Everyone says I just shouldn’t care, that the whole thing is rigged, that it’s all meaningless. And if truth be told, I don’t care all the much but I do think the Oscars are kind of fun. Ya, it’s pretty meaningless. A lot of the people that win, end up not even having a career after. But the list of nominees are usually some of the “better” films released that year.

Yes, I know they generally ignore genre films even though that’s what most people are wanting to see. They overhype films that hardly any “common” person liked. There are so few winning spots, that many quality performances get snubbed. But I still think there’s some fun to the yearly oscars.

Oscar Predictions

I won’t even begin to try and guess or predict what films or actors will win. There are so many factors, so much hype, so much personal-preference, and subjective evidence involved. If you want a detailed and thoughtful analysis of who will win this year, the guys over at ComingSoon.net did a great write-up a few weeks ago:

http://www.comingsoon.net/news/weekendwarriornews.php?id=113100

It’s worth checking out.

What I’m going to do here is tell you what I wish would happen, what should happen, in my dream world, how the oscars would go based on my personal movie-going preferences for this year. I’m not going through all the categories because I don’t even know what to choose in some and others, I don’t really have a strong opinion on. So just the big ones.

Best Picture

I’m going with Gravity here because it was an evolutionary leap in film-making. American Hustle shouldn’t be on here. It was fun and I liked it but it isn’t a best picture. I feel the same way about Nebraska. Great performance by Bruce Dern but not best picture caliber.

Best Actor

I’d go with Matthew McConaughey but not for Dallas Buyers Club. He was great in it but that movie kind of tricked people because he had such a physical transformation. His best performance this year was actually in Mud. I would be happy if Bruce Dern won because I love him too.

Best Actress

Sandra Bullock blew me away in Gravity. That was a tough role where she was on her own almost all the time and yet the emotion comes through. She sells the drama. It was a powerhouse of a strong woman performance.

Best Supporting Actor

This may surprise you but Jonah Hill came out of nowhere this year to change into something else with Wolf of Wall Street. His performance was energetic, shocking, and fearless.

Best Supporting Actress

I’d choose June Squibb for Nebraska. Next to Bruce Dern, she was the best thing about that movie. Loved every minute she was on screen.

Best Cinematography

Bruno Delbonnel‘s work on Inside Llewyn Davis was gorgeous and melancholy all at once. Gravity could probably win here too but for the classic use of lighting, framing, and technique, Bruno is my pick.

Best Director

Alfonso Cuaron for Gravity. This one is indisputable. No one did a better, more innovative, more game-changing job directing this year than him.

Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay)

Captain Phillips was so well-paced, so full of tense moments and emotional release. It would be so hard to put that all together the way it came out. I think I was most impressed by the writing on this one out of all of them. Billy Ray for Captain Phillips.

Best Writing (Original Screenplay)

Her was the best written screenplay this year. The way it played with questions of what real love is, what a relationship can be, how we relate to one another. Just masterful. Spike Jonze would win.

Word came a few weeks back that the next Star Wars film (Episode 7) will start filming in April of this year. It got me thinking about what makes Star Wars so special and important for me personally. The jury is still out on what JJ Abrams’ Star Wars will turn out to be like.

A great video came out a few months back (amazingly well animated) describing 4 rules to make Star Wars great again. It’s definitely worth watching and makes fabulous points that nearly all fans would agree with:

Where the Prequels Went Wrong

George Lucas has said many times in interviews that the older generation of fans loves the original films but the younger generation actually prefers the prequels. Older fans are flabbergasted when they hear this. How could someone prefer the sterile, over-CG’d environments and flat acting of the prequels over the magical fantasy-based films from the 70’s and 80’s?

The main problem with the prequels isn’t the overuse of CG, or the whiney kid that would become Boba Fett, or the wooden acting, or even Jar Jar Binks for that matter. Those are all factors (among countless others) to be sure. No, the core problem with Episode 1,2, & 3 is a story problem. Anakin’s character arc isn’t even slightly believable and because we already know what happens to him from the later films, there’s no suspense as he moves towards his inevitable character change. Anakin does not become Darth Vader because of important events and character choices. He becomes Darth Vader because he needed to in order to fit into the overall storyline. The entire weight of the three prequel films rests on this story problem and the weakness by which it was handled, causes everything else to collapse around it.

Why the Original Films are So Important

Now, I don’t hate the prequels the way many do. I saw Episode 1 in the theaters at least four times and really enjoyed it. I don’t know if it was that I was just so happy to see Star Wars back on the big screen again but I remember being really jazzed. It wasn’t until Episode 2 and 3 along with some personal reflection that cracks began appearing in the shiny Mandalorian armor.

