"Hereafter" Visual Effects Breakdown

In case you still doubt Hereafter's place amongst the visual effects nominees.

Oscar 2010 Predictions: Visual Effects

It's about time I start laying out my predictions for the 83rd Annual Academy Awards, but I really don't see the point. I don't remember the last time I just didn't care about the outcome of the Oscars. It's probably because The King's Speech is the frontrunner to win Best Picture, and it's pretty unlikely for any other outcome to become truth. Fortunately, this is one of the categories that Tom Hooper's film wasn't nominated for, so it will be a bit of a refresher. On the other hand, it's not that difficult to predict the winner of this one, because there's only one way that the Academy can go. One could have wished for them to start on five nominations in a year when there were more films worth nominating.

There's not a chance in hell that Inception is not going to go away with this award, because it's the only film that constantly pushed the visuals beyond the necessary quota. If I were to say any other film that managed equal ocular wonder, it would actually be Hereafter. I know that many are chastising it for stealing a nomination from Scott Pilgrim vs. the World or TRON Legacy, but in terms of the quality of the visuals, the tsunami sequence was one of the best. I never saw the entire film, but that sequence was such a visual feast, and it makes me want Clint Eastwood to do more visual effects driven films. I was more captivated by the effects of that one scene than I was by any of the flourishes of Avatar.

If this was a three nominee race, which I really think it should've been, I'd give the third slot to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1. Along with the contributions from Nolan and Eastwood, it was the only one that didn't have me gagging over the clunky visuals. The way the wonderful art direction was presented by the visual effects in Alice in Wonderland made it look simply hideous. As for Iron Man 2, it just felt cold and clunky in the execution of the visuals, which reminds me of why I didn't appreciate the visuals of Transformers 2 last year. Either of those two could've been left off the list, and I'd have been glad. So here is how I rank the nominees.

1. Inception
2. Hereafter
3. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1
4. Iron Man 2
5. Alice in Wonderland

Should/Will Win: Inception
Could Upset: Hereafter
Should Have Been Nominated: Scott Pilgrim vs. The World

Oscar 2010: Seven Finalists for Visual Effects

The finalists for the Oscar for Best Visual Effects have been narrowed down from the 15 that were announced last month, which leaves only two left to be eliminated. If I were to place an honest guess at what would be left out, it would be Hereafter and Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, but a part of me wants the latter to make it in. I'd rather Alice in Wonderland be left out, but that's probably not going to happen. Still, a surprise nomination is not completely out of the books. Here are the finalists.

"Alice in Wonderland"
"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1"
"Hereafter"
"Inception"
"Iron Man 2"
"Scott Pilgrim vs. the World"
"TRON Legacy"

Oscar 2010: Semifinalists for Visual Effects

Well it looks like my outside guess that Toy Story 3 would make it into this category was as completely unfounded as all my other outside guesses. Maybe I'm just stupid, but I certainly hope not. This visual effects shortlist has been announced, and it includes a few unlikely choices like Shutter Island and Unstoppable. It would be interesting if Shutter Island ends up pulling out a surprise nomination for Best Picture, but it's unlikely at this point. My current guesses at what will be nominated are pretty clear. You can check them out at the Oscar Predictions page, and the semifinalists are listed below. Feel free to weigh in on your opinion, but you won't because nobody ever comments.

Alice in Wonderland
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
Clash of the Titans
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1
Hereafter
Inception
Iron Man 2
The Last Airbender
Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
Scott Pilgrim vs the World
Shutter Island
The Sorcerer’s Apprentice
Tron: Legacy
Unstoppable

Box Office Update: Mind Over Mindless

This was a pretty phenomenal weekend at the box office, for both films deserving of it and undeserving. Working from the top down, Megamind rightfully took first place thanks to the boost from 3D as well as some positive reviews. It's barely above the opening weekend that How to Train Your Dragon sustained before becoming the sleeper hit of the year. Hopefully positive word of mouth will boost the action-comedy to similar status. Meanwhile, Todd Philips' Due Date took second place with an opening not quite as high as The Hangover. The film was opening against largely mixed reviews that might have narrowed the amount of customers for the new film.

