Who Should Win, Who Will Win- Oscars 2009

I've heard a lot of people say this year's Academy Awards are yawn-worthy. Apparently "There Will Be Blood," and "No Country For Old Men" got people going last year, and this year's contenders just don't compare. I'd disagree with that. That's the beauty of film after all, isn't it? We all have our own tastes. Sort of like, "beauty is in the eye of the beholder." So, even though some people may be missing the powerful performance of Daniel Day Lewis, others are feeling good about Heath Ledger's performance as the joker, or Mickey Rourke's turn as "The Wrestler." The downside of everyone having different tastes, is that inevitably, there is disappointment on Oscar night. Among those of us as home, and surely, for those in the seats at the Kodak Theatre. I'm afraid my favourite film of the year may be one of those overlooked this year.

Who should win? Who will win? Here are my picks.

Best Supporting Actress

WSW: Viola Davis for her performance in Doubt. She didn't have many scenes in this movie, but when she did, she stole them from Meryl Streep. The Meryl Streep whom Oscar loves. Davis should take the statue.

WWW: Penelope Cruz in Vicky Cristina Barcelona. For some reason, this seems like Oscar bait to me. It's a movie not many people saw, and Cruz gives one of the better performances of her career. I see Oscar giving her the little gold man.

Best Supporting Actor

WSW: The late Heath Ledger. Though Josh Brolin comes in second here for me. He did a great job as Dan White. But Ledger's performance was both convincing, and unique- perfect for the Oscars.


WWW: This is the easiest category in years to call. Who will win, is Heath Ledger. I'm not the biggest fan of super hero movies, Spiderman was so-so, and, dare I say it, Christian Bale was not my favourite actor to step into Batman's cape. (Even though I used to LOVE him.. He's too dark as Bruce Wayne, in my opinion.) Ledger's performance was incredible. He was strangely alluring. I don't know if I was scared of him, but I believed he was nuts. The only question is, who will accept on his behalf?

Best Actress

WSW: This category is difficult this year. I loved Changeling, but it was more the story and directing I loved, rather than Angelina. (Clint Eastwood is amazing, as usual.) Angie was great, but I don't know if it's Oscar worthy. So I'll pick Kate Winslet, for the Reader, as the woman who should win this year. I've loved her acting chops since she almost went down with the ship!

WWW: Kate Winslet. She had two nominations at the Golden Globes. The Oscars gave her one.. but this just may be her year. But, I must mention she's up against Oscar favourite Meryl Streep. So you never know.

Best Actor

WSW: Sean Penn, Sean Penn, SEAN PENN! He was absolutely miraculous as Harvey Milk, the gay rights activist from the 1970s. If you haven't seen this movie, you must. And, if you don't see why it's great.. you probably haven't given much thought to human rights causes. That's fine.. but maybe now is the time to do so? Penn BECOMES Milk. And, he doesn't overdo it. He kisses James Franco as convincingly as any woman would, and brings a sense of hopefulness and courage to the role that can only make you smile along with him. When Prop 6 fails, how can you not beam at the sight of him beaming?? They say this one's a horse race, and I hope Penn wins it by a nose. In a time where Prop 8 passed, this film is R-E-L-E-V-A-N-T.

WWW: Mickey Rourke for the Wrestler. Call me pessimistic, but I see him taking home the statue. The whole unconventional thing he has going on, mixed with the fact that the Wrestler's story is strikingly like his own.. It seems he has more than a shot in hell. He did, after all, get the Golden Globe.

Best Picture

WSW: Milk. Hands down, end of sentence. It brings a very important issue to the forefront of our minds: human rights. Laws protecting gays from discrimination in housing and work were REPEALED.. and not put back into place until 1998! That's unacceptable. Gay director Gus Van Sant puts all the ingredients together perfectly in this film. You feel joy, sadness, anger.. all of it. And watching Penn feels like you're watching Milk himself. This is what I was talking about before.. disappointment. In my eyes, this movie is Best Picture.

WWW: Slumdog Millionaire. It is the odds-on favourite and I would never be so stupid as to bet against it. But, I do not think it is deserving. Oh why oh why couldn't a movie like Forrest Gump have come along this year to blow it out of the water?? Oh wait... haha but NO Benjamin Button is NO Forrest Gump. I do not see what you all love about this movie sent in Mumbai.. but I give up. Give it the statue, and let's be on our way to next year. You can quote me as saying Slumdog is mediocre, and forgettable at best. Sorry Jamal.. I wasn't as enthralled by your story as everyone else seems to be.

Best Director

WSW: Gus Van Sant. Like I said, he takes all the ingredients for Milk, and puts them together to make one heck of a biopic.

WWW: Danny Boyle for Slumdog Millionaire. I'll concede that he did a good job here. The movie is put together really well, and the story is told well. Boyle will will the Oscar, and I hope he enjoys it.. because it may not ever come around again.

Best Animated Featute Film:

WSW: WALL-E! Amazing.

WWW: WALL-E! Bet your house and kids on this one folks. Haha.

Well, those are my picks this year. Obviously, things won't go as I'd like, but do they ever? (Yep! In 1994- Forrest Gump RULED). The Academy has made some weird choices over the years.. I mean.. Halle Berry as Best Actress in Monster's Ball over Renee Zellweger as Bridget Jones, and Nicole Kidman in Moulin Rouge? My point exactly.

Anyway, sit back and relax tonight, and hope one of the categories goes your way!

P.S. Shame on the Golden Globes this year.. not even nominating Milk as a contender for Best Picture Drama? What is that?
Haha.

Slumdog Worth a Million?

Recently, a little movie called Slumdog Millionaire began making big waves among moviegoers.

It's being hailed as this year's Best Picture. And, I would bet my money on it winning, because people seem to like to decide which movie is BP without even seeing more than, say, two of the nominees. Now, I wouldn't go as far as saying Slumdog is BS instead of BP, but.. I don't think it's quite up to snuff. I know I don't want to see it again, and won't remember it in 20 years.

It's the story of a young man who is on India's version of "Who Wants to be a Millionaire," and is doing really well. The host, and others involved with the show think something is fishy since the young man is from a lower economic class. How can a poor guy know all of the answers?

So a local police man questions him, and we hear the stories behind how Jamal (as he is called) came to know the answers.

Along the way, we see Jamal's brother Salim, who heads down the wrong path, as well as a girlfriend, named Latika. They first meet when Jamal invites her into his hiding place to take shelter from the rain. Throughout the movie, Jamal and Latika are bonded through a sort of de facto friendship. They have no one else. Salim ends up the sibling who took the low road. Trust me, you don't have to go to India to see that.

I agree that this movie is well done, considering the subject matter. I was entertained, but I kept waiting for the profound moment, the big turn in the movie. It never came. I had heard of people crying for hours after seeing this movie, and I just do not understand that.

We have poverty HERE. We have a class sytem HERE. So why is it so profound that these kids on the streets of India have it tough? Were some people unaware that these circumstances exist in other countries, as well as our own?

Now, I have an open mind about this. I would love to hear why people are going gaga over this movie, because I just do not understand. It was okay.. The whole "blind kids get more money" thing was very sad. I always appreciate movies that open our eyes to conditions we might not think of otherwise.

But that exact concept will lead me to my next blog, on what I believe should be this year's Best Picture: Milk, starring Sean Penn.

Do you believe Slumdog is hands down, BP? Tell me why. Have you seen all 5 BP contenders? How do they compare?