And the Oscar Goes To… (Find Out Here First)

The Oscar nominations have been announced! But here at Jinni, we got our hands on the list of winners!! It wasn’t that difficult, we just told the guy with the envelope to look over there. While he was busy looking for something extraordinary, we opened the envelope, took out the list, copied it with our cell phone (smart and slick, we know) and put it back in the envelope. He never noticed.

So there you have it. More than a month before everyone else, we give you the list of winners:

Best Movie: Avatar

The Academy went with the people and chose Avatar as Best Picture. Saying that Avatar is not a good movie these days is like saying that Starbucks and Dunkin Donuts aren’t tasty. Avatar is about to receive, or maybe already received, the status of sacred cow. Nevertheless, I dare to say The Hurt Locker is a way better movie and so are Inglourious Basterds, Up in the Air and The Blind Side. I think that Avatar is a genocide movie in 3D, visually amazing but with too-obvious political criticism and a general lack of plot and acting.

Best Actor: Morgan Freeman

I disagree with this pick too. Freeman is a great actor, one of the best ever, but he wasn’t at his best in his portrayal of Nelson Mandela in Invictus. It’s like he did us a favor and made a really slight effort to make a decent South African accent. It could be his most unconvincing acting to date. I guess it’s a Scorsese-type Oscar: He deserved one for many of his previous works (The Shawshank Redemption, Driving Miss Daisy), so the Academy is giving it to him this time as a compensation prize. The winner should have been George Clooney for his excellent role in Up in the Air.

Best Actress: Meryl Streep

Meryl Streep was brilliant in Julie and Julia. Some say she resembled Julia Childs even more than Julia Childs, but I think it’s a real shame that the Oscar didn’t go to Sandra Bullock, who might have to content herself with a Razzie . Bullock gave the performance of her life in The Blind Side. I fell in love with the character she played. And while Streep will probably receive more nominations and prestigious awards in future, this was kind of a one-time opportunity for Sandra Bullock. Meryl Streep is becoming the Michael Jordan of the best actress category: She is nominated almost every other year. So I guess that makes Sandra the Karl Malone of this year: Truly great, but Streep (Jordan) is the greatest.

Best Director: Kathryn Bigelow for The Hurt Locker

The Academy members didn’t miss the chance to make history, and Kathryn Bigelow is the first female director to receive the Oscar for best achievement in directing! She managed to create a truly tense, realistic and captivating movie with The Hurt Locker. Of the many movies that dealt with the Gulf war (Jarhead and The Messenger, to name just a few), The Hurt Locker is indeed the best.

Best Original Screenplay: Quentin Tarantino for Inglourious Basterds

For many, Inglourious Basterds marks the return to form for Quentin Tarantino. Who can alter history in such a way and get away with it? Only Quentin the mad-genius / movie-geek / child-trapped-in-an-adult-body Tarantino. You can be offended by Inglourious Basterds, you can say it’s cruel and too violent, but there is one thing you can’t do: You can’t take your eyes off the screen. Also worth mentioning: The Coen Brothers’ A Serious Man. The dialogue is really clever, and I enjoyed their dark, mean humor.

Best Adapted Screenplay: Geoffrey Fletcher for Precious

This is a good choice. Precious is a brave movie that talks about “the other,” the social misfit. Precious deserves the win – and it’s quite a surprise, with Up in the Air the obvious favorite in this category.

Best Animated Feature: Up

We all knew Up was going to win. The announcement that it actually won is just for protocol, like election results in Iran. Fantastic Mr. Fox was well-received critically, but financially it pretty much failed. With no Oscar in hand, Wes Anderson’s movie can be considered something of a flop.

Best Foreign Film: The White Ribbon

I started watching this movie and stopped after three minutes and seven seconds. It’s in black-and-white and just too German and slow for me (at least the first three minutes and seven seconds). Ajami, my favorite in this category, is a captivating, rough movie about a poor urban neighborhood in Israel called Ajami. It’s up there with City of God, Amores Perros and Tsotsi.

Best Supporting Actor: Christoph Waltz

Bingo! No competition here. A brilliant performance by Waltz as the most charming Nazi villain (saying “Nazi villain” is kind of like saying “fat overweight guy”) of all time. You know you have to hate him – he’s a Nazi – but you just can’t.

Best Supporting Actress: Vera Farmiga

At the age of thirty-six and after superb roles in Running Scared, The Departed and Up In the Air, it’s now safe to say that Vera Farmiga is a big Hollywood star. She has quality written all over her.

P.S. Note that in the competition between the ex-couple Cameron and Bigelow, (each had 9 nominations), Bigelow wins, but not with a knockout (More wins to Bigelow, but Avatar did get the best pic prize).

Think the Academy was wrong? Think we’re bluffing and don’t really possess the list of winners? Comment and let us know.

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The Oscar winners have been announced. As expected, Slumdog Millionaire won all the major categories: Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Director for Danny Boyle. Sean Penn snatched Best Actor from Mickey Rourke, and Heath Ledger won Best Supporting Actor (big surprise…). The pick that made me mad was Kate Winslet for Best Actress. First, Meryl Streep deserved it. Second, The Reader is an awful movie and Kate Winslet portrays “a good Nazi.” That’s annoying in itself, and her performance isn’t that impressive: she came up with a reasonably good German accent, and she was naked during the entire first hour of the movie. I too can speak in a decent German accent with no clothes on; it doesn’t mean I deserve an Oscar.

To express my disappointment with the Academy for picking the naked Nazi, here are the top ten atrocities ever committed by the Academy decision makers:

10. The Academy ignores a group called Monty Python

Monty Python’s influence on comedy has often been compared to The Beatles’ influence on music. In their last film they even managed to explain the meaning of life. So why the hell weren’t they honored at the Oscars?

