How dare you underestimate my Oscar potential when I get naked!Put simply: I'm totally unenthusiastic about the nominees. I like virtually all the movies, but most of them fall under the category of "good, not great."
And then there's the issue of the Dark Knight snubs, but I'd be lying if I said I was angry about them. Fact is: The Reader took the 5th Picture and Director slots, which is ultimately a good thing because the Holocaust drama needs the publicity far more than The Dark Knight does. Given that nobody remembers the nominees two weeks after the show anyway, it seems a nobler cause to provide a small movie some pre-show buzz than to recognize a fully-exposed movie with a worthless nomination.
Without further adieu, I'll provide the obligatory responses to each category:
Best Picture
The Nominees: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Frost/Nixon, Milk, The Reader, Slumdog Millionaire.
Thoughts: I guess I should be happy I like them all, which isn't usually the case. I think Button is the best movie on the list, but it's hard not to root for Slumdog because it's the little-movie-that-could. As is the case in most of the other categories, the Academy picked the safest choices... I wish there had been a true surprise like The Wrestler, Gran Torino, or Revolutionary Road.
Best Director
The Nominees: Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire), Stephen Daldry (The Reader), David Fincher (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button), Ron Howard (Frost/Nixon), Gus Van Sant (Milk).
Thoughts: Same as on Best Picture.
Best Actor
The Nominees: Richard Jenkins (The Visitor), Frank Langella (Frost/Nixon), Sean Penn (Milk), Brad Pitt (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button), Mickey Rourke (The Wrestler).
Thoughts: A totally predictable category. While I'm a little bit bugged by the Eastwood diss, I realize that nominating Clint would've meant excluding Richard Jenkins, which would've been unfortunate. Like The Reader, The Visitor needs promotion. Like The Dark Knight, Gran Torino does not.
Best Actress
The Nominees: Anne Hathaway (Rachel Getting Married), Angelina Jolie (Changeling), Melissa Leo (Frozen River), Meryl Streep (Doubt), Kate Winslet (The Reader).
Thoughts: Now here's a category I can get truly angry about. Angelina Jolie was good in Changeling, but I sense she made it on the list only because she's Angelina Jolie. Melissa Leo did fine in Frozen River, but I really don't get all the love for the movie. That Sally Hawkins and Kristen Scott Thomas (and my personal choice Kate Beckinsale) got snubbed is a damn shame. And WHY OH WHY did they have to nominate Winslet for The Reader instead of Revolutionary Road? Her work in the latter is the best acting of the year... while her work is good in the former, it isn't as good as Anne Hathaway's in Rachel Getting Married. So I'm left not rooting for the actress that gave my favorite performance of the year because of film selection. Drats.
Best Supporting Actor
The Nominees: Josh Brolin (Milk), Robert Downey Jr. (Tropic Thunder), Philip Seymour Hoffman (Doubt), Heath Ledger (The Dark Knight), Michael Shannon (Revolutionary Road).
Thoughts: While I thought Michael Shannon was the weakest part of Revolutionary Road, it's nice to see an under-appreciated movie get some love. But Ledger's got this one sewn up -- and rightfully so.
Best Supporting Actress
The Nominees: Amy Adams (Doubt), Penelope Cruz (Vicky Cristina Barcelona), Viola Davis (Doubt), Taraji P. Henson (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button), Marisa Tomei (The Wrestler).
Thoughts: Well, my dark horse pick, Evan Rachel Wood, got shut out -- no surprise there. I really don't get all the Cruz and Henson love, so hopefully Adams, Davis, or Tomei takes home the golden statue.
Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay)
The Nominees: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Doubt, Frost/Nixon, The Reader, Slumdog Millionaire.
Thoughts: I wish Oscar would've broken some barriers by nominating The Dark Knight here, but it's all well and good.
Best Writing (Original Screenplay)
The Nominees: Frozen River, Happy-Go-Lucky, In Bruges, Milk, WALL-E.
Thoughts: Interesting that all of the Oscar front-runners (and most of the year's true best films) came from adapted screenplays. This is a fun category in that three of them (Happy-Go-Lucky, In Bruges, and the undeserving Frozen River) are pretty atypical picks due to the lack of clear choices. I hope Happy-Go-Lucky wins, especially with the Hawkins snub. Worst case scenario would be a Milk victory based solely on the Academy's left-leaning political views.