On the bottom of the spectrum for newly released films is Tyler Perry's For Colored Girls, which opened to pathetic reviews which dispel any Oscar hopes the film had. However, it is from the illogically appealing Tyler Perry, so I guess it was always destined for box office success. It took third with a rather hefty total, but as with all of Perry's films, it will take a hit from negative word of mouth. Red held as strong as it has been for a while, keeping a solid standing the top five where other have been falling out. Saw 3D took a beating, falling north of 60% to fifth place. In all, this was a huge improvement on last weekend, and the same weekend last year when A Christmas Carol opened at the top spot.

1. Megamind (First Weekend; $47.7 million)
2. Due Date (First Weekend; $33.5 million)
3. For Colored Girls (First Weekend; $20.1 million)
4. Red (Fourth Weekend; $8.9 million)
5. Saw 3D (Second Weekend; $8.2 million)
6. Paranormal Activity 2 (Third Weekend; $7.3 million)
7. Jackass 3D (Fourth Weekend; $5.1 million)
8. Hereafter (Fourth Weekend; $4 million)
9. Secretariat (Fifth Weekend; $4 million)
10. The Social Network (Sixth Weekend; $3.6 million)

Box Office Update: Oh, The Horror

I really do look forward to next weekend when I can get back to a more natural setting at the theaters. We've had quite a few weeks in which there's been only one notable release, and this weekend should've been a complete failure. It's what I expected, and it's what I actually hoped for. Instead, Saw 3D managed to rake in an dishonest living, grabbing the fifth highest opening weekend of the series. Of course, we should still expect it to take a huge dive next weekend, not only from competition in the 3D market with Megamind, but because of negative word of mouth.

Speaking of such word of mouth, it certainly took its toll on Paranormal Activity 2, which suffered a near 60% drop from last weekend. Jackass 3D took a similar drop of the same amount, but that can mostly be attributed to the fact that the film is really a one-and-done sort of affair. In any case, the film still passed the $100 million mark this weekend, so that's a plus. Oddly enough, Red overtook it this weekend, taking a steady 28% drop and remaining in third. In summation, this weekend was a good 8.1% rise from the same weekend last year.

1. Saw 3D (First Weekend; $24.2 million)
2. Paranormal Activity 2 (Second Weekend; $16.5 million)
3. Red (Third Weekend; $10.8 million)
4. Jackass 3D (Third Weekend; $8.4 million)
5. Hereafter (Third Weekend; $6.3 million)
6. Secretariat (Fourth Weekend; $5 million)
7. The Social Network (Fifth Weekend; $4.7 million)
8. Life as We Know It (Fourth Weekend; $4 million)
9. The Town (Fifth Weekend; $1.9 million)
10. Conviction (Third Weekend; $1.8 million)

Box Office Update: High Activity

Marking another splendid weekend of October this year, Paranormal Activity 2 came out on top and set a horror film opening weekend record for the month of August. Given these strong numbers, one can easily expect to see another sequel in the works for release next year. Jackass 3D took a great 57% fall from last week, but that was expected for an opening of such magnitude as well as such hardcore competition opening. Red held on even better with a 31% fall, boding well for the coming weeks. Finally, a fair few film-goers went out to see Hereafter out of curiosity, leading a decent opening weekend, but not Eastwood's best.

1. Paranormal Activity 2 (First Weekend; $41.5 million)
2. Jackass 3D (Second Weekend; $21.6 million)
3. Red (Second Weekend; $15 million)
4. Hereafter (First Weekend; $12 million)
5. The Social Network (Fourth Weekend; $7.3 million)
6. Secretariat (Third Weekend; $6.9 million)
7. Life as We Know It (Third Weekend; $6.1 million)
8. Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of GaHoole (Fifth Weekend; $3.1 million)
9. The Town (Sixth Weekend; $2.7 million)
10. Easy A (Sixth Weekend; $1.7 million)

For Your Anticipation: Love It or Hate It

I think that it's relatively safe to say that Hereafter won't be sticking around for the Oscar race this year. It's really sad seeing as Clint Eastwood has been on a downward slope for a while now. He hasn't had a truly great film since Letters from Iwo Jima. I love Gran Torino, but his performance is the one main highlight of the film. Hereafter seems to be a love it or hate it affair, and I'm not going to rush out to the theater to figure out which side I fall on. The clips from the film are nice, but rather ordinary. Take a look below, and comment on your own thoughts.

