Nominees for the 81st Academy Awards

Pixar's Feature Films WALL•E
#1

Are you happy with the nominations for the 81st Academy Awards?

  • Yes
  • No

0 voters

Like every single year, the Academy Award nominations will have inclusions that shouldn’t be there, and others that aren’t there and should have been. Which ones are these for you? Are you happy with the nominations for the 81st Academy Awards? Why or why not?

PIXAR has 7 nominees, 1 for Presto in Best Animated Short Film, and 6 for WALL•E in Best Animated Feature, Best Original Screenplay, Best Original Score, Best Original Song, Best Sound Mixing, and Best Sound Editing.

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Nominees for the 81st Academy Awards

Performance by an actor in a leading role
Richard Jenkins in “The Visitor” (Overture Films)
Frank Langella in “Frost/Nixon” (Universal)
Sean Penn in “Milk” (Focus Features)
Brad Pitt in “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.)
Mickey Rourke in “The Wrestler” (Fox Searchlight)

Performance by an actor in a supporting role
Josh Brolin in “Milk” (Focus Features)
Robert Downey Jr. in “Tropic Thunder” (DreamWorks, Distributed by DreamWorks/Paramount)
Philip Seymour Hoffman in “Doubt” (Miramax)
Heath Ledger in “The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.)
Michael Shannon in “Revolutionary Road” (DreamWorks, Distributed by Paramount Vantage)

Performance by an actress in a leading role
Anne Hathaway in “Rachel Getting Married” (Sony Pictures Classics)
Angelina Jolie in “Changeling” (Universal)
Melissa Leo in “Frozen River” (Sony Pictures Classics)
Meryl Streep in “Doubt” (Miramax)
Kate Winslet in “The Reader” (The Weinstein Company)

Performance by an actress in a supporting role
Amy Adams in “Doubt” (Miramax)
Penélope Cruz in “Vicky Cristina Barcelona” (The Weinstein Company)
Viola Davis in “Doubt” (Miramax)
Taraji P. Henson in “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.)
Marisa Tomei in “The Wrestler” (Fox Searchlight)

Best animated feature film of the year
“Bolt” (Walt Disney), Chris Williams and Byron Howard
“Kung Fu Panda” (DreamWorks Animation, Distributed by Paramount), John Stevenson and Mark Osborne
“WALL-E” (Walt Disney), Andrew Stanton

Achievement in art direction
“Changeling” (Universal), Art Direction: James J. Murakami, Set Decoration: Gary Fettis
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Art Direction: Donald Graham Burt, Set Decoration: Victor J. Zolfo
“The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.), Art Direction: Nathan Crowley, Set Decoration: Peter Lando
“The Duchess” (Paramount Vantage, Pathé and BBC Films), Art Direction: Michael Carlin, Set Decoration: Rebecca Alleway
“Revolutionary Road” (DreamWorks, Distributed by Paramount Vantage), Art Direction: Kristi Zea, Set Decoration: Debra Schutt

Achievement in cinematography
“Changeling” (Universal), Tom Stern
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Claudio Miranda
“The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.), Wally Pfister
“The Reader” (The Weinstein Company), Chris Menges and Roger Deakins
“Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Anthony Dod Mantle

Achievement in costume design
“Australia” (20th Century Fox), Catherine Martin
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Jacqueline West
“The Duchess” (Paramount Vantage, Pathé and BBC Films), Michael O’Connor
“Milk” (Focus Features), Danny Glicker
“Revolutionary Road” (DreamWorks, Distributed by Paramount Vantage), Albert Wolsky

Achievement in directing
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), David Fincher
“Frost/Nixon” (Universal), Ron Howard
“Milk” (Focus Features), Gus Van Sant
“The Reader” (The Weinstein Company), Stephen Daldry
“Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Danny Boyle

