Oscar So
white
I am sure
that everyone will recognize the trending hashtag of “Yo, Oscars So White” that
I don't need to elaborate further on the topic of the title except to say that
the comedian Chris Rock’s jokes on the hashtag are now more popular than the
original movie nominations for which the hash-tag was coined. For all the flak
that this years Oscar nominations have received for being an all-white affair,
the fact is (according to me at least) there were no outstanding performances
or movies by non-white actors which demanded to be recognized and any other way
of being nominated would be purely race-patronizing. With one exception.
And thats
Samuel L Jackson's performance as the civil war era bounty hunter in Hateful
Eight, where amidst a mix of solid performers he stands out once, not for his
profanity count, but for the authenticity which he brings to the embittered war
veteran’s role. Hence my vote for best actor this year goes to Sam Jackson who
narrowly beats , yet another nuanced performance by Tom Hanks in Bridge of
Spies. The problem with Tom Hanks is he slides so effortlessly into the
storyline, so much so that he self effaces himself into the background and we
fail to recognized a virtuoso performance when we see one concentrating more on
the ebb and flow and all the drama of the movie. If there is a lifetime
achievement Oscar for the best portrayal of an everyday common man then Tom Hanks
is a shoo-in for it.
For the best
picture Oscar my vote goes to the outstanding drama of the year- In The Heart
Of The Sea. For once Chris Hemsworth does not dominate the movie but lets the
story take over the character. It also helps that he doesn't flaunt his biceps
wielding that gigantic hammer unlike his Thor avatar. The movie is a gripping
retelling of the familiar Moby Dick tale with the parts usually left out added
in for once. The sense of doom which
manifests itself right early on in the movie, the taut screenplay, the
recreation of the old style whale hunting and the eerie second half filled with
gut churning scenes of survival in the ocean while cannibalizing the shipwrecked
comrades sitting beside, deserves the award for being the best movie of the
year.
Which brings
me to the subject of Leonardo Dicaprio and The Revenant for lets face it- if
Leo dicaprio wasn't fronting the movie there wouldn't even be a whisper about
it being an Oscar contender. It doesn't matter whether Leo grunts, growls, eats
raw meat or rolls about naked in the snow- the movie is one long yawn filled
disaster of a disaster movie. I wish the academy would give Leo dicaprio an
honorary best actor award and get it out of the way so such movies wouldn't be
inflicted on an unsuspecting public and
he wouldn't be tempted in future to try to do anything, anything to get
that statute. After watching the entire
movie of revenant in one sitting the only conclusion I could come to was that
how did this script pass through all the safeguards and get made while better
stories are probably languishing without attracting attention? Are studios willing
to bankroll such frivolous efforts merely to pander to a stars Oscar dreams?
And why does it matter to Leo so much? Questions which don't have any easy
answers I guess.
So thats my
line up for this years performances, whats yours?
