Thoughts on Oscars doubling Best Picture nominations to 10 June 27, 2009
Posted by pacejmiller in Entertainment.Tags: Academy Awards, Beauty and the Beast, Best Picture, double nominations, films, Life is Beautiful, movies, nominations, Oscars, The Dark Knight
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The first time I saw this reported in the news I thought it was a hoax, but I’ve seen the headline too many times now to know it’s for real: the Oscars are doubling their nominations for Best Picture from 5 to 10.
This begs the question: why?
This is not a new invention. I wasn’t aware of this before, but the Academy used to have 10 Best Picture nominees all the time back in the 30s and 40s.
I’m not sure this is such a great idea though.
According to Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences president Sid Ganis, “Having 10 Best Picture nominees is going to allow Academy voters to recognise and include some of the fantastic movies that often show up in the other Oscar categories but have been squeezed out of the race for the top prize.”
I guess that means it will allow more animated, foreign and documentary films to make the Best Picture list, but is that really necessary? The whole point of having separate categories for different types of films is to recognise the fact that there are different types of films. And if an animated, foreign or documentary film is truly good enough, then it ought to be nominated in the Best Picture category as well (and there are precedents for this, such as Life is Beautiful and Beauty and the Beast). But doesn’t this just dilute the prestige of the Best Picture category?
Sure, there are controversies every year, such as when The Dark Knight missed out on a nomination this year. However, doubling the nominees won’t do much to help because there will always be films on the fringe that just miss out. And let’s be honest – what are the genuine odds of an animated or documentary (and to a lesser extent, foreign) film actually winning the Best Picture category? Yes, nomination equals recognition but personally I prefer to see a field of nominees where ALL have a chance of winning. I suppose the counter argument is that we already have the problem of there being 1 or 2 ‘favourites’ every year out of the 5 that almost always end up taking out the award, so simply adding a further 5 nominees with no chance won’t make much of a difference. But you see where I’m coming from.
Was The Dark Knight's Best Picture snub the reason?
This also potentially increases another problem – if an animated, foreign or documentary film gets nominated for Best Picture, how does that affect the animated, foreign and documentary film categories? Does it mean the film will automatically win the award for that category? It wouldn’t quite make sense if a film is considered a candidate for ‘Best Picture’ overall and yet fail to take out its own category, would it? Note this problem already exists now, but doubling the number of nominees means we’re more likely to see it occur.
I’m sure studio executives would welcome the move, because it essentially doubles the odds of being able to put ‘Best Picture Oscar Nominee’ on a movie poster or DVD cover, which certainly wouldn’t harm sales. But from the perspective of the casual (or avid) movie fan, this change feels somewhat puzzling.
Thoughts on the Oscars: Winners, Losers and everything else February 23, 2009
Posted by pacejmiller in Entertainment.Tags: 81st Academy Awards, Academy Award Predictions, Academy Awards, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Film, Best Picture, best screenplay, Danny Boyle, Heath Ledger, Hugh Jackman, James Franco, Kate Winslet, Mickey Rourke, Oscar ceremony, Oscar losers, Oscar nominations, Oscar predictions, Oscar winners, Oscars, Penelope Cruz, predictable, Sean Penn, Seth Rogen, Slumdog Millionaire, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Dark Knight, WALL-E, Winners and Losers
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The 81st Academy Awards ceremony finally took place last night. Here are just some of my thoughts on it.
The Ceremony
It was…surprisingly not that much different to previous years despite all the talk of a toned-down version due to the global financial meltdown (though Hugh Jackman did make a joke about it). A few subtle differences in the presentation and sets, but most of it still involved ascertaining who was with who and who was wearing who and what; a musical medley and some jokes to kick things off; predictable winners and long, emotional acceptance speeches. Hollywood pats its back for another year well done.
That being said, I still enjoyed it. It’s not often that you get to see all the biggest stars in one place, and see them not as their characters but for who they really are. Sometimes, through their reactions (to winning and losing) and their acceptance speeches, you get to see a side of them you don’t normally see. I think this year’s was one of the best we’ve had in a while.
