. This one makes me mad. Laika is severely overdue in terms of winning Oscars. The tremendous craftsmanship displayed in The Box Trolls was nothing short of extraordinary, even though the story wasn't always that inspired. However, the same is true of Big Hero 6, but - apart from the terrific job they did on Baymax - its animation wasn't nearly as compelling. It seems the old styles of animation, be it hand drawn or stop motion, have fallen out of favor with the Academy. For shame. This is definitely the worst mistake of this year's Oscars.

Best Foreign Film:
First Choice: incorrect. Could it be the Academy swayed for Putin's condemnation of this movie critiquing the many flaws of his authoritarian regime? Is there a political game being played behind the curtains here, mayhaps? Or did the Academy simply not care about the film's statement, so the visual art of Ida was picked over poignant ideological content?
Second choice: correct.


Best Cinematography:
First Choice: incorrect. Seriously? A movie which suggests it delivers one giant long take but contains so many not so subtly hidden cuts is picked over a movie which displays its love for cinematography and its long history in almost every shot? Shenanigans!
Second choice: incorrect.

Best Editing: 
First Choice: incorrect.
Second choice: incorrect.

Best Production Design:
First Choice: correct. Well duh...

Best Costume Design:
First Choice: correct. See Best Production Design for details.

Best Hair and Make-up:
First Choice: correct. In case you didn't realize it, Tilda Swinton doesn't actually look like she's in her nineties, that's all make-up.

Best Score:
First Choice: correct. Alexandre Desplat finally gets his due.

Best Song:
First Choice: correct. And so the Academy avoids the discomfort of race riots that might otherwise have erupted across America, because Selma already got snubbed hard. Rap instead gets acknowledged by the Academy, which ought to cool them brothas down a bit.

Best Sound Mixing:
First Choice: incorrect.
Second choice: correct.

Best Sound Editing: 
First Choice: incorrect.
Second choice: incorrect.

Best Visual Effects:
First Choice: incorrect. The Academy once again fails to grasp the true pioneering that the FX industry is undergoing thanks to motion capture. Insanity triumphs as the visually rather dull Interstellar is picked against reason over Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. When the mo-capped apes truly take over the FX business in the coming years, the Academy members will be the first against the wall, mark my words.
Second choice: also incorrect. The Academy also doesn't like talking trees and raccoons. Bunch of speciesists...

Best Documentary: 
First Choice: incorrect.
Second choice: incorrect. And then the Academy suddenly embraces progressive thinking and social pioneering by picking a movie about Edward Snowden. You really can't get the hang of these people, can you?

Finaly tally

Correct: 10
Second choice correct: 3
Incorrect: 11
Oh my, I'm getting worse at this. More wrongs and less rights here compared to both last year and the previous one. But then, this year showed just how much of a guessing game these final Oscar results are, much more strongly than the last few years. The Academy is a fickle thing, and occasionally they need to reaffirm that fact. Too bad films so deservedly of a win, like The Box Trolls and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, are sacrificed to make that statement ring true.

Oscars 2015: The predictions

Time for the annual ritual! Determining which films will take home some of those much craved statuettes is a hard job as ever, especially if you haven't yet seen most of these films (many titles still need to be released in the Netherlands). So I'll freely admit a lot of it is a simple guessing game, but I'd like to think some of my expansive knowledge of and keen insight into the motion picture phenomenon serves me right in getting at least a third of these right. And as always, some wishful thinking works its magic, too.

Best Film:
First Choice: Boyhood. Obviously.
Second choice: The Grand Budapest Hotel. I'm rooting for this one, but I doubt I'd get my way.


Best Actor:
First Choice: Eddie Redmayne. I have yet to see (this movie and) a review that's not raving about Redmayne's stellar performance. Redmayne is one of those talented kids who finally seems to make good on that promise.
Second choice: Michael Keaton. Quite a comeback performance.

