By: Alex L

Alex L — Mon, 23 May 2016 04:29:00 +0000

Daniel, that\’s just a fundamental disagreement on the purpose of film. I don\’t think going "HAHA" at your audience for three hours is valuable filmmaking. I think it makes the whole thing a nihilistic chore, especially when it also stays so uncritical and is still so totally boring. I only laughed twice, and one of those laughs was at a shooting goof where Leo gets hit in the face by a leaf blowing in the wind. I don\’t think it\’s subtle filmmaking to make three hours of irritating indulgence, I think that\’s Metal Machine Music all over again, let alone something like Haneke\’s Funny Games. It\’s been done.

In regard to these categories, my picks before watching the videos:
-Best Picture: Spotlight
-Best Actor: Leonardo DiCaprio, for his amazing physical performance. He manages to captivate without dialogue or emotion just by his physicality.
-Best Actress: Brie Larson. Carol is a collaboration between two equal actresses: Larson is given all the emotional maturity of Room, and she elevates a fantastic film with it.
-Best Supporting Actor: Of the nominees, I like Tom Hardy, who is just fascinating.
-Best Supporting Actress: I like Jennifer Jason Leigh and Rachel McAdams; McAdams is more vital to her film, but Leigh is so fun to watch.
Best Director: This is a hard award to give. I think McCarthy made the best film of the nominees and had a difficult job managing tone, but I think this reveals itself by watching these movies again and again.
Best Cinematography: TH8\’s cinematography is just astounding, but all five are beautiful films.

I\’ll comment later when I\’ve watched \’em.

By: daniel

daniel — Mon, 23 May 2016 04:29:00 +0000

Thinking of the wolf of Wall Street is a hypocritical film because it celebrates the excess of what is showing illustrates a fundamental misunderstanding of the movie\’s point, and the troubling need for film to explain itself unambiguously instead of using irony and subtlety. The clear intent of the wolf of Wall Street is to put on a parade of indulgence that the viewer can never be a part of, but because it is uncritical of itself it reveals that desire in the viewer to be a part of the parade. If the movie were to point out that being and irresponsible jerk was bad it would be self-defeating and didactic. It is meant to be a cruel joke on the audience, as if we were poor and starving and it was a three hour at for the Cheesecake Factory. Jordan Belfort is spitting in our faces the entire time, but because his life is portrayed as attractive and fun we also want to be the ones who spit. That is the nature of indulgence and greed. And that is subtle brilliant film making. If you think this reading is a stretch, then what does the ending shot of the film mean- when the camera is turned,essentially, on the audience?

Comments on: Watch: 7 Video Essays Determine Who Deserves To Win Best Picture, Best Actor, And More At The 2016 Oscars

By: Alex L

By: daniel