comment #1

Craig Kennedy says ...

I hope you're right, but I think you're living in a No Country bubble Jeffrey.

comment #2

BurmaShave says ...

It would be best for it to fall back and quietly gather critics awards. A great thing it has going for it is the box office, which will chug along through February, keeping it in play.

comment #3

Kristopher Tapley says ...

Glenn Kenny didn't kill anything. I frankly seemed more confused at the end of his piece than he was at the beginning, but regardless, what Academy member came across that anyway? Aren't they all still on typewriters, in any case?

The ending is still a legitimate concern for the film's Oscar hopes.

comment #4

Craptastic says ...

Its not a No Country bubble he's living in... its a Zodiac.

And let's not take the bait and start fighting over the ending again please. Let's all just move on.

comment #5

BurmaShave says ...

How the fuck is the ending confusing? You can object to it, but it's not confusing. Christ.

comment #6

LexG says ...

THE KINGDOM for the win.

BERG 4 LIFE. KNOW IT.

comment #7

Craig Kennedy says ...

Thank you for saying what I was thinking Kristopher. It means so much more coming from someone who actually knows what they're talkig about.

Burma. I think the confusion for people isn't over what happened, but why it happened that way. A typical response among many people I know was "I don't get it."

comment #8

Crimzon says ...

It would be so hilarious if neither NCFOM or Atonement, won. Sweet, sweet irony.

I've given up trying to predict the outcome of this race. Its nice to just sit back and enjoy these masterpieces for what they are.

comment #9

T. Holly says ...

"Kite Runner" is worthy by casual standards. It's a little too in love with itself to speed things along, and a lot of people are going to get emotionally attached to it without noticing its lackluster filmmaking. This includes crummy subtitles. "Lust, Caution" is the gold standard, as far as the art of subtitling goes.

comment #10

Craig Kennedy says ...

Hmmm....'lackluster filmmaking'. That's not what you'd call a ringing endorsement. Riddle me this...do the emotions overcome the lackluster filmmaking even for a heartless, cynical bastard like myself?

(full disclosure, I cry during It's Christmas Charlie Brown every year so clearly that last statement was a complete lie)

comment #11

Mr. Muckle says ...

I'll take the ending to No Country 2 to 1 over the ending to The Departed.

comment #12

EOTW says ...

Come on, NCFOM would've had the PERFECT ending if instead of going out on Tommy'd face, it cut to tommy's glance out his window and a big fat rat running across the dusty texas plain. Perfection! thant being said, I LOVED the ending of THE DEPARTED, sans the rat, of course. I think the pissed off look on Wahlberg's face really says it all about what goes down in that pic and Damon's resignation is more than appropriate considering all that went before. Granted, the whole pic is just a riff on the current geopolitical quagmire that is the USA in Iraq, but I digress...

comment #13

Discman says ...

The KITE RUNNER?? Seriously?

It's not just "soft," Jeffrey. It feels awfully contrived. And what's with the horrible soft-jazz/muzak score? Not a very good film *at all.* Certainly not in the same league as the other contenders. Hasn't the Academy largely outgrown the tendency to nominate such mush?

comment #14

Walter Sobchak says ...

I haven't seen it and I know little about it, but mark my word, "Atonement" will win Best Picture.

I could easily seeing a Coen winning Best Director. We all know Diablo will win Oscar's version of the Indie Spirit Award...Best Original Screenplay...(it's so original!)

Depp wins Best Actor.

And whatever film is the most scathing in it's criticism of Bush/the Iraq war will win Best Documentary.

And some wacky thing we've never seen or heard of will win Best Animated Short....we'll see the clip of it during the awards ceremony and think how neat it looks and how we should really try to track it down and watch the whole thing but we never will.

And the jokes will suck.

comment #15

LexG says ...

Dia-BLOW Cody can get the bozack.

I thought strippers were supposed to be hot.

comment #16

T. Holly says ...

Yes, it is overcome, quite handily. It's not awfully contrived, horrible and mush. It's a little immature and feels new to the game. You're going to see Marc Forester's next, "Bond," so you'll want to see this.

comment #17

jeffmcm says ...

Walter re: the jokes - you seem to be assuming that the writers will be back from their strike.

And really, if the worst thing that ever happens to Bush is that people make mean documentaries about him...he's getting off pretty easy.

comment #18

Mr. Muckle says ...

I agree that Wahlberg whacking Damon was excellent, given what went before. I guess we have to think about where the ending starts. Ha, well, I suppose the ending starts at the beginning. In that case, I still like No Country better.

But otherwise, I prefer a poetic ending to a bloodbath.

comment #19

jeffmcm says ...

They aren't mutually exclusive.

comment #20

Craig Kennedy says ...

Ok T., I'm there. I'm in the mood for a movie that makes me feel good without making me feel bad for feeling good by pandering to me.

comment #21

T. Holly says ...

New in a good way, like when you see a play written by a young playwrite, instead of an old hand like PTA, who manipulates you like putty.

comment #22

jeffmcm says ...

'Old hand'? He's been around for just over ten years.

comment #23

Craig Kennedy says ...

I'm hoping you're not saying "manipulates you like putty" is a bad thing, 'cause I don't want to get into another There Will Be Blood fight with someone.

comment #24

T. Holly says ...

TWBB and TKR are different roads to China. which is what I'm hitting now.

comment #25

jeffmcm says ...

...huh?

comment #26

Gus Petch says ...

How about the fact that NCFOM is a major guy flick? Check out the male-female split in the user ratings on the IMDB. It's got a bigger split than Die Hard, bigger than Goodfellas, bigger than Field of Dreams, bigger than The Godfather, bigger than any guy movie you can think of (Lesbian Spank Inferno notwithstanding). Better a guy flick than a chick flick, I suppose -- for its award chances, I mean. But still, can you win Best Picture if women don't vote for you?

comment #27

BurmaShave says ...

I'm just looking forward to when DirtyHarry starts his own awards show, with the grand prize: Best American Movie, Not About Jesus.

comment #28

berkguru says ...

I thought it sucked. I guess reading the book killed it for me. The only cool part was when the dog swam after Brolin.

comment #29

Zimmergirl says ...

You have to look at the movie MOST PEOPLE are going to like, not most critics with corn cobs stuck up their butts, not fanboys (good god, not fanboys) but industry members who see a lot of awards movies. At some point, they all are going to bleed into one another except the ones that stand out for whatever reason.

No Country has more going for it going into the race than any other film. It really and truly deserves to win. If it doesn't win, it will be because of a backlash. Or if there is a movie they "liked" more, which is down to Sweeney, Atonement, Kite Runner, or in a freak upset, Juno.

Kite Runner is the only one that is "important." But I am not feeling the buzz about it I expected to feel, which is strange. I suppose it could open and start a big wave of support.

The thing is, the Coens are due. They made the film of the year and there are worse things the Academy could do than award that movie. In fact, I pity any film that wins over it because they are going to be so diminished looking back on this year it won't even be funny.

comment #30

T. Holly says ...

There's a celebration of film I can't wait to see: a terrific year, a myopic jury and a writer's strike. A perfect storm. Kamikaze didn't misread me, what a bunch of buffoons.

comment #31

le corbeau says ...

The "problem with the ending" began evaporating two, three weeks ago. Glenn Kenny's Premiere piece killed it off.

Hey Jeff-- Can I have problems with the ending (despite Glenn Kenny faith-healing it) and still think it's the best movie of the year, despite ending with heavy-handed talk to make its point instead of indelible images?

comment #32

Larry says ...

The ending doesn't work, nothing will change that. But nothing in The Departed worked and it still won the Oscar.