Best documentary feature
“The Betrayal (Nerakhoon)” (Cinema Guild), A Pandinlao Films Production, Ellen Kuras and Thavisouk Phrasavath
“Encounters at the End of the World” (THINKFilm and Image Entertainment), A Creative Differences Production, Werner Herzog and Henry Kaiser
“The Garden” A Black Valley Films Production, Scott Hamilton Kennedy
“Man on Wire” (Magnolia Pictures), A Wall to Wall Production, James Marsh and Simon Chinn
“Trouble the Water” (Zeitgeist Films), An Elsewhere Films Production, Tia Lessin and Carl Deal

Best documentary short subject
“The Conscience of Nhem En” A Farallon Films Production, Steven Okazaki
“The Final Inch” A Vermilion Films Production, Irene Taylor Brodsky and Tom Grant
“Smile Pinki” A Principe Production, Megan Mylan
“The Witness - From the Balcony of Room 306” A Rock Paper Scissors Production, Adam Pertofsky and Margaret Hyde

Achievement in film editing
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall
“The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.), Lee Smith
“Frost/Nixon” (Universal), Mike Hill and Dan Hanley
“Milk” (Focus Features), Elliot Graham
“Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Chris Dickens

Best foreign language film of the year
“The Baader Meinhof Complex” A Constantin Film Production, Germany
“The Class” (Sony Pictures Classics), A Haut et Court Production, France
“Departures” (Regent Releasing), A Departures Film Partners Production, Japan
“Revanche” (Janus Films), A Prisma Film/Fernseh Production, Austria
“Waltz with Bashir” (Sony Pictures Classics), A Bridgit Folman Film Gang Production, Israel

Achievement in makeup
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Greg Cannom
“The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.), John Caglione, Jr. and Conor O’Sullivan
“Hellboy II: The Golden Army” (Universal), Mike Elizalde and Thom Floutz

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score)
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.),Alexandre Desplat
“Defiance” (Paramount Vantage), James Newton Howard
“Milk” (Focus Features), Danny Elfman
“Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), A.R. Rahman
“WALL-E” (Walt Disney), Thomas Newman

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song)
“Down to Earth” from “WALL-E” (Walt Disney), Music by Peter Gabriel and Thomas Newman, Lyric by Peter Gabriel
“Jai Ho” from “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Music by A.R. Rahman, Lyric by Gulzar
“O Saya” from “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Music and Lyric by A.R. Rahman andMaya Arulpragasam

Best motion picture of the year
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), A Kennedy/Marshall Production, Kathleen Kennedy, Frank Marshall and Ceán Chaffin, Producers
“Frost/Nixon” (Universal), A Universal Pictures, Imagine Entertainment and Working Title Production,Brian Grazer, Ron Howard and Eric Fellner, Producers
“Milk” (Focus Features), A Groundswell and Jinks/Cohen Company Production, Dan Jinks and Bruce Cohen, Producers
“The Reader” (The Weinstein Company), A Mirage Enterprises and Neunte Babelsberg Film GmbH Production, Nominees to be determined
“Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), A Celador Films Production,Christian Colson, Producer

Best animated short film
“La Maison en Petits Cubes” A Robot Communications Production, Kunio Kato
“Lavatory - Lovestory” A Melnitsa Animation Studio and CTB Film Company Production, Konstantin Bronzit
“Oktapodi” (Talantis Films) A Gobelins, L’école de l’image Production, Emud Mokhberi and Thierry Marchand
“Presto” (Walt Disney) A Pixar Animation Studios Production, Doug Sweetland
“This Way Up”, A Nexus Production, Alan Smith and Adam Foulkes

Best live action short film
“Auf der Strecke (On the Line)” (Hamburg Shortfilmagency), An Academy of Media Arts Cologne Production, Reto Caffi
“Manon on the Asphalt” (La Luna Productions), A La Luna Production, Elizabeth Marre and Olivier Pont
“New Boy” (Network Ireland Television), A Zanzibar Films Production, Steph Green and Tamara Anghie
“The Pig” An M & M Production, Tivi Magnusson and Dorte Høgh
“Spielzeugland (Toyland)” A Mephisto Film Production, Jochen Alexander Freydank

Achievement in sound editing
“The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.), Richard King
“Iron Man” (Paramount and Marvel Entertainment), Frank Eulner and Christopher Boyes
“Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Tom Sayers
“WALL-E” (Walt Disney), Ben Burtt and Matthew Wood
“Wanted” (Universal),Wylie Stateman

