Post-Oscar Wrap Up: How well did I do?

First off, I want to commend the designers of the show. It was incredibly well done. Now that that's out of the way, let's see how bad I did:

Best Adapted Screenplay:
I chose Slumdog Millionaire. The winner? Slumdog Millionaire.

Best Original Screenplay:
I chose In Bruges. The winner? Milk.

Best Director:
I chose Danny Boyle with Slumdog Millionaire. The winner? Danny Boyle with Slumdog Millionaire.

Best Supporting Actress:
I chose Marisa Tomei. The winner? Penelope Cruz.

Best Supporting Actor:
I chose Heath Ledger. The winner? Heath Ledger.

Best Actress:
I chose Kate Winslet. The winner? Kate Winslet.

Best Actor:
I chose Mickey Rourke. The winner? Sean Penn.

Best Picture:
I chose Slumdog Millionaire . The winner? Slumdog Millionaire.

That's 5 out of 8 correct, or 63%. In reviewing the picks that I got wrong, they definitely were close match-ups. I would love to see the voting results from the Academy. I imagine that the Best Actor category was very close.

I'm also surprised to see that The Curious Case of Benjamin Button somehow managed to avoid winning any major awards. It was nominated for thirteen, and it took home only 3: Art Direction, Makeup, and Visual Effects. I should mention that it won most of these while competing against The Dark Knight, so the fanboys are in an uproar this morning.

2009 Oscar Best Contenders Summary

With the Academy Awards just an hour away, here is the summary of my chosen nominations. I'm listing this for either posterity or embarrassment, depending on how correct my choices are.

Best Adapted Screenplay: Slumdog Millionaire
Best Original Screenplay: In Bruges
Best Director: Slumdog Millionaire
Best Supporting Actress: Marisa Tomei
Best Supporting Actor: Heath Ledger
Best Actress: Kate Winslet
Best Actor: Mickey Rourke
Best Picture: Slumdog Millionaire

2009 Oscar Best Contenders Part 8: Best Picture

And here we are, the Oscar for Best Picture. Arguably the most prestigious award any film can ever hope to receive. We have five strong films here, and this is going to be good. Let's look at the nominees:

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - When Forrest Gump came out 13 years ago, it swept the Oscars, arriving with a record setting 13 nominations and leaving with 6 Oscars: Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Editing, Best Visual Effects, Best Director, Best Actor, and Best Picture. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button has been compared to Forrest Gump, both in it's storyline, it's epic scope, and it's devotion to telling a story about American life. This film has 13 nominations going into tonight, the exact same as Forrest Gump. How many will it take home?

Frost/Nixon - Admittedly the underdog in this race. Ron Howard's adaptation of the play of the same name is led largely by the performances of the two leading actors, which makes it a long-shot for taking home the win.

Milk - Put a brilliant actor and a brilliant director together and what to do get? This film, which chronicles the life and death of Harvey Milk, California's first openly gay elected official. This film has been getting heaps of praise for it's portrayal and of Sean Penn's award-winning performance. This film wasn't nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Picture, with Revolutionary Road taking it's place.

The Reader - Nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Picture as well, this period piece, wouldn't have been up here without Kate Winslet.

Slumdog Millionaire - Is this film really the underdog that people are claiming it to be? Slumdog Millioniare may have been a small film, especially compared to the gargantuan budget of Benjamin Button, but this movie has already taken home numerous awards including a Golden Globe for Best Picture. With critics fawning all over this film, it looks to be Slumdog's year.

Conclusion: I choose Slumdog Millionaire, Regis. And, yes, that's my final answer.

2009 Oscar Best Contenders Part 7: Best Actor

What sort of hodge-podge has this years Oscars brought us? A selection of epic proportions.

Richard Jenkins, The Visitor - A man who has worked in the field for thirty-five years, finally getting recognition by numerous groups all for this one film. Is this the only chance in his life at Oscar gold?

Frank Langella, Frost/Nixon - Another established actor. A career spanning forty-five years. Numerous accolades. His first Oscar nomination. Has he finally done enough to win?