The Holy Grail (1975) melds the ridiculous with the sublime. This anachronistic social satire was an instant cult hit, generated a host of quotes, and even inspired a computer game 20 years later.

Monty Python’s Life of Brian (1979) is a scathing send-up of religion and Hollywood’s depiction of it. This second - and tightest - feature film, directed by Terry Jones, does for ancient Rome what The Holy Grail did for the Middle Ages.

In The Meaning of Life (1983), the group explains it all in an episodic comedy that dares to take on the most “sacred” aspects of life - sex, food, politics and religion - and bring them hilariously down to earth.

9. Shakespeare in Love gets the Oscars, Saving Private Ryan loses

Saving Private Ryan did get Best Director, but the much inferior Shakespeare in Love got both Best Picture and Best Screenplay at the 1998 Oscars.

Director Steven Spielberg’s World War II tour de force chronicles the journey of a GI squad on a dangerous mission behind enemy lines. The first unforgettable 20 minutes of the movie realistically and horrifically depict the Normandy invasion as Captain John Miller (Tom Hanks), his second-in-command Sergeant Horvath (Tom Sizemore), and the others in the unit land at Omaha Beach. Saving Private Ryan is considered one of the best war movies ever made, while Shakespeare in Love is just another so-so period piece.

8. Kramer vs. Kramer gets the Oscars, Apocalypse Now loses

Kramer vs. Kramer is a well-observed adaptation of Avery Corman’s novel about the aftermath of a divorce. But to choose it over Apocalypse Now? The guys who made this decision in 1979 are nowhere to be found, probably in hiding.

The grueling production and Francis Ford Coppola’s insistence on authenticity led to vast budget overruns and physical and emotional breakdowns. It was all worth it: Apocalypse Now is a surreal masterpiece, another of the best war movies of all time. With incredible performances and beautifully chaotic visuals, it’s an absolute must-see.

7. Scarface doesn’t even earn a nomination for Best Picture

Terms of Endearment is a deeply observed drama about the intimate relationship between a mother and daughter, based on the novel by Larry McMurtry. This decent but unremarkable drama won all the major awards at the 1983 Oscars. Scarface, one of the most memorable and beloved gangster movies of all time, didn’t even get a nomination.

Brian De Palma’s gory saga of a Cuban immigrant’s rise to the top of Miami’s cocaine business has become something of a popular classic since its release. It’s been referenced in rap songs and subsequent gangster movies and quoted the world over. In one of his most memorable performances, Al Pacino stars as Tony Montana, whose intelligence, guts, and ambition help him skyrocket from dishwasher to the top of a criminal empire - but whose eventual paranoia and incestuous desire for his kid sister (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio) prove his undoing.

6. Ridley Scott

1979: Alien, one of the best Sci-Fi movies ever, wasn’t nominated in any major category.

1982: Blade Runner, one of the most outstanding dystopian futuristic movies ever made, wasn’t nominated in any major category.

1992: With Thelma and Louise, Scott lost Best Director to The Silence of the Lambs, which is reasonable. But Thelma and Louise wasn’t even nominated for Best Picture.

2000: Gladiator got 5 awards including Best Picture, but Scott himself lost Best Director to Steven Soderbergh for Traffic.

2001: With Black Hawk Down, Scott lost again in the Director category, this time to Ron Howard and his uplifting, mad-genius tale A Beautiful Mind.

2007: American Gangster should have been nominated in a year when Michael Clayton and Atonement were.

Needless to say, the Academy isn’t big on Ridley Scott, and by now he’s not big on them. I foresee an Academy Honorary Award coming soon - I just hope he gets it while he’s still alive…

5. Orson Welles

Many consider Orson Welles the best director in the history of cinema, mainly thanks to two masterpieces. Citizen Kane (1941) is a landmark in cinema history and Touch of Evil (1958) is a near-perfect examination of the dark underbelly of society and the tragic downfall of a once-proud man. It’s amazing that Citizen Kane lost to How Green Was My Valley (John Ford), both for Best Picture and Best Director. Touch of Evil is worse: he wasn’t even nominated!. Welles was nominated as an actor for Citizen Kane (and lost), and once again ignored for Touch of Evil, although his portrayal of the racist Captain Hank Quinlan, a grotesque, troubled, and powerful figure, was absolutely brilliant.

4. Sergio Leone

This genius director never got the honor he deserved. The academy ignored him totally.

A Fistful of Dollars was the first true Spaghetti Western, and the first in Leone’s A Man with No Name trilogy, starring Clint Eastwood as the lone-wolf hero and a stunning score from Ennio Morricone. In The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, Leone used vivid Cinemascope imagery to depict a bleak and bloody American West, in this final installment of the trilogy. In Once Upon a Time in The West, Leone used techniques previously unseen in the genre. Close-ups, color, and Morricone’s trademark score create a tense and somber meditation on death, widely considered to be one of the best westerns in cinematic history.

Once Upon a Time in America, an epic crime saga that runs nearly four hours starring Robert De Niro, James Woods and Joe Pesci, gave the Academy a chance to compensate for their shameful disregard of Leone’s movies, but they failed to do so. Sadly, this great movie was the last one Leone directed before dying in 1989 at age 60 from a heart attack (and without a single Academy Award).

3. Martin Scorsese

It all started in 1976 when Rocky won and Taxi Driver lost. Then came the outrageous decision to choose Ordinary People over Raging Bull. Martin Scorsese probably thought  - That’s okay, they’ll make up for their bad decisions with an Oscar for The Last Temptation of Christ. Wrong. Scorsese lost again and Barry Levinson (Rain Man) was the happy winner. It seemed like Scorsese couldn’t possibly lose with Goodfellas against Dances with Wolves. Kevin Costner and the Academy were the only people in the world that thought differently. No Oscar yet…

Scorsese was becoming desperate, so he made Casino – a movie with De Niro, Pesci and Sharon Stone in her prime. The Academy wouldn’t have the guts to ignore such a movie, would they? Wrong again. Casino wasn’t even nominated. In 2002 and 2004 he was hopeful again with Gangs of New York and The Aviator, and of course he lost again and again.