Achievement in sound mixing
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), David Parker, Michael Semanick, Ren Klyce and Mark Weingarten
“The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.), Lora Hirschberg, Gary Rizzo and Ed Novick
“Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Ian Tapp, Richard Pryke and Resul Pookutty
“WALL-E” (Walt Disney),Tom Myers, Michael Semanick and Ben Burtt
“Wanted” (Universal), Chris Jenkins, Frank A. Montaño and Petr Forejt

Achievement in visual effects
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Eric Barba, Steve Preeg, Burt Dalton and Craig Barron
“The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.), Nick Davis, Chris Corbould, Tim Webber and Paul Franklin
“Iron Man” (Paramount and Marvel Entertainment), John Nelson, Ben Snow, Dan Sudick and Shane Mahan

Adapted screenplay
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Screenplay by Eric Roth, Screen story by Eric Roth and Robin Swicord
“Doubt” (Miramax), Written by John Patrick Shanley
“Frost/Nixon” (Universal), Screenplay by Peter Morgan
“The Reader” (The Weinstein Company), Screenplay by David Hare
“Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Screenplay by Simon Beaufoy

Original screenplay
“Frozen River” (Sony Pictures Classics), Written by Courtney Hunt
“Happy-Go-Lucky” (Miramax), Written by Mike Leigh
“In Bruges” (Focus Features), Written by Martin McDonagh
“Milk” (Focus Features), Written by Dustin Lance Black
“WALL-E” (Walt Disney), Screenplay by Andrew Stanton, Jim Reardon, Original story by Andrew Stanton, Pete Docter

#2

No, I am not happy. =(

Let’s look at the cumulative ratings each film nominated for BP got from various websites.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button – IMDb: 8.4; Rotten Tomatoes: 72%; Metacritic: 69; on 11 top ten lists (according to MC, not an official count)
Frost/Nixon – IMDB: 8.2; Rotten Tomatoes: 91%; Metacritic: 80; on 13 top ten lists
Milk – IMDb: 8.2; Rotten Tomatoes: 92%; Metacritic: 84; on 32 top ten lists (geez!)
The Reader – IMDb: 8.0; Rotten Tomatoes: 60%; Metacritic: 58; on 4 top ten lists
Slumdog Millionaire – IMDb: 8.7; Rotten Tomatoes: 95%; Metacritic: 8.6; on 29 top ten lists

Wall-E – IMDb: 8.6; Rotten Tomatoes: 96%; Metacritic: 9.0; on 19 top ten lists

It looks to me like Wall-E was clearly better received by critics and audiences alike than certain films on the list. Honestly, I haven’t seen them all yet (I tend to wait until the DVD’s out), but I truly believe Wall-E should have been on there. The only reason I can see it being snubbed from a nomination in this category is because it’s an animated film for families, and the Academy would probably rather vote for their close friends than those who deserve it most. While I enjoyed The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, does it REALLY deserve a BP nom? I don’t think so.

Wall-E is one of the best achievements of 2008 as far as storytelling, character development, and directing go (among others, of course). I highly doubt some of the films on the BP list are going to be cherished by people ten years from now. Why are these things being ignored?

I’ll get over it, as long as Kung Fu Panda doesn’t win Best Animated Feature ala Happy Feet winning over Cars. :unamused:

#3

There’s no way that will happen this year. Cars and Happy Feet are in a tight race that year, with Cars’ Annie and Globe but Happy Feet got BAFTA and a lot of critics’ awards.

This year WALL-E is the truly superior film, it has been winning every animated film awards and in some case best film of the year (Chicago, LA, Boston…). The next in line would be Waltz with Bashir, but since it wasn’t nominated in that category, nothing can win against WALL-E.

