1.A videocamera attached to glasses detects images and beams them to an antenna
2.The antenna sends the images as radio waves to a chip in the back of the eye
3.The chip relays electric impulses that travel through the optic nerve to the brain
title: “Out Of Sight” ShowToc: true date: “2023-01-17” author: “John Baichan”
It’s hard to think of a year when so much was in doubt so late in the game. (If the Oscars were a football game, we’d be entering the 4th quarter with a 0-0 score.) Think of it another way: if the nominations had to be chosen today, Hollywood would be unable to find five of its own to fill the Best Picture category. The only studio movie so far this year that everyone seemed to like is “Shrek” (with “Monsters, Inc.” not too far behind). But even its nomination isn’t a sure thing, for this is the first year in which a Best Animated Feature category has been introduced, and voters may decide that it shouldn’t be up for both awards. Then again, for sheer lack of enthusiasm about the competition, they may well nominate it in both categories.
You could say it’s been a bum year for studio movies (and it has), but the lack of Oscar-worthy prospects is more than a fluke. As budgets and marketing costs escalate to new highs, and studio chiefs focus more and more on pleasing their corporate stockholders, the “prestige pictures” that have traditionally won Academy Awards are going to become scarcer and scarcer. There will be no choice but to turn to the independents and even (heaven forbid!) foreign films to fill up the categories that in the old days were the exclusive province of Hollywood.
Foolish as it is at this early date, I will nonetheless take out my extremely muddy crystal ball and peer into the future. Here are the movies and the actors who seem the likeliest suspects to get nods when the nominations are announced on Feb. 12.
BEST PICTURE
We’ve already established that “Shrek” is the likeliest early-in-the-year nominee. The only other studio films already released that have even a whisper of a chance are “The Others” (this year’s “The Sixth Sense”?) and “Moulin Rouge,” but those who didn’t love the latter hated it. Among the independents, the surprise hit “Memento” might have a shot, but it’s a long one. When was the last time the Academy went for a movie that was told backwards?
That brings us very quickly to the Christmas lineup. On paper, Michael Mann’s “Ali”–the biopic of Muhammad Ali–would seem to have the most going for it. It’s got a respected director, a hot star (Will Smith) and towering ambition on its side. On the downside, it may be out of step with the flag-waving times, celebrating a Muslim hero who refused to fight in Vietnam. Ron Howard’s “A Beautiful Mind” sounds like the sort of movie the dependably sentimental voters tend to go for: a triumph-of-the-spirit saga (based on a true story) about a Nobel prize-winning mathematican struggling to overcome schizophrenia. And it’s got an Oscar-winning star, Russell Crowe, in the lead. If the critics savage it, however, bye-bye nomination (remember all that early Oscar talk last year about “Pay it Forward”?). In the same vein, Frank Darabont’s “The Majestic”–with Jim Carrey as an amnesiac blacklisted screenwriter–promises to be the sort of Capraesque fable Oscar voters like, and Darabont (“The Shawshank Redemption” and “The Green Mile”) has yet to make a movie that hasn’t been nominated. (Is it because his movies always announce their self-importance?)
Though it may seem too lightweight, you can’t rule out Steven Soderbergh’s star-studded “Ocean’s 11,” which has been getting good advance buzz. One purely escapist movie is sometimes allowed–if the pedigree is classy enough. Ridley Scott’s violent war movie “Black Hawk Down” was moved up for a late December release, and could be a spoiler. If the eagerly anticipated “Lord of the Rings” knocks people’s socks off, it too could be a strong contender. “Harry Potter”? Unlikely but not impossible, though it seems to be a movie whose greatest enthusiasts are under voting age.
If there’s an indie sleeper in the field, it’s Miramax’s “In the Bedroom,” a powerful depiction of a married couple coping with a family tragedy, directed by actor Todd Field. Miramax will also be pushing “The Shipping News” by their house director Lasse Hallstrom, whose last two, “The Cider House Rules” and “Chocolat,” made it to the Final Five. It’s hard to gauge at this point whether the Tom Cruise/Cameron Crowe “Vanilla Sky” will be too bizarre for Academy tastes or whether Robert Altman’s “Gosford Park”–an Agatha Christie-style country house mystery–will deliver enough anglophile delights to slip in as the Merchant/Ivory proxy nominee.
