Oscars @ Home

There are over 40 different films nominated for Oscars this year and less than 30 days before the actual telecast. Let's be real here. Unless you've been thoroughly preparing for this throughout the year, you will not get a chance to see all the nominated films in time. Even if you did prepare, or are a film critic like myself and have seen 30 of the nominated films already, there are some selections, like the surprise animated feature nominee, THE SECRET OF KELLS, which won't reach theatres until after the awards are handed out. And so I suppose the goal is to do the best we can with what time we have and with the resources available to us.

This is where I come in. I will help you make sure you see as many of the right films possible before the big night. To make it easier on you, I'll start with all the nominated films that you can get at the video store or on demand or delivered to your door. Believe it or not, there are 16 films available to rent before the telecast airs, five of which are nominated for Best Picture. You can start your journey comfortably in your living room and work your way up getting out of the house and into the crowds to see the rest. I will rank them in order of importance and list the awards they are nominated for so that you can see why I consider them important.

1. THE HURT LOCKER
Nominated for:

PICTURE
DIRECTOR
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
ACTOR
FILM EDITING
CINEMATOGRAPHY
ORIGINAL SCORE
SOUND MIXING
SOUND EDITING


Tied for the most nominations with AVATAR, THE HURT LOCKER is your first stop. Unfortunately, as it only pulled in $13 million or so in theatres, it is a lot of people's first stop so it might be hard to find. If you're a fan of the war genre and appreciate the tension that only dismantling bombs can carry, you should just buy it. It's a gorgeous film. THE HURT LOCKER has a great chance to win in all of its categories, except the acting (sorry, Jeremy Renner), so this is a must if you want to follow on the big night.

2. INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS
Nominated for:

PICTURE
DIRECTOR
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
SUPPORTING ACTOR
FILM EDITING
CINEMATOGRAPHY
SOUND MIXING
SOUND EDITING

INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS has only one less nod than THE HURT LOCKER but not as much buzz. I would say it would be a surprise Best Picture winner but if anyone has a shot at a directing upset, it's Quentin Tarantino. Christoph Waltz is a lock for Supporting Actor and Tarantino might take the screenplay nod instead of the directing award. This one is also a must see.

3. DISTRICT 9
Nominated for:

PICTURE
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
FILM EDITING
VISUAL EFFECTS

DISTRICT 9 is a long shot in all of it's categories but the fact that it managed that much attention in such big categories makes me think a lot of people liked this one. It is a must see before the telecast just because of what it is nominated for but as it won't likely win, it won't be the end of everything if you miss it.

4. UP
Nominated for:

PICTURE
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
ANIMATED FEATURE
ORIGINAL SCORE
SOUND EDITING


UP has a very good chance to beat FANTASTIC MR. FOX for Animated Feature and an off chance at the screenplay bid so it is a contender but I don't see it as a Best Picture threat. Composer Michael Giacchino could grab another award for his score but I don't know how many people watch the Oscars for the music category. If you haven't seen UP, you should. You'll be happy to see it win whatever it does.

5. A SERIOUS MAN
Nominated for:

PICTURE
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

Two biggies there but no support in any other category suggests people liked A SERIOUS MAN but weren't floored by anything in particular about it. Personally, I loved everything about it and still think Michael Stuhlbarg was robbed in the Best Actor category. It comes out tomorrow and Black Sheep's full review will be up then.

6. JULIE & JULIA
Nominated for:

ACTRESS

JULIE & JULIA only has the one nomination but it happens to be a record-breaking one for Meryl Streep and people are saying that it is going to come down to her or Sandra Bullock in THE BLIND SIDE. If you want to get in on that race, you need to start here.

7. IN THE LOOP
Nominated for:

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY


Although I was sad not to see Tom Ford pick up a nod for writing A SINGLE MAN, I am thrilled to see the screenplay for IN THE LOOP up for it instead. This is definitely one of the sharpest, dirtiest, most hilarious films I've seen in years. You likely have never heard of it but if you are debating watching it because of the nomination, good for you! You will laugh very hard at this British political satire. It is brave and shocking and again, so funny!

8. STAR TREK
Nominated for:

VISUAL EFFECTS
SOUND MIXING
SOUND EDITING
MAKEUP

STAR TREK may have missed out on the bigger prizes but these four nods tie STAR TREK IV: THE VOYAGE HOME for the most Oscar nods for any Star Trek film. You don't need to see this beforehand but you should definitely see it.

