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Oscars 2013: a disappointing showering of love for Affleck’s Argo

220px-85th_Academy_Awards_PosterOf the acting awards I can support all 4 (Jennifer Lawrence for SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK, Daniel Day Lewis for LINCOLN, Anne Hathaway for LES MISERABLES and Christoph Waltz for DJANGO UNCHAINED), plus Ang Lee for directing LIFE OF PI – but I was very disappointed with the Academy for showering Ben Affleck with love for ARGO (best picture).

It was a good movie, but simply not as a great as any of the others that were nominated – how about any of those 5 above + ZERO DARK THIRTY, for a start? We’ve seen the Academy dole out gongs ‘retroactively’ for snubs of prior superior work (e.g. Martin Scorcese finally winning for THE DEPARTED), but Ben Affleck’s previous movies don’t qualify there. Or maybe the insular delusion of “Hollywood saves the day” was just too tempting not to vote for (more cynically, maybe they thought that every extra viewer who sees the film because it won, and can be brainwashed as to Hollywood’s social value, is worth compromising the integrity of the award). Either way, badly played Academy voters, badly played.

 
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Posted by on February 24, 2013 in Film Reviews, Passive Media

 

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Lincoln (2012, dir. Steven Spielberg): an historical “West Wing”

220px-Lincoln_2012_Teaser_PosterAn historical “West Wing”. Focuses the action on the political drama around getting the House to pass the Thirteenth Amendment during January 1865, abolishing slavery before the Civil War ended and the moment passed. Brilliant Oscar-worthy performance by Daniel Day-Lewis, and an occasionally sparkling script based on historian Doris Kearns Goodwin’s “Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln”

O how the Republican party has fallen! Spielberg showcases its glorious beginnings as the party of Lincoln: socially progressive, concerned with long-run social justice and economic prosperity (some rich people would lose big, and states’ rights would be trodden on, but that was not an issue), open to compromise and willing to put aside ideology to move the ball forward. If the Republicans of today can recapture this spirit and be inclusive of all 100%, they can start winning elections handily and keep Democrats on their toes.

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Posted by on November 18, 2012 in Film Reviews, Passive Media

 

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