Every Monday morning, InsidePulse Movies Czar Scott “Kubryk” Sawitz brings an irreverent and oftentimes hilarious look at pop culture, politics, sports and whatever else comes to mind. And sometimes he writes about movies.
You know what pissed me off about last week in film? The Expendables 2 getting a PG-13 rating. But not in the way you probably think. Me, I think the film getting a PG-13 instead of an R rating isn’t the worst thing in the world. If anything it could be a blessing in disguise. When you think about it deeply this is a good thing, expanding the potential ticket-buying audience as well as avoiding the R-rated action film stigma that has haunted a ton of action films since Die Hard was equally awesome and vulgar. Why?
They don’t have to tone down the violence all that much, just the language, for an R-rating in today’s modern cinema from the MPAA.
It’s one of the useful hypocrisies of American life when it comes to being an avid fan of film. When you watch a film like The King’s Speech, you realize early on it’s a fairly solid PG-13 until that one big scene where Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush curse like “trench soldiers on holiday” as an ex-girlfriend of mine opined many moons ago. In this country we’ve had a bizarre relationship with film ratings once X was eliminated in favor of NC-17, it seems, as graphic violence is fairly innocuous but a little bit of sex and language automatically is viewed as the worst thing in the world. How so?
There used to be a time when the MPAA would look at The King’s Speech and call it PG-13 with a warning about a scene with language instead of going straight to an R-rating.
Look at the biggest grossing action films of the past couple years and you’ll see why The Expendables 2 going for a PG-13 rating isn’t exactly the kiss of death for the film’s quality as some have said. I think all the hand-wringing and self-righteous rantings from people who think a rating is more important than anything else. In some cases I would totally agree, like every horror film that comes out promising violence and gore that delivers none of it with a PG-13 rating (like Shark Night) but in this case it’s not the end of the world.
Without the language of the original Expendables it’s fairly close to a hard PG-13 rating as it gets. You can CGI out some of the blood spatter and without the profanity it’s a PG-13 rating the same way that Live Free or Die Hard was. Or The Dark Knight. Or Colombiana, Fast Five, Battle: Los Angeles, The A-Team, The Losers, Avatar and Casino Royale. And those are the ones just off the top of my head; I think you could probably go on for a couple hours naming PG-13 action films that have R level violence in them and still not cover them all.
All of those have enough violence and death to earn an R, justifiably so, and yet the things cut to get them to a PG-13 have been blood and language. Look at an average teen sex comedy; you can have bare male ass in every shot and no filthy language outside of “shit” and you have a PG-13 rating every day of the week. Fired Up was the prototype of that kind of PG-13 sex comedy. Yet you could add in the same copious amounts of female nudity and you have an R almost immediately as you show a breast to the MPAA rating committee.
The Dark Knight is the perfect example of how to make an R-rated film with a PG-13 rating. When you see that film it’s remarkably violent; the pencil trick alone almost ought to get close to an R alone. You remember it, don’t you?
So what if Sylvester Stallone can’t use six of the seven dirty words you can’t say on television? Honestly I don’t care because the whole Expendables franchise is based on being a kick-ass action film with copious amounts of explosions and violence. If they CGI some blood out and don’t curse it’s not that big a deal; anyone who thinks it is ought to be a step removed from being fired from movies as far as I’m concerned.
This has been a unique year in film, to put it mildly, and tomorrow comes the beginning of the recognition of the best of the year that was 2011. And, like any mediocre web writer, I’ve opted to try and predict who will and won’t score a nomination tomorrow morning. Unlike in years past, where I break it down much more significantly, I’ve opted to break into it “front runners” who will probably score a nomination and “contenders” who are on the cusp of replacing any of the favorites. [Optional commentary from Travis “Skip” Leamons.]
Best Picture
Front Runners – The Artist, The Descendants, The Help, Hugo, Moneyball, The Tree of Life, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Contenders – War Horse, Midnight in Paris, Bridesmaids, The Ides of March
Kubryk’s Commentary: This is a really tough category to predict not for the films themselves but for the Academy’s changing of how many films you can slot in. Going anywhere from 5-10 this year throws everything off so it’s hard to really have an accurate prediction.
Skip’s Commentary: Gut feeling is that no less than six films will get nominated. I’m predicting a total of seven will be called on Tuesday. Of those seven, you can count on The Artist, The Descendants, Hugo and Midnight in Paris being named. The rest will be a combination of Moneyball, The Help and either Bridesmaids or Terrence Malick’s The Tree of Life.
Best Director
Front Runners – Martin Scorsese (Hugo), Woody Allen (Midnight in Paris), David Fincher (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo), Michel Hazanavicius (The Artist), Terrence Malick (The Tree of Life)
Contenders – Clint Eastwood (J. Edgar), George Clooney (The Ides of March), Ralph Fiennes (Coriolanus), Bennett Miller (Moneyball)
Kubryk’s Commentary: Everything old is new again, it seems, as my guess is that anyone outside of Hazanavicius will already have garnered a nomination for best director. He’s the front runner, I’d guess, but don’t discount Scorsese getting another Oscar for Hugo in order to recognize his library of work as opposed to this specific film. Outside of Hazanavicius expect everyone else to have either been nominated for or won an Oscar already though; this is a year of the veteran and no one first timer is going to be joining the director of The Artist in the final five.
