OSCAR RANT 2008

It’s the 2009 Oscars…
…celebrating the movies of 2008.

A little thing I like to call Oscar Rant 2008. Enjoy.

But first, so you know where I’m coming from, the Top 10 Movies of 2008:

10. ROLE MODELS. I always put the year's funniest movie in my top
ten. This movie made me laugh out loud alot. Every time the movie
tried to be funny, it was. Before I saw it, I heard that it was just funny people saying funny things. That’s all I need in a comedy, I don’t need a crazy sex romp or envelope-pushing gross-outs. Apparently, I need Paul Rudd, who routinely shows up in great comedies. And the LARP gags are priceless.

9. IN BRUGES. A very unique and manic gangster story with great
performances all 'round. There’s a wild uneasiness and unpredictable energy that runs under this whole film, making it constantly watchable. Both Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson turn in career performances. Ralph Fiennes’ character is such a violent and profane wild-card, he’s an instant classic. Certainly, this is what Fiennes is capable of, I hate when he’s underused, like in “The Reader”.

8. THE WRESTLER. After going overboard with "The Fountain", Darren
Aronofsky delivers a bare-bones story of a washed-up wrestler who's
abused more than his body throughout the years. Aronofsky directed one of my favorite films of the last decade, “Requiem for a Dream”, and it’s good to see him back on track. Mickey Rourke is outstanding. He and Aronofsky portray the decline of the wrestler just right. Someone as adored as Randy “The Ram” Robinson is going to have trouble escaping that draw of the crowd, but the crowd’s love is only skin deep.

7. IRON MAN. Most super hero movies don't get interesting until circumstances cause the main character to become a superhero. This movie is great throughout, thanks to Robert Downey, Jr. Super hero movies, as of late, have set out to be “about” something. And the idea of a war profiteer changing his tune makes for great drama, throw in the highest of high tech effects and I could never have imagined “Iron Man” coming so vividly to life. This is going to be a great franchise.

6. SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE. Danny Boyle's hyper-kinetic action/love
story/thriller/drama/genre-defying HUGE entertainment is a story
you've never seen before, and it's constantly surprising. Boyle’s career has been tough to pigeon-hole, jumping between horror, sci-fi, edgy drama and light comedy. Here he pulls out all the stops, and does it with a relatively unknown cast that impresses at every turn. This love story unfolds like you’d never expect and so cleverly releases info to the viewer, if it wins Best Picture, it might be the first hip movie to do so.

5. WALL-E. Like a broken record, again this year I sing Pixar's
praises. On top of the world, Pixar had no reason to be risky, yet they made a sci-fi love story with minimal dialogue and social commentary and STILL knocked it out of the park. The Best Screenplay nomination is spot-on, at Pixar, story is king. Like “The Incredibles” before it, whether addressing comedy, romance, other-worldliness, eye candy, drama – “WALL-E” nails it on all fronts.

4. MAN ON WIRE. Are you passionate about your art? You've got
nothing on Philippe Petit, who walked a high wire between the Twin
Towers in 1974. The re-creation and stories about how this very illegal act happened are endlessly fascinating, and vertigo-inducing. You could make three or four interesting documentaries about Petit.

3. FROST/NIXON. Ron Howard directs as if it's the 1970s, telling a fascinating story that is, in the end, a tragedy about America and one of it’s most complicated figures. Michael Sheen and Frank Langella played these roles in London and Broadway to the point where they OWN them. Close up or wide shot, these two leads bristle. Plus, Oliver Platt, Kevin Bacon and Sam Rockwell shouldn’t be left out when it comes to great supporting roles.

2. MILK. Raw and unnerving with modern-day political resonance,
"Milk" is Gus Van Sant's best film. Gay rights is the last great civil rights hurdle American needs to jump. The “Milk” screenplay successfully gives us a history of the rise of the gay rights movement in San Francisco, and the complex life of Harvey Milk. Sean Penn's performance is transformative. Great for an actor, BRILLIANT for Sean Penn. Josh Brolin heads up an outstanding supporting cast. If you aren’t moved by this film, you’re dead.

