In Contention

Tag: Idiots and Angels

  • Likability: the best films of 2010

    I don’t quite know how to peg 2010.

    On one hand it has felt like a weak year. On the other hand, I’ve enjoyed quite a few films. Maybe the story lies in that sentence: “enjoyed.” There were precious few films that really rocked me, but plenty that were a nice enough experience.

    If you listened to Friday’s Oscar Talk, then you know my top 10. But before publishing it in this space, allow me to walk through the many films that fell short, starting at the top with Derek Cianfrance’s “Blue Valentine.” Here is an honest depiction of a relationship in crisis with performances that hit the mark. It wears its soul on its sleeve.

    The Coen brothers’ dip into the western genre, “True Grit,” was a straight-forward piece of flavorful filmmaking much appreciated for its restraint, while similarly, Ben Affleck’s “The Town” didn’t attempt reinvention of the wheel while forging a resonant character study in a genre film’s clothing.

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  • OFF THE CARPET: Kicking the tires on the circuit

    On the precipice of December, the season feels at once stale and fresh. We’re in the post-Thanksgiving food coma paradox that hits every year. But things are going to start heating up real soon.

    The last two films out of the gate, “TRON Legacy” and “True Grit” (both ironically starring Jeff Bridges), have already started screening.  SAG ballots are already in the hands of nominating committee members and voting deadlines are approaching for various organizations.

    The circuit “officially” begins Thursday with the always arbitrary National Board of Review announcement. The Washington, D.C. Area Film Critics Association will get a jump on the critics awards once again when they announce one week from today, while the Los Angeles (12/12) and New York online (12/12) and print (12/13) critics will have their say the following week, as well as the BFCA (12/13) and HFPA (12/14).

    The excitement will build to the usual pre-holiday stall and pick right back up on January 4 when the writers and producers guilds announce nominees, followed the same week by the art directors and sound mixers. And the date most will have their eyes on — January 10 — will bring the DGA’s list of contenders. Before you know it we’ll be on a collision course with the January 25 Oscar nominations announcement and things will be mercifully nearing an end.

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  • Only 15 films qualify for Oscar’s animated feature race

    I honestly didn’t expect the list to hit so soon on the heels of my item earlier this afternoon, but hit it has.  And it actually appears that “The Dreams of Jinsha” was the other title submitted, not “Chico & Rita.”

    Alas, there are only 15 titles that qualified, meaning we will only see three nominees in the category this year.  “Yogi Bear,” predictably, did not qualify, while “Idiots and Angels,” it turns out, did.  I’d LOVE to see Bill Plympton in an Oscar race.

    The rest are the usual suspects, but it’s a real shame we can’t have a full slate this year.  Speaking solely for myself, I’m liking a lot of feature animation in 2010.  TheGolden Globes, however, could still see five nominees as long as 14 titles were submitted to the HFPA for consideration.  Check out Oscar’s field of animated feature contenders after the jump.

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  • 16 animated features submitted, but what will qualify?

    The Academy will be announcing the list of qualifying films for this year’s Best Animated Feature Film Oscar some time this week.  For now, we know of 16 titles that have submitted.  They are indicated on our dedicated page.

    There was some confusion recently over which film was the 16th submission, but I’m told it was “Chico & Rita,” which bowed at this year’s Telluride film festival (it was the first film I saw at the fest, in fact).  (CORRECTION: Turns out it was “The Dreams of Jinsha” instead, as noted here.)  If all 16 films qualify, then we’ll be looking at a slate of five nominees after all.  But if just one falls out, then it’s back to three.

    The most dubious contenders could be “Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore” and “Yogi Bear,” which may not meet eligibility requirements.  But the language is a bit loose, noting that “a significant number of the major characters must be animated, and animation must figure in no less than 75 percent of the picture’s running time.”

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  • Animated titles up to 12

    I’ve been making notes on this in the comments section of yesterday’s Off the Carpet column throughout the morning, but it’s looking more and more like the magic number of 16 won’t be reached in this year’s animated feature film race.  By my count, we have 12 titles.

    One of them, Bill Plympton’s “Idiots and Angels,” may not have submitted the proper paperwork (I’m unsure at the moment).  But it opened last week in New York regardless and will hit Los Angeles screens on October 29.  Wouldn’t it be great to see Plympton in the mix, though?

    I had originally though the Japanese “Tales from Earthsea” would be eligible, but while opening in a foreign territory one year prior is permitted (more of this arbitrary nonsense — it’s scattered throughout AMPAS rules and regs), more than that is not.  The film opened in 2006 in Japan.

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