To Hell with Hellblazer

Hellblazer is over. With issue #300, out in February 2013, the suits at Warner Bros. will have successfully done something no one, including the devil himself, has ever done to date: take down the chain-smoking, hard-drinking, fast-talking, con-artist street magician John Constantine. 

The latest victim of the “out with the old, in with the new 52” movement at DC Comics, Vertigo is pulling the plug on the long-running series in order to incorporate a younger character – after all, what reader, what fan, of DC’s financially-successful albeit-critically questionable universe-wide reboot can relate to a sarcastic Brit in his late forties, and married even!, in today’s future-is-now, forget-the-past market – into a Constantine title that, perhaps, might be more in line with the 2005 film of the same name, at least as far as recognition goes for the ever-important trade edition market.

Or, perhaps, this is the final kick in the gut to the legacy of the once-upon-a-time-long-ago great Alan Moore, who created the character, as he did the characters of the Watchmen series, which DC has also brought back into a controversial series of minis, each featuring one of the characters.

True fans of Hellblazer should view this move as one that the founding member of Mucus Membrane would never take part in.Hellblazer is punk rock compared to what will assuredly-be the new Constantine’s corporate alt-rock sound, the type that can usually be heard in Kia commercials. A younger John Constantine. Probably prone to the occasional pop-culture reference. Will no doubt eventually be forced away from being the face of Silk Cut cigarettes much in the same manner that Nick Fury, who once white by the way, was banished from his ever-lovin’ cheroots.

The 52-title reboot of 2011, although not handled as well as it could have been, has seemingly brought in new ideas and new concepts. After all, now the Green Arrow book can be easily retooled to match up with his CW counterpart as millions of Arrow fans will tell you… Ollie doesn’t sport a goatee.

The Constantine reboot will written by an American, the second ever to do so with the on-going title. The first, Brian Azzarello, scripted the series for over two years back at the turn of the century and brought the hard Brit to hard times in the Colonies in a run that is  widely-regarded as one of the strongest, as well as being a turning point for the title bringing a much-needed direction to a character that was, essentially, listless since the departure of John’s other definitive author, Irishman Garth Ennis, four plus years prior.

Renewal, rebirth and easier-marketing seems to be the main theme for the DC Comics reboot, especially as they find themselves desperately contending against Marvel for brand awareness. For decades not only did DC have the upper hand in the monthly funny book market, but their iconic characters were truly pop-culture gods. The trinity of Superman/Batman/Wonder Woman stood well above Marvel’s, arguably, sole top prospect: Spider-Man. Until Marvel began their outright domination of the box office.

Over the past 15 years, Marvel Studios has released four X-Men (combined $753M) and one spin-off (Wolverine brought in $180M), four Spider-Man (combined $1.3B), three Blade (combined $204M) and soon-to-be three Iron Man (1 & 2 total $630M) films topping it all off with the fanboy explosion known as the Avengers ($623M).

DC Comics, through Warner Bros., have had critical and box office success with exactly one property -  Batman (The Dark Knight Trilogy combined $1.1B) – middle success with what should be their flagship product as well as with a property that, in comicbooks anyway, should be akin with Iron Man (Superman Returns $200M, Green Lantern $117M) and two lower releases (Watchmen$106M, Constantine $76M). Excluded from this list were the huge stinkers The Losers, Catwoman and Jonah Hex, films whose value, both artistic and monetary, cannot even be compared to some of Marvel’s less noteworthy releases including the Fantastic Four, Ghost Rider, Punisher and the Daredevil/Elektra films.

What Warner Bros. lacks on the big screen, however, might be fanboy gold for the small screen. Smallville lasted an age-defying ten seasons. The aformentioned Arrow, after good reviews, has been awarded a full-season pick up. What seems to make these shows good for television is the smaller scope – the simplicity of the legend and having that interact with common, everyday themes. Smallville was successful in showing a Superman who was less super. Using this formula, it could be argued that a Green Lantern series focusing on young artist Kyle Rayner who uses a magic ring to get him out of trouble on weekly basis ala the Knight Rider formula could go a lot further than a big screen spectacle.