1. THE DARK KNIGHT. A genre-transcending masterpiece. A complicated crime story that one-ups itself every ten minutes. I think it's better than a number of the last few movies that won The Oscar
("Crash" and "The Departed" come to mind), and there's something to be said for technical proficiency. Thematically, this movie is DEEP – loss, betrayal, chaos, secrets, honor, it’s all there. Not to mention state-of-the-art cinematography by Wally Pfister. The look of “The Dark Knight” is stylish, foreboding and exciting. Other tech aspects are industry-leading as well – the art direction, the editing, and the great score, combining the works of Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard, and they took great care to divide the music into different themes depending on which characters were the focus of the story at any given time. The result is an overwhelming experience. Heath Ledger’s final performance is one for the ages, an iconic character that will live on at Halloween parties forever. Christian Bale does brooding well, and his Bruce Wayne is conflicted and noble. Aaron Eckhart’s Harvey Dent is a slick and dense character, and the coolest thing I’ve heard about Gary Oldman’s performance is that he made virtue exciting. When Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman are in your movie and they're NOT the best thing about it, you've got a great movie goin'.

RUNNERS-UP:
BOLT – Developed before Pixar joined Disney, but completed afterwards, this movie feels like it won’t work until it reveals it’s huge heart. I was totally won over at the end.
TROUBLE THE WATER – Perhaps the performance of the year goes to Kimberly Roberts as herself in this brilliant documentary about life during and after Hurricane Katrina. The hook – it’s not as depressing as you’d think.
GRAN TORINO – Eastwood’s latest is a HUGE crowd pleaser. Do yourself a favor and don’t wait for DVD on this one. The film isn’t perfect, but it’s entertaining as hell, ‘cause in the middle of any imperfection, Clint has one of his best roles in years.
WANTED – Much of the plot was familiar, thematically (dufus at work is pulled from dull existence for an exciting double life), but this film has scenes in the middle of it that most action movies would kill to have as their ending.

And, the WORST:

DOOMSDAY. Overdone dog shit from the once-promising director of "The Descent". At one point, the villain is giving a speech to his "people" about how bad the good guys are and his speech culminates in "FUCK YOU!!". Literary genius...

SPEED RACER. Did I say there's something to be said for technical
proficiency? Unfortunately, here the adherence to fast and furious
technology is headache-inducing and the Wachowski Brothers should
never, ever try and be funny.

THE HAPPENING. If M. Night Shyamalan can get lower than this, he sets a record. Dopey plot with the horribly miscast Mark Wahlberg sucking hard in the middle of it. LAME-O ending.

THE MUMMY: TOMB OF THE DRAGON EMPEROR. I'm sorry, but after "The Dark Knight", and even "Iron Man", to a point, getting away with bogus effects, bogus dialogue and bogus moments like Yetis kicking field goals with bad guys is harder and harder to do.

THE WORST OF THEM ALL:
INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL. The most disappointing film of my adult life. A lazy, hack effort from all
involved. Nothing, NOTHING worked in the this film. And monkeys?
Really? Refrigerator? Really? Aliens? Stop it. This movie sucked.

WORST MOVIE GETTING AWARD RECOGNITION:
THE READER. Dull. To quote Carlin, it's like watching flies fuck.

THE OSCARS:

Performance by an actor in a leading role
Richard Jenkins in "The Visitor" (Overture Films)
Frank Langella in "Frost/Nixon" (Universal)
Sean Penn in "Milk" (Focus Features)
Brad Pitt in "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" (Paramount and Warner Bros.)
Mickey Rourke in "The Wrestler" (Fox Searchlight)

Glaring Omission: MICHAEL SHEEN. I wrote his name in caps when he got screwed for his great performance in “The Queen”. Once again, he’s overlooked as the super-slick David Frost in “Frost/Nixon”. He’s toe-to-toe as impressive as Langella, and deserved a nomination, too. Clint Eastwood, only because the Academy has such a woody for ‘ol Clint. I thought his performance in “Gran Torino” was one of the most entertaining things of the year, but Oscar-worthy? That’s a bit of a tough sell, and I can see where the SAG awards would go more for Richard Jenkins’ sublime acting. Interesting to see the Academy go for that, too, when the norm is to reward the more showy performance. Not so glaring is Benicio Del Toro in “Che”. I was not overwhelmed by this movie, but the buzz on Del Toro was good after Cannes, and I thought that might carry over. Hollywood loves DiCaprio, and I thought he and Winslet’s emotionally RAW performances would be rewarded, too.
Runners-up: Brendan Gleeson in “In Bruges”. If Jenkins’ career as a character actor can be rewarded, Gleeson’s is due as well. Robert Downey, Jr. defied the world’s expectations and delivered HUGE in “Iron Man”. It feels like I’ve mentioned everyone not yet nominated, but I gotta shout out to Josh Brolin’s dead-on W. in “W”.
Great Inclusion: Mickey Rourke. The comeback story of the year.
Will Win: Penn, in a super-close race.
Should Win: Penn. You gotta give ‘em hope.