When Scorsese lost all faith in the Academy and possibly also himself and mankind, 2006 arrived with nominations for The Departed, not one of his best movies. The guys at the Academy may be cold-hearted, but even they probably couldn’t bear Scorsese’s usual disappointed Oscar face, so they finally gave him the Oscar. Well-deserved, just not for the right movie.

2. Stanley Kubrick

None of Stanley Kubrick’s movies ever won Best Picture or Best Screenplay. He himself never got Best Director. May I remind you that we are talking about the genius who made -

Paths of Glory (one of the best war movies ever), Spartacus (an amazing epic), Dr. Strangelove (brilliant dark satire), 2001: A Space Odyssey (one of the best Sci-Fi movies ever), A Clockwork Orange (maybe the best movie ever), The Shining (one of the best horror movies) and Full Metal Jacket (also an outstanding war movie).

Is it because his movies never have a happy end? Is it because he himself is a misanthrope? It can’t be because he’s British: just ask Kate Winslet and Danny Boyle.

1. Alfred Hitchcock

Probably the greatest director of all time, Hitchcock was too controversial for the square, conservative, boring people in the Academy (or maybe they do have something against Brits – Scott, Kubrick and now Hitchcock). He was nominated for Best Director 5 times (for Rebecca, Lifeboat, Spellbound, Rear Window and Psycho), and lost all five.

Strangers on a Train – ignored. Dial M for Murder – ignored. The Man Who Knew too Much, Vertigo, and The Birds – all ignored in the major categories.

After all of these outrageous decisions, the studios have the nerve to complain about the Academy members for tending to choose indie or foreign winners over the big, popular mainstream studio productions. Ha…!

To end on a positive note, I say to all the suffering cinematic geniuses out there: take comfort in the fact that you will be recognized eventually, just probably after you die. …

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With the Oscars only a few days away, it seems that the fight for Best Picture is down to Slumdog Millionaire and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

Over the years there’ve been a lot of fascinating showdowns between acclaimed movies. Here are the ten biggest rivalries for the Best Picture award. The Academy has made some bad choices – but in their defense, some years it was absolutely impossible to decide…

10. 1999: The Green Mile vs. American Beauty

In other words: A guy with a special ability stuck in prison vs. a guy with a midlife crisis stuck in (suburban) prison

The Green Mile: Director Frank Darabont’s second adaptation of a Stephen King prison tale (the first being The Shawshank Redemption) is a charmer with a hint of the supernatural. It features uniformly excellent performances, notably Michael Clarke Duncan as Coffey; David Morse and Barry Pepper as Tom Hanks’s fellow prison guards; and Michael Jeter as condemned killer Edward Delacroix.

American Beauty: Considered a modern classic, this Sam Mendes flick tells the story of Lester Burnham (Kevin Spacey), a suburban father who snaps when he becomes disgusted with his stale, repetitive existence.

And the Academy chose: American Beauty

Were they right? Yes, Mendes’s direction, combined with Ball’s writing and Spacey’s acting, were definitely Oscar-worthy (unlike their new collaboration, Revolutionary Road).

9. 1964: My Fair Lady vs. Dr. Strangelove vs. Mary Poppins

In other words: Classic vs. classic vs. classic

My Fair Lady has become one of the most popular musicals of all time. Based on George Bernard Shaw’s 1913 play Pygmalion, with Cecil Beaton’s lavish sets and costumes and Lerner and Loewe’s winning score. Director George Cukor’s striking mix of styles that range from the fantastic to the abstract in his telling of the tale of a waif who’s educated to become a lady.

Dr. Strangelove is Stanley Kubrick’s Cold War masterpiece. The film is set at the height of the tensions between Russia and the United States, when all it would take to destroy the world was one push of a button. It just may be the funniest, most poignant black comedy ever made, a vicious satire of the military and the Cold War.

Mary Poppins: A magical, musical nanny brings a breath of fresh air into the stuffy Banks household in turn-of-the-century England. This children’s fantasy is filled to the brim with wonderful dance numbers and outrageous songs (such as the seemingly unpronounceable “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious”). The film’s seamless blending of live-action with animation was exceptional in its day.

And the Academy chose: My Fair Lady

Were they right? No, Mary Poppins should have gotten the Oscar. It’s the ultimate family movie.

8. 1977: Annie Hall vs. Star Wars

In other words: The thin and fluent Woody Allen vs. the fat and not so fluent Chewbacca

Often considered the peak of a prolific film career, Annie Hall marks the start of the second phase of Allen’s filmmaking career, abandoning the slapstick of Sleeper and Bananas for more thoughtful comedies (and eventually dramas) that explore human relationships and psychology.

Star Wars, George Lucas’s stunning sci-fi masterpiece, is arguably one of the most inventive and entertaining films ever made, garnering generations of loyal fans who keep the characters and dialogue alive. Star Wars revolutionized the cinematic world with its epic storytelling and amazing special effects. Even today, Lucas’s astonishing film leaves viewers wanting to see it again and again.

And the Academy chose: Annie Hall

Were they right? Close, but overall, Star Wars is groundbreaking, a cult classic, hugely successful with critics and the box office, and so should have been preferred over Annie Hall. But the Academy doesn’t dare give Best Picture to a light, entertaining sci-fi fantasy…

7. 1975: One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest vs. Jaws

In other words: Jack Nicolson fights a shark

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, based on the novel by Ken Kesey and the play by Dale Wasserman, is a disturbing, witty, and electrifying drama, presenting a biting and ultimately tragic satire about mental institutions and the human spirit.

