I didn’t think The Dark Knight had a chance for a Best Picture nod, but I thought at least Christopher Nolan would get one for directing. The Oscars have become way too pretentious for their own good.
Honestly, I think Button is more than worthy. I think that it’s a slow-moving film, but that’s not necessarily bad. It was my personal favorite film this year, so I’m more than happy to see so many nominations. Suck it, Slumdog!
Also, Button didn’t get a nomination in “Best Actress,” though Cate Blanchett deserves one.
Seriously though, if you want to talk about Hollywood ignoring films, look at Milk, arguably one of the more important films to come out this year, not to mention it’s one of the best. Yet, it only takes in a few nominations? Granted, there weren’t many special effects, but I feel like that film isn’t getting as much attention as it should. Hollywood seems to love to gloss over any film that actually attacks a problem – Milk, Brokeback Mountain, any film that deals with abortion… You get the picture.
My mistake on the acting nomination. You’re right. It was Taraji Henson for Best Supporting. I should read the list a little closer next time!
And you’re exactly right about Hollywood not wanting to endorse “issue” films. They seem to gravitate more toward issues that have been resolved, like The Holocaust. It’s their way of staying apolitical, I suppose.
I hope The Dark Knight at least gets something for that semi-flipping stunt. That was real, y’know, not special effects. I’m disappointed that it didn’t get more nominations, myself…
I can’t say whether Button should have gotten 13 nominations. I didn’t bother to see it. However, I’ve seen most of the other movies listed, and also agree wholeheartedly that Wall-E should have had a Best Picture nomination. And it might have even won.
I think The Dark Knight and WALL-E certainly deserved Best Pictures noms, 99% of everyone agrees they are of the best quality. I didn’t expect WALL-E to get nominated for Best Picture, but I certainly expected Dark Knight to be.
Being the Fangirl I am, as much as I loved “The Dark Knight”, I kind of glad it didn’t get as nominated as “Benjamin Button” because if Button is this year’s “Gump”, then TDK could’ve of wound up being this years “The Shawshank Redemption” (1994)–even though from a financial standpoint it is probably the other way around–in a rather meaningless battle of esteem.
I did see Benjamin Button (for some reason I always think of the Muppet’s character, Benjamin Bunny, when I say it) and liked it. I found it an interesting ride through history and loved the New Orleans setting. Most people were crying by the end, including one woman in front of me who was sobbing so hard she just threw her head on her boyfriend’s shoulder and let the tears flow. I’m not sure if it deserved all it’s Oscar nods but I feel there really wasn’t any films that stood out from the crowd this year.
As for Dark Knight, until the old guard Academy voters pass the torch, we are just not going to get any justice for the fan boys.
Lastly, WALL-E… I know I’m going to get a lot of flack for this but I didn’t think it was all that. I thought it was a sweet, fun, family movie but the substance and message of the movie (live simply and don’t trust mega-corps) was so contrived and forced that I felt like a bad person for ever buying something I didn’t need. It will win the Best Animated Feature Film though.
I am still waiting to see some more films of the nominated films before I make any predictions.
BTW, I don’t know if anyone else has this in there town, but we have a local, independent theater that shows the Oscars for free and gives prizes away throughout the broadcast. I’ve been the last 4 years and have had a bigger blast each year.
I understand if you think Wall-E’s message is heavy handed, but if you listen to the DVD commentary, you realize that Director Andrew Stanton came to those conclusions about consumerism and environmentalism organically. If you follow their thought process, it’s not heavy-handed at all.
They knew they wanted to do a story about a robot who is alone on Earth. Okay, why is he alone? Because all the humans left. Why did all the humans leave? Because of environmental damage. What caused the environmental damage? Consumerism. Okay – hey! – now Wall-E has a job! He’s cleaning up!… And one idea feeds the other.
Wall-E is a family movie that transcends the genre. People will be talking about that movie for the next 50 years. Trust me.