Performance by an actor in a supporting role
Josh Brolin in "Milk" (Focus Features)
Robert Downey Jr. in "Tropic Thunder" (DreamWorks, Distributed by DreamWorks/Paramount)
Philip Seymour Hoffman in "Doubt" (Miramax)
Heath Ledger in "The Dark Knight" (Warner Bros.)
Michael Shannon in "Revolutionary Road" (DreamWorks, Distributed by Paramount Vantage)

Glaring Omission: Dev Patel, “Slumdog Millionaire”. It’s rare to get a Best Picture nomination with no acting nominees.
Runners-Up: Ledger’s performance is awesome, but it overshadowed other great work in “The Dark Knight”. Gary Oldman’s Jim Gordon is such a noble figure, loaded with integrity, he’s Gotham’s true hero, and Oldman got it just right. Aaron Eckhart was very good as Harvey Dent, and the character gave him a lot to work with. James Franco’s acting in “Milk” was the best of his career. I also was a huge fan of Liev Schrieber in “Defiance”. Not a great film, but Schrieber gave a strong, mesmerizing performance.
Great Inclusion: Robert Downey, Jr. I love it when comedy gets recognized.
Will Win: Heath Ledger.
Should Win: Heath Ledger. Hoffman’s work is so good, so often, but I was iffy on the film. Ledger’s Joker is unforgettable.

Performance by an actress in a leading role
Anne Hathaway in "Rachel Getting Married" (Sony Pictures Classics)
Angelina Jolie in "Changeling" (Universal)
Melissa Leo in "Frozen River" (Sony Pictures Classics)
Meryl Streep in "Doubt" (Miramax)
Kate Winslet in "The Reader" (The Weinstein Company)

Glaring Omission: Sally Hawkins in “Happy-Go-Lucky”. She was the film, as there wasn’t much of a plot. Her Poppy encountering negative confrontation after negative confrontation gave Hawkins the opportunity to create a real original character. After the Golden Globe win, I thought she’d at least get nominated. Cate Blanchett in “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”. The Academy loves her.
Runners-Up: Kate Winslet in “Revolutionary Road”. She buries the rest of the cast around her in this film as a sad housewife in suburbia with withering dreams. Winslet is one of the top five film actors living today, and she will win the Oscar, but she’s going to win it for the wrong film if she wins for “The Reader”. That goofy, pretentious film is just the wrong vehicle for an outstanding performance, and the age makeup is just screaming for an Oscar nod. Winslet gives it her all, but in the end it just doesn’t resonate. Her emotionally naked April Wheeler is a more powerful, and “The Reader” will end up being Winslet’s “Color of Money” or “Scent of a Woman” is she wins.
Great Inclusion: Melissa Leo, so strong in a very interesting, original movie.
Will Win: Kate Winslet
Should Win: Streep. Her work is so good, so often, and I was iffy on the film, but based on the competition, her strength carries this win in my opinion.

Performance by an actress in a supporting role
Amy Adams in "Doubt" (Miramax)
Penélope Cruz in "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" (The Weinstein Company)
Viola Davis in "Doubt" (Miramax)
Taraji P. Henson in "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" (Paramount and Warner Bros.)
Marisa Tomei in "The Wrestler" (Fox Searchlight)

Glaring Omission: Kate Winslet in “The Reader”. Not that I liked the film (Can you tell yet?), but this seemed to be the category for her character up to now. It was also odd that they considered Michael Sheen supporting, even though the film is called “FROST/Nixon”.
Runners-Up: I thought a better performance than all the nominees this year came from RoseMarie DeWitt as Rachel in “Rachel Getting Married”. She handled conflict, comedy and breakdown with equal grace and certainly matched Anne Hathaway scene for scene.
Great Inclusion: Taraji P. Henson, who didn’t get a whole lot of love in the pre-Oscar awards.
Will Win: Penelope Cruz, just beating out Viola Davis in a race with no front-runner.
Should Win: Henson. She handles the age issue more gracefully than Winslet in “The Reader” (alright, I’ll stop beating her up). I especially liked the scenes of joy with Benjamin more than anything that screamed DRAMA. I love Marisa Tomei’s body. (Did I type that out loud?)

Best animated feature film of the year
"Bolt" (Walt Disney) Chris Williams and Byron Howard
"Kung Fu Panda" (DreamWorks Animation, Distributed by
Paramount)
John Stevenson and Mark Osborne
"WALL-E" (Walt Disney) Andrew Stanton

Glaring Omission: “Waltz With Bashir”. This Israeli film is undefinable – an animated, foreign documentary. So, where do you nominate it? The Academy chose it as a foreign film nominee, but the animation is noteworthy, too, full of striking imagery.
Runners-Up: None. They got these nominees just right.
Great Inclusion: “Kung Fu Panda”. This is Dreamworks best animated film yet, visually exciting and very funny.
Will Win: “WALL-E”
Should Win: “WALL-E” Pixar rules.

