I love movies. I don’t see nearly as many as I want to, I always seem to be busy with other things. But I have always loved movies, as far back as I can remember and probably beyond that. So every year I watch the Academy Awards show, even though I may not have seen all (or even most) of the nominated films. And that is certainly true this year. I have seen a few but, hey, it’s my blog so I can write about it if I want to. And you can comment at the bottom. But I digress.
The Oscar show is always overly long and bloated, with some really entertaining moments and some fairly awful moments too. Some of the musical salutes are very good and some are not, the same is true of the canned speeches that the presenters usually use. A good host can make it seem less long and more interesting. I liked Steve Martin and Billy Crystal hosting it, but heck I even liked David Letterman hosting it, so what do I know?
A full list of this year’s movie nominees can be found here. Being a big Woody Allen fan, I was glad to see Vicky Cristina Barcelona nominated for an award. You can watch the trailer for that film below this post. Of course Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight is the favorite of the favorites to win, and it indeed a riveting performance. Anyway, take a look at the list and see what you think. The show is on February 22nd. Why not print out a ballot and play along at home!
Any thoughts about the Oscars?
I do a top ten movies list every year. I used to just pick one movie of the year; I started the year of Annie Hall. Changed it to a top ten about 6 or 7 years ago. I’ll let you know when the list is complete, but so far this year I like Australia (it was not liked by the critics. Milk, Slumdog Millionaire and Frost/Nixon are also up there, as well as Vicky Christina, and maybe Benjamin Button. Haven’t yet seen a bunch of the movies I should see though, including Doubt and The Reader.
It’s been a good movie year for me, I’ve seen most of the nominated films. I also got to see the one’s nominated for Short Film, Live Action and Short Film , Animated. I haven’t seen Frost/Nixon yet, but there is still time before the big show. Here are my picks.
Actor Leading: Mickey Rourke, what a role. He was great. It was like the part was written for him. I can’t think of another actor that could have pulled it off. A close second would be Richard Jenkins. I hope he gets some recognitions for this roll, he deserves it.
Actor Supporting: Philip Seymour Hoffman, it was hard keeping up with Meryl but he did it.
Actress Leading: Kate Winslet, what a performance in a great film. Her and Mickey gave two of the best performances a movie watcher could ask for. Meryl Streep is close second.
Actress Supporting: It’s a toss up. Penélope Cruz was great. She stole the scene when ever she was on the screen. And Marisa Tomei was incredible as Mickey Rourke’s best fan. I thought Evan Rachel Wood should have also been nominated for her role as Mickey Rourke’s daughter in the The Wrestler. How could any one hate their father as much as she did? It was great.
Best Picture: Slumdog Millionaire, it was so good and unique, from an American perspective. We don’t get to see the poverty in places like Mumbai that often. And when we do it’s usually just a downer. This film was uplifting and positive while looking right into the poorest of lives. And the Bollywood dance at the end was just icing on the cake. My heart says the The Reader though. Kate was so good she might just lift this film to the top. As you can tell I’m a BIG BIG BIG Kate Winslet fan.
Short Film, Live Action: It’s a toss up between “Auf der Strecke (On the Line) and “New Boy. Both good but different. New Boy is a touching story of an African boy’s first day in an Irish grade school. On The Line ask the question, could you admit the truth if it threatened your chance for love?
Short Film , Animated: Another toss up, “La Maison en Petits Cubes and Lavatory – Lovestory. Both love stories. One about love lost in the time of global warming , the other about love found in a Russian public bathroom, no it’s not what you think – I said love.
Thanks for the feedback! Looking forward to the awards show…
I’ve seen most of the movies nominated for the big awards. Here are my pics:
Picture – Slumdog Millionaire. I’ve always liked Danny Boyle. He really outdid himself here. Kind of a cross between Gandhi and Rocky (both of which won best picture). Everyone I know who has seen this movie has not been able to stop talking about it. Milk was also great but I pick Slumdog. Benjamin Button was only OK. Frost Nixon was great, but not as great as Slumdog. Haven’t seen the Reader, but from what I’ve read it has no chance. They should have nominated Revolutionary Road instead.
Director – Danny Boyle. They should reward him for his career as much as for this movie (Trainspotting, 28 Days Later, Millions, Sunshine).
Original Screenplay – In Bruges. Brilliant movie, with incredibly witty dialogue.
Adapted Screenplay – Slumdog Millionaire. I haven’t seen Doubt, otherwise that could be a contender.
Actor – Sean Penn in Milk. I won’t be at all disappointed if Mickey Rourke wins for the Wrestler, but I think Sean Penn deserves it more. His performance was a thing of beauty. Hopefully he’ll call out all the dipshits who voted yes on 8 in his acceptance speech. Did I just type dipshits? Yes I did.
Actress – No idea. I haven’t seen 4 of the 5. I saw Angelina Jolie in Changeling and she was OK but not great. I predict Kate Winslet will win even though I haven’t seen her, but I think the award will be more for her career than for her performance in this one movie.
Supporting Actor – If anyone other than Heath Ledger wins for Dark Knight I’ll eat my shorts.
Supporting Actress – Penelope Cruz in Vicky Cristina Barcelona. She sets the screen on fire in every scene she’s in.
Foreign – I haven’t seen any of them, but from what I’ve read, Waltzing With Bashir will win.
Finally saw Frost/Nixon the other day. Ron Howard films are almost always worth the price of admission. Frank Langella did a very thoughtful Nixon. Much better than Anthony Hopkins. Less bruiting, more human. Slap me, Nixon human – really. I learned a lot about David Frost that I didn’t know. I still think Mickey Rourke deserved the Oscar.
Admit it, Mel, you LOVE Nixon.