The 10 Best Films of 2008

Later today, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences will hand out their awards for achievement in film-making for movies made in 2008. Before The Academy tells us what they thought was the best film of last year, I'm going to tell you what I thought were the ten best.

10. Nick & Nora's Infinite Playlist
9. Slumdog Millionaire
8. The Visitor
7. Revolutionary Road
6. The Dark Knight
5. Doubt
4. Frost/Nixon
3. Gran Torino
2. Milk

...and the best film of 2008 is...

1. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

My Picks and Predictions for the 81st Anuual Academy Awards

It's that time of the year again everybody! This year, I made sure to see every nominated film (with the exception of the foreign films, documentaries and shorts) before I made these predictions. So for every major category I've picked who I think the winner will be, who I think deserves to win and who should have been nominated but was unjustly snubbed. I'll also take a stab at guessing the obscure categories as well. So without further delay, here are my Academy Awards predictions:


Best Picture

• Will Win: Slumdog Millionaire
• Deserves to Win: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
• Deserved a Nomination: Gran Torino

Best Director

• Will Win: Danny Boyle, Slimdog Millionaire
• Deserves to Win: David Fincher, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
• Deserved a Nomination: Christopher Nolan, The Dark Knight

Best Actress

• Will Win: Kate Winslet, The Reader
• Deserves to Win: Kate Winslet, The Reader
• Deserved a Nomination: Kate Winslet, Revolutionary Road, but since the same actor cannot be nominated twice in a single category, I'll say Cate Blanchett, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.
  

Best Actor

• Will Win: Sean Penn, Milk
• Deserves to Win: Sean Penn, Milk
• Deserved a Nomination: Leonardo DiCaprio, Revolutionary Road
  

Best Supporting Actress

• Will Win: Penelope Cruz, Vicky Cristina Barcelona
• Deserves to Win: Amy Addams, Doubt
• Deserved a Nomination: I don't really have any problems with this category.

Best Supporting Actor

• Will Win: Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight
• Deserves to Win: Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight
• Deserved a Nomination: James Franco, Milk

Best Adapted Screenplay

• Will Win: Slumdog Millionaire
• Deserves to Win: Frost/Nixon
• Deserved a Nomination: Nick & Nora's Infinite Playlist

Best Original Screenplay

• Will Win: Milk
• Deserves to Win: Milk
• Deserved a Nomination: Vicky Cristina Barcelona
  

The Rest (Predictions Only)

• Animated Feature: Wall-E
• Art Direction: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
• Cinematography: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
• Costume Design: The Dutchess
• Documentary Feature: Man on Wire
• Documentary Short: The Witness: From the Balcony of Room 306
• Film Editing: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
• Foreign Language Film: Waltz with Bashir
• Makeup: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
• Original Score: Slumdog Millionaire
• Original Song: "Down to Earth" from Wall-E
• Short Film, Animated: Presto
• Short Film, Live Action: Spielzugland (Toyland)
• Sound Editing: The Dark Knight
• Sound Mixing: The Dark Knight
• Visual Effects: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

I Think I May Have Been Wrong About Something

On Thursday, I said that I thought The Curious Case of Benjamin Button would beat out Slumdog Millionaire for Best Picture at the Oscars. I figured that even though Slumdog Millionaire had won the award at the Critics Choice Awards and the Golden Globes, the Academy Awards are given out by people from all facets of filmmaking (actors, directors, producers, editors, technical crew, etc.) so they would be more apt to recognize how well The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is made.

However two events over the weekend have begun to make me believe otherwise.

First, on Saturday, the Producers Guild of America gave Slumdog its top honors. This still wasn't enough to convince me, because I think film producers probably appreciated what Slumdog was able to accomplish on its limited budget, compared to the $150 million that Button had to work with.

But, on Sunday, my dreams were shattered when the Screen Actors Guild gave the Best Ensemble Cast award to Slumdog Millionaire. This movie should not even have been NOMINATED in this category. It is a great movie (though I don't think the single greatest of the year), but not due to great acting. Some of the actors in this movie were just plain bad.

This continual blind worship for this movie has nearly convinced me that Slumdog will take home the top Oscar.

This makes me sad.

Check back soon for my complete list of Oscar predictions and my top 10 films of 2008.

The Oscar Nominees Were Announced This Morning!

This morning was the precursor to my favorite night of the year. Today, at 5:30am PST, the Academy Award Nominations for films released in 2008 were announced, and there were definitely some surprises. Here are some of my initial reactions:

• Most importantly, I'd like to be among the first to say that Slumdog Millionaire will not win "Best Picture" this year. Despite already winning "Best Picture" honors at The Golden Globes, Critics Choice Awards and from The National Board of Review, I think, in the case of Oscar, that award is probably going to go to The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. I say this not because Button received the more total nominations than Millionaire, but because it is the better film. I think The Academy will recognize this.

