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Gold Standard: Oscar Watch: ‘Hateful Eight’ goes over great

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Oscar Watch, charting the smiles, the frowns, the ups and downs of the awards season, comes to you every Monday from now through the end of February.



"The Hateful Eight"

“The Hateful Eight”

(Andrew Cooper / The Weinstein Company)
Edgar Ramirez, Jennifer Lawrence and Robert De Niro in "Joy."

Edgar Ramirez, Jennifer Lawrence and Robert De Niro in “Joy.”

(20th Century Fox)

'Joy' whiffs with critics

"Joy," filmmaker David O. Russell's latest collaboration with Jennifer Lawrence, also screened this weekend for the academy, drawing about half the number that went to see "The Hateful Eight."

Reactions from the academy members included words like "fun," "zippy" and "involving." Critics were less charmed. The reviews, which began to break Monday, have been middling compared with Russell's last three movies -- "The Fighter," "Silver Linings Playbook" and "American Hustle."

"Despite another solid performance from Jennifer Lawrence, anchoring Russell's sincerely felt tribute to the power of a woman's resolve in a man's world, it’s hard not to wish "Joy" were better, that its various winsome parts added up to more than a flyweight product that still feels stuck in the development stage," wrote Variety's Justin Chang.

"Joy" has yet to win any critics prizes. Lawrence did not receive one mention at Sunday's Los Angeles Film Critics Assn. vote -- and this is a group that casts a wide net. (John Cena received a vote for supporting actor.)

This photo provided by Warner Bros. Pictures shows Tom Hardy, as Max Rockatansky, in Warner Bros. Pictures' and Village Roadshow Pictures' action adventure film, "Mad Max:Fury Road."

This photo provided by Warner Bros. Pictures shows Tom Hardy, as Max Rockatansky, in Warner Bros. Pictures’ and Village Roadshow Pictures’ action adventure film, “Mad Max:Fury Road.”

(Jasin Boland / Warner Bros. Pictures via AP)
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