Benjamin Button definitely deserves the nominations. Although, yes, the movie is slow, it’s a life-story – it’s supposed to be slow! How fast-paced and action-packed is any of our lives? 🙂 That said, the story and acting are amazing; definitely best-picture quality. Tom, you should DEFINITELY check it out.
I am also saddened that The Dark Knight didn’t get as many nominations as it deserves. And how is Heath Ledger a supporting actor? He stole the show from Christian Bale (who is one of my all-time favorite actors)!
I resisted Wall-E because I heard from others that it was heavy handed. Once I actually sat down and watched it, I was surprised how nice of a film it was. It still can’t unseat “The Incredibles” as my favorite Pixar but its worth owning.
The two movies that will come to define 2008 – “The Dark Knight” & “Wall-E” – aren’t in the running. “The Reader” is a good movie, but one can’t help but feel this is simply the old folks of the Academy reaching for their security blankets and nominating a theme that has been with Oscar for years (the holocaust).
Everyone talks about how Wall-E got snubbed for best picture because it was animated, but what about documentaries? Man On Wire and Encounters at the End of the World were easily two of the best movies I’ve seen this year, yet they get relegated to their own category. And it’s completely criminal the The Wrestler didn’t get a best picture nod, so I’m hoping that to make up for it Mickey Rourke wins the oscar.
Does anyone know what happened with The Fall and Shotgun Stories? Those were two of the other best movies I’ve seen this year, yet AMG and IMDB have them as 2006 and 2007 movies. But then ol’ Roger Ebert has them on his 2008 list…
Oh, and I have to say I wasn’t terribly impressed with Wall-E. As blown away as I was by the visuals and loved the live action segments with what’s-his-face from the Christopher Guest troupe, too many weird contradictory details brought the movie down for me. Like, how do people who have never seen a pool know what a pool is (and why on Earth would the pool robot not be waterproof?!)? And isn’t Wall-E himself actually promoting consumerism by going around and collecting all this junk he doesn’t need, so much so that he needs a giant rotating closet to keep it all?
I wont take the Oscar’s seriously until I see Leo DiCaprio win an award… he is at least 2 trophies overdue.
On antoher note, I love what you did with the site Tom, and its cool to see Cami write on here too. Also, put up as much advertisements as you can, the more money you can make off your great comics, the better!
As much as I loved both The Dark Knight and WALL-E, I knew there was no way in hell that either of them were getting nominated for Best Picture. AMPAS is always behind the times and loves the Holocaust movies. Plus The Reader has a beautiful actress that gets covered up in aging make-up, they’re suckers for that sort of thing. I did like the movie though.
The noms turned out exactly the way I expected: Best Animated Film and Original Song for WALL-E (with Original Screenplay thrown in as a surprise) and Heath Ledger plus a bunch of technical noms for The Dark Knight. No way was a comic book movie getting major noms, and I have a feeling that had Ledger not died he wouldn’t have gotten nominated either. I do think he has a pretty strong chance at winning though, but I loved every performance in that category so if he doesn’t win it wouldn’t bother me.
I loved Slumdog Millionaire so much. It was the most emotionally moving and captivating movie I saw this year (granted I haven’t seen the rest of the best picture nominated movies).
As for Wall-E, Wren, it seems like if the message were “contrived” and “forced,” then you wouldn’t have been stricken with guilt like that; you would’ve just resented the implication that you should feel guilty. Maybe that’s what you meant and I just misinterpreted the statement. But if you did genuinely feel some guilt because of it, then it’s possible it actually had an effect on you and you just resent that it actually did.
My room mates all complained about how “political” it was, but I think issues about the environment transcend ideology and politics; it is only because politicians started talking about the environment in political terms that it began to be viewed that way. As for the sociological implications, I think it is not political to point out the decadence of a lifestyle that is continually becoming more prevalent.