The Jaws film shoot was notoriously difficult for the young Steven Spielberg, who had directed only one feature film before Jaws. The mechanical shark seldom operated correctly, and Spielberg was frequently forced to create the idea of terror without actually showing the shark. But the film became one of the highest-grossing of all time - surpassing The Godfather as the first to gross more than $100 million.

And the Academy chose: One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest

Were they right? Yes. While Jaws is one of the best suspense movies, time proved the Academy was right. Jaws now seems a bit dated, while One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest has timeless dramatic quality. Plus it’s one of Jack Nicolson’s best performances, if not the best of all.

6. 1941: Citizen Kane vs. The Maltese Falcon vs. How Green Was My Valley

In other words: Orson Wells vs. John Huston vs. John Ford

Citizen Kane is Orson Welles’s greatest achievement - and a landmark in cinema history. Every aspect of the production marked an advance in film language: the deep focus and deeply shadowed cinematography; the discontinuous narrative, relying heavily on flashbacks and newsreel footage; the innovative use of sound and score; and the ensemble acting forged in the fires of Welles’s Mercury Theatre. The film is essential viewing, quite possibly the greatest film ever made.

John Huston’s brilliant directorial debut, The Maltese Falcon, is aided by first-rate performances, excellent camera work, as well as the director’s acute attention to detail while shooting the film. Based on the crime novel by Dashiell Hammett, some consider it to be the best film noir ever made.

Possibly the most moving film of John Ford’s career, How Green Was My Valley is based on Richard Llewellyn’s nostalgic novel. It could hardly have found a better director than Ford, who had an affinity for family and community themes. While the acting and writing are excellent, Ford’s brilliantly chosen groupings and compositions are the most expressive elements.

And the Academy chose: How Green Was My Valley

Were they right? No. Both Citizen Kane and The Maltese Falcon are much more remembered and talked-about movies than How Green Was My Valley.

5. 1974: The Godfather 2 vs. The Conversation vs. Chinatown

In other words: Coppola and De Niro vs. Coppola and Hackman vs. Polanski and Nicholson

The Godfather 2 is one of the only major sequels ever made that might just surpass the original. Francis Ford Coppola, Al Pacino and Robert De Niro were at their very best. Robert Duvall, Diane Keaton, Talia Shire and John Cazale reprised their roles from The Godfather, playing the people forced to watch the new Godfather’s moral destruction. Robert De Niro, speaking in Italian, captures the mannerisms of Marlon Brando’s Vito Corleone from the first film brilliantly.

The Conversation is a towering achievement, a masterfully constructed portrait of one man’s descent into madness. Gene Hackman delivers a devastating performance as Harry Caul, a surveillance expert who gets paid to invade the privacy of strangers. He’s one of cinema’s most unforgettable characters, a man who appears to be in control on the outside but is crumbling on the inside.

Chinatown is director Roman Polanski’s classic neo-noir detective story. Set during a heat wave in 1930s Los Angeles, intrigue and adventure culminate in life-changing moments for the protagonist, Jake Gittes (Jack Nicholson). With an excellent score by composer Jerry Goldsmith and a script by Robert Towne that recalls the hard-boiled cynicism of Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett, Chinatown is a complex and superbly crafted period drama that has become Polanski’s most critically acclaimed film.

And the Academy chose: The Godfather 2

Were they right? Yes. Timing is everything, and The Conversation and Chinatown couldn’t have chosen a worse year to be made. You can’t match The Godfather 2. At least Coppola lost to himself.

4. 1982: E.T.: The Extra-Terrstrial vs. Gandhi

In other words: The benign alien vs. the benign leader

E.T: The Extra-Terrestrial is Steven Spielberg’s warmhearted classic delight for both children and adults. The movie was originally to be based on a story idea by director John Sayles, but after he removed himself from the project, screenwriter Melissa Mathison took over the script and made it her own. John Williams beautiful soundtrack became forever linked to E.T.

The epic, acclaimed dramatization of the life of Mohandas “Mahatma” Gandhi starts from his days as a South African-educated lawyer, and continues to his historic struggle to free India from British Colonial rule. With a large, distinguished cast, headlined by Ben Kingsley in a nuanced performance, Sir Richard Attenborough’s biopic is a classic of the genre.

And the Academy chose: Gandhi

Were they right? It’s a tough call. Both E.T and Gandhi are in their own way peaceful and lovable characters. Maybe the Academy chose the more realistic of the two. Or maybe it’s just another example of the Academy’s inability to honor a light, entertaining, fantasy.

3. 1980: Raging Bull vs. The Elephant Man vs. Ordinary People

In other words: The temperamental boxer vs. the deformed misfit vs. the dysfunctional family

Raging Bull: Shot in crisp black-and-white, Martin Scorsese’s story of middleweight boxer Jake La Motta is played with incredible intensity by Oscar-winner Robert De Niro - delivering  one of the screen’s most unforgettable performances as the out-of-control fighter. Joe Pesci is just as intense as Joey, who finally realizes that he is unable to tame his animalistic brother. Cinematographer Michael Chapman shot the film with a stylish flair that fills the boxing scenes with boundless energy and adds immediacy to the arguments that erupt whenever Jake is outside the ring. Simply put, Raging Bull is one of American cinema’s masterworks.

The Elephant Man: David Lynch’s black-and-white contribution (were they out of color in 1980?) brings his own dreamlike style to the heartbreaking yet somehow uplifting story of John Merrick (John Hurt), a hideously deformed individual dubbed the Elephant Man. This seamless blend of art and entertainment earned eight Academy Award nominations. Freddie Francis’s breathtaking cinematography combines with John Morris’s score to re-create Victorian England with haunting beauty. But is the compassionate performances of Hurt and Anthony Hopkins that lift The Elephant Man emotionally, bringing an inspired sadness to Lynch’s striking vision.

