There, I said it.Β And I won’t back down from that statement.
For all the “prestige” films that have received Oscar nominations this year – that one with Leonardo DiCaprio and a bear, the one with a kidnapped Brie Larson, the one that did this, the one that did that…
My money is on a little film that went through thirty years of development hell to finally come to life.
It’s a dystopian science fiction classic.
It’s a bad-ass Western.
It’s two hours of straight action and powerful pacing.
It’s been described as director George Miller’s “Master Class” on how to create an effective action film.
And now it has ten Oscar nominations.Β Ten of them.Β You know the type of films that receive that many Oscar nominations?Β You know, films like Ben-Hur and West Side Story and that third Lord of the Rings film.
Ten Oscar nominations.Β Including a nod for Best Director for George Miller, the man who created the adventures of Mad Max Rockatansky way back in the late 1970’s.Β Way back when the lead actor in the Mad Max films, Mel Gibson, was a virtual unknown.
Ten Oscar nominations, including eight in various technical categories, which the film should sweep.Β Cinematography.Β Editing.Β Production design.Β Costume design.Β Makeup.Β Visual effects, of which the lion’s share were done without any computer generated imagery.Β Sound mixing and sound editing.Β That’s eight golden statues right there.Β For sure.
Heck, I could argue that the film received ELEVEN nominations, considering that Thomas Hardy, who played the titular character in the film, received a nomination for the film The Revenant.Β Let’s face it, that was a typo.Β He should get it for playing a character that most of the fanboys were originally vehemently opposed to being recast.Β “No Mel, No Max” read most of the message boards and fansites.Β Man, we were wrong.
Heck, I could argue that if write-in ballots were allowed, Charlize Theron should get an Oscar as Best Actress for her role as Imperator Furiosa, the true lead character of this film.Β And while we’re at it, the Academy should just give the film an Oscar for having this little scene-stealing character in the film.
So while everybody else is gawking over who’s wearing what or who’s going to say that controversial whateveritis at the podium on Sunday…
I’ll just be counting all the little gold statuettes that Mad Max: Fury Road is going to earn…
At which point I’ll just smile and say each time, “What a lovely day! What a lovely day!!”
Chuck The Writer 
For the record, I’m really tired of dystopian films, and books. I’m even tired of the word dystopia.
I like what Amy Biancolli wrote when she finally got around to seeing it.
“I said to my son: ‘This is a silent movie.’ With all the sped-up action footage, scenes of warlord pageantry and bare-bones dialogue, it has all the hallmarks — everything but the buckling swash of Douglas Fairbanks, Sr. I’m not exactly sure why it was nominated for Best Picture, but it’s an intriguingly wacko mashup of silent throwback and modern, testosteronal action flick.”
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Oh, and I’m rooting for The Big Short for film editing. The way it was put together MADE the film.
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That was an awesome flik. Right on every count Chuck. The was a breathless adventured layered with raw existential drama.
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