The Host
A big reason was the host. Hugh Jackman did an excellent job. It sounded like a strange choice at the beginning, but he really showed off his multiple talents, from singing and dancing to joking and hosting. He seemed reasonably relaxed given the occasion and gave it his all. However, if you’re used to seeing him as Wolverine, he might look a little awkward doing all these things you’re not used to seeing. His job was to host and he did that by not being too dominant and leaving most of the attention to the nominees and winners. He was classy, and that’s important to the Oscars.
The opening number was awesome. I’m not sure if anyone can ever top the Billy Crystal classics, but Jackman’s might be the closest we’ll ever get.
[NB: Not sure how long this will last before they take it down]
The Highlights
As usual, they had some clips in between. Most were pretty standard, but they did have clips on genres, such as romance and comedy. I thought the highlight of the night, apart from Jackman’s number (above), was the comedy clip presented by Pineapple Express, with Seth Rogen and James Franco. Man, Seth Rogen has lost a lot of weight, probably in preparation for his Green Hornet role. And James Franco was just sensational. I really thought he should have been nominated for Best Supporting Actor rather instead of Robert Downey Jr for Tropic Thunder. Check it out soon.
[NB: Poor quality and might get taken down soon, but it’s the best I can get]
Apart from that, there was a little song and dance number with Hugh and Beyonce and the leads of High School Musical and Mamma Mia! Personally it didn’t do much for me but there wasn’t really anything wrong with it.
The Winners and Losers
Despite reading everywhere that there were going to be some ‘surprises’ this year at the Oscars, when it came to predicting the winners, there weren’t many surprises at all, especially in the major categories. As expected, Slumdog Millionaire absolutely dominated, winning 8 of its 10 nominations including Best Picture and Best Director for Danny Boyle. Also expected was the disappointment for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, which, despite leading with 13 nominations, came away with just 3 wins.
Below is the total list of winners and how they compared with my predictions (and some thoughts).
Best Picture
Winner: Slumdog Millionaire
My Pick: Slumdog Millionaire
Thoughts: A foregone conclusion by the time the last award of the night rolled around. I don’t think there was one person in the audience that expected anyone else. This just about completes a sweep of all the major awards for Slumdog Millionaire this year. Was it deserving? Probably yes. Were there better films? Absolutely.
Best Director
Winner: Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire)
My Pick: Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire)
Thoughts: Another one that was well in the bag even before the ceremony began. Boyle’s acceptance speech was okay, nothing special.
Best Actor
Winner: Sean Penn (Milk)
My Pick: Mickey Rourke (The Wrestler)
Thoughts: I thought based on merit, Penn and Rourke were neck and neck. But I felt Rourke would take it out because Penn won not that long ago for Mystic River, and he’s the type of actor that will continue to be nominated as long as he’s acting. Rourke on the other hand, was one of those heart-warming, comeback stories. His character’s journey was very similar to that of his own. I thought that may have struck a chord with the voters, but apparently not. I think Penn won because: (1) he was truly brilliant and deserving; (2) the Academy likes portrayals of real people (especially in the last few years: Ray, Capote, The Last King of Scotland); and (3) Mickey Rourke must have really pissed off a lot of people. Penn’s acceptance speech was gracious and genuine. Some have criticised him for the slightly controversial comments about equal rights for homosexuals (eg marriage), but he probably would have been criticised too had he not said it.
Best Actress
Winner: Kate Winslet (The Reader)
My Pick: Kate Winslet (The Reader)
Thoughts: It was Kate’s time, and I was so glad to see her win after so many disappointments. Some may say she was probably better in Revolutionary Road, but I don’t think she cares. Congratulations!
Best Supporting Actor
Winner: Heath Ledger (The Dark Knight)
My Pick: Heath Ledger (The Dark Knight)
Thoughts: Since everyone expected this, it didn’t turn out to be the emotional affair one may have pictured a few months ago around the time the nominations were announced. The acceptance speech given by Heath’s father and sister was relatively subdued. Still, a great achievement, and his performance as The Joker will go down in history as one of the greatest.
Best Suporting Actress
Winner: Penelope Cruz (Vicki Cristina Barcelona)
My Pick: Penelope Cruz (Vicki Cristina Barcelona)
Thoughts: This category is usually seen as the most wide open, but as usual, the favourite prevailed. While I thought she was good in the role, I didn’t feel it was worthy of the win, especially againt the other nominees in the group. Personally I would have preferred Amy Adams or Taraji P Henson.