Achievement in art direction
"Changeling" (Universal) Art Direction: James J. Murakami
Set Decoration: Gary Fettis
"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" (Paramount) Art Direction: Donald Graham Burt
Set Decoration: Victor J. Zolfo
"The Dark Knight" (Warner Bros.) Art Direction: Nathan Crowley
Set Decoration: Peter Lando
"The Duchess" (Paramount Vantage, Pathé and BBC Films)
Art Direction: Michael Carlin
Set Decoration: Rebecca Alleway
"Revolutionary Road" (DreamWorks, Distributed by Paramount Vantage)
Art Direction: Kristi Zea
Set Decoration: Debra Schutt

Glaring Omission: “Slumdog Millionaire”. Nominated for so much else, I thought the memorable look of Mumbai would stand out here. I also thought that if “Australia” was to get any love, it would be in tech categories like this.
Runners-Up: I loathed this movie, but I thought “Synedoche, New York”’s crazy sets dreamed up by Philip Seymour Hoffman’s character were impressive. Also, “The Wrestler” captured the low-rent arenas of the small-time wrestling tour with vivid realism.
Great Inclusion: “Revolutionary Road”, which underperformed in the number of nominations it received, deserves this one as Sam Mendes successfully delivered another suburban tale.
Will Win: “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”, one of many tech awards it’ll win, as consolation for not winning Best Picture
Should Win: “The Dark Knight”. And I’m still rooting for an upset here.

Achievement in cinematography
"Changeling" (Universal) Tom Stern
"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" (Paramount and Warner Bros.)
Claudio Miranda
"The Dark Knight" (Warner Bros.) Wally Pfister
"The Reader" (The Weinstein Company) Chris Menges and Roger Deakins
"Slumdog Millionaire" (Fox Searchlight) Anthony Dod Mantle

Glaring Omission: Roger Deakins, “Revolutionary Road”. I think Deakins is our greatest living cinematographer, and he’s now on his seventh nomination with no wins. He’s nominated for good shared work on “The Reader”, but they way he shot the ‘50s in “Revolutionary Road” was very cinematic and bordering on dreamlike, but it was never intrusive, it just gave the sense that the ‘burb-life our characters were living was really the bubble that it was…waiting to pop. I also thought “Che” might get some love here.
Runners-Up: Besides Deakins, Salvatore Totino of “Frost/Nixon”, pushing the camera up in Nixon’s face, demanding an apology to the American people. I also have a soft spot for the nausea-inducing work in “Cloverfield”. On the big screen, that movie was an HUGE sight to see, and ingeniously shot.
Great Inclusion: “Changeling”. Eastwood’s cinematographer for the last six or so films continues to do great work. I’m told Clint just allows his valued, oft-used tech team to do their thing, rarely lording over them, and the results are always very artistic. I LOVE the look of Clint’s late films.
Will Win: Anthony Dod Mantle, “Slumdog Millionaire”. It’s won the majority of awards up to now.
Should Win: Wally Pfister, “The Dark Knight”, for those shots tracking the BatPod around the streets alone.

Achievement in costume design
"Australia" (20th Century Fox) Catherine Martin
"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" (Paramount and
Warner Bros.)
Jacqueline West
"The Duchess" (Paramount Vantage, Pathé and BBC
Films)
Michael O'Connor
"Milk" (Focus Features) Danny Glicker
"Revolutionary Road" (DreamWorks, Distributed by
Paramount Vantage)
Albert Wolsky

Glaring Omission: Once again, the nominees in this category favor time periods. If I had my way, I’d go current and nominate “Sex and the City” (I mean, fashion is what the TV show was all about!!!!) and “The Wrestler” (I’m sorry, wrestler’s DON’T have interesting costumes?). Sorry I went into bratty teen with those last comments, but I felt it was necessary…
Runners-Up: “Sex and the City”, for sure. And “The Wrestler”, and “Doubt” had a very specific look, and in the case of Streep and Adams, their costumes spoke volumes about the characters.
Great Inclusion: “Revolutionary Road”. For reasons previously mentioned. Love or hate the material, Mendes makes a mean looking movie. Also, “Benjamin Button”, because they spanned such a long time period.
Will Win: “The Duchess”, in the spirit of “Marie Antoinette” and other films that have no other reason to win an award.
Should Win: “Revolutionary Road”

