edited by Jonathan Doyle

Cloverfield [BLU-RAY] (Paramount Home Entertainment, 6.3.2008) Disguised under deliberately goofy, yet deliciously edible-sounding, aliases such as Cheese and Slusho, Matt Reeves' Cloverfield was produced and rushed into theaters under an equally appetizing shroud of secrecy. From last year's incredibly elusive Super Bowl ad to the film's viral marketing campaign, Cloverfield had everybody scratching their heads and drooling in anticipation. Aside from the as-yet untitled title and the Blair Witch-ian visual style, the film's biggest appeal was the enigmatic creature who was last (un)seen hurling the decapitated head of the Statue of Liberty onto the crowded streets of New York City. All we knew about the mysterious beast was that it was big and angry. Now that the highy-anticipated project has come and gone, one question has fortunately been answered: Cloverfield was a major success. (continued)

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Departed for Best Picture

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The reason I haven't put The Departed into the Best Picture category in the Oscar Balloon is that there's not a whole lot going on underneath. It doesn't have any kind of human-condition theme that hatches and builds and sticks to your ribs after it's over. But did The French Connection, which won the '71 Best Picture Oscar, have any kind of theme? Not that I can remember. Shouldn't pure moviegoing pleasure -- the kind that comes from a film that's knows what it's doing and how to deal it, and is therefore totally confident and well-ordered -- be one of the criteria that qualifies a film for Best Picture? Maybe The Departed should be one of the nominees on this basis.

Well, Well, Well<< previous | next >>Indie struggles

Posted by Jeffrey Wells on September 30, 2006 at 4:38 PM

comment #1

Doug Pratt says ...

It was the portrait of obsessiveness on the part of the hero that made The French Connection more than just a New Wave cop film.

Posted by Doug Pratt at September 30, 2006 5:17 PM

comment #2

Kristopher Tapley says ...

French Connection was medium-altering. Much different story there. But I agree, Departed SHOULD be considered seriously by the Academy for Best Pic. Doubtful that it will. But there we are.

Posted by Kristopher Tapley at September 30, 2006 6:05 PM

comment #3

RP says ...

Comment: Departed SHOULD be considered seriously by the Academy for Best Pic. Doubtful that it will. But there we are. >>>

As I've noted on this blog before, "GoodFellas" wasn't a typical Oscar picture either, and yet...six noms: Picture, Director, Adapted Screenplay, Editing, Supporting Actor, Supporting Actress.

Obviously, there are a lot of films to come, but "The Departed," as we agree, is definitely the class of 2006 among movies released, to date. It clearly features the best work of the year, to date, in five of the above-mentioned categories and is second only to Streep/"Prada" in Supporting Actress, imho, assuming Streep is run in that category. Additionally, "The Departed" boasts the year's best Lead Actor work and Cinematography.

My guess is that after the last Oscar-eligible film is released, "The Departed" will still *warrant* seven Academy Award nominations.

I could care less if it wins any, as I'm a little past thinking the Academy will actually cares about rewarding the actual best films of the year, but respect must be paid in the nominations.

Posted by RP at September 30, 2006 10:31 PM

comment #4

Mark says ...

I'm curious to see what's going on underneath Dreamgirls.

Posted by Mark at September 30, 2006 11:31 PM

comment #5

Mark G. says ...

Every once in a while, there's an action movie, which resonates with the academy, remember THE FUGITIVE?
Nominations for
Best Pic
Best Cinematography
Best Editing
Best Original Score
Best Sound
Best Sound Effects Editing
and of course a win for
BEST TOMMY LEE JONES...

Posted by Mark G. at October 1, 2006 1:27 AM

comment #6

Dixon Steele says ...

And there's the irrefutable Scorsese factor, which may help explain why AVAITOR & GANGS got so many nominations.

Not to mention the guilt factor as MS has yet to win an Oscar.

DEPARTED doesn't seem to be the kind of movie that wins Oscars. The reviews seem strong, which are a must for consideration.

It's obvious that Scorsese will win eventually (although great directors like Hitchcock, Chaplin, etc. never did). He's still at the top of his game in my mind.

And this film will make money, no doubt about that. So they'll be plenty of future Scorsese films to choose from.

Posted by Dixon Steele at October 1, 2006 7:04 AM

comment #7

Undercover Brother says ...

Goings on under the surface? Hello Jeff! If memory serves "Chicago", the king of the meaningless and the trite, won Best Picture just a couple of years ago. Hell, it even had a song, I believe it was called Razzle Dazzle, about how completely vapid it was.

Posted by Undercover Brother at October 1, 2006 7:49 AM

comment #8

Devin Faraci says ...

I don't know... DEPARTED deals with themes of identity, but most importantly - and most timely - it deals with the concept of just what is right and what is wrong. Is it OK to do very bad things - as Leo does - for good reasons?

Posted by Devin Faraci at October 1, 2006 8:18 AM

comment #9

EDouglas says ...

I can see it getting nominated for its screenplay and maybe for Scorsese (which would just be cruel since he won't win again) and even Jack Nicholson, but I just didn't see any fantastic Oscar worthy performances in the movie... except maybe for Wahlberg, everyone's doing what we've seen them do so many times before. It's really the script and direction that elevates the movie above simple action movies... but is it as stirring and riveting as The Fugitive or The French Connection? I say "No". There's a lot of movies to come that no one has seen yet... Flags of our Fathers, Babel (for those who haven't seen it yet), Good German, Good Shephard, Blood Diamond, Dreamgirls, Children of Men (already playing in Europe) that look like they could be just as strong contenders and it only takes four of those to knock out Departed.

As I've said before and I'll say again, Scorsese's last two movies were very ambitious... you could see the quality of his direction on the screen... The Departed? Not so much. It's really more about the screenplay and how it adapted Infernal Affairs into a Boston setting.

Posted by EDouglas at October 1, 2006 8:31 AM

comment #10

Tedward says ...

I love ya Jeffery, but really....
How many more blogs are you going to post about the Departed? Enough already!!!

Posted by Tedward at October 1, 2006 8:52 AM

comment #11

Cadavra says ...

My guess is that Scorsese WILL get a directing nomination, but will lose the Best Picture nom to something more impersonal, like THE QUEEN or DREAMGIRLS.

Posted by Cadavra at October 1, 2006 12:32 PM

comment #12

jeffreywells says ...

Wells to Tedward: The Departed is a major topic at the moment with a very big headwind. Why should I chill about it? DepartedDepartedDepartedDeparted DepartedDepartedDepartedDepartedDepartedDeparted
DepartedDepartedvDepartedDepartedDepartedDeparted
DepartedDepartedDepartedDeparted...etc.

Posted by jeffreywells at October 1, 2006 1:55 PM

comment #13