Maybe I am in the minority here but honestly I think Benjamin Button was the WORST movie I saw last year (yes, worse than Indiana Jones and Hellboy 2). It was boring and heavy handed. Also it was about 45 minutes too long, at least.
I love that RDJ was nominated for “Tropic Thunder,” and I don’t necessarily think that it’s the Academy’s aversion to comedy that will prevent him from winning (remember, this is the same category that saw Kevin Kline win an Oscar for “A Fish Called Wanda” not to mention Alan Arkin’s win just two years ago for “Little Miss Sunshine.” I think it’s the Heath Ledger juggernaut that will keep RDJ from collecting a well-earned Oscar (not to say that Mr. Ledger does not deserve the award for his indelible performance).
I find it curious that you believe that Heath’s chances are harmed somehow by the fact that this is the only major nomination for “The Dark Knight.” While a quick glance of the Best Supporting Actor winners of the past 10-20 years would seem to show an inclination to honor performances in films with major nominations, it would also show an inclination to honor one of two particular types: Actors who have done strong work over the course of the year in multiple films such as Jim Broadbent (won for “Iris,” also appeared in “Bridget Jones’s Diary” and “Moulin Rouge!” that year) and Kevin Spacey (won for “The Usual Suspects,” also appeared in “Outbreak” and “Seven” that same year) or actor who have had distinguished careers and are “due” such as James Coburn (“Affliction”), Alan Arkin (“Little Miss Sunshine”) and Morgan Freeman (“Million Dollar Baby”). Not to mention that Heath’s performance is one of the most talked about of the year, and there will never be another chance to honor his work. Also, as was the case with George Clooney’s win for “Syriana” (which even he seemed to think was in recognition for his directorial work in “Good Night, and Good Luck” since the Academy was content to give everything else to “Return of the King” that year), this could be the Academy’s only chance to recognize “The Dark Knight.” Rest assured, if Heath Ledger wins the SAG award this Sunday, he will win the Oscar.
Some of the other shoe-ins would have to be “Man on Wire” for best documentary and “Presto” for best animated short as well as the already mentioned by you “Wall-E” for best animated film. I, too was saddened at it’s lack of Best Picture status, as I had it as my best film of the year. Nothing I have seen has been able to top it, not even “Slumdog Millionaire” (which I loved, and will most likely walk away with more Oscars that “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” even though the latter has more nominations.)
I hate to say it, but I’ve come to realize that Hollywood and I are having a falling out. This coming from the girl who has been going to IMDb regularly since its inception, back when it was incomplete and they were begging for donations. This coming from the girl who has seen every Academy Awards for as long as she can remember, and whose mother has seen every show for as long as they’ve been televised. Last year was the first awards show I missed (grad school played a major part in it) and, after reading the nominees for this year, I’ve made the choice to skip this year as well.
I’ve come to recognize the politics and posturing that go into the Oscars. Indeed, like the tragic American economy, they don’t really seem based on anything I can grasp, and I doubt that they really mean anything. It’s also hard to get past this when I see the same sorts of movies get nominated year after year, and the same sorts of actors strive for the same sorts of roles. There is also still a decided lack of women and non-white nominees in directing, writing, and producing categories.
And, more to the point, I’ve realized that the movies nominated for awards–and, in fact, the entire enterprise in general–don’t have any real affect on my life and my movie choices. Dark Knight was quite frankly one of the greatest movies I’ve ever seen. I was FLOORED by its depth and analysis of society, human nature, and frank portrayal of the multiple facets of good and evil; and it was entertaining to boot! It is a piece of art that stuck with me long after I left the theater.
Does that mean I’m bitter it wasn’t nominated? No, actually. I’ve just realized that the Academy and I are looking for completely different things. Oscar can fawn over his poignant WW2 epics, his costumed period pieces, his gritty American-realism, even his “almost-retards.” All that means is that the movies that touch my life–my Dark Knights, my Blade Runners, my Jurassic Parks, hell even my Bill & Teds and my Tank Girls–remain just that, MY movies, with their own unique effects on my own entertainment and personal growth.