Unrelated but I have issues with the Annies this year. It totally snubbed WALL-E off Best Score for Thomas Newman. While AMPAS recognizes WALL-E as one of the five best film scores of the year, the Annies decides to go with some obscure scores from Gotham and Despereaux. :unamused:

#4

As much as I want to say “no” because of the Best Picture and Best Director snub, I have to say “yes” because they nominated the film in 6 other categories +1 for Presto. Add that to the fact that they had the good sense to not nominate The Dark Knight for Best Picture or Best Director, and I’m fairly pleased. Richard Jenkins also gets a well-deserved nod for The Visitor in the Best Actor category. The only real exclusions that matter that I see are the Best Picture and Best Director ones for WALL-E, and they were always long shots. It’s too bad Let The Right One In wasn’t submitted by Sweden for Best Foreign Language Film. It would’ve given even Waltz a run for its money.

#5

Here we go again…
Ratatouille clearly deserved the “best picture” nomination. WALL-E deserved it even more (and certainly much more than any of the films that were nominated).

I guess I will see the glass as “half full” only if WALL-E manages to win in all categories, including “best original screenplay”. Highly unlikely, though.

#6

I’m totally unhappy that Bruce Sprinsteen didn’t get a nomination for his song “The Wrestler”. :smiling_imp:

#7

On the whole, yes. Of course a Best Picture nomination for WALL-E would have been amazing, since I and obviously many others do really think that it deserved it, but it has been nominated in other categories that appreciate both the music and the screenplay and other aspects of the film, and I think this does demonstrate that as a whole, whoever did the voting for the Oscars did rate WALL-E highly. Just not highly enough.

I don’t know about the other nominees since I haven’t seen the other films, but there is a certain ‘type’ of film that seems to suit the Best Picture category. Like for example, The Dark Knight isn’t up there even though it’s obviously a very popular and highly rated film, but maybe that’s why it’s not up there? Sounds silly, but the blockbusters don’t seem to get the same recognition at these awards as the more ‘film critic’ type movies, the ones that are ‘deeper’ and have more ‘meaning’.

I do have to question whether it really matters though. :laughing: What’s the difference between the Oscars and the other awards that WALL-E has been nominated for and has won? Of course the Oscars are more well-known, but if anyone takes the nominations and award winners of the Oscars as a guide to good films in a certain year, then that’s just silly. We know that WALL-E’s a very good film, a lot of other people know that WALL-E’s a very good film, so aside from the whole barrier of animation thing, does it really matter that WALL-E didn’t get that Best Picture nomination? I think the fact that it was considered so much for it shows just how far animation has come (and how good Pixar are at telling their stories), and hey, who knows what will happen next time round with Pixar’s future releases?

#8

Hmm, two of the highest rated films of 08, WALL-E and The Wrestler, neither got a Best Pic nom. That’s the Academy for ya.

#9

I’m so proud of WALL•E and I’m not unhappy with the results. Although I’d love to see it happen, I’m not upset that it didn’t get nominated for Best Picture, six nominations (the most ever for an animated film!) makes up for that. C’mon you guys, these are actors, directors, etc. most of which are working in live action voting for this. WALL•E has been adorned with so many awards, and deservedly so, the Oscars is just one of them.
Best Animated is a shoe-in, at least one of the sound/music category’s should be WALL•E’s and the screenplay nom was smart, although I can’t say it’ll win.
The Presto nomination is great too, and if it doesn’t win, I guess Oktapodi is my second choice.
Overall, I’m happy! See: :smiley:

#10

Well, it didn’t get that much-anticipated Best Picture nom, and I’m slightly disappointed with that, but it would have been a miracle had it made it as a finalist for that category. WALL•E has topped many critics’ lists, both as an animated film and just as a work of art in itself. We all know how much of a good movie it is, and the lack of recognition is a reflection of the bias of Academy voters rather than on WALL•E or Pixar.

But… Six nominations - that’s great! I don’t want to jinx it, but I guess it will win Best Animated Feature, hands down. When I saw Best Original Score, I automatically did that “Yessss!” Brad Bird thing. Wow. That’s wonderful. I doubt Thomas Newman will win, but a nomination is excellent as it is. Best Original Song, wait, wait, wait. That means we will get to see “Down to Earth” performed at the Oscars? Woooooooooooooo!

