This year I have decided to release my Oscar predictions. Let us revisit the list on 23rd February and see how many of my predictions came true. I have not included a few categories here because of personal reasons.
Legend: Movies I have watched are in italics and the winner is in bold, italics.
Best Motion Picture of the Year
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Frost/Nixon
Milk
The Reader
Slumdog Millionaire
'The Reader' is my favorite movie of the year. It is one of the best romances - yes, for me 'The Reader' is a romance - I have watched in a long time and I was very touched by it. Ralph Finnes, I thought, was terrific in the role of a middle-aged man with a
secret sorrow - I could not believe that the same guy was the terrifying
sociopath Amon Goeth in 'Schindler's List'. The scene where he meets Kate Winslet as an
older man for the first time in prison was the one of the high points of
the movie for me. My favorite scene in 'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button' comes when Benjamin and Daisy are holding each other and Benjamin observing the two of them in the mirror in front of them says 'I wanna remember us just as we are now'. I say the Oscar for the best picture would go to 'Slumdog' and I write about the other movies. It is the novelty factor that will win all the awards for 'Slumdog' this year and it is quite understandable. Well, 'Slumdog Millionaire' didn't have anything in it for me that left an impression after watching the movie. My complaints with the movie are not about depicting 'the soft underbelly' of India and things to that effect. The movie simply is an average movie. The cinematography of course, was top notch.
Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role
Richard Jenkins for The Visitor
Frank Langella for Frost/Nixon
Sean Penn for Milk
Brad Pitt for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Mickey Rourke for The Wrestler
I was blown away watching Sean Penn in 'Milk'. It is one of the best performances I have watched in recent times. Mickey Rourke - he was amazing in 'Sin City' - in 'The Wrestler', as a fellow who is perpetually in self-pity mode didn't impress me much. Neither did the movie. It has an all too familiar plot. I liked Frank Langella's performance in Forst/Nixon; specially the bounce in his step when he walks out to his car after each of his interviews and then the slow lumbering long walk to his car after the final interview.
Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role
Anne Hathaway for Rachel Getting Married
Angelina Jolie for Changeling
Melissa Leo for Frozen River
Meryl Streep for Doubt
Kate Winslet for The Reader
Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role
Josh Brolin for Milk
Robert Downey Jr. for Tropic Thunder
Philip Seymour Hoffman for Doubt
Heath Ledger for The Dark Knight
Michael Shannon for Revolutionary Road
Now, this award is everybody's guess. And most deserving too. Heath Ledger mouthed all the best lines in cinema in 2008.
Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role
Amy Adams for Doubt
Penélope Cruz for Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Viola Davis for Doubt
Taraji P. Henson for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Marisa Tomei for The Wrestler
Every one is saying Viola Davis for 'Doubt', but my personal favorite is Marisa Tomei for 'The Wrestler'. I liked her performance very much. In my list, Taraji P. Henson comes a close second.
Best Achievement in Directing
Danny Boyle for Slumdog Millionaire
Stephen Daldry for The Reader
David Fincher for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Ron Howard for Frost/Nixon
Gus Van Sant for Milk
Best Achievement in Cinematography
Changeling
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button: Claudio Miranda
The Dark Knight: Wally Pfister
The Reader: Roger Deakins, Chris Menges
Slumdog Millionaire: Anthony Dod Mantle
Best Achievement in Visual Effects
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button: Eric Barba, Steve Preeg, Burt Dalton, Craig Barron
The Dark Knight: Nick Davis, Chris Corbould, Timothy Webber, Paul J. Franklin
Iron Man: John Nelson, Ben Snow, Daniel Sudick, Shane Mahan
Best Achievement in Makeup
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button: Greg Cannom
The Dark Knight: John Caglione Jr., Conor O'Sullivan
Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008): Mike Elizalde, Thomas Floutz
Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Score
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button: Alexandre Desplat
Defiance: James Newton Howard
Milk: Danny Elfman
Slumdog Millionaire: A.R. Rahman
WALL·E: Thomas Newman
Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Song
Slumdog Millionaire: A.R. Rahman, Gulzar("Jai Ho")
Slumdog Millionaire: A.R. Rahman, Maya Arulpragasam("O Saya")
WALL·E: Peter Gabriel, Thomas Newman("Down to Earth")
Best Animated Feature Film of the Year
Bolt: Chris Williams, Byron Howard
Kung Fu Panda: John Stevenson, Mark Osborne
WALL·E: Andrew Stanton
I don't remember a Pixar Animation movie that didn't win the Best Animated Film award. I didn't like WALL·E. I found the movie very boring.