Best Actress:
First Choice: Julianne Moore.
Second choice: Rosamund Pike.There's not so much Gone Girl among the nominations as there ought to be. This one should have to make up for it.

Best Supporting Actor: 
First Choice: J.K. Simmons. The performance among the nominess I've heard the most positive feedback about.
Second choice: Mark Ruffalo.Because it's high time.

Best Supporting Actress:
First Choice: Patricia Arquette.None of these nominees seem convincing. So I'll go with Arquette, because Boyhood seems the safest bet.
Second choice: Emma Stone.

Best Director:
First Choice: Richard Linklater. Unique movie, so unique directing.
Second choice: Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu.

Best Screenplay:
First Choice: Birdman.
Second choice: Foxcatcher.

Best Adapted Screenplay:
First Choice: American Sniper.
Second choice: The Theory of Everything.

Best Animated Film:
First Choice: The Box Trolls. It better be... Laika is long overdue in the Oscar department. And none of the others show this level of craftsmanship, be they good movies all.
Second choice: The Tale of the Princess Kaguya.

Best Foreign Film:
First Choice: Leviathan. Seems like a perfect time to peeve the Russian establishment some more with the social critique this movie displays.
Second choice: Ida.

Best Cinematography:
First Choice: The Grand Budapest Hotel. Considering the love for cinematography put on display in TGBH, it would be odd if it didn't win.
Second choice: Mr. Turner.

Best Editing: 
First Choice: Boyhood. A project cut together from bits of footage spanning over a decade, that's gotta be a worth an editing award or two.
Second choice: The Grand Budapest Hotel.

Best Production Design:
First Choice: The Grand Budapest Hotel.
Second choice: Into the Woods.

Best Costume Design:
First Choice: The Grand Budapest Hotel.
Second choice: Into the Woods.

Best Hair and Make-up:
First Choice: The Grand Budapest Hotel.
Second choice: Guardians of the Galaxy.

Best Score:
First Choice: The Grand Budapest Hotel.
Second choice: The Imitation Game.

Best Song:
First Choice: Selma. Okay, so I haven't heard any of these songs except for Everything is Awesome, and that's definitely not gonna be it. It gets obnoxious fast.
Second choice: Begin Again.

Best Sound Mixing:
First Choice: Birdman.
Second choice: Whiplash.

Best Sound Editing: 
First Choice: The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies. Say what you will, the sounds wasn't at flaw here.
Second choice: Birdman.

Best Visual Effects:
First Choice: Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. It's high time this form of elaborate mo-cap and Andy Serkis' pioneering work on it got some major acknowledgment.
Second choice: Guardians of the Galaxy.

Best Documentary: 
First Choice: The Salt of the Earth.
Second choice: Virunga.

And there you have it. Time and Academy voting will tell whether I'm correct or incorrect in any or all of these.

Oscars 2014: the results

Well, the Academy has finally held its annual ritual, so let's see how many Oscar winners I guessed right. Or expertly deduced correctly, if you prefer.

Best Picture: correct! It seems the time was right for a movie directed by a coloured man to win in this category. This is the Age of Obama after all. Too bad he didn't also win Best Director, but let's not push things, right?
I have yet to see 12 Years a Slave.

Best Actor: incorrect. Matthew McConaughey seems to have been on a roll last year with Mud, The Wolf of Wall Street and the movie he won for, so he was really actively pushing for that Oscar, and successfully so it appears. Though I won't deny him his prize, I feel kinda sad for both Bruce Dern and Chiwetel.
Second choice: also incorrect.
I have yet to see Dallas Buyers Club.

Best Actress: correct! This one just seemed a given. Blanchett deserved a Best Lead win for a change, Best Supporting Actress is good, but just not as good. Woody Allen's recent sex scandal hasn't hurt Blanchett for starring in his film.

Best Supporting Actor: incorrect. I should have known the Academy wouldn't go for a first-time actor, no matter how impressive his performance. Jared Leto proved a more conservative winner, despite him playing a transsexual.
Second choice: also incorrect.

