But I thought that Joaquin Phoenix was better in the year del Toro won for Traffic in. Just like del Toro was better than Tim Robbins last year.

I too thought Joaquin deserved that award.

But I thought Robbins deserved it last year.

Del Toro is fantastic He is not undeserving of his Traffic win.

He was good in Traffic, not exceptional, in my opinion. Now in 21 Grams, he was exceptional. I am not trying to downplay Robbins who probably delivered the 2nd best performance of 2003, just behind del Toro, but I thought that del Toro delivered a better performance and especially if I compare this performance to Traffic, I have to say that he was awarded for the wrong film.

What did del Toro do for you in 21 Grams?

Actually we should move this somewhere else, we are kind of hijacking the thread.

We can move it either HERE or HERE

I also have seen all five nominees.

And agree with Dr. Lecter and everything he said about 21 Grams' performances and Del Toro's deservingness in those two years.

Excellent thread!

I've only seen Million Dollar Baby so far, though I'll be Netflixing Ray sometime this week (released Tuesday). And I'm going to make myself see The Aviator, Sideways, and Finding Neverland, all of which are now playing at my theater.

Annnnd...

I think the KJ board may actually be up for this. I mean, it's not like we're asking them to watch 5 obscure indie flicks. The films nominated for best picture are all rather mainstream.

I've seen all except M$B...I'll see that either this week or next weekend. As for the acting awards, I still need to see Kinsey, Hotel Rwanda, Vera Drake and Being Julia (But I have no desire to see that).

I agree.

I've only seen Million Dollar Baby at this point, but realistically, I could knock the other movies out in a weekend. That's not a lot to ask of our members, as everyone could easily see them all before the end of February.

I have a few more members to add to the list, I see, but 100 members by the end of February should be very easy to do.

I'll see all films, but Million Dollar Baby by the time of the Awards...

Download it, Lecter. We won't tell, and I don't support illegal downloading one bit, but this is a case where they should have released that movie in every market, and since they didn't, they'll just have to understand.

I'm going to rent Ray Tuesday, and I'm undecided about which movie to see tomorrow. Finding Neverland is a mile closer, 3 bucks cheaper, and the only one I'm not too interested in, so I wouldn't mind getting it out of the way quickly, and then there is Sideways, which I know next to nothing about, except that it's supposed to be good.

l was thikig bout this earlier...

If, by next Saturday, or sunday, Ray and Neverland are still playing locally, and l don't work all day, l'll go ahead and see em. It'll have been meant to be. if not, l'll wait for dvd, prolly...

I've seen Ray, Million Dollar Baby, and Finding Neverland.

I'll see The Aviator and Sideways before DVD...I hope.

I've seen Million Dollar Baby and Sideways now. Hopefully, I'll be renting Ray tomorrow.

I think you'll enjoy it, Mav. You can probably relate to the film (no, I'm not saying you're an ex-heroin addict) more than I can since you seem to be a musical guy.

The film itself is well-made but it isn't worthy of a Best Picture nomination. However, Jamie Foxx is remarkable in it and does blend in. You'll have trouble noticing the difference b/w him and actual Ray Charles footage in the film

I do warn you though. Try judging it as a movie and not a Best Picture nominated movie. It's not a groundbreaking achievement but more so a very detailed biography that sums up pivotal parts of his life (up until after the heroin sequences) in two and a half hours. I'd rank it with The Doors - a flawed but good film.

Enjoy!

Thanks, torrino! I've been a fan of Ray Charles since I was a little boy, so I'm sure I'll like watching his story and hearing his music, and Foxx , from what I've seen, captured everything about him perfectly. After that, I suppose I'll see Finding Neverland, and save the Aviator for last, and then I'll be in the exclusive club. \:D/

It's kinda sad that we really don't have that many people who have seen all of the movies that have been nominated. You would think that we'd have at least 25-30 members, since movies are such a big part of our lives.

Well...

Finding Neverland hasn't had that big of a release yet. And, Million Dollar Baby and Sideways just had big expansions last week and look who flocked to the theatres (you, me, dkmuto, publicenemy, jb007, and others ).

I'm personally not that interested in The Aviator but I plan to see it anyways b/c of the reception. I like Scorsese but I really haven't been impressed since Casino and The Aviator looks like 2 and a half hours of the former poster-boy dwindling down in a life crisis. It seems relentless. It seems like something that doesn't leave audiences with thoughts/something to think about. And, while I'm sure it's good, it does look pretentious in style.

I AM interested in Sideways. But, for once, the seniors are filling in the seats weekly. I've been turned away b/c of sold out shows THREE times. I never even suspected that it'd be sold out on Fandango (well, it also had to do with my friends' planning, I guess ). I'm either seeing M$B again or Sideways. It depends what my friends are up for. I'm not going to domineer and refuse to tag along unless we see Sideways. And I'm not going to turn down a second viewing of M$B

Not to knock M$B or anything, but do your absolute best and try to see Sideways! Heh. This movie needs all the money it can get. I won't be satisfied until it crosses at least $60M, heh.

R rating with no big name stars or sensationalized stories . That would be a nice little victory for it, and it seems like it's a good possibility. I was the only one at my theater at the 4:45 show today. M$B seems to be drawing people a lot better due to WOM. It's the movie people are talking about, for sure.

Torrino, make sure you do your absolute best to see ALL of the BP films. We need to get as many members as possible to do that.

Well, I don't know about you, but I was too busy watching the real best pics of the year!

Oh, the Academy's still smarting from that demanding little diss. I'll be back with more later.


BTW, See FInding Neverland, barring the mismanged last five to ten minutes, I actually think its more wearthy of best pic than either Sideways or MDB.

Eek, really? I think Finding Neverland is just that movie this year that I liked, but not as much as everyone else did.

There's always one. Last year, it was Lost in Translation, the year before was The Hours.

Interesting, I thought the last five to ten minutes was what saved the film, boosting its grade up from a C to a B for me.

I will be seeing all of them. Ray or FN is next, depending on if I feel like renting or going to the cheap theater. Ray's playing right next to FN, so I might even see it on the big screen too.

I seriously doubt any of them will touch the masterpiece that was Million Dollar Baby.

What movie did you see? Spider-Man 2? (the king of 2004, if we were all being honest here. :razz: )

*Points to signature* \:D/