Or, to get really crazy, how about a series featuring paranormal investigator who hangs out in London? Or LA wearing a black trenchcoat? 

Hellblazer, much like Great Britain herself, is inexcusably rich and mysterious with history, legend and tradition, so much so that even the most ardent of Yank fans can be found questioning certain locales, deciphering slang, and trying to remember who the striker is for the Arsenal. An American reboot, written by an American, strictly for the American collected-edition market can bring in new fans, a new audience with the deceptive potential to seek out the older, and perhaps better, stories of old. Perhaps DC sees such events as these generationally. Superman fans of yesteryear clearly remember a Man of Steel that could move the Earth and change time. Batman has been re-invented seemingly every decade, not only in the comics but in film and TV.

And Constantine is, after all, a more accessible series name.

Much like how smoking in pubs is a thing of the past, so too will Hellblazer soonbe nothing more than a vapor in the air, a faint smell twitching in your nostrils, a fading stain on your fingers. Lift a Guinness in honor of that rascal John Constantine, knowing that he will truly never be dead.  

As always,
theJOE

The "Fake Picture" becomes a real hit

In the film ARGO, producer Lester Siegel, played by Academy Award winner Alan Arkin, puts forth real effort into making a fake film a success as a perfect ruse to rescue six wanted Americans hiding at the Canadian Ambassador's residence during the 1979 Iranian hostage crisis. The triple-threat of Ben Affleck (ARGO's Producer-Director-Star) must have channeled the spirit of Siegel (the character for the film was the amalgamation of real-life f/x coordinator Bob Sidell and producer Barry Gellar) as he, along with fellow producers and Hollywood heavies George Clooney and Grant Heslov, created a very real, very memorable film crafted with the utmost of professionalism in detailing the story's plight and rescue.

Affleck ups his game with his third directorial stint and moves away not only from his usual Boston locales but also from the present day. In doing so, he completely immerses the viewer into the period of the film. Alongside the requisite horror show that was the 70s fashion style as well as carefully-placed Star Wars memorabilia – that no doubt brought a tear to the eyes of fanboy friend Kevin Smith – Affleck restaged the storming of the US embassy with the all-too real documentary feel and cast lesser-known actors into the roles of the Americans allowing their performance, not their celebrity status, to carry the show.

Interchanged with this, is the flawless, and at times welcoming, editing of the situation in LA as Affleck's character, CIA operative Tony Mendez, wheels and deals with Hollywood to create a tight cover story, the kind that only Tinseltown can. Affleck portrays LA as an open, bright and aloof place, contrasting the tight, grainy and oppressive situation in Tehran. Modern-day Hollywood itself makes the most subtle of appearances during the film's climax through some of the drama during the airport escape including an almost-forced chase scene.

Backed with John Goodman's smile and Bryan Cranston barking orders like he's on the set of a Glen Larson TV show, Affleck delicately builds the tension leading up to the escape. Much like Cameron's TITANTIC, the ending of the film is known, but the wielding of the personal dynamics, which is just one of reasons that made THE TOWN so incredibly good, proves Affleck's acumen. Affleck provides a fast-paced, suspenseful and, at times, humorous film that makes for great storytelling. Even more importantly, ARGO furthers solidifies Affleck's talent as writer/director and distancing himself from his roles in a host of truly-poor rom-coms and actioneers from the early 2000's.

As always, 
theJOE

Seen any good movies recently? Here are 12…

Many times, but not as often as you think, the question comes up, “Seen any good movies recently?”. Naturally, I’d prefer the question to be, “Do you have any film recommendations?” More often than not, however, it is the impetus of this blogger that poses the question beginning with, “Have you seen…?”

