The Invisible Counterpoint

When you see an article titled “The Day the Movies Died,” you can probably expect a boatload of negativity. That said, Mark Harris’ polemic in this month’s GQ on the state of Hollywood is pretty even-handed. After all, it blames the upcoming string of lame comic book movies and sequels on the one group you might not have expected: Us, the people who do most of the hand-wringing. “We can complain until we’re hoarse that Hollywood abandoned us by ceasing to make the kinds of movies we want to see, but it’s just as true that we abandoned Hollywood,” Harris writes. “Studios make movies for people who go to the movies, and the fact is, we don’t go anymore. […] Put simply, we’d rather stay home, and movies are made for people who’d rather go out.” The moral? If you like movies, start supporting the good ones and ignoring the bad ones. [ GQ ] (Christopher Rosen, “ Only You Can Save Movies, and 7 Other Stories You’ll Be Talking About Today,” Movieline, 18 Feb. 2011) Anyone who reads ...

Let’s just get this out of the way up front: Great job, Academy ! That the AMPAS found room for everything from Winter’s Bone to Toy Story 3 to the ferocious performance given by Movieline favorite Jacki Weaver means they deserve a bit of kudos. (If you’re one of those, “Yawn, I’m too cool for the Oscars!” people, just go back to bed today.) Of course that doesn’t mean many, many deserving nominees were left out in the cold this morning. Ahead, the six biggest from the major categories. (Christopher Rosen, “Your Favorite was Robbed: The 6 Biggest Oscar Snubs,” Movieline, 21 January 2011) - - - - - - - - - - I disagree. I thought the noms were fair and on the mark. I predicted that True Grit (this year's Blind Side) would be the sleeper movie and the Coens would get best director. There's an upset coming. I also predict that Colin and Jeff will split the best acting....or Jeff walks away with the best acting award. (response to post, Chicago48) - - - - - ...