BOBBY'S OSCAR BALLOT / Screenplay and Picture

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY: Although Slumdog Millionaire is a clear-cut favorite, I think the story was too "Deus ex Machina" for my taste. I think there is a very easy link from the "Millionaire" questions to the story the Jamal is living through back flashes. Overall, it's too much of an easy happy ending for me. Now don't get me wrong, the previous years I was rooting for Juno and Little Miss Sunshine.  The story's were good, but seemingly not good enough for them to become best movie, and they were both very happy ending oriented.

Frost/ Nixon is a masterful adaptation from stage to screen, but still, you can sense it was written for the stage, but no wonder this is one of the best rated movies by critics.

As for Doubt and The Reader, I think both are very good stories, but perhaps Doubt kept too much as a play (unlike Frost/Nixon which is definitely more cinematic), and Reader dwelled on a little long, more like the nove. 

My favorite here is Benjamin Button, I could see a lot of similarities with Forrest Gump though, before knowing it was the same writer, maybe this will hurt it as not showing a really innovative view of things, but both Gump and Button are simply brilliant from my point of view. Also Button runs a little long, which makes me wonder how the writer was able to take so much from what originally was not a novel, but a short story, well, well, we'll see tonight.

Honorable Mention: Frost/Nixon

Bobby's Money : THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON      Eric Roth

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY: The only one of the nominated movies in this category that I didn't get to see, was one for which I'm expecting a lot, since I've read good reviews on it and it actually won the Golden Globe:  Happy-Go-Lucky.

Frozen River has that linear structure in a story that lately seems to have gone out of fashion but is very straight-forward and non complicated. Regular drama, not to tragic, just a good dose of harsh reality. I give this a lot of points.

Wall-E has a nice message to it, and it's clearly more like the kids version of An Inconvenient Truth, for this, I applaud it and I'm voting for it as Best Animated Feature.

In Bruges, oh, well, it is a different comedy from your usual fare, but gets too complicated into the issue of right and wrong, and the morality of it, I would put this screenplay next to The Dark Knight, but overall not in this category.

Milk, of course, as I mentioned in my review, is a no-brainer for me, this should easily win this category for its cinematic quality, for its relevance, for its timing (both on and off the screen). And, although this gets into the tragic side of drama, knowing the protagonist's fate from the beginning, it has that American Beauty (steal it) quality to it, that keeps you wanting to see the development of the story regardless of its ending.

Bobby's Money: MILK     Dustin Lance Black

BEST PICTURE.

Slumdog Millionaire is a beautiful film and clearly the favorite. I have to give this one extra credit for its grand settings and the fact that it takes us through a visual bonanza of color and movement, I guess, perfectly defining Motion Pictures... Frost/ Nixon and Milk are clearly relevant to actual events in human rights, war, abuse of power.... The Reader is a wonderful love story which also addresses ignorance, (strong message), and has the Weinsteins' muscle behind it. Benjamin Button is a Dark Horse here, but I think bringing David Fincher (director: Seven, Fight Club) and Eric Roth (writer: Forrest Gump), is such a good formula that puts attention to a lot of detail and brings forth a story that actually was very compelling. Although this is handicapped a little for the fact of being a big production, I think Slumdog's recent buzz came a little after voting was closed, mmh. 

Again, take into account that I lost both of the previous years nominations (Juno and Little Miss Sunshine), and actually got it right with the underdog in 2005's Crash (Buy it).

Honorable Mention: Frost/ Nixon

Bobby's Money: THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON

BOBBY'S OSCAR BALLOT

BEST ACTOR: This race is clearly between 3 of the 5 actors. As I mentioned on my Benjamin Button review, I don't think Brad Pitt is astounding, although he's one of the favorites. From the other ones I reviewed, Langella, Rourke and Penn are the relevant contenders. Richard Jenkins is also very good in The Visitor (Rent it), but I don't think his movie is relevant enough.

So speaking about relevance: Langella's role is very relevant, considering the actual times of political turmoil and wrong-doings, and he really had me thinking for a moment there, that I was watching Nixon himself. He has also won a Tony for this same role in Broadway, so he has that going for him.

Sean Penn's Harvey Milk is very relevant today as we've come off a successful proposition 8, taking away rights from Gays and Lesbians. This is supposed to be a country of vanguard thinking and tolerance. This gives a lot of relevance to Penn's role, and he has always been both, an Academy favorite and an audience favorite.