(Additionally, since my movies don’t have these arbitrary awards attached to them, it means I have to be all that much more creative and insightful when critiquing them, and defending their worth to others.)
In any event, below are all the categories BUTTON was nominated for:
Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role
Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role
Achievement in Art Direction
Achievement in Cinematography
Achievement in Costume Design
Achievement in Directing
Achievement in Film Editing
Achievement in Makeup
Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures (Original Score)
Best Motion Picture of the Year
Achievement in Sound Mixing
Achievement in Visual Effects
Adapted Screenplay
And below are all the categories GUMP was nominated for in 1995; categories shared with BUTTON are presented ALL IN CAPS while awards won are indicated with a ‘#’:
BEST ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE #
BEST DIRECTOR #
BEST EFFECTS, VISUAL EFFECTS #
BEST FILM EDITING #
BEST PICTURE #
BEST WRITING, SCREENPLAY BASED ON MATERIAL FROM ANOTHER MEDIUM #
Best Actor in a Supporting Role
BEST ART DIRECTION-SET DECORATION
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Best Effects, Sound Effects Editing
BEST MAKEUP
BEST MUSIC, ORIGINAL SCORE
BEST SOUND
You might want to consider the above in your Oscar pools, in that if history is as willing to repeat itself as Paramount was, then these are the likely winners come Oscar night…
“Benjamin Button” was good, but it wasn’t great, and I don’t think it deserved 13 noms. “Milk” and “Slumdog Millionaire” were both much stronger, more emotionally involved movies; “Benjamin” for all its glory struck me as very sterile emotionally, which is a little sad when you think about it.
I think the most unfortunate miss of the Academy’s this season was the complete lack of love towards “Synecdoche, New York,” although I’m sure a large part of that is that it only ever saw limited release in the States. That, and a lukewarm critical reception (as all art movies generate) should not deter anyone from seeing it.
One final note: I completely agree that Wall-E deserves a Best Picture nod, if not a win. Easily in my top 5 picks of the year.
Synecdoche New York Synecdoche New York Synecdoche New York Synecdoche New York Synecdoche New York Synecdoche New York.
To quote a Ernst Lubitsch movie tagline: “DON’T PRONOUNCE IT, SEE IT”.
But yeah. that movie is magnificent in so many ways that it was only natural for them to completely goddamn ignore it. (I thought that, in the least, it should have gotten a nod for best song with “Little Person” or “Song For Caden”.)
If, as seems to be the case, categories are won and lost based on the merits of the nominees for unrelated reasons, then the award show categories are a worthless system. If they just want to hand out an unrestricted number of accolades for outstanding efforts, and forgo the system they eschew anyway, I could get onboard with that. Keeping up the pretense, however, sours me on the whole affair.
@Sara “Maybe I am in the minority here but honestly I think Benjamin Button was the WORST movie I saw last year (yes, worse than Indiana Jones and Hellboy 2).”
Wait, Hellboy 2? Who said Hellboy 2 was the worst movie of the year?! Even people who didn’t care for it didn’t put it anywhere near the bottom, as far as I’ve seen.
Personally, I loved it, through and through. It might have been a bit light plot-wise, but it was stunningly beautiful, the action was great (except for the “holding the baby with his tail” thing), and I even loved the villain. He was a classic tragic villain, doing what he was out of rage and a sense of duty, not because he wanted to. He genuinely seemed to lament the monster he was becoming, which is a fascinating thing to see played out. I can’t wait for the third installment.
I didn’t think The Dark Knight had a chance for a Best Picture nod, but I thought at least Christopher Nolan would get one for directing. The Oscars have become way too pretentious for their own good.
Honestly, I think Button is more than worthy. I think that it’s a slow-moving film, but that’s not necessarily bad. It was my personal favorite film this year, so I’m more than happy to see so many nominations. Suck it, Slumdog!