Ordinary People: Robert Redford’s directorial debut is a classic portrait of family life in the face of tragedy. Based on the novel by Judith Guest, the film features the debuts of Timothy Hutton and Elizabeth McGovern as well as breakthrough performances from Mary Tyler Moore and Donald Sutherland.

And the Academy chose: Ordinary People

Were they right? Were they on drugs? Ordinary People is a good movie, but it’s audacious to compare it to two cinematic giants: Raging Bull (possibly Scorsese’s finest), and The Elephant Man (possibly Lynch’s finest). Maybe the academy couldn’t decide between the two fantastic movies, so they gave the Oscar to a third party: two fight and the third one wins. Or maybe it’s the inability of the Academy to honor dark Scorsese masterpieces. This was the second (and not last) time they did it…

2. 1976: Rocky vs. Taxi Driver

In other words: “Yo, Adrian!” “You talkin’ to me?”

Director John G. Avildsen’s Rocky is the stand-up-and-cheer saga of Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone), an underdog boxer who gets his million-to-one shot at love, self-respect, and the world heavyweight title. Shot with gritty realism on the mean streets of Philadelphia, Rocky introduced a new American cinematic hero, spurred on by rollicking action sequences and a rousing soundtrack. A triumph for star and screenwriter Stallone, who himself came from nowhere to reach the top, Rocky is crowd-pleasing entertainment at its finest.

Taxi Driver: Martin Scorsese’s intense film, a hallmark of 1970s filmmaking, graphically depicts the tragic consequences of urban alienation when a New York City taxi driver goes on a murderous rampage against the pitiful denizens of the city’s underbelly. Scorsese fills Paul Schrader’s screenplay with a tragic realism, brilliantly capturing the muck and grime of New York City. Robert De Niro, playing the fragile hero, steps so deep inside his role that the results are deeply frightening. Bernard Herrmann’s haunting score - which turned out to be his last - completes the urban nightmare.

And the Academy chose: Rocky

Were they right? So this is where the Academy started the tradition of not honoring dark masterpieces by Scorsese, in this case choosing the feel-good urban ghetto flick. But in this case, for most movie lovers choosing between the acclaimed Taxi Driver and the beloved Rocky is like choosing between your mother and your father. You can’t do it. The Academy had to choose. I won’t.

1. 1994: Forrest Gump vs. The Shawshank Redemption vs. Pulp Fiction

In other words: “Life was like a box of chocolates” vs. “Only guilty man in Shawshank” vs. “Hamburgers. The cornerstone of any nutritious breakfast”

In Forrest Gump, the title character leads viewers through an accidental travelogue of American social history from the early 1960s through the present. Vietnam, desegregation, Watergate and more are presented from the perspective of Tom Hanks‘ lovably slow-witted character as he finds himself embroiled in situations he can’t quite comprehend.

The beautifully crafted The Shawshank Redemption features touching and sincere performances from the entire cast, with an uplifting message about  indomitable spirits and the redemptive value of hope. Based on the novella Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption by Stephen King, Frank Darabont’s intriguing adaptation is easily one of the finest films of the 1990s, if not ever.

Pulp Fiction is a funny, violent, tongue-in-cheek tribute to the less “classic” side of filmmaking - the potboilers and capers, blaxploitation and gangsters. The film interweaves three tales, told in a circular, fractured manner, which only fully connect as the final credits roll. Quentin Tarantino wears his cinematic influences proudly.  The all-star cast steps into their roles with obvious glee, and Tarantino once again uses his soundtrack to up the “cool” ante yet another notch.

And the Academy chose: Forrest Gump

Were they right? Three fantastic movies, it’s difficult for me to decide which one I like best, but the people have spoken and The Shawshank Redemption ranks #1 on IMDb’s top 250. To say that you don’t like it is like saying you don’t like chocolate, puppies and breathing. The Academy missed its timeless effect and yet again chose a light, sweet and sweeping Americana tale.

So in few days the Academy will choose again. Those of you who read my previous Oscar post know how much I like Benjamin Button, so I hope the Academy will make the right decision, and the superior Slumdog Millionaire will hit the jackpot.

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With the Oscar nominations announced, it’s time to review the main categories. To predict the winners, to vent my frustrations about those who shouldn’t have been left out and those who didn’t deserve their nominations – and to develop a few theories along the way.

10. Best Animated Feature

Bolt
Kung Fu Panda
WALL-E

The Winner: WALL-E
My Favorite: WALL-E
Worst Snub: Waltz with Bashir (Vals Im Bashir)

In the easiest category to predict, WALL-E is the definite winner. Bolt and Kung Fu Panda are sweet, funny, family movies. WALL-E, from the talented Pixar bunch, is visually stunning and deals with serious subjects like environmentalism.

Prize-Fixing: What I find puzzling is why Waltz with Bashir was omitted from this category and nominated only under the Foreign Film. Do the people calling the shots at the Oscars really think that Kung Fu Panda and Bolt are better movies? Or maybe they think both WALL-E and Bashir deserve an Oscar, so they didn’t put them in the same category. It’s never too soon to throw in a conspiracy theory…

9. Best Foreign Language

Der Baader Meinhof Komplex (Germany)
The Class (France)
Departures (Japan)
Revanche (Austria)
Waltz with Bashir (Israel)

The Winner: Waltz with Bashir
My Favorite: Waltz with Bashir
Worst Snub: Gomorra

Gomorra – a gritty depiction of modern day Italian crime families – is a surprising omission, considering its sweeping win of the European Film Awards and the Director prize at Cannes.
Waltz with Bashir is an animated documentary about war crimes (an original premise, you have to admit.) With an impressive stack of prizes already, including the Golden Globe, this critically acclaimed and thought-provoking film is most likely to win.

History Reversed: Last year an Austrian film (The Counterfeiters) took home the Oscar and left an Israeli anti-war film (Beaufort) empty-handed. This time it will probably be the other way around, with the Austrian film complimented and the Israeli film awarded.

