Monday, January 18, 2016

Reasons Mad Max: Fury Road Deserves An Oscar Nomination ...


… that have nothing to do with how good the film actually is.
 
There are plenty of articles out there regarding the merits of Mad Max: Fury Road, from the stunt work and storytelling to the performances and direction.  Most critics found the fourth installment of the Mad Max series to be a refreshing entry that, despite recasting the titular character, fits smoothly in director George Miller’s fictional timeline, not really knowing exactly when the events of this film happen in relation to the other three.  On Rotten Tomatoes the film received a 97% fresh rating, with the consensus being “with exhilarating action and a surprising amount of narrative heft, Mad Max: Fury Road brings George Miller’s post-apocalyptic franchise roaring vigorously back to life.
 
This diatribe is not being written to also gush over the film and provide an amateur analysis of what makes Mad Max: Fury Road so great.  Instead I will be explaining why I feel the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences needed to include this movie as a nominee for the Best Picture category.  Let’s look at three reasons why I believe Mad Max: Fury Road needed a Best Picture nomination in order to improve the Oscars.
 
#1. Expand its horizons and don’t just nominate artsy dramas:
 
It should be stated from the beginning that I don’t think the Academy should base their decisions of what the best movie, director, actor/actress, writing, or any other aspect of filmmaking is simply to appease television viewers.  The award ceremony isn’t for fans of film, but for those actually making the movies.  It isn’t the Academy’s fault that we as a civilization have deified Hollywood.  Although the ceremony wasn't initiated in order to celebrate the industry’s accomplishments and recognize those who are best at their profession, it has morphed into that over the past eight decades.  And during that time it has turned into one of the biggest nights of the year for Hollywood in regard to marketing their films.
 
Mad Max: Fury Road shouldn’t be included as a Best Picture nominee simply to increase TV ratings, but for recognizing any well-made movie, no matter what genre it may fall under.  It shouldn’t matter whether a movie happens to be considered science-fiction, slapstick comedy, slasher horror, or sword and sorcery fantasy, if it has a compelling story, great performances and other superb facets of what makes movies great then it should be a legitimate candidate for any Academy Award category, including Best Picture.  Many have the impression, probably rightfully so, that films considered part of an inferior genre don’t stand a chance of being nominated for the most coveted award the Oscars can give.
 
After 87 ceremonies it is clear that the Academy certainly favors tear-jerking dramas and historical biopics, but it certainly hasn’t excluded other genres.  War films and westerns occasionally will make it in the group, but even those are drama heavy.  Mad Max: Fury Road is the first film since 2009’s District 9 to be so action heavy and still make the final cut of Best Picture nominees.
 
But there is something that Mad Max and District 9 have in common, and that leads us to the next reason.
 
#2. Social themes that are explored through characterization:
 
The recent passing of Alan Rickman has brought to mind one of the greatest villainous roles in film history, Hans Gruber.  It’s not an opinion that Die Hard is one of the greatest action movies of all time.  That’s just fact.  But it is just that, a great action film.  While Die Hard did garner four Oscar nominations, all in technical categories, it undoubtedly doesn’t deserve to be a Best Picture nominee.  It is a straight-forward action popcorn flick.  There are a million action movies just like it, although nowhere close to as thrilling.
 
When most directors and writers set out to make an action blockbuster the motivation in doing so is financial.  I’m not saying that they don’t want to make a good movie, but underlying social themes aren’t really at the forefront of their mind when figuring out how to get the hero in a shootout with the bad guys while swinging from a helicopter and cradling a beauty in his arms.  However, that is where George Miller is different.
 
Mad Max: Fury Road is a two-hour chase movie, but it is a two-hour chase movie that also includes themes such as survival, cult worship, and female empowerment.  In fact, the female empowerment subject is so prevalent, many viewers felt the movie should have been renamed Mad Max: Furiosa Road or simply Mad Furiosa.
 
It is the examination of these themes, along with others from previous films in the series such as vengeance, solidarity, and redemption that sets the Mad Max movies apart from other run-of-the-mill action/adventure flicks.  If you were to explain the plot of Mad Max, but omit the post-apocalyptic setting and over-the-top stunts, you might fool someone into thinking you were describing what many people believe the Oscars are all about, which is a small-budget indie art house film.
 
There aren’t a lot of action movies that if you stripped away the violence and adrenaline you’d find subject material similar to dramas like Thelma and Louise, Eyes Wide Shut, The Master, or this year’s Oscar nominee leader, The Revenant.
 
Did someone mention The Revenant receiving the most nominations at this year’s ceremony?  That is a great teaser for the next reason Mad Max: Fury Road deserved a Best Picture nomination.
 
