Monday, February 23, 2009

Oscar Hindsight

The Academy Awards presentation is now behind us. As usual, I've yet to see any of the movies nominated for best picture and only one of the acting performances. I'm a Netflix movie-goer, so I'll be seeing the nominees as they slowly come out on DVD. Expect to read my own take on Oscar's choices then.

Best Picture: Slumdog Millionaire
Best Actor: Sean Penn, Milk
Best Actress: Kate Winslett, The Reader
Supporting Actor: Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight
Supporting Actress: Penelope Cruz, Vicky Cristina Barcelona

I did see The Dark Knight, as it was released last summer. I even saw it in a movie theater. My opinion?

Supporting Actor: Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight

Ledger was dead and gone by the time this movie even hit the theaters. He probably had the Oscar sewn up before the first weekend's gross was even totaled up. But this award is not simply a sympathy vote. Without Heath Ledger's Joker, The Dark Knight would be wholly forgettable. Oscar will never look back and regret not giving the award to <fill in the blank>.

4 comments:

Mark Steger said...

Supporting Actress: Penelope Cruz, Vicky Cristina Barcelona

Penelope Cruz's Maria Elena is a hellion. It probably didn't hurt her chances at the Oscar that the voters might have been nervous about how Maria Elena might react on losing.

Note to Woody Allen: Great story. Great characters. Lose the narration. Let the audience see and hear the story through the characters.

Mark Steger said...

Best Picture: Slumdog Millionaire

The plot twists are preposterous, the ending predictable, the strings all too visible as the director tugs at our hearts, but I couldn't stop watching. Best Picture? I won't argue.

Mark Steger said...

Best Actor: Sean Penn, Milk

Sean Penn is Harvey Milk. He's so convincing that audiences might not appreciate that he's acting.

Mark Steger said...

Best Actress: Kate Winslett, The Reader

Reader. Bather. Lover. And a former Nazi death camp guard. A woman totally lacking introspection and emotion, played with powerful emotion by Kate Winslett. A deserving choice.