9. THE COVE and FOOD INC.
Each nominated for:

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

You don't always get to see the nominated documentary features that easily and THE COVE and FOOD INC. are two that you don't want to miss. Both will change your life and just imagine how smart you'll look at your Oscar party when you can say you've seen two of the nominated documentaries.


THE REST ...

The following films are nominated here and there and also available to watch before the telecast, in case you wanted to be thorough. Once you're done with the first half of this list though, you should probably get to the theatre before the rest of these. Priorities, people!



BRIGHT STAR
(Nominated for Costume Design)

COCO AVANT CHANEL
(Costume Design)

CORALINE
(Animated Feature)

HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE
(Cinematography)

IL DIVO
(Makeup)

TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN
(Sound Mixing)

Shearing the Oscars: Best Picture

As was started yesterday, Black Sheep continues today with a brief look at each of the ten Oscar nominated films for Best Picture. Yesterday, we looked at the first five, alphabetically, AVATAR, THE BLIND SIDE, DISTRICT 9, AN EDUCATION and THE HURT LOCKER. Today we continue with five more incredible films and I ask only one thing today. I ask that we take the time to acknowledge each of the nominated films and why they are being recognized instead of focusing on just two front runners.

All five of the following films deserve their place in this year's race. The remaining five Oscar nominees for Best Picture are ...

INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS


I've seen this film three times now and it honestly took me all three viewings to get past director, Quentin Tarantino's ego in order to appreciate its beauty. At least I can say he's earned it. INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS certainly stands as one of his finest works, potentially second only to PULP FICTION. A variety of his influences are not only being honoured here but actually reappropriated and given the Tarantino touch. Nominated for eight Academy Awards, including two for Tarantino himself as writer and director, INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS should not be discounted as a serious contender. The Tarantino camp just has to want it as bad as Brad Pitt wanted his scalps in the movie.

PRECIOUS: BASED ON THE NOVEL "PUSH" BY SAPPHIRE


I believe that had the Oscars taken place a few months ago, PRECIOUS would be taking the top prize. The reality is that this film first screened over a year ago at Sundance and has been making nothing but noise since then. By the time it screened at TIFF and took the audience award, insiders were calling it this year's SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE. In other words, it was a sure thing. Maybe it was overkill or maybe it only had enough to strength to go so far, but interest in PRECIOUS dropped almost instantly when the box office receipts started dropping. I still believe it deserves its place in the winners' circle but it will be tricky to get people back on this train.

A SERIOUS MAN


I was really hoping to see A SERIOUS MAN included amongst the Best Picture nominees. This is one of the most personal stories the Coen Brothers, Joel & Ethan, have told and yet it is one of the least inclusive works I've seen from them. Their authenticity and playfulness with the idea of one man cursed by God is often hilarious and even more often, painfully uncomfortable. Led by a brilliant performance by Michael Stuhlbarg, perhaps my most disappointing acting snub, A SERIOUS MAN has not and will not reach enough of an audience to get enough votes in this category and the Coen's far better work, NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN, already took this prize just a few years ago.

UP


The people at Pixar are probably very happy about the five Oscar nominations their latest hit, UP, has earned. It is also only the second animated film in history to earn a Best Picture nomination. And while it may have been their biggest money earner in years, I do not personally feel this is their best work in years. I loved UP; I've seen in three times and have laughed and cried each time but WALL-E not making the cut last year is one of the major contributing factors to UP even having a shot at being nominated this year. A win for UP would be a consolation prize almost, I feel. It is edging out FANTASTIC MR. FOX in the Animated Feature category and that, and possibly Michael Giacchino's enchanting score, is likely as far as it is going to go.

UP IN THE AIR


Back when awards season was just starting, people were calling UP IN THE AIR the one to beat. It was winning critics awards over and over again, while director Jason Reitman and star, George Clooney, were looking like top contenders in their fields. The energy has died out some but it isn't too late to get it back. If the cast and crew work their magic on the scene, it shouldn't be too hard to remind people that UP IN THE AIR is an incredibly timely and tender piece about connecting with other people and other flights. Reitman's smooth touch and Clooney's classical charm give UP IN THE AIR an ease that let it glide right into your heart.

And so that sums up all ten nominees for the Best Picture Oscar. Who are you rooting for? Get creative!