Best Supporting Actress: incorrect. Jennifer Lawrence got her spotlight moment last year and she tripped over her dress while walking the stairs... never again! Plus, 'twas all white folks winning acting awards so far, so this evens the score a little.
Second choice: correct.

Best Director: incorrect. Considering all the technical stuff, I didn't see this one coming. The Academy has a tendency to overlook such aspects of filmmaking when it comes to this particular category, in favor of more trite but true apporaches. No more it seems. Apparently all the technical stuff was just too groundbreaking to ignore for a change.
Second choice: also incorrect.

Best Original Screenplay: incorrect. Poor American Hustle got snubbed good! A story about man and his increasingly accepting mentality towards anthropomorphizing non-human machinery fit right in with appreciating Cuaron's technical stuff. The Academy has finally learned to embrace the digital age then.
Second choice: correct.
I have yet to see Her.

Best Adapted Screenplay: correct! There just had to be a few more wins for 12 Years a Slave to go with that Best Picture win. Right before Gravity took all the rest.

The Academy clearly didn't take a hint from Gravity's tag line.


Best Animated Feature: correct! When Disney gets good again, all other animation is silenced. Like it or not. Let it go.

Best Foreign Film: correct! It just had to be, considering all the raving critical acclaim. Its competitors just didn't stand a chance.
I have yet to see La Grande Bellezza.

Best Cinematography: correct! Duh!

Best Editing: correct! See above.

Best Production Design: correct! Gatsby may not have felt like a great movie, but it sure looked like one.

Best Costume Design: correct! Same.

Best Make-Up: correct! The performances of McConaughey and Leto were undoubtedly stirred to great heights thanks to the way they looked.

Best Music: incorrect. Despite all the innovations, a grand picture still needs a solid soundtrack. Gravity got one.
Second choice: also incorrect.

Best Song: correct! The Academy, too, let it go. Good for them!

Best Sound Mixing: correct! It didn't matter that in space, nobody can hear you scream. For your information.

Best Sound Editing: correct! *insert second joke about the uneasy relationship between space and sound here*

Best Visual Effects: correct! The most obvious winner of the bunch, courtesy of the year's most jaw-dropping sights.

Best Documentary: incorrect. This unexpected pick is the one I take umbrage with the most. There's this hugely unsettling, daringly executed, effectively engaging shock doc about Indonesian genocide, and the Academy opts for a bunch of singing people instead. I'd say they 'let it go' a little too much in this case.
Second choice: also incorrect.

Correct: 14
Second choice: 5-2.
Incorrect: 7

Last year's results: 6 correct, 5 second choices correct and 9 blatantly wrong. There's some personal improvement there!
Most of the choices in the "lesser" categories were just glaringly obvious this year. It was an easy year in that regard. However, the 86th Academy Awards ceremony just proved once again how fickle Academy members can be when it comes to the acting categories. And also just how much the Academy likes to compromise. Then again, American Hustle received 10 nominations and ended up completely empty handed... Maybe because we once again didn't see Jennifer Lawrence's boobs? Oh well, let it go.

Today's Column: why I like the Razzies better than the Oscars

Here's another column I wrote for MovieScene this weekend:

http://www.moviescene.nl/p/153493/column_de_rustgevende_razzies

I must admit inspiration came to me rather late in the game for this one. As a result it's certainly not my best piece, though when I did find a subject it was penned a lot faster than most other columns so far. I firmly believe in the Razzies as a rather stable, quiet ritual that is a welcome diversion from all the other Award fests plaguing the early months of each new year. Because it is solely about bad movies - the definition of which admittedly leaves a little to be desired occasionally, as in the case of The Lone Ranger this year - nobody cares so vigorously as when good movies are concerned. Amidst all the politics, anger and frustration surrounding the Academy Awards and the general discord which ensues when their winners are revealed, there's no such conflict over the Razzies. There's no need to account for bad taste after all: truly bad movies (though often still enjoyable on purpose) are generally considered just that, while defending or debunking the good qualities of a film, especially compared to other good films, causes much more consternation and lack of consensus. Few people will claim they thought Gravity was a bad film, but the level of its 'goodness' is open to questioning when comparing it with other movies that are considered good. Is Her a better movie than 12 Years a Slave? Who's to tell? Is Grown Ups 2 a horrendous picture? Yes, definitely! You have none of the tiresome hype you witness for two months around the Oscars at the Razzies. Plus, the Razzies don't take themselves seriously, while the Oscars do too strongly and not always deservedly so. The Razzies simply are a much more honest ritual, without agressively demanding as much attention from a movie lover as the Oscars sometimes so irritatingly do. So I'm all for Adam Sandler making more movies, just to keep the Razzies going. As long as I don't have to watch them.

Oscars 2014: My list of predictions

The long and dreary road to this year's Oscars has been put into motion, and no doubt people will want to know what I expect this year's winners to be. Not that I tend to care all that much about the Acadamy Awards or the whole dull press circus in the first few months of the year that accompanies it. It's just one big ritual going through all the usual motions. I much prefer to focus on the quality of these films on their own merits, without the huge buzz that surrounds them. Nevertheless, here's my list of guesses (which honestly is what they are, since you can analyze all you want but the Academy still has a habit of surprising you in the choices it makes, and often not pleasantly). I am not ashamed to say that in many cases I just go with what my gut tells me, something most critics are not prepared to admit.

Best Picture:

First choice: A tough one, as always. I can tell you which movies it won't be for sure, but as to the winner, for me it's a toss-up - as these events usually revolve around two very promising films with the results being about even, just as with the recent Golden Globes - between 12 Years a Slave, American Hustle, while possibly The Wolf of Wall Street has a shot as well. For now, my money is on 12 Years a Slave, which by itself must make up for the lack of other "black" pictures in these nominations, like The Butler and Fruitvale Station, which were lobbying for an award but didn't get very far apparently.
Second Choice: American Hustle.

Best Actor:

First Choice: Chiwetel Ejiofor, 12 Years a Slave. Same reason as above really. Plus, Chiwetel is a damn fine actor and though a first time Oscar nominee, he has already five Golden Globe nominations on his resumé. It's about time he won something.
Second choice: Bruce Dern for Nebraska.

Best Actress:

First Choice: Cate Blanchett for Blue Jasmine. An Oscar favorite that really needs a Lead Actress win, as opposed to a Supporting Actress take a decade ago. All the other female performances are impeccable, but this one just stands out supremely.
Second choice: Any Adams for American Hustle.

Best Supporting Actor:

First Choice: Barkhad Abdi for Captain Phillips. A stellar performance from a first time actor, holding his own opposite a veteran like Tom Hanks. You don't see that every day.
Second choice: Michael Fassbender for 12 Years a Slave.

Best Supporting Actress:

First Choice: No truly safe bets here, so I'll go with Jennifer Lawrence, since everybody likes her and so do I. Yes, that's also how this game sometimes works.
Second choice: Lupita Nyong'o for 12 Years a Slave. Same reason as Barkhad Abdi, except she has done slightly more.

Best Director:

First Choice: Steve McQueen for 12 Years a Slave. Again, same reason as why 12 Years a Slave is on this list of mine most of the times (though also because I haven't yet seen it so I can't underscore my argument in more detail). A black director winning an Oscar, doesn't happen often enough. Call me a racist if you must, but remember the b(l)acklash not so long ago when there weren't so many coloured people even nominated despite their considerable contribution to otherwise hugely nominated movies. Yes, they can!
Second choice: Martin Scorsese for The Wolf of Wall Street. Because it's about friggin' time this man took home another statue, considering how often he gets nominated but leaves empty handed.

Best Original Screenplay:

First Choice: American Hustle.
Second choice: Her.

Best Adapted Screenplay:

First Choice: 12 Years a Slave.
Second choice: The Wolf of Wall Street.