The result of these questions is the following list. After all, everyone loves lists. Shopping to countdowns, have and have not, lists are groovy little trackers and time-savers that help with the organization of life and the pursuit of. This particular list suggests twelve movies from the past three years (chronologically from 2011-2009) that you probably missed and really shouldn’t have, along with obligatory comments.  All of these films are easily available and should make their way to the top of whatever queue, which is just another fancy word for “list”, that you currently subscribe to. You can then go on and impress your friends, both Facebook and real, with your cinematic knowledge and taste and pass on the recommendations below.

In compiling these twelve recommendations, I noticed the following trivialities:

1 – animated, stop-motion at that

2 – Ben Affleck films, one of which he directs

2 – Tony Gilroy written films, one he directs

2 – Russell Crowe films

2 – Robert Duvall films, one is little more than a cameo

2 – films starring separate Fanning sisters

2 – sophisticated sci-fi films; neither involve death-rays, cyberspace or midi-chlorians

4 – first-time feature-film directors make the list

	Young Adult (2011)
	Dir: Jason Reitman
	Cast: Charlize Theron, Patton Oswalt, Patrick Wilson, Elizabeth Reaser
	YOUNG ADULT, the latest from Hollywood Next-Gen'er Jason Reitman and the second pairing with Oscar-winning screenwriter Diablo Cody, is a complex, compelling and, often times, creepy character piece focusing on an alcoholic author, the ginchiest of clichés admirably played by Oscar-overlooked Charlize Theron, who decides to reclaim the former greatness of her life by hooking up with her past true love in her past hometown. The catch being, of course, that said ex-love is happily married and, naturally, a new father. Bitterness and ignorance ensues. Reitman and Cody made a fun, watchable film around an otherwise depressing character, but a few more extremes would result in a few more laughs, intentional or not.
Review: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1625346/reviews-149

	Super 8 (2011)
	Dir: J.J. Abrams
	Cast: Joel Courtney, Elle Fanning, Kyle Chandler, Ron Eldard
	J.J. Abrams gets a huge piece of the puzzle correct, and that is the everyday boy getting involved in the spectacular extraordinary all wrapped in a coming of age tale – the perfect Spielbergian formula. SUPER 8 is a wonderful vision of nostalgia. A bit derivative at times, a little glossed over at others. However, it would be hard to come by a finer example of a modern-day look at a time of fun films.
Review: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1650062/reviews-764

	The Adjustment Bureau (2011)
	Dir: George Nolfi
	Cast: Matt Damon, Emily Blunt
	A mash of sci-fi, fantasy and rom-com, THE ADJUSTMENT BUREAU works as a fun film, and actually works quite well as a suspend-your-disbelief narrative goes, mostly due to the believable chemistry between likable stars Matt Damon, a senator-to-be, and Emily Blunt, an NYC dancer. The two lovers meet as a result of a cosmic accident and, as if a modern-day Hitchcockian duo, decide to run against fate. The resulting genre flick is a meeting of the overlord concept from DARK CITY and the rebelling-against-prophesy ideals from the MATRIX, both of which parallel the age-old ordeal of the existence of free will. Damon does it with his Boston smile, Blunt with her accent.
Review: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1385826/reviews-363

	The Next Three Days (2010)
	Dir: Paul Haggis
	Cast: Russell Crowe, Elizabeth Banks, Liam Neeson
	As with most suspension-driven thrillers, there is always that built-in awareness, that a dose of suspension-of-disbelief probably as hefty as the salt in the popcorn is as sure to occur as a montage sequence showing the story's protagonist preparing for that daredevil dive into the breathtaking unknown. THE NEXT THREE DAYS, writer/director Paul Haggis' thriller starring Russell Crowe and based from the 2008 French film POUR ELLE, is a convincing, fun, escape-plan thriller that still has its moments of disbelief-suspension, but consider such as the low-in-sodium variety.
Review: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1458175/reviews-200