Best Original Screenplay
Winner: Milk
My Pick: In Bruges
Thoughts: Milk was the favourite but I expected an upset here with In Bruges, which had some early momentum that was quickly lost. Should have known better than to best against the favourites.
Best Adapted Screenplay
Winner: Slumdog Millionaire
My Pick: Slumdog Millionaire
Thoughts: When one film has the momentum at the Oscars, they tend to sweep all the awards, irrespective of whether it was truly deserving. In this case I think you could make a strong case for the winner, but I felt it was pretty borderline. Any of the other nominees would have been worthy winners.
Cinematography
Winner: Slumdog Millionaire
My Pick: Slumdog Millionaire
Thoughts: Another one that goes with being the most popular film at the Oscars.
Editing
Winner: Slumdog Millionaire
My Pick: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Thoughts: I should have gone with the favourite, but I thought maybe the voters had a kittle sympathy for Button because it was sure to be pummeled by Slumdog in all the categories where both films were nominated. I was wrong.
Art Direction
Winner: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
My Pick: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Thoughts: As I said, if Slumdog wasn’t nominated, and Button was, then Button would win. I was right this time.
Costume Design
Winner: The Duchess
My Pick: The Duchess
Thoughts: The heavy favourite. The film wasn’t known for much else.
Makeup
Winner: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
My Pick: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Thoughts: Well deserved win here. The makeup was truly amazing. Also because Slumdog wasn’t nominated, or else it might have been in trouble.
Visual Effects
Winner: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
My Pick: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Thoughts: Definitely a well-deserved win. The most amazing special effects I’ve seen, probably ever!
Original Score
Winner: Slumdog Millionaire
My Pick: Slumdog Millionaire
Thoughts: Would have been good to see another winner here, but Slumdog was like a tornado this year, sweeping everything in its path. I wonder whether the voters really paid attention to the particular category or whether they just went with the flow and voted everything Slumdog.
Original Song
Winner: Slumdog Millionaire
My Pick: Slumdog Millionaire
Thoughts: With 2 songs compared to WALL-E‘s one, this isn’t a surprise. It’s the nominations that puzzled me. I didn’t even know Slumdog had 2 songs, and I’m sure there are loads and loads of songs out there that could and should have been nominated. I personally thought the theme song in Gran Torino (by Clint Eastwood) was awesome and at least deserved a nomination if not a win.
Sound
Winner: Slumdog Millionaire
My Pick: Slumdog Millionaire
Thoughts: Typical.
Sound Editing
Winner: The Dark Knight
My Pick: The Dark Knight
Thoughts: Very gald they got this one right because it was deserving. And good to see one that Slumdog didn’t bag.
Animated Feature Film
Winner: WALL-E
My Pick: WALL-E
Thoughts: Possibly the most obvious choice of them all except for all of Slumdog’s wins. Many thought WALL-E was a masterpiece and should have been in the Best Picture category. I disagree, but it was certainly better than Kung Fu Panda.
Other winners
Best Foreign Language Film: Okuribito (Japan)
Best Feature Documentary: Man On Wire
Best Short Documentary: Smile Pinki
Best Short Animated Film: La Maison en petits cubes
Best Short Live Action Film: Spielzeugland
Thoughts: I did a prediction for these when the nominations were first announced, but they were just guesses because I hadn’t (and still haven’t) seen any of them, so I don’t think it’s entirely fair to make predictions on that basis. Nevertheless, I managed to get Man On Wire (because I had heard of it) and Spielzeugland (because it sounded cool) correct.
FINAL THOUGHTS
My official predictions (which didn’t include documentaries, short films, foreign film, etc) did pretty well. I came away with 16 correct guesses out of 19 categories. If you include the other categories which I pretty much randomly guessed at the start, I got 18 out of 24. The frightening thing is that it would not have been that hard to guess ALL of them, and I’m sure plenty of people did. Just shows how predictable everything still is.
Maybe a change in the voting system wouldn’t be such a bad idea? It gets a bit boring when we all know who will win and it’s all driven by publicity and promotion rather than purely on merit. But then again Meryl Streep might win every year and that would make it even more boring.
