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Thursday, January 22, 2009
And the Oscar nominees (and reax) are ….
The big news: The Dark Knight got SHAFTED. The major nominees are:
BEST PICTURE
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Frost/Nixon
Milk
The Reader
Slumdog Millionaire
So the overbearingly pretentious The Reader (alternate title: I Shtupped a Nazi) is a better film than The Dark Knight, huh? ‘Scuse me while I eat my hat. If a “serious” film had to be take its slot, I would have much preferred the far superior Doubt.
BEST DIRECTOR
Danny Boyle, Slumdog Millionaire
Stephen Daldry,The Reader
David Fincher, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Ron Howard, Frost/Nixon
Gus Van Sant, Milk
So Stephen Daldry is a better director than The Dark Knight’s Christopher Nolan, huh? ‘Scuse me while I finish my hat.
BEST ACTOR
Richard Jenkins, The Visitor
Frank Langella, Frost/Nixon
Sean Penn, Milk
Brad Pitt, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler
I went 4 for 5 here, tapping Eastwood instead of Jenkins, but I’m actually happy to be wrong about that. Jenkins was bettter.
BEST ACTRESS
Anne Hathaway, Rachel Getting Married
Angelina Jolie, Changeling
Melissa Leo, Frozen River
Meryl Streep, Doubt
Kate Winslet, The Reader
Melissa Leo took Sally Hawkins’ spot, which makes me a little sad. Leo was very good, but Hawkins was even better. And I have a strong suspicion they nominated Winslet for the WRONG film, but she still has a shot at winning.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Josh Brolin, Milk
Robert Downey Jr, Tropic Thunder
Philip Seymour Hoffman, Doubt
Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight
Michael Shannon , Revolutionary Road
Michael Shannon was the surprise here. Given how Revolutionary Road had faded from the picture, I thought he was farther on the outside. I’ll find out tonight when I see the film He aced out Dev Patel, which I’m actually not that upset about - he was really a lead anyway.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Amy Adams, Doubt
Penelope Cruz, Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Viola Davis, Doubt
Taraji P. Henson, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Marisa Tomei, The Wrestler
Hooray, my reverse psychology worked and Amy Adams made it in this year! With Winslet being moved over to lead for “The Reader,” I think Cruz will get it, although Davis would not surprise me either.
Not one of my better years. I’m mad at myself for not acing a single major category. But hey, as Some Like It Hot said, “Nobody’s perfect.”
What do you think? Who are you glad to see? Who got robbed? What surprised you? And a question a lot of people are bound to ask: since there’s not a blockbuster among the nominees again this year, are you excited about this list? Will you watch the show?
Minor categories will be added this morning after the jump.
Best Animated Film
Bolt
Kung Fu Panda
WALL-E
They went with “Bolt” rather than “Waltz with Bashir” which I’m not too surprised by - this is along the same lines of “Jimmy Neutron” getting in over “Waking Life.”
Best Documentary
The Betrayal
Encounters at the End of the World
The Garden
Man on Wire
Trouble the Water
“Man on Wire” is the walkway favorite.
Best Foreign Language Film
The Baader Meinhof Complex
The Class
Departures
Revance
Waltz with Bashir
Really don’t see “Bashir” losing this, given its topicality.
Best Original Screenplay
Frozen River
Happy Go Lucky
In Bruges
Milk
WALL-E
The SHOCK here is longtime Academy darling Woody Allen getting passed over for “VIcky Cristina Barcelona.” Wow. But I’m happy to see the deserving “In Bruges” make the cut.
Best Adapted Screenplay
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button*
Doubt
Frost/Nixon
The Reader
Slumdog Millionaire
I had “The Dark Knight” instead of “The Reader” - a mirror of the Picture Race.
Best Score
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Defiance
Milk
Slumdog Millionaire*
WALL-E
I’m delighted to see “WALL-E” here. I really hope it wins. Composer Thomas Newman is way past due for a trophy. I won’t be too upset if “Slumdog” takes it, which I actually expect.
Best Song
“Down to Earth,” WALL-E
“O Saya” Slumdog Millionaire
“Jaiho, ” Slumdog Millionaire
They went for three instead of the usual five, somewhat surprisingly passing over Springteen’s tune for “The Wrestler.” I think Newman’s win will come here.
Best Art Direction
Changeling
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
The Duchess
Revolutionary Road
“The Duchess” got in instead of “Indiana Jones,” which I actually think is more deserving, but what are you gonna do?
Best Cinematography
Changeling
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
The Reader
Slumdog Millionaire*
“Changeling” made it instead of “Revolutionary Road,” which really fared poorly. The long overdue Roger Deakins is a nominee for “The Reader,” but I think “Slumdog” wins this.
Best Editing
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Frost/Nixon
Milk
Slumdog Millionaire
Hey, I fianlly ACED a category! I’ll take what I can get this year!
Best Costume Design
Australia
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Duchess
Milk
Revolutionary Road
No real read on this one, although I like the work in “Australia” and “Benjamin Button” the best.
Best Makeup
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Hellboy II: The Golden Army*
A good list. “Hellboy” had the most imaginative work.
Best Sound Mixing - for overall sound design
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Slumdog Millionaire
Wall-E
Wanted
Well, I guess “Wanted” did sound good (strongly disliked that film), but I preferred “Iron Man.” Go Ben Burtt for “WALL-E.”
Best Sound Editing - more for effects
The Dark Knight
Iron Man
Slumdog Millionaire
WALL-E
Wanted
Ibid.
Best Visual Effects
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Iron Man
The technical category I felt safest predicting - and I was correct.
Again, thoughts?
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