Usually when the Oscars roll around I've seen most of the movies nominated. About a month ago I realized I'd only seen "Slumdog Millionare," "The Dark Knight," and "The Visitor," so was going to have my work cut out for me. Then I decided it would be silly to try to rush to see all these other movies. Then recognized that if I didn't start seeing them soon I'd panic at the end and decide I had to see them after all. Finally, I decided the reason I hadn't seen most of these movies was that I wasn't that thrilled about seeing them, so I should let it go. I'm letting it go. I'm not going to E Street later this afternoon. Really.
I'm pretty bad at Oscar predictions (though last year I did win my friend J's pool, though was punished when I put the bottle of Prosecco she presented me with in the backpack I was carrying because I was on crutches and cracked the screen on my cell phone, proving that I truly can't win). So in lieu of predictions here are my random thoughts on the films I've managed to see. Please don't taunt me on the absence of "Milk," and "The Curious Case of Gilbert Grape," and "Vicky Cristina Barcelona." I'm not going to any movies this afternoon.
- "Slumdog Millionaire": I loved this movie, but it was not just the sweet romance I expected from the previews. It contains some really brutal scenes. Just be sure to stay for the Bollywoodesque dance scene in the train station at the end. It was a good palate cleanser for rejoining society.
- "Frost/Nixon": Interesting story, great performance by Frank "Dracula" Langella, who is from Bayonne, New Jersey, my home as a tot. But since when is David Frost a young, hipster, lightweight ladies man? That blew my mind.
- "The Reader": Excellent acting by Kate Winslet. But I couldn't shake the feeling that this was a movie with a made-for-tv plot and lots of inappropriate sex. Perhaps it should win for that category.
- "The Visitor": I agree that Richard Jenkins deserved a nomination for his role, but the movie left me feeling a bit disappointed. Perhaps largely because Tom McCarthy also wrote and directed "The Station Agent," one of my favorite movies in recent years, so my expectations were high.
- "The Wrestler": I watched this -- with the shaky camera work, staple-gun wrestling, loud Guns n' Roses, and bad hair -- from the third row. And lived to tell about it. I'm glad I saw it -- I've never before looked at life from a perspective quite like Randy "The Ram" Robinson's. I told my hairstylist that I was seeing it with a friend who was crazy about Mickey Rourke twenty years ago. He replied, sadly, "that man is gone." Well put, Eric. But he did do a fine acting job. And if he wins the acceptance speech will likely be entertaining.
- "Tropic Thunder": Had some laughs, but a bit long for essentially a one-joke movie. Robert Downey, Jr. was funny, but Oscar worthy?
- "The Dark Knight": I'm not a big action movie fan, but I saw this at the IMAX theater at the Natural History Museum and it felt like being on a roller coaster ride (albeit a long one). I thought Heath Ledger was creepy, and menacing, and unhinged as the Joker. But it seems like a shame to give a posthumous Oscar, when the main effect of the award (other than to help people win money (or Prosecco) from their friends) is to boost an actor's career. But if the Hollywood insiders who vote are more high-minded and less mercenary then I, who am I to criticize?
- "Changeling": Yegods. I knew the material was tough because it's based on a true story of a mother whose nine-year-old son went missing in 1928. But so many horrific things happen in this movie -- well, I won't divulge them, but consider yourself forewarned. The period setting is amazing, and the story is riveting, but as for Angelina Jolie's performance, it seemed more about her striking -- and period-appropriate -- facial features than anything else. But then, I have an attitude, and am bracing myself for the cameras to go to Brangelina every chance they get.
- "Frozen River": I still have a half hour to go in this DVD. I turned it off yesterday afternoon when the first horrible thing that I feared would happen due to bad decision on top of bad decision seemed about to happen. It's one of those movies where you keep saying "no, don't!" But they don't listen. Melissa Leo (nominated for leading actress) is great. Even though she doesn't listen. I'm hoping everyone winds up happy and dancing Bollywood style across the ice at the US-Canadian border. I'm not optimistic.
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