The 2009 Oscar-Nominated Short Films: Live-Action

It's that time of year again! It's OSCAR SUNDAY! The most religious for me and people who are like-minded, I guess. Anyways, part of my tradition is to seek out the short films, and today I have ventured out to view the Live-Action short films nominated this year.

Overall I'd say the quality of the films was lower then last year, but like the Animated category there is one clear audience favorite that should win, and one that will win, as it always goes with the Academy. However, I can respect them in these categories because, well, they actually have to see the movies. Alright, on to the films.

First up, Kavi (India, 19 min), a story of modern-day slavery and a little boy who undergoes considerable abuse at the hands of a slave-master that the boy's (Kavi is his name) father owes a debt to. It looks like a really pretty student film, and indeed at the end we are told that the film was made in part for a master thesis film at USC (or one of those California schools). Overall, the technical aspects are amazing, and the kid is really good to, and it has a hopeful open-ended ending. Still, it is the weakest of the bunch because the story is kind of hokey and you can tell its a student film.

Second, The New Tenants (Denmark, 20 min), a hilarious story that recalls Six Shooter, the Martin McDonaugh short that won the Award five or so years ago. The premise involves two friends who have just moved into a new apartment, and are greeted by a landlady, a drug dealer, and a grieving husband with a vendetta. The movie goes into wacky comedic directions and is probably my favorite of the bunch, but it has a really stupid ending. It has a great script, and a great cast (including Gomer Pyle) but overall it kind of trails off at the end. This was the only film that got applause, I might add, so it was an audience favorite.

Third, Miracle Fish (Australia, 17 min), a film that is the prime example of why a director should never be their own editor (though the Coens are the standing exception), as it drags its feet in the beginning and doesn't really pick up the pace or get interesting until the last five minutes. It is Joe's 8th birthday, and he is the outcast at school, poor, and socially unliked. He hides in the sick bay and takes a nap, and when he awakes, the school is completely deserted. At first, I assumed this was just his imagination and it would all be a happy dream land (he finds solace in the solitude), but after a good eight minutes of Joe wandering aimlessly you begin to realize that its real, and something fucked up is going to happen. The movie's ending is really good, but the pacing sucks, and the kid actor is only ok (you are always asking for trouble when your cast is primarily kids).

Fourth, The Door (Ireland, 17 min), is the most likely to win because it deals with the radiation leak at Chernobyl in the 80s, a truly horrible event. It concerns a family whose daughter falls victim to the radiation, and the sadness and anger that comes with it. It sets the mood well, and is deliberately paced and executed, but it feels like nothing more then Oscar-bait (like last year's winner, Toyland). Overall well made, but nothing special.

And finally, Istället för abrakadabra (Instead of Abracadabra, Sweden, 22 min), a dark comedy about a 25-year-old loser who wishes to be a magician and lives at home with his parents. He performs a magic show and ends up impaling his own mother with a sword. At the hospital he meets a cute nurse, who happens to be his neighbor, and becomes determined to be a better magician to impress her. The movie is sweet and funny, but again it is nothing special and really doesn't stand heads above the others.

So my final prediction is The Door, simply for its message and somber tone. The Academy loves that stuff, although they do like the black humor too, as evidenced by Six Shooter's win. However, The Door is the one to beat, even if it ain't the best.

The 2009 Oscar-Nominated Short Films: Animated

It's that time again! Oscar weekend! And with Oscar weekend comes my viewing of all the short films. I saw the animated category this past Wednesday, and tomorrow morning I plan to venture out and see the Live Action shorts. So, what did this year hold?

The presentation was fixed this time, no stupid quotes from people about short films. Instead, a title card indicated whether the film was nominated or "Highly Acclaimed" (the running time was just over 60 minutes for all the films, so three were added to bring it to 90). How did this batch hold up?

Overall I'd say the quality overall was higher, though there were none that are as good as Le Maison en Petits Cubes, which to my delight won last year. Still, with a new Wallace & Gromit and a bitingly hilarious satire of our culture, there were a few stand-outs.