Also, Button didn’t get a nomination in “Best Actress,” though Cate Blanchett deserves one.
Seriously though, if you want to talk about Hollywood ignoring films, look at Milk, arguably one of the more important films to come out this year, not to mention it’s one of the best. Yet, it only takes in a few nominations? Granted, there weren’t many special effects, but I feel like that film isn’t getting as much attention as it should. Hollywood seems to love to gloss over any film that actually attacks a problem – Milk, Brokeback Mountain, any film that deals with abortion… You get the picture.
My mistake on the acting nomination. You’re right. It was Taraji Henson for Best Supporting. I should read the list a little closer next time!
And you’re exactly right about Hollywood not wanting to endorse “issue” films. They seem to gravitate more toward issues that have been resolved, like The Holocaust. It’s their way of staying apolitical, I suppose.
My impression of Benjamin Button was that it was Forrest Gump without the name-dropping. Forrest Gump won, so who knows?
I hope The Dark Knight at least gets something for that semi-flipping stunt. That was real, y’know, not special effects. I’m disappointed that it didn’t get more nominations, myself…
I would of thought Nolan would of been nominated for best director being as he possibly changed the way Imax is used forever.
I can’t say whether Button should have gotten 13 nominations. I didn’t bother to see it. However, I’ve seen most of the other movies listed, and also agree wholeheartedly that Wall-E should have had a Best Picture nomination. And it might have even won.
I think The Dark Knight and WALL-E certainly deserved Best Pictures noms, 99% of everyone agrees they are of the best quality. I didn’t expect WALL-E to get nominated for Best Picture, but I certainly expected Dark Knight to be.
Being the Fangirl I am, as much as I loved “The Dark Knight”, I kind of glad it didn’t get as nominated as “Benjamin Button” because if Button is this year’s “Gump”, then TDK could’ve of wound up being this years “The Shawshank Redemption” (1994)–even though from a financial standpoint it is probably the other way around–in a rather meaningless battle of esteem.
I did see Benjamin Button (for some reason I always think of the Muppet’s character, Benjamin Bunny, when I say it) and liked it. I found it an interesting ride through history and loved the New Orleans setting. Most people were crying by the end, including one woman in front of me who was sobbing so hard she just threw her head on her boyfriend’s shoulder and let the tears flow. I’m not sure if it deserved all it’s Oscar nods but I feel there really wasn’t any films that stood out from the crowd this year.
As for Dark Knight, until the old guard Academy voters pass the torch, we are just not going to get any justice for the fan boys.
Lastly, WALL-E… I know I’m going to get a lot of flack for this but I didn’t think it was all that. I thought it was a sweet, fun, family movie but the substance and message of the movie (live simply and don’t trust mega-corps) was so contrived and forced that I felt like a bad person for ever buying something I didn’t need. It will win the Best Animated Feature Film though.
I am still waiting to see some more films of the nominated films before I make any predictions.
BTW, I don’t know if anyone else has this in there town, but we have a local, independent theater that shows the Oscars for free and gives prizes away throughout the broadcast. I’ve been the last 4 years and have had a bigger blast each year.
I understand if you think Wall-E’s message is heavy handed, but if you listen to the DVD commentary, you realize that Director Andrew Stanton came to those conclusions about consumerism and environmentalism organically. If you follow their thought process, it’s not heavy-handed at all.
They knew they wanted to do a story about a robot who is alone on Earth. Okay, why is he alone? Because all the humans left. Why did all the humans leave? Because of environmental damage. What caused the environmental damage? Consumerism. Okay – hey! – now Wall-E has a job! He’s cleaning up!… And one idea feeds the other.
Wall-E is a family movie that transcends the genre. People will be talking about that movie for the next 50 years. Trust me.
Benjamin Button definitely deserves the nominations. Although, yes, the movie is slow, it’s a life-story – it’s supposed to be slow! How fast-paced and action-packed is any of our lives? 🙂 That said, the story and acting are amazing; definitely best-picture quality. Tom, you should DEFINITELY check it out.
