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Old 02-20-2009, 08:54 PM
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justindew justindew is offline
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First, none of the five Best Picture nominees this year are as good as the top two films from last year, There Will Be Blood and No Country For Old Men.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is pretty good, but is a little bit of a rip-off of Forrest Gump. Were it not for that, I might give it more consideration for my top pick. But the similarities are so obvious that they disqualify the film. Which is too bad because it's a really good movie. The main character is very likable and Brad Pitt does a great job. Were it not for the length of the film and the aforementioned similarities to Forrest Gump, I would call it a must-see. But it's about 45 minutes too long for no real reason. So I'll call it "watchable" instead of a must-see.

The Reader is decent but not really worth seeing. It reminds me a lot of Atonement from last year.

Milk was an interesting story. Sean Penn was believable in the lead role. But there is nothing special at all about this film. See it only if you are interested in Penn's performance, or if you care about a slightly-significant historical figure. If you never see it, trust me, you aren't missing anything.

Frost/Nixon was very good. It's not an "edge of your seat" type movie, but it definitely keeps your interest the entire time. It is a definite must-see from an entertainment stand point, not necessarily a cinematic stand point, if that makes sense. In fact, if you only see one of the five, I might urge you to see Frost/Nixon. Very cool story. Good acting. Highly entertaining.

However, if the award for Best Picture is supposed to go to the best overall cinematic "accomplishment" or production, I would have to give it to Slumdog Millionaire. It's a neat story that is well-told in a very original way with good acting. There are a couple scenes that aren't totally believable, and I never like it when not-believable things happen in movies that don't require you to suspend disbelief as a rule for enjoying the film in the first place. For instance, the entire premise behind The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is ridicuous. But that's OK. That's what the movie is. But a few of the scenes in Slumdog Millionaire semed a tad, well, hard to swallow.

Nevertheless, my vote for Best Picture would go to Slumdog Millionaire since I think it was the best "piece of art", if you will. But if you only see one of them, see Frost/Nixon.

As for the award for Best Actor, I think it should go to Brad Pitt. But it will probably go to Sean Penn or Mickey Rourke. My guess is Penn wins it. And he's not undeserving. I just think Pitt was better. I did not see The Visitor, so I can't comment on Richard Jenkins' performance.

I would also like to add that I think The Wrestler should have been nominated instead of The Reader.

Last edited by justindew : 02-20-2009 at 09:08 PM.
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  #2  
Old 02-21-2009, 03:36 AM
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ninetoone ninetoone is offline
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My problem with Slumdog - It was hard enough to believe that he knew all of the answers to the questions...but hey, I guess it's just a movie. But the fact that all of the questions corresponded chronologically with events in Jamal's life...well that was just too over the top for me. I say "Milk" gets it in a mild upset.
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Old 02-21-2009, 10:54 AM
blackthroatedwind blackthroatedwind is offline
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If Slumdog was an American movie, and not set in India, with everything else essentially the same, nobody would be paying any attention to it. It's fine....but it's basically sappy dreck. Now, Trainspotting was great....so I guess it's fine if Danny Boyle wins ( I liked Sunshine as well ).

The Reader? That's funny even for the Oscars. The movie is so horrendous that it honestly made me reconsider whether I actually liked the book.

I wouldn't see " Frost/Nixon " as I'm not Opie's biggest fan.

I didn't see Doubt ( the play was great though ) but shouldn't Meryl Streep win Best Actress every year the saw way that Michael Jordan should have won MVP every year?

The Oscars suck almost as much as the movies that come out every year.
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Old 02-22-2009, 09:24 AM
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miraja2 miraja2 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by blackthroatedwind
I wouldn't see " Frost/Nixon " as I'm not Opie's biggest fan.
I thought it was good. As for "Opie," I think he can be very hit and miss, but he does a fine job with this material in my opinion. I also thought that Arrested Development was one of the better television shows of the last decade.
On the other hand, when his Angels&Demons comes out later in the year, it is almost sure to be the same kind of hideous stinkfest that he gave us with The Da Vinci Code a couple of years ago.
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Old 02-23-2009, 08:47 AM
Antitrust32 Antitrust32 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by miraja2
I thought it was good. As for "Opie," I think he can be very hit and miss, but he does a fine job with this material in my opinion. I also thought that Arrested Development was one of the better television shows of the last decade.
On the other hand, when his Angels&Demons comes out later in the year, it is almost sure to be the same kind of hideous stinkfest that he gave us with The Da Vinci Code a couple of years ago.
Angels and Demons was an okay book.. will be a terrible movie.
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Old 02-23-2009, 04:36 PM
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philcski philcski is offline
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the results of the missing category

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage...cle2258837.ece
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Old 02-23-2009, 05:08 PM
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hi_im_god hi_im_god is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by philcski
the results of the missing category

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage...cle2258837.ece
eeep!

nsfw.
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  #8  
Old 02-24-2009, 05:49 AM
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Bigsmc Bigsmc is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by philcski
the results of the missing category

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage...cle2258837.ece

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