One foreign film cannot be discounted: the French charmer “Amelie,” which Miramax is pushing hard for a foreign film nomination, could conceivably cross over as “Life is Beautiful” did into the Best Picture category.
It’s telling that Spielberg’s “A.I.” is rarely mentioned for the Oscar race. It’s the first time Spielberg has made a movie more beloved by the critics than the public, and the Academy is on the people’s side on this one.
BEST ACTOR
This could be the first year where two black actors are the frontrunners for the award. Denzel Washington’s bravura, image-busting work in “Training Day” will likely get him nominated, and sight unseen Will Smith seems a sure thing as Ali. The mere fact that Russell Crowe is playing a tortured genius in “A Beautiful Mind” suggests laurels can’t be far behind (unless, as one person suggests, his West Virginia accent is so impenetrable no one can understand him). Jim Carrey in a non-slapstick role (in “The Majestic”) can’t be discounted, if only because he’s spent so much time bitching about the respect he’s never received. And watch out for any actor playing a mentally challenged leading man. This year’s rainman-in-waiting is the formidable Sean Penn, who can be expected to chew some heavy scenery in “I Am Sam.” Academy fave Kevin Spacey has two to choose from: the soggy “K-Pax” and “The Shipping News,” but there’s been a strange lack of buzz surrounding that one. And Kevin Kline picked up some glowing reviews as a man dying of a movie disease in the tearjerker “Life as a House.”
One less familiar name who must be factored in is Tom Wilkinson, the husband in “In the Bedroom.” An English actor (he was in “The Full Monty”), he may win extra points for playing an American so convincingly. Gene Hackman has two strong roles to choose from: the mastermind of David Mamet’s “Heist” and the irresponsible patriarch in the quirky “Royal Tennenbaums.”
Longshots: cross-dressing John Cameron Mitchell in “Hedwig and the Angry Inch” (no? then how about Best Actress?); Haley Joel Osment in “A.I.”; Ian MacGregor in “Moulin Rouge”; Brian Cox in “L.I.E.”; and Anthony La Paglia in the Australian thriller “Lantana.” And if Cameron Crowe gets as good a performance out of Tom Cruise in “Vanilla Sky” as he did in “Jerry Maguire,” Cruise could muscle his way into the lineup as well.
BEST ACTRESS
The former Mrs. Cruise, Nicole Kidman, is generally considered a leading contender for either “Moulin Rouge” or the sleeper hit “The Others.” My hunch is she’ll get the nod for the latter. The always well-respected Sissy Spacek has her strongest role in years in “In the Bedroom” and should get one of the five slots.
Things get murkier in the crystal ball after that. Word has it that Halle Berry gives a breakthrough performance in the prison drama “Monsters Ball” and Julianne Moore’s name gets tossed around for her role in “The Shipping News.” If voters have long memories, Renee Zellweger’s smart comic turn in “Bridget Jones’s Diary” might be noted, as well as Tilda Swinton’s concentrated performance as a fiercely protective mother in “The Deep End.” “Legally Blonde” will probably be considered too frivolous to put Reese Witherspoon in contention, but sooner or later the Academy is going to recognize one of its finer young talents. The ubiquitous and always solid Cate Blanchett stars in the World War II drama “Charlotte Gray” and Michelle Pfeiffer co-stars with Sean Penn in “I Am Sam”: both actors have strong fans in the Academy. As does Stockard Channing, who turns up at the end of the year as a high-powered businesswoman in the indie film “The Business of Strangers.”