Mickey Rourke is very powerful and real in The Wrestler, but I somehow get the feeling that he's playing himself. Although he beat the other two on this nomination, getting the Golden Globe, (Maybe he was aiming for the Golden Glove, considering his boxing background).

Honorable Mention: Frank Langella
Bobby's Money: SEAN PENN

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: This one is a quite tight race. Taraji Henson, I think is one of the favorites, considering, as Brad Pitt, she's in one of the favorite movies. Amy Adams and Viola Davis help carry Doubt to a higher level, and being structured as sort of a play, I think acting is very strong in this movie overall. Penelope Cruz acts like crazy and has won the Golden Globe, and Marisa Tomei is simply delightful to watch. mmmh, I'm very confused on where to vote here, the only one I would outright discard would be Amy Adams, as for Penelope Cruz, I think one award is enough, Marisa Tomei has already won an Oscar, so she's clearly one of the favorites. Viola Davis, is perhaps my favorite one, although her role is very short.

Honorable Mention: Viola Davis
Bobby's Money: MARISA TOMEI

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: I think this one is pretty much nailed down, there's been so much hype about Heath Ledger's death and his subsequent Oscar Nomination, that I think for sentimental reasons he will be given the recognition. I think it is also a recognition past due to his also daring role in Brokeback Mountain. Notable mentions here for Michael Shannon in Revolutionary Road and Philip Seymour Hoffman in Doubt.

Honorable Mention: Philip S Hoffman
Bobby's Money: HEATH LEDGER

BEST ACTRESS: Meryl Streep is always good and always one of the favorites, don't discard her. Angelina Jolie has some recognition coming to her, Changeling is a powerful movie and it is also part of recognizing her career as a versatile actress, playing both action heroes, and torn mothers with missing children (A Mighty Heart, rent it). Anne Hathaway is sooo good in her role, the only thing I don't think she's got going for her is that Rachel Getting Married is not really a very relevant movie, Melissa Leo, a good role as a mother in distress and Kate Winslet, an Academy Favorite with some credit pending.

Honorable Mention: Anne Hathaway
Bobby's Money: KATE WINSLET

Last year, it was the year of the foreign thespian. (Day-Lewis, Bardem, Cotillard, Swinton)
A few years back it was the year of the African-American (Washington, Berry)
This year, I see a common thread with Sexuality: Sean Penn - gay rights, Ledger- past due recognition for Brokeback mountain, Marisa Tomei - The Stripper, Kate Winslet - Older woman vs. young boy.

The Wrestler

This one is tough to watch. It is appealing that The Wrestler could be non other than your common guy going through a mid-life crisis. His lifestyle is self destructing but also shows a sense of grandeur. This is definitely a guy who's not afraid to grab the spotlight but it is during the rest of the time, the time when he's not in the spotlight that crisis hits. 

Mickey Rourke's role is somewhat semi autobiographical. An eighties star is down, but not out, if he gets to pull a comeback that will land him the big spotlight again and give his life a sense of purpose... but at what cost? His performance has already been praised by the Hollywood Foreign Press with a Golden Globe. Whereas he'll be able to snatch the coveted statuette, who knows, we'll see next week.

There's no shame in sticking to what we're good at, but this keeps us from experiencing the rest of what's out there, and sometimes even keeps us from building meaningful connections with the ones that are nearest to us. This wrestler is somehow self-indulged and a little high maintenance, but that, I guess, is an intrinsic characteristic of an attention craving creature.

A very linear drama, which I like because it doesn't bring unnecessary complications to the plot. The Wrestler is so crude at some points that it might cause disgust. If you like Fear Factor (TV), you might enjoy some of the graphic display on this movie. Such graphical content, although hard to watch and enjoy, does bring much reality to the screen.

Marisa Tomei is a proven actress that although her role as a stripper could have backfired, I think to let herself be guided by Darren Aronofsky was a wise choice, comparable to that of Jennifer Connelly in Requiem for a Dream (Buy it).  

A minute late, a dollar short, a Sopranoesque ending... don't wait to long to watch this one. I'm wrestling with myself on how to rate this one, I think I'll give it a Rent it.

Revolutionary Road

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Ohh, what an excruciating drama. Lately I've come to wonder wether women were truly unhappy in their housewives roles before the women's liberation of the latter half of the 20th century. I guess it makes sense to not be content if you have to play a role you didn't choose, but was socially assigned to you. I can see at least one of my grandmothers (if not both) falling into a place of mere satisfaction about their roles as mothers and wives, and I ask the same question as Mad Men (TV), What do women want?