	The Town (2010)
	Dir: Ben Affleck
	Cast: Ben Affleck, Jeremy Renner, Pete Postlethwaite, Jon Hamm, Rebecca Hall
	Ben Affleck has matured well beyond his ARMAGEDDON and PEARL HARBOR foibles both in front of and, perhaps even more importantly, behind the camera. THE TOWN, then, is beautiful example of the craft of the heist formula executed perfectly and proves that Affleck, his second outing as a director, is one helluva storyteller. THE TOWN is an entertaining, well-executed movie and a great vehicle for spotlighting Affleck's talents. This film also should have brought Renner an Oscar, the absence of which is the true crime here.
Review: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0840361/reviews-385

	Get Low (2009)
	Dir: Aaron Schneider
	Cast: Robert Duvall, Bill Murray, Lucas Black
	Most times, as the cliché goes, the journey is just as important as the destination. These true words perfectly suit GET LOW. Duvall is a master at playing quiet, contemplative figures allowing his body language and facial expressions to tell the eloquent story of the script. GET LOW, as OPEN RANGE and THE APOSTLE did before, provides plenty of those quiet, introspective moments allowing the audience to see the pain of the character and wonder at his thoughts. GET LOW is a good story and a great character piece; moving and, perhaps, even redemptive, but not in a prime-time Disney-fied way.
Review: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1194263/reviews-82

	Crazy Heart (2009)
	Dir: Scott Cooper
	Cast: Jeff Bridges, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Colin Farrell
	Jeff Bridges IS the film and lays out Bad Blakes's life in a true train-wreck style. As with many character-driven movies, the narrative tale becomes a minor chord and plays itself out with the familiarity of other songs. Instead of the typical elevator story of found fame - lost fame – regained fame, CRAZY HEART begins at the bottom and sinks lower before getting back to ground level. The progression of the man, however, the heart, is much more important that the trappings of a three-act format. To quote Bad, that's the way it is with good ones, you're sure you've heard them before. CRAZY HEART, and Jeff Bridge's Bad Blake, is among the best.
Review: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1263670/reviews-213

	Moon (2009)
	Dir: Duncan Jones
	Cast: Sam Rockwell, Kevin Spacey
	MOON is, essentially, a one-man play admirably performed by the Oscar-overlooked Sam Rockwell, playing Sam Bell, a miner overseeing a solo three-year operation on the moon. An accident out on the lunar surface gets Bell's attention that, surprise-surprise, things are not all well with Lunar Industries and that his indentured slavery to the corporation might be a greater price than imagined. Directed by Duncan Jones, whose father knows a thing or two about the oddities of space, MOON absorbs the viewer into Bell's tight living space. The film's lo-fi F/X work to its benefit amplifying that classic sf-movie feel giving proper attention to the story, not the visuals. But as such, the look is starting real as is the permeable paranoia that also exists on the station, a paranoia that is enhanced by Clint Mansell's simple yet haunting orchestration, a paranoia that leads to a quest for escape. But who can escape the reaches of a corporation?
Review: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1182345/reviews-409

	Adventureland (2009)
	Dir: Greg Mottola
	Cast: Jessie Eisenberg, Kristen Stewart, Ryan Reynolds
	ADVENTURELAND, set smack in the late ‘80s, plays to the clichés of the time wrapped around a soundtrack of familiar standards, including many that normally don't make the cinematic memory rounds, and, if anything, tells truths that most Gen-Xers either believe, lived through or simply fall prey to that great lie of "remember the time...?" when friends, co-workers or whoever just sorta hung out and talked. ADVENTURELAND doesn't make importance of the tearing down of the Berlin Wall, rather shows the importance of breaking walls between friends and how going on a date with the wrong girl has just as many consequences as the Iran-Contra Affair.
Review: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1091722/reviews-206

