comment #1

Kristopher Tapley says ...

Yeah, something we're talking about over at In Contention, too. They're starfuckers. They like celeb directors. It could definitely happen.

comment #2

dobbsy says ...

Right. They wouldn't dare nominate it because about 20 of the top critics in America have proclaimed it one of the boldest, most original, adventurous, powerful, provocative and brilliantly made films of the film. Nah, they'd never do that.

Anyone see the NY Times headline, "Mel's movie is number one, but..."? No, there was no 'but,' except they couldn't bring themselves to report on the film's success. Anyone read the pompous pontificating of Turan and Schickel in the LA Times? The outrage totally cracks me up. It's like "The Wild Bunch," "Straw Dogs," "A Clockwork Orange," "Reservoir Dogs" "Fargo," "Blood Simple," "Pulp Fiction" ad infinitum never happened. Funny, I don't remember these dudes expressing any outrage when their critical darlings the Coens showed a guy stuffing another guy's leg into a wood chipper. Sheesh. These people wouldn't know an indie visionary if he ripped their hearts out of their...never mind....the two most original films of the year are "Borat" and "Apocalypto." Deal with it.

comment #3

Sean says ...

I feel obliged to point out that the same rule that precluded 'The Passion of the Christ' from being nominated for "Foreign Language" still applies to 'Apocalypto' as well. They're both American productions, they're both ineligible.

I also don't think it has any more chance at the Oscars than 'Borat' ... and even with 'Borat', there's an outside chance Cohen will get nominated (it really was the most committed performance of the year).

comment #4

Sean says ...

Sorry, I was misreading him, I thought he was projecting from his Golden Globe picks onto the Oscars.

comment #5

Devin Faraci says ...

What's provocative about APOCALYPTO? Seriously. It's an action movie. That's it. What's original about it? The language? It's rote except for the language and setting gimmick.

comment #6

tholl-yung says ...

20 of the top critics in America have proclaimed a lot of other American and foreign movies one of the boldest, most original, adventurous, powerful, provocative and brilliantly made films of the year, too. Everyone who writes about Apocalypto, talks about the specialness of the violence, to the point where people go see it say it wasn't that bad, so now it's not cool to talk about it. Half the writers say it's shallow, boring fare and lacking story. What's going on over at In Contention?

comment #7

dobbsy says ...

"Everyone who writes about Apocalypto, talks about the specialness of the violence, to the point where people go see it say it wasn't that bad, so now it's not cool to talk about it."

What can I add to that? NOTHING...if I want to be cool....

comment #8

tholl-yung says ...

I trust people's initial reaction to talk about it.

comment #9

Hallick says ...

"Look for the Hollywood bad boy to rebound from his recent scandal by being nominated for best director"

The sentiment of this sentence goes directly to the resistance to the idea of honoring Mel Gibson's "Apocalypto" (and stroking him with the "bad boy" monniker is so much cutesy bullshit...). Its too soon to be talking about "rebounding" from drunk driving, foaming-at-the-mouth jew bashing, and verbally abusing police officers for doing their jobs. The kind of rebounding Mel Gibson actually faces will take years, mostly in the obscurity of the man's private life and inner thoughts. His friends and family may forgive him quickly enough, but the damage will still lingers in places you can't just wave away with box office success and a Golden Globe nomination.

At any rate, nothing that occured that night should have the slightest impact on whether "Apocalypto" is great or not, or whether it should be recognized or not. But at the same time, its success shouldn't be getting trumpeted as Mel Gibson's "comeback" either. As a filmmaker, he isn't coming back from JACK, he's been doing just fine. As a person, equating a drop of absolution with hearing his name read Thursday morning is one of the shallowest yardsticks I could imagine.

comment #10

EDouglas says ...

"What's provocative about APOCALYPTO? Seriously. It's an action movie. That's it. What's original about it? The language? It's rote except for the language and setting gimmick."

You just don't seem to understand, Devin, that yes, it's an action movie, but it's the fact that he could get what's a pretty typical Hollywood plot and set it during that time, spend the time to research the tribes and cities of the time to try to create this world. And to make it work. I personally think if it was released during the summer, it would have been a huge hit, because it really is more of a summer popcorn movie than a boring awards season movie. But I also think that Mel Gibson should be commended for following through with this amazing vision to make a movie unlike any other we've seen.

comment #11

quizkid82 says ...

Oh, how I love it when Tom O'Neil is wrong, wrong, wrong.

comment #12

bachelorcool says ...

So much for Tom O'Neil's credibility then.

comment #13

le corbeau says ...

I'd say it's more likely that Cuaron gets a director nod and one of the BP nominees doesn't.

comment #14

MattyC says ...

EDouglas:

"...it's the fact that he could get what's a pretty typical Hollywood plot and set it during that time, spend the time to research the tribes and cities of the time..."

That was my main complaint with the movie, actually. Why BOTHER doing all the research, speaking in Mayan, etc, just to service a completely rote plot which has been used for hundreds of movies already?

Once he broke free of the City, and began his way back to his village, every action movie cliche was brought out and used. (spoiler) Did his wife really have to have the f-ing baby in the well? Then, he pussied out by not showing me the one scene I wanted to see, which is how the hell did Jaguar Paw get his toddler son and wife-with-baby-still-attached-via-umbilical-cord out of that well? (end spoiler)

I realize this is me throwing my own expectations at someone else's work, but I just felt that going to all the trouble to re-create, as realistically as we can tell, all that culture and those temples, was kind of a waste in relation to any meaning behind the movie, which is pretty much none.

comment #15

austin111 says ...

You know what's funny about Apocalypto is that I overheard two guys talking about seeing it and saying they couldn't understand why it was being released at Christmas....oh, the violence, the violence. They actually thought Gibson had made another "Christian" film of some sort, along the lines of Passion (one of the most brutal things I've ever sat through).