I am also saddened that The Dark Knight didn’t get as many nominations as it deserves. And how is Heath Ledger a supporting actor? He stole the show from Christian Bale (who is one of my all-time favorite actors)!
I resisted Wall-E because I heard from others that it was heavy handed. Once I actually sat down and watched it, I was surprised how nice of a film it was. It still can’t unseat “The Incredibles” as my favorite Pixar but its worth owning.
The two movies that will come to define 2008 – “The Dark Knight” & “Wall-E” – aren’t in the running. “The Reader” is a good movie, but one can’t help but feel this is simply the old folks of the Academy reaching for their security blankets and nominating a theme that has been with Oscar for years (the holocaust).
Everyone talks about how Wall-E got snubbed for best picture because it was animated, but what about documentaries? Man On Wire and Encounters at the End of the World were easily two of the best movies I’ve seen this year, yet they get relegated to their own category. And it’s completely criminal the The Wrestler didn’t get a best picture nod, so I’m hoping that to make up for it Mickey Rourke wins the oscar.
Does anyone know what happened with The Fall and Shotgun Stories? Those were two of the other best movies I’ve seen this year, yet AMG and IMDB have them as 2006 and 2007 movies. But then ol’ Roger Ebert has them on his 2008 list…
Oh, and I have to say I wasn’t terribly impressed with Wall-E. As blown away as I was by the visuals and loved the live action segments with what’s-his-face from the Christopher Guest troupe, too many weird contradictory details brought the movie down for me. Like, how do people who have never seen a pool know what a pool is (and why on Earth would the pool robot not be waterproof?!)? And isn’t Wall-E himself actually promoting consumerism by going around and collecting all this junk he doesn’t need, so much so that he needs a giant rotating closet to keep it all?
I wont take the Oscar’s seriously until I see Leo DiCaprio win an award… he is at least 2 trophies overdue.
On antoher note, I love what you did with the site Tom, and its cool to see Cami write on here too. Also, put up as much advertisements as you can, the more money you can make off your great comics, the better!
As much as I loved both The Dark Knight and WALL-E, I knew there was no way in hell that either of them were getting nominated for Best Picture. AMPAS is always behind the times and loves the Holocaust movies. Plus The Reader has a beautiful actress that gets covered up in aging make-up, they’re suckers for that sort of thing. I did like the movie though.
The noms turned out exactly the way I expected: Best Animated Film and Original Song for WALL-E (with Original Screenplay thrown in as a surprise) and Heath Ledger plus a bunch of technical noms for The Dark Knight. No way was a comic book movie getting major noms, and I have a feeling that had Ledger not died he wouldn’t have gotten nominated either. I do think he has a pretty strong chance at winning though, but I loved every performance in that category so if he doesn’t win it wouldn’t bother me.
hey tom, I just wanted to say the movie quotes on the bottom of the site are a nice touch.
I loved Slumdog Millionaire so much. It was the most emotionally moving and captivating movie I saw this year (granted I haven’t seen the rest of the best picture nominated movies).
As for Wall-E, Wren, it seems like if the message were “contrived” and “forced,” then you wouldn’t have been stricken with guilt like that; you would’ve just resented the implication that you should feel guilty. Maybe that’s what you meant and I just misinterpreted the statement. But if you did genuinely feel some guilt because of it, then it’s possible it actually had an effect on you and you just resent that it actually did.
My room mates all complained about how “political” it was, but I think issues about the environment transcend ideology and politics; it is only because politicians started talking about the environment in political terms that it began to be viewed that way. As for the sociological implications, I think it is not political to point out the decadence of a lifestyle that is continually becoming more prevalent.
Maybe I am in the minority here but honestly I think Benjamin Button was the WORST movie I saw last year (yes, worse than Indiana Jones and Hellboy 2). It was boring and heavy handed. Also it was about 45 minutes too long, at least.
