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Peg’s Oscar recap & top ten movies of the year
22Feb2009 Filed under: movies, oscar run Author: Peggy Gartin
Wow! I just got finished watching the Oscars, and what a movie year it was! Not only that, but I made my most accurate predictions ever. Didn’t that set with the Swarovski crystal curtain look incredible? And I think the device of having 5 past winners in a category present the award was marvellous. This year’s winners and nominees must have felt so lucky!
Here are the highlights and the things that surprised me:
- Sean Penn beat Mickey Rourke for Best Actor! I thought Sean gave the better performance, but I was sure emotion would carry Mickey into the top spot. Shows what I know.
- Slumdog Millionaire takes 8 awards. Like I told you, they went down just like bowling pins. India has arrived.
- The foreign film that won had no distribution in the U.S. whatsoever. I saw The Class, Revanche, and Waltz with Bashir and was able to read a pretty extensive review of The Baader Meinhof Complex. But Departures won! There may be something to the rule that requires those who vote on foreign films to attend screenings of them. At least in this case, it seemed to give them all a fair shake.
- I correctly predicted 13 winners. I got 8 wrong and didn’t vote on 3 (the shorts categories). The only major category I didn’t get right was Best Actor.
My pal B.J. Schone asked me to make a top ten list of movies for the year, so here they are (not all were Oscar nominees):
- The Dark Knight
- In Bruges
- Twilight – Yes, I’m a Twihard, and that will be the subject of another blog post.
- Slumdog Millionaire
- Milk
- Happy-Go-Lucky
- Frozen River
- Let the Right One In
- Doubt
- The Wrestler
My husband will no doubt be shocked that I left out WALL-E, Tropic Thunder and Iron Man. I just wish I could have included Revanche, but I kept it to 10.
What did you think? Anyone get robbed at the Oscars, in your opinion? Was there a brilliant movie I didn’t mention? If so, leave me a comment.
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Musings about movies, music and other things that interest me. Written by Peggy Gartin. Got an opinion? Leave a comment.
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Ken
February 23rd, 2009 at 6:41 am
My personal top 10:
1) “The Dark Knight” – The backlash makes me love it more so f you if you can’t take a joke! Why so serious? Finally a comic book movie that was treated as a heist/caper film and not some campy schlock. The script was perfect. Substitute Batman and the Joker with Deniro and Pacino and it’d still work. Ledger was incredible. I loved how he was a spectre that haunted the characters even when he wasn’t on screen. On when he was on screen I had a sick feeling in my stomach that he’d do something horrible. It reminded me of Hannibal Lector in Silence of the Lambs. Even when he’s behind bars he’s a threat.
2) “Let the Right One In” – I’m still thinking about this movie months later. It’s not for everyone but it sure stays with you. The less you know about it going in the better. Oh and it’s twice the movie that other vampire movie that came out this year is.
3) “The Wrestler” – This was pitch perfect acting and directing. I loved the ending and thought Bruce Springsteen would for sure get a nomination
4) “Slumdog Millionaire” – A very good film but it’d be higher if I hadn’t seen “City of God”
5) “In Bruges” – No way was this movie supposed to be this good. I saw the preview too many times during the previous Oscar run and thought I’d “seen it all”. There were some real surprises and I liked CF playing an a-hole.
6) “Doubt” – Peg and I had a pretty interesting discussion after the film. Without giving too much away I think everyone who sees it does.
7) “Wall-E” – It’s amazing how emotional this film is with so little dialouge.
8) “Frozen River” – What a nice surprise! I didn’t know what the film was about but it was nice to see actors I wasn’t familiar with seem to portray desperation in an interesting way.
9) “Tropic Thunder” – Funniest movie of the year. What do you mean you people? What do *YOU* mean you people?
10) “Iron Man” – If you see my number one you can kind of deduce I’m a comic book geek. Thought it’d be nice book-ends although make mine Marvel!
I wish I could include “The Visitor” but like my lovely wife I’m keeping it to 10.
The Omnipotent Q
February 23rd, 2009 at 10:13 am
Good post, Peg. Glad to see you did well in your picks. I got most of the major ones right, but I thought Mickey Rourke was shoo-in for Best Actor. I was most pleased for Kate Winslet winning, and today on my blog I talk about my love for The Great Kate…
Anil Das
February 23rd, 2009 at 11:34 am
“India has arrived.” (???) Slumdog Millionaire is written by, directed by, and produced by Brits. Even the cinematographer is British. It was filmed in India. It starred some Indians. (Although the lead, Dev Patel, was born and raised in London.) But it is not really an Indian movie. In the best review I’ve read, Josh Tyler of CinemaBlend calls it “… a cynical collection of third-world clichés sold with pretty colors and an uplifting soundtrack.” (http://is.gd/kzIV)
For an “Indian” movie, I suggest Mira Nair’s movies such as Salaam Bombay!, Monsoon Wedding, or (my favorite) The Namesake.
Peggy Gartin
February 23rd, 2009 at 4:55 pm
Ouch. I sure don’t agree with Josh Tyler, but I do see your point, Anil. I’m sure I could find an “Irish” movie or two that was, in fact, written and directed by Brits – I then wouldn’t consider it Irish, either.
It should be mentioned, though, that the story is based on a book written by an Indian (“Q&A” by Vikas Swarup), and several film principals and nearly all the cast are Indian (co-director Loveleen Tandan, for example – who also worked on Monsoon Wedding and The Namesake).
Whether or not you believe this is a truly Indian movie, I bet it does lead to greater acceptance of Indian themes and stories in Hollywood productions. Maybe more money for Mira Nair movies! Let’s hope! (Mississippi Masala is a favorite of mine.)