Achievement in directing
"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" (Paramount and
Warner Bros.)
David Fincher
"Frost/Nixon" (Universal) Ron Howard
"Milk" (Focus Features) Gus Van Sant
"The Reader" (The Weinstein Company) Stephen Daldry
"Slumdog Millionaire" (Fox Searchlight) Danny Boyle

Glaring Omission: Christopher Nolan, “The Dark Knight”. Nominated by the Director’s Guild, he misses out here. What a shame. I’m not afraid to say he’s a visionary director. When you come on the scene with “Memento”, that’s impressive, and better than all three Stephen Daldry films. I know, I’m beating up on “The Reader” again, but telling a psycho Nazi love story is not as award-worthy as overhauling a franchise and controlling a sprawling epic like “The Dark Knight”. But I will give the Academy credit for nominating all the Best Picture nominees in this category.
Runners-Up: Andrew Stanton, “WALL-E”. Watching that film, you can tell the hand behind it, pushing the buttons and turning the cranks, is super-steady. And his main actor is Ben Burtt, a sound guy famous for creating the noises R2-D2 made. Stanton had to one-up the great “Finding Nemo”, and he did.
Great Inclusion: Gus Van Sant, whom I think directed the year’s best nominated film. Great to see him return to a high-profile project.
Will Win: Danny Boyle. He’s cleaning up everywhere else.
Should Win: Tough one. I’ve always been a believer that the Best Picture should correspond with the Best Director. I’d give this year’s Oscar to “Milk”, but something is pulling me to vote for Boyle in this category. Like Chris Nolan, he’s directing a story that could easily get away from him, but he also dealt with a busy, overcrowded city on location, child actors, a cast of unknowns (and many never-acted-befores), a multi-layered plot and subtitles. He made it all work with style and energy.

Best documentary feature
"The Betrayal (Nerakhoon)" (Cinema Guild)
A Pandinlao Films Production
Ellen Kuras and Thavisouk Phrasavath
"Encounters at the End of the World" (THINKFilm and
Image Entertainment)
Werner Herzog and Henry Kaiser
A Creative Differences Production
"The Garden"
A Black Valley Films Production
Scott Hamilton Kennedy
"Man on Wire" (Magnolia Pictures)
A Wall to Wall Production
James Marsh and Simon Chinn
"Trouble the Water" (Zeitgeist Films)
An Elsewhere Films Production
Tia Lessin and Carl Deal

Glaring Omission: What? No “U23D”? No “Shine A Light”? The music docs and concert films always get the shaft.
Runners-Up: Actually, the only documentaries I saw were nominated, outside of finally seeing “The King of Kong”, which was AWESOME!!!! How was THAT not nominated last year?! This category is fricked.
Great Inclusion: “Man on Wire”, just ‘cause it was my favorite.
Will Win: “Man On Wire”
Should Win” “Man On Wire”, edging out “Trouble the Water”

Best documentary short subject
"The Conscience of Nhem En"
A Farallon Films Production
Steven Okazaki
"The Final Inch"
A Vermilion Films Production
Irene Taylor Brodsky and Tom Grant
"Smile Pinki"
A Principe Production
Megan Mylan
"The Witness - From the Balcony of Room 306"
A Rock Paper Scissors Production
Adam Pertofsky and Margaret Hyde

Glaring Omission: These movies from my eyes. Didn’t see ‘em. Did you?

Achievement in film editing
"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" (Paramount and
Warner Bros.)
Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall
"The Dark Knight" (Warner Bros.) Lee Smith
"Frost/Nixon" (Universal) Mike Hill and Dan Hanley
"Milk" (Focus Features) Elliot Graham
"Slumdog Millionaire" (Fox Searchlight) Chris Dickens

Glaring Omission: Ah, now THESE are your Best Picture nominees….
“WALL-E” just won the Editor’s Guild award for Best Edited Comedy or Musical. The first time an animated film has done that. It’s a glaring omission where I’m sitting. Great film with sublime storytelling. Also, there are usually a couple action movies in this category, too. I thought something like “Wanted” might creep in or “Iron Man”.
Runners-Up: “WALL-E”, certainly. And, again, a little love for putting “Cloverfield” together from all the crazy cinematography. I think it was a combination of those two art forms that made the look of the movie work. Well….I thought it worked… Perhaps another nod for “Revolutionary Road”. It’s funny, but for all the nods and wins I’d give it so far, I wouldn’t even nominate it for director, picture of script.
Great Inclusion: “Slumdog Millionaire”. This movie cooks!
Will Win: “Slumdog Millionaire”
Should Win: “Slumdog Millionaire”. Can you forget the great scenes of the children running through the slums, or the graceful cut back and forth between the interrogation and the game show? The editor did much to make that happen smoothly.

