On the Oscars 2008

The Academy Awards are upon us again, that special time of year when Hollywood spends millions of dollars to showcase a three hour self-congratulatory ego-fest on world-wide television. Although many in the media have bemoaned the loss of some other award shows due to the writer's strike, one less opportunity for Hollywood to proclaim upon a stage "I love me, I really love me!" makes the event a little more special and a little less obnoxious.

On today's episode of Maverick at the Movies I went through the nominees in all of the categories, although I did not predict who would win. Instead, I just gave my thoughts on who ought to win since I have discovered that I am totally worthless when it comes to predicting the winners. Before I began, however, I gave my disclaimer on award programs, which I want to reiterate here.

The Hollywood awards circuit is fun to watch and it's nice and appropriate to reward good work. However, the awards should not be taken too seriously. Remember that Alfred Hitchcock never won an Oscar but James Cameron got one for Titanic. When Citizen Kane was released it was a box office disaster, was savaged by critics, and although it was nominated for a few Oscars it was booed at the ceremony. Today Citizen Kane is considered the cornerstone of any film studies program and tops the American Film Institutes's lists of the greatest films of all time. So the Oscars are not the Alpha and Omega of cinematic art and critical consensus changes with time.

It's called show business for a reason and the Academy Awards are as influenced by business considerations as much as anything else. Films that get awards see an increase in their box office and DVD circulation. Directors and actors who win are able to bargain for bigger deals and better material. The nominations for the awards are influenced and shaped by magazine advertisements taken out by the studios. The academy does not nominate films that were box office flops and rarely recognize films that do not come from a major studio. Foreign films are relegated to a single category, which, rather than designate a special place to honor them, contains competition from foreign sources, keeping them from competing with domestic films, and limits their exposure. This all adds up to a troubling fact: the Oscars are controlled by the Hollywood elites to maintain corporate control over the system.

Every year there are a few films that don't get recognized. Here are some films that the Academy passed over:

300
Not a film that should take Best Picture, but it ought to have been a shoo-in for the technical awards like best cinematography and art direction. On the other hand, Sin City, another Frank Miller adaptation, was similarly passed over two years ago.

Alpha Dog
In a lesser year the acting in this film ought to have been enough to secure a few best actor nominations, and the screenplay holds up with anything else nominated.

Black Snake Moan
Another film that came out last spring and did not get very wide release, the performances, screenplay, film editing, and sound editing all stand out.

Enchanted
Amy Adams does a great job in pretty good movie. Two years ago Reese Witherspoon won Best Actress for singing and acting while playing June Carter in Walk the Line. What Adams accomplishes here is at least equal to Witherspoon's performance.

The Hoax
One of Richard Gere's best films, this film has a great screenplay and has a creative design.

Into the Wild
My pick for the best film of 2007 got a few nominations, but it deserved more, especially for Emile Hirsch for lead actor and Sean Penn as director.

The Kite Runner
Again, this is a film that received a few nominations, but not nearly enough.

Talk to Me
Check this film out for Don Cheadle as radio star Petey Greene.

Waitress and Knocked Up
With everyone fawning over Juno, these two films have been overlooked, which is a shame because they deal with the same material and in some ways do it better.

Zodiac
The best serial killer film since The Silence of the Lambs. It had a couple of great performances and a restrained (in a good way) directorial effort by David Fincher.