Tom:
I love that RDJ was nominated for “Tropic Thunder,” and I don’t necessarily think that it’s the Academy’s aversion to comedy that will prevent him from winning (remember, this is the same category that saw Kevin Kline win an Oscar for “A Fish Called Wanda” not to mention Alan Arkin’s win just two years ago for “Little Miss Sunshine.” I think it’s the Heath Ledger juggernaut that will keep RDJ from collecting a well-earned Oscar (not to say that Mr. Ledger does not deserve the award for his indelible performance).
I find it curious that you believe that Heath’s chances are harmed somehow by the fact that this is the only major nomination for “The Dark Knight.” While a quick glance of the Best Supporting Actor winners of the past 10-20 years would seem to show an inclination to honor performances in films with major nominations, it would also show an inclination to honor one of two particular types: Actors who have done strong work over the course of the year in multiple films such as Jim Broadbent (won for “Iris,” also appeared in “Bridget Jones’s Diary” and “Moulin Rouge!” that year) and Kevin Spacey (won for “The Usual Suspects,” also appeared in “Outbreak” and “Seven” that same year) or actor who have had distinguished careers and are “due” such as James Coburn (“Affliction”), Alan Arkin (“Little Miss Sunshine”) and Morgan Freeman (“Million Dollar Baby”). Not to mention that Heath’s performance is one of the most talked about of the year, and there will never be another chance to honor his work. Also, as was the case with George Clooney’s win for “Syriana” (which even he seemed to think was in recognition for his directorial work in “Good Night, and Good Luck” since the Academy was content to give everything else to “Return of the King” that year), this could be the Academy’s only chance to recognize “The Dark Knight.” Rest assured, if Heath Ledger wins the SAG award this Sunday, he will win the Oscar.
Some of the other shoe-ins would have to be “Man on Wire” for best documentary and “Presto” for best animated short as well as the already mentioned by you “Wall-E” for best animated film. I, too was saddened at it’s lack of Best Picture status, as I had it as my best film of the year. Nothing I have seen has been able to top it, not even “Slumdog Millionaire” (which I loved, and will most likely walk away with more Oscars that “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” even though the latter has more nominations.)
I hate to say it, but I’ve come to realize that Hollywood and I are having a falling out. This coming from the girl who has been going to IMDb regularly since its inception, back when it was incomplete and they were begging for donations. This coming from the girl who has seen every Academy Awards for as long as she can remember, and whose mother has seen every show for as long as they’ve been televised. Last year was the first awards show I missed (grad school played a major part in it) and, after reading the nominees for this year, I’ve made the choice to skip this year as well.
I’ve come to recognize the politics and posturing that go into the Oscars. Indeed, like the tragic American economy, they don’t really seem based on anything I can grasp, and I doubt that they really mean anything. It’s also hard to get past this when I see the same sorts of movies get nominated year after year, and the same sorts of actors strive for the same sorts of roles. There is also still a decided lack of women and non-white nominees in directing, writing, and producing categories.
And, more to the point, I’ve realized that the movies nominated for awards–and, in fact, the entire enterprise in general–don’t have any real affect on my life and my movie choices. Dark Knight was quite frankly one of the greatest movies I’ve ever seen. I was FLOORED by its depth and analysis of society, human nature, and frank portrayal of the multiple facets of good and evil; and it was entertaining to boot! It is a piece of art that stuck with me long after I left the theater.
Does that mean I’m bitter it wasn’t nominated? No, actually. I’ve just realized that the Academy and I are looking for completely different things. Oscar can fawn over his poignant WW2 epics, his costumed period pieces, his gritty American-realism, even his “almost-retards.” All that means is that the movies that touch my life–my Dark Knights, my Blade Runners, my Jurassic Parks, hell even my Bill & Teds and my Tank Girls–remain just that, MY movies, with their own unique effects on my own entertainment and personal growth.