Best Animated Feature:

First Choice: Frozen. Apart from The Wind Rises, the other nominess are nothing remarkable (and poor Pixar simply got ignored this year, which was a long time coming really). However, that film seems too controversial, plus it's foreign material too. Frozen is a safer bet, as it carries all the good traits of a typical Disney movie, but shows the Mouse House is finally flowing with the times a little.
Second choice: The Wind Rises.

Best Foreign Film:

First Choice: La Grande Bellezza. This year's smash hit in arthouse theaters.
Second choice: Jagten. Better late than never, but not in time for a win. This movie is like 18 months old by now!

Best Cinematography:

First Choice: Gravity. The finest, most groundbreaking and impressive camera work I've seen in many years.
Second choice: Inside Llewyn Davis.

Best Editing:

First Choice: Gravity. Cuaron and his team once again make fabulous use of his trademark long takes, and the trick is you don't even notice the cutting.
Second choice: American Hustle.

Best Production Design:

First Choice: The Great Gatsby. Spectacularly lavish, the main reason to watch this film, which leaves something to be desired in terms of story and character. But it looks flawless.
Second choice: Gravity.

Best Costume Design:

First Choice: The Great Gatsby. Like I said, it all looks grand (characters included), it just doesn't feel it.
Second choice: American Hustle.

Best Make-up:

First Choice: already an uproar has commenced due to American Hustle being wrongfully snubbed in this category. Dallas Buyer's Club therefore seems the most eligible choice left.
Second choice: The Lone Ranger.

Best Music:

First Choice: Her. It needs to win something after all.
Second choice: The Book Thief. There's scoring, and there's John Williams.

Best Song:

First Choice: Frozen. Let it go, Academy! Let it gooooohooo!!
Second choice: Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom.

Best Sound Mixing:

First Choice: Gravity.
Second choice: The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.

Best Sound Editing:

First Choice: Gravity.
Second choice: All is Lost.

Best Visual Effects:

First Choice: Gravity. I rarely experienced a movie that deserved this honour so badly. If Gravity loses, I call shenanigans on the Academy! Wouldn't be the first time though.
Second choice: The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. The dragon looked badass, though I admit some other things in the film didn't appear nearly as stunning.

Best Documentary:

First Choice: The Act of Killing. Very disturbing but equally intriguing. May not be the Academy's cup of tea though.
Second choice: Dirty wars.

The first week of March will tell me how wrong, or maybe how right for a change, I just happen to be.

Oscars 2013: Where's Jagten and what's with the love for Amour?

Still being a worm in my mother's Apple. Hopefully this ghastly situation won't last much longer and I can finally go about making good on my noble intentions for the year and update my blog like three times a week instead of three times a month. Still not happening though, but at least I'm now taking the time to have a go at the Oscar nominees, before the Academy Awards for 2012 have happened.

Ah, the Oscars. That awful Academy Award ceremony where a bunch of feeble-minded rigid  Hollywood conservatives decide what movies of the year are the best, after which the rest of us movie buffs all just have to live with their at times nonsensical, but equally often utterly predictable choices. There's a lot of good movies competing this year, but there's also a few illogical nominations going around: someone please explain to me why a non-English spoken movie like Amour is up for no less than five (!) awards. Like last year, here are my own thoughts as to which movies will win what award, with a back-up choice for each category.




-Best Picture: Zero Dark Thirty. Despite its controversy, Kathryn Bigelow remains a favorite at the Oscars. Being similar in nature to The Hurt Locker, which also won Best Picture, this is a likely choice.
-Second choice: Amour. There's much ado about this movie, it might as well be the first fully French spoken movie to run away with Best Picture.

-Best Actor: Joaquin Phoenix for The Master.
-Second choice: Daniel Day-Lewis for Lincoln. It's D. D.-L., he wins every time. Why should this time be any different?

