What the Oscars got wrong

So we can't all have been happy with the Oscars this year. What ****** you off?

My irks go back to the nominations. Particularly in best picture. Where is The Wrestler? It's a complete disgrace that this movie wasn't nominated.
And was the Academy so starved for a big contender this year that BENJAMIN BUTTON was the big leader among categories? I'm okay with this now, considering it didn't win any major category. And Frost/Nixon?? REALLY? This for best picture, AND best director. You have to admit it: It was a really weak year. Even The Dark Knight and The Visitor deserved a spot more than Frost/Nixon, Button, or even The Reader.

For winners, I'm okay with Slumdog for best picture, simply because of the real-world repurcussions it's had - the celebrations in India and the attention being given to the Mumbai slums and child slavery. Ultimately I was okay if it was this or Milk, so long as it wasn't Benjamin Button, which was a very fun overlong contemporary fantasy film, but other than that, it was just a prettied-up Forrest Gump without the charm or character! And I sound like I'm really praising Forrest Gump here, but I'm no fan of Forrest Gump!

Best Actor - Sean Penn did amazing as Harvey Milk. There's no denying it. He also didn't need another Oscar. And he also didn't so much as chip the iceberg that Mickey Rourke practically encased himself in for The Wrestler. The guy ripped himself open for everyone to see in this film. Mickey Rourke's life story, distilled into a blisteringly sad, 90-minute film about a washed up pro wrestler. No actor will likely ever do a movie more tailor-made for them than Mickey Rourke is for this movie. And every bit of his experience shows. You don't need to know his life story to get anything out of The Wrestler - but you will benefit from what he brings to it. One of the best performances I've seen in YEARS. Will be the highest point in his career. And, many have said, the best film Darren Aronofsky has made (granted, he's only made 4 films, but they're all doozies).

The Best Director category is a joke. They don't know how to give this out. The nominees almost always, always match the Best Picture category. I loved seeing Danny Boyle win it. But this category is just meaningless. I would have loved to see Charlie Kaufman nominated. Nobody liked "Synecdoche, New York", but his vision was so unique, and the way he made this film - from deep inside the character's mind - is a novel approach, and made for an incredible experience.

Any other rambling post-Oscar thoughts on 2008's great (or lack of great) films?

Edit: I should mention that I've never put stock into The Oscars - they're an industry back-pat, a complete joke, but they're always a blast to talk about, and I love oscar season because it gets people watching movies and talking about the year's films.

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Originally Posted by Teebonesy

I should mention that I've never put stock into The Oscars - they're an industry back-pat, a complete joke, but they're always a blast to talk about, and I love oscar season because it gets people watching movies and talking about the year's films.

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I agree with you there muchacho. Of the nominations, the only one I was a bit perplexed over was the Best adopted Screenplay going to Slumdog.

I dont like the awards going towards promotion of "causes". Thats why I wish the Sean Penn win had gone to another. Thats all I got to say about that.

Oh Teebonesy, Darren Aronofsky directed the movie Pi (as in the number) ye? Cause I watched it recently, really cool black & while imagery plus class soundtrack, its got some of my favourite electronic music on it like Autechre. And I was really surprised when I saw that it was the same guy who directed the Wrestler. Haven't seen it yet but really should.

I don't know if for some sill reason it wasn't eligible but Let the Right One In should have been nominated for Foreign Language Film. It was my favorite movie of last year.

Meh Oscars are always crazy... but they got one thing right.

My second cousin ( my dad's first cousin and my grandparent's Nephew :) ) won the best dress desighner award :D

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Originally Posted by Pitcard

Oh Teebonesy, Darren Aronofsky directed the movie Pi (as in the number) ye? Cause I watched it recently, really cool black & while imagery plus class soundtrack, its got some of my favourite electronic music on it like Autechre. And I was really surprised when I saw that it was the same guy who directed the Wrestler. Haven't seen it yet but really should.

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Darren Aronofsky has become one of the star directors of his generation. Every film he made has been visionary and unique. The Wrestler is the most "ordinary" of his films, but also his most grown up. He's a director I always follow and keep an eye on - PT Anderson is another one. These guys kill me, they were so young when they made their first films, and they're just amazing filmmakers. Check out Aronofsky's other movies if you're interested, Requiem for a Dream has traditionally been his most popular - I was blown away when I first saw it, but after seeing it an additional 4 times it did NOT stand the test of time for me - I've come to dislike more about that movie than I like, but nonetheless he's one of the most interesting directors working today. The Fountain is my favorite of his movies - It's the closest to my own storytelling. I made a short film years ago that The Fountain was incredibly similar to. It was just one of those rare, great movie experiences that seemed to talk directly to ME. That movie especially tears audiences in half. Some people hate its guts, other people are really moved by it.

the music. why indiana jones 4 by john williams did not even get nominated surprises me.

