Avatar and the Oscars

[• Aerys •]

So the Oscars were last night, and needless to say, very interesting. I know some of you probably didn't watch it, or, quite frankly, don't give a damn, but still! There's already been a lot of chatter about Avatar being snubbed for the major categories (Hurt Locker took best director and picture), despite the fact that it took home the major aesthetic awards including best Visual Effects.

What do you guys think? Did Avatar deserve best picture? Or did it deserve what it got?

PS. Best wins of the night - My bb Christoph Waltz and the ST makeup win. Both were well deserved imo. Clearly making Spock ears is a work of art.

[Silmaneero]

For realsies, babe.

I really wish that Avatar had won Best Soundtrack. I think the reason Star Trek wasn't nominated in that category because of its use of the original ST theme, which kind of sucks. And I wasn't surprised at all that Hurt Locker had a pretty solid sweep; the critics really loved it.

In all honesty... if I had been in on the nominations, I'm not sure I'd have pointed to Avatar for Best Picture. Now, don't get me wrong. I love the movie to bits, it's ten kinds of awesome and I'd willingly watch it ten days in a row. However, I think the biggest hype it had going for it was the massive steps it took in CGI. They have a category for that, and I don't believe that Best Picture should be based on that alone. Yes, the plot was solid, the characters were intriguing, and the world is mesmerizing. All in all, though, Avatar was openly predictable. The plot was not unique, and there were really no surprises in it for me.

Best Picture should be a culmination of all those things in one glorious package. I was more disappointed that Star Trek was snubbed for Best Picture than at Avatar not getting it. Star Trek is, hands down, one of the best movies I have ever seen. Ever. The characters, the plot, the effects... there is nothing that I don't like about that movie, and I don't understand why it was overlooked.

[Dutch]

I agree that though Avatar is my night maiden when I'm cheating on Star Wars- It won everything it should have. Technologically- it IS the most gorgeous movie. Ever. Least in my opinion. And though I LOVED ST, the movie I felt got the shaft was District 9. That movie captured me more than any other movie that year. The effects, plot, acting, everything was so well intertwined. It really did get screwed over, and that's a shame.

[• Aerys •]

The Oscars are undeniably predictable. Somewhere I read an analogy to it being like a high school prom...which it is.

Only recently (I wholeheartedly think we have Peter Jackson to thank for this) have films of a fantasy/sci fi genre been recognized by the Academy, and not just for costume and effects and whatever. I'm not saying that the AA's validate whether or not a film is good, but until recently they've always been a bit of a taboo in the more prestigious sector of the film industry that was reserved for the intense dramas that seemed to always win.

In its own right, Avatar was a milestone in movie making history, and that's why it was in the category. The story has been rehashed before, but the effects were monumental, and now production teams and studios are afraid to even make a big blockbuster hit without implementing the 3D Cameron pioneered. It had an impact on the industry, bad story or not.

It was between District 9 and Star Trek for the other Sci-fi slot in the 10 nominations, and you know there would have been hell to raise if ST got into the running and Blind Side or Precious or whatever else was there didn't. While I personally feel that the message in District 9 was stupidly transparent even without seeing it, it was more tangible, I suppose, and PJ is legendary, so

Also you need to listen to Michael Giacchino's score for Up. Man is a genius. The movie made me cry so hard x.x;;

www.youtube.com/watch?v=93jxkqG0gWc

[Na'di Pil'stinnie]

Mar 8, 2010 21:44:04 GMT -5 Silmaneero said:

For realsies, babe.

I really wish that Avatar had won Best Soundtrack. I think the reason Star Trek wasn't nominated in that category because of its use of the original ST theme, which kind of sucks. And I wasn't surprised at all that Hurt Locker had a pretty solid sweep; the critics really loved it.

In all honesty... if I had been in on the nominations, I'm not sure I'd have pointed to Avatar for Best Picture. Now, don't get me wrong. I love the movie to bits, it's ten kinds of awesome and I'd willingly watch it ten days in a row. However, I think the biggest hype it had going for it was the massive steps it took in CGI. They have a category for that, and I don't believe that Best Picture should be based on that alone. Yes, the plot was solid, the characters were intriguing, and the world is mesmerizing. All in all, though, Avatar was openly predictable. The plot was not unique, and there were really no surprises in it for me.

Best Picture should be a culmination of all those things in one glorious package. I was more disappointed that Star Trek was snubbed for Best Picture than at Avatar not getting it. Star Trek is, hands down, one of the best movies I have ever seen. Ever. The characters, the plot, the effects... there is nothing that I don't like about that movie, and I don't understand why it was overlooked.

As much as I love "Star Trek", it was not as "original" as you claim. It's a concept that is 40 years old, so going by your standards, it really didn't deserve the nomination, let alone win. I mean, sure it's a new plot, but the same characters we've seen overtime. It was a blockbuster, nothing more nothing less. A good blockbuster, but not worthy of an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture.

That being said, I was a little dismayed at the Academy. It's like, they go out of their way to award these little "indie movies that could" to improve their street cred, but totally neglect movies that were both commercial and critical successes and/or animated pictures. "Up" was a fantastic movie and one of the best of the previous year. If any movie not named "Hurt Locker" deserved the win, it was "Up". And from what I hear, "Precious" was equally good.

I was pissed "Avatar" didn't win, but I got over it rather quickly. The Academy is not ready to award CGI or animated movies the Best Picture award.

[Silmaneero]

I never claimed it was original insofar as it being new. I'm well aware that the Star Trek universe has been around for the better part of half a century now, but it is the only movie I have ever seen where I can't really find anything to nitpick about. It's a damn good movie, and not including it simply because this is a reboot based on the original series would be like saying Precious shouldn't have been in the running because it's based on a book.

It is original in that it took a premise that many found campy, if not downright cheesy, and made it bloody awesome. The acting, the editing, the story, the CGI... every bit of it was spot on, and it all meshes together so well that it makes a truly solid, enjoyable epic of a movie. But, as you mentioned, the Academy seems to like to pick the movies that appear to have some sort of deep, emotional underlying message. Maybe they think it makes them look smarter.