Best Original Screenplay is a nod to the movie, rather than the medium, too. Sound Editing - I guess Ben Burtt would take credit for that? I hope so. I’m really happy with all of those nominations, though.

I’ll be watching on February 22nd! Go Pixar and congratulations on these nominations! :smiley:

#11

Happy? Oh sure I am, so happy I jumped into this enclosure at Marine World (28 miles from Emeryville) with my laptop and when not typing this, am doing dance steps with the other penguins and even bashing my head on the mirrored glass. I’ve sent out invitations to Mr. Stanton to bring the well-known, seasoned dancer, Wall-E, to join me.

Well, those were more nominations, seven, that I thought, but are well deserved. Too bad the noms start out with all those actor this and supporting actress that. The core of a movie belongs to the storyteller and how the director deals with what the casting dept has sent him. A good production budget is usually essential too. Actors are almost meaningless in Wall•E, but they are everything in Frost/Nixon. Good to see Ben Burtt mentioned several times and Newman too.

I agree, Button doesn’t belong there. It’s popular, a fun film, enjoyable, very good. But not that good. I’m glad The Wrestler and TDK didn’t make it for Best Picture, too much hype. A great performance doesn’t mean a great film. The Reader was boosted by Kate Winslet’s win at the Globes. That LA critic in the article miafka dug up said “who would nominate a film they didn’t like?”. Well, he was wrong. So, I’m happy with 4 out of the 5 picture nods, and about the same for actor noms. I saw all these movies, just not several times, so can’t really say much about technical things like editing and soundtracks.

#12

I’m obviously very happy with the recognition that Pixar received at the Oscars in those seven categories (6 categories for WALL-E and one for Presto), but overall, I am not very pleased with the nominations. I don’t know how closely you guys watch the Oscars, but I - who watches even the Oscar precursors very closely - can tell you that the TDK (The Dark Knight) snub is one of the most surprising - and might I say disappointing - turn of events in recent Oscar history. The Producers Guild Awards, the Writers Guild Awards, and the Directors Guild Awards are considered the three leading indicators of who will get the Best Picture nominations and what makes the TDK Oscar snub particularly surprising is that TDK was recognized by all three guilds.

Frankly, I would’ve been more content if WALL-E made it in instead of TDK (although there’d still be a hint of disappointment, because I truly believe TDK is one of the best movies ever made, and that it deserves every accolade it can get). But what made it all the more disappointing was that The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - which I thought was a technically impressive but narratively lacking film - got the nom, and TDK did not. It seems like everyone’s venting their frustration over The Reader, since no one expected that film to get nominated, but I can’t really say much about it, considering that I haven’t seen it.

In any case, what’s done is done… no point in beating a dead horse. I am absolutely thrilled, however, that Slumdog Millionaire, which also happens to be one of the best movies I’ve ever seen, received 10 nominations, including Best Picture. Now that TDK is out of the race, I suppose I’ll be rooting for Slumdog come Oscar time (in the Best Picture race, that is).

PS.

For those of you worried about WALL-E in the Animated Feature category, consider this: It won the Best Animated Feature award in every single Oscar precursor, with the exception of the LAFCAs, where it won Best Picture! (The LAFCA rules state that they cannot award Best Picture and Best Animated Feature to the same film, so the latter award went to Waltz with Bashir, which isn’t even nominated for Best Animated Feature at the Oscars). So yes, it’s a done deal. The only way WALL-E would not win is when every pig on Earth starts to fly.

#13

I wrote a little rant on my blog (see link). I tried not to be too angry about it, but I still think there needs to be change.

#14

Sorry for the double post, but I felt I needed to address this issue. First of all, as we all should know by now, Heath Ledger’s performance is, without a doubt, the most lauded performance by any actor last year (2008). However, I, for one, believe that TDK was praised so highly not just because of Heath’s performance, but also because of several other factors. The film transcends not only the comic book genre in so many ways, but also filmmaking in general. I could go on explaining what all these other “factors” are, but to be brief, let me just say that I was particularly struck by how it handled the themes of morality, escalation, and the goodness of people. To each his own, obviously, but I just thought TDK handled these themes in such a mature and convincing manner. And it probably goes without saying, but TDK was also a technically impressive film.

