Week 12: Lightning Round (Part 1)

It may appear from this site that I'm only getting through one or two movies per week, but in fact I am watching movies at a much faster rate than I have time to write about them. My back-log is currently at about 20 nominated movies. I've begun to enjoy providing more than just a few sentences to capture my thoughts on what I watch, but this week, I will break the mold a little bit and just try to catch up.

Lightning round! Go!!!!

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (Nominated 2000)

Should have won in 2000. Gladiator won. Gladiator is fine, especially if you were my age when you saw it for the first time, with your friends, in a movie theater, totally not knowing that the best thing about it 15 years later would be Joaquin Phoenix's performance. Crouching Tiger is an amazing film, and it brought to mainstream audiences what Drunken Master (and to a lesser extent The Matrix) fans knew already: that Yuen Woo-Ping was doing ridiculous, original, beautiful things with action choreography. Crouching Tiger gets a 8.6. Here is the objectively best scene from Crouching Tiger:

Just for shits, here is another amazing Woo-Ping-choreographed fight scene from (within the best 45-minutes of the entire Matrix trilogy, as this goes right into the highway sequence) The Matrix Reloaded:

Scent of a Woman (Nominated 1992)

Very mediocre movie, though it is watchable from start to finish. I cannot believe that Al Pacino won Best Actor this year for such a one-dimensional, over-the-top performance. Chris O'Donnell is barely watchable. This movie was directed by Martin Brest, who went on to direct such clunkers as Meet Joe Black and Gigli. The best part of this film is any scene with Philip Seymour Hoffman's character. R.I.P. James Rebhorn, who unfortunately seemed to be typecast as "stern guy" after this film. Score: 4.9.

Gone With the Wind (Won 1939)

This movie is deserving of a broader discussion, but almost very appropriately, it is shoved into the Lightning Round here on OP. It's a good movie. It is too long. It was probably the most important thing, along with The Wizard of Oz, to ever come out of Hollywood at this point in time. The Wizard of Oz is a better film. The performances are fine, and Clark Gable is unmatched. Racial stereotypes are abound, and there are a lot of resulting, cringe-worthy moments. In this way, Gone With the Wind is a relic in both good ways and bad. I was happy that (spoiler alert) Rhett leaves Scarlett in the end. She sucks. Score: 7.5.

Wuthering Heights (Nominated 1939)

Another movie from the same year, frequently referred to as Hollywood's best. A young Sir Laurence Olivier plays Heathcliff in this adaptation of the Bronte novel. Amazingly, this was not the first time Wuthering Heights was made into a movie. It was also a silent film in the 1920's. For a talkie, this one was fine. Olivier and Merle Oberon (Cathy) are good in their roles. Score: 6.3.

The Best Years of Our Lives (Won 1946)

Great film about a subject that many people think was broached for the first time, EVER, in American Sniper: combat veterans adjusting to their lives back home. Three men return from World War II to their fictional, Midwest-ish hometown Boone City. They each have circumstances and difficulties to deal with. Most captivating is Harold Russell as Homer, a naval officer who lost both hands in the war. This actually happened to the real-life Russell, and he is fantastic in this role as a first-time actor. Score: 8.3.

An American in Paris (Won 1951)

I like this movie. Brandon does not, and thinks it is pointless. I agree it is pointless, but I like it anyway. Gene Kelly does what he does best: dances and sings, and makes us laugh. There is a plot, sort of, but it mostly takes a back seat to elaborate tap routines and ballet sequences. It is certainly a throwback movie. It is odd that this was so acclaimed, and yet Singin' in the Rain, a similar but far better movie, which came out just one year later, received almost no recognition at all. This is why you have to love the Oscars as a time capsule. Score: 8.0. Here's a clip that is emblematic of the movie. Why is he surrounded by kids? Who cares:

You Can't Take it With You (Won 1938)

An important movie from an important director, Frank Capra, who also gave us several other movies in this dataset, including It Happened One Night and It's a Wonderful Life. Lionel Barrymore (Drew Barrymore's grandfather's brother -- great uncle?) stars as the head of an eccentric family whose daughter is trying to marry into a more "traditional" one through a young Jimmy Stewart. Hilarity ensues. An entertaining movie, and one that would not happen today, because we have sitcoms on TV instead. Score: 6.8.

More Lightning Round Later.