The return of OSCAR DEATH RACE (shorts)

We're just a few days from the Oscars, and just a few days after I finished talking way too much about movies I actually liked this year. Sadly, there's no other way to do it. So here we present our Oscar preview which, do to me having a job, is gonna be a hell of a thing to try and finish on time, never mind do with any amount of effort. Nevertheless, I feel like it's something we have to do. So the Oscar Death Race is going to be a sprint this year, but here we go, starting as we did last year with the non-Documentary Shorts, which might very well be playing in a theater near you as we speak.

Best Short Film, Live Action

- The Door - dir. Juanita Wilson
- Istället för abrakadabra (Instead of Abracadabra) - dir. Patrik Eklund
- Kavi - dir. Greg Helvey
- Miracle Fish - dir. Luke Doolan
- The New Tenants - dir. Joachim Back

Who Should Win?: By far my favorite of the five was Australia's Miracle Fish (which you can stream here, about a bullied kid who falls asleep at school and wakes up to find it deserted. It's not perfect, but the middle section in which our hero walks through the empty building is really great filmmaking.

Who Will Win?: I think that we can disregard The New Tenants, a silly little bit of violence with Vincent D'Onofrio getting emotional and Kevin Corrigan channeling Walken. I also think and pray we can disregard Instead of Abracadabra. I know everyone is saying that it's similar in style to Napoleon Dynamite, but I didn't think it was possible that a Swedish short film nominated for an Oscar could be this similar to Napoleon Dynamite.

So that leaves the two "serious" entries: The Door, which is about Chernobyl, and Kavi, which is about Debt Bondage in India. (I do think films being reduced to their subject matter sucks, but these are the Oscars). I'm split on whether the latter will be helped or hurt by its similarity in setting (and texture, it's mud not poop in this case, but it looks similar) to Slumdog Millionaire (that movie seems so long ago). In the end, I'll wager that it helps, and the main character's likability elevates it over the thoroughly bleak Irish/Ukranian film. That's Kavi for the win.

Best Short Film, Animated

- French Roast - dir. Fabrice Joubert
- Granny O'Grimm's Sleeping Beauty - dir. Nicky Phelan
- La dama y la muerte (The Lady and the Reaper) - dir. Javier Recio Garcia
- Logorama - dir. François Alaux, Herve de Crecy, and Ludovic Houplain
- Wallace and Gromit in 'A Matter of Loaf and Death' - dir. Nick Park

Who Should Win?: Probably Wallace and Gromit again, but I'd very much also like to praise La dama y la muerte, which is a jaunty little picture that seems to be of the opinion that if an old person wants to die, you should just let them die.

Who Will Win?: Nick Park already has three Oscars in this category (and one for Animated Feature), but I just don't see them giving it to anyone else, especially in a year when there's no hand-drawn option and no Pixar option either. Logorama is the only other noteworthy thing here is Logorama, an action cartoon almost entirely made up of corporate logos. It's conceptually interesting for about a minute, and then it's ruined by cop/Tarantinoesque dialogue that doesn't at all work as satire, so must just be written by idiots. French Roast and Granny O'Grimm are pleasant and shrill respectively, but both are minor even for this category. Wallace and Gromit all the way.

(Cartoon Brew has links to view all the animated shorts online here)

Oscar Death Race pt. 10 (WHAT'S A HAND-DRAWN?)

Aaight, only a few more chances to watch this sweet graphic. I didn't know whether I was gonna be able to see all of these movies in time, but luckily Panda came in on Netflix this morning and I was able to purchase Bolt from one of the trusty bootleg ladies at my laundromat. So here we go, OSCARDEATHCAR(TOON)RACEGREENFLAG!



Best Animated Feature Film

- Bolt - dir. Chris Williams; Byron Howard
- Kung Fu Panda - dir. John Stevenson; Mark Osborne
- WALL·E - dir. Andrew Stanton

Who Should Win?: I mean, WALL·E should won, hands down. It's one of the best movies of the year animated or not, and I think, though it doesn't reach the epic heights of its first fifteen minutes for the rest of the film, it's still better than all the Best Picture nominees (with Milk the only one that's even close). But let me say that the other two movies in this category were both very well animated, well plotted, well voice-acted, and all-around fun films. KFP is a really funny movie, and a lot of that is down to the little details in the animation and movements of the various characters. Bolt is too, and has it's more or less by the numbers plotting after the initial premise, it is executed almost perfectly. Also, many many points for casting Miley Cyrus as a young actress in a movie about a dog who because of his handlers is unaware of the barrier between the character he plays on TV and himself in real life. Seriously, genius.

