81st Annual Academy Awards

[Crook]

Not to start an argument but Transformers use of CGI was good but how the film was shot didn't let you see enough of the Transformers, they seemed to zoom in and cut scene. I thought the Iron Man CGI was better because the scenes would stay on robots more. But truthfully they weren't that different besides the fact that Bay didn't utilize it as well, IMO.

What you're arguing here isn't VFX though. Favreau and Bay will obviously have different filming techniques, especially in action. Favreau's was more static, while Bay goes for more dynamic shots. It will inevitably give your eyes less focus to take it all in.

It's not a detriment to either's cgi work, as the shots weren't used to "hide" or make shortcuts. There were plenty of scenes where the robots were shown in full glory, and in daylight no less. They both blended in pretty seamlessly, though I would give the edge to TF in terms of realism.

 

[WeaponXProject]

What you're arguing here isn't VFX though. Favreau and Bay will obviously have different filming techniques, especially in action. Favreau's was more static, while Bay goes for more dynamic shots. It will inevitably give your eyes less focus to take it all in.

It's not a detriment to either's cgi work, as the shots weren't used to "hide" or make shortcuts. There were plenty of scenes where the robots were shown in full glory, and in daylight no less. They both blended in pretty seamlessly, though I would give the edge to TF in terms of realism.

That may be true about how they used it but it shows me that Bay made a mistake by not showing enough. I mean Megatron had like 12 minutes at most of screen time and StarScream had like 3 minutes. If we would have seen more screen time of the visual effects then he would have gotten some recognition for what he did. It is hard to recognize a film for an Oscar to an actor for having 20 minutes of a performance of a two hour movie even if they were great. I think Iron Man utilized the shots better than Bay and that's why I like it more. Bay's erratic camera use definitely didn't help. Sometimes you couldn't tell which robot was doing what, that definitely ruined it for me.

I don't know why were discussing this. Both used ILM and used it well but the way they were shown in the film made the difference for me. Not to mention, Transformers, wasn't a film this year. It may have been on par with a nomination like Iron Man was last year.

Either way, no matter who says what, I would have liked to see Iron Man win.

 

[Tron Bonne]

How come The Dark Knight wasn't nominated?!
How can you call a billion dollars unsophisticated?!
What did I do that wasn't right?
Was it my cape or tights?
Perhaps if I...aged backwards?!!!

Wasn't sure how to that actually until I just read that. I actually thought it was poking fun at those who felt it should've been nominated. That still might have been partially the case, though.

I'm also glad they acknowledged, several times actually, how downright ****ing awful a choice The Reader was for Best Pic. So many movies could've filled that slot, I really don't know what the hell they were thinking. I know it's a Holocaust movie and all, but it was just so mediocre.

 

[roach]

Why does shooting a movie in Imax automaticly mean a movie should win the oscar for cinematography????

 

[Crook]

It doesn't. Though it's implementation in a film does affect how one uses lighting and shot composition, so in that sense IMAX has a key role. Plus, we can't deny that the IMAX featured in TDK really saw a great surge of audience attraction, which does serve in gauging how a director pushes the limits of a cinema experience.

 

[dark_b]

What exactly did IM do that TF didn't already achieve that previous year? Again, to me the level of difficulty that the two projects had aren't even remotely on the same level.

blury raytracing. TF had normal raytracing.

one of the hardest thing today to render is blury soft reflection. the way the software calculates this is very long. and stan winston didnt make it easy because the suit that he build was looking like brushed metal. so soft reflection. they had to writte some complex stuff to render this on time.

of course Button's CGI is groundbreaking for this time.

 

[Kanon]

How come The Dark Knight wasn't nominated?!
How can you call a billion dollars unsophisticated?!
What did I do that wasn't right?
Was it my cape or tights?
Perhaps if I...aged backwards?!!!

I think he says "Is it my cape or bullet proof tights"

funnier that way

 

[lou2099]

I had watched Zodiac three times, and not once did I even ponder that there was any use of cgi in that film. I simply assumed it was all set-built or shot for real. No reason to believe it was fabricated by a computer. Real testament to Fincher and Digital Domain. They consistently pull it off.

See, Zodiac was the movie that should have gotten nominations a best Picture, Fincher for best Director, best Supporting Actor (RDJ). That movie was incredible. TCCOBB sucked majorly and Brad Pitt is a terrible actor.

 

[Dr. Evil]

I have been watching the Entertainment shows this week and everyone is saying that Slumdog Millionaire Star Freida Pinto is destined to be a big star.

 

[WeaponXProject]

See, Zodiac was the movie that should have gotten nominations a best Picture, Fincher for best Director, best Supporting Actor (RDJ). That movie was incredible. TCCOBB sucked majorly and Brad Pitt is a terrible actor.

Pitt isn't terrible at all but he shouldn't have been nominated. Benjamin Button was good movie but I was surprised it received Best Picture nomination.

I agree with all you have on Zodiac, though. One of my favorites.

 

[Prison Mike]

I have been watching the Entertainment shows this week and everyone is saying that Slumdog Millionaire Star Freida Pinto is destined to be a big star.

I'm actually curious to see how she does in her next film. She's definitely destined to become big in the U.S. based on her looks but I felt I couldn't really judge her acting since she was only in a couple scenes in Slumdog. Hopefully, she'll get a bigger part in the Woody Allen movie.

