I can honestly admit that I have not seen a single one of the motion pictures nominated for this year’s Oscars(R). I almost had seen one–Lee Daniels’ The Butler–but, though it was a great film, it didn’t receive any nominations. I can’t imagine that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences would consider one film about slavery enough contention, though it would have been interesting to see both of them duke it out. Think Adepero Aduye versus Oprah Winfrey, in gowns and heels, for the championship.
When you haven’t seen any of the films, you may not have a cause for which to cheer, so the interest in the whole affair goes away. Of course there is Ellen DeGeneres hosting, which would make it worthwhile if she were on camera more than the guest presenters, nominees and winners nervously trying to give acceptance speeches under the timer. Also, it would be nice if the ceremonies came on at a decent hour and were finished by bedtime.
There were years in which I cheered on practically everybody and everything in the program, because I had seen them all. Now, with scriptwriters seemingly pandering to the popcorn market rather than the intellect of the moviegoers, the industry has gone back to releasing the films they tend to nominate all at the same time, close to nomination time. That means summer blockbusters are snubbed, and anything approaching decent entertainment coming out the other ten months of the year have been forgotten. Butler came out late last summer, but was an emotional and well-executed story. It deserved better than it got from the Academy.
The other day I saw another movie which I hope does not fall from memory when the 2015 awards come out. Please don’t laugh: The Lego Movie. Of what I’ve seen of late, that is one of the most original ideas yet. Adults can have real fun watching this computer animated movie that resembles a live action effort as if a crew painstakingly built whole brick sets by hand. There is enough nostalgia and in-jokes to keep us amused. For kids, it’s action-packed, full of laughs and not over-the-top with violence.
On the other hand, I have sat in a perpetual state of ennui through all the trailers of late. Too much improbable battle imagery, too little new insight or real storyline or people wearing actual clothing (as in shirts and pants and skirt, rather than thongs and battle armor). When you’ve seen one epic leap into a yawning computer generated void (like in 300: Rise of an Empire), you’ve seen them all at least twice in other films. OF course, a movie like that won’t get a glance from the Academy, nor will the new Spiderman movie or–probably but regrettably–the last Hobbit movie. They don’t have the in with the nominating crowd. If more of those films were nominated for awards, I wouldn’t tune out after Ellen DeGeneres does her opening monologue.
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