Skip’s Commentary: There’s Kubryk stealing my material again. For 2011, specifically the releases of The Artist and Hugo, I pointed out how everything was new again. Top contenders in my eyes are Michel Hazanavicius and Martin Scorsese. Woody Allen will get nominated because he’s Woody Allen as will Alexander Payne, despite both being better renowned for their writing acumen. In what would be a surprise, David Fincher will be overlooked in favor of Terrence Malick.
Best Actor
Front Runners – George Clooney (The Descendants), Michael Fassbender (Shame), Jean Dujardin (The Artist),
Contenders – Brad Pitt (Moneyball), Matt Damon (We Bought a Zoo), Joel Edgerton, (Warrior), Tom Hardy (Warrior), Ralph Fiennes (Corioulanus), Leonardo DiCaprio (J. Edgar), Gary Oldman (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy), Owen Wilson (Midnight in Paris), Ryan Gosling (Drive)
Kubryk’s Commentary: This is the one category that’s really tough to figure out because there’s a ton of great talent who had excellent years in this category. Clooney, Fassbender and Dujardin are near mortal locks for the category. The other two slots are going to be interesting picks because there’s a decent case to be made for almost half a dozen actors. Best Actor this year is akin to Best Actress a year ago; someone not nominated might be able to win in any other year.
Skip’s Commentary: The clear frontrunners in this category are George Clooney and Brad Pitt. I’ve been back and forth on each actor and I’m hedging my bet closer to Pitt than Clooney. Clooney’s Globes win for The Descendants isn’t really much of a factor, because it’s the Hollywood Foreign Press deciding the Globes after all, and I feel that Pitt is just due for a win having been nominated twice before for 12 Monkeys and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Others likely to be nominated are Michael Fassbender and Jean Dujardin. As for the fifth spot, I have DiCaprio getting the nod, but it wouldn’t surprise me if the Academy awards Gary Oldman his first Oscar nomination.
Best Actress
Front Runners – Michelle Williams (My Week with Marilyn), Meryl Streep (The Iron Lady), Tilda Swinton (We Need To Talk About Kevin), Glenn Close (Albert Nobbs)
Contenders – Rooney Mara (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo), Charlize Theron (Young Adult), Elizabeth Olsen (Martha Mary May Marlene), Kate Winslet (Carnage)
Kubryk’s Commentary: Streep is a lock. Williams is due, it seems, and Swinton is so good on such a consistent basis that I’d be shocked if she didn’t get into the picture. This is a real tossup of a category though. It’s going to be very interesting to see who the final five are.
Skip’s Commentary: Just like Kubryk, Steep is a venerable lock. As is Viola Davis for her performance. Tilda Swinton’s is great in her role, but Oscilloscope Laboratories has been slow to make audiences know why they Need to Talk About Kevin. Glenn Close is due a nomination since she failed to win the Oscar back in the ’90s for showing how well she could boil a rabbit in Fatal Attraction. And for the last spot I have Michelle Williams for her comedic performance as Marilyn Monroe. Because nothing says comedy like pill-popping and crying into a pillow.
Best Supporting Actor
Front Runners – Jonah Hill (Moneyball), Christopher Plummer (Beginners)
Contenders – Armie Hammer (J. Edgar), Patton Oswalt (Young Adult), Andy Serkis (Rise of the Planet of the Apes), John C. Reilly (Carnage), Albert Brooks (Drive), Philip Seymour Hoffman (The Ides of March)
Kubryk’s Commentary: This’ll be easily the wildest group of nominees in many years. It’s been so off the wall in terms of who’s been nominated in the major awards circuit that outside of Hill and Plummer I can’t really guess who’ll be joining them. The goofy thing is that potentially all five nominees could be of people who haven’t been nominated for an Oscar before when all is said and done.
Skip’s Commentary: Christopher Plummer is not only a shoe-in to get nominated, but a shoe-in to win at this point. Jonah Hill will get a nomination, which just sounds weird. Imagine how Sony Pictures could use that to their advantage to get older audiences on board to see 21 Jump Street this March. Albert Brooks has been making the awards circuit for Drive, so that’s three. Kenneth Branagh will probably be acknowledged for his ham bone portrayal of Sir Laurence Olivier. Spoiler alert should be paid to Ezra Miller for We Need to Talk About Kevin or Patton Oswalt for Young Adult.