-Best Actress: Emanuelle Riva for Amour. Very demanding role, played completely believable and totally compelling.
-Second choice: Jessica Chastain for Zero Dark Thirty.

-Best Supporting Actor: Philip Seymour Hoffman for The Master. After all, he's The Master.
-Second choice: Tommy Lee Jones for Lincoln.

-Best Supporting Actress: Anne Hathaway for Les Miserables. She can act, she can sing, she can starve herself to appear for real. So she can win.
-Second choice: Amy Adams for The Master.

-Best Director: Michael Haneke for Amour.
-Second choice: David O. Russell for Silver Linings Playbook.

-Best Screenplay: Zero Dark Thirty.
-Second choice: Moonrise Kingdom.

-Best Adapted Screenplay: Argo.
-Second choice: Silver Linings Playbook.

-Best Cinematography: Life of Pi. Shows you just how much you can do with a boy, a tiger, a boat and a camera. In 3D no less.
-Second choice: Django Unchained.

-Best Costume Design: Anna Karenina. Keira Knightley + Costumes = Oscar. Wouldn't be the first time.
-Second choice: Lincoln.

-Best Sound Mixing: Lincoln.
-Second choice: Les Miserables.

-Best Editing: Zero Dark Thirty.
-Second Choice: Life of Pi.

-Best Sound Editing: Django Unchained.
-Second choice: Skyfall.

-Best Visual Effects: The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.
-Second choice: The Avengers.

-Best Makeup: The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.
-Second choice: Hitchcock.

-Best Original Song: Skyfall. Really catchy. I reckon the guys at the Oscars can't get it out of their heads either. So let's face it all together. At Skyfaaa-hahahall.
-Second choice: Les Miserables.

-Best Music: Lincoln.
-Second Choice: Life of Pi.

-Best Foreign Film: Amour. Foreign, but still a lot of love for this one so also might win Best Picture. Typical insane Hollywood hypocrisy.
-Second choice: En Kongelig Affaere. Mads Mikkelsen is in this. Speaking of which, where is Jagten in all this?! Shenanigans says I!

-Best Animated Feature: Frankenweenie. Lousy year for computer animated films, but excellent for stop motion, and this one was the best.
-Second choice: The Pirates! Band of Misfits. Frankenweenie was the best, but this one was the most fun. Pirate Award here, please!

-Best Production Design: The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. Middle-Earth still looks spectacular. The opening scene alone, delving deeply into Dwarf history, was Oscar-worthy.
-Second choice: Lincoln.


I'm confident I got at least ten of these right. Time will tell. Hopefully my PC will be back to normal by the time the Oscars are handed out so I can report on my triumph/failure in predicting these sodding prices everybody is always so full about but nobody could really care less for.

The Artist: the perfect hommage to Hollywood's Silent Era

Rating: ****/*****, or 8/10

It took me a while (due to snowstorms, death in the family and bad scheduling), but this Friday I finally got the chance to go and see Michel Hazanavicius' The Artist, and it was very much worth the wait. I much anticipated this movie ever since I first heard of its existence: any movie that dares to go back to cinema's roots and consciously uses an 1: 1,33 aspect ratio, hardly any sound, intertitles and is shot in black and white – in an age where audiences have been pampered and spoiled by overly expensive and grandiose tricks and effects to lure them into theatres – I view as gutsy and bold, and has my respect despite the chance the movie itself fails to be compelling (which fortunately can't be said for The Artist). Given the plethora of nominations and awards the movie has won, and is still winning, around the globe, I'm pleased to see I'm not alone in this regard. It's surprisingly refreshing to see something so purposefully “primitive” capture audiences' imaginations like few movies do these days: it almost makes the 'very old' feel brand new. It's also ironic to see a movie that pays its respects to the early heydays of Hollywood (when it was still called 'Hollywoodland') is actually a French production. After all, modern Hollywood would never greenlight an “artsy” project like this, even when it does nothing but praise its own history.

