1-Minute Critic on Best Picture Oscar Nominations

[alexxxdamasta187]

There Will Be Blood is superior to all of the nominees and you know it. By the way, I don't think three Academy Award nominations in writing means Paul Thomas Anderson is far more than "mediocre." He's probably the most brilliant writer/director of our generation.

[robertrosado]

*the correct thing I was going to say*

I'm sorry, my friend, I just don't agree with you. I thought "Juno" was cute, but far too self-concious to merit anything than a pat on the back (that said, Garner and Page are fantastic). "No Country..." and "...Blood" are masterful pieces, and will undoubtedly stand the test of time. "Clayton" is a wonderful thriller with magnificent performances, and "Atonement" is a well-acted, well-meaning disappointment.

[robertrosado]

I'm sorry, my friend, I just don't agree with you. I thought "Juno" was cute, but far too self-concious to merit . "No Country..." and "...Blood"

[shawntem]

CRAIG!!! I think Atonement should have been replaced with either The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford or Ratatouille... I don't have a big problem with the other nominees... I really dug Michael Clayton (it was the best script of the bunch, imo), I thought that Juno was a little too "quirky" and self-aware for its own good, but still funny and sweet... No comment on TWBB and NCfOM, except to say that I happen to love both movies... sorry... but anyway, this is good stuff!

[CynicTheInfotainer]

I've liked most of PTA's movies (Hard 8, Mag, Boogie & Punch-drunk) but I walked out of this movie thinking it was just okay. Then the hype machine did it's thing and I thought to myself...well, maybe I missed something or I was just getting my man-period during the viewing. Thank you, 1-minute Critic, for not making me feel like a pariah!

[cwyricksolari]

No, you're still a pariah, you've just found another pariah to hang out with. What was TWBB missing that you saw in all of PTA's other movies that you liked? - 1-Minute Critic

[CynicTheInfotainer]

Hard 8 is a good "li'l movie" - basically an apprentice story (I'm a big John c. Reily fan). Boogie & Mag I liked for their Altmanesque qualities...right down to being nicely cast with a wide range of talent. Punch-Drunk Love I liked because it delt with "geek/socially awkward love" and I found that to be interesting. Prior to that I was not an Adam Sandler fan, that movie made me like him more. Now, maybe if I see TWBB again when it comes out on DVD, it might grow on me or...it might not.

[ckad79]

You honestly think Michael Clayton has as shot? Just curious. I don't think it does. I liked Juno and it was cute and original but I feel its another Little Miss Sunshine and not on the scale of an Oscar caliber epic like TWBB is. Plus when he compare the overall acting, cinematography, set design, etc, it's clearly the film of the year.

[cwyricksolari]

No, I think NCFOM will win. I was just giving my choices. I think Juno will be touchstone comedy for this generation. I think the Academy likes movies that are more epic and deal with "big" themes. It's the difference between English Patient vs. Fargo or American Beauty vs. Election. Some movies win Oscars, some movies are classics. - 1-Minute Critic

[bryonpav]

All these films will be forgotten in a year except for NCFOM and TWBB. Michael Clayton has already been forgotten about. Juno just isn't Oscar material. Atonement is a bad tasting Oscar lure. There will be Blood was superfly, and you know it; P.T. Anderson may be an acquired taste, but "mediocre writer"? Where do you get off. No Country was brilliant. Brilliant. I just wish more people would have gotten it. If Juno or Michael Clayton wins, don't mention the Oscars to me ever again.

[cwyricksolari]

Thanks for your thoughts, but please remember that it's just my opinion, and we're both entitled to our own. BTW what was it in NCFOM that people "didn't get?" I thought there was enough explaining by TLJ at the end. - 1-Minute Critic

[joshwaloveslotr]

you're shocked because the audience was laughing... that's their stupidity... don't fall into the same trap

[ckad79]

I agree. PTA even admitted though that he wanted the audience to laugh during parts and enjoyed the response, but still, I think most people who laughed didn't let the movie come to them because they were also the people most stunned at the end.

[cwyricksolari]

Check out the New Yorker glowing review of TWBB. Even they admit the ending is a mistake, though they consider PTA brilliant, and the film masterful. It's okay to make mistakes. I just thought the whole movie was one. -1-Minute Critic

[ckad79]

You have no business watching PT Anderson films, since you pretty much unfairly bash his work before even seeing it. We get it. You hate him. You've made that known.

[cwyricksolari]

I don't hate PT Anderson, and I saw "There Will Be Blood" long before it was released. The audience was giggling at how ridiculous that bowling alley scene was, so I'm shocked it's been so lauded. I'm always hoping he'll make a great movie. What do you feel makes PT's movies so critically popular? - 1-Minute Critic

[ckad79]

Why is PTA loved by critics and fans of great film work? Well, for starters, he admires Scorsese and Altman and uses their work to create complex, intelligent and quirky movies. He also gets unbelievable performances out of under appreciated actors (Mark Whalburg and Adam Sandler to name a few). He also likes character actors and he doesn't make a lot of movies, so he doesn't sell out to the Hollywood system.

[cwyricksolari]

He's so far out of the Hollywood system that he's nominated for an Oscar? I think he's too concerned with being "cool" and making "important" movies that he's missing the one thing that can make a movie truly great -- living, breathing, 3-dimensional characters. I admire Scorcese and Altman, too, but that doesn't make me a great critic.

- 1-Minute Critic

[AustralianStallion90]

Ridiculous? It parallels the theme so well, and instills the competition and capitalist mind in a manner that left you remembering it.

How anyone could consider it "ridiculous" is beyond me. You are either an Angelical, or crazy.

[cwyricksolari]

Not Angelical, so I must be crazy. - 1-Minute Critic