First things first, I soundly approve of all nominations Slumdog Millionaire (my favorite film of the year) and hope that it wins them all - which I strongly suspect it may. I am particularly looking forward to the performances of songs from the film during the ceremony!
Next thing to strike me is that Hollywood loves Holocaust films and since Tom Cruise didn't exactly make Valkyrie the stuff of Oscar dreams, the attention has come raining down on The Reader. Now I have not seen the film because from what I read, it sounded like it did not give participants in the horrors of the Holocaust enough personal responsibility. However, since the Academy has decided that The Reader is one of the five best films of the year, features one of the best performances by an actress (Kate Winslet who could very well win), had one of the best directors (Stephen Daldry) and one of the best adapted screenplays (from David Hare), I am going to make an effort to check it out this weekend. Therefore, I will reserve judgment on whether these nominations were deserved until I see the film for myself.
I was going to see Revolutionary Road this weekend but that film has had the door soundly slammed in its face so I have reordered my priorities (the film only scrounged up a nomination for best supporting actor for Michael Shannon who is supposed to be a scene stealer). I was surprised that Leonardo DiCaprio did not get his nomination simply because he is a popular actor, doing solid work but I guess the Academy just liked Brad Pitt better (does anyone know how much of that CGI bit was his work?). It seems to me that DiCaprio often gets overlooked by the Academy which seems strange but hopefully he will get his soon (although I would be surprised if the forthcoming Scorcese adaptation of Dennis Lehane's Shutter Island would be the film to do it based on my knowledge of the Lehane book).
But let's get to the really good news: Martin McDonough was nominated for the screenplay for In Bruges!! I would have loved to see Colin Farrell get a nomination as well but I will take what I am given. Also, I love that Mike Leigh got a nomination for the Happy Go Lucky screenplay although again, I would have loved a Sally Hawkins nomination as well. And of course I love, love, love that Robert Downey Jr. was nominated for Tropic Thunder - even though Heath Ledger will likely win that category, Downey had an amazing year that deserves attention.
Even though it will probably be an unpopular position, I also thoroughly approve of shutting out The Dark Knight from the major categories (other than Ledger of course which is the real recognition the film deserved). Yes I hated the film but I also believe that there are many more deserving films out there that were better written, more beautiful to look at (did anyone else get nauseous from the choppiness?) and were just generally more interesting. Even if you thought the Dark Knight was an entertaining film, it just simply isn't an example of great filmmaking.
Which brings me to the bad news: Gran Torino was much more deserving of film, screenplay, directing, acting honors than Frost/Nixon or The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (again, I reserve judgment on The Reader). I can't believe Gran Torino was so shut out - it was definitely one of my favorite movies of the year (with Slumdog and In Bruges). Of course, Clint Eastwood is not lacking in awards and attention but I really would have liked to seen some nominations for the film if for no other reason than it would get more people to go and see it. Please do go see it.
One complaint regarding Benjamin Button in particular - the Academy somehow failed to see that while Brad Pitt turned in a fairly uninteresting performance, Cate Blanchett was simply breathtaking. Again, Blanchett has seen plenty of Academy love over the years but I can not believe that she could not get a nomination in the supporting category over her co-star Taraji P. Henson or in the lead category over Angelina Jolie (again, did not see the film but could not take her overacting in the preview). She was hands down my favorite part of the movie. The movie was also very beautiful generally and deserves all nominations in that direction but I just wish the acting nominations had been refocused. The film has the most nominations overall which many would say make it a strong contender for best picture but again, I hope and believe that Slumdog will slip in there.
Finally, my early winner picks would be Penelope Cruz for supporting actress for Vicky Cristina Barcelona (she completely stole that movie), Heath Ledger for The Dark Knight (it will be very hard to beat him), Kate Winslet for The Reader (a long overdue win), Mickey Rourke for The Wrestler (I would prefer Sean Penn but I don't think Rourke can be beat), In Bruges for Best Original Screenplay (OK, maybe that's just my fantasy), Waltz With Bashir for best foreign film (I preferred The Class but I think Waltz has it locked), Wall-E for animated film (um, duh) and Slumdog Millionaire for adapted screenplay, director, score and best picture of the year (deep breath fingers crossed) - we'll see on February 22nd!
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