Truthfully, I've never dug the Oscars. I nearly always disagreed with their choices for nominated flicks (though they admittedly sometimes have it right, such as Daniel Day-Lewis for There Will Be Blood), and thus had very little interest in the actual telecast. Nominations and who won, that's all I cared about. Sod the speeches and honorary awards (unless Kurosawa rose from the dead and was presented another such award, then I'd tune in), I just wanna know who won.Well, this year I'm going to try and actually watch as many of the nominated titles as possible. Last year, I didn't bother with many of them, mainly because my interest level in the plot was pretty much zero (like Atonement - Keira Knightely in yet another period piece, with an added ingredient of romance? Bah), but now I think I'm interested enough in these batch of titles to give it a go. I must confess that at least this year, there's an interesting selection to choose from. Curious Case of Benjamin Button was actually really good, and the near-three hour running time went by rather smoothly; Slumdog Millionaire is about as perfect as they come; The Wrestler is worth the hype; Gran Torino is not worth the hype, but still is a very entertaining movie. There's still plenty to see (Milk and Frost/Nixon aren't hitting my local theaters anytime soon), so this will be continually updated.
But really, what makes an Oscar worthy picture? Do they have to be all artsy with unique camera tricks and riveting performances? Must they all be historical epics of some sort? Must they all carry some giant, grandiose theme that's apparently relevant to today? I prefer the flicks I'm going to watch repeatedly (which is where the Academy got it right with Slumdog Millionaire), not the ones where when the movie ends, you think, "Well, it was well done. Great acting", and when the DVD comes you contemplate buying it, but choose instead to pick up Horton Hears a Who in lieu of, say, Frost/Nixon. That's how I felt with last year's No Country for Old Men and most definitely There Will Be Blood - not worth a second viewing. Of course, many already disagree, but that's to be expected. Anyway, onward we go!
I actually got inspired by another movie blog, The Long Take, with that bloke reviewing all the Oscar-nominated flicks, as well. So, I recommend taking a gander over at his work, too.
2008 Awards Season - Reviewed Movie List:
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