First up, French Roast (France, 8 minutes), a clever little film that is essentially one shot spanning an entire day at a café where a gentlemen has forgotten his money and tries different methods to get out of the situation. Recurring characters include a bum, a waiter, and a little old nun who I guess is masquerading as a serial killer. It's funny, but it ain't much of a film otherwise.

Second, La dama y la muerte (The Lady and Death, Spain, 8 min.), a zany movie about a widow who longs to join her deceased husband. Death comes to collect her, but is defied by a hunky doctor with several nurses on his bulging arms, and a battle between death and life ensues that goes way over the top. It's funny, and conveys an interesting message about when its time to die, but that also gets lost in the over-the-top humor that permeates the film. Antonio Banderas was a producer, as a side note.

Third, the new Wallace & Gromit movie "A Matter of Loaf and Death" (U.K., 30 min). The longest of the bunch, this is another classic Wallace & Gromit tale that puts the two as bakers, with a baker serial killer on the loose. It's kind of obvious right away that the woman Wallace falls for is the serial killer in question, but that doesn't stop the film from being zany fun with plenty of cheeky humor. However, it also doesn't live up to the standards of the original Wallace & Gromit shorts, A Grand Day Out, Close Shave, and The Wrong Trousers. You kind of know what to expect at this point, and while its always enjoyable to see the duo at it again, the film's climax goes way over the top and I kind of wished for something a little more original with the two. Still, funny as hell, and the likely winner since Wallace & Gromit is an Academy favorite.

Fourth, Granny O'Grimm's Sleeping Beauty (Ireland, 6 min), a very funny story of a Granny who tells her grandchild the story of Sleeping Beauty...with a few twists of her own. The movie is really funny and has a lot of laughs, but two major technical issues bothered me. First, the sound wasn't mixed properly so the old lady shrieked to high heaven and nearly made me deaf. But even more bothersome was the animation itself, which looked cheap, and out of sync with the audio. I love a good story, but if there is no polish or glaring errors, I get pulled out, which makes Granny O'Grimm my least favorite of the lot.

Then the program went to Highly Acclaimed films, which confused me because I had only counted four so far and wondered where the fifth one was (maybe they didn't get rights?). Of the Highly Acclaimed section, we got Partly Cloudy (U.S., 6 min), the cloud movie that showed up before Up; Runaway (Canada, 12 min), a very strange, yet strikingly funny tale of train ride that goes horribly, horribly wrong when the conductor goes to sleep with one of the passengers; and The Kinematograph (Poland, 10 - 12 ish min), a tale of a fictional inventor in the 19th century perfecting motion pictures. This one should have been spectacular, but it has an annoying subplot where is wife or daughter or whoever has consumption and dies. A film like this could have been much better, but is drawn down by hokey dialogue and a hokey message.

A message then appeared on the screen, saying that the final film contained violence and strong language, warning obviously the stupid parents in the theater who brought their kids thinking all animation was for children (which there were none of on a Wednesday afternoon) would leave.

Finally, we got the final nomination, Logorama (France, 16 min), by far the best film of the bunch, and one that you need to see to really understand. It takes place in an alternate Los Angeles where literally everything is some sort of corporate logo. MSN butterflies fly around, the Michelin men are the cops, Big Boy picks his nose, Pringles wolf-whistles at Esso girl, and the Pilsbury doughboy works in a diner. Literally it goes on from there, endlessly continuing on and featuring around 2,500 corporations (or so I read somewhere). Basically, you could say this is how the world sees us, and they wouldn't be far off. Ronald McDonald himself is a the villain of the piece, taking hostages and transporting arms and nuclear materials. Will this win? Probably not, I think it is too polarizing for the Academy voters, but hey, they gave it to Le Maison last year so I could be (rightfully) wrong.

Tomorrow, the Live Action films, then my predictions. Only 30 hours left until the show!