The story is surprisingly simple, while also reflecting actual circumstances between 1927 and 1932. Popular silent movie actor George Valentin (the name certainly doesn't remind us of Rudolph Valentino by accident) is at the top of his game in the movie business, loved alike by audiences for his flair and charismatic attitude and by studio execs for his uncanny ability to make them a fortune. Played by French actor Jean Dujardin, who performs the role with such charm and wit you simply can't resist him (and hopefully, neither can the Academy) George meets young debutante Peppy Miller, the film's other most excellent piece of casting, played with equal grace and delight by Bérénice Bejo, who also should not leave the room empty handed at the Oscar ceremony next week. He gives her useful pointers on how to survive the tough competition of the motion picture industry, which helps her get her foot between the door so eventually she too becomes a renowned actress. George however soon finds himself confronted with the rise of the 'talkie', the sound film, which he first dismisses as rubbish, thus paving the way for his downfall in the movie business, while Peppy not only manages to a make a successful transition to the new format, but actually thrives in it, and soon his movies are forgotten while hers make her the biggest star in Hollywood. On a downward spiral to his demise, Peppy, at first secretly, helps George because she loves him, but when he finds out he won't reciprocate and continues to diminish in status and life. But thanks to Peppy's genuine desire to make him a star again and win his heart, she presents him with another solution (which you should check out for yourself), thereby setting things right and making the movie end on a happy note. We wouldn't want to have it any other way.

Though this basic storyline would probably have worked well in a “normal” movie too, it's The Artist's classic approach to its execution that makes it work as convincingly as it does. It uses various cinematic techniques to make it feel like the very thing it's supposed to pay hommage too, namely an actual silent film. Such techniques include:

-Black & white: of course this movie would not have worked were it shot in colour like any other contemporary film. Black and white stock is the most obvious way of making this feel like a movie from the good old days, since for general audiences, 'black and white' and 'old movies' are almost synonymous. Of course, colour techniques were in use from the cinema's very beginning. In my mind, it would not have felt wrong if the fire scene in The Artist for example had made use of red tinted film stock to acknowledge this fact, but that might have confused audiences not familiar with the colourful aspects of the early days of the silver screen. And since the scene feels fine anyway, there's no point in bitching about this supposed missed opportunity.

-The 1,33:1 ratio: also known as the Academy ratio (come on, Academy, you have to give this film some Oscars just for this one!). Nowadays, audiences are used to films being shown in wide screen formats in movie theatres, but it was not always so. The typical silent film would not have used this expensive technique, which was reserved only for the more lavish productions and wouldn't get into full swing until television established itself as the premium 1,33:1 ratio user in the fifties, at which point studios started to use wide screen ratios more and more to get audiences back into theatres (resulting in the now preferred ratio of 2,40:1, originally known as CinemaScope). It's great seeing modern audiences enjoy a movie in the almost square shaped Academy ratio, without actually caring the frame is much smaller then they're used to see in theatres but the movie is so fascinating they let it slide. Plus, the smaller ratio makes the actors more engaging because it focuses so much on them and much less on the rest of the setting. Fortunately, The Artist's top notch cast is up to the challenge of surviving the 1,33:1 aspect ratio without feeling forced or artificial.

-The observant camera: a lot of the present day zooming and tracking camera techniques had not yet been invented in the late twenties and were generally impossible to achieve, making the use of camera positions feel static and passive, only purely observing the action and never actually getting mixed up in it. The Artist too adheres to this notion and makes much less use of the camera's abilities than most people might be comfortable with in this hyperkinetic and dynamic age of shooting scenes. But again, because of the fully gripping and entertaining acting a lot of people probably won't even notice the difference.

-The wipe: this particular method of showing scene transitions was common in use back in the Silent Era, but is almost extinct now. Most people will only know it from the Star Wars movies, where George Lucas featured a great number of different ways to use wipes for ending one scene and moving into the next, thus briefly showing a part of each scene setting in the same frame, as an hommage to the classic adventure serials of the Twenties and Thirties that influenced him whilst making Star Wars. The Artist too doesn't just move from one scene to the next in a routine fashion, but applies various forms of wipes in progressing between settings.