• Also, I'd like to congratulate The Academy for knowing the difference between a leading role and a supporting role. Unlike at The Golden Globes, Kate Winslet's performance in The Reader is nominated in the "Lead Actress" category rather than the "Supporting Actress" category. Since Winslet's character in is the only major female role in The Reader and she receives more screen time than any other actor, this clearly is not a supporting role.
  

• Next, I'd like to comment on the five nominees for "Best Picture." Slumdog Millionaire and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button were obvious choices. I don't think anyone is surprised by their inclusion. Frost/Nixon is another film that I think most people predicted would receive this nomination. I, personally, am glad The Academy didn't make the same mistake as the Hollywood Foreign Press (Golden Globes) and look over Milk, another much-deserved nomination. The only big shocker in this category is the absence of The Dark Knight, an absence that I couldn't agree with more. While it was a great film, I just don't feel like DK was "Best Picture" material. I haven't seen The Reader yet, so I'll reserve judgment regarding its nomination. However, I feel like Gran Torino was a bit ripped off here.

• Speaking of Gran Torino, not only did this film get snubbed in the "Best Picture" category, but in every single other category as well. This film's lack of a single nomination is, in my opinion, the biggest shocker of this year's nods.

I have a handful of films left to see before the Awards are given out on February 22. In the coming weeks I will finish watching all of the major nominated films and I'll post a complete list of my picks and predictions for each award, along with my list of the Top 10 films of 2008.

The complete list of nominations for the 81st Annual Academy Awards can be found here.

Movie Review: The Dark Knight (5/5 Stars)

During a summer that has provided disappointment after disappointment (examples include Indiana Jones and The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and Hancock), The Dark Knight finally delivers what audiences have been waiting for: a big-budget blockbuster packed with action, but also complimented by a strong script and unmatched performances by a stellar ensemble cast.

About a year after battling The Scarecrow and Ra’s Al Guhl in Batman Begins, Batman (Christian Bale) is now a regular on the Gotham City crime-fighting circuit. Although his vigilante antics are technically illegal, Batman maintains a distant but favorable relationship with lieutenant Gordon (Gary Oldman) of the city’s police department and Gotham’s new District Attorney, Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart). Just as the trio seems to be succeeding at cleaning up the city’s streets, they are rattled by the arrival of a new villain, The Joker (Heath Ledger).

The Dark Knight is an automatic improvement on Batman Begins simply because it doesn’t require any back-story. Batman Begins delved deep into the character of Bruce Wayne, successfully explaining his motive for becoming the Caped Crusader. Thanks to this profound character-study in the first film, we already know who Batman is and we are able to jump right into what Batman does. And whom he does it to…

Although this is the newest Batman movie, the film’s focus is not always on the Dark Knight mentioned in the title. Instead, we also become intimately familiar with the story’s villain. Heath Ledger brings the Joker to the screen in a way that no other actor could have even dreamed of. Ledger’s transformation into the Joker is one of the most disturbing Hollywood has ever seen. What makes the Joker scary isn’t his creepy laugh, his hastily applied makeup, or even his heinous deeds. What makes him truly frightening is his love for chaos. He has no motive or greater purpose for the havoc he wreaks, he simply gets off on the panic it generates. The Joker is able to corrupt the purest of souls, and even further corrupt the darkest…and Batman is no exception.

Batman’s struggle to stay morally unadulterated is the true conflict. As big as the fight between Batman and The Joker may grow, it never overtakes the struggle within Batman himself. When our hero is forced to question why he does what he does, and whether or not it’s worth doing, the true brilliance of the Batman story emerges. So, while it may seem like the movie is more about the Joker than Batman, it’s really about the Joker’s effect on Batman.

While most superhero movies are about the action and special effects, The Dark Knight is focused on character development. As a general rule, great films have great characters that audiences can empathize with. If a viewer is able to connect on a deep level with a character in a movie, he will connect with the movie itself. What makes The Dark Knight great is the fact that anybody can find that connection with one or more of the characters. Simply put, The Dark Knight is this year’s best film.

A Day at the Movies

I saw The Dark Knight for the second time today, and it's just as good the second time as it was the first! God, I love that movie. If you haven't already, go check it out. I promise it will be worth your time and money. After spending some time with Batman, I saw the midnight showing of Will Farrell's new movie, Step Brothers. It's nothing brilliant, but it is pretty funny. Will Farrell fans should be pleased.