I stopped believing in the Academy Awards in 1990, when Do the Right Thing wasn't even nominated and Driving Miss Daisy won Best Picture. Even on my most bitterly cynical, race-obsessed day, I couldn't make up something that absurd.
But I digress. Point is, I can't be bothered to get bothered that Robert Redford wasn't nominated for Best Actor for his work in All Is Lost. But who else do we have who could single-handedly maintain audience interest for an entire film? Obviously, director J.C. Chandor and cinematographer Frank DeMarco deserve much of the credit for an intensely riveting adventure movie. Nonetheless, it's Redford in all his aging movie star rugged glory who evokes, as much as cinematic vocabulary can, the Hemingway spirit. If you've not yet seen it, watch for the moment when he opens the box containing the sextant and considers the card inside. I would watch Robert Redford in anything. (And since I actually saw An Indecent Proposal, I've already proven I'm serious about that contention.)
Which may be why I'm so excited by Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Superman films will always disappoint, but the first Captain America movie was fairly satisfying. The move to take the good Captain in a dark direction now that he's in the 21st century promises to work well, especially since Mr. Redford is in the cast. Check out the first trailer (second trailer is not so moving): it will get you very, very worked up.
That is, if you have a soul.
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