	Coraline (2009)
	Dir: Henry Selick
	Cast: Dakota Fanning, Keith David
	The star and titular character of the story, CORALINE, is the perfect imaginative kid for a perfect imaginative tale, set in a similar vein as the children from Narnia or even Dorothy Gale… if both were re-imagined with eerieness by graphic novel wizard Neil Gaiman. Director Henry Selick treats the viewer into stunning images of cobwebs, raindrops and creepy spaces along with a fun cast of characters, including a know-it-all cat perfectly voiced by Keith David. Aside from the goth-lite plot and a nearly-too convenient wrap-up, Selick does his very best to keep the craft of his animation at the peak of its form while also using it to benefit the story. Fun, beautiful to watch and perhaps mistargeted to a kiddie crowd that Pixar usually caters to, CORALINE is a winner. And, perhaps if released in Pixar-free year, would have been an Oscar winner as well.
Review: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0327597/reviews-253

	State Of Play (2009)
	Dir: Kevin Macdonald
	Cast: Russell Crowe, Ben Affleck, Rachel McAdams, Helen Mirren
	STATE OF PLAY, the film from director Kevin Macdonald and screenwriter Tony Gilroy, successfully incorporates the high points from the successful BBC miniseries of the same name but does something the series could not, which is the incorporation of the near-irrelevance of print media into a much-better-than-standard conspiracy thriller. Crowe’s Cal and McAdams’ Della work – and work well – both as independent rogues as well as uneasy partners in a pseudo-traditional mentor/apprentice relationship as they deal with both the story of a Congressman’s murdered aide and the future of the newspaper biz. The conspiracy elements of the film are good with plenty of keep-the-audience-guessing moments. However even more interesting is how STATE OF PLAY comes across as a love letter to the dying newspaper breed with Cal passing the pen-and-paper torch off to Della's blogs and tweets.
Review: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0473705/reviews-215

	Duplicity (2009)
	Dir: Tony Gilroy
	Cast: Clive Owen, Julia Roberts, Tom Wilkinson, Paul Giamatti
	DUPLICITY takes your standard heist plot and throws in elements of the perfect con game playing out a mutual mistrust that exists on every level where the only constant is that smart is sexy. Dialogue and story both are crafted in a way to include the viewer into secrets shared among the parties as well as having key data excluded for the film's big reveal. In the meantime, the banter, equally subtle and obvious, between the corporate spies keeps the characters interesting.  Fun, hip and full of those falsehoods that make great films, DUPLICITY may not steal away the spy-grifter film genre, but should have enough lire in its bank account for a long-term Roman holiday legacy.
Review: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1135487/reviews-186

As Always,

theJOE

Disney Marvels at Whedon Assembly

If you have been a fan of the core Marvel Studios' films since 2008's IRON MAN, where the beginnings of the "Avengers Initiative" were first teased and carried through into the 2010 sequel as well as THE INCREDIBLE HULK, THOR and CAPTAIN America: THE FIRST AVENGER, then the AVENGERS will not disappoint. In fact, it very well might make you question why the other franchise films weren't as good as this fast- paced, funny, superhero showdown.


Marvel has been very focused and dedicated with the development of its properties under the Disney banner – and they no doubt wish that the Spider-Man and X-Men franchises could return to their fold, as it was the success of these earlier films that brought Marvel Comics out of bankruptcy – and has been providing solid entertainment from its creators and stars alike; by Odin's beard, Sir Kenneth Branagh directed THOR. Enter Joss Whedon, who created a weekly TV show in BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER that was a near-perfect example of a live-action comic book, to deliver a heavily-anticipated yet so-easy-to-fail production of getting such a diverse character set in a movie that worked. And worked it did.

The film gets off to a slow and even somewhat murky start as Loki, Thor's mischievous half-brother, played with a Anthony Hopkins-worthy sneer by Tom Hiddleston, appears, escapes from and is responsible for the destruction of a SHIELD HQ as well as the spiriting away of a few supporting characters including Stellan Skarsgard's Dr. Selvig, also of THOR, and Jeremy Renner's Hawkeye, getting the full movie treatment here, all under the semi-impotent glare of Samuel L. Jackson's one-eyed spy Nick Fury. Obviously Loki never saw Samuel L's wallet from another film.