"Hereafter" Poster Debuts

Well, I guess it's been a while since a Clint Eastwood poster had a surplus of flash and beauty to it, but I do have a nit-pick or two about this poster. For one thing, it makes the film look too much like an alien invasion film. Is that the twist-ending of Hereafter? Secondly, enough with the floating heads. It's a lazy way of making a film look more spiritual than it actually is. I like this poster, but I find Matt Damon is looking a little bit too creepy, and the fact that reviews haven't been favorable only cements a hint of dread. Still, it's kind of nice.

Toronto Days. Toronto Nights: Hereafter

Last night, the trailer for Clint Eastwood's Hereafter finally hit the internet, and while may people had split opinions of what they saw, I felt that this could be a return to form for Clint. It seems I was wrong. I'm just another less-than-humble moviegoer, and who am I to question one of the greatest filmmakers of all time. However, I must wonder if Clint Eastwood may be suffering from Murtaugh syndrome. Maybe, he's just too old for this business. As usual, the reviews are split, which doesn't bode very well for Eastwood's latest.

Kirk Honeycutt (Hollywood Reporter): "Clint Eastwood continues his search for challenging stories that delve into extreme reaches of the human condition in Hereafter, a globetrotting inquiry into the nature of the afterlife. The film also marks an unexpected turn in the screenwriting of Peter Morgan, away from his survey of political personalities in such films as The Queen and Frost/Nixon and into metaphysical speculation. The film never is less than intriguing, right from its tour de force opening sequence, and often full of insights into why people long for answers, sometimes with great urgency. By now Eastwood has established a reputation for the unexpected, so his admirers -- 'fans' no longer seems the right word -- plus anyone curious about the subject matter certainly will line up when Warner Bros. releases the film domestically Oct. 22. The film should do very well in Europe next year as well."

Brad Brevet (Rope of Silicon): "It's fairly obvious how these plot strands will all come together, but the journey along the way could have been much more revealing. As it turns out it is all very uninteresting and quite trivial. Marie can't shake her visions, Marcus hunts down psychics looking for answers and George strikes up a relationship with a young woman from Pittsburgh (Bryce Dallas Howard) while keeping his brother (Jay Mohr) at bay as he continually pressures George to go back to making money as a psychic. Truthfully, it's all a bit of a snooze."

Mark Adams (Screen Daily): "Clint Eastwood does not resort to any clever editing to tell the three parallel stories, instead opts for a linear style switching between each storyline in 10 minute bursts, and allowing each of the characters to develop gradually. He does a great job in reflecting the socio-economic circumstances of each character (Marie is wealthy and glamorous, Marcus has a tough housing estate life and George lives modestly and along and works in a local factory) and with no fuss of grandstanding elegantly weaves the parallel storyline together."

Right now, it's unclear which way this film will go, but I'm going to go out on a limb and say it won't be snagging a Best Picture nomination.

Theatrical Trailer: Hereafter

It's been a while since we've gotten a truly fantastic film from Clint Eastwood, and I have absolute faith that Hereafter will be a return to form for him. The trailer just released, and as soon as I saw it, I was in awe of what Eastwood has prepared. It's just as standard a trailer as his other films, but it feel like their holding a lot back from us. We've already heard a few small critiques of the film, but they haven't given us any idea of what it will be like. This trailer gives us that, and I'm sure that Peter Morgan's script gives us plenty more to talk about. Check out the trailer below. Let me know what you think!

MPAA Ratings: Hereafter, Let Me In, Love and Other Drugs

We're getting close to awards season, and it's worth noting that a film's MPAA rating does have a certain impact on a film's Oscar potential. For the past five years, the Best Picture winner has been an R-rated film, and six of the nominees last year had that same rating. As a rule, if it's not Pixar, the chances of a G or PG film being nominated are slim, and most PG-13 films just aren't as daring as R-rated films. The Academy awards films that go that extra mile, and a rating usually indicates if they will or won't. So on to our ratings this week.

Clint Eastwood's Hereafter was rated PG-13 for mature thematic elements including disturbing disaster and accident images, and for brief strong language. Not R-rated, but no team-up between Clint Eastwood and Peter Morgan needs to be in order to be spectacular. Another Year was rated PG-13 for some language, but that film has already gotten stellar reviews from Cannes, so no worries there. Love and Other Drugs was rated R for strong sexual content, nudity, pervasive language, and some drug material. It's the only rating this week that I really wasn't expecting, because the trailer doesn't hint at much. This kind of bodes well for Edward Zwick's comedy. And finally, Let Me In was rated R for strong bloody horror violence, language and a brief sexual situation, but no surprise there.