And The Nominees Are...

It's that time again: Oscar nominations! A few thoughts:

• I love the Oscars, and I love that they've been embracing small films recently instead of caving in to the mainstream, but they really screwed up this year. They had two genuinely great blockbusters they could have nominated, and instead they went with The Reader. I swear, you could almost hear the embarrassment in Sid Ganis's voice as he begged us to join him on the most exciting night of the year. Mark my words: lowest rated ceremony ever.
  
• The one category they seem to have gotten right is Original Screenplay! I can't believe they remembered In Bruges, my favorite screenplay of the year. And WALL-E is not a film you might think screams screenplay, so I'm glad they realized how well written it really was.
  
• 4 acting nominations for Doubt but no Picture nomination? Kind of surprising.
  
• No song nomination for The Wrestler but two for Slumdog Millionaire? What were they thinking?
• WALL-E ties Beauty and the Beast for most nominations for an animated film ever.
  

Best Picture

Nominees:

• The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
  
• Frost/Nixon
  
• Milk
  
• The Reader
  
• Slumdog Millionaire
  

Which ones I've seen: Luckily (if you can really call it that) I caught The Reader just hours ago, so all five.
Who should win: Slumdog Millionaire
Who will win: Well, at least my favorite of the five is going to win Best Picture, if that's any consolation...
Possible upsets? Benjamin Button is the only one with a shot at upsetting, mainly due to it being the only big picture of the bunch.


Best Director

Nominees:

• Danny Boyle, Slumdog Millionaire
  
• Stephen Daldry, The Reader
  
• David Fincher, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
  
• Ron Howard, Frost/Nixon
  
• Gus Van Sant, Milk
  

Which ones I've seen: All of them. It's very rare that the five directors line up with Picture. Even if they didn't want to embrace The Dark Knight for Picture, I'm even more shocked that Nolan was left out.
Who should win: Boyle, I guess. Not a big fan of any of these directing jobs. I love Fincher in general, so I guess a win for him would feel nice in a career achievement sort of way.
Who will win: Boyle. I wouldn't be surprised to see a sweep by Slumdog.
Possible upsets? Again, Fincher's film seems to be the only real threat.


Best Actor

Nominees:

• Richard Jenkins, The Visitor
  
• Frank Langella, Frost/Nixon
  
• Sean Penn, Milk
  
• Brad Pitt, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
  
• Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler
  

Which ones I've seen: All of the above. I'm getting a sneaking suspicion I've seen all the nominees in the major categories for the first time ever.
Who should win: Wow, this is pretty close to great, actually. While I'm not a fan of this particular performance, good for Pitt on finally being recognized again. My pick would be Rourke.
Who will win: Penn seems like the obvious choice right now.
Possible upsets? However, I think Rourke will very likely spoil Penn's parade. Langella would be a not too distant third.


Best Actress

Nominees:

• Anne Hathaway, Rachel Getting Married
  
• Angelina Jolie, Changeling
  
• Melissa Leo, Frozen River
  
• Meryl Streep, Doubt
  
• Kate Winslet, The Reader
  

Which ones I've seen: Again, all.
Who should win: Leo! I can't believe they actually remembered the best female lead of the year!
Who will win: Winslet. They've been waiting so long to give it to her, they'll feel like they have to at this point.
Possible upsets? Streep seems like a genuine threat, though. Very few actors can win more than two Oscars in a career, but she is probably one of them.


Best Supporting Actor

Nominees:

• Josh Brolin, Milk
  
• Robert Downey Jr, Tropic Thunder
  
• Philip Seymour Hoffman, Doubt
  
• Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight
  
• Michael Shannon, Revolutionary Road
  

Which ones I've seen: I've seen everything, I've seen it all.
Who should win: Ledger, obviously.
Who will win: The one certainty of the night - and this whole year - has been Ledger's win here.
Possible upsets? I can't even fathom who could beat him. Brolin, probably. How awkward would that feel to win over Leger, I wonder?


Best Supporting Actress

Nominees:

• Amy Adams, Doubt
  
• Penelope Cruz, Vicky Cristina Barcelona
  
• Viola Davis, Doubt
  
• Taraji P. Henson, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
  
• Marisa Tomei, The Wrestler
  

Which ones I've seen: Wow, I really have seen all the major nominees. I wonder how I did on screenplays...
Who should win: Penelope Cruz. Delightful performance, that one.
Who will win: I think Cruz has this one. Woody Allen has a history of getting his ladies Oscars.
Possible upsets? Watch out for both Viola Davis and Marisa Tomei. Davis gives a resonating performance, while Tomei has been gunning to prove her last win wasn't a mistake.