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Originally Posted by muttjones

the music. why indiana jones 4 by john williams did not even get nominated surprises me.

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It was good, but not nomination-good.
I love John Williams but I don't think he did anything special with the score of Crystal Skull.

Well, I was fine with Slumdog basically sweeping, but I have to disagree with it being a week year for movies. While there is certainly controversy surrounding the nominations in certain categories, there was something of an abundance of good films last year in my opinion. There were plenty of other movies that could have been nominated in the place of some of the "weaker" films.

The Wrestler should have definitely been nominated for Best Picture probably in the place of Frost/Nixon; Langella still deserved a nod, but not the film itself. The most upsetting decision for me was Rourke not winning for his heartbreaking performance. I don't dislike Sean Penn, but I have a staunch belief about winning Oscars because of biographical films. I'm torn on Phillip Seymour Hoffman winning for Capote (not a real bio-pic at heart), but I'm absolutely certain that Jamie Foxx and Sean Penn had more than enough material to pull from for their respective performances of Ray Charles and Harvey Milk and, in turn, it might have been a little too easy to pull off. Rourke's portrayal of Randy Robinson was simply amazing. Rourke was in tremendous physical shape - most likely due to HGH/PED use - and put viewers through the full spectrum of emotions.

Aronofsky deserved a nod for Best Director as well. If I had to dump a director it would have been Ron Howard. Again, there's just way to much to pull from as far as material goes. I understand that directing a movie is different than running a play, but there really wasn't anything really innovative/remarkable about Howard's directing.

All I can think of for now...

EDIT: Can't believe I missed that Kaufman film; he's one of my favorite contemporary screenwriters and it was completely under my radar. That said, looks like it's out next week on Blu-ray. Straight to the top of my Netflix queue. :)

The Oscar awards are the most famous movie awards world wide so IMO they really should moved on to being a world wide price instead of just an American prize... You can go and discuss every movie nomination if you want but this is the real problem.
(OK, not problem but it would be good if they would get worldwide instead...)

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Originally Posted by Zwollie

It was good, but not nomination-good.
I love John Williams but I don't think he did anything special with the score of Crystal Skull.

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i disagree. I thought it was fantastic. i think he mixed up the score quite differently to the other indiana jones movies. It was fresh and still like it should be. i loved it.

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Originally Posted by supersickie

Well, I was fine with Slumdog basically sweeping, but I have to disagree with it being a week year for movies. While there is certainly controversy surrounding the nominations in certain categories, there was something of an abundance of good films last year in my opinion. There were plenty of other movies that could have been nominated in the place of some of the "weaker" films.

The Wrestler should have definitely been nominated for Best Picture probably in the place of Frost/Nixon; Langella still deserved a nod, but not the film itself. The most upsetting decision for me was Rourke not winning for his heartbreaking performance. I don't dislike Sean Penn, but I have a staunch belief about winning Oscars because of biographical films. I'm torn on Phillip Seymour Hoffman winning for Capote (not a real bio-pic at heart), but I'm absolutely certain that Jamie Foxx and Sean Penn had more than enough material to pull from for their respective performances of Ray Charles and Harvey Milk and, in turn, it might have been a little too easy to pull off. Rourke's portrayal of Randy Robinson was simply amazing. Rourke was in tremendous physical shape - most likely due to HGH/PED use - and put viewers through the full spectrum of emotions.

Aronofsky deserved a nod for Best Director as well. If I had to dump a director it would have been Ron Howard. Again, there's just way to much to pull from as far as material goes. I understand that directing a movie is different than running a play, but there really wasn't anything really innovative/remarkable about Howard's directing.

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Agree 100% on everything (except for your first point, I still feel like it was a weak year, mar har). But I hate the Academy's inclination to reward actors for biopics so very, very often. It's so much more interesting to craft an original character that feels real and draws from real-life figures, than doing essentially a glorified impersonation. I have way more respect for great actors than to use the word "impersonation" to describe what they do, but yes, in the case of Jamie Foxx winning for Ray, and maybe even Langella a bit for Richard Nixon, there's so much material, and there are clear moments where you kind of feel like you're watching a really good impersonation of an UNBELIEVABLY famous person.

