They are the artists behind the camera, transforming their imagination and vision into a working narrative. They are the storytellers that we love to listen to, and the glue that ultimately holds all the elements of a successful movie in place. And the nominees are...
Danny Boyle for Slumdog Millionaire (1st nomination)- Boyle has truly created a breathtaking piece of art with his rendering of the simultaneous coming of age story of three orphans and the country they call home. He beautifully captures the harsh, vast nature of the slums of Mumbai, along with their maturation toward a cosmopolitan city, while at the same time giving us a whirlwind tour of India's wonders, culture and history. All this is accomplished in flashback mode through the memories of the title character while he is competing on a gameshow. A true masterpiece and much deserved nomination, along with a probable win. (chances of winning=excellent)
Stephen Daldry for The Reader (3rd nomination)- While there is no denying that Daldry is a gifted director, there is no obvious reason for his nomination for this film. The plot meanders while dedicating way too much time to bedroom scenes instead of engaging in any meaningful discourse on the topics it presents. The film asks several relevant questions but fails to do more than skim their surfaces, and only feels productive when it simply focuses on Winslet and lets her act. Ultimately this film did not provide an answer to the all important question for me as I left the theatre "so what?". (Has my extreme dislike for this movie started to come through yet?) (chances of winning=slim)
David Fincher for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (1st nomination)- Wow it is about time that this gifted director got around to getting a nomination. This film is definitly his most ambitious undertaking and he passes with flying colors. The sheer weight, complexity and mixing of multiple elements in this film would be enough to make any directors head spin, but Fincher manages to pull it all together and create a film that is both enjoyable and fulfilling. This is a long film coming in at just under 3 hours, and Fincher's ability to maintain interest and freshness throughout is a testament unto itself. (chances of winning=very good)
Ron Howard for Frost/Nixon (2nd nomination/1 previous win)- A perfect example of a director placing trust in his greatest assets. Howard provides a captivating narrative mixed with archival footage along with scenes that are filmed to look like the actual history they are portraying. The inclusion of post-facto interviews with the actors as their characters is also a refreshing touch. However, Howard also knows when to play it simple and during the interviews simply puts the camera on the two lead actors and lets them do their thing without the addition of distracting bells and whistles. A fine job and a deserving nomination. (chances of winning=slim)
Gus Van Sant for Milk (2nd nomination)- Van Sant is a very unique director whose films are usually an acquired taste. In Milk he achieves an interesting and informative depiction of what could be considered the birthplace and beginnings of the gay rights movement. Despite some great shots including the mixing of actual footage from the candlelight march following Milk's assassination, this film struck me as overly preachy and markedly agendad. Now maybe those things are not necessarily bad, it just did not appeal to me, as the only thing I really enjoyed about this movie was the great ensemble cast. (chances of winning=good)
Who I would have nominated:
Danny Boyle for Slumdog Millionaire
Clint Eastwood for Changeling
David Fincher for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Ron Howard for Frost/Nixon
Christopher Nolan for The Dark Knight
Friday, January 30, 2009
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Best Picture
Well if you are going to talk about the Oscars the place you have to start is with the grand prize... The best picture of the year. And the nominees are...
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (The stereotypical Oscar type film)
Frost/Nixon (An intelligent political film that is as entertaining as it is well-crafted)
Milk (Another political film that benefits from its outstanding lead performance... and the current political climate)
The Reader (I have nothing nice to say about this film... Except Winslet's performance)
Slumdog Millionaire (A heartfelt love story that watches the modern history and growth of India along with its characters)
Breakdown:
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button(13 total nominations) (Dir-David Fincher): Based on the short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald about a man who ages in reverse, this film is epic in scope as it investigates the way we view the passage of time in our lives and how that view affects our decisions and relationships. Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett star along with a fine supporting turn from Taraji Henson. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is a deserving nominee but not an appropriate winner in my opinion. (Chances of Winning= Very Good)
Frost/Nixon (5 total nominations)- (Dir-Ron Howard): Based on the theatrical play that documents the Frost/Nixon interviews where talk show playboy David Frost took on the daunting task of interviewing/interrogating disgraced President Richard Nixon following his resignation due to the Watergate scandal. Micheal Sheen and Frank Langella both give outstanding performances along with several notable supporting roles in a film that is both captivating and entertaining. This would be my second choice for the win but it is realistically a long shot. (Chances of Winning= Slim)
Milk (8 total nominations)- (Dir-Gus Van Sant): Based on the real life of Harvey Milk who was the first elected gay official in the city of San Francisco. The high point of the film is the exceptional performance from Sean Penn as Milk, along with the strong supporting cast of James Franco, Emile Hirsch, Josh Brolin and Diego Luna. I however felt that the great performances masked what was otherwise a very average film. I understand the appeal for a movie of this type in the current political climate, but felt it was undeserving of a best picture nomination. (Chances of Winning= Good)
