The Fourth Wall
page 5
Editorial:
By Levi Snyder
Staff Writer
Anyone who has read
one of my previous columns can
tell you one thing for certain: I am
a movie geek. [I gladly admit to
being an enthusiastic fan of the
cinema as well as a fan of the film
industry’s biggest night of
entertainment, the Oscars. Though
I enjoy many other high-profile
competitions (my Cowboys will be
victorious next year), the Oscars
has always been my particular
favorite. The nominations for this
year’s Academy Awards prizes
have already been released.
Moreover, after the recent Screen
Actor’s Guild Awards crowned No
Country for Old Men as this year’s
true film gem, it seems the road to
the Oscars has already been paved
out.
I have other ideas and this
brings me to my next little point. I
would like to use this opportunity
to introduce a new method that I
plan on continuing to use in future
articles. My father has a saying
Instead of saying the “thing is,”
my father says “the thing of it is
is.” Now I have often poked fun at
this grammatical error, but I have
found that this phrase is an
effective way to begin an
argument. Therefore, I offer you
the first of many “The thing of'it is
is” statements.
The Academy of
American Motion Pictures and
Sciences has long been the
standard for picking the best films
of the year. Time and time again,
however, it has overlooked great
films that just aren’t classy or
sophisticated enough for its liking.
The thing of it is is just because
the academy overlooks a film
doesn’t mean it isn’t good. Each
moviegoer has his or her own
unique tastes, and just because
those inclinations may not fit with
the Oscar picks doesn’t mean that
the viewer has bad taste in movies.
In fact, I have views that are often
different than that of the Academy.
* Now this is hardly an important
issue but I am using my first “The
thing of it is is” statement to dare
readers to be different and have
their own opinions. With that, I
present My 2007 Oscar picks.
I begin with my pick for
best actor. I have always been
fascinated by actors who have
taken on the role of cowboy.
Though No Country for Old Men’s
Josh Brolin does not play a
traditional gunslinger, the cowboy
mentality is still there. As Lewellen
Moss, a good old boy caught up
in a two-million dollar drug deal
gone wrong, Brolin displays the
kind of quick thinking and acting
that movie cowboys have used for
years. Brolin is the perfect tall dark
stranger so common to the
Western genre. He speaks slowly
but to the point. Considering that
his character is always in “think
fast” situations, Brolin’s
performance is pitch-perfect. He
also perfects the use of the tough
guy “million-yard stare”. Lewellen
is being hunted by a ruthless killer,
but Brolin’s expressions allow the
audience to build confidence in the
character. He says volumes
without even speaking. Though
the film was nominated for a
handful of Oscars, this
performance was overlooked. To
me, this is quite a shame
considering it is undeniably the
best male performance of the year.
Next is this year’s pick for
best supporting actor. As Ritchie
Roberts, a New York cop onthe
trail of an infamous killer and drug
dealer, American Gangster’s
Russell Crowe is a marvel. The
actor plays a man who has failed in
every aspect of his life except his
job. Ritchie is a cheating husband
and a deadbeat father, but he is
also one of the only honest, decent
cops left in the corrupt 1970°s New
York Narcotics Department. Crowe
plays this character as if he were
born for the part. His accent and
attitude are perfect. Though he is
not an honorable man, Crowe
makes you feel for Ritchie. He is
just trying to succeed at the only
thing he has ever been good at.
While I was somewhat
disappointed with American
Gangster, Crowe’s inspired
performance makes the film worth
alook.
The men were not the only
ones shelling out award-worthy
performances this year. There were
many great female performances in
2007, but Amy Adams’
performance as a fairy tale princess
stood out among the rest. Adams
stars in Enchanted as Princess
Giselle, a maiden from an animated
fairy tale world that is sent to the
real world by an evil queen. Adams
is peppy, funny, and undeniably
charming as a “fish out of water.”
She never for one second breaks
away from the fact that she is a true
fairy tale princess and this allows
the audience to fall in love with her.