The movie picks up with the re-introduction of Scarlett Johansson's Black Widow as Whedon has some fun showing what moves he could have presented in BUFFY if he had an Avengers-sized budget backing him up, but it truly gets bright when the three protagonists, Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, finally appear and, of course, get into a wrestling match to prove who has the biggest repulsor/shield/hammer. Once the team finally assembles, insanity, and the hilarity that often follows, ensues. Oh, and Mark Ruffalo proves that the Hulk can indeed smash.

Joss Whedon's adept skills, he also writes the screenplay, prove to be the other superhero powerhouse as he successfully created a production that pleases the hardcore fanboy who is aware of Thanos, the mainstream movie audience who thinks that Tony and Pepper are destined for each other, and his own loyal, core fan base of Browncoats. Each hero gets their own time to shine in situations worthy of a comicbook splash page. The rough-up dust-up of a third act that entirely deals with the assembled team involved in a street-level brawl in NYC against, what else, an invading alien army, could very well have became tedious, as admittedly, the obligatory interstellar menace is faceless, forgettable and seemingly invented for the sales of action figures, but the action, humor and allure of these powerful heroes is truly something unique and that magic is perfectly captured on the screen.

2008 saw the release of both IRON MAN and Warner Bros.' DARK KNIGHT. The result was that both films set the bar that future genre films would have to follow. In 2012 that bar was set yet again. What remains to be seen is if the upcoming DARK KNIGHT RISES film, as well as the sequels for IRON MAN, THOR and CAPTAIN America, will continue to raise that bar, or if they will all just... assemble.



As Always...
theJOE

Oscar Rant 2012

To quote the host from an earlier ceremony, “So, where were we?”

My last post summarized the Summer of 2011 as belonging to the comicbook film genre. Indeed, three of the four major hero-in-spandex films were among the year’s top 20 in box office draw – according to boxofficemojo.com – with Thor actually cracking the top 10 ($181 million). Looking further, superheroes may have enjoyed the exposure of the summer months, but 2011, if anything, was the year of the franchise.

The nine top-grossing films on top of Kenneth Branagh’s hammer-fest, interestingly, are all sequels or part of an established franchise. This remains the case with the 11^th spot – Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes ($176.7 million) - ending at #12 with Captain America: The First Avenger, yet another comicbook film ($176 million).

Look at that again. Of the twelve highest-grossing films of 2011, only two are not sequels and both of them Marvel Studios films that are, actually, part of a mega-franchise Disney is hoping will be an incredible/uncanny/amazing/invincible moneymaker in 2012 with the release of The Avengers. All told, these twelve films garnered a total well over a staggering $971 million, which is up from 2010’s $926.5 million. Regardless of what the trades report, people are still seeing movies.

True, these top twelve films are summer-time popcorn films and succeed for a reason. They are light, fluffy, non-filling and have broad appeal. Movie producers know that, story merits aside, it is much easier to fill a theater with a coveted demographic to see Transformers 3 than a film about Irish cross-dressers. And while it is right and good that Albert Nobbs receive three nominations, would it not also be proper to fully celebrate all that the cinema has to offer and award one of the top-twelve with something other than Sound Mixing?

For 2012, the highest-grossing film of any of the major Academy Award categories, excluding Animated Features, of which none this year were simultaneously nominated for Best Picture, was The Help ($169.6 million), which ranked the 13^th highest. Bridesmaids, up for Original Screenplay, is at #14 ($169 million) then no other Oscar nods until The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, up for Best Actress, at #28 ($101 million). To find the next film up for either Picture or Director, you have to look down the list until #41 for War Horse ($78 million). The film to beat this year that has been leading most of the Guild Awards, The Artist, is not even in the top 100 list bringing in only $24 million.

