The Chris Moeller Archives

The 8th Annual Chris Moeller Film Awards

The 8th Annual CMFA's are hitting the web. I attempt to pop these out about six months after the Oscars are announced (I suffer a lag in time caused by the studios' refusals to send tapes.) At least the last couple of years, I've sent a heartfelt e-mail to a very select few. But this year, I have a blog, and the future is now. I'll still record the winners in my trusty five-subject notebook for all posterity and the opportunity to boast to the grandchildren my ability to choose, in a virtual instant, movies that will stand the test of time.

---

It continues to be the case that the CMFA's reward execution over intention. We don't automatically equate period and costume pieces with sophistication, and we don't consider comedies to be inferior to dramas. When considering individual awards, we don't give extra points to an actor because she was overlooked in the past, and we don't honor high-salaried actors because he looked good in a dress next to Peter Scolari 25 years ago. We don't reward "stars" for attempting to hide their star power. In fact, we've found that this scenario really only presents itself if the wrong actor has been cast. Finally, we recognize what the Motion Picture Academy is apparently incapable of recognizing-- that the awards for Best Picture and Best Director are inseparable.

The 2004 Top 5 Films include a period bio-pic that was simultaneously thrilling in its action sequences and its historical insight; an ultra-stylized character drama that examined relationship honesty in a commanding and unconventional way; a little-seen documentary on the Iraqi War that had more subtlety and truth than the more commercially-successful "Fahrenheit 911" (with more incendiary accusations hurled at the Bush Administration, to boot;) and a genre-smashing roller coaster ride from our most adventurous filmmaker.

The announcement of the year's top film should lack drama as we've already touted it heavily throughout the awards season. Our favorite director released his most textured film to date in the fall. I drove to his hometown in a neighboring state to watch it in limited release, and marveled at its wisdom about human frailty and male insecurity, and its total commitment to character nuance.

We applaud all of the honored performances this year, and hope that the recipients use their CMFA as a springboard to more inspired work. May this honor not be the career 'kiss-of-death' for them that it was for Al Pacino. Ticket for one, please...

CMFA Top 5 2004

The Aviator
Martin Scorsese, dir

Closer
Mike Nichols, dir

Control Room
Julia Bacha, Alan Oxman, Charles Marquardt, Lilah Bankier, editors

Kill Bill, Vol. 2
Quentin Tarantino, dir

And the 2004 Best Picture/Director
Sideways
Alexander Payne, dir

---
Best Actress
Cate Blanchett, The Aviator

Best Actor
Paul Giamatti, Sideways

Best Supporting Actress
Virginia Madsen, Sideways

Best Supporting Actor
David Carradine, Kill Bill, Vol. 2

Best Adapted Screenplay
Alexander Payne, Jim Taylor, Sideways

Best Original Screenplay
Zach Braff, Garden State


Explanations: Based on past decisions, I couldn't justify the brilliant Thomas Haden Church as a Supporting Actor in "Sideways." It irritates me when scene-stealing character actors are forced to compete against actors with meatier roles classified as "supporting" only because they're written opposite a more dominant lead. (Another example of the latter: Jennifer Connelly in "A Beautiful Mind.")
Cate Blanchett's role was caught in the middle of these categories. She was certainly deserving of her Oscar (in a Supporting Role,) and time may ultimately reveal that I cheated this year in an effort to reward the top two female performances of the year.


Other 2004 thoughts: Super Size Me was an entertaining and thought-provoking documentary that made me think for the first time about the impact of fast food on our national health. Strangely, it also made me hungry for a Quarter Pounder.
It was good to see Tom Hanks find his playfulness again in the otherwise forgettable comedy re-make, The Ladykillers. Legendary director Bernardo Bertolucci gave us the reassurance that at least we still have the Europeans to obsess about sex on the big screen. His film, The Dreamers, was a snooze-fest, but The Life Aquatic takes the prize as the single most boring film of the year. (And that's not me in the film's spirit of being droll.)
Ray and Kinsey both suffered from the usual pitfalls of biographical movies. Ray was paint-by-numbers-- an "In Living Color" sketch meets "Behind the Music," smothered in sentimental sauce. Kinsey was better helmed (by Bill Condon,) but mirrored its subject-- methodical and dull. Another biography, De-Lovely, the story of songwriter Cole Porter, benefited from great performances by Kevin Kline and Ashley Judd. I admit I'm also partial to the music.

It was easier to overlook Michael Moore's ambivalence towards the director's craft before he publicly betrayed the principles of his own film. Fahrenheit 911 was clumsy and unfocused, but you can't say it didn't have sizzle. It's authenticity ultimately collapsed, though, when the director endorsed the pro-war Democrat for President.
Charlie Kaufman's dizzy Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind lacked the refinement of structure of Being John Malkovich, proof that the director of the earlier film, Spike Jonze, deserved more of the credit at the time than he got. Michel Gondry's release this year didn't properly harness its emotion. Kate Winslet should be more heartbreaking. She's radiant.

Zach Braff wrote a great script for Garden State, but the author and his leading lady (Natalie Portman) were a little too precious on screen. On the subject of Portman, her director's misplaced personal loyalty marred the otherwise brilliant Closer. You're going to question my sincerity or take offense, but there is a scene with Clive Owen in a stripclub that absolutely requires Senator Amidala to show us her ta-tas. It's a scene straight from the source, a British play. It's specifically crafted to be about prurience, revelation, dishonesty, and temptation, and my guess is that Mike Nichols caved to Portman's cold feet after his wife, Diane Sawyer, began lobbying for the interview exclusives with Portman and fellow cast members Julia Roberts and Jude Law. (Fear not, she got them.)

I told you at the time how much I liked Spanglish. James L. Brooks films are endlessly watchable. I like his fearlessness in portraying eccentricity and his comfort level with his middle-age audience. Anchorman is the laugh riot of the year. Raw for sure, but if I had more guts, I would have put it in the Top 5.

Now, the ones you like that I don't get. How anyone can describe Million Dollar Baby as fresh and surprising is beyond me. Maybe these particular cliches have never appeared in the same movie before, but they're still cliches, and you can also put lipstick on a pig...
The movie was, at best, hackneyed (the down and out boxing trainer and his underdog fighter,) and, at worst, insulting (the portrayals of Hilary Swank's family and the rival fighter.)

Collateral was laughable in its premise and the backseat half of its lead casting, and it was remarkably tedious in its 45 minute denouement. Napoleon Dynamite was a piano player banging the same note. (Perhaps that's a tad harsh.) Clearly, though, it was the My Big Fat Greek Wedding of 2004, that is, the year's biggest beneficiary of its audience's lowered expectations. Released during the summer-- the most distinct three month creative lapse on Hollywood's calendar-- any idea that doesn't generate in a corporate boardroom looks like genius.

Team America: World Police is the worst film I can remember. Insipid, insulting to anyone who gives a damn about the world, and painfully unfunny-- ("Film Actors Guild," is F.A.G.-- Get it?) It now holds the distinction of being the first movie I ever walked out on.

---
Thanks for playing. The results of the seven previous years of the CMFA's will be posted this weekend. You've been warned.

posted by CM @ 11:02 PM