As a matter of fact, TDK is one of those rare films that has something special to offer for just about every demographic out there (except for the “comic-book-movie-hating” demographic). You can give me a group of people, and I’ll likely be able to pinpoint certain aspects of TDK that this group would find special and appealing.

#15

I’m pretty happy with the nominations! But there are some pretty good points here concerning Wall-E. I think Wall-E totally deserved to get a nomination for best picture, but I guess We’ll have to settle without. :frowning:

#16

The same thing happens every year. I get real excited when the nominees are about to be announced, thinking we’ll finally see an Oscars that actually recognizes the good films without fear, and every year I get extremely angry, when the same typical politics keep this from happening.

I’ll save the big ones for a little later. First, I need to adress the fact that Springsteen didn’t even get nominated for “The Wrestler”. It’s and amazing song, and is exceptionally written both lyrically and musically. It has great depth, and ties in with the movie it was written for (The Wrestler) extremely well. I’m not going to go into whether or not it’s better than “Down to Earth”, (which I do like, even though I don’t know why) because musical preference depends too much on the indvidual, but considering there are only three nominess in this category when there are normally five, this is a real travesty. I’m actually just as angry as when Revenge of the Sith got snubbed for Best Visual Effects and Best Score.

Ok, now that that’s out of the way there’s Wall-E and The Dark Knight. I am quite pleased with the nominations for Wall-E, especially with Best Screenplay, as they are finally admitting that good writing, is good writing, it doens’t matter if it’s animated, but Wall-E deserved a Best Picture nom. I can understand the argument since there is a Best Animated Feature Category, but a movie should be able to transcend that if it’s good enough, and Wall-E was good enough.

The Dark Knight definitely deserved a Best Picture nom. I’m just as sick as everyone, who keeps hearing about how awesome it was, but it really is that good. It had great writing, amazing acting, great pacing, great directing, everything was great… The Dark Knight truly is an outstanding piece of film, and it should be recognized for it, especially when Benjamin Button got a nom. And Heath Ledger getting the Supporting nom is crap. He was a Lead Actor in that movie and everyone knows it. Would you say Darth Vader is a supporting character? No way. Bruce and the Joker where the main characters, so Heath Ledger dserves a lead nom. I’m alright with Nolan not getting a Best Director nom, because The Dark Knight wasn’t as brilliantly directed as other films, though still good.

So yeah, I’m pretty ticked off. Plus, for yet another year in a row Billy Crystal is hosting! And it’s not even a comedian, it’s Hugh Jackman! When will they learn that it’s just not the Oscars without Crystal.

#17

I totally agree. Sadly the vast majority of voting members are actors, and since there are no “actors” in animation (other than voice talent) it tends to get overlooked. What I said before still holds: it’s just an awards show, and we all know how great these films are. Look back at the last 25 years and see which films won best picture. More than half the time, they’ve become obscure now compared to those that really stood out that year but didn’t get the nod.

#18

There are about 15-20 out of the 600 released movies that have some sort of shot each year to get into the top 5. I’m happy if just three of the ones who do are films I found deserving to get there. But I agree with you, and the number of actual awards confirmed this, that Button didn’t belong in that group.

We have heard more support here on this forum for The Wrestler and its song than any of the actual five nominees. I have been somewhat vocal in other threads that ‘Down to Earth’ is just a pedestrian pop hit, not in the same ballpark as several other tunes in Wall•E.

I know this is posted in retrospect, but did you ever see Jackman in The Prestige, the 2nd of two magician movies out a couple of years back? He was in his element onstage, and I’m sure the producer saw that movie. Jackman was refreshing, brilliant. Here is my movie by movie breakdown of the top features of 2008:

Slumdog. Glitzy, sobering, amusing. This movie isn’t well liked by the average slum dweller in India. In fact, one mob tried to burn down a theater showing it because they objected to ‘dog’ being used with slum. Seems that the multiplex crowd there likes it though. Most Indians feel that it reinforces stereotypes and is just a Westerner’s view of their country. Many of the Indian’s trying to get ahead actually study and are working hard, altho there are kids without family struggling every day to survive. Rags to riches is a bit fairytale-ish. It is interesting that both the boys here and our favorite friend had to spend part of their lives on a heap of trash picking thru it. I feel this movie is in the top10, but not #1. It is merely part of a frenzy whipped up by the need to tip the hat to Mumbai and Bollywood. Politics.