8. Best Supporting Actress

Amy Adams - Doubt
Penelope Cruz - Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Viola Davis - Doubt
Taraji P. Henson - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Marisa Tomei - The Wrestler

The Winner: Amy Adams
My Favorite: Marisa Tomei and Amy Adams
Worst Snub: Debra Winger (Rachel Getting Married)

Ulterior Motive: Viola Davis and Taraji P. Henson had such small roles that I’m surprised they were even nominated. Marisa Tomei is mostly naked in most of her screen-time in The Wrestler. She’s very sexy - but I’m sure the guys at the Academy nominated her because of the way she said her (very few) lines…

That leaves us with Penelope Cruz and Amy Adams. I think Adams gave the better performance. Her filmography includes mostly light comedies like Enchanted, Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny and Talladega Nights. In Doubt she displayed her – impressive - dramatic skills.

Debra Winger, the 80s’ unfulfilled promise (Urban Cowboy, An Officer and a Gentleman, Terms of Endearment), and, believe it or not, one of the voices of E.T., made a welcome, highly acclaimed return to the big screen in Rachel Getting Married. This talented actress who we don’t see enough was at least worthy of a nomination.

7. Best Supporting Actor

Josh Brolin - Milk
Robert Downey Jr. - Tropic Thunder
Philip Seymour Hoffman - Doubt
Heath Ledger - The Dark Knight
Michael Shannon - Revolutionary Road

The Winner: Heath Ledger
My Favorite: Robert Downey Jr
Worst Snub: Tom Cruise (Tropic Thunder)

History Repeats: Philip Seymour Hoffman was nominated last year but didn’t stand a chance against Javier Bardem’s convincing turn as the psychopathic serial killer in No Country For Old Men. This year Hoffman will lose again – to another actor who portrays a psychopath: Heath Ledger as The Joker. Needless to say, the fact that Ledger is dead improves his chances of winning.

If I was calling the shots, Robert Downey Jr. would get the Oscar. He was hilarious in Tropic Thunder as the method actor who is so devoted to his performance that he undergoes a skin color operation to be more convincing in his role as a black soldier.

Funny Bias: But the name I miss most in this category is Tom Cruise. Barely recognizable, his performance in Tropic Thunder was the wackiest and best of his career, with all due respect to Magnolia, Jerry Maguire, Rain Man and Born on the Fourth of July. But it’s unlikely the Academy will give a prize to actors participating in a silly (okay, very silly) comedy.

Behind the Hype: And here’s a chance to take a risk and say it out loud: Ledger’s Joker is not such an amazing performance, compared to Jack Nicholson’s in particular, or to Bardem’s if considering psychopaths at large. I would stop here and go hide from the fanboys, but I still have 6 categories left…

6. Best Original Screenplay

Andrew Stanton - WALL-E
Mike Leigh - Happy-Go-Lucky
Martin Mcdonagh - In Bruges
Dustin Lance Black - Milk
Courtney Hunt - Frozen River

The Winner: In Bruges
My Favorite: In Bruges
Worst Snub: Robert D. Siegel - The Wrestler

History Repeats: Milk, with its strong social themes (tragic biopic of the first gay elected public official) and brand names, seems likely to follow in the footsteps of Brokeback Mountain, another tragic, gay groundbreaking film. Even WALL-E is a possibility here. But because I love Martin Mcdonagh (writer and director of In Bruges)’s witty and hilarious dialogue, I’ll take a wild gamble on a surprise winner in this category.

The Upset: I won’t shed a tear, though, if the surprise would come from a different direction and the winner is Mike Leigh’s Happy-Go-Lucky, a fascinating character study. Sally Hawkins is excellent as Poppy, striking just the right chord of cheerful yet not shrill or obnoxious. The movie is whip-smart and full of surprises - just when you are certain the story is going in a certain direction, Leigh gently nudges you down a different path. And you are glad.

I think The Wrestler should have been honored here. The movie got to 52 on IMDb’s 250 greatest movies of all times and got an amazing 98% positive reviews on Rotten Tomatoes. Such a well-received movie should have been honored under one of the three major categories for movies: Best Picture, Screenplay or Direction.

5. Best Adapted Screenplay

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Doubt
Frost/Nixon
The Reader
Slumdog Millionaire

The Winner: Slumdog Millionaire
My Favorite: Slumdog Millionaire
Worst Snub: The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas

As far as I can tell, the moral lesson in The Reader goes something like this: illiteracy can turn you into a Nazi, so kids, when confronted with the dilemma of going to school or skipping and going to the beach, you better choose the first option or else…

Take Two: The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas succeeds where The Reader fails in creating an emotional Holocaust movie. It should have been nominated here instead of The Reader.

Doubt is a fair movie, which can be summed up by question: Did he sexually abuse a child or not? I’m quite sure he did, but there is a doubt…

Double Take: Frost/Nixon is great, but this year’s Oscars are all about Slumdog Millionaire vs. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. These two movies got most of the important nominations - which made me wonder, what do they have in common? Here are the answers from our Movie Genome:

Romance, hope, youth and coming of age, loss of parent, a journey. Both are touching and sentimental. Actually, they have even more in common then I originally thought. But the better script - and the much better movie - is Slumdog Millionaire.

4. Best Director

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

The Winner: David Fincher
My Favorite: Danny Boyle
Worst Snub: Clint Eastwood (Gran Torino)

I was amazed to see that Clint Eastwood (for Gran Torino) and Christopher Nolan (for The Dark Knight) were missing from this list of nominations. Both movies got a great reception from audiences and critics alike, and yet the Academy ignored them for some reason.