Predicting Oscars 09: who should win and who will February 21, 2009
Posted by pacejmiller in Entertainment.Tags: 81st Academy Awards, Academy Award Predictions, Academy Awards, Academy Awards Prediction, Amy Adams, Anne Hathaway, Benjamin Button, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Director, Best Film, Best Picture, Brad Pitt, Danny Boyle, David Fincher, Doubt, Frost/Nixon, Gus Van Sant, Heath Ledger, Kate Winslet, Kung Fu Panda, makeup, Marisa Tomei, Meryl Streep, Michael Shannon, Mickey Rourke, Milk, Movie Reviews, Oscar, Oscar nominees, Oscar prediction, Oscar predictions, Oscar winner, Oscars, Oscars Ceremony, Penelope Cruz, Philip Seymour Hoffman, predict Academy Awards, predict Oscar winners, Predicting Oscar Winners, prediction, predictions, Rachel Getting Married, Revolutionary Road, Ron Howard, Sean Penn, Slumdog, Slumdog Millionaire, special effects, Stephen Daldry, Taraji P Henson, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Dark Knight, The Duchess, The Reader, The Wrestler, visual effects, WALL-E, who should win, who will win
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I’m excited.
The ceremony for the 81st Academy Awards is finally about to take place. I’ve finally managed to see most of the nominated films for the major catgories that are available to me (see reviews here, here and here). While I initially predicted the winners and losers when the nominations first came out (here and here), the landscape has changed a little and I feel that now, since I’ve seen most of the films, I can also comment on who deserves to win.
So for tomorrow night, here’s who should win and who will (only categories with films I’ve seen). If there is an asterick (*) next to a nominee it means I have not seen that film (so my views do not include it).
Best Picture
Nominees: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Frost/Nixon, Milk, The Reader, Slumdog Millionaire
Who should win: All great movies. Based on my ratings and reviews of the films, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and The Reader scored the highest marks, but I would give the nod to Button. I just thought it was such an unusual and memorable film. Though not quite as good, it had a certain Forrest Gump-feel to it (probably because of the same writer).
Who will win: Slumdog Millionaire has been tipped all along and there won’t be anything standing in its way come Oscar night. There is a teeny little chance for an improbable upset by Button (which had the most nominations) but I can’t see any of the scandals derailing what should be a glorious night for Slumdog. Especially now that all the child actors are coming to the ceremony (albeit after the voting).
Best Director
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)
Who should win: A very difficult one to pick because I feel they all did terrific jobs in their respective films. If I had to pick one I’d have to go with Danny Boyle – Slumdog Millionaire was just that little bit more extraordinary than the others, and the way he pieced it all together was absolutely masterful.
Who will win: Danny Boyle. No doubt about it.
Best Actor
Nominees: Richard Jenkins (The Visitor)*, Frank Langella (Frost/Nixon), Sean Penn (Milk), Brad Pitt (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button), Mickey Rourke (The Wrestler)
Who should win: A coin-toss between Sean Penn and Mickey Rourke. I saw The Wrestler first and thought Rourke was a lock based on his emotional, nuanced performance, not to mention his amazing physical resemblance to a real-life wrestler. You felt his physical pain in the ring, you felt his emotional pain outside of it. It was the performance of a lifetime. But then I saw Milk and Sean Penn’s performance just blew me away. Yes, he was playing a real-life character, but man did he do it well. You honestly believed he was the inspirational Harvey Milk. Too hard for me to choose.
Who will win: Mickey Rourke. He’s the sentimental favourite and Penn has already got one (for Mystic River). The only way Rourke can lose is if he really pissed off as many people in the industry as he claims (and judging from his BAFTA acceptance speech I can kind of see how it might be possible).
Best Actress
Nominees: Anne Hathaway (Rachel Getting Married), Angelina Jolie (Changeling), Melissa Leo (Frozen River)*, Meryl Streep (Doubt), Kate Winslet (The Reader)
Who should win: Really tough choice. I think as far as the performance is concerned, Kate Winslet, Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway are all very deserving (Jolie was very good but not quite there). But based on the difficulty of the roles they had to play I would give Kate Winslet the edge. Her character was so important to what The Reader was trying to tell and she played each phase of Hanna Schmitz’s life wonderfully.
Who will win: Kate Winslet. It’s her time. Streep is consistently this good so she won’t stand out as much, whereas Hathaway is young and she’ll have plenty of chances (plus her role is less sensational).