Best Animated Film
The Nominees: Bolt, Kung Fu Panda, WALL-E.
Thoughts: It's a shame Waltz with Bashir didn't make it here, but I'm sure it will win in the Best Foreign Film category. I also would've liked to have seen The Tale of Despereaux in Bolt's slot, but all the nominees are deserving nonetheless.
Best Art Direction
The Nominees: Changeling, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Dark Knight, The Duchess, Revolutionary Road.
Thoughts: No complaints here, although Slumdog Millionaire is a notable exclusion.
Best Cinematography
The Nominees: Changeling, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Dark Knight, The Reader, Slumdog Millionaire.
Thoughts: Revolutionary Road and Milk and The Wrestler, the three best shot movies of the year, were snubbed! Snubbed, I tell you!
Best Costume Design
The Nominees: Australia, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Duchess, Milk, Revolutionary Road.
Thoughts: No complaints.
Best Documentary
The Nominees: The Betrayal, Encounters at the End of the World, the Garden, Man on Wire, Trouble the Water.
Thoughts: Man on Wire is a shoe-in, and rightfully so. Herzog made it on because he's Herzog, but I still contend that Encounters was the most overrated movie of 2008. I was surprised to see The Garden make it on, if only because it was one of the "Free Movies" at LAFF (I guess this means I should see it).
Best Documentary Short
The Nominees: The Conscience of Nhem En, The Final Inch, Smile Pinki, The Witness - From the Balcony of Room 306.
Thoughts: Ask me when I see the program later this month.
Best Film Editing
The Nominees: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Dark Knight, Frost/Nixon, Milk, Slumdog Millionaire.
Thoughts: I'm not trying to knock Button or Dark Knight--two of the best-edited movies of the year--but I can't help but comment on the irony that they were nominated in this category given their massive running-lengths. Milk doesn't really deserve to be here--it's about 15 minutes too long--and should have been replaced y Gran Torino, a meanly-edited film.
Best Foreign Language Film
The Nominees: The Baader Meinhof Complex, The Class, Departures, Revanche, Waltz with Bashir.
Thoughts: I've only seen The Class and Waltz with Bashir, and both are excellent. I'm now kicking myself for not seeing Revanche at AFI Fest. And where the heck has this Baader Meinhof Complex movie come from? It's getting tons of Foreign Film nominations and I had never heard of it before the Globes.
Best Makeup
The Nominees: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Dark Knight, Hellboy 2.
Thoughts: Button's the deserving shoe-in.
Best Music (Score)
The Nominees: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Defiance, Milk, Slumdog Millionaire, WALL-E.
Thoughts: I can only remember the music in Slumdog and Button out of these five. It's no coincidence that they're the front-runners. Slumdog's A.R. Rahman has taken all the big precursors, but I wouldn't be surprised if Button's Alexandre Desplat comes from behind and wins.
Music (Song)
The Nominees: "Down to Earth" (WALL-E), "Jai Ho" (Slumdog Millionaire), "O Saya" (Slumdog Millionaire).
Thoughts: I fear a split vote for the Slumdog nominees. That said, where the heck is the true best song: Springsteen's "The Wrestler"?
Best Short Film (Animated)
The Nominees: La Maison en Petits Cubes, Lavatory - Lovestory, Oktapodi, Presto, This Way Up.
Thoughts: Talk to me after I see the program in February.
Best Short Film (Live)
The Nominees: Auf Der Streke (On the Line), Manon on the Asphalt, New Boy, Spielzeugland (Toyland).
Thoughts: Talk to me after I see the program in February.
Best Sound Editing
The Nominees: The Dark Knight, Iron Man, Slumdog Millionaire, WALL-E, Wanted.
Thoughts: Fine by me.
Best Sound Mixing
The Nominees: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Dark Knight, Slumdog Millionaire, WALL-E, Wanted.
Thoughts: What's up with all the Wanted love?
Best Visual Effects
The Nominees: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Dark Knight, Iron Man.
Thoughts: I love 'em all, but Button FTW!
Stay tuned to see my official "Picks and Predictions" on Oscar weekend!
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