Pity Prize: In the previous category Slumdog was the winner. Here the Academy will give the Oscar to David Fincher (for Benjamin Button). But it would be what I call a “Scorsese Oscar”: when Scorsese won the Oscar for The Departed, it wasn’t because it was the best movie, but because the Academy compensated him for not getting a well-deserved Best Director Oscar for Taxi Driver, Raging Bull or Goodfellas. Benjamin Button is definitely not Fincher’s best film, but because he deserved it for Fight Club, Se7en and even The Game, he’ll get it now.

Boyle might be the next one in line to get the “Scorsese Oscar,” after Trainspotting and now Slumdog Millionaire don’t win him the prize.

3. Best Actress

Anne Hathaway - Rachel Getting Married
Angelina Jolie - Changeling
Melissa Leo - Frozen River
Meryl Streep - Doubt
Kate Winslet - The Reader

The Winner: Meryl Streep
My Favorite: Meryl Streep
Worst Snub: Sally Hawkins (Happy-Go-Lucky)

Quoting Ricky Gervais at the Golden Globe Awards: “Well done Winslet. I told you, do a Holocaust movie and the awards will come, didn’t I?”

Serial Loser: I guess Gervais jinxed her. Poor Kate – after a double jeopardy in the Golden Globes for both The Reader (supporting) and Revolutionary Road (leading), I predict at the Oscars she’ll be only applauding. The Academy pulled a trick on her, nominating her only once, for The Reader - but strangely as leading actress. So now her challenge is even tougher, and this unlucky serial loser is going to be disappointed for the 6th time!

Serial Winner: Why a tougher challenge? Because even though she’s already won the golden statue twice, Meryl Streep will win for her amazing performance in Doubt as Sister Aloysius Beauvier, the tough, uncompromising principal who’s sure that the charismatic priest is also a child molester.

I don’t know if Sally Hawkins’ performance in Happy-Go-Lucky is Oscar worthy (it was Golden Globes worthy), but she definitely should have been nominated.

2. Best Actor

Richard Jenkins - The Visitor
Frank Langella - Frost/Nixon
Sean Penn - Milk
Brad Pitt - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Mickey Rourke - The Wrestler

The Winner: Frank Langella
My Favorite: Frank Langella
Worst Snub: Colin Farrell (In Bruges)

Richard Jenkins is the actor we all know, but we’re not sure from where. After a bit of head-scratching, Jenkins is fondly memorable as the dead father in Six Feet Under, and he recently appeared in Burn After Reading and Step Brothers. Hopefully after the nomination for The Visitor, we won’t forget him no more. But he’ll have to settle for the nomination as the Oscar will go elsewhere.

Trivia Record: Brad Pitt shouldn’t have been nominated here. Greg Cannom, his makeup artist, should have. Oh well, Cannom is nominated under the makeup category and that’s more than enough. Maybe the Academy wanted to set a trivia record of hubbie and wife both nominated as leading actors in the same year, as neither Jolie nor Pitt gave great performances (to put it mildly…).

Ham Award: Sean Penn usually gets nominated for an Oscar when he overacts: he was nominated for I am Sam and for Sweet and Lowdown. Now he’s nominated for overacting in Milk. I don’t really like those movies of his where he goes over the top, it’s quite annoying.

The Wrestler is Darren Aronofsky’s bleakest movie, and we’re talking about the guy responsible for Requiem for a Dream. Some say no one could have played the role of the wrestler except Mickey Rourke, and I tend to agree. Rourke was great in Sin City in 2005, then he made some bad movie choices (what’s new…?), and now he’s back with an unforgettable performance.

History Repeats: The only one who can prevent Mickey Rourke from getting the Oscar is Frank Langella with his portrayal of Richard Nixon. When people say Nixon, I think first of Frank Langella and only then of Richard Nixon - he’s that good! I place my bet on him. Poor Sean Penn has already been hurt cinematically by Nixon in The Assassination of Richard Nixon.

In a better world, Colin Farrell would have been nominated instead of Brad Pitt. Farrell used the great script by Martin McDonagh to give his best acting performance to date; it got him the Golden Globe but not even an Oscar nomination.

1. Best Picture

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Frost/Nixon
Milk
The Reader
Slumdog Millionaire

The Winner: Slumdog Millionaire
My Favorite: Slumdog Millionaire
Worst Snub: Gran Torino

Disappearing Acts: Let’s start with the absences. Justifiably absent is the disappointing Revolutionary Road, despite (or maybe because of) its big names (Did I say Winslet is jinxed?). Surprisingly absent is the most successful, acclaimed and talked-about film of the year, The Dark Knight. And to my disappointment, unjustifiably absent is Gran Torino. I think these two are much better candidates than The Reader, Milk and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

When the people who made The Reader met, I guess it went something like this: let’s take Bernhard Schlink’s book and make an updated version of The Graduate, with a twist. More sexual and daring than The Graduate, with the twist that this movie’s Mrs.Robinson will turn out to be a former Nazi. The first part of the movie is very sexual and daring, yes, even more than The Graduate. But the second part (the Nazi part) doesn’t work at all. Are we really supposed to feel sorry for her?

History Rewritten: Here’s a good place to stop and ask: Hey, what’s with the Good Nazi movement going on at the moment? Did all the studio heads secretly met and decided to produce movies with Good Nazis (The Reader, Valkyrie and The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas), because there were no more good survivor stories?

