Hugo... Hugo Cabret! I returned from the theatre just now and watched this film directed by Martin Scorsese, known as HUGO. I was kind of polarized by the audience's reaction towards this film. Throughout the course of the movie I heard groans, laughter, people talking, others walking out of it, etc... Overall it had a mixed reception. Now for those that don't know, but this film is nominated for 11 Academy Awards! Yes, it has the most nominations than ANY film this year, yet why does the average viewer not see what the Academy does?!?
Personally, I can't think of ANY film of 2011, that moved me the way Hugo did... But then again, I am very aware that I am part of the minority, when I say Hugo is Amazing. I've heard from people, my family included who think the Academy are "dumb". People stating that they have no idea how these people "judge" a film. So what happened?!? Is the Academy really stupid, bias, or dare I say weird.
The answer is no. It's actually the opposite. And here is a list of why I think people hate or just don't get Oscar films.
1. Oscar Films Are Slow Paced
The film industry is over saturated by films that are SUPER-FAST! The so-called "Blockbusters" of our time, that people "love" don't allow the characters to breath. From one action set piece to another, there is no longer that charactar progression or evolution that the "old" audience cared about. People will find it dull nowadays if films just focus on charactars and their relationships to one another. Truth be told, charactars nowadays are secondary elements! You talk to your parents and they tell you what they loved the most about Star Wars, was the relationship between Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader, E.T and Henry Thomas, etc... Today, they love Transformers becuase there a lot of explosions! Yes, exactly, sorry to break it up to you, but audiences today are stupid! So the next time someone tells you - "The movie is so SLOW", you reply by simply saying "Why the RUSH?!?"
2. What Is Story?
At the heart of films, everyone knows is a story. After all they were conceived to be "Story-Telling Mediums" In short, a movie with a bad story, is to some extent regarded as a bad film. The story is what inspires the film maker. Every film maker is looking for that next "Great" story, that will seperate a great movie from the so-called "classics." Today's audience has no problem if a movie has NO story! I've seen a lot of modern films today that are all flash, but no substance. And these viewers still love these films because of its stunts or visual effects. Its all about the aesthetics today. It's pretty disappointing actually to see, that the art form's true core has been forgotten.
3. This Is Weird
It is very important for the Academy, that they see "Innovation". The Academy don't just want ANOTHER love story, or ANOTHER film about World War II... They wan't to see something that is daring, and risk-taking! Something they have never seen before. In fact, even though Hugo in my opinion is actually a better film than "The Artist", but because the latter is a 2011 Black & White, Silent film, and one about the silent film era, something that's really so unique and different, I can argue that it SHOULD win because it's just so special. Audiences today don't want "special". They actually don't give these films that are so unique, a chance! which leads us to point four!
4. No Differentiation Between Good And Bad
Ask anyone in your school today what is their favorite film, they will more likely tell you a film that is considered to be a "Bad" one by the Academy. (Twilight) The audience today have no clear recognition of which film is actually a bad film, and which one is a good one! I mean a girl enters Twilight, and calls it "The Best Film Ever". That same girl enters a Brad Pitt movie called "MoneyBall" and she hates it. They no longer care about the cinematography, acting, story, dialogue, etc... It actually strikes me, to what actually makes them like one movie than another. People don't look at movies as pure art forms, and they don't really understand why they're there.
Its just mind-boggling at how things have changed. Directors, Acotrs, Actresses, etc... All know a Good movie from a Bad one, yet the audience doesn't. I don't blame them, I blame the trash that's been released over the years, the same trash that people have grown accustomed to. Transformers is the Star Wars of this generation, and thats something not to be proud of!