Best Supporting Actress
Front Runners – Berenice Bejo (The Artist), Octavia Spencer (The Help), Carey Mulligan (Shame), Jessica Chastain (The Tree of Life), Melissa McCarthy (Bridesmaids)
Contenders – Shailene Woodley (The Descendants), Sandra Bullock (Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close), Judi Dench (My Week with Marilyn)
Kubryk’s Commentary: This is going to be another category of perhaps five first nominees if Mulligan isn’t a part of the group.
Skip’s Commentary: Spencer, Chastain, McCarthy and Bejo are the favorites. The fifth spot could be any combination of Janet McTeer, Shailene Woodley or Carey Mulligan. My money’s on Janet McTeer.
Best Animated Film
Front Runners – Cars 2, Puss in Boots, Rango, The Adventures of Tintin, Winnie the Pooh
Contenders – Kung Fu Panda 2, Rio, Happy Feet 2, Arthur Christmas
Kubryk’s Commentary: This is the first year in a long time that I can remember not automatically penciling in the Pixar summer film as an automatic winner here. It’s not that Cars 2 was an epic misfire or a bad film; far from it. It’s just that the film didn’t set the world on fire, critically or commercially, and the field is fairly open in that there isn’t any one film that you can point to as a surefire winner.
Skip’s Commentary: I see three films getting nominated, and it will be first time that a Pixar film will not be named in some form or fashion. Up until now, every Pixar release has been a topic of conversation when discussing Oscar nominations (including animated feature, song, or technical awards like sound editing). If Cars 2 somehow manages to get in, well, I’ll eat those words. As for what titles I think will be read on Tuesday morning, I’ll say The Adventures of Tintin, Rango and Kung Fu Panda 2. And if it’s not those three, then the first two plus Puss in Boots.
A Movie A Week – The Challenge
This Week’s DVD – Attack the Block
Normally I don’t blind buy films but Attack the Block has gotten such insanely great reviews from people I know and respect that I just had to pick it up. The gift certificate didn’t hurt, of course, but normally I go for films that have proven themselves before films I’ve just heard good things about. Thus I picked up this British import, which looks it could eventually be remade for American audiences like so many other good foreign films. And I could see someone really doing this film justice as well; if you get someone like Zack Snyder an American Attack the Block could be an interesting film at worst and as good as the original at best. That’s because it’s a great film and easily a contender for the best film of 2011 that most people saw in 2012.
It starts in the film’s style, which I adored. If John Carpenter was just starting out now as opposed to finding his groove in the ‘80s, he’d have made this film. Joe Cornish has so obviously cribbed elements from Carpenter that at first I was shocked that Carpenter hadn’t made the film. From the sort of ‘80s electronic score to the visual style, Cornish has clearly studied the Carpenter playbook and is running it like a Bill Walsh disciple runs the West Coast offense.
It’s a fairly simple story. Aliens have invaded South London and pissed off the wrong guys. The film follows Moses (John Boyega ) and his group of goons on a typical night. They’re not bad kids but they’re not necessarily good ones either. They’re your typical juvenile delinquents who’ll wind either in prison as adults or wind up getting their act together at some point in the immediate future. Right now they’re teetering on the verge of that point of no return and on this night they’re having fun looking for some criminal activity to engage in.
Spending the night mugging Sam (Jodie Whittaker), they run into the aliens and a fight begins between them and Moses’s gang. On the run as the aliens chase them through their housing complex, the film follows them as they try to survive an alien invasion. And one thing is for sure.
This is the best film John Carpenter never made.
That’s the best way possible I can describe the film. It even ends in kind of a Carpenter style way, with Moses having begun to figure out that being a criminal may be fun but being the hero is significantly more rewarding. There’s lots of small character building moments for him throughout the film; at first he’s kind of an unlikable character based on his criminal behavior. As the film goes on he winds up becoming the hero we want him to be; it’s a great hero’s journey and a tale of character redemption.
Strongly recommended.
What Looks Good This Weekend, and I Don’t Mean the $2 Pints of Bass Ale and community college co-eds with low standards at the Alumni Club
The Grey – Liam Neeson punches wolves. Awesomeness ensues.
See it – What part of Liam Neeson punching wolves doesn’t sound like 100 ways of awesome? Just one – he eventually has to run out of wolves to punch. I realize there’s probably more going on to the film than Neeson just punching stuff for fun, as people I trust who’ve seen it already are raving about how good it is, but there is a certain joy to Liam Neeson beating things up.
Man on a Ledge – Sam Worthington and Jamie Bell are pulling off a heist. Worthington is faking a suicide attempt. Elizabeth Banks shows up, too. Shenanigans ensue.
See it – Early buzz has it being solid and Worthington usually finds films that are at least entertaining crap at a minimum.
One for the Money – Katherine Heigl is back again.
Skip it – It’s January, thus time for Heigl to come back as some sort of big boobed sassy gal who can’t find a good man.
Scott “Kubryk” Sawitz brings his trademarked irreverence and offensive hilarity to Twitter in 140 characters or less. Follow him @MMCritic_Kubryk.
