Is "Dark Knight" Out of Reach To Elders?

Though the box office run of "The Dark Knight" is coming to a close (and not going to be topping "Titanic's" record) the praise for the movie keeps coming. Now that Oscar potentials such as "Appaloosa," "W," and other films have crashed in the critical department, the likely-hood of a Best Picture nomination seems more likely. However the argument has now come up that the movie won't get nominated because the academy voters are too old to "get it." Some people actually think that the academy voters and the general public live on two different planets. There's some merrit to this (and if you've ever looked at the history of the People's Choice Awards you'll know what I mean). Case in point, the Reel Geezers...

...these are two members of the academy who are old, worn, and represent a good portion of the academy. These two have shared their thoughts of this film on YouTube...



...though don't take this video as a sure sign that the old folks won't vote for "The Dark Knight." Keep in mind one of these geezers wrote for the original Adam West "Batman" show, so seeing an updated film likely felt like stomping on his legecy. As for the woman...well, I don't want to sound sexist, but older women tend to not like violent films anyway. Therefor I think this isn't a good representation of the average voter. Right now we don't know what's going to happen. All of our predictions could turn out to be wrong, and for all we know "Wall-E" could still sneak up behind us. What I want to remind people is this: Nothing is certain. "The Dark Knight" may be slowing down, but once the BluRay is released it will be back in the spotlight (or so I assume, seeing as how it's likely going to break some BluRay records).

Plus with the film being re-released in January in IMAX theaters it will be harder to ignore. Then there's the fact that movies like "Frost/Nixon," "Milk," and "Revolutionary Road" could be bombs. I want them to be good, but a good trailer does not garentee a good movie. Right now the only other film that looks like a sure nomination that we've seen is "Rachael Getting Married," which was a film that had little Oscar attention outside of Anne Hathaway, and now the movie is being called Johnathan Demme's big comeback. So just chill everyone: It isn't over till it's over.

Is Rachel Getting Oscar Nominations?

I was lucky enough to catch a showing of "Rachel Getting Married" yesterday. It was a good movie. One of the better ones I've seen in awhile. The thing that stood out in the movie was the acting. If Anne Hathaway hadn't been making good movies before then this would be her career making role. As it stands this is likely to be looked upon from movie fans as Oscar winner Jonathan Demme's big comeback movie. Early reviews are great. People are saying it's his best film since "Silence of the Lambs" (though to some credit, he took a four year hiatus from movies to make some concert films). People say that the movie should receive Oscar nominations outing of Hathaway's potential nomination. I say people are jumping the gun a bit. Don't get me wrong: It's a good movie.

In my review I'll give it a solid three and a half stars. Heck, it may even get bumped to four. The bottom line is though that when you get down to it, when you really digest the film, it's about a screwed up character. Movies about screwed up characters took a beating with "American Beauty," and few have been nominated since ("A Beautiful Mind" comes to mind though). That said I see where people are coming from. This is a very good film that was being undermined before we saw it. Now we've seen it and it's impressed us. "Appaloosa" wowed us in the trailers and then gave us a solid rental. In the long run the Academy tends to vote for movies that they didn't expect much out of but genuinely fell in love with. Nobody expected much from "Little Miss Sunshine," "Juno," "Sideways," "In The Bedroom," "The Full Monty," "Babe," "Good Will Hunting," etc, etc...you get the picture.

And yet all these movies received Best Picture nominations. What's more, some of them came close to winning the top prize (and if they didn't they picked up some major awards anyway). So for now "Rachel Getting Married" is on my list for potential nominees. And if "Australia" and/or "The Curious Case of Benjamin Buttons" turn out to be epic disasters...well, then I think this film is in.

"Appaloosa" Is Out

Ed Harris's directorial return "Appaloosa" is out on two fronts: It's out in theaters and out of the Oscar race. The movie has received a limited release this weekend. This is likely because word-of-mouth helps movies like this more then major opening weekends. That said, the word-of-mouth for this film is fairly average. Lot of people and critics saying it's a "good but not great" effort. Some have even gone on record to say they hated the movie, and Renée Zellweger seems to be getting the lions share of the critisim. This is why I always tell people not to judge a movie before you see it, and why I don't put potential nominees on the sidebar until I see the movie. When all you've got is a trailer and a few screenshots anything, and I mean anything, can look like Oscar material.

And trust me folks, I was one of the people who was thinking this would be a contender come Oscar time. Critically acclaimed cast, a return to directing for an Academy Award nominated actor, lots of cool screenshots that promise something epic, and let's face it: Westerns have been making a comeback. This weekend it all came crashing down. No, I'm not saying the movie is bad. It's probably decent. But decent just isn't good enough to get nominated these days. There may be a costume or set decoration nomination in the cards for this film, but any chances for nominations in the top categories died thanks to it's lukewarm reception.

"Appaloosa" Trailer

Out of all the Oscar hopefuls I've heard about so far, "Appaloosa" seems to be the one with the most promise. Famous actor turned director? Check. Acclaimed cast? Check. Broad appeal? Sure looks like it. Ed Harris's first directorial effert since "Pollack" looks to be a sure bet for nominations. One thing that could help is that many "actors turned directors" have won Oscars for directing westerns. Just ask Kevin Costner ("Dances With Wolves") and Clint Eastwood ("Unforgiven"). This is the only upcoming movie I feel comfertable claiming to be a Best Picture nominee this year.