A good longshot bet might be it girl Audrey Tautou in “Amelie”: her gamin charm seems to be working wonders on audiences. It doesn’t help that she speaks French, but hey, these are the folks who handed that human jumping bean, Roberto Begnini, his very own Oscar. But I hold out no hope for two of my favorite performances so far this year: Charlotte Rampling’s career-best turn as a haunted widow in “Under the Sand” and newcomer Naomi Watts’s daring double-bill of a performance in David Lynch’s surrealist “Mulhulland Drive.” Well, one can dream.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Here things get really hard to forecast: the winner could be someone who’s not even on the radar today. If they take out enough ads filled with critical quotes in the trade papers, Ben Kingsley’s scary turn in “Sexy Beast” has to be a strong possibility. Insiders are touting two “Ali” performances as standouts: Jon Voight as Howard Cosell (now there’s a stretch) and Jamie Foxx as cornerman Drew “Bundini” Brown. If anyone especially pops out in “Harry Potter,” it’s the slyly sinister Alan Rickman. His fellow Brit, Ian Holm, might turn some heads in “The Lord of the Rings.” Speaking of Brits, I’ve a hunch the remarkable Jim Broadbent has a real shot for playing Iris Murdoch’s faithful husband in “Iris,” though this may be considered a leading role. It would be nice if a few voters appreciated how smarmily terrific Hugh Grant was in “Bridget Jones’s Diary.” Broad comic turns rarely get nominated, but if they did, Rowan Atkinson deserves recognition as the one and only reason to see “Rat Race.” Equally unforgettable was Joe Pantoliano’s yapping-dog turn in “Memento.” From more mainstream upcoming films, hardy perennials Ed Harris (a CIA op in “A Beautiful Mind”) and Martin Landau (in “The Majestic”) are sure to be pushed by the studios.
Rumor has it that Tom Sizemore is a standout in “Black Hawk Down.” But one name who should be remembered–if he’s not considered a lead–is the always reliable Steve Zahn, whose loser husband in “Riding in Cars with Boys” lit up an otherwise forgettable film. A deserving foreign longshot: Gerard Depardieu as the befuddled macho man in the French comedy “The Closet.”
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
The buzzmeisters have been in overdrive about Jennifer Connelly’s performance opposite Russell Crowe in “A Beautiful Mind.” There seems to be some debate, however, as to whether it’s a lead or a supporting turn. The same question may apply to Dame Judi Dench, who plays the ailing novelist Iris Murdoch in “Iris.” Yes, the movie’s named after her, but the character is played by Kate Winslet as a young woman, and by Dench in her last years. Never bet against Dame Judi. And throw Winslet’s name into the hopper, too.
A few other names are being floated: Cameron Diaz as one of Tom Cruise’s lovers in “Vanilla Sky” and Marisa Tomei (a previous winner) as a grieving girlfriend in “In the Bedroom” seem the most plausible at this point. Maggie Smith in either “Gosford Park” or “Harry Potter”? Fionnula Flanagan, the housekeeper in “The Others”? Either Angelica Huston or Gwyneth Paltrow in “The Royal Tennenbaums”?
One deserving candidate who doesn’t have a prayer is Sondra Oh as a stripper/poet in the little-seen “Dancing at the Blue Iguana.” Even more obscure, but utterly wonderful, was the former chanteuse Patachou in the charming French road movie “The Adventures of Felix.” I would also like to personally nominate Macy Gray for her hair-raising cameo as a junkie in “Training Day.” She’s probably not on view for much more than a minute, but boy does she pop off the screen.
For a clearer picture of all this, talk to me in a month. By then I’ll know everything.
title: “Out Of Sight” ShowToc: true date: “2023-01-03” author: “Sarah Brocklehurst”
I only do it occasionally, but by my best estimate, I’ve got about 180 relatively new discs perched in a Jenga-like fashion on a shelf over my head. Now, before you get jealous, realize that most of the albums are–in my professional opinion–really freakin’ bad. Like Baha Men “Move It Like This” bad.
Still, buried under the John Tesh “Christmas Worship” discs are some amazing efforts, sales of which haven’t exactly been Eminem-esque. Here are 10 excellent, but a bit more obscure, (mostly) rock albums that came out in 2002. Make it your new year’s resolution to make them your friends in ‘03.
The Flaming Lips, “Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots” (Warner Bros.)
I do not know why this Yoshimi girl is at odds with the pink robot army. But epic conflict makes for great art. And that’s what this album is: a goofy, masterly produced meditation on dealing with adversity. “Fight Test,” the first cut, asks, “How does a man decide what’s right for his own life?” Somehow, listening to the Lips hash this out made for last year’s best song.
