Revolution Evolution

Chiseled Golden Men

Dem Oscar nominations are sure dreary this time around. Last few years have been rather colorful, with controversial and alternative flicks like Departed, Crash, Brokeback Mountain et al.

However, this time around, the bleaker ones (No Country for Old Men..., There Will Be Blood .... Atonement ..... god, it sounds like badly rhymed Edgar Allen Poe on depressants) seem to have dominated, with the exception of Juno (yay!). Granted that 2007's been a rather horrid year in terms of good quality commercial cinema, and most of the really good films have been foreign and indie, but have the Oscars not got it right this time? Hmmm, lets see.

Not glad

• First of all, where the hell is A Mighty Heart? At the very least, Angelina Jolie deserved a nomination for one of the most well-delivered, challenging performances of the year
• C'mon! Tom Hanks deserved a nom for CWW!
• Once??
  
• Denzel for American Gangster?
  
• 300? (for Visual Effects)
• Once?? Going twice!!
  
• Namesake (maybe asking for too much with regards the last one, but at least a nom for Best Original Score - Nitin Sawhney outdid himself on this one).
  

Glad

• Philip Seymour Hoffman nominated for Charlie Wilson, and Ellen Page for Juno!
• Cate Blanchett making history with nominations in BOTH the Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress category - wow!
• Falling Slowly (Once) nominated in the Best Song category - I absolutely cannot wait to see this one performed live at the ceremony!

Too early for predictions. I've revved up my Netflix queue to watch (and in some cases, rewatch) most of these flicks prior to the ceremony, and will have detailed thoughts up there. Michael Clayton is back in theaters, so that's good. But all in all, a tad bit disappointed with the overall selection theme, this year, vis-a-vis last year. Almost funereal.

In other news, Cloverfield rocked! Its a 9/11-hysteria-flick-meets-Blair Witch-Project! An absolute edge-of-your-seat-er must-see in terms of realism! And a serious study in movie marketing - loved the hype on this one, especially the fake newscasts on the oil rig (Geniusness!). *Vroom* Mini-Spoiler Alert. Did anybody see the thing fall into the ocean in the last scene?

And people, with regards shows like Moment of Truth. *Sigh*. I mean, is this what this country has come to? To resort to get innocent people up on screen, treat them like criminals with polygraph tests, and make them embarrass themselves by bringing out skeletons out of their personal closets in front of the whole television-watching world. I mean, its one thing to win half a million dollars, and another thing to have to spend it on alimony checks after the freaking show.