Crazy predictions

[aberrantangels]

Based on what I saw yesterday afternoon, I'm crazy enough to start handicapping the 2006 Hugo Award nominees for Best Dramatic Presentation (Long Form).

Based on the IMDb ratings of 2005 releases in the "Fantasy" and/or "Sci-Fi" genres, and on which of those films I'd heard of (and, thus, deem likely to be known to Joe Phan*), here's what I expect the ballot to look like, in the usual alphabetical order.

Batman Begins
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Howl's Moving Castle
Serenity
Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith
Wallace & Gromit in The Curse of the Were-Rabbit

My parents agree that Revenge of the Sith doesn't really belong on the same list with the rest, that the only reason Anakin does anything is because the Plot Force dictates it. I have to admit, if I were going to drop one**, that's probably the one I'd drop.

My dad opines that Serenity shouldn't be on the list either, that it suffers from trying to make a 90-minute movie of what could've been a half-season or so of the series. If it goes as well, the numbers say MirrorMask would be likeliest to take its place.

In six months or so when the Hugo nominees are announced and I look back on this post, I may well be legally obliged to jump up and down and laugh like a donkey at my own naïveté. But I'm going on the record now for all the world to see, so I won't be able to try and run from my own legs.

* Sorry, [Bad username or unknown identity: sweet bird], but I don't think anybody outside the PQ watched "L'Héritière de grande ourse".
** Which is likely, as there are usually only five films on the ballot unless there's a tie for fifth place.

Comments

[thessalian.livejournal.com]

Well, given that I haven't even heard of the one you're talking about, I'm not really sure I much care if the Quebecois film gets to the Hugos or not. As for what does and does not belong on the ballot, I think Serenity probably has more of a right to be there than Sith, predominantly because Serenity only suffers by comparison to Firefly while Sith, in the spots where it is deemed to suck, sucks all on its own.

[aberrantangels]

I'm not really sure I much care if the Quebecois film gets to the Hugos or not.

NP. I mentioned it and you in conjunction mainly because it was Québecois, which tickled my neural pathways, and you're the only Québecois I could think of on my flist, which is why it tickled. ^_^

I think Serenity probably has more of a right to be there than Sith

Reasonable reaction, reasonably explained. It's generally considered the best of the prequels, but that's praising with faint damnation.

[demiurgent.livejournal.com]

I suspect the Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe will spike their way pretty firmly onto the list. All buzz is it's going to be astounding.

When it comes to the actual Hugo voting, I'm thinking that and Serenity will be duking it out. I mean, consider who attends Worldcon in the first place. ;)

[aberrantangels]

I suspect the Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe will spike their way pretty firmly onto the list. All buzz is it's going to be astounding.

Ooh, good point. Yeah, I probably ought to've taken it into account. My bad. *^^*

When it comes to the actual Hugo voting, I'm thinking that and Serenity will be duking it out. I mean, consider who attends Worldcon in the first place. ;)

Y'mean, besides Loomi? 8-) Not that we'll be going to LA, or Yokohama for that matter. We hope to go to Archon, which is hosting the 2007 NASFic*; we think our family budget will have recovered, by then, from going to Glasgow.

* And where I could meet up with harmfulguy for the first time in years and bradhicks for the first time ever.

[lostfactor.livejournal.com]

Honestly, if I were going to try to argue a movie off of that list, it'd be Harry Potter before Sith. Yes, calling Revenge of the Sith the best of the prequels is damning with faint praise, and I can't honestly say it was much better than a very pretty action film. (Fortunately, my bet on it just said that it had to be good enough that the bad bits didn't suck away from any enjoyment to be eked out of it - which is good, I hate losing bets.) But, well, by this point Harry Potter is by-the-numbers. Sith hardly deserves to win, but I think it has a decent shot at getting on there.

I think that Mirrormask definitely deserves a spot on there, though, even if I did think that Gaiman could have taken the story to a slightly more interesting place than he did. It was worth seeing even though it required me to drive around downtown Hartford and deal with Trinity College - which is something I don't normally do for a reason, y'know.