This is not to shortchange the, ahem, artistry of Hazanavicius’ film, nor to even deny the Oscar-worthiness of the cast and crew. Rather, to once again question the Academy’s uber-snotty elitism and their apparent dismissal of fan appreciation.

When the Academy increased the Best Picture category from five nominations to ten in 2010, the rationalization was to get more people interested; interested in the nominations, the awards telecast and, hopefully, the just film itself. This year that formula was tweaked a little and through whatever mathematical voodoo PricewaterhouseCoopers decided on, there are nine noms. But of those nine, aside from The Help, none were a mega-success. How can these selections help, let’s admit it, the ratings of the telecast if the average Harry Potter-Transformers-Twilight-Hangover-Pirates-Thor moviegoer has not even heard of, let alone gone to see,The Artist, The Descendants and, heaven help us all, Tree of Life?

The 2010 nominations list made it fun to see films like District 9, The Blind Slide and Inglorious Bastards as potential gold-winners. These were movies people saw and were excited about. Looking at just a year ago, two of the ten Best Picture nominations were among the year’s top ten grossing films. Two others made the top 20, including winner big-winner The King’s Speech.

2012 has taken a major step back. Does this mean Thor should have been nominated? Not necessarily. However, Harry Potter And The Deathly Hollows had much anticipation and support backing it making the film akin to previous award-winner Lord Of The Rings: Return Of The King to deserve a shot. Bridesmaids had a strong resurgence during the awards preamble and would once again give a true comedy a shot at the top prize, something that hasn’t really been seen since the Full Monty in 1998, dark comedies or dramadies like Juno, Sideways and Brokeback Mountain excluded of course.

As a final selection for the nine noms, how about Super 8? Super 8, writer-director J.J. Abrams’ love letter to his childhood, contained universally-familiar elements of friendship, first love and teenage bucking authority wrapped around a clever and equally-familiar tale paying homage to films of that time: E.T., Back To The Future and Close Encounters Of The Third Kind. One would think that, Hugo aside, a film that caters to the historical ideals of the Academy while also maintaining a distinct handhold on the pulse of mainstream America, would be one of those choices that film snobs and popcorn-eaters alike could nod in agreement to.

Obviously not.

Super 8 did bring in a decent $127 million but was a little lost sandwiched in the summer of super-heroes. It was very lost when it came to nominations as J.J. Abrams’ film did not score one single nom. Not even in the ubiquitous Sound Editing/Sound Mixing categories. This film deserves better than that. It certainly deserves more praise than the despicably-sappy Extremely Loud & Incredible Close, the sentimental War Horse and, excuse me, the nearly-unwatchable Tree Of Life.

Also in question is the blindly-accepted notion that all Best Pictures noms automatically are awarded Screenplay noms. Seeing as how there is barely any dialogue in The Artist, I move to have that nomination revoked from the Original list. Likewise with A Separation getting a Foreign Film entry, a domestic film might be better suited. Such replacements could include the aforementioned Super 8 as well as the smartly-written rom-com Crazy, Stupid Love. Love, by no means a Best Picture contender, did have a great script.

The Adapted Screenplay category is significantly tighter packed with serious contenders (Moneyball should win, but probably won’t). However, Ides Of March seems to be more known for its performances, although Paul Giamatti’s absence from the Supporting Actor category is a head scratcher, and could be dropped. Ides’ replacement, then, could be the Philip K. Dick adaptation of The Adjustment Bureau, a clever love story wrapped around a chase mystery complete with two well-likeable characters.

The Oscars are supposed to celebrate and honor the craft of making film and the enjoyment such brings. A Best Picture should be just that: a timeless film that can be watched at any time. The Artist certainly calls up that great sense of nostalgia, but can it maintain such appeal? One can easily surmise that five years on heads can be scratched and blogs populated with the absurd thought that a silent film won top prize.

As Always,

theJOE