(Additionally, since my movies don’t have these arbitrary awards attached to them, it means I have to be all that much more creative and insightful when critiquing them, and defending their worth to others.)
In terms of Oscars, it’s interesting to note how many nominations BUTTON has that it shares with the film FORREST GUMP. It frankly shares a lot mroe than that (http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/1d76506803/the-curious-case-of-forrest-gump-from-fgump44) but I digress…
In any event, below are all the categories BUTTON was nominated for:
Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role
Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role
Achievement in Art Direction
Achievement in Cinematography
Achievement in Costume Design
Achievement in Directing
Achievement in Film Editing
Achievement in Makeup
Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures (Original Score)
Best Motion Picture of the Year
Achievement in Sound Mixing
Achievement in Visual Effects
Adapted Screenplay
And below are all the categories GUMP was nominated for in 1995; categories shared with BUTTON are presented ALL IN CAPS while awards won are indicated with a ‘#’:
BEST ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE #
BEST DIRECTOR #
BEST EFFECTS, VISUAL EFFECTS #
BEST FILM EDITING #
BEST PICTURE #
BEST WRITING, SCREENPLAY BASED ON MATERIAL FROM ANOTHER MEDIUM #
Best Actor in a Supporting Role
BEST ART DIRECTION-SET DECORATION
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Best Effects, Sound Effects Editing
BEST MAKEUP
BEST MUSIC, ORIGINAL SCORE
BEST SOUND
You might want to consider the above in your Oscar pools, in that if history is as willing to repeat itself as Paramount was, then these are the likely winners come Oscar night…
“Benjamin Button” was good, but it wasn’t great, and I don’t think it deserved 13 noms. “Milk” and “Slumdog Millionaire” were both much stronger, more emotionally involved movies; “Benjamin” for all its glory struck me as very sterile emotionally, which is a little sad when you think about it.
I think the most unfortunate miss of the Academy’s this season was the complete lack of love towards “Synecdoche, New York,” although I’m sure a large part of that is that it only ever saw limited release in the States. That, and a lukewarm critical reception (as all art movies generate) should not deter anyone from seeing it.
One final note: I completely agree that Wall-E deserves a Best Picture nod, if not a win. Easily in my top 5 picks of the year.
Synecdoche New York Synecdoche New York Synecdoche New York Synecdoche New York Synecdoche New York Synecdoche New York.
To quote a Ernst Lubitsch movie tagline: “DON’T PRONOUNCE IT, SEE IT”.
But yeah. that movie is magnificent in so many ways that it was only natural for them to completely goddamn ignore it. (I thought that, in the least, it should have gotten a nod for best song with “Little Person” or “Song For Caden”.)
If, as seems to be the case, categories are won and lost based on the merits of the nominees for unrelated reasons, then the award show categories are a worthless system. If they just want to hand out an unrestricted number of accolades for outstanding efforts, and forgo the system they eschew anyway, I could get onboard with that. Keeping up the pretense, however, sours me on the whole affair.
As much as I liked Downey Jr. in Tropic Thunder, it was definitely not Oscar-worthy.
@Sara “Maybe I am in the minority here but honestly I think Benjamin Button was the WORST movie I saw last year (yes, worse than Indiana Jones and Hellboy 2).”
Wait, Hellboy 2? Who said Hellboy 2 was the worst movie of the year?! Even people who didn’t care for it didn’t put it anywhere near the bottom, as far as I’ve seen.
Personally, I loved it, through and through. It might have been a bit light plot-wise, but it was stunningly beautiful, the action was great (except for the “holding the baby with his tail” thing), and I even loved the villain. He was a classic tragic villain, doing what he was out of rage and a sense of duty, not because he wanted to. He genuinely seemed to lament the monster he was becoming, which is a fascinating thing to see played out. I can’t wait for the third installment.
Indiana Jones, on the other hand…
I’ve been following the Oscars for years. I’m telling you, Heath Ledger is a LOCK to win.