Black Sheep @ The Box Office: Take an Umbrella

There was plenty of action in the Top 5 this week at the box office with four new titles taking up four of the five spots. Only one of these titles was actually successful though. Breaking Sony Animation’s record for best opening day on Friday with $8.1 million, CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS went on to capture the weekend and the honour of third largest September opening ever (behind SWEET HOME ALABAMA and RUSH HOUR). Audiences were starved for family entertainment and they certainly filled up on this one. I would expect many second helpings in the weeks to come.


Toronto International Film Festival titles, THE INFORMANT! and JENNIFER’S BODY went wide this week. Steven Soderbergh’s second picture this year has earned some serious Oscar buzz for star, Matt Damon, and rightfully so. Sadly, this was not enough to drum up a lot of interest at the box office with a tepid $10 million start. Megan Fox tried to break past her TRANSFORMER association and as it turns out, people don’t really care about her unless she is surrounded by metal – even when the film title specifically refers to her most intriguing asset. The only other festival title to hit general theatres was Jane Campion’s BRIGHT STAR, starring Oscar hopeful, Abbie Cornish. It too saw a similar reception to THE INFORMANT!, pulling in an average of only $10K per screen – solid but not stellar.


In other box office news, Jennifer Aniston and Aaron Echkart fizzled in fourth with LOVE HAPPENS. Tyler Perry’s I CAN DO BAD ALL BY MYSELF stumbled 57% in its second week, pretty much on par with all of Perry’s previous directorial efforts. And Quentin Tarantino’s INGLORIOUS BASTERDS surpassed PULP FICTION in terms of gross to become the biggest domestic hit of his career.

NEXT WEEK: They’re hoping you remember their name as FAME remakes its way onto 3000+ screens. Bruce Willis goes sci-fi with SURROGATES (2700 screens). PANDORUM will try to scare the crap out of everyone on 2500 screens. And two more TIFF titles, Michael Moore’s CAPITALISM: A LOVE STORY and Steve Hicks’s THE BOYS ARE BACK with Oscar hopeful, Clive Owen have their platform debuts.

Source: Box Office Mojo

Black Sheep @ The Box Office: Summer 2009!

It is Labour Day today - a day in which no one actually labours too hard, likely because they already went too hard doing something else last night. And as we sit here and recover from our evenings, we are really recovering from the summer as a whole. It all starts back tomorrow, school and sweater weather, that is. The summer blockbusters will make way for pensive Academy fare and before we all put on out glasses and thinking caps, let us raise a glass one last time to the summer of 2009.

(Click on any of the highlighted titles to read the Black Sheep review.)


I wouldn't go so far as to say there is a clear winner at the box office for the summer of 2009 but it can be definitely narrowed down to three. To look at the Top 10 worldwide grosses above, the Top 3 easily outrank the rest of the Top 10 and for different reasons. TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN, was the clear North American winner, pulling in just under $400 million during its summer run, from both regular and more expensive IMAX screens. The surprising international winner was the third installment of the ICE AGE series, pulling in over $640 million outside of North America. Despite these individual successes, one film did better combined and that was the sixth film in the HARRY POTTER series, proving that the franchise is nowhere near losing its magical touch and will likely ride it out through the remaining two installments. Fans were desperate for some Potter love as it had been over two years since the last film and the final book were released. Harry was due and he got his dues in return.


ANGELS AND DEMONS, the sequel to the infinitely more successful DA VINCI CODE, managed a surprise fourth place finish overall. This is the perfect example of how one film's disappointing domestic bow can be easily salvaged by international interest. International interest also saved TERMINATOR SALVATION and the second NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM even pulled in about $50 million overseas more than its domestic total. Contrarily, there are some films that perform significantly better domestically than elsewhere. The most notable example is STAR TREK. J.J. Abrams managed to successfully reboot the ancient franchise for North American audiences but did not drum nearly as much interest around the globe. It was still one of my favorite flicks this summer.


Men behaving badly left its usual mark on the summer box office, most notably with, the runaway success, THE HANGOVER, which performed well both domestically and internationally and the sequel is already in development. I'm not sure how many times we can watch these dopes get plastered and recreate their evenings but I wasn't sure anyone would care this time either so what do I know? Testosterone also fueled hits like Michael Mann's PUBLIC ENEMIES ($97 million in N.A.) and the summer kick starter, X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE. Meanwhile, the women continued to prove that summer time is just as much their time as it is the boys'. The Sandra Bullock/Ryan Reynolds romantic comedy, THE PROPOSAL did exceptionally well, with a grand domestic total of $161 million, making the it the 9th biggest domestic summer title out there. And the ladies also enjoyed THE UGLY TRUTH ($87.6 million) JULIE & JULIA ($80.6 Million) and THE TIME TRAVELER'S WIFE ($55.8 million). Granted those three films combined still come nowhere near what THE HANGOVER made, it is a strong showing nonetheless.