Best foreign language film of the year
"The Baader Meinhof Complex" A Constantin Film Production - Germany
"The Class" (Sony Pictures Classics) A Haut et Court Production - France
"Departures" (Regent Releasing) A Departures Film Partners Production - Japan
"Revanche" (Janus Films) A Prisma Film/Fernseh Production - Austria
"Waltz with Bashir" (Sony Pictures Classics) A Bridgit Folman Film Gang Production - Israel

Glaring Omission: I never saw “I’ve Loved You So Long”. Was that ALL in French?
Runners-Up: Didn’t see anything else in a foreign language this year, except “Let the Right One In”, and I’d only nominate that for Steaming Pile of the Year.
Great Inclusion: “Waltz With Bashir”…’cause I saw it.
Will Win: “Waltz With Bashir”, edging out “The Class”
Shoud Win: “Waltz With Bashir”

Achievement in makeup
"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" (Paramount and
Warner Bros.)
Greg Cannom
"The Dark Knight" (Warner Bros.) John Caglione, Jr. and Conor O'Sullivan
"Hellboy II: The Golden Army" (Universal) Mike Elizalde and Thom Floutz

Glaring Omission: As ever, two other nominees. Maybe you could throw in “Tropic Thunder” for all the great (if not controversial) work done on Robert Downey, Jr.?
Runners-Up: “Tropic Thunder”
Great Inclusion: “Hellboy II”. I want to give it the win just for using makeup instead of an over-use of CGI (LucasFilm, take note)
Will Win: “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
Should Win” The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”. Although I wasn’t thrilled with Blanchett’s old lady makeup, the transformation of Brad Pitt was exceptional.

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score)
"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" (Paramount and
Warner Bros.)
Alexandre Desplat
"Defiance" (Paramount Vantage) James Newton Howard
"Milk" (Focus Features) Danny Elfman
"Slumdog Millionaire" (Fox Searchlight) A.R. Rahman
"WALL-E" (Walt Disney) Thomas Newman

Glaring Omission: Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard for “The Dark Knight”. I’ve gone on about this fantastic score. They got robbed.
Runners-Up: Thomas Newman, “Revolutionary Road”. I can still whistle for you the haunting “Nah, Nah….nah, nah….nah, nah…”. The score spelled out doom for the characters long before their actions did. How great was the goofy little score for “Happy-Go-Lucky”?! So good, I could’ve watched Sally Hawkins ride a bike to it for another hour or so. The “In Bruges” score was good, too.
Great Inclusion: “WALL-E”. Pixar film scores have gone un-rewarded by Oscar for 14 years now, and Newman’s is one of the best, ranging from quirky explorer music to lyrical space-love ballads.
Will Win: “Slumdog Millionaire”
Should Win: “Slumdog Millionaire”. As much as it pains me to oust Pixar once again, Rahman’s “Millionaire” score is vibrant and kinetic, adding a pulse to an already pulse-pounding movie.

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song)
"Down to Earth" from "WALL-E" (Walt Disney) Music by Peter Gabriel and Thomas Newman
Lyric by Peter Gabriel
"Jai Ho" from "Slumdog Millionaire" (Fox Searchlight) Music by A.R. Rahman
Lyric by Gulzar
"O Saya" from "Slumdog Millionaire" (Fox Searchlight) Music and Lyric by A.R. Rahman and Maya Arulpragasam

Glaring Omission: This category is a mess this year. With so many great songs, THIS is the year to under-nominate? How ‘bout the year there were THREE “Dreamgirls” songs? Anyway, we all know Bruce Springsteen’s song in “The Wrestler” was haunting and poetic. Another great hard-luck story from the Jersey legend. How you do not nominate I don’t understand. I’d also nominate that “I Thought I’d Lost You” from “Bolt”. But there was an even better song from “Bolt” called “Barking at the Moon”. It was great, and more important to the story than the soundtrack. It played during the train trip ‘cross country, not during the end credits.
Runners-Up: See above.
Great Inclusion: “Down to Earth”. Peter Gabriel’s great, and he keeps contributing to film. I wish he’d do another score like he did for “The Last Temptation of Christ”.
Will Win: “O Saya”
Should Win” “Jai Ho”. OK, I think I’m right here. “O Saya” was the end credits dance number, right? That’ll probably win people over, but “Jai Ho” was a great tune during the movie itself, acting like a score to the action.