Best Supporting Actor
Nominees: Josh Brolin (Milk), Robert Downey Jr (Tropic Thunder), Philip Seymour Hoffman (Doubt), Heath Ledger (The Dark Knight), Michael Shannon (Revolutionary Road)
Who should win: Heath Ledger. As terrific as Hoffman was in Doubt and Shannon was in Revolutionary Road, Ledger’s performance in The Dark Knight will forever be remembered as one of the great ones. I still remember when he was first cast as the Joker and plenty of people scoffed at the idea that he could pull it off (even after Brokeback Mountain). No one is denying that he was the right man for the role now.
Who will win: Heath Ledger. All the major awards leading up to the Oscars indicate he will win. I honestly believe he deserves it, even if he were still alive today – the performance was that mesmerizing. The fact that he’s not around anymore just about locks it in.
Best Supporting Actress
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)
Who should win: The ones that stood out for me were Amy Adams and Taraji P Henson. Marisa Tomei was wonderful in The Wrestler but I liked the other two more. Viola Davis was barely in Doubt, though she made great use of her limited screen time. Penelope Cruz was good but I didn’t think the performance was Oscar-worthy – or maybe I just didn’t like the character.
Who will win: Penelope Cruz. In this case, I think the least deserving will win. She’s the most well-known of the group and her role was different and explosive. Plus all the focus has been on her leading up to the Oscars. I hope she doesn’t win but I think she will.
Best Original Screenplay
Nominees: Frozen River*, Happy-Go-Lucky*, In Bruges, Milk, WALL-E
Who should win: Having only seen 3 of the 5 nominees, I don’t feel sufficiently equipped to judge this one. Out of the 3 films I did see, they were all very good, but probably In Bruges stood out as just being somewhat special.
Who will win: In Bruges has taken a lot of the lead-up awards, but WALL-E is also a favourite because it manages to do so much with so little dialogue. I’m going with In Bruges but won’t be surprised in WALL-E took it out. Note I originally picked Milk, but that was before I saw most of the films.
Best Adapted Screenplay
Nominees: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Doubt, Frost/Nixon, The Reader, Slumdog Millionaire
Who should win: “Adapted” screenplay is thrown around a little loosely because some of the scripts I’m sure barely resemble the original source. Nevertheless, I thought the adaptation of The Reader was sensational, dealing with the majority of the themes and events perfectly in Bernhard Schlink’s novel.
Who will win: Originally picked Doubt but after seeing the film I felt the adaptation could have been better. I have a feeling this award will be lumped with the bunch of awards that Slumdog Millionaire will win on the night.
Cinematography
Nominees: Changeling, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Dark Knight, The Reader, Slumdog Millionaire
Who should win: Another tough one. I’m don’t have any technical specialty so this is based purely on what I thought looked best. And using that criterion, I thought Changeling was particularly memorable, though Slumdog Millionaire’s eye-opening portrayal of Mumbai was also impressive.
Who will win: Slumdog to bag another one.
Editing
Nominees: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Dark Knight, Frost/Nixon, Milk, Slumdog Millionaire
Who should win: Another technical one, but I liked the work in Button, where editing was particularly important.
Who will win: This might be one of those sympathy awards given to Button, which, despite all its nominations, continues to be beaten by Slumdog. I hope so because I think in this case it deserves the award.
Art Direction
Nominees: Changeling, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Dark Knight, The Duchess*, Revoluntionary Road
Who should win: I thought the Art Direction in Changeling was the best, though The Dark Knight was pretty cool too.
Who will win: A category where Slumdog was not nominated? Chalk this one up to Button because when the two films go head to head, it’s going to lose out most times.
Makeup
Nominees: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Dark Knight, Hellboy II: The Golden Army
Who should win: No contest – the make-up in Button was just ridiculous. Sure, Hellboy II was good, but we had seen it all in the first film.
Who will win: Button. The make-up had to be seen to be believed – especially the old Cate Blanchett.
Visual Effects
Nominees: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Dark Knight, Iron Man
Who should win: Another no contest in favour of Button. As goods as the effects were in the two superhero films, the effects in Button were the best I’ve ever seen. Freakishly amazing.
Who will win: See above. Button all the way. It cannot not win.
Costume Design
Nominees: Australia*, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Duchess*, Milk, Revoluntionary Road
Who should win: Only seen 3 of the 5 films, so not qualified. Though from what I’ve seen of the other 2, The Duchess looked great.
