Oscar
predictions:
■ Movie review
*Million vs. ‘The
Dollar Baby’ Aviator’
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Unlike last year, when it was ob
vious that the hobbits and
elves would rule Oscar night
(and they did), this Academy Awards
race looks tougher to call. Associated
Press movie writers David Germain
and Christy Lemire duke it out over
several of the main categories:
Best Picture
Nominees: “The Aviator,” “Find
ing Neverland,” “Million Dollar
Baby," “Ray,” “Sideways”
GERMAIN: After seesawing from
“The Aviator” to “Million Dollar
Baby,” I’m back on board with Mar
tin Scorsese’s biopic of Howard
Hughes. “The Aviator” may lack the
emotional punch of “Million Dollar
Baby,” but it’s an enormously ad
mirable epic on a scale rarely seen
today. Clint Eastwood’s beautiful
“Baby” might steal the trophy.
“Ray” will earn its big prize for
Jamie Foxx, while “Finding Never
land” is a worthy also-ran.
LEMIRE: “The Aviator” is gorgeous
film — a technical triumph on every
level — but it’s ultimately hollow. You
walk out afterward visually dazzled
but no different than you were three
hours earlier. “Million Dollar Baby”
changes every molecule in your body,
making you feel as if you’ve just gone
12 rounds, too. I’d love to see “Side
ways” take it — lovely, subtle and
poignant, it topped my top 10 list —
but it’s too small and too talky to win
best picture.
Best Director
Nominees: Martin Scorsese, “The
Aviator”; Clint Eastwood, “Million
Dollar Baby”; Taylor Hackford,
“Ray”; Alexander Payne, “Side
ways”; Mike Leigh, “Vera Drake”
LEMIRE: “Million Dollar Baby”
wins and Eastwood wins. With his
trademark spare style, he delivers a
complete moviegoing experience,
and it’s astounding to see a film
maker at the top of his game at age
74. “The Aviator” is simply not
Scorsese’s best work.
GERMAIN: “The Aviator” and
“Million Dollar Baby” might end up
splitting the picture and directing
prizes, and if so, it’s more likely
Scorsese will win here while “Baby”
takes best film. “The Aviator” has its
flaws, but it’s a masterfully orches
trated film, a blend of grand old Hol
lywood style and modem computer
generated trickery.
Best Actor
Nominees: Don Cheadle, “Hotel
Rwanda”; Johnny Depp, “Finding
Neverland”; Leonardo DiCaprio,
“The Aviator”; Clint Eastwood, "Mil
lion Dollar Baby”; Jamie Foxx, “Ray”
GERMAIN: Not a weakling
among this group (though Paul Gia
matti of “Sideways” should have
nosed out DiCaprio for a nomina
tion). Cheadle’s brought his game
to a new level, Depp’s a marvel of
repressed emotion, DiCaprio’s a
dashing dynamo and Eastwood
would be a lock to win if not for
Jamie Foxx and his extraordinary
emulation of Ray Charles. It’s
almost supernatural, how Foxx
captured the cadences, body
language and spirit of the man. Add
in the fond sentiment for Charles,
who died last year, and there’s no
way Foxx can lose.
LEMIRE: This one’s easy. With
Foxx, you completely forget you’re
watching an actor and believe you’re
watching Ray Charles. He’s that
good. Cheadle makes a well-deserved
name for himself, and Depp will get
his due someday.
Best Actress
Nominees: Annette Bening,
“Being Julia”; Catalina Sandino
Moreno, “Maria Full of Grace”;
Imelda Staunton, “Vera Drake”;
Hilary Swank, “Million Dollar
Baby”; Kate Winslet, “Eternal
Sunshine of the Spotless Mind”
LEMIRE: This one’s easy, too. In
the rematch between Swank and
Bening, which Swank won five years
ago with her startling performance
in “Boys Don’t Cry,” Swank wins
again. As a feisty female boxer, her
character has higher highs and lower
lows; it’s a more complex role. Ben
ing is glorious to watch as an aging
London stage diva, and it’s the kind
of showy role Oscar voters love, but
without her there’s not much more
to say about “Being Julia.” Winslet
is delightful and Staunton is
gracefully understated and Moreno
... well, it’s her first film, and look at
the splash she’s made. She’ll have a
long career ahead of her.
GERMAIN: Swank clearly has the
edge with a role far suppler even
than that of “Boys Don’t Cry.” The
only thing that could spoil her
prospects is that some academy
voters may hesitate over handing a
second Oscar to an actress who
doesn’t have much of a body of
work beyond “Boys” and “Baby.” I’ll
stick with Swank, but the aging
actress theme may resonate on
Bening’s behalf; who knows when
and if her colleagues will have
another chance to give her an Oscar?
** " ... """"""""111 ..i -»rvnn-rr:TT i
Films so bad,
they might just be
GOOD
From Ed Wood's
"Plan 9 From
Outer Space" to
more recent flick
"Are We There
Yet?, ” terrible
movies still rake
in millions at
the box office
BY RYAN NYBURG
PULSE EDITOR
When one of the top films in
the American box office is
one of the most critically
lambasted films this year, the question
of why people see bad movies will
often pop up. “Are We There Yet?,”
starring Ice Cube, has been called
everything from “sour” to “woefully
cynical.” Yet the film has grossed
more than $61 million, including
$8.24 million last weekend.
While ignorance, boredom or sim
ple bad taste are all possible reasons
for why people see bad movies, anoth
er might be that some people actively
seek out these terrible films.
“Sometimes people just want
something that is a no-brainer,”
Flicks & Pics manager Tammy Dep
pert said. “Some people will just rent
anything that is on the new-release
shelf. ‘Catwoman’ is awful, but peo
ple rent it. They might not know it’s
bad, but some of them do and rent it
for a good laugh.”
Movies that “are so bad that
they’re good” is a long standing cine
ma tradition. Ed Wood’s cult classic
“Plan 9 From Outer Space,” consid
ered by some the worst movie ever
made, still receives retrospectives and
screenings. In January, the DIVA in
Eugene showed the film as part of its
“Odd Sunday Film Seminar” series to
an audience of more than 30 people.
Many such films also received new
levels of attention during the run of
“Mystery Science Theater 3000,” a
show where bad movies were given
merciless running commentary.
“I had one customer tell me that he
liked to see movies that are so bad he
could have made them himself,” said
Matt Stilde, a guest service represen
tative at the Willamette Street Holly
wood Video. “Some people also just
want escapism or to be anesthetized.
After a long day at work or school,
they want a movie they don’t have to
think about.”
Stilde cited the “Resident Evil”
movies and “Open Water” as recent
bad movies that are popular, despite
critics’ warnings against them.
Videos are not the only venue
through which people ingest bad cin
ema. Often, heading to the theater for
the experience of watching a movie
on the big screen is preferable .
“We get requests for all kinds of
stuff, particularly teen comedies from
the 1980s,” Bijou Art-Cinemas manag
er Louis Thomas said. “But when we
show them, no one shows up. What is
popular is some of our 3-D movies.
We’re planning on showing some
1970s 3-D porn movies. They’re
terrible, but they’re in 3-D, so it’s fun.”
Thomas said the attraction to such
films mostly rests in humor.
“They have to be bad enough that
they are hilarious,” Thomas said. “It
has to be bad in the acting, the writing,
the costumes, the sets — 100-percent
terrible. Then it’s not a guilty pleasure;
it becomes genuinely funny.”
rya n nyb urg@dailyememld. com
§ l M
^ i
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