3D added a new dimension to the box office this summer. With a higher ticket price, late summer entry THE FINAL DESTINATION was able to open bigger than any of the previous films in the franchise and G-FORCE was able to cross the $100 million mark for Disney. There was no bigger 3D success this summer though than Pixar's first 3D effort, UP!. UP! pulled in over $290 million domestically, making it the third biggest film of the year so far and the second biggest Pixar film in their history, behind FINDING NEMO, the highest grossing animated film of all time. Pixar will be re-releasing their first hits TOY STORY and TOY STORY 2 in 3D as a double bill for a limited run in October to whet our appetite for their next 3D entry, 2010's TOY STORY 3.


There were no major bombs this summer but there were a number of disappointments. The biggest was certainly BRUNO, which grossed more than $60 million less than Sasha Baron Cohen's breakout, BORAT did and it fell fast, proving that Twitter and texting can kill you dead and it can kill you quick. Other disappointments include Judd Apatow's return to directing, FUNNY PEOPLE ($51 million), the Apatow produced, YEAR ONE ($43 million) and the Sam Raimi directed, DRAG ME TO HELL ($42 million). Incidentally, that last one was actually really good so don't let it slip past you when it is released to rent and own this October.


The summer is also a time for little art movies to rise past the big explosions and make miniature waves of their own. Sam Mendes's AWAY WE GO charmed adult audiences at the beginning of the summer, finishing with a total gross of $9.5 million. Oscar contender, THE HURT LOCKER beat the war movie curse by taking in $11.7 million in limited release. No film crossed over better though that the modern romantic comedy, (500) DAYS OF SUMMER, which allowed the whole world to fall in love with Zooey Deschanel right alongside Joseph Gordon-Levitt, to the tune of $28.4 million.


The final days of summer wound down with the reasonable launch of a new franchise based on a toy, G.I. JOE: THE RISE OF COBRA. The film pulled in about $141 million domestically and just about the same internationally. They aren't TRANSFORMERS size numbers but they will do for at least one sequel. Quentin Tarantino released what will go on to be the most successful film of his career with INGLORIOUS BASTERDS. The domestic total currently stands at $95 million and it will surely surpass the $107 million domestic gross of the Oscar winning, PULP FICTION. And then there was that phenomenal film about alien occupation on earth that many critics and moviegoers considered to be the best release of the summer, DISTRICT 9. The Neill Bloomkamp directed film has already taken in $103 million and Sony has greenlit not one but two sequels.


Overall, the 2009 worldwide summer box office took in over $10 billion, allowing it to surpass the records established two years ago. Apparently, the summer box office dollar is alive, well and in three dimensions.

Black Sheep's regular box office report will return next week.

Sources: Variety
Box Office Mojo

Black Sheep @ The Box Office: Glorious Box Office Basterds

There wasn't much question as to whether Quentin Tarantino's INGLORIOUS BASTERDS would debut atop the box office this weekend. It's stiffest competition going in was DISTRICT 9, leftover from last weekend. No, the question was how well it would do and it has done very well. With a well-deserved R-rating, INGLORIOUS BASTERDS nailed down a per screen average of nearly $12K for a grand total of over $37 million. This is Tarantino's highest opening weekend ever, easily besting the former record holder, KILL BILL VOLUME 2, with $25 million. Depending on how it performs in the weeks to come, INGLORIOUS BASTERDS could easily surpass PULP FICTION ($107.9 million) as Tarantino most success film of his career. It was definite redemption for the filmmaker, whose last film, the DEATHPROOF portion of the GRINDHOUSE double bill opened to a miserable $11.6 million. The second film in the GRINDHOUSE set was directed by Robert Rodriguez, whose SHORTS, posted disappointing results this week, landing in 6th place. I thought the kid friendly pic would do well with little competition in sight but it must be time for kids to think about going back to school instead of crazy wishing stones. The only other Top 10 debut went to the Alexis Bliedl vehicle, POST GRAD, which, coming in tenth place, barely passed the final exam. Female driven pics continue to hold well, from THE TIME TRAVELER'S WIFE, THE UGLY TRUTH and JULIE & JULIA, all posting declines under 30%. The near 60% decline is probably a little disappointing to the DISTRICT 9 people considering the phenomenal word of mouth it has generated. It won't stop the two greenlit sequels though. Outside the Top 10, ADAM saw a 22% jump after adding 29 screens but the big success story belongs to Renee Zellwegger whose period comedy, MY ONE AND ONLY, opened to the best per screen average of any film this week, with a $15K average.