The greatest accomplishment of the prequels (besides bringing back Star Wars into the worldwide consciousness) was showing how great the original films were. Even as great as they are, if Star Wars (episode 4) had been the only film, it might not have raised Star Wars to the epic proportions that it reached. It was only with the brilliant sequel Empire Strikes Back (the best film in the series) and the satisfying climax of Return of the Jedi that made the original films one of the best movie trilogies in film history.

The prequels might have taken the shine off but there’s still room for more great stories in the Star Wars universe.

3 Ways to Make Star Wars Special Again

Bring Back the Magic
Star Wars has always been as much fantasy as science fiction (if not more). So explaining the force away as a blood condition was a disastrous move. What’s done is done but the best thing the new films can do is to distance themselves by avoiding any discussion of midichlorians and focus on the magic of the force.

High Drama
George Lucas is an idea guy. He’s a story guy. He’s the greatest film technology innovator of our time. He’s not a great screenwriter and he’s an even less great director. The prequels were plagued by wooden acting and awkward scenes. They were also missing a key ingredient, real, emotional, drama. The reveal that Darth Vader was Luke’s father caused audible gasps in theaters. Nothing in the prequels even came close to that. We need that kind of drama back.

Go Intimate instead of Geo-Political
Instead of having universe-wide conflict that spends more time on government squabbles and galaxy-spanning wars, focus on a few characters and their problems as they try to survive in the galactic frontier. Focus in on a collection of characters that we care about in a dangerous world.

I feel I need to address an important issue that has long been a source of (sometimes) violent debate among Star Wars fans. For years now, naysayers have declared that the downfall of Star Wars began with the introduction of the Ewoks in Return of the Jedi. Giant teddy bears defeating a highly organized and powerful galactic empire just doesn’t seem plausible.

And I’ve got to admit, when it’s put that way, it does sound pretty ridiculous. But allow me to lay out a case for why the Ewoks were great and deserve more credit than they’re typically given.

They were originally Wookies
The first drafts of George Lucas’ story for Return of the Jedi had the final battle taking place on Kashyyyk‎ (the Wookie’s home world). Wookies would assist the rebels in defeating the Empire. After some consideration, Lucas realized it wouldn’t seem like much of a challenge (especially given how poorly storm troopers aim) to have Wookies in the final conflict so George switched to a species that would have a much greater challenge fighting the empire, Ewoks. It definitely ups the tension by having a less threatening species.

They’re Hunters
The Ewoks live in a hostel forest where they are top of the food chain. They kill what they eat and aren’t opposed to killing higher lifeforms even. They cook animals alive for dinner (as Han Solo almost found out). That’s pretty hardcore. They’ve been compared to teddy bears but a better comparison would be to sentient grizzly bears. They’re first instinct is to kill. They appear docile but actually tend to be pretty bloodthirsty.

They were a distraction
It’s important to note that the Ewoks didn’t actually defeat the empire. They weren’t instrumental in the battle from a fighting-standpoint. In fact, Chewie probably killed more troops than all the Ewok attacks combined (and that’s while he was fighting his two Ewok companions from touching the controls of the AT-ST). They were the ultimate distraction, underestimated by the empire, and used by the rebels as the distraction at the perfect time in the battle.

They had big hearts
As a great counterpoint to the heartless empire, the Ewoks stand as a shining example of goodness, family, courage, and honor. They love a good story (especially with golden god sound effects). They’ll die for something they truly believe in.

They knew how to party
Every day appears to be a celebration in their village. They celebrate when they bring Han, Luke, etc. back as captured prey for the day. Its like a holiday feast as they prepare to cook them. They seem to have no clue what space travel or technology is (nor do they appear to care) but they are happy to use said technology as musical instruments and bonfire kindling.

They’re fearless
When Chewie steals the AT-ST with his two Ewok companions, there seems to be no fear whatsoever from either of them. One might say that they were too stupid to know what’s going on but they appear to be having the time of their life as they blast away at the empire’s forces. One of them will take on an entire squad of Speeder-bikers and steal a bike without any idea how to drive it. Wedge could learn a thing or two about not backing down from a battle from the Ewoks.

They were magical
The Ewoks are very aware of the mystical and magical qualities of their planet Endor. If you’ve seen the Ewok Adventure, you know how many run-ins they’ve had with magic over the years. They seem to honor the force. Their most important man in the village is Logray, their medicine man and spiritual advisor. At least they believe in the force, that’s more than many other Star Wars-races believe in.

They are a symbol of the rebellion
It is no coincidence that the in-tune-with-nature, low-technology, horribly outnumbered Ewoks are important to the final battle with the empire. They are symbolic of the rebellion itself. A key theme of Star Wars ever since Luke switched off his targeting computer was how the non-technical/spiritual can defeat the immense technical power of the empire.

The cynical will say that George Lucas created the Ewoks to appeal to children. They’re right but not for the reason you might think. George wanted to create a fairy tale for his generation and the Ewoks are a part of the magic of Star Wars.