The Reader (5 total nominations)- (Dir-Stephen Daldry): Based on the acclaimed German novel by Bernhard Schlink, The Reader explores questions of responsibility and guilt through the relationship of a teenage boy and his adult lover who is later convicted for war crimes committed during her duty as a Nazi SS officer in WWII. Kate Winslet gives one of the best performances of the year as Hanna Schmitz, but besides that I found this film severly lacking both in terms of scope and voice. I was actually appalled that it stole a nomination from multiple more deserving films. (Chances of Winning= Slim to None)
Slumdog Millionaire (10 total nominations)- (Dir-Danny Boyle): The underdog movie of the year that is taking the award circuit by storm is based on an Indian novel entitled Q&A written by Vikas Swarup. This beautifully shot film follows the lives of three slumdog children (two brothers and a girl) as they grow up on the poor, harsh streets of Mumbai. The movie intersects their lives into the culture, history and modernization of India so that we watch the maturation of India at the same time as the orphans. Movies like this one are the reason I go the theatre. (Chances of Winning= Excellent)
-More in depth reviews on all 5 of these films will be coming shortly
-My Final Oscar predictions will be posted Feb 21 (the day before the ceremony)
What I would have nominated:
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Frost/Nixon
Gran Torino
Slumdog Millionaire
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (The stereotypical Oscar type film)
Frost/Nixon (An intelligent political film that is as entertaining as it is well-crafted)
Milk (Another political film that benefits from its outstanding lead performance... and the current political climate)
The Reader (I have nothing nice to say about this film... Except Winslet's performance)
Slumdog Millionaire (A heartfelt love story that watches the modern history and growth of India along with its characters)
Breakdown:
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button(13 total nominations) (Dir-David Fincher): Based on the short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald about a man who ages in reverse, this film is epic in scope as it investigates the way we view the passage of time in our lives and how that view affects our decisions and relationships. Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett star along with a fine supporting turn from Taraji Henson. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is a deserving nominee but not an appropriate winner in my opinion. (Chances of Winning= Very Good)
Frost/Nixon (5 total nominations)- (Dir-Ron Howard): Based on the theatrical play that documents the Frost/Nixon interviews where talk show playboy David Frost took on the daunting task of interviewing/interrogating disgraced President Richard Nixon following his resignation due to the Watergate scandal. Micheal Sheen and Frank Langella both give outstanding performances along with several notable supporting roles in a film that is both captivating and entertaining. This would be my second choice for the win but it is realistically a long shot. (Chances of Winning= Slim)
Milk (8 total nominations)- (Dir-Gus Van Sant): Based on the real life of Harvey Milk who was the first elected gay official in the city of San Francisco. The high point of the film is the exceptional performance from Sean Penn as Milk, along with the strong supporting cast of James Franco, Emile Hirsch, Josh Brolin and Diego Luna. I however felt that the great performances masked what was otherwise a very average film. I understand the appeal for a movie of this type in the current political climate, but felt it was undeserving of a best picture nomination. (Chances of Winning= Good)
The Reader (5 total nominations)- (Dir-Stephen Daldry): Based on the acclaimed German novel by Bernhard Schlink, The Reader explores questions of responsibility and guilt through the relationship of a teenage boy and his adult lover who is later convicted for war crimes committed during her duty as a Nazi SS officer in WWII. Kate Winslet gives one of the best performances of the year as Hanna Schmitz, but besides that I found this film severly lacking both in terms of scope and voice. I was actually appalled that it stole a nomination from multiple more deserving films. (Chances of Winning= Slim to None)
Slumdog Millionaire (10 total nominations)- (Dir-Danny Boyle): The underdog movie of the year that is taking the award circuit by storm is based on an Indian novel entitled Q&A written by Vikas Swarup. This beautifully shot film follows the lives of three slumdog children (two brothers and a girl) as they grow up on the poor, harsh streets of Mumbai. The movie intersects their lives into the culture, history and modernization of India so that we watch the maturation of India at the same time as the orphans. Movies like this one are the reason I go the theatre. (Chances of Winning= Excellent)
-More in depth reviews on all 5 of these films will be coming shortly
-My Final Oscar predictions will be posted Feb 21 (the day before the ceremony)
What I would have nominated:
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Frost/Nixon
Gran Torino
Slumdog Millionaire
Welcome!
Welcome to the Cinematic Courier. Given the fact that the Oscar nominees were just announced and the ceremony is less than a month away, I felt it was appropriate to start off the blog as a breakdown of the Oscar contenders. So from now until the actual big day this blog will be dedicated to everything Oscar, including commentary on all the categories and some reviews of the big category movies (After all January is not the treasure trove month of movie releases... Sorry Paul Blart: Mall Cop fans but this may not be the place for you). As far as I am concerned the new movie year does not officially begin until March anyway as I usually spend January and the first part of February trying to see all the movies from the previous year that I missed. Having said that lets start breaking down those categories. Enjoy!
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