Sean Penn, Milk - The Oscar veteran. His fifth nomination in the past 14 years, and possibly his second win. Will he had another trophy to his case?

Brad Pitt, TCCOBB - The pretty boy. The Hollywood sex symbol. His second Oscar nomination. Can he overcome his image to finally claim gold?

Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler - Out of nowhere, it's Mickey Rourke. The ultimate underdog in this contest. Huge amounts of buzz; claims of "resurrection." When did this B-movie star turn into a genuine actor of Academy material?

Conclusion: It's going to be Davis vs. Goliath. Rourke flexed acting muscles he didn't even know he had, and he finally proved he's capable enough to be a respected actor. Penn is the veteran, and always gives a spellbinding performance in all of his films. Here's hoping: Rourke takes home the gold.

2009 Oscar Best Contenders Part 6: Best Actress

Kate Winslet has been receiving mountains of praise this year for her roles in both The Reader and Revolutionary Road. This year will mark her sixth Oscar nomination. Can she finally take home the golden trophy? Let's look at the nominees:

Anne Hatheway, Rachel Getting Married - A strong performance, and Hathaway has already been scooping up nominations left and right. This film has been near the top of many a reviewer's top ten lists.

Angelina Jolie, Changeling - Why was this nominated?

Melissa Leo, Frozen River - After being in the business for over twenty years, this fine actress is finally getting the well-deserved recognition.

Meryl Streep, Doubt - Streep gives her usual mesmerizing performance. She's one of the most prolific winning actresses in Academy history. I've written much about Doubt in the past few days, so I'm sure you're well aware of how I feel about this performance.

Kate Winslet, The Reader - Winslet delivered two powerful performances this year, and she has been receiving mountains of praise for both. The Acadamy had to pick one, and they were right to choose The Reader. Her performance was the focal point of this film.

Conclusion: Both Hathaway and Winslet are good picks for this Oscar, and frankly it's anyone's guess on who will win. If I had to choose, though, I would say that the Academy will finally honor Winslet with an Oscar.

2009 Oscar Best Contenders Part 5: Best Supporting Actor

This category is going to be one of the most watched for one reason: Heath Ledger. Fans have been clamoring for him to get a posthumous award for his mesmerizing portrayal of The Joker in The Dark Knight that led to his eventual overdose on pain medication. Let's review the nominees:

Josh Brolin, Milk - It's often difficult for actors to keep up with Sean Penn when they star alongside him in a film. Penn has a way of taking over a film, and it makes it hard to keep up, even for the most skilled actors (See: Mystic River). Brolin attempted this in Milk, but his character just wasn't stretching the limits beyond the roles that Brolin has been doing recently. As a result, Milk was all about Penn.

Michael Shannon, Revolutionary Road - With all the other nominees in this category, Shannon is going to fall into the background. A nomination will be good enough to boost the career of this actor, who is quickly making his way from bit part to star performer.

Robert Downey Jr., Tropic Thunder - Largely considered the comedy option for this award (pun intended), Downey Jr.'s role as Kirk Lazarus, the actor with a tortured soul who went to great lengths for his role in an action film, was one of the most complex and difficult roles of the year. Downey Jr.'s self-identifying statement in the film, "I know who I am, I'm a dude playing a dude pretending to be another dude!" echoed the lengths that Downey Jr. went to portray Lazarus. In an age where most comedies star actors playing themselves (or their comedic "character") in every film, Downey Jr. went the extra mile. His serious portrayal parodying actors who get far too invested in their role was almost the only source of constant laughs in Tropic Thunder. In what is one of the great ironies of our time, he was nominated alongside an actor who went to such great lengths to portray a character that it actually killed him. Downey Jr. deserves the nomination for this controversial role.

Philip Seymour Hoffman, Doubt - I was surprised that Hoffman wasn't nominated for Best Actor for his role as Father Flynn. This could have been due to the fact that the Academy had many choices for Best Actor, and Hoffman was simply knocked down to the supporting category. It also could be that Streep's portrayal of Sister Beauvier was the main focus of the film and thus relegated Hoffman's character to a supporting status. Regardless, Hoffman delivered his usual fierce performance as Father Flynn, a pastor accused of molesting a child. Dialogue is what carried Doubt, and the back and forth banter, the stares, the subtleties that were shared between Streep and Hoffman were nothing but brilliant. Hoffman is a strong contender for the win in this category.

Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight - What else can be said that hasn't been said before? Ledger's performance was simply magnficent. Until The Dark Knight, no one really knew the depths to which the infamous Batman villian could be portrayed on screen. The actors who had played the role before him did play him maniacally, but it was always with a hint of comedy with a wink and a nod to the audience. Ledger took it far beyond what anyone could have imagined. The Joker and his psychosis fully realized and explored.

Conclusion: Ledger would have been a lock for this category even before his untimely death. The fact that he died only furthers the fact that this will be given posthumously. Look for Michelle Williams to accept the award.

2009 Oscar Best Contenders Part 4: Best Supporting Actress

I feel that many people are often confused by what constitutes a supporting actress as opposed to a leading actress. Why do I say this? Well, for one, Kate Winslet won a Golden Globe this year for her performance in The Reader. The award? "Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture." It may have something to do with the fact that she was also nominated in the Leading Actress category for Revolutionary Road, but I find it confusing that she could be nominated in the Leading Actress category at the Academy Awards for the same role in The Reader that netted her a Supporting Actress award at the Golden Globes. I'll talk more about that, however, when I get to the Best Actress section. Onto the nominees:

Amy Adams, Doubt - Adams gave a strong performance in this film, which was difficult to do alongside the combined scene-stealing power of both Philip Seymour Hoffman and Meryl Streep. The two played off each other brilliantly, and Sister James (Adams) was the mediating center between the firey passion of Father Flynn and the icey heart of Sister Beauvier. She's a strong contender for the win in this category.

Penelope Cruz, Vicky Cristina Barcelona - Cruz has already snagged a few awards from other festivals for her supporting performance in this film. This is her second Oscar nomination, the first being for 2007's Volver. There are two other nominees in this category more deserving. She gets the nomination, but she won't get the Oscar.

Viola Davis, Doubt - With what little screen time Viola Davis had in Doubt, she definitely made her mark as the concerned mother of the child taken under Father Flynn's wing. Despite this effoer, however, she was overshadowed for most of the film by the enthralling dialogue between Hoffman, Streep, and Adams. It's unfortunate, but she won't win this category.

Taraji P. Henson, TCCOBB - Henson's supportive performance as the nurturing mother of Benjamin Button earned her a nomination this year, and I actually wonder why. TCCOBB was such a giant film, and Henson's character often fell into the background among the epic story, the makeup, the costumes, and the love story in the film. She was a small rock tossed into the ocean of this film, making tiny ripples amongst the giant waves. Don't get me wrong, she did a fine acting job, but the film was just too big for her to deserve a nomination.

Marisa Tomei, The Wrestler - This will mark Marissa Tomei's third nomination for an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress in her career. She won in 1993, playing the Mona Lisa Vito, the streetwise fiance of Vincent Gambini in My Cousin Vinny. Can she repeat her success over 15 years later?

Conclusion: Look for Tomei to claim her second Supporting Actress Oscar at this years awards. Unless they hate strippers.

2009 Oscar Best Contenders Part 3: Best Director

Best Director is always one of those difficult categories. When a powerful film is nominated for both Best Picture and Best Director (as is the case with every single nominee in both categories this year), one has to question what makes the film. Is it the film as a whole? If all the parts of the film, the actors, the cinematography, the music, the art direction, and the director all work together to create the masterpiece, does that make a film a Best Picture? If the film would not be what it is without the masterful work of the director, does that mean that the film should win for Best Director? But aren't all films this way? Isn't the director such an integral part of the film anyway that without him it could not succeed on it's own? If this is true, then perhaps the Best Director award is given to those directors who go beyond simply guiding the film to it's inevitable conclusion. Perhaps it goes to those directors who express those qualities of the Auteur or leave some mark of themselves some way upon the film. Let's examine the nominees:

Danny Boyle, Slumdog Millionaire - This is the expected film to win in this category. Slumdog would have been completely different without Boyle at the helm. (I considered saying "nothing without," but who knows what it would have been like with someone else?) Boyle guided the story to it's conclusion masterfully, and considering he's racked up a half dozen awards already for Best Director, it's looking like there's a good chance he may add one more.

