Academy Award Nominations

The Academy Awards are a strange thing. When I was little I used to assume that the movies nominated were the very best movies made that year, since they're selected by people in the movie industry, and people in the movie industry presumably know a lot more about movies than the average person. Now I realize that they're more or less a reflection of how Hollywood sees itself at the time, and what it feels it should be striving for. I haven't seen any of the nominated movies yet (in the big categories, anyway) but plan on seeing as many as I reasonably can (which will probably be one or two) before the ceremony.

Here's my thoroughly uninformed take on the nominees. For the purposes of this post I'm only going to bother with the Best Picture, Best Actor, and Best Actress categories for now.

Best Picture:

Benjamin Button- I've heard mixed things about this one. It seems that the people who don't like it tend to have a fundamental problem with the premise. I've also heard criticisms that Brad Pitt is unable to convey much emotion as an actor. The counter-argument is that since he's playing a character who is so detached from his own experience, Pitt is actually perfectly cast. Also, part of the counter-argument is that the character the audience is supposed to relate to and empathize with is actually Cate Blanchett. Kind of like how "Julius Ceasar" is really about Brutus, not Ceasar.

Frost/Nixon- I'm sure it's good, but was this really a particularly significant event in our history? Isn't there something a little pretentious about this being made into a film?

Milk- I suspect this will end up winning. It sounds incredibly boring to me, for the same reasons Frost/Nixon does, but I'll still probably end up seeing it because the wife wants to so badly.

The Reader- I've heard this one actually isn't all that good. A lot of critics were surprised that it got nominated.

Slumdog Millionaire- I've heard this is very entertaining, a real crowd favorite, but that there isn't a whole lot beneath the surface, and it doesn't benefit from multiple viewings.

Best Actor:

Richard Jenkins- Nominated for "The Visitor" not "Stepbrothers" though his performance in the latter was perfectly fine as far as I'm concerned. The wife saw and liked "The Visitor" and said his performance was good but she thinks that people fell more for the character and the transformation he undergoes, rather than for the performance itself. She also said that there are no moments where his acting jumps out (no tantrums or crying jags) but also no moments where he has to convey any subtletly.

Frank Langella (Frost/Nixon)- From the clips I've seen I think his performance is ridiculous. He gives Nixon this crazy monster voice. I heard an interview with him on NPR and the guy seemed like such a blowhard. He was comparing playing Nixon to playing King Lear.

Sean Penn- (Milk)-From what I hear his performance is the best. He's always solid.

Brad Pitt- Hmm, I'm skeptical. Pitt's always a little boring as far as I'm concerned.

Mickey Rourke- (The Wrestler) Hollywood loves people who were once great, fell on hard times and then make a comeback, so Rourke will probably win. The movie looks completely unoriginal, cliched, and silly, as Bryan pointed out a few months ago when the trailer came out. Aranofsky (sp?) however, is a pretty incredible director, so, I don't know. I liked Rourke in "Diner" which is pretty high on my list of all-time faves. It's hard to reckon with the fact that the two roles are played by the same actor since Rourke looks so different now.

Best Actress:

Anne Hathaway- (Rachel Getting Married) Her performance is supposed to be the best. The wife saw this film and said Hathaway was very good, very effective. She mentions one particular scene where Hathaway is giving a speech at her sister's rehearsal dinner, and my wife had to look away from the screen because she was so embarassed for the character.

Angelina Jolie- (The Changeling) Puh-leez, why is she even on this list?

Melissa Leo- (Frozen River)- who? No, seriously, who? And they say there aren't any good roles for women. They have to find one we've never heard of, in a movie we've never heard of, to have five in the category. I guess "New in Town" didn't come out soon enough for Rene Zellweger to get a nod.

Meryl Strep- (Doubt)- I'm sure Meryl Streep is very good in this one and that she finds a difficult, somewhat unnecessary accent to perfect in her performance, but ads for this movie make me laugh out loud. It looks like a costume party. The word seems to be that the acting in this film is very good but the writing isn't at as high a level.

Kate Winslet- (The Reader) She will probably win because this is "her year" with this one and "Revolutionary Road". I don't dare say a bad word about her, knowing full well that I'll eventually have to answer about it to Bryan.