Who Will Win?: WALL·E. I know it lost the Annies, god knows why, but it'll win here like it has to and should.

Who Got Snubbed?: Waltz With Bashir is the only other animated movie I remember seeing in 2008, and it was great, but it is at least getting lurve in the Foreign section so I'm not too upset.

Actors, Actresses, Directors, and Pictures to come. Holler holler holler.

Oscar Death Race pt. 1 (shorts!)

It's that time of year again. Harvey Weinstein is clawing at things. Kate Winslet's left eyebrow is twitching in anticipation. Meryl Streep barely gives a shit anymore. It's Oscar Time! In less than 250 hours we will be witness to Hugh Jackman (still wtf) prancing around the stage and maybe/maybe not attempting a comedic monologue but surely embarrassing himself and his unnominated country in some way. And we here at YMD will be your guides to each and every category, telling you what should win, what will win, and what sucks ass. Look no further, it's:


I'm sure the other YMD folk, especially one Matty McD, who made this graphic and is prolly more obsessed with the Oscars than I am, will have their say in following posts, but seeing as I've actually seen the (non-documentary) shorts, I'll handle this one. That's right, for the first time in my life, I've actually seen the nominated shorts, thanks to the fine folks at IFC theatre (where they have apparently shattered the single screen weekend record!). It was a great experience, and it's nice to see that at least two Oscar categories consider domestic and foreign films on the same level. A few of the films were great, none of them were boring, and you'll be able to cop all of them at the iTunes store next Tuesday. Anyways, here we goes.

Best Live Action Short Film

- Auf der Strecke (On the Line) - dir. Reto Caffi
- Grisen (the Pig) - dir. Dorthe Warnø Høgh
- Manon sur le bitume (Manon on the Asphalt) - dir. Elizabeth Marre; Olivier Pont
- New Boy - dir. Steph Green
- Spielzeugland (Toyland) - dir. Jochen Alexander Freydank

Who Should Win?: I enjoyed all of these to different extents, but my favorites were the shamelessly tearjerking Manon sur le bitume, about a young woman dying after an accident and thinking about her friends' reactions to her death, and New Boy, about an African immigrant 4th grader on his first day of class. I think I'd take the latter, a smart and moving little film which doles out harsh reality and hope in equal measure.

Who Will Win?: Listen, Toyland is about the Holocaust. And while the Holocaust movie might not always win in reality, it's a pretty decent bet in a category with as little hype as this one. For what it's worth, it's actually pretty good and at least interestingly plotted, though the premise (a German mother tells her child that the Jews are being taken away to "Toyland") is at times as silly as it sounds. The Pig might have a shot here, as the Academy enjoys quirky old people from time to time, but I'd sleep better with money on Toyland.

Best Animated Short Film

- Maison en petits cubes, La - dir. Kunio Katô
- Oktapodi - dir. Emud Mokhberi; Thierry Marchand
- Presto - dir. Doug Sweetland
- This Way Up -dir. Alan Smith; Adam Foulkes
- Ubornaya istoriya - lyubovnaya istoriya (Lavatory, Lovestory) - dir. Konstantin Bronzit

Who Should Win?: I absolutely loved This Way Up, a dark British short about two funeral home workers trying to move a casket across some less than ideal terrain. It's morbid, it's hilarious, and it is strong with the HooDoo.

Who Will Win?: Presto is a Pixar joint, and everybody loves Pixar. Also, it looks great and is really funny. But keep in mind this award isn't voted for by the whole Academy, but rather by a committee who has to have seen all of the films, and I wouldn't be surprised to see one of the whimsically hand drawn entries, specifically Maison en petits cubes, La, about a man swimming through his sunken house (and about the compartmentalization of memory) to get the win. So I'm picking the French film just ahead of the Pixar.

That's part one of several. Wot do yall think? Holler holler holler.