Who will win: The Duchess had won the earlier awards so I look for the trend to continue.
Music (Original Score)
Nominees: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Defiance*, Milk, Slumdog Millionaire, WALL-E
Who should win: To be honest I can’t really remember much of the music in any of the films – except the Bollywood music in Slumdog.
Who will win: Slumdog, just because it’s the favourite to win.
Music (Original Song)
Nominees: Slumdog Millionaire (twice), WALL-E
Who should win: Slumdog – one of the songs was pretty good.
Who will win: Slumdog – it has a 2 in 3 chance anyway.
Sound
Nominees: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Dark Knight, Slumdog Millionaire, WALL-E
Who should win: The sound in The Dark Knight stood out for me amongst the nominees. It was probably the Batcycle.
Who will win: Slumdog.
Sound Editing
Nominees: The Dark Knight, Iron Man, Slumdog Millionaire, WALL-E, Wanted
Who should win: Now this I remember pretty well, and The Dark Knight was phenomenal.
Who will win: The Dark Knight. I hope it gets this one – and Slumdog can’t just win them all.
Animated Film
Nominees: Bolt*, Kung Fu Panda, WALL-E
Who should win: Not a big fan of animated films but WALL-E wasn’t too bad. Kung Fu Panda was pretty ordinary and Bolt (which I haven’t seen) didn’t look too crash hot either.
Who will win: WALL-E – pretty much a lock.
Oscars/Golden Globes Film Reviews Part III February 21, 2009
Posted by pacejmiller in Movie Reviews.Tags: Academy Awards, Amy Adams, Anne Hathaway, Benjamin Button, Best Picture, Brad Pitt, Burn After Reading, Changeling, Doubt, film, film review, Frost/Nixon, Golden Globes, Gran Torino, In Bruges, Kate Winslet, Kung Fu Panda, Leonardo DiCaprio, Mamma Mia, Meryl Streep, Milk, movie review, movies, Oscars, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Pineapple Express, Rachel Getting Married, reviews, Revolutionary Road, Sean Penn, Slumdog Millionaire, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Dark Knight, The Reader, The Wrestler, Tropic Thunder, Vicki Cristina Barcelona, WALL-E
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I’ve done it. I finally managed to watch all the Oscar/Golden Globe nominated films I could possibly get to before the Oscar ceremony on Sunday!
Here’s the third instalment of my short Flixter film reviews and possibly the best of the lot! The first instalment can be found here (Slumdog Millionaire, Frost/Nixon, The Wrestler, The Reader, Vicki Cristina Barcelona, In Bruges, Pineapple Express, Burn After Reading, Tropic Thunder, Changeling, Mamma Mia, The Dark Knight and Kung Fu Panda) and the second here (WALL-E and Gran Torino).
Again, ratings are out of 5 stars.
Rachel Getting Married (3.5 stars)
Years of suppressed family emotions explode around a family wedding. Well-written script with some clever dialogue and witty interactions, even though this type of drama would not be everyone’s cup of tea. A remarkable performance by Anne Hathway (I didn’t know she could act this well) and a solid supporting cast. Not all of it worked but enough of it did.
Doubt (3.5 stars)
Extraordinary performances all round (Meryl Streep and Philip Seymour Hoffman as always, but Amy Adams really stole the show as the doubting nun), but it was an obvious play adaptation with lots and lots of talking. The characters were extremely well defined, though I couldn’t help but feel there was a certain clunkiness in the way things panned out. Not to take away too much from this film because it tackles many of the themes very cleverly through subtle actions and explosive dialogue. Doubt is indeed an apt title for this film.
Milk (4 stars)
True story about the first openly gay public official in America. Pretty incredible movie and a ridiculously superb performance by Sean Penn. It was entertaining, informative, frightening and enlightening all at the same time. Hard to believe it was only 30 years ago that this happened in our world. I particularly liked the ending where they showed the real life counterparts of the actors.
Revolutionary Road (4 stars)
It’s hard to know where to begin with a movie that explores the essence of life, love, marriage, children, work, dreams, hopes and reality. It is so rare to see such a brutal, honest, emotional portrayal of suburban and married life, no matter what era. Granted, some people won’t get it for one reason or another, but those that do will find a story that will resonate with them for a long time. All performances are outstanding – I know Kate Winslet has gotten all the attention for this role and The Reader, but Leonardo DiCaprio is really her equal in this film, and it’s a shame he didn’t get the same recognition. Michael Shannon was also brilliant and stole every scene he was in.
