We have an update
I decided to get some walking in today, so I went down to a local theater and caught a matinee of Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World. Well acted and well done, but rather predictable; there were at least two “surprise twists” that I called almost immidiately, and one or two more that were telegraphed 10 miles away.
Nice to see Billy Boyd in a supporting part, though–I wonder how many actors have been in two Best Picture (and Best Director) nominees in the same year?
ETA: Have some interesting trivia to share. According to Damien Bona, who wrote or co-wrote the two best books on the Oscars (Inside Oscar 1 & 2):
(In 2003) “Chicago’s” supporting actor nominee, John C. Reilly, had the distinction of appearing in three best-picture nominees – “Gangs” and “The Hours” were the other two – a feat accomplished by only one other great character actor, Thomas Mitchell, in 1939 (and back then there were 10 best-picture nominees).”
Getting back to Master & Commander, I also saw what I’m pretty sure was this newfangled “mark” studios are putting on prints of their films to prevent piracy. I can’t imagine filmmakers will put up with this very long; if that’s what I saw, it was smack dab in the middle of the screen, and during what Salon.com’s A&E page called, rightly, “one of the movie’s most eloquent and haunting scenes,” too.
