Movie Gods Aghast

Shame enough that MCN’s Gurus of Gold haven’t supported Steven Soderbergh‘s Che as one of their Best Picture favorites, but it is absolutely infamous that not one of them voted for it, even as a ninth or tenth-place choice. History will not judge them charitably, much less kindly.

The reportedly awful Defiance gets a #7 ranking from Sean Smith and #9 rankings from Kris Tapley and Anne Thompson, and Che, which is so much more than that Ed Zwick film that comparisons are a waste of breath and brain cells, is blanked by these three? This is unconscionable. I know what I know.

N.Y. Post critic Lou Lumenick, incidentally, has given a #9 ranking to Valkyrie. A faith vote based on admiration for director Brian Singer, or has he seen it?

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31 thoughts on “Movie Gods Aghast”

  2. Aren’t they ranking based on Best Picture chances? I’m not doubting it might be a great film, but CHE doesn’t have a shot so why would they vote for it?

    That said, I’ve been seeing Defiance on numerous lists for months and I’ve always been absolutely befuddled by it. It’s a Ed Zwick movie. Some people actually thought it might be a major contender?

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  3. Jeff, you and I differ in that I like Ed Zwick. He makes entertaining popcorn that is fun to watch. Legends of the Fall is my all-time guilty pleasure movie that I’m embarrassed I love. But it is odd how his movies always seem to be perceived as these serious Oscar contenders and they’re just not. The same thing happened with The Last Samurai and Blood Diamond, all this talk about Best Picture and this and that…these are just popcorn action movies. I don’t know why Oscar people act like Ed Zwick is Clint Eastwood or Mike Leigh or something. He’s Martin Campbell.

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  4. I guess I could try to answer my own question – that nice liberal slant to the action, whether it’s Africa, the Holocaust, the Civil War etc.

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  5. I really don’t see how it’s shameful for people ranking best picture contenders to not include a film that is in no way a best picture contender.

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  7. I like Zwick quite a bit more than Campbell, actually. I really do like going to see Zwizk’s movies in the theater. An exotic setting, some big movie star doing heroic shit at the end, a great score, beautifully shot, good action, romance, melodrama…trying to think who else I could compare him to…how about someone like Taylor Hackford? Not quite as cheesy. But I like him too. Just a robust, commercial filmmaker who reliably delivers the goods.

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  8. I had to get a log in to comment on this….Jeff-do you have to beat everything into the ground??? Did it ever occur to you that they didnt like the movie as much as you? I have a friend who saw CHE and he wanted to leave after an hour and he had 3 more hours to sit through. NO-ONE will see this movie!! I know that doesnt matter in terms of quality but I love all kinds of movies and I have zero interest in seeing a four hour movie on CHE.

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  9. I’ve always been a Soderbergh fan, but the second half of Che is sloppy and redundant. The first half is totally respectable, but taken as a whole, it’s undisciplined and repetetive. And for better or worse, it definitely has no chance of getting nominated for Best Picture.

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  10. 1) Where are you getting your information that DEFIANCE is awful? I’ve seen only the one negative review and it’s not even a pan. 2) Like others said, these people are ranking the films of chances, not personal preference. The separate release thing effectively killed whatever hope CHE had of serious Oscar nods. Sure some Academy members will see it as one film, but the public at large won’t, and it feels disingenuous to reward a film they weren’t even confident enough to give a wide release.

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  11. Jeff, if you read further down the Gurus chart this week to the darkhorse picks by each of them, you’ll notice that Benecio del Toro’s Che performance is sitting in third on the dark horse actor chart, with Peter Howell, Mark Olsen, Kris Tapley and Glenn Whipp all giving his Che performance some love (and Olsen also tossed in a #1 vote for Che on the last chart as well). The Best Picture chart reflects not necessarily those films that each of them personally loves, but those they feel at this point in time are most likely to end up in the five Best Pic slots by the Academy. We toss in weeks like this, where we give them room to root for their favorite darkhorse candidates, as a way of letting them advocate for the films and performances they personally feel strongly about.

    I’m not sure why you’re outraged at the Gurus voting for what which films they think the Academy will put in the top slots; I loved Che as well, but I think it’s pretty much a no-brainer that the Academy is not likely to have it in the running for Best Picture.

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  13. Because unless the “Movie Gods” smile on that simply wonderful, groundbreaking or soul-touching film or performance that came out this year, none of it means anything unless it is validated with a gold statue. Your praise of said film or performance isn’t worth shit unless it is confirmed by 6,000 mostly older folks who have no academic art training.

    Only the ESPY awards currently rank lower the scale of Entirely Pointless Awards.

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  14. Jeff has consistently had trouble understanding that the Gurus are selecting what they think WILL be nominated, not what they WANT to be nominated.

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  15. Dearest Jeffrey, that’s it, I cannot take it anymore. Your Che posts have hit the breaking point. You are either a pretentious ass-kissing, star-fucking bullshit artist… Or you’re just a pretentious moron.
    I’ll put this as simply as I can– Che is the worst 5 hours of cinema I’ve ever experienced (this is not an exaggeration). FIVE hours of PAIN. Never before in my lifetime have I been so disappointed/infuriated by a “film”.
    This is the worst p.o.s. that Soderbergh has ever made (yes, including Full Frontal, Good German, et al). He has made some brilliant movies (The Limey, Traffic). But Che is a disgrace. Soderbergh had the PERFECT actor born to play Che, $40 million, free reign, 5 hours to work with. The biggest waste of an opportunity in the history of cinema. DISGRACEFUL JEFFREY. YOU AND “CHE”!
    GET A CLUE!

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  16. defiance is UNDERRATED. not talking oscars here, talking movies. damn good ww2 actioner with great performances and brings an amazing true story to life. the same critics who knock it for being conventional have gone for milk which is conventional to the max.

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  17. I thought Defiance was good. Well amde movie and some good performances. I think Liev Schreiber has a good shot at getting a Oscat nod in support as he steals the movie.

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  18. The movie gods are stupid.

    Wells, watch “The Defiance” first and then open your damn mouth. Why should we care about your idiotic comparission when you haven’t even seen (and admit as much) the film?

    FYI, smart people don’t need to put one thing down to praise another one. You just come off as a hateful, sad man.

    “which is so much more than that Ed Zwick film that comparisons are a waste of breath and brain cells, is blanked by these three? This is unconscionable. I know what I know.”
    And what the shit DO you know?

    I am know that I have seen Defiance and it’s a damn fine film. Also, in case you didn’t get the memo I will spill it out for you, the charts aren’t about what the “gurus” liked. It’s about what they think of the movie’s chances and there’s a difference between the two.

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