Best motion picture of the year
"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" (Paramount and
Warner Bros.)
A Kennedy/Marshall Production
Kathleen Kennedy, Frank Marshall and Ceán Chaffin,
Producers
"Frost/Nixon" (Universal)
A Universal Pictures, Imagine Entertainment and Working
Title Production
Brian Grazer, Ron Howard and Eric Fellner, Producers
"Milk" (Focus Features)
A Groundswell and Jinks/Cohen Company Production
Dan Jinks and Bruce Cohen, Producers
"The Reader" (The Weinstein Company)
A Mirage Enterprises and Neunte Babelsberg Film GmbH
Production
Nominees to be determined
"Slumdog Millionaire" (Fox Searchlight)
A Celador Films Production
Christian Colson, Producer

Glaring Omission: “The Dark Knight”. What does the Academy know that the Director’s Guild, Producer’s Guild and Writer’s Guild doesn’t? I’m telling you, the Motion Picture Academy just wants to seem smart nominating “The Reader” over “The Dark Knight”. And it’s not just that the film is a cultural phenomenon, raking in close to $550,000,000 at the domestic box office, but critics ADORED this movie, the cross-section of reviews being 94% positive. But Oscar feels smart and compassionate nominating a love story about an illiterate Nazi. They got it way, way wrong. And if this nomination is the product of the return of Harvey Weinstein’s aggressive campaigning, that’s just sad, ‘cause the film seems in every aspect of its creation like it’s desperate for awards-season attention, and now Oscar’s become an enabler.
Runners-Up: Just check the top Ten. My nominees would’ve taken out “Benjamin Button” and “The Reader” and replaced them with “WALL-E” and “The Dark Knight”. “Beauty and the Beast” remains the only film in the recent animation resurgence to get a Best Picture nod, and there have been so many other films as good or better. The Best Animated Film category has watered down cross-over chances.
Great Inclusion: Although never a real competitor in the pre-Oscar awards scene, it’s good to see “Frost/Nixon” in the mix.
Will Win: “Slumdog Millionaire”
Should Win” “Milk”, but either of these is a great win. “Button” is too cold for me, despite technical triumphs.

Best animated short film
"La Maison en Petits Cubes"
A Robot Communications Production
Kunio Kato
"Lavatory - Lovestory"
A Melnitsa Animation Studio and CTB Film Company
Production
Konstantin Bronzit
"Oktapodi" (Talantis Films)
A Gobelins, L'école de l'image Production
Emud Mokhberi and Thierry Marchand
"Presto" (Walt Disney)
A Pixar Animation Studios Production
Doug Sweetland
"This Way Up"
A Nexus Production
Alan Smith and Adam Foulkes

Glaring Omission: The ability to see all these films easily. I still agree with Roger Ebert that the short film showcases in N.Y. and L.A. aren’t enough, all the shorts, live and animated, need to screen on T.V. before or on the big day.
Will Win: Tough to say. Never bet against Pixar, but I’m told that there’s real emotion in the competition this year.
Should Win: “Presto”. It’s got the ‘ol Tex Avery feel and is funny as hell.

Best live action short film
"Auf der Strecke (On the Line)" (Hamburg Shortfilmagency)
An Academy of Media Arts Cologne Production
Reto Caffi
"Manon on the Asphalt" (La Luna Productions)
A La Luna Production
Elizabeth Marre and Olivier Pont
"New Boy" (Network Ireland Television)
A Zanzibar Films Production
Steph Green and Tamara Anghie
"The Pig"
An M & M Production
Tivi Magnusson and Dorte Høgh
"Spielzeugland (Toyland)"
A Mephisto Film Production
Jochen Alexander Freydank

Did anyone see any of these? Shame.

Achievement in sound editing
"The Dark Knight" (Warner Bros.) Richard King
"Iron Man" (Paramount and Marvel Entertainment) Frank Eulner and Christopher Boyes
"Slumdog Millionaire" (Fox Searchlight) Tom Sayers
"WALL-E" (Walt Disney) Ben Burtt and Matthew Wood
"Wanted" (Universal) Wylie Stateman

Glaring Omission: “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”. I thought that film got too many Oscar nods, but the tech ones are certainly deserving. I thought it would be noticed here.
Runners-Up: Can I make one last case for “Cloverfield”? It was always weird, watching that film, that the look of the video was hand-held camera, but the sound was SUPER-THX-DOLBY-HOT-SHIT! But it was hot shit, and action movies rule in that category. Maybe even “The Incredible Hulk” could get nominated.
Great Inclusion: YEAH! “Wanted” is an Academy-Award-nominated film!
Will Win: “Slumdog Millionaire”
Should Win: “WALL-E”, continuing my tradition of being impressed by the guy who can edit sounds, NONE of which were ever real to begin with. ALL created for the movie. And the subtleties of sounds combined with the sheer amount puts the animated film over the top in my book.