NEXT WEEK: Ang Lee gets the jump on everyone else, opening his lovefest, TAKING WOODSTOCK on two screens on Wednesday before bumping to over 1000 screens on Friday. Outside of that I hope you like horror because your only new options are Rob Zombie's HALLOWEEN 2 (3000 screens) and THE FINAL DESTINATION (3000 screens), the supposed last in the series and the first in 3D.

Source: BOX OFFICE MOJO

INGLORIOUS BASTERDS

Written and Directed by Quentin Tarantino
Starring Bard Pitt, Eli Roth, Diane Kruger, Michael Fassbender, Christoph Waltz and Melanie Laurent


Col. Hans Landa: What a tremendously hostile world that a rat must endure. Yet not only does he survive, he thrives. And that, Monsieur, is what a Jew shares with a rat.

This might sound odd at first but bear with me. Without giving anything away, the final shot of Quentin Tarantino’s sixth film, INGLORIOUS BASTERDS – this is where I need you to bear – shows two characters looking directly into the camera and one declares to the other that this may be his best work yet. It’s just another one of those cheeky Tarantino moments we, that is “we” as in fans of his work, have come to expect and relish in his mostly masterful works. There are times though when a moment like this one ceases to be witty and serves only to allow Tarantino’s gigantic ego to overpower his usually inspired words. This is precisely one of those moments for me. Seeing this, or rather hearing this, did not make me want to stand up and cheer to show how desperately I agree with his assessment of his own work. Instead, it gave me slight pause and allowed me to remove my Tarantino-tinged glasses and ask, “Really, Quentin? You think this is your best work?”


INGLORIOUS BASTERDS opens and is almost instantly a parody of itself and Tarantino’s previous work. I can’t say this for certain but I don’t think this was his intention. A dramatic spaghetti western score plays over the bold-faced, colorful credits and you watch to see which obscure actors Tarantino handpicked to pop up at pivotal moments (in this case, Mike Myers as British military officer) and more importantly, to see how Tarantino will bill his own credit (in this case, the surprisingly humble, “A film by”). And then the title announces that we are about to witness “Chapter One”, just as we did in KILL BILL. There is nothing wrong with adapting a similar structure for your films to distinguish your style – heck, Woody Allen does it all the time – but, while Allen’s touches are understated, Tarantino’s tone is so distinct and loud that it borders more on bravado than brilliance. Seeing as how the story hasn’t even started at this point, it feels as though he has already shot himself in the foot.


At a 2½ hour running time though, it is hardly fair to judge the film based solely on its opening credits. What follows is a scene that justifies and gives some much needed context to the film’s obnoxious marketing campaign – You haven’t seen a WWII movie if you haven’t seen Tarantino do it (or something relatively like that). It is no secret that Tarantino likes to hear himself speak. His scenes go on far longer than most other directors would allow and the dialogue wraps around itself so many times that it’s a small miracle that his players don’t get dizzy when they stand up. And while this is all play when you have a bunch of guys sitting around a table debating the meaning of Madonna’s “Like a Virgin”, it is something else entirely when the scene involves an SS officer known as “The Jew Hunter” and a French farmer suspected to be hiding a Jewish family in his home. The longer it goes on, the more tense it becomes and by the time it inevitably turns violent, Tarantino takes no prisoners, just like the Nazis. The style flows about as abundantly and as smoothly as the Nazi blood for the rest of the run time.


At times, INGLORIOUS BASTERDS seems unfocused and overtly gratuitous, even by Tarantino’s standards. (When Brad Pitt’s Aldo Raine declares that he wants his scalps, he isn’t kidding.) While it is technically fantastic (safe for a continuity error with Pitt’s unfastened bow tie at one point that I can’t believe Tarantino didn’t notice) and also deeply engrossing, it is the liberties with history that just don’t sit too well with me. During a chilling climax, there are so many dying Nazis surrounded by burning swastika banners that one can practically feel Tarantino watching from the wings to see just how uproarious the cheers from the audience will be. It is hard to cheer though when you know that none of this happened really, that we are being manipulated as an audience to revel in this alternate reality where the doers of one of history’s greatest evils, get what they deserve, Tarantino style. This is especially true when what really happened was already horrific enough.