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Thursday, December 4, 2008
‘Slumdog Millionaire’ named Best film
The National Board of Review, that somewhat shadowy group that is usually first to announce its year-end awards, has named Danny Boyle’s Slumdog Millionaire as the best film of 2008.
The other winners are:
Best Director: David Fincher, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Very anxious to see.)
Best Actor: Clint Eastwood, “Gran Torino” (Interesting. Is this Eastwood love or is the film not as bad as some say?)
Best Actress: Anne Hathaway, “Rachel Getting Married” (Yay!)
Best Supporting Actor: Josh Brolin, “Milk” (Continuing his assent)
Best Supporting Actress: Penelope Cruz, “Vicky Cristina Barcelona” (Solidifies her chances)
Best Foreign Film: “Mongol” (So I’ve heard)
Best Documentary: “Man on Wire” (Well deserved)
Best Animated Feature: “WALL-E” (Ultra well deserved)
Best Ensemble Cast: “Doubt” (Ibid)
Breakthrough Performance by an Actor: Dev Patel, “Slumdog Millionaire”(Building buzz)
Breakthrough Performance by an Actress: Viola Davis, “Doubt” (Breakthrough? Really? She’s been working for quite awhile.)
Best Directorial Debut: Courtney Hunt, “Frozer River” (Meh. Overrated.)
Best Original Screenplay: Nick Schenk, “Gran Torino”
Best Adapted Screenplay (tie): Simon Beaufoy, “Slumdog Millionaire” and Eric Roth, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
The top ten (in alphabetical order):
“Burn After Reading” (Wow!)
“Changeling” (Really liked it, but not THAT much)
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
“The Dark Knight” (Deserved. Now if the Academy will take it seriously …)
“Defiance” (Hmm. Not according to the iffy reviews I’ve read thus far.)
“Frost/Nixon” (Anxious to see)
“Gran Torino”
“Milk” (Also anxious to see)
“WALL-E” (Absitively!)
“The Wrestler” (I’ll see anything by Darren Aronofsky)
Interesting omissions: Zip for Revolutionary Road, the Sam Mendes film that reunites Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet. But then again, these are the same folks who put The Bucket List in their top 10 last year, ignoring There Will Be Blood. Um … yeah). Take it with a grain of salt.
At any rate, it’s nice timing: Slumdog Millionaire opens in Dayton next Friday.)
Reactions?
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What’s opening Friday, Dec. 5?
The first week of December usually bores moviewatchers to death as Hollywood takes sort of a holiday, and this year is no exception. You have to turn to the arthouses and a second run theater for the most interesting fare this weekend.
Cadillac Records: This limited release film tells the story of Chess Records, for whom Chuck Berry recorded. Beyonce Knowles stars as Etta James (?!) and Mos Def (?!) plays Berry.
Nobel Son: A young chemistry student (Shawn Hatosy) tangles with Nobel Prize-winning scientist Eli Michaelson (Rickman) by kidnapping his son then exposing Michaelson as an egomaniac. From the folks who brought us Bottle Shock.
The Punisher: War Zone: OK. I’d like to hear from someone who actually wanted to see a Punisher sequel. Hello? Anyone there? (crickets)
At the Arthouses
The Neon opens Charlie Kaufman’s latest mind-bender and his directorial debut, Synecdoche, New York, starring Philip Seymor Hoffman.
Little Art brings in Mike Leigh’s Happy Go Lucky, which has been earning Oscar buzz for its lead, Sally Hawkins.
Holiday fare
Just as A Christmas Story pops up all the time on TV these days, it’s popping up in more than one theater. Neon has it at noon this Saturday at noon as part of their annual Children’s Holiday Film Festival.
Then, the Beaver Valley dollarplex in Beavercreek has it as part of its own Holiday Film Festival, which will consist of A Christmas Story, Elf and The Polar Express on Saturday evening.
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