Achievement in sound mixing
"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" (Paramount and
Warner Bros.)
David Parker, Michael Semanick, Ren Klyce and Mark
Weingarten
"The Dark Knight" (Warner Bros.) Lora Hirschberg, Gary Rizzo and Ed Novick
"Slumdog Millionaire" (Fox Searchlight) Ian Tapp, Richard Pryke and Resul Pookutty
"WALL-E" (Walt Disney) Tom Myers, Michael Semanick and Ben Burtt
"Wanted" (Universal) Chris Jenkins, Frank A. Montaño and Petr Forejt

Glaring Omission: Can’t think of much here. This is a good set of nominations. Maybe “Iron Man”, which nailed story and technical delivery of the story.
Runners-Up: “Iron Man”. And what about “Tropic Thunder”? If it were a war movie, they’d nominate it. A spoof of a war movie, however…
Great Inclusion: “WALL-E”, for the reasons I stated in the previous category.
Will Win: “Slumdog Millionaire”, although there’s no lock here.
Should Win: “WALL-E”

Achievement in visual effects
"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" (Paramount and
Warner Bros.)
Eric Barba, Steve Preeg, Burt Dalton and Craig Barron
"The Dark Knight" (Warner Bros.) Nick Davis, Chris Corbould, Tim Webber and Paul Franklin
"Iron Man" (Paramount and Marvel Entertainment) John Nelson, Ben Snow, Dan Sudick and Shane Mahan

Glaring Omission: I thought the Academy would suck off the Lucas teet, but I’m happy to report that “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” is not an Oscar nominee. Thank the lord. This is a thrilling glaring omission.
Runners-Up: “Hellboy II”, although a little overdone, was a visual treat. I was wrong, one LAST shout out to “Cloverfield”. Some shots didn’t work, but the overall achievement of the goal of showing the alien invasion in N.Y. worked great.
Great Inclusion: “Iron Man”. GREAT year for comic book movies.
Will Win: “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
Should Win: “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”. It’s just shot SO high, and succeeded.

Adapted screenplay
"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" (Paramount and
Warner Bros.)
Screenplay by Eric Roth
Screen story by Eric Roth and Robin Swicord
"Doubt" (Miramax) Written by John Patrick Shanley
"Frost/Nixon" (Universal) Screenplay by Peter Morgan
"The Reader" (The Weinstein Company) Screenplay by David Hare
"Slumdog Millionaire" (Fox Searchlight) Screenplay by Simon Beaufoy

Glaring Omission: “The Dark Knight”. I’m beating a dead horse, but again the Academy just didn’t want to nominate a Batman movie for prestigious awards, and they screwed up, ‘cause the scope of this crime saga/tragedy is at least on par in depth, quality and ambition with “Slumdog Millionaire”.
Runners-Up: “Revolutionary Road”. I thought this film had a shot at a nomination, based on a very revered book.
Great Inclusion: “Frost/Nixon”. I always applaud the movie that’s smarter than me.
Will Win: “Slumdog Millionaire”
Should Win: “Slumdog Millionaire”

Original screenplay
"Frozen River" (Sony Pictures Classics) Written by Courtney Hunt
"Happy-Go-Lucky" (Miramax) Written by Mike Leigh
"In Bruges" (Focus Features) Written by Martin McDonagh
"Milk" (Focus Features) Written by Dustin Lance Black
"WALL-E" (Walt Disney) Screenplay by Andrew Stanton, Jim Reardon
Original story by Andrew Stanton, Pete Docter

Glaring Omission: “Vicky Christina Barcelona”. I thought this movie was a waste of time, but the Academy loves Woody Allen, so I figured his I-want-to-direct-girls-kissing movie might get a nod.
Runners-Up: “Gran Torino” has flaws in some of its actors, but Clint has some of the best lines of his career. Nearly every time he opens his mouth, it’s classic. “The Wrestler” captured the showman’s decline vividly. And if this is the only place “W.” can get some love, bring it.
Great Inclusion: “In Bruges”. What a great, original, completely f-d up movie!
Will Win: “WALL-E”. I think it has a chance to beat out “Milk” in a close race.
Should Win: I go against my Pixar love-fest with this one, though, and give it to Dustin Lance Black for “Milk”. Black is also behind a lot of the writing for one of my favorite T.V. shows, “Big Love”.

That’s it for 2008. So far in 2009, I haven’t seen a single movie, I’ve just been catching up on the ’08 movies. Oh, I did see “My Name is Bruce and we’re not in Oscar season yet with that one….

Late,
Paul