Stephen Daldry, The Reader - A very well done film from the director with the fewest notches under his belt of anyone else in this category. Daldry has only directed a handful of feature films, and this nominee is for a film largely led by the leading actress performance. A longshot candidate for the Oscar gold.

David Fincher, TCCOBB - The second most likely film to win this category. Not much to say about this film, as it is a strong contender for many of it's nominated categories. There's a chance, but I highly doubt it.

Ron Howard, Frost/Nixon - Another film largely carried by the performances of the actors within it. An unlikely winner in this category.

Gus Van Sant, Milk - A great director, an established history, and a great film. Another time and another place, maybe, but this is Boyle's year.

Conclusion: When two strong films are nominated for both Best Director and Best Picture category, the Academy tends to give one award to each film. In this case, look for Boyle to walk away with the Oscar gold for Best Director. Slumdog Millionaire depended too much on his guidance.

2009 Oscar Best Contenders Part 2: Original Screenplay

This is a interesting category. Like the adapted screenplay category, here we have two strong contenders, a wild card, and two weak contenders. Let's review:

Frozen River - This film is up for two awards this year: Best Actress and Best Original Screenplay. Unfortunately, it's up against two very strong nominees in both categories. Despite the awards this film has won already, look for it to be a longshot in this race.

Happy-Go-Lucky - The wild card in this race. This film is performance led, largely focusing around Sally Hawkins' role as Poppy, but the script was original enough to warrant a nomination. The film has already won 16 awards (only one of them being for the screenplay). The Academy sometimes picks quirky saccharine independent films as of late (see the original paragraph in Part 1 of my Contenders choices). This film could surprise everyone with a win.

In Bruges - One of the two strong contenders in this race. This is this film's sole category. The film has already won numerous other awards for best original screenplay. Since McDonaugh didn't get a nod for Director, look for In Bruges to be a likely winner.

Milk - Another strong contender. Milk is up for eight Oscars, including best picture, best director, and best actor. Unfortunately, every one of those categories has it pitted against a stronger candidate. This is Milk's most likely category for a win, but it has to go up against In Bruges.

Wall-E - It's rare that animated films get nominated for this category. The script is good, but Wall-E is a lock to win in the Best Animated Feature Film of the Year category instead.

Conclusion: Look for In Bruges to take this category.

2009 Oscar Best Contenders Part 1: Adapted Screenplay

The Academy Awards have recently been an event of dismay among many film critics, myself included. With such wins that occurred last year, especially when compared among the other films in the field, especially the fact that such a film would even be considered (and was) for a best picture nomination, it can cause critics to lose faith in the Academy.

That being said, these awards are the most important in the nation, so I will review the major categories and pick the most likely winner. These are not my favorite picks, rather, but the picks that I feel the Academy will choose.


Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay: A group of very strong films here. The Adapted Screenplay category tends to avoid the hype-machine and produce a legitimate winner... most of the time. Let's go over the nominees:

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - This one is iffy. The film has received much critical acclaim, but it's mainly been for other aspects of the film, mainly the makeup (look for a definite win in that category). The Academy tends to shy away from giving wins to big budget releases in this category, especially when they're nominated for so many others.

Doubt - A mid-level contender, but a long-shot to win the award. This film was lead primarily due to the strong performances of the leading cast (Hoffman, Streep), but this could be a wild card.

Frost/Nixon - Another weak contender for the award. There hasn't been much hype around this film, and it relies strongly on the two leading actor performances.

The Reader - A strong candidate. Hare has written mostly for television, but the Academy can give the award to those small longshot films and surprise you. This one could take it.

Slumdog Millionaire - Bet on Beaufoy's adapted screenplay taking the Oscar in this category. Slumdog is up for many awards, but this one is one if it's strongest categories.

Conclusion: It's going to be a toss-up battle between The Reader and Slumdog Millionaire, but I think that the Oscar goes to Slumdog Millionaire.