Are us men so clueless as to not know what women want? have we made any progress in these last 50 years? Is women's liberation truly the answer???

This domestic drama is thoughtfully played out by its characters. Both Winslet and DiCaprio give gut wrenching performances that even made me squirm. And Michael Shannon (nominee for best supporting actor)is also outstanding. Amongst current films that will contend for some award, I would mostly compare this one with, The Reader for one, basically because of Kate Winslet's disparaged character; Doubt on another hand because both movies more resemble a play to me, they're very theatrical,  performances are powerful and dramatic, a lot revolves around the dialogue.

The settings and the art direction on this one are also worth watching, taking us back to this glamourous fifties of art deco and martini lunches. 

Overall, Revolutionary Road is too theatrical for my taste, if you're into theater and drama this could be right up your alley, and there's certain points that make it worth your while, but beware, it could be a little slow... In the end, will Sam Mendes recur to the old Hollywood formula that mandates "Kill DiCaprio" ? we'll see. I'm rating this one with a Rent it.

Milk

Harvey Milk was a cornerstone in the movement for Gay Rights. As the first openly gay politician in the history of the U.S. his story, is of full relevance in our current time. With everything going on right now about the revocation of gay's rights to marriage (why should they be happier than the rest of us anyways), I think it is a very good timing for this movie to come out right now (did this movie come out?? or just its characters?).

Sean Penn does an extraordinary performance, just like Langella made us think he was Nixon (whom he's not)  in Frost / Nixon (buy it), and Rourke made us believe he fights in a ring for a living (which he's actually done) in The Wrestler (rent it), Penn makes us think he's Harvey Milk (whom he clearly is not) and definitely portrays a gay man (whom he... I don't know, he seems not to be, but I have no proof to testify either way), in a very convincing manner.

This story is very cinematic, it does move back and forth with full intrigue and takes us visually throughout the different stages of Milks political career.  I also think it is, as I mentioned above, very relevant and it should be promoted just for the educational value of it. After this movie I somehow envisioned Harvey Milk as the MLK of homosexuality. 

The rest of the cast is hard to single out, though Josh Brolin is the only one nominated, the gay roles, in their own styles, of James Franco, Diego Luna and Emil Hirsch are notable. Wether Josh Brolin's character is straight or there's latent homosexuality is for the audience to decide.

The Plot in a sense reminded me of American Beauty in that you know first-hand that the protagonist will die at the end, but you want in for the experience of what will happen in between now and the moment when death actually strikes. 

Hollywood, is a little behind ( a little behind? ) the european film industry in addressing the gay issue. In the not too distant past I can remember two good movies that address such issue, Brokeback Mountain (quite suggestive title) (Rent it), and a slight touching (touching??) of the theme in Far From Heaven (Buy it).  I could rate Milk a Steal it, but if you did and went to jail for it, I'm afraid of the dire consequences it could have upon you if word got out on why you were there . (Let's say I don't want you to become anyone's mistress against your will). So I will rate Milk with a Buy it.

Regardless of wether you like gay people or not, you have to come to terms with the fact that homophobia is the racism of our generation and if we've come a long way to learn to accept our differences amongst races, cultures, religions (Religious tolerance hasn't happened but it will be our next challenge for later this century), we need to accept and embrace differences in sexual orientation (after all, as Woody Allen said, being bisexual automatically doubles your chances of getting a date for Saturday night). And if you do say you like gay people, don't be hypocritical and let them have the same rights as the rest of us do, which is to choose their own partner for marriage and set up their own family because remember a family is not about sex, it's about love.

The Reader

This is a beautiful love story about a law student that finds his ex-lover as she faces a war-crimes trial. It could be also one of those stories of love unfulfilled, as both characters struggle not with their past, but more so with their present. 

It can be heart-breaking at times, as the innate differences between these lovers brings them both together and apart. The age difference is perfectly understandable and plays an important role as both characters mature and come to terms with the situation at hand with different approaches. Kate Winslet's role is touching (literally), as she chooses not to face humiliation - in any situation, her character is that of a very strong woman in her convictions and it shows an unrepentant sense of pride.

Though the story is beautiful (as I said before, we're all suckers for a good love story), I don't see much sense on the skipping back and forth through the timeline. I think this could be one of those stories that just moves forward from the early beginning. I don't know, I just feel this resource is sometimes overused without much relevance, i.e., whatever is happening at one end of the story line, isn't really too relevant to the overall conduction of the plot.

