One of the reasons my “The Contenders” section on the site is taking a look at real buzz and not just perceived expectations based on pedigree. Of course I will add the movies from previous Oscar winners such as Clint Eastwood, but while folks want to point to his upcoming film Changeling as some sort of serious Oscar contender I couldn’t help but remember a small bit of negative buzz coming out of Cannes despite some overwhelmingly positive reviews.
Devin Faraci over at CHUD points out a new review from Spout’s Karina Longworth in which she pointed out how bad the film is by using a drinking game analogy:
We drink every time Angelina hysterically proclaims, “He’s not my son!” We get very drunk, and this may be why we can’t figure out why Clint Eastwood made a cheap-looking Lifetime movie that eventually turns into an “And justice for all!” episode of “SVU”. Just when the drinking game is starting to get really out of control, there’s a twist so shocking that it’s punctuated by two inches of ash falling off a policeman’s cigarette … in slow motion.
He also points out how Ed Douglas from ComingSoon.net plans on giving it a 2 out of 10 after recently screening the film. Like Devin, since Eastwood is a man that is considered to do no wrong, such extremely negative reviews I have to take into serious consideration and it is one of the reasons I don’t say a film is a serious Oscar contender before it has been seriously judged.
You can judge for yourself what you think of the flick on October 24 and also in a new Entertainment Weekly clip that just came online.
To go along with that I have added 25 new images to the gallery right here and you can watch the video of Eastwood on Jon Stewart’s “The Daily Show” below.
It’s a Changeling bonanza, I just wish it came with more positive opinions.
