The obscene underbelly of the larger-than-life metaphor
This ostentatious title of a posting is really nothing more than an excuse for Planetarium to direct your view to a deft and insightful essay by the otherwise unreliable A.O. Scott, the Times' film critic. Whether you agree or disagree with his taste in film (Planetarium tends towards the latter), Scott has penned a dead-on piece about the disappearance of the star actor. Even while finding his choices of "great actors" somewhat humorous (Charlize Theron? Really? You must be high), it is absolutely true that with more "celebs" than we know what to do with, the idea of a start actor surpassing his film with each go-around is fast fading as a desirable commodity. And it's true that the notion of a great film vis-a-vis the notion of great acting are fast becoming two very different things. Return of the King is clearly one of the best films of the year, but Elijah, Sean, and Viggo had circles acted around them by, for example, Holly Hunter in Thirteen.
Is it that obvious Planetarium is an Oscar buff, no matter how ridiculous the awards get with each passing year?