Frost/Nixon Extraordinary, a great cast. Feels almost like a documentary. A well deserved nomination.

Milk. Extraordinary, another great cast. Also has a documentary feel. People in the theater were crying after this one, perhaps some of the gay couples there.

Button. This was based on a short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald, 90 years ago. It was picked up by a head of Columbia Pictures about 20 years ago and reworked to fit modern events. The final major screenwriter was the same guy who did Gump, and was reworked to fit a life of 80 years ending now. It is an interesting story, but Gump it is not. There are about 4 interesting segments of his life: the early years in New Orleans, fishing and war, the mysterious woman, and finally the love affair. None of them are dazzling. What makes this story is the main thesis: a man who ages backwards, and the enormous production effort, $140M, to achieve the proper effect. Hollywood rewards sweeping epics, especially with the right amount of romance thrown in.

The Reader. Makeup and acting by Winslet made this film, based on a 10 year old book by Schlink, a German. It is yet another specific Holocaust story, and there have been many of them lately. WWII is perhaps the most important event in world history, and if you are going to make a film about it, you don’t focus on a cornfield in the midwest. Holocaust issues are the most dramatic for people not engaged on the front line. Romance and tragedy are well done here, altho I left the theater feeling a certain emptiness I can’t put a finger on.

The Wrestler. Here, as in Ledger, is a tragic character that generated almost fanatical loyalty. It was a very good movie, perhaps excellent, but I wouldn’t call it extraordinary, even if the star’s performance was such. A movie like that needs more. Personally, I hate studio wrestling. I guess some people hated Nixon, and disliked the media too, and just can’t bring themselves to like that movie either.

Waltz with Bashir. Far quirkier than last year’s Persepolis. This movie takes some time to understand. The animation quality is as uneven as the storyline is intangible at times. But it all melds into a fascinating story. It is yet another Holocaust linked tale, we have 3 this year, at least. It doesn’t take long to get immersed into the film and wonder how things will turn out, altho history is already known to us.

Rev Road. There is a well known photo of mean in hats and coats on a train platform in New Jersey circa 1953, heading into NYC. A picture is worth a 1000 words, or in this case, shots. Why bother to make this movie? I guess to show that there were real individuals being destroyed during this time. Some will find this a waste of ten bucks.

VickyChristinaPenelopeJochimBarcelona. Yes, you too can go to Europe, learn art and have a bisexual affair. I never like Woody Allen films much.

Dark Knight. The movie ends with the theme of many superhero movies, Spiderman included, that the hero will be unappreciated and blamed unjustly for the troubles. The new twist is that the villain orchestrates this, which often happens in this sort of movie, except that it’s a ‘hidden’ motivation and only revealed near the end. Yes, Heath Ledger is incredible, he may have been the best actor in the world. But was he too good? Did he steal every scene? Did he leave any crumbs for Michael Caine or Morgan Freeman or even Christian Bale, whom the movie is supposed to be about? Did he ever just pull a trick on Batman that wasn’t violent. Violence can be cheap if used in excess. Did the development of the second villain (all Batman movies have 2 villains) make any sense? Remember what happens in sports when a player hits home runs every time at bat, or is the leading scorer every game. Ho-hum.

Guilt is a very powerful tool in half these movies. Ledger dies: guilt. Rourke has had a hard life: guilt. Poor little kiddies in the Calcutta slums: guilt. It seems to be about half as potent in causing someone to like a film as love is blinding in relationships.

#19

I felt the Oscars this year were very predictable. I only watched about an hour’s worth (as I’m only interested in a few categories anyway) and out of the 7 awards I saw given away, I guessed the winners of all 7 and got them right.