Ron Howard, in my view, should just drop off every single awards radar on the planet. The guy makes safe Hollywood blaargh. I don't know what else to call it. It's blaargh. It's the same crap we've seen in movies for decades. There's nothing new in anything he does, there's nothing risky or particularly interesting. He's stagnant, his movies are stale. They're watchable Hollywood picture-stories. They're shrug-fests. Frost/Nixon predictably ratchets up drama and tension in areas where it was far more subdued in the actual events. Obviously that's what you have to do to make a film watchable right? Sure, I'll bite. It's a stage play. It's 2 guys talking to each other. But he tries to play it out like this major part of American history, some dramatic epic we should all be aware of. Ugh... And now I get to brag to all the Ron Howard fans, because Angels & Demons is about to come out, so, once again, he proves me right.

Few actors have deserved an Oscar more than Mickey Rourke did for The Wrestler. I just have this inkling it has to do with the industry, the Academy voters having been burnt by him in the past (or know someone he burned), or just feeling like he would be ungrateful, and not giving it to him for likewise stupid Hollywood-political reasons.

As for Synecdoche, New York, buckle up for this one. It's no Eternal Sunshine. You may just feel like curling up into a dead fleshy lump for a few days once the credits start rolling. Absolutely worth watching though. But few people enjoy a minute of this movie. I loved how the story was told, but I admit I had endurance issues with the unbelievably depressing tone of every minute of the film.

I'm excited for Synecdoche, New York nevertheless. I'm going into it with the feeling that it's going to be challenging, but that can be good once in awhile right... kind of like Apollo 13, no? :)

Looks like we agree on a great deal. Ron Howard is no Darren Aronofsky, Jamie Foxx does a great impression of Ray Charles, and Rourke was passed over for a guy who fits the mold of a Best Actor perfectly. Glad we're on the same page. :)

honestly the only one i saw was Benjamin Button, now i'm not saying it should have been like life altering and won everything ever. But i did think it was very well done and made and the fact that some of those actors and actresses really did a great acting job i thought they should have gotten a little more recognition. But i do want to reserve all thoughts until i see Slumdog Millionaire.

I thought that Benjamin Button was smug and self-important. The voice over was totally bland and the central character a total bore. Over-hyped, over-praised and not over quick enough would be my assessment.

I disagree that Frost/Nixon wasn't deserving of the nomination - I thought it to be one of the best films of the season. Michael Sheen is one of the most astounding actors to pop up in the last decade (his Brian Clough and Tony Blair are both outrageous) and Frank Langella was excellent as Nixon - anyone that can make Nixon both believable and sympathetic should get two Oscars. The film was gripping in my opinion.

I think Slumdog was a worthy winner - and it's good to see an exciting British director take the plaudits.

I still can't believe Benjamin Button was even in contention. It damaged (further) the credibility of the Oscars as a whole. Utterly shameless lobbying is to blame for that I reckon.

Oh God... speaking of which...

Everyone should watch this:

http://www.break.com/usercontent/200...mp-649781.html

Man, I'm really bumming that everyone around here didn't like Fincher's latest work. I have yet to see it, but only because I didn't get the opportunity when it was playing. I plan on watching it on Blu-ray come May 5 and - hopefully - will find something great in what so many others have written off as self-righteous drivel.

However, if it turns out that the movie really is as pompous as you all say then I'm going to lose a lot of respect for David Fincher. He's been one of my favorite directors this past decade and it will really sting if he's taken a step backward on his road to legendary director. :(

Benjamin Button is a perfectly entertaining contemporary fantasy. It should not, under any circumstances, be put on a pedestal or viewed as one of the best movies of the year. It IS overlong, it DOES take itself too seriously, but ultimately it's a perfectly entertaining movie.

But it's also Forrest Gump without the charm (and I've said this before, but I'm no fan of Forrest Gump). Benjamin Button is a blank character who says little, does little, and is quite uninteresting save for his affliction. The screenplay is all over the place, unfocused and full of over-stylized detours that do little to help the story along, but plenty to lengthen the run-time. It's a pretty, if often cold movie.

Definitely see it. It's a fun little movie, which isn't actually "little" at all (though perhaps it should be).

OMAGAWD.... its just forrest gump played backwards @_@