This movie made me reflect on how sometimes ignorance can play a defining role in most crises and wars, sometimes yielding intolerance, and sometimes, even worse, not even causing intolerance but mere indifference.  

I definitely recommend this movie, it is insightful and shows a very different angle to the worn out view of  a delicate theme such as the holocaust, and besides, this one just looks at the holocaust in mere retrospective. Remember evil has different levels, evil a la Madoff -wrongdoing with full knowledge of cause and effect-, and evil a la American History X (buy it) -wrongdoing out of mere ignorance and intolerance-. On which of these extremes does Hitler fall, and on which one does the common Nazi do?

This is a love story that has us rooting for the characters to fulfill their love despite their slight differences. (does age matter much?). The Reader gets a Buy it on my ratings.

Doubt

You will, for sure, doubt, but as some saying goes if it looks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it might just be a duck. So my point being, this movie is about a priest that's being accused of molesting a black kid in a catholic school, could that have happened? maybe looking back at the setting of this play (it is more of a play than a movie), people might have doubted, but now a days, with some evidence showing that could have been a common happening, I wouldn't think there'd be much doubt at all, which makes another interesting point, are we predisposed to judge people based on stereotypes? Couldn't that be labeled as intolerance or bigotry?

The story is well put together, the acting is superb, and you get to kind of root for the priest, which in the end leaves you with doubt as to what might have happened or even more so, why it could have happened, sort of trying to "legitimize" whatever went on. This we should attribute to Philip-Seymour Hoffman's excellent interpretation. 

Another excellent job, one I particularly liked was Viola Davis's role as the allegedly molested kid, it really goes to show the struggle between wanting the child's well being but trying not to single him out in a setting that clearly alienates him.

There are some really crude movies about this theme, like Sleepers (watch it), this one is not quite in the same category as it views events from a non-judgmental point of view, perhaps out of approaching such delicate matters from the real standpoint where there is not full disclosure of what's really going on. In this sense it is a really refreshing view that not necessarily puts full blame on the priest, or on the catholic school's system (No children's behind left)... Doubt we shall because in the end, who is the sinner... aren't we all? 

I rate Doubt with a Rent it... maybe.

Frost / Nixon

This is an unmatched match. Protagonist and antagonist come into a straining psychological battle to grab the spotlight and come out on top.  Now I understand why sport events are so highly paid. In a battle of cunning wit and power, Frost and Nixon try to pick themselves up from the boxing ring's canvas, Who will prevail?

This movie is one true masterpiece in its genre. It's historical, it's very relevant, it resembles a bit of a documentary, giving it a credible status. But beyond that, it's a deconstruction of the characters' personalities, that shows how power can corrupt us to the betrayal of our basic need of connection to others and also how ego can make us fly high beyond our reach and make us strive for grandeur.

As both Frost and Nixon struggle with their own demons, they both have good counter-balancing acts that help them stay together and focused on their ultimate goal.  I envisioned this movie as being structured as a boxing match, and noticing how sometimes, somebody has the upper hand before coming into the round, and how that can eventually translate into an advantage. 

Frank Langella's portrayal of Nixon is, as far as I'm concerned, very accurate. Up front I was a bit skeptical as to how his interpretation would fare against Anthony Hopkin's in Oliver Stone's Nixon (Buy it). In the end I felt like I was watching Nixon himself, but even more so, it was a portrayal that brought a multidimensional character to life showing even the slightest hints of emotional conflict, pride or just sheer manipulation. 

You might particularly like this movie if you were in the Vietnam War, if you're a Democrat, if you feel like you're down but not out, even perhaps if you'd still like some insight into seemingly absurd things as the war in Iraq, and so on, and so on. I am not saying though, that this is a liberal vision of things (though I guess it could be) but I feel it is a fair picture of the way things actually went down, and in a sense, it can even bring you to empathizing with Nixon.

As far as the Oscar race is going, this one ranks amongst the top. As Oscar worthy Langella's interpretation pulls the weight of the movie, I have to give it a very fair chance. I will go all out on this one and definitely rate it a buy it, maybe even steal it... though you know better than to expect too much from a movie, particularly one in such somber tone about trying to extricate someone's secret from deep within its confines. It might be that I was pleasantly surprised as I did not expect this film to be quite so introspective and revealing.

In short, don't miss this one, I think it is one of the best possible ways to spend two hours.