#3. Nominees by the numbers:
 
Mad Max: Fury Road received a total of 10 nominations, which is second most behind The Revenant’s 12.  The remaining films in the Best Picture category are The Martian (7 nominations), Bridge of Spies (6), Spotlight (6), The Big Short (5), Room (4), and Brooklyn (3).  To receive nine nominations in categories ranging from directing and cinematography to costume design and production design, as well as the technical awards like sound editing, sound mixing, and visual effects, but not receive the Best Film nomination would be a major oversight.
 
The movie to receive the most nominations and not be in the Best Picture category is Carol, which received a total of six nominations.  It is unfortunate for the producers, director, and cast of Carol to see films with half its nominations in the Best Picture category.  So if the Academy had excluded Mad Max: Fury Road from the Best Picture category simply because it didn’t fit the mold of a normal Best Picture candidate like Carol, it would probably have lost more credibility with moviegoers than actually including it.  But again, the Academy shouldn’t base its decisions on what we at home would like to see.

Every year people in the real media and on social media gripe about the Academy not recognizing movies the general public has actually seen.  Nominating Mad Max: Fury Road for the best picture of the year is a step in the right direction of giving all movies, regardless of genre, a chance at the most coveted Oscar.  If only the general public would take a step in the other direction by raising their standards in what movies they see and stop giving Michael Bay billions of dollars to keep making the same toy-truck-robot movie over and over again. 

Wednesday, January 13, 2016

88th Annual Oscar Nominee Predictions

I don't normally make predictions of the potential films to be honored with Academy Award nominations in the Best Picture category, but I figured I would give it a shot this year.  I am pretty good at selecting the winners once the nominees are known, but figuring out what will be the choices, especially in a category that doesn't narrow the field to a single amount of films, is a little tougher.  This may crash and burn after only one attempt and next year I will stick to picking the winners among the smaller field of nominees in each category.
 
So here are my potential list of nominees along with those that will be considered but likely miss the mark.
 
Definite Nominees:
The following films are the minimum amount that can be selected for the Best Picture category.  The rules of the Academy Awards are that a minimum of five and maximum of ten films can be nominated, but there is no limit to how many can be selected within that field.  So one year it could be five, the next ten, and then the following it could be eight.  You just never know.  So here are the five films I believe will definitely be nominated in the Best Picture category:
Bridge of Spies
Carol
The Martian
The Revenant
Spotlight
 
Probable Additions:
Now that I've got my minimum covered, I will go out on a limb and add a few additional movies I think are worthy of receiving a nomination.  The group of films to be included with the above five are:
Brooklyn
Mad Max: Fury Road
Room
 
So I guess I believe the field of Best Picture nominated films will be eight this year.  But that doesn't mean I am right with the ones I predicted (especially Mad Max: Fury Road, which is more of a hope than a belief).  Also, it leaves the possibility of including some other films that I have omitted.  So here are some other films that have a shot at receiving a nomination.
 
In The Hunt:
These movies are getting enough buzz lately to be considered likely contenders:
The Big Short
The Danish Girl
The Hateful Eight
Steve Jobs
 
Dark Horses:
And finally we have the longshots.  These movies have garnered some nominations in other award ceremonies and received just enough critical acclaim to give it a chance at a Best Picture nomination.  Those films include the following:
Ex Machina
Inside Out
Joy
Sicario
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Straight Outta Compton
Trumbo

Monday, January 04, 2016

James Bond One-Off Continuation Novel Rankings

Hope all had a good New Year holiday.  With three kids in tow, New Year's Eve isn't exactly the party night it once was in my younger years.  The real party for me was Saturday when my film club got together to watch Kill Bill: Vol. 1 and Kill Bill: Vol. 2.  It had been probably a decade since I had watched either of those movies, and I have to admit that with time my appreciation for them has increased.  I will probably get to a ranking of Quentin Tarantino's films after seeing The Hateful Eight.
 
However, that is not what this post is about.  While restoring the house to its normal order and putting our holiday decorations in the attics and closets they collectively belong in for 11 months of the year, I came across a list of the solo books for James Bond continuation authors and saw that I had made a ranking of them.  Yet, that list had not made it to the archives of this blog.  So that is the true purpose of my writing today.
 
The following four books are my ranking of the novels about British superspy 007, otherwise known as James Bond.  I have included the author with each title since no writer was asked to return.
 
1. Trigger Mortis - Anthony Horowitz
2. Solo - William Boyd
3. Devil May Cry - Sebastian Faulks
4. Carte Blanche - Jeffery Deaver
 
It should be noted that Horowitz did have the benefit of composing his work from an unfinished manuscript by original author Ian Fleming, with a single chapter completed by Fleming himself.  However, Horowitz does an excellent job with what he was given and comes the closest to replicating Fleming's original style.