So, there we have it. The last five years years have had some pretty great Pictures nominated, so it's kind of sad to see that streak end. This is kind of the final nail in the mediocre coffin that was 2008. Some of the smaller categories at least got it right. But again, my mind has been boggled. Really, The Reader?!

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - 13
Slumdog Millionaire - 10
The Dark Knight - 8
Milk - 8
WALL-E - 6
Doubt - 5
Frost/Nixon - 5
The Reader - 5

The Curious Case of Benjamin Buton

I consider myself to be far more patient with long movies than most. It's my belief that if a movie needs three hours to tell its story, I'm happy to indulge it. Indeed, what a delight it can be to stumble across a movie you wish would never end? So involved in the world it has created, you could explore it for hours. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is three hours long, and on the face of it, it certainly sounds like it warrants that run time. This is the entire life story of a man, and no ordinary man at that. So I was more than happy to allow it the time it felt it needed to unravel its story. Perhaps the thing that struck me most upon leaving the cinema, then, was how little it did with that extended run time, and how the length seriously damaged what could have been one of the very best films of the year.

The premise is pretty straightforward, yet endlessly intriguing: what would a man's life be like if he was born old and died young? Apparently it would be almost exactly the same as any other life, save for a few minor details. Benjamin Button (Brad Pitt) may look old when he is born, but he is a child at heart. And he may look like a kid when he's dying, but he's truly senile. Much of the hardships and benefits of living a life backwards are completely glossed over. Aside from a few "You sure are old to be doing X" comments, nothing is really made of his condition (disease?) by others. Perhaps the only part of his life - and the film - affected by this peculiarity is his realization that he would be dooming whoever he loves to take care of him in his final years. Which is pretty much exactly how it goes for any elderly person. Indeed, it's a premise not fully realized. It seems instead that it is merely a device used to examine one man's life. And what a dull man that is.

Button experiences no major moments in his life that warrant a cinematic telling. Much of his life is spent listening to other people tell him their stories, many of which seem far more interesting than his. Perhaps that's the point, but it sure isn't worth making a three hour movie about. The whole cast is very solid. Front and center in Button's life is Daisy (Cate Blanchett). Blanchett gives a great, understated performance. She relies on no gimmicks, no big moments of emotion. She simply inhabits a character, and it works well. Taraji P. Henson plays Button's adopted mother, and she brings warmth and humor to the role. And the fact that she is working at a retirement home allows for some amusing moments between Benjamin and the older folks. Key to the movie, however, is of course Brad Pitt. Pitt plays Button for almost all of his life. The more I reflect on it, the more I really appreciated his work as the physically older, mentally younger Button. It must be pretty hard to play both old and young at the same time, but he's very convincing at it. But again, he is given no real moments to shine, either, so it's easy to forget about him in the midst of all the technical wizardry on display.

In many ways, I would argue that David Fincher is the visual wunderkind of film making today. His films are so visually beyond anything else out there, yet they never draw attention to themselves. Watch the special features on the Zodiac DVD and you'll be blown away by how much CGI is used in a seemingly visual effects free film. Here he steps up his game in stunning ways. The creation of Benjamin Button as a character is mind boggling. I have no idea how they did it, nor are there any seams in the creation that might allow you to figure it out. That can't possibly be Brad Pitt, but yet it certainly can't be someone else, either. And the cinematography from start to finish is perhaps the most striking, enchanting, and beautiful of the year. In spite of how little money Fincher's films usually make at the box office, he keeps getting huge budgets. As a film fan, there are few things to be more thankful for, as he knows how to spend every dollar to make the best visual experience possible.

The mundane story is what drags down an otherwise enchanting film. So many great themes are brought up, a number of asides from supporting characters are delightful (especially the story of the clockmaker who made his clock run backwards), and the visuals are stunning. Yet it's that three hour run time that ultimately undermines it all. All those things matter very little if you can't get into the story. Button's life is simply not a very eventful one, but it should have been. How is he never taken to a doctor once? Even if not for his obvious problem, did he never get sick once, or break a bone? Surely then a doctor would see him and want to study him. I feel like this film didn't explore the concept nearly as well as it could, which is a shame considering how good everything else about it is.