It was disappointing tonight to see The Departed<\/i> and Martin Scorsese win Best Picture and Best Director. I know that’s against the grain; these were universally predicted. Then again, Phil in Little Rock and other critics were taken with the German movie The Lives of Others,<\/i> which did take its category Best Foreign Film.<\/p>\n
That has not come to Fayetteville yet — I’m surprised enough to have screened Volver<\/i> (will get to Pan’s Labyrinth<\/i> this week or next but missed Last King of Scotland<\/i> which came and went in two weeks — with Whitaker’s win it should return though) here.<\/p>\n
I enjoyed The Departed <\/i> , but a Best Picture should go to a remarkable film that leaves you thinking. Here you had interestng dialogue and colorful characters, and the good guys win in the end, barely, but “so what” was the taste left. The comedy Little Miss Sunshine<\/i> left one contemplative — and is the best show I saw in theaters this year — but I’m not sure it had that Best Picture sheen.<\/p>\n
The Departed<\/i> was an everyday cops-and-crooks flick, brilliantly done. Take a solid screenplay (adaptation of a good foreign film) to an experienced director with the best actors, and you get this. Scorsese is not dying, looked healthy this evening, and has masterpieces left in him, like another Taxi Driver.<\/i> If he did have feebleness in the near future, there’s the lifetime achievement Oscar, as was given Robert Altman last year. That’s what it’s for. That leaves one to say what should have won. I would have wanted to see something given to Ripples in the Cement<\/i> or A Cod for Wally.<\/i><\/p>\n
All in all, though, what was my choice for Best Picture and Director (since they usually but not always go to the same show)? The Thinker<\/i> by Auguste Rodin. Augie, like Marty, has never won in a long and rock-solid career, with an international reputation. And this picture should wear like bronze, with a patina of age. It has moments of wit but ultimately a profound, universal message in its story of a man who wants to get off his behind and finally do something, yet never manages to. -30-<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
It was disappointing tonight to see The Departed and Martin Scorsese win Best Picture and Best Director. I know that’s against the grain; these were universally predicted. Then again, Phil in Little Rock and other critics were taken with the German movie The Lives of Others, which did take its category Best Foreign Film. That […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-286","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news-spin"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":863,"url":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/2009\/01\/turn-rupees-to-scruples\/","url_meta":{"origin":286,"position":0},"title":"Turn Rupees to Scruples","author":"Ben S. Pollock","date":"January 26, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Report: Danny Boyle's Slumdog Millionaire. Why, everyone should see Slumdog Millionaire. It's a cross between Oliver Twist (book and any movie version) and WALL-E. Other lead characters: Fagin, Artful Dodger and Eve. The plot: fish-out-of-water-into-the-frying-pan-into-the-fire. (Shouldn't reviews now and then be as short as possible? Complete write-ups, not capsules) In\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "American Culture"","block_context":{"text":"American Culture","link":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/category\/american-culture\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":808,"url":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/2009\/01\/connie-buie-elkins\/","url_meta":{"origin":286,"position":1},"title":"Connie Buie Elkins","author":"Ben S. Pollock","date":"January 19, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"I'm old enough and responsible enough that I no longer try to avoid funerals. I'm heading to one on Tuesday of one of my mentors, Connie. Now that I've attended a variety, eulogies have become fascinating. The best-intentioned speakers try to illuminate the mourners on less commonly known aspects of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Life Lessons"","block_context":{"text":"Life Lessons","link":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/category\/life-lessons\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Connie Buie Elkins","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/connie-elkins-150x150.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":57,"url":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/2004\/08\/kerrys-gonna-win\/","url_meta":{"origin":286,"position":2},"title":"Kerry’s gonna win","author":"Ben S. Pollock","date":"August 6, 2004","format":false,"excerpt":"Copyright 2004 Ben S. Pollock Friday, Aug. 6, 2004: After conducting all the research that's necessary -- licked my right index finger and held it up -- I finally can make a prediction on the presidential race: Kerry will win in a landslide. I know the polls still show neck-and-neck,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News, Spin"","block_context":{"text":"News, Spin","link":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/category\/news-spin\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4288,"url":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/2013\/05\/gatsby-critics-old-sport\/","url_meta":{"origin":286,"position":3},"title":"Sportin’ Life, Eh, Old Sport?","author":"Ben S. Pollock","date":"May 17, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"I knew a Jay Gatsby. We were in grade school in Fort Smith, Arkansas, and stayed close through high school. It probably wasn't until junior high when I saw this trait of his -- simply put it's a person sure he can buy friends with money. But that is so\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "The Course of Words"","block_context":{"text":"The Course of Words","link":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/category\/course-of-words\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Click for Rotten Tomatoes website archive of top critics on the 2013 adaptation of The Great Gatsby","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/great-gatsby-movie-poster-200x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":369,"url":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/2007\/11\/keep-laying\/","url_meta":{"origin":286,"position":4},"title":"Keep Laying","author":"Ben S. Pollock","date":"November 12, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Every time work gets weird I think of this old joke. Its application gets broader and broader. This guy goes to a psychiatrist and says, 'Doc, my brother's crazy; he thinks he's a chicken.' And the doctor says, 'Well, why don't you turn him in?' The guy says, 'I would,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Life Lessons"","block_context":{"text":"Life Lessons","link":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/category\/life-lessons\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":939,"url":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/2009\/02\/two-for-the-show\/","url_meta":{"origin":286,"position":5},"title":"Two for the Show","author":"Ben S. Pollock","date":"February 20, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"What a thoughtful movie. It's about this middle-aged man who's in a real interesting career, been at it his whole adult life. But the guy is on its far side, losing it. 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