Sunday, February 22, 2009

And the Oscar goes to ...



It's that time of the year: bulbs frantically flashing, stars nervously searching for that perfect accessory; actors penguining with bow ties. Yep, the Oscars are today!! My little street just off of Sunset is overflowing with traffic, because Hollywood & Highland are closed (that's where the infamous Kodak Theatre is).

Below are my picks (bolded) - I only chose from the movies that I have seen. I didn't see many this year due to the recession ....

Performance by an actor in a leading role
Richard Jenkins in "The Visitor" (didn't see)
Frank Langella in "Frost/Nixon" (didn't see)
Sean Penn in "Milk" (loved)
Brad Pitt in "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" (pretty good)
Mickey Rourke in "The Wrestler" (didn't see)



Performance by an actor in a supporting role
Josh Brolin in "Milk" (really good)
Robert Downey Jr. in "Tropic Thunder" (didn't see)
Philip Seymour Hoffman in "Doubt" (ok)
Heath Ledger in "The Dark Knight" (loved)
Michael Shannon in "Revolutionary Road" (um...saw about 1 min of his performance - fell asleep for about 95% of the movie)



Performance by an actress in a leading role
Anne Hathaway in "Rachel Getting Married" (didn't see)
Angelina Jolie in "Changeling" (liked)
Melissa Leo in "Frozen River" (didn't see)
Meryl Streep in "Doubt" (hated...well strongly disliked and I LOVE Meryl)
Kate Winslet in "The Reader" (loved)



Performance by an actress in a supporting role
Amy Adams in "Doubt" (strongly disliked)
Penélope Cruz in "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" (loved)
Viola Davis in "Doubt" (loved)
Taraji P. Henson in "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" (liked)
Marisa Tomei in "The Wrestler" (didn't see)



Best animated feature film of the year
"Bolt" (didn't see)
"Kung Fu Panda" (didn't see)
"WALL-E" (loved)



Achievement in cinematography
"Changeling"
"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"
"The Dark Knight"
"The Reader"
"Slumdog Millionaire"



Achievement in costume design
"Australia" (didn't see)
"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"
"The Duchess" (didn't see)
"Milk"
"Revolutionary Road"



Achievement in directing
"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" David Fincher
"Frost/Nixon" Ron Howard
"Milk" Gus Van Sant
"The Reader" Stephen Daldry
"Slumdog Millionaire" Danny Boyle



Best foreign language film of the year
"The Baader Meinhof Complex" (didn't see) - Germany
"The Class" (didn't see) - France
"Departures" (didn't see) Japan
"Revanche" (didn't see) - Austria
"Waltz with Bashir" (loved) - Israel




Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score)
"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" Alexandre Desplat
"Defiance" (didn't see) James Newton Howard
"Milk" Danny Elfman
"Slumdog Millionaire" A.R. Rahman
"WALL-E" Thomas Newman



Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song)
"Down to Earth" from "WALL-E" Music by Peter Gabriel and Thomas Newman Lyric by Peter Gabriel
"Jai Ho" from "Slumdog Millionaire" Music by A.R. Rahman Lyric by Gulzar
"O Saya" from "Slumdog Millionaire" Music and Lyric by A.R. Rahman and Maya Arulpragasam



Best motion picture of the year
"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"
"Frost/Nixon"
"Milk"
"The Reader"
"Slumdog Millionaire"



Adapted screenplay
"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" Screenplay by Eric Roth
"Doubt" Written by John Patrick Shanley
"Frost/Nixon" (didn't see) Screenplay by Peter Morgan
"The Reader" Screenplay by David Hare
"Slumdog Millionaire" Screenplay by Simon Beaufoy



Original screenplay
"Frozen River" (didn't see) Written by Courtney Hunt
"Happy-Go-Lucky" (didn't see) Written by Mike Leigh
"In Bruges" (loved) Written by Martin McDonagh
"Milk" Written by Dustin Lance Black
"WALL-E" Screenplay by Andrew Stanton, Jim Reardon