Nobody Knows Anything

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Oscars

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Quick hits on today’s nominations:

It’s good to see the Academy leaned strongly toward popular movies that people might have actually seen this year. At least a little bit. (C’mon, Academy: meet us halfway.) I know Benjamin Button got some ungodly number of noms, but I also don’t know anyone who’s seen it, whereas I know tons of people who saw, loved, and talked up Slumdog Millionaire. If they know what’s good for them, they’ll vote lots of awards for the little movie that has long stretches take place in Hindi. It’s the multicultural future, people!

Best Motion Picture of the Year:

  • “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
  • “Slumdog Millionaire”
  • “Milk”
  • “Frost Nixon”
  • “The Reader”

    Still haven’t managed to make it out to see Benjamin Button, which is 3 freakin’ hours long and needs to be the best thing since sliced bread to make me shoehorn that into a date night. Of the three we have seen— Slumdog Millionaire, Milk, and Frost/Nixon—the best far and away is Slumdog Millionaire, which you should go see right now if you haven’t seen it yet.

    Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role:

  • Frank Langella, “Frost/Nixon”
  • Sean Penn, “Milk”
  • Brad Pitt, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
  • Mickey Rourke, “The Wrestler”
  • Richard Jenkins, “The Visitor”

    Seen three of these as well, and Mickey Rourke is just as fabulous as everyone says in The Wrestler. As Darin put it, while watching that movie you don’t think about parallels to Rourke’s career, you think about the fucking character he’s playing. That said, Sean Penn was also pretty great as Harvey Milk, but Rourke’s career comeback story makes for much better copy.

    Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role:

  • Anne Hathaway, “Rachel Getting Married”
  • Angelina Jolie, “Changeling”
  • Meryl Streep, “Doubt”
  • Kate Winslet, “The Reader”
  • Melissa Leo, “Frozen River”

    We’ve seen one of these: Anne Hathaway, who was really good in her role, but the entire movie annoyed me so much that I refuse to think about it any more. This is probably Kate’s year—and it’s a Holocaust movie! Lesson learned: always listen to Ricky Gervais for career advice.

    Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role:

  • Josh Brolin, “Milk”
  • Robert Downey, Jr., “Tropic Thunder”
  • Philip Seymour Hoffman, “Doubt”
  • Heath Ledger, “The Dark Knight”
  • Michael Shannon, “Revolutionary Road”

    Ha! They definitely want viewers’ butts in seats this year! Sorry, Josh, you were wonderful, but this is Heath’s year.

    Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role:

  • Amy Adams, “Doubt”
  • Penelope Cruz, “Vicky Christina Barcelona”
  • Viola Davis, “Doubt”
  • Taraji P. Henson, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
  • Marisa Tomei, “The Wrestler”

    Again, seen one of these, and while Marisa Tomei was very good in The Wrestler—that whole Oscar thing: not so much of a fluke!—I have no idea whose year this is.

    Achievement in Directing:

  • Danny Boyle, “Slumdog Millionaire”
  • David Fincher, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
  • Stephen Daldry, “The Reader”
  • Gus Van Sant, “Milk”
  • Ron Howard, “Frost/Nixon”

    I actively disliked the direction in Milk, and I thought Frost/Nixon was just…stentorian. I think this is Danny Boyle’s.

    Best Animated Film:

  • “Bolt”
  • “Kung Fu Panda”
  • “WALL-E”

    Are they allowed to give it to anyone other than Wall-E? Check the Academy’s charter on this one.

    Best Original Screenplay:

  • Courtney Hunt, Frozen River
  • Mike Leigh, Happy-Go-Lucky
  • Dustin Lance Black, Milk
  • Martin McDonough, In Bruges
  • Andrew Stanton, Wall-E

    I’m happy to see Martin McDonough here, because In Bruges was a classic McDonough piece, contrasting outrageous humor and horrifying, wrenching violence in one of the more thrilling and affecting movies we saw last year. Of the three I’ve seen, I’d probably go with Milk, as kind of a consolation prize for losing everything else.

    Best Adapted Screenplay:

  • Eric Roth, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
  • John Patrick Shanley, “Doubt”
  • Peter Morgan, “Frost/Nixon”
  • David Hare, “The Reader”
  • Simon Beaufoy, “Slumdog Millionaire”

    Probably Benjamin Button, to make up for losing every other damn category to Slumdog Millionaire.

    • Comments

    1. I think best actor will go to Mickey Rourke, but I’m rooting for underdog Richard Jenkins to win. I’ve worked with him, and have seen first-hand just how good he is. He’s a delightful person, too.

    2. I’ve seen him in lots of things, and he seems like one of those great character actors. Good to know he’s a good person too.

    3. Slumdog has grossed 44M, Benjamin Button 104M. Interesting how your circle defies it.

      I decided not to see Benjamin Button (based on reviews from my compatible critics), and Slumdog never showed within 500 miles of here! I guess that’s what bootlegs are for?

    5. I recommend you watch “The Visitor”, Diane. Truly amazing film and an incredible performance by Richard Jenkins. Treat yourself!

      Having seen the other 4 movies in the best actor category RJ wins out. Rourke was great but my expectations were so high (based purely on hype) and I felt he didn’t quite live up to it.

      I’d be interested to see what you think after you’ve watched “The Visitor”!

    6. It’s funny, we get a lot of the little movies around here — maybe not as many as we did in LA, but we get a lot of them. And I don’t think The Visitor ever made it to this area. Maybe now with these nominations it’ll visit <cue rimshot>.

    7. It was quite well promoted in London (UK) and was released on DVD in the US in Oct. One to rent.

      Am v. keen to watch Frozen River. However, there’s still no UK DVD release planned.

      I never cease to be staggered by just how diffcult it is to watch any film you want legally when it’s so easy to do so illegally. Crazy.