Interpol, “Turn on the Bright Lights” (Matador)
Interpol’s gloomy stylings make the band ever-comparable to Echo and the Bunnymen and Joy Division. And while they have looked there for inspiration, Interpol is more than the sum of its influences. The band subscribes to an impossibly chic world weariness, but snaps itself out of its malaise with guitars that do anything but trudge through gems like “Obstacle 1” and “PDA.”
Rilo Kiley, “The Execution of All Things” (Saddle Creek)
The unorthodox cadence to this album–especially on “My Slumbering Heart”–gives Jenny Lewis’s laserbeam of a voice ample room to roam. When it’s at its best, she lets it float and twang. Labelmate Bright Eyes gets most of the attention. But Rilo Kiley’s agitated melodies–with deep roots in early ’90s alternative rock–should get some of the kudos.
Spoon, “Kill the Moonlight” (Merge)
These guys do more for rock than all of the “The … " bands combined. The piano line on “The Way We Get By” shuffles along on a staccato romp that’s the backbone of the entire album. On it, Britt Daniels talks about being OK with just accepting things for the way they are: “Small stakes issue you the minimum blues/You don’t feel taken and you don’t feel abused.”
Felix Da Housecat, “Kittenz and Thee Glitz” (Emporer Norton)
This isn’t a rock album–but, man, it sure fuels your rockstar fantasies. Veteran Chicago house producer (and Grammy nominee) Felix teams up with Miss Kitten for a dance floor lesson in livin’ large. Says Kitten, in her chilly dronespeak, on “Madame Hollywood,” “Maybe one day you can visit my condo on a big hill, you know?/9-0-2-1-0.” Sure–can I bring anything?
Hot Hot Heat, “Make Up the Breakdown” (SubPop)
The ironic thing about indie shows is that indie kids aren’t very independent. They all nod to the riffs, a sea of bobbleheads. But with its “emo,” or emotional pop (punk rock guitar, zig-zaggy keyboards, achingly earnest vocals) the Heat gets those arms a-flailin’! “Bandages” is the standout, but, as one mild-mannered colleague e-mails, “the record just … makes me … wanna … DANCE.”
Mull Historical Society, “Loss” (XL Recordings/Beggars Group)
“Loss” has an amazing assortment of sounds–a children’s choir, ’80s synth–all of which give the fine arrangements great depth without compromising their acoustic pop integrity. Colin MacIntyre’s music is whimsical, but hook-heavy in the bombastic British sense. Think Oasis, but quirkier (and, seemingly, kinder). “Us,” a new CD, is out on March 18.
2 Many DJ’s, “As Heard on Radio Soulwax Pt. 2” (PIAS Recordings)
Belgium’s Dewaele Brothers (known, together, as Soulwax) specialize in bastard pop–the kind that mashes up Destiny’s Child vocals with 10cc’s “Dreadlock Holiday.” A seamless blending of what feels like the entire pop catalog (Nirvana, Iggy Pop, Dolly Parton–you name it), the album is a must-have if you like to move.
The Notwist, “Neon Golden” (City Slang)
“Neon Golden” takes “glitchtronica”–the blips and static Radiohead couldn’t quite figure out what to do with on its recent releases–and fuses it with guitar-pop. The result: a not-so-caustic hybrid rich with melody. Markus Acher’s lush deadpan is the right adhesive for this fusion, especially on “Pick Up The Phone” and “Consequence.” A German import, the album comes stateside next month on Domino USA.
… And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead, “Source Tags & Codes” (Interscope)
This is one of those sonically dense albums that people think they should like; if they don’t, they question their hipster cred. But you’ll admire and enjoy Trail of Dead’s sheer scope of sound. It’s not just quantity, either. The album’s best quality is that it lets you feel like you’re discovering a rock moment.
Runners Up:
Clinic, “Walking With Thee”; Desaparecidos, “Read Music, Speak Spanish”; The Walkmen, “Everyone Who Pretended To Like Me Is Gone”; The Soundrack Of Our Lives, “Behind The Music”; Super Furry Animals, “Rings Around The World”; DJ Shadow, “The Private Press”; Soviet, “We Are Eyes, We Are Builders.”
Better hurry and give a listen–‘04 will be here before you know it.
