Bri's Own World

So it isn’t my day to blog, but this one wouldn’t fit next weekend. Last night, they completely remade the show, making it a little less formal and yet still entertaining. Jackman did a surprisingly good job as host, but I have to say, I still like Stewart and Crystal better. Another thing I didn’t like was the way they did the acting awards, making it seem like they were the biggest things of the night, while skipping quickly over the others. Acting is good, but the Oscars are supposed to celebrate all the elements of the movie together, and not just pander to the general public who don’t know anything about editing or cinematography. So, what about the winners?

I was fine for the most part, no big surprises last night. Slumdog Millionaire was easily the biggest winner, and they deserved most of those awards. My main problems are in the Original Screenplay, Supporting Actress, and Actor categories. Milk had a decent screenplay, but no where near as original and good as In Bruges. Bruges was Pulp Fictiony in a way, making it easily the best in that category. Cruz did a good job as always, but I think Marisa Tomei did an excellent job in The Wrestler, which should have been nominated for and won some of the awards. Best actor was also a little disappointing, with Penn winning yet another Oscar. While he did do a great job, I think that we kind of expect that from him, and Rourke came by surprise with the role of a lifetime, and one that is so much different from the rest of his movies.

So what do you guys think of it?

So the Oscars are tonight, and the academy has already made some horrible nominations, but lets hope they get SOME of these right. These aren’t what I think will win, these are what I think should win.

Best Picture- Slumdog Millionaire

It should be everything I hate. A cliche story, a happy ending, characters that don’t get too deep. But a movie has to be this good to have me rooting so much for the cliche ending and for the two characters to fall in love.

Best Actor- Mickey Rourke:

The Wrestler I do have to admit, this is a tough field right here, with Penn, Langella, and Pitt all giving great performances, but Rourke easily wins this in my book. Every moment, he IS Randy the Ram, for no second did I think of him as an actor, or this as a movie, but just like we were watching his life.

Best Actress- Kate Winslet: The Reader

While I haven’t seen two of the nominees in this category, I didn’t see too much from the trailers to make me doubt this choice. Winslet was great as the Nazi, and was believable the whole time. She went out of her comfort zone and still came out believable, and that’s what I think makes an Oscar winning performance.

Best Actor in a Supporting Role- Heath Ledger: The Dark Knight

Do I really have to explain myself? Only Brolin in this category has a chance at taking this from Heath, but I don’t think that will happen.

Best Actress in a Supporting Role- Marisa Tomei: The Wrestler

Again, just like Rourke, Tomei WAS Cassidy the stripper. This was easily the best performance in this category, and one of the best of the year as well. But, Cruz will probably get the Oscar.

Best Directing- David Fincher: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

While Boyle did a good job as well with Slumdog, Fincher has not made a bad movie from what I’ve seen. Button is just as good as these, and this is through the eyes of a true film genius, being able to make some of the most tense thrillers and still making this great drama.

Best Original Screenplay- In Bruges

It should win, and hopefully, it will win. The dialogue is excellent, and story interesting from beginning to end. Nothing else in this category is close to what Bruges has done.

Best Adapted Screenplay- Slumdog Millionaire

What can I say? It had me hooked until the end. This is a tough category though, and I wouldn’t be too sad if Nixon or Doubt took this one away.

Best Cinematography- Slumdog Millionaire

This was tough between Benjamin Button and Slumdog, but I had to give it to the latter. The images were beautiful in every shot, and just amazed me how well it could be done.

Best Editing- The Dark Knight

To keep a 2 1/2 hour movie go by as fast as The Dark Knight is an amazing accomplishment.

Best Art Direction- The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

If you see the movie, you’ll see what I mean. Each set is meticulously done, and sets up for the cinematography.

Best Costume Design- The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Again, Button is a huge feat in the production of it, and the costumes are all so realistic for the time. Duchess I haven’t seen though, but it will probably win.

Best Makeup- The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Making an actor age like this is part makeup, part special effects. And both these elements worked together so well to make Pitt and Blanchett age.

Best Music- The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

I had the score stuck in my head for the next 3 hours, and I loved it.

Best Original Song- Slumdog Millionaire: Jai Ho

Ugh, NO “THE WRESTLER” BY BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN??!? THAT was easily the best song of the year, and instead, they choose 3 mediocre ones. This is just unforgivable…

Best Sound- The Dark Knight

They did such a great job with the Batpod, explosions, and everything.

Best Sound Editing- Iron Man

This should have been nominated in both sound categories and win both.

Best Visual Effects- Iron Man

Sure, Button was good in the more subtle effects, but some of the characters looked fake (young Daisy). But Iron Man looked just as real as any of the other actors in the movie.

Best Animated Feature- Wall-E

Sure, Kung Fu Panda was more enjoyable, but Wall-E was more of an achievement in film. With little dialogue, we still knew what was going on and felt for the characters. The animation was also so great, bringing the movie to life.

The rest I haven’t seen enough of the contenders to make an accurate judgement, so I’d like to know what you guys think about them.