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Post by Mattsby on Jan 7, 2019 22:22:52 GMT
I don't know how you can criticize Eighth Grade for a lack of subtlety while championing First Reformed, which abandons nuance and subtext almost entirely in favor of being so pointedly on-the-nose. But you do you, boo. I actually think Eighth Grade is the best of the nominees in the category (yes, even over Roma). It does everything that Boyhood and other coming-of-age films tried and failed to do: it actually manages to feel honest, real, as if it were written by a contemporary of the period rather than some old fogie stumbling over buzzwords of the younger generation in an effort to be "hip." Bo Burnham's screenplay feels remarkably immersive without feeling voyeuristic; it's as though we were invited into Kayla's world rather than intruding. I'm still utterly stymied that a 27-year-old could write a script so confidently, particularly from the perspective of a 14-year-old girl. Well, FR is my #1 (I think it's almost completely brilliant) and 8th Grade is among my least favs of the year. Hard to compare! People in real life have told me "You just didn't connect with her, you probably weren't awkward as a kid" - wrong. Idk how "honest" a movie could be that the only time we see her outside of school/home she's 1) stalked by her father 2) aggressively sexually affronted. We get it. It happens, it's "true" - but why does it overtake the movie? bc Burnham's "realism" is underhanded and compressed, and he's very intent on examing her sexuality more than anything - I've used the word "creepy" to be critical; to play devil's advocate, why is Green Book, say, racist (lol)... and a 26 year old dude writing about a 13 y/o girl's sexuality not creepy? There's a difference between him and Quinn Shephard, for instance. But anyway, that focus isn't necessarily a bad thing. Burnham just lacks tact and wit (he plays the banana scene and the nudes scene for comedy - fail), he doesn't tie it together with the other themes, it winds up feeling plated. He ultimately reduces the movie into a sort of cynical portrait, bc her voice is unheard (oh the ironic solitude of technology!). She's baited by Burnham. She exists in a vortex of docile shame. Her big tell-off to the "mean girls" - her eyes are closed. Burnham's failure goes beyond the script, like how he abruptly cuts away from what's arguably the key scene in the movie, the karaoke. It's in the original script, called then The Coolest Girl in the World. I've read it and it's better in some ways (more detailed, broader narrative), worse in other ways. FR isn't pretending to be the most accurate depiction of a priest. It's a rare American film. It's tightly realized, controlled, brilliant in the ways it layers and builds the character (his motivation, health, history, purpose, faith, chastity, childhood, sexuality, sanity, etc) and narrative. 8th Grade, we get 27 movies a year about the same thing........
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Post by DeepArcher on Jan 8, 2019 8:17:44 GMT
You know, with regards to Eighth Grade and First Reformed, it's probably worth remembering that A24 managed to score two nominations in the Original Screenplay category just two years ago, both for critically-acclaimed films that were not Best Picture contenders and had missed out on all of the key precursors in the category beforehand. (The Lobster was only nominated by BFCA, and 20th Century Women didn't pop-up anywhere.) Obviously that year was a slightly different situation, in which the race was affected by Moonlight's screenplay being considered original by some awards bodies but not by AMPAS, which is perhaps why the comparison isn't totally apt. Still, worth keeping in mind.
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Post by ingmarhepburn on Jan 8, 2019 16:54:36 GMT
If the Academy decides to copy these, I think we might be in for the most disappointing Best Original Screenplay lineup of the decade.
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AKenjiB
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Post by AKenjiB on Jan 8, 2019 19:40:03 GMT
I really do not understand the writing nods A Quiet Place has been getting. It’s a decent movie strengthened by solid acting and direction but the writing is probably the least memorable aspect for me. The story is simple and the closest thing to a character arc is “Girl spends most of the movie thinking her dad is mad at her but he’s actually not.” Maybe it would’ve been more compelling if there was any kind of indication that Lee actually had a conflict with his daughter but as it is, the screenplay felt incredibly basic and undeveloped and left me with very little to ponder in terms of plot, themes, or character development.
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Post by stephen on Jan 8, 2019 19:42:05 GMT
I really do not understand the writing nods A Quiet Place has been getting. It’s a decent movie strengthened by solid acting and direction but the writing is probably the least memorable aspect for me. The story is simple and the closest thing to a character arc is “Girl spends most of the movie thinking her dad is mad at her but he’s actually not.” Maybe it would’ve been more compelling if there was any kind of indication that Lee actually had a conflict with his daughter but as it is, the screenplay felt incredibly basic and undeveloped. I can't entirely disagree with this, as I find the conflict between Krasinski and Simmonds to be pretty weakly developed, and it would've been so easy to remedy it. But I'm still cool with it getting nominations against some of these other contenders.
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Post by quetee on Jan 8, 2019 19:57:51 GMT
I really do not understand the writing nods A Quiet Place has been getting. It’s a decent movie strengthened by solid acting and direction but the writing is probably the least memorable aspect for me. The story is simple and the closest thing to a character arc is “Girl spends most of the movie thinking her dad is mad at her but he’s actually not.” Maybe it would’ve been more compelling if there was any kind of indication that Lee actually had a conflict with his daughter but as it is, the screenplay felt incredibly basic and undeveloped and left me with very little to ponder in terms of plot, themes, or character development. I can think of 176 million reasons why it made it. Come on, people like John. How can you possibly hate on him and believe you me, that has a lot to do with it also.
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AKenjiB
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Likes: 653
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Post by AKenjiB on Jan 8, 2019 20:23:21 GMT
I really do not understand the writing nods A Quiet Place has been getting. It’s a decent movie strengthened by solid acting and direction but the writing is probably the least memorable aspect for me. The story is simple and the closest thing to a character arc is “Girl spends most of the movie thinking her dad is mad at her but he’s actually not.” Maybe it would’ve been more compelling if there was any kind of indication that Lee actually had a conflict with his daughter but as it is, the screenplay felt incredibly basic and undeveloped and left me with very little to ponder in terms of plot, themes, or character development. I can think of 176 million reasons why it made it. Come on, people like John. How can you possibly hate on him and believe you me, that has a lot to do with it also. Oh I’ve loved John Krasinski since The Office. I wouldn’t say I was a fan of his little-seen directorial debut, Brief Interviews with Hideous Men, but Krasinski’s performance is pretty fantastic. I’m very happy that his career is strong post-Office and I did enjoy A Quiet Place, even if I didn’t like it anywhere near as much as most and would’ve preferred a horror film like Hereditary getting these guilds. But Krasinski definitely showed potential as a director and I wish him the best with where he goes from here.
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Post by JangoB on Jan 9, 2019 8:19:15 GMT
Food for thought: according to Mark Harris, AMPAS has reclassified "The Ballad of Buster Scruggs" as an Adapted Screenplay (which makes sense considering that two of its stories are adaptations). Maybe it can crack that loose fifth spot at the Oscars...
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Post by mhynson27 on Jan 9, 2019 8:51:46 GMT
Food for thought: according to Mark Harris, AMPAS has reclassified "The Ballad of Buster Scruggs" as an Adapted Screenplay (which makes sense considering that two of its stories are adaptations). Maybe it can crack that loose fifth spot at the Oscars... While I think it's unlikely, Black Panther does seem to be getting weaker by the day so who knows.
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