Oscar the grouch

[calimac]

The Oscar winners are presented with all the hoopla possible. The list of nominees, which to my mind is even more important and useful for movie-goers, however, steals out on little cat feet. Here it is.

As usual, I haven't seen much. Last month, I went to the theatres twice, to see two films based on recent history that intrigued me, both of which I wrote about here: Milk and Frost/Nixon. It was the first I'd been to the movie theatres in several months. I liked both, Milk better and not just because it's about a more congenial character. It's far more real; it doesn't try to puff up an insignificant story into a falsified dramatic shape.

Now they're both Best Picture nominees. Benjamin Button and The Reader are also both "prestige" pictures, but the reviews make them sound like pretentious fluff. Slumdog Millionaire is one I initially ignored on the basis of the title alone, which sounded repulsive. But now that I've read something about it, it sounds interesting and I may see it at some point.

The only other film anywhere on the nominees list that I've seen is In Bruges, which got a Best Screenplay nomination. Best Screenplay?!? I only saw this at all on one of those "Why don't we go see a movie I wonder what's playing?" occasions, and it was so tedious and unfunny that I didn't even mention it in this supposed chronicle of my life.

The film that most of my friends have seen is Wall-E, which has 6 nominations. Most of the reviews have been ecstatic, but some have had an element of grumpiness, and both that mix and the specific comments remind me of the reaction to E.T., a widely-loved film which I found annoying and incoherent. On that basis I'm staying away from this one until I'm dragged to it.

Can't think of anything else on the lists I want to see either. Six months from now I'll be standing at the Bockbluster new film rental shelf looking in vain, as usual, for anything I want to see on it.

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

Sounds like you need a Netflix account.

One film you ought to see, which may still be in the art theatres out there, and which (for arcane reasons) is not eligible for the Oscars, is the Swedish vampire art film =Let the Right One In=. More of an art film than a horror
film, more of a character study than a vampire story, its mix of elements should suit the average =Buffy= fan. One of the best films I saw last year.

[randy-byers.livejournal.com]

I've seen only two of the Best Picture nominees as well: Milk and Slumdog Millionaire. I'm not sure what you would make of the latter, but I thought it was very cleverly constructed and visually interesting. It has some fairly harsh elements in its depiction of poverty amongst the lower caste in India, but it's also a fairy tale of a type that Tolkien coined a term for.

Getting down into the weeds, I've seen more of the other movies than you have, including Dark Knight, Iron Man, Australia, WALL-E (meh), Hellboy II, maybe a couple of others. Nothing I would go out of my way to recommend. My favorite movie of the year continues to be The Fall, which should have at least got a nomination for Art Direction or Costumes. Oh well.

[sartorias.livejournal.com]

I liked most of Wall-E, but found the last bit emotionally manipulative, and it has exactly the same cliche as E.T. did at the end. Audiences obviously respond to it, tho.

[kalimac.livejournal.com]

Why would I want a Netflix account? Doesn't that require a monthly fee of some kind? If so, not renting films from Netflix would cost me more than not renting them from Bockbluster. As for older films, I can find most of the ones I want in the public library, which charges less fee than either.

[smofbabe.livejournal.com]

Guess I'll have to go see Doubt! I was glad to see so many first-time acting nominees. As for Slumdog Millionaire, as you saw in my review I think it's definitely worth seeing... but not for its music! I didn't even remember it had two songs; the only music I recall is for a Bollywood dance number over the credits.

[(Anonymous)]

All I can tell you is my experience: before I got a Netflix account, I saw maybe two or three movies in the theatre a year; rented from Blockbuster maybe half a dozen times a year; borrowed from the library maybe once a month. Since I got a Netflix account (which can cost as little as $10 a month) I see two or three DVDs a week, plus I also go out to the theatre more (following up on stuff not on DVD yet) and borrow more from the library (sometimes stuff on VHS not yet on DVD). So unless you just don't have time in your life for movies at all...

[kalimac.livejournal.com]

I can't imagine that many movies I'd want to see.