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (4.5 stars)
A strange premise but an ultimately rewarding film. The make up and special effects are the best I’ve ever seen, both the ageing and the de-ageing stuff is just phenomenal. The film works not really as a running narrative but rather as a series of moments, like its tagline. I found it very captivating to go through the journey of life with this bizarre character, through his ups and downs, flaws and all. There are some minor problems and it is a tad too long, plus Brad Pitt wasn’t truly able to capture the nuances of the ageing process (he acted like the way he looked rather than the age he was) – however, I think when it’s all said and done this is one of the more memorable movies in recent years.
* * *
NB: Just a few words about my rating and review system. First and foremost, they are taken directly from Flixter, so are always short. I don’t like to discuss too much plot in my reviews because I think it ruins a movie. Which is why (even though I can’t help but watch them) I generally dislike previews because they tend to give away too much by revealing the best bits and almost always contain spoilers. I also hate long reviews that reveal too much plot (this happens a lot these days in reviews I read) – what’s the point of telling everyone what the entire film is about? With my ratings, they are out of 5 and are entirely subjective, always decided on the spot based on gut instinct after viewing. I never re-adjust a rating afterward and I don’t compare them to previous ratings – hence two films can have the same rating but I may think one is better than the other. Also, I tend to find there is a significant difference between 2.5 stars (below average) and 3 stars (good) and 3.5 stars (pretty good) and 4 stars (excellent), more so than other half-star differences.
Lastly, the only 5 star film reviewed in these 3 posts is The Wrestler, which I think is the best film I’ve seen so far this year. For the Best Picture Oscar nominees, The Reader and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button are tied with 4.5 stars, but I think the latter is the film I prefer. Though it is a moot point anyway since Slumdog Millionaire is going to win!
BAFTA Winners! February 8, 2009
Posted by pacejmiller in Entertainment.Tags: BAFTA, BAFTA Awards, BAFTA winners, BAFTAs, British Academy Film Awards, British Academy of Film and Television Arts, Danny Boyle, Heath Ledger, Hunger, In Bruges, Kate Winslet, Man on Wire, Mickey Rourke, Penelope Cruz, Slumdog Millionaire, Steve McQueen, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Dark Knight, The Duchess, The Reader, The Wrestler, Vicky Cristina Barcelona, WALL-E
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The winners of the last major film award ceremony before the Academy Awards, the BAFTA Awards (British Academy of Film and Television Arts), have just been announced!
I must say there weren’t many surprises, if any. The big winner was of course Slumdog Millionaire, which came away with 7 awards (including Best Film) out of 11 nominations. Danny Boyle, Kate Winslet and Heath Ledger also continued their strong runs to now look like certainties at the Oscars next month.
Full list of winners below.
Best Film: Slumdog Millionare
Best Actor: Mickey Rourke (The Wrestler)
Best Actress: Kate Winslet (The Reader)
Best Supporting Actor: Heath Ledger (The Dark Knight)
Best Supporting Actress: Penelope Cruz (Vicky Cristina Barcelona)
Best Director: Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire)
Best British Film: Man on Wire
Best Original Screenplay: Martin McDonagh (In Bruges)
Best Adapted Screenplay: Simon Beaufoy (Slumdog Millionaire)
Best Cinematography: Anthony Dod Mantle (Slumdog Millionaire)
Best Editing: Chris Dickens (Slumdog Millionaire)
Best Production Design: Donald Grahan Burt, Victor J Zolfo (The Curious Case of Bejamin Button)
Best Costume Design: Michael O’Connor (The Duchess)
Best Make Up/Hair: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Best Film Music: AR Rahman (Slumdog Millionaire)
Best Sound: Slumdog Millionaire
Best Visual Effects: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Best Non-English Film: Il y a longtemps que je t’aime
Best Animated Feature Film: Wall-E
Orange Rising Star Award: Noel Clarke
Most Promising Newcomer: Steven McQueen (Hunger)
Best Short Animation: Wallace and Gromit in ‘A Matter of Loaf and Death
Best Short Film: September
Stumble It!
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