Why bitchy 'fanboys' are the film fan equivalent of Bill Kristol.

I'm not going to get into the misogynistic aspect of the trolling centered around a few on-set photos of Shailene Woodley from The Amazing Spider-Man 2.  To those saying that she's not 'pretty enough' to be Mary Jane Watson, I'll simply extend a hearty 'f*ck you' and merely offer to be, wedding vows and relative current marital bliss aside, the next guy in line at the bar after you turn down her advances. But while others will justifiably focus on the offense at the trolling of a young actress having the gall to walk around without make up, I'd like to offer a bit of silver lining to this whole affair.  Now thanks to the Internet trolling, I can absolutely guarantee that not only will Shailene Woodley be insanely attractive as Mary Jane Watson in The Amazing Spider-Man, but she will also be a terrific character, in terms of acting and all of that 'less-important' stuff too.  Why do I know this?  Because the trolling fans have told me otherwise.  Trolling fans have been around for as long as I can remember.  And they have become the Bill Kristol of film fans.  They make noise, they attract attention and 'serious discussion', and they are always always wrong.

Male-driven dramas are Oscar-bait, female-driven dramas are Lifetime movies? Are male-driven melodramas given more weight than female-driven ones?

I'd like to toss out a random thought for discussion... I really liked The Descendants.  It's a very good drama with fine performances all-around.  It arguably deserves its status as an Oscar front-runner.  But let's discuss something for a moment.  If the film revolved around an aging woman who grapples with bonding with her daughters after her unfaithful husband goes into a coma, would we still be talking about its likely Oscar victories? Would it be considered an automatic Oscar contender or would it have to fight perceptions that it was a glorified Lifetime movie?  If the film centered not around George Clooney's husband/father, but rather Shailene Woodley's suffering older daughter, would the film still be considered 'prestigious' enough to be crowned an Oscar contender before most critics/press even saw it?

Review: Oscar hopes aside, The Descendants (2011) is one of the year's best films.

The Descendants
2011
115 minutes
rated R

by Scott Mendelson

The problem with the movies that are released this time of year is that they are examined in terms of their Oscar potential first and their quality as a film second.  Thus, upon viewing, we often have to remind ourselves to actually watch and critique the movie we are watching, rather than mentally dissecting whether or not it has the 'right stuff' to take home Oscar gold.  I don't know how well Alexander Payne's The Descendants is going to fare in the various year-end awards races.  It is currently among the front-runners, but as Heath Ledger and David Fincher could tell you, it's all about who is in the lead when the race stops.  But putting that aside, let me state that The Descendants actually deserves to be discussed as a front runner.  Not because of its pedigree, its release date, or its Oscar-friendly narrative, but because it is indeed one of the best films of 2011.