THE 2007 FIVEBYFIVE AWARDS

[fivebyfive]

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And now - the fivebyfive Awards - where I am not restricted to choose who should win by what the Academy has preselected. (They are in descending order...most deserving on top.)

BEST DIRECTOR

Comments

[joekest]

You only saw 48 films this year? Why that's not even one a week. Where is your dedication? :)

I always feel better-rounded after reading your evaluations and lists. Not to mention the fact that it helps me with creating dvd lists for myself.

[fivebyfive]

There are at least 5 I would have like to see before I really finalized my list, but unlike professional film critics, I don't get paid to see them. :)

[jj79]

Well, managed 22 of your 48.

And why is it that everyone I talk to thinks United 93 was the best movie of the year yet the Oscars and Globes both got it wrong? (It was the best picture, for me, bar none.)

[fivebyfive]

Because, for everyone that saw United 93 and found it to be powerful and groundbreaking, there are many more people who refused to see it because it was "too" powerful and groundbreaking, and they didn't want to be upset.

The Oscars tend to pick safer choices, so the films that are really challenging and moving tend not to be the ones awarded. I think they've done a better job the past couple years, though, rewarding Crash and other films rather than the trite and fluffy Dreamgirls. Not that lighter movies can't be deserving...Chicago and Annie Hall are two examples. But they have to be done really, really well to contend with more dramatic fare.

[czjtrojan]

Not to mention Shakespeare in Love, a film whose right to the Best Picture Oscar I will defend to the death.