I've already written at length about all the reasons why I think Wall-E deserves an Oscar nod in a few weeks, but with the Golden Globes coming up on Sunday and most of the major guilds having announced their nominations and/or awards by now, I want to step away from the Disney beat for a second and give some kudos to the ther 4 films I loved this year and would want to see recognized:
Slumdog Millionaire: It's rare that a film that makes you think can also make you smile. And it's even more rare that a film could be described as being both gritty and whimsical at the same time. A poor boy from Mumbai reflects on his life while attempting to win the girl of his dreams and the fortune of a lifetime on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?. I was at the edge of my seat the whole time, and came out grinning from ear to ear. With no stars, a hit-or-miss director, and lots of subtitles, this will be a tough sell for the Academy - but if they don't nominate (and award) this one Best Picture, then they're even more outdated then I thought. See it. And take your friends.
Frost/Nixon: I am more than a little obsessed with The West Wing, and this film has a similar tone and pop to it. Michael Sheen (perhaps the most underrated actor working today) and Frank Langella are absolute perfection, and the supporting cast - complete with Sam Rockwell, Oliver Platt, and Matthew Macfadyen - are a joy to watch. It's a film about talking, and that's pretty much all there is to it, but the dialogue is crisp, the staging is tight, and the film's climatic omigod moment was one of my favorite film memories this year.
The Fall: I am probably one of the 17 people who saw this movie, but it's incredible. Every frame is a painting, every scene is breathtakingly gorgeous. The film was shot across all continents, and director Tarsem's style is so visually arresting that I couldn't take my eyes of the screen and when the film was over, sat there in a stupor. Watch the trailer and be amazed. Then rent it immediately.
In Bruges: This one's up for a Golden Globe but has virtually no chance of making it to the Oscars. That being said, this movie slam-dunks the hard-to-define dark comedy genre, and does it wonderfully. You'll belly laugh, you'll think, and you'll want to talk about it with your friends after.
And the ones that are completely overrated:
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button: Like watching paint dry. It's a 3 hour film that feels like 9 hours. And apologies to David Fincher, one of my favorite directors, but the film is not interesting whatsoever, and there is absolutely no chemistry between the leads, and it's just terrible. I've met people who claim it's God's gift to cinema, but those people are clearly being paid off by Paramount.
The Dark Knight: No throwing things, no throwing things. But let's get serious: if Heath Ledger hadn't died so suddenly and so tragically, would we really still be talking about this film? Apart from his performance (which I do think is Oscar worthy, and probably the most memorable of the year), the rest of the movie is blah by comparison. By the end of it, you're rooting for the bad guys to win because Batman and his cronies are just so darn LAME (not you, Michael Caine. You may live). And as far as superhero movies go - Iron Man is a million times better, and if we must waste a Best Picture nomination on a popcorn movie, can we at least give it to the more awesome of the two? Please?
And the ones I haven't seen but hope to see and thus cannot judge:
Milk
Doubt
The Wrestler
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2 comments:
Doubt is really, REALLY good.
It's a shame that Notorious came out after the Oscars because there were some really great performances, and it will certainly get lost in the shuffle of 2009--but I haven't had a chance to see many of these films yet, but I did see Dark Knight Amanda and it was AWWWWESome--Gary Oldman was great too--but It won't win any oscars except for Heath--which he does deserve whether he was alive or dead. He did what no one could do top Jack Nicholson as the Joker, no easy feat. And how many Oscars does Jacko have?? But I really want to see the Wrestler and Benjamin Button--so we shall see!!!
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