 

[TheFuture]

Postmortem thoughts:

- It kept annoying me that undeserving movies kept winning specific awards just for the sake of an awards sweep. As in, Benjamin Button getting Visual Effects over Iron Man (how is the aging/de-aging better? wtf?), Slumdog getting Sound Mixing over Wall-E (another wtf, the sound was completely done from scratch in Wall-E), Slumdog getting Original Score (on what basis? just because it's Indian music?), Slumdog getting Cinematography (TDK used freakin' IMAX cameras!), Benjamin Button getting Makeup over Hellboy II, et al. It's so pitiful the Oscar voters hand these awards out just for a stupid sweep, they should give each Oscar to its most deserving movie regardless of what other movie(s) are getting the big acting, directing, or best-pic awards.

It was not only an awesome score but it was also executed brilliantly in the film too. Jai Ho, O Saya and Latika's Theme are all fantastic pieces of music.

 

[Prison Mike]

I think all the Slumdog awards were just. The only ones I was surprised about were the sound awards. I do think WALL-E should have gotten those (BOTH of them), but other than that, I agree with all the other catgories that Slumdog won.

 

[TheFuture]

I think all the Slumdog awards were just. The only ones I was surprised about were the sound awards. I do think WALL-E should have gotten those (BOTH of them), but other than that, I agree with all the other catgories that Slumdog won.

I haven't seen Wall-E but I haven't a clue about the technical side of sound so I'll take your word for it.

Doubt was just released today in Ireland and I went to see it. Loved the acting and in hindsight I would have liked to see Amy adams go over Penelope Cruz.

 

[Prison Mike]

you should definitely see WALL-E. It's the best Pixar film I've seen.

 

[scifiwolf]

Definitely watch WALL-E, and watch the behind the scenes feature on Ben Burtt's sound work. He got robbed twice at the Oscars this year.

 

[TheFuture]

you should definitely see WALL-E. It's the best Pixar film I've seen.

Yeah I've heard great things. My brother saw it, he said it was fatist! Or at the least, represented the future greed of the world through people who can't walk and that are fat.

 

[Raiden]

I have been watching the Entertainment shows this week and everyone is saying that Slumdog Millionaire Star Freida Pinto is destined to be a big star.

I agree. She's beautiful and with a good movie (and her as the lead), she can become a household name.

 

[Doctor Jones]

Pitt isn't terrible at all but he shouldn't have been nominated. Benjamin Button was good movie but I was surprised it received Best Picture nomination.

I agree with all you have on Zodiac, though. One of my favorites.

Glad to see some other people agree with me. Zodiac was completely snubbed. RBJ should have gotten nominated. That was first film seeing him in.

 

[Dr. Evil]

I'm actually curious to see how she does in her next film. She's definitely destined to become big in the U.S. based on her looks but I felt I couldn't really judge her acting since she was only in a couple scenes in Slumdog. Hopefully, she'll get a bigger part in the Woody Allen movie.

Of course, she'd have to move out of India if she wants to be a big name in Hollywood. She doesn't have to live in Los Angeles to be a big name in the U.S. though. Look at Kate Winslet, I believe she lives in New York. She was on Letterman a few weeks ago, talking about Thanksgiving, and only those living in America celebrate that. The Entertainment shows also mentioned Kate flew from Los Angeles back to New York on Tuesday.

Freida Pinto doesn't have to live in Los Angeles to make a name for herself in the States, but she does have to move out of India if that was to happen.

 

[Prison Mike]

Yeah I've heard great things. My brother saw it, he said it was fatist! Or at the least, represented the future greed of the world through people who can't walk and that are fat.

yeah, it does paint fat people as lazy slobs but it's still good.

Of course, she'd have to move out of India if she wants to be a big name in Hollywood. She doesn't have to live in Los Angeles to be a big name in the U.S. though. Look at Kate Winslet, I believe she lives in New York. She was on Letterman a few weeks ago, talking about Thanksgiving, and only those living in America celebrate that. The Entertainment shows also mentioned Kate flew from Los Angeles back to New York on Tuesday.

Freida Pinto doesn't have to live in Los Angeles to make a name for herself in the States, but she does have to move out of India if that was to happen.

I read somewhere that she plans on moving to New York because it feels a lot like Mumbai. I could see her moving there and not LA. Dev, on the other hand may stay in UK or just move out to LA. He's going to be in a summer blockbuster movie so if it does well, other action movies might want him.

 

[Figs]

yeah, it does paint fat people as lazy slobs but it's still good.



I read somewhere that she plans on moving to New York because it feels a lot like Mumbai. I could see her moving there and not LA. Dev, on the other hand may stay in UK or just move out to LA. He's going to be in a summer blockbuster movie so if it does well, other action movies might want him.

I can't really see him as the lead star in a summer action film. Maybe a costar but not lead.

 

[Prison Mike]

I can't really see him as the lead star in a summer action film. Maybe a costar but not lead.

maybe once his face matures a little more and fills out he can be a lead. I never imagined Shia Labeouf, the goofy looking kid from Even Stevens, would become the lead of a major blockbuster franchise, but it happened...

 

[Dr. Evil]

I read somewhere that she plans on moving to New York because it feels a lot like Mumbai. I could see her moving there and not LA. Dev, on the other hand may stay in UK or just move out to LA. He's going to be in a summer blockbuster movie so if it does well, other action movies might want him.

I could see Dev staying in the UK. A lot of stars still live in the UK and commute to the States for work. Take House star Hugh Laurie for example. He mentioned once on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno that his family is back in the UK while he's in Los Angeles working on House and sometimes his family goes to L.A. to visit him.

Of course, a lot of the International born stars live in the states now. As mentioned earlier, Best Actress Winner Kate Winslet lives in New York.

And what summer blockbuster is he going to be in?

 

[Dr. Evil]

maybe once his face matures a little more and fills out he can be a lead. I never imagined Shia Labeouf, the goofy looking kid from Even Stevens, would become the lead of a major blockbuster franchise, but it happened...

He has said that he wants to do a movie with Will Smith.