-The intertitles: as a way of passing inaudible dialogue between characters to the audience, title cards with the supposedly spoken lines used to be shown between shots so viewers knew what was being discussed. This movie also makes use of intertitles, though in a bare boned fashion, only applying them where audiences really need to understand what is being said (or for comedic purposes). It's amazing how much of the movie is intelligible without intertitles, which once again gives credit to the movie's simple but effective story line and its highly capable actors executing it in such a way we can almost read their lips (which often, we actually can).

-The (lack of) sound: this is of course The Artist's most defining feature, since it's basically what the movie is all about. George Valentin doesn't speak in his films, and won't when the technology is made available. His movies, as well as the movie itself, are accompanied by an orchestral score setting the mood of the scenes (and doing it so well that it too got itself Oscar nominated). Eventually George is not heard anymore, even by his former associates in the motion picture industry, who opt for sound films instead. Peppy however thrives in the latest addition to the film medium: however, we are not shown any of her films in this movie so we don't actually hear her (it would have been great to actually hear some sound film here, but it would probably take audiences out of the experience). In fact, the only bit of sound film we see in this film is not accompanied by actual sound other than the usual film score, since this is above all, a silent movie. That's not to say there is no actual sound in the film, since there is. In a fantastic dream sequence, George finds himself surrounded and attacked by everyday sounds all around him, while he himself proves incapable of producing speech. The sounds get so intrusive and agressive, that a feather hitting the ground produces a loud boom as if a bomb is exploding, thus waking him up from his nightmare. In the end, with Peppy's help and support, George finally utters his first actual words when he has regained his lust for life and admits his love for Peppy, making the emotional impact of his speech increase tenfold. With a few simple words, Hazanavicius ends his movie with the greatest possible emotional climax.

As if the clever use of ancient techniques and a gripping story were not enough, the assembled cast also adds nothing but talent and success to the film. Both Dujardin and Bejo show they're fully aware what effect Hazanavicius was going for and make the movie come totally alive, having us root and feel for them all the way. The supporting cast includes some notable talent, most of which undoubtedly have not done a project like this before but comprehending it completely. John Goodman plays a wonderfully pragmatic and ruthless movie producer who easily trades in George for Peppy when the former won't do 'talkies' and the latter excels at them. James Cromwell performs one of his more refined and memorable roles as Clifton, George's loyal driver who sticks with him no matter what until his boss is destitute and fires him, but still waiting at his doorstep for new instructions for a day, and all too eager to aid Peppy into rescuing George from his descent into self-destruction. The film also features bit parts for Missi Pyle as a typical Hollywood diva who feels upstaged by George's canine sidekick (and rightfully so!; maybe it's about time the Academy considered handing out those little golden statues for animal performers too, since the dog steals almost every scene he's in), and Malcolm McDowell as an extra who heartwarmingly humors the somewhat naive Peppy in the very beginning of her career in movies. All actors seemingly enjoyed shooting this unusual project, and it fully shows on screen: none of them seem uncomfortable in shooting a silent film, making us wonder whether they're actually speaking dialogue on set, or whether the very act of speech is a bit of acting. What fun they must have had on set!

With The Artist, Michel Hazanavicius has made the most wonderful hommage to the Silent Era yet, honouring the early days of Hollywood cinema despite never having worked in Hollywood himself, but fully reflecting the importance of Hollywood's early days on world cinema. Let's hope the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences acknowledges his ingenious film with a number of Oscars, including those for his lead actors who manage to steal our hearts for 100 minutes despite being devoid of speech for 99 of them. In directing a delightful film which adheres to tried but obviously still true tools of making movies, and manages to fully capture a contemporary audience, Hazanavicius has proven himself an artist indeed, and the result can be called nothing but the highest form of moving picture art.