Oscar Predictions for 2015

Gravity actually possessed some genuine technical prowess and freshness (though I say this loosely), though it was weighed down by the very poor script. Nolan's film will likely have similar script issues, but nothing interesting cinematically to bring to the table.

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Mubi

It might be different, my point is just that it's a way for you to think about it if you are a Linklater fan who didn't care enough for Boyhood.

Gravity was one of the most revolutionizing cinematic experiences of the last few years. I still can't believe it lost best picture to 12 Years a Slave.

I don't think Interstellar will get the same kind of recognition, unless it is actually a mindblowing piece of cinema.

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Cobpyth's Movie Log ~ 2019

Maybe if the Boyhood crowd had much interest in seeing or reevaluating the earlier work it'd be more convincing, but then again that's a lot to expect from the general public.

Haha I'm not saying people in general should think of it like that. I think Boyhood deserves the win. I'm saying you can.

Without going into the area of spoilers. Could you explain to me (someone who hasn't seen the film yet) briefly why you didn't think Boyhood was all that great?

And Swan, why did you think it WAS as great as they say?

Oh, it definitely will. Because one, it stars Matthew McConaughey, this year's Best Actor Oscar winner, and two, it's Christopher Nolan. When was the last time a Nolan film didn't get recognition by mainstream audiences? (with the exception of maybe The Dark Knight Rises)

He does't usually get recognition by the Academy but I can see that changing this year since it's a Sci-Fi and like I said, it stars an Oscar winner. Gravity was far from a mindblowing piece of cinema and look how many awards it took home. Even though I don't have huge expectations I'm sure it will at least be more profound and have more things to discuss about than Gravity.

I'm saying that I'm having a hard time convincing myself to think that way, and it's well before the ceremonies

I just relate to it, it really resonated with me. I dunno. It touched me. Like I said, I'm still thinking about it. I think having it truly follow this kid for twelve years, you literally see him grow up, it's unlike any other movie and you really feel like you're a part of his family watching him grow up. At least I did. It's not flawless, but I like it more than a lot of "flawless" films.

There are no flawless films. Viewers may feel they had a flawless experience though.

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It's what you learn after you know it all that counts. - John Wooden
My IMDb page

You know what I meant.

Yes.

The fanboy reaction of mainstream audiences don't really have that much to do with Award Buzz.

Since when are Sci-Fi films getting any genuine award buzz?

Gravity is by many people described as one of the best cinema experiences they ever had (even by very experienced movie critics and cinephiles), so yeah, I would actually categorize as a mindblowing piece of cinema.

I've tried to defend the depth of Gravity's story on this forum in the past, but regretfully people are still perceiving it as a mindless action picture that just happens to have some pretty visuals. I think it's a very profound film.

Seems like we're disagreeing again, for old time's sake.

I'm fully expecting Interstellar to be good but not as great as Nolan's past films.

Not as great as The Dark Knight Rises?

Touche. I shouldn't say great, I'm not a Nolan fanboy - not as big or as critically jizzed over.

The recency effect

Actually, Interstellar may end up being critically jizzed over, simply because it's Nolan.

It's been a (little less than a) year and I still haven't changed my opinion on the film and besides, a film that can provoke that strong a recency effect with experienced movie watchers deserves to be called a mindblowing cinema experience, in my opinion.

@Cobpyth: Many of Linklater's films have strict structural confinements, and this is true of Boyhood, but for the first time this constraint really feels like a constraint rather than a means to drive artistic expression. Linklater feels compelled to use footage from every year of filming, but the quality varies vastly between years and occasionally between scenes. There's also a conflict between dramatized and de-dramatized moments, a sort of conflict between his strengths as a filmmaker and his personal memories. As a result, most of the drama in the film comes off as entirely contrived. I also felt as though the film ended well before the development of the self despite that being the general trajectory the film was taking, but this is more debatable, and I'm not about to discredit the film for not being 13 or 14 years in the making. There are good things about the movie, Ethan Hawke is expectedly one of the best things about it, and Patricia Arquette is unexpectedly so, but the way everything comes together is rather average.