My Oscar Favorites
Although I was taken aback by some of the nominations for the Academy Awards this year (or lack thereof), these are my picks for the awards:
BEST ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE:
Richard Jenkins (THE VISITOR)
Frank Langella (FROST/NIXON)
Sean Penn (MILK)
Brad Pitt (THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON)
Mickey Rourke (THE WRESTLER)
These were all fantastic performances, but Mickey deserves this one without question.
BEST 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)
Another no-brainer for me. This one goes to the late Heath Ledger. A role simply cannot be acted out better that this. By the way, I like Robert Downey Jr. He's great and all, but sticks out like a sore thumb on this list.
BEST ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE:
Anne Hathaway (RACHEL GETTING MARRIED)
Angelina Jolie (CHANGELING)
Melissa Leo (FROZEN RIVER)
Meryl Streep (DOUBT)
Kate Winslet (THE READER)
I'm going out on a limb here. I didn't get to see The Reader or Changeling. I favor Meryl Streep's performance over Anne Hathaway's, although they are both worthy. Considering Kate Winslet's success at the Golden Globes and great critical acclaim about her performance in The Reader, I'm going with her. I know she's great. Melissa Leo is a surprise to me, though. Her performance didn't seem Oscar worthy to me.
BEST ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE:
Amy Adams (DOUBT)
Penélope Cruz (VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA)
Viola Davis (DOUBT)
Taraji P. Henson (THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON)
Marisa Tomei (THE WRESTLER)
Another really tough one for me. I missed Vicky Cristina Barcelona, so I can't really say if Cruz's performance was great. But I do know it would have to be pretty stellar to surpass the other fine performances in this category. It could go any way, but for the sake of choosing only one, I'm going with Marisa Tomei. She held nothing back.
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM:
Bolt
Kung Fu Panda
WALL·E
An absolute no-brainer to me. Kung Fu Panda was kind of enjoyable. I didn't bother with Bolt. WALL·E definitely wins this category. Next.
BEST ART DIRECTION:
CHANGELING
THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
THE DARK KNIGHT
THE DUCHESS
REVOLUTIONARY ROAD
The Dark Knight was visually spectacular from beginning to end. I think the closest competition to me is Benjamin Button, but I still favor The Dark Knight.
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY:
CHANGELING
THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
THE DARK KNIGHT
THE READER
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE
Slumdog Millionaire had great cinematography as well, but I favor Wally Pfister on The Dark Knight in this category.
BEST COSTUME DESIGN:
AUSTRALIA
THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
THE DUCHESS
MILK
REVOLUTIONARY ROAD
Although I did enjoy the costuming in Milk, and I think the period costumes in The Duchess are also probably worthy, my favorite is going to have to be Benjamin Button in this category.
BEST DIRECTING:
THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
FROST/NIXON
MILK
THE READER
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE
NOTE: strike one against the Academy for ignoring Christopher Nolan. I'll be thrilled if Gus Van Sant goes home with this Oscar for MILK. However, he's up against stiff competition. If not him, I'd go for Danny Boyle for Slumdog, then Ron Howard for FROST/NIXON.
BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE:
THE BETRAYAL (NERAKHOON)
ENCOUNTERS AT THE END OF THE WORLD
THE GARDEN
MAN ON WIRE
TROUBLE THE WATER
Out of this bunch, I only saw Man on Wire. But that's all I need. Seriously, if you haven't watched Man on Wire, put it in your Netflix cue or just go buy it now. It's well worth it.
BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT:
THE CONSCIENCE OF NHEM EN
THE FINAL INCH
SMILE PINKI
THE WITNESS - FROM THE BALCONY OF ROOM 306
I didn't see a single one of these. I truly picked the last one based on title alone. So hoorah for Room 306, can't say I never did anything for ya.
BEST FILM EDITING:
THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
THE DARK KNIGHT
FROST/NIXON
MILK
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE
A tough choice, to be sure, but I'm going to favor Slumdog Millionaire for exceptional editing.
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM:
THE BAADER MEINHOF COMPLEX
THE CLASS
DEPARTURES
REVANCHE
WALTZ WITH BASHIR
I didn't see any of these yet, but Waltz With Bashir appears to have an awesome story and stunning visual style. I choose it for those qualities.
BEST MAKEUP:
THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
THE DARK KNIGHT
HELLBOY II: THE GOLDEN ARMY
Well, it's obvious that The Dark Knight is in this category primarily for the stellar work on The Joker. But the achievement on this front of the other contenders here was spectacular. It could go either way and I'd be satisfied, but I'll go with Benjamin Button.
BEST MUSIC (SCORE):
THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
DEFIANCE
MILLK
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE
WALL·E
I pick Slumdog with no reservations. Really awesome score.
BEST MUSIC (SONG):
"Down to Earth" (WALL·E)
"Jai Ho" (SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE)
"O Saya" (SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE)
All awesome songs, but "O Saya" takes this one home.
BEST PICTURE:
THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
FROST/NIXON
MILK
THE READER
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE
NOTE: strike two against the Academy for ignoring Christopher Nolan. I guess they forgot that The Dark Knight is number 5 on IMDb.com with over 300,000 votes. Think that doesn't matter? Take a look at the films surrounding it on that list. Given this selection, I'd like MILK to take home the coveted award, but I think it's going to be a close call between Slumdog and Benjamin Button. My money is on Button.
BEST SHORT FILM (ANIMATED):
LA MAISON EN PETITS CUBES
LAVATORY - LOVESTORY
OKTAPODI
PRESTO
THIS WAY UP
You remember the short before WALL·E? Yeah, that wins.
BEST SHORT FILM (LIVE ACTION):
AUF DER SRECKE (ON THE LINE)
MANON ON THE ASPHALT
NEW BOY
THE PIG
SPIELZEUGLAND (TOYLAND)
Another completely random pick. Never seen or heard of any of these. Holdin' out for the New Boy.
BEST SOUND EDITING:
THE DARK KNIGHT
IRON MAN
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE
WALL·E
WANTED
Okay. The sound editing was pretty cool on all of these, but I can't say that it made as much of an impact on any of them as it did on WALL·E.
BEST SOUND MIXING:
THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
THE DARK KNIGHT
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE
WALL·E
WANTED
Same reason as my pick above.
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS:
THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
THE DARK KNIGHT
IRON MAN
All of these were truly splendid visually. I pick Benjamin Button if for no other reason than for the scenes on the boat at sea. Especially the nighttime parts. Mind-blowing.
BEST WRITING (ADAPTED SCREENPLAY):
THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
DOUBT
FROST/NIXON
THE READER
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE
There's some great writing competition here, but I have to favor Frost/Nixon in this category. This dialogue was so incredibly captivating and so incredibly important to the movie.
BEST WRITING (ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY):
FROZEN RIVER
HAPPY-GO-LUCKY
IN BRUGES
MILK
WALL·E
NOTE: strike three against the Academy for ignoring Christopher Nolan. Seriously, who picked this list? Frozen River? Not in a million years. Happy-Go-Lucky? Not even close to deserving an Oscar for writing. For Sally Hawkins' acting maybe, but most definitely not writing. What is In Bruges even doing at this year's Oscars? I loved that movie, but really... why? The only competition is between MILK and WALL·E, although Christopher and Jonathan Nolan deserve this award far more than any of these other folks. Anyway, here's to Dustin Lance Black for MILK.
Find your way to the comment button (#) below if you'd like to share some of your picks (or commiserate with me).