Also, Amy Adams must be
commended on her impressive
singing in the film. Though she
was ignored by the Academy
voters, Adams’ performance
proves she is an undeniably huge
talent. ;
My pick for this year’s best
supporting actress award goes to
an actress in a role quite different
than the one that Amy Adams
shined so brightly in. Marcia Gay
Harden generated real chills as The
Mist’s frightening religious fanatic,
Miss Carmody. I mentioned
Harden’s performance in my
previous review of The Mist, but
description of her brilliance bears
repeating. She is truly mind-
numbing as a woman who has
become so overcome by her own
beliefs that she appears to have
lost her soul. The film features
many hair-raising creatures, but
Carmody is the most hair-raising
of all. She is manipulative to the
point where she seems more
dangerous than what is lurking in
“the mist.” Harden gives the
audience a character who they can
truly love to hate. Every film has a
villain, but few of them can
generate the kind of energy that
Miss Carmody does. Marcia Gay
Harden creates a chilling female
character that is reminiscent of the
kind of role that legendary
actresses like Betty Davis once
played. Ibelieve that seeing her in
more roles like this in the future
would be quite a treat.
Performances are the heart of
a film, but the direction is the
brains. This brings me to my pick
for this year’s best director prize.
Frank Darabont created several
critically praised films in the 1990s
such as The Shawshank
Stephen King’s The Mist is
nothing short of award-worthy.
The director used state of the art
CGI, an incredible cast, and a
moving score to create a very
memorable film. The director
created a movie that sores high
above most modern horror films
due to his attention to detail. The
creatures are intricate and
horrifying, the grocery store set
creates a great sense of realism,
and every actor is at the top of
their game. This proves that
Darabont put a great deal of care
into dealing with every aspect of
the film—he wasn’t just out to
create another simple horror flick.
He set out to make a very deep
and involving film, and he
succeeded. The Academy has
never looked favorably upon
horror films, and I believe that is
why they have overlooked Mr.
Darabont’s achievement. Yet I feel
that this director did something
‘very fresh and inventive, and in
today’s film world that is quite rare.
My final pick is the best
picture award. There were a
handful of outstanding films in
2007, but there was one that stood
out from the rest. That film was
Eastern Promises. 1 have always
been a fan of gangster films and
this is what initially drew me to this
story of a Russian crime syndicate
in London, England. It was the
exploration of a family and their
secrets, however, which truly made
me fall in love with the film. The
film digs deep into the lives of three
men.
The first is Semyon, the owner
of a successful Russian restaurant.
He appears to be a sweet old man,
but beneath his gentle smile lay
many secrets. He is a ruthless killer
whose rape and murder of a
fourteen-year old girl has put the
police hot on his trail. He is a man
who is trying to hold his family
together while his past sins
threaten to ruin everything that he
has built. The second character is
Kirill, his son. He is a soldier for
the crime family and is constantly
seeking approval from his father.
He wants to make him proud but
has a secret that will never allow
this to happen. Kirill is gay, a fact
that his father would never except.
The third character is Nikolai, the
family’s limo driver played
brilliantly by Viggo Mortensen.
Though only a driver, Nikolai is
quickly working his way through
the ranks of the Russian mob
underworld. But like Semyon and
Kirill, he too has a secret. However,
I won’t reveal that because finding
out firsthand is much more
satisfying.
Eastern Promises is a film
in which nothing is as it seems. It
is full of brilliant twists and turns,
jaw-dropping performances, and
deep insight into the inner workings
ofa family. The film’s brilliance is
no surprise to me considering that
the film is directed by David
Cronenberg, the director behind
one of my favorite films, A History
of Violence. With Eastern Promises,
Cronenberg once again creates an
engaging and moving film worthy
of Oscar gold. Though Viggo
earned an Oscar nomination, the
film was still overlooked.
Nevertheless, I am happy to crown
this amazing film Best Picture of the
Year.