One-on-One: Let’s get back to our main issue. Although Frost/Nixon is a bit slow, it’s a brilliant psychological movie about a man’s downfall, and well worth watching even if you’re not big on history lessons. As I said, the movie’s leading actor Frank Langella will win the Oscar. The movie itself, though, won’t: Frost/Nixon, Milk and The Reader all know that the real fight is between Slumdog Millionaire and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

As you may have noticed by now, I was disappointed by Benjamin Button. I think it’s a lesser version of Forrest Gump, or in other words, Forrest Gump sans humor (except for the guy who constantly gets hit by lightening – and no, it’s not Kenny…). The parts in which we see the dying Daisy (Cate Blanchett) mumbling in the hospital are difficult to understand (well, she is mumbling) and annoying. When you start watching the movie, you know how it’s going to end, and yet when you see Daisy holding baby Benjamin (Pitt), it just doesn’t feel right…

Birth of a Classic: Slumdog Millionaire is my favorite in this category. It’s a movie that’s almost impossible to hate (unless you’re a pompous critic). I dare suggest that maybe Slumdog is the new Shawshank Redemption: everybody likes it. With an emotional love story, a young orphan hero who grew up in terrible poverty and the whole underdog, against-the-odds, rags-to-riches themes, it’s just an irresistibly amazing combination of Rocky, City of God and Oliver Twist.

And the Oscar goes to…?

Technorati Tags: Oscars, Academy Awards, Slumdog Millionaire, Angelina Jolie, Mickey Rourke, Oscar snubs, Oscar winners

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The Good, the Bad and the Oscars…

Golden Globe and the Oscars are coming up – and two new Clint Eastwood films are nominated as usual. I can say as usual, as not only does nearly every film this genius makes gets nominated, he now delivers them in pairs. 2006 brought two war epics, Letters From Iwo Jima and Flags of Our Fathers. This year we have The Changeling and Gran Torino. Unlike the first pair, this time I think there is a huge difference between the two: one is quite awful and the other is a masterpiece.

Usually when people are asked if they want to hear the good news or the bad news first, they ask for the bad news. So I’ll begin with…

Changeling

If it was possible, I’d have replaced the two-and-a-half hours spent watching this movie with two-and-a-half hours of a more enjoyable activity. Like going to the dentist. Or weeding.

Yes, there’s an Oscar buzz around the movie, including best actress for Angelina Jolie. So I have no choice but to assume the unpopular role of the little kid shouting “The emperor has no clothes!” (The movie, that is, not Eastwood.)

A single mother (Jolie)’s little kid goes missing. Five months later, he’s found by the police. Or so they insist. Jolie claims the boy is not her lost son.

I couldn’t believe that a movie based on a true story could be so farfetched, absurd and unrealistic.

The movie can be divided into four parts:
1. We get to know Jolie’s character and her son - similar to what would have happened if the Brady bunch were a single-parent family (up until the part where the kid disappears).
2. This could be titled: “That’s not my kid!” “Yes he is!”. It is without doubt the most ludicrous part of the movie. It works as a comedy, but I’m sure that wasn’t Eastwood’s intention. At a certain point, Jolie’s character says to a doctor sent by the police that it can’t be her child because hers is 8 centimeters taller. To that, the good doctor replies something like: He must have shrunk. It’s rare, but it happens…
3. We take an unexpected turn into a strange remake of an earlier Jolie movie, Girl, Interrupted - or if you prefer, a parody of One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest. This part could be summed up in one sentence as well: “Admit he’s your kid!” “I won’t admit it!”.
4. Spoiler Alert: In the most normal part, the movie turns into a courtroom drama and all the wrongdoers get what they deserve.

Jeffrey Donovan in the role of Cpt. Jones is familiar to those who watch the humorous action TV show Burn Notice. The show relies on fast-paced nonstop action. If it had relied on Donovan’s acting skills, it would have been canceled faster than Usain Bolt. Regrettably, Changeling does rely on Donovan’s acting skills. It’s quite embarrassing. The people in the casting department deserve justice Dirty Harry style.

Those who go easy on the movie say that the movie is thirty minutes too long. Being rational as I am, I’d say it’s two-and-a-half hours too long.

All in all, there is one cinematic achievement here: I’m sorry if it’s a sexist and banal remark, but Angelina’s lips just keep growing, it’s simply unavoidable not to relate to that. They are now undoubtedly the biggest lips ever seen on the silver screen. It is possible to create three different sets of lips out of them. Is that a good enough reason to watch Changeling? You be the judge.

Gran Torino

Some relate to this film as Dirty Harry – the pension years. I’d say it’s a touching, sincere, thoughtful and humorous drama. The story is about a tough, aging anti-hero who forms an unlikely friendship with two Asian teens. Through this, he contemplates and confronts his past as a soldier in the Korean War.

In the beginning of the movie we get to know Eastwood’s character - Walt, the tough, honest, callous and uncompromising war veteran, who lives by a set of rules and code of behavior that are the complete opposite of his teenage granddaughter. These contradictions between old and modern, and the way they are shown in the movie, offer a lot of laughs.

In the second part of the movie, we see that although Walt makes a lot of racist remarks, he befriends two Asian teenage siblings, a girl and a boy. This brings me to the conclusion that he might not be racist, but rather from an era before the concept of “politically correct.” The scenes in which he teaches the boy how to behave like a man are hilarious. It’s as if an aging Dirty Harry took the role of a mentor like Mister Miyagi in Karate Kid.

I don’t know if Eastwood’s acting is Oscar worthy, but his direction definitely is. He has pretty much the same facial expression during the entire movie, yet in every scene different feelings and emotions are conveyed.

I thought of a promotional suggestion to the distributors: throughout the movie, Eastwood spits gracefully (if there is such a thing as graceful spitting) numerous times. So I thought It would be amusing to see an edited clip of all of his spitting. To my surprise, just before uploading this post, I found the following trailer at Will Ferrel’s funnyordie.com. At least I can take comfort in the fact that great minds think alike…

So to sum up these pair of films, Gran Torino is terrific, maybe Eastwood’s finest, and I hope and bet this one will get him an Oscar. What a shame that Changeling is so far behind.

Think otherwise? Than go ahead, make my day and let me know…

Technorati Tags: Clint Eastwood, Golden Globes, Gran Torino, Oscars, Academy Awards, Changeling, Angelina Jolie, Movies

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