2008 Best Picture Nominee Open Discussion Thread

With these nominees the Oscars quickly becomes irrelevant, as does the entire Sunday night political awards show. Who cares.

I’ve seen three of these and in my opinion Gran Torino is far superior. I have not talked to anyone who did not think it was fabulous.

If Hollywood seeks to remain relevant it had better begin paying attention and stop giving us this sicko and political propaganda as art, or it may wind up with no audience.

I actually really like Chris Nolan’s work, and have greatly enjoyed the relaunched Batman series. I stand by my earlier statement that the final act of Dark Knight was very unfocused and a letdown.

Titov,

For what my two cents is worth I'll just say that I loved the film and have enjoyed watching it several times over again now that it's on DVD. I also think the Oscar snub is pretty insulting given how good the movie is. That said, however, it's not above criticism by any means and I think there is definitely something to what you've said here. My feeling about the movie is that it is a bit over-stuffed. There's just too much going on to do justice to the whole Two-Face subplot. We don't really get to know Dent well enough as a character to know whether or not he'd snap like he did or even to make much of an emotional connection to him. And to focus on this subplot and do it right would require pretty much throwing out the ferry climax I think. It is admittedly a bit of a distraction from Two-Face's rampage. So I tend to agree with you that the movie was unfocused at the end – trying to do two things at once when it should have only been trying to do one thing well.

Titov, I can pretty well guarantee the majority of the movies you mentioned has at least one completely inappropriate, completely tacked on, completely out of left field “Those Damn Republican” moments. That’s what frustrates even more. Its easy to avoid preachy movies, but even supposedly politically neutral movies sideswipe you with leftist BS.

Neocon? Gasp! Comrade TITOV has found me out.

Terrible field, and everyone knows it. Milk is the best film, and I don’t think it would make my top 15. None of the others would crack my top 20.

I haven’t seen The Reader. For all I know, it’s a masterpiece. But look at it.

The Holocaust.
Illiteracy.
Underage sex.
Harvey Weinstein.

Gee, why did that film get nominated?

My dream field:

Man on Wire
Rachel Getting Married
The Dark Knight
The Wrestler
Entre Les Murs (The Class)

Titov, I’m just going to ask you to be courteous, make your points, and don’t throw anyone under the bus. I’m a dinosaur, but I actually think these comment sections CAN exist without the venom.

I disagree with you (and I’m not going to call you names). The Dark Knight deserves the nom in my opinion for the fact that it is a GAME-CHANGER. Nolan deserves a director’s nom because of the outstanding work he did to take a comic book story and make it larger, more compelling, more (yes) thought-provoking. I think of other movies that did not get nominations in the past (Singin’ in the Rain, 2001-A Space Odyssey, The Searchers to name three) that to this day are milestone pieces of cinema. HOWARD THOMPSON nailed in earlier in the commentary: these other movies will be forgotten (like CHIGAGO, The Turning Point, Julia), but The Dark Knight will have a shelf-life for a long, long time. Art and commercial success are not mutually-exclusive.

No name-calling, Titov. Just a different take.

Now God Bless You,

Chris

I plan to skip The Reader and maybe this week I’ll have a large meal and try to make it through Button. It’ll be Slumdog. Not necessarily a new story (will the poor boy get rich & find his dream girl??), but told in a highly original way. I enjoyed Milk immensely, but I truly hope Mickey Rourke gets best actor, and if not him Frank Langella. I don’t think Frost/Nixon was a hatchet job, but it certainly is a ’small’ film compared to the others. Russ–the ferryboat bit to me in TDK was a retread of themes already told in the film as well as repeated later. (The Joker is crazy evil, and sometimes sacrifices must be made for the greater good) And I really don’t think TDK could’ve made all that money if bitter leftists had hated/avoided it. It had incredibly wide appeal, but I’m with those who felt it was way too long. I think the Academy just can’t bring itself to nominate a superhero movie. And Mitchum–Batman not gay? He wears a skintight leather suit with a cape, lives in a cave, (often with a handsome youth), is EXTREMELY well groomed, is seen in public with a succession of beautiful women who can only be called “beards,” and has NEVER had a long term relationship with any woman…

I haven’s seen any of those. Should I have?

Gran Torino is one of the worst movies I’ve seen in a long time. Let me count the ways:

spoiler alert

Sue: Hey, Wally.

Walt: Listen you gook, chink, slant, Dragon Lady, don’t call me Wally.

Sue: Tee hee hee.

And it gets worse.

Walt is an old stick-in-the-mud who just can’t seem to get with the program and accept that his new neighbors whack off chickens’ heads in their back yard.

Walt is your “typical” war hero who, fifty years later, can’t let go of the conflict. Even though thousands of American military men and women have come home to marry and raise thousands of children who grow up to be normal, prosperous, God fearing, grateful adults, Walt isn’t one of them. Are we privy to the cause of Walt’s sons & their wives & granddaughter’s shallow, self-centeredness, or are we not-so-subtly led to believe that it’s our culture, not Walt the father, that produces avaricious, manipulative simps (caused by Reagan’s and Bush’s greed, no doubt).
His comfort comes at his local VA lodge where he and his racist fellow vets tell anti-Semitic jokes juxtaposed with the backdrop of red, white, and blue while they drink their beer in Old Glory glasses. Get the picture? Get the connection there?

Now, because the next door neighbors are nicer (except Grandma who clings to her cultural values, deriding Thao for doing women’s work, washing dishes; and complains that her widowed daughter (Thao’s mother) doesn’t find a husband asap because Thao needs a father’s influence, instead of lauding the virtues of single motherhood), Walt pursues the validation of his existence via a new, fresh family instead of making amends with his own. And Grandma gets to keep her arrogant disapproval of the mean ole guy next door.

I would like to have seen Walt examine his role in creating his own circumstances. Our protagonist doesn’t grow, doesn’t gain wisdom. He just throws himself into another battle that ends in an over-the-top “suicide by gang member” escape.

Post-war American family values=bad.
New minority family values=good.

I vote for Slumdog Millionaire.

After tonight, Slumdog Millionaire will have Critics Choice and Golden Globes for Picture, Director, and a SAG for Ensemble Acting. It HAS to be considered the favorite for Best Picture.

Let me ask, Titov or other Dark Knight detractors …..

1) Are most of your concerns of a narraitve nature? Why did Batman do this? Why did Batman not do that? Where did that stack of money come from, etc.?

To me that’s narrative nitpicking. I admit it’s there, but compared to the thematic element of the writing, it’s of minor importance.

I’ll compare it to a film like Children of Men. That film has a ton of narrative issues. I oculd point out a few dozen. And in the end it doesn’t matter that much. Because it’s a film with its finger on the pulse of things.

I would say the same thing about The Dark Knight. I would probably say it even more emphatically about The Dark Knight.

I also think that the “third act is confusing” refrain ignores the first two hours of incredibly sustained intensity.

Gran Torino i ghe best movie I saw for 2008 -

Very nice site. I enjoy your webcam the most. Beautiful scenery! Keep up the great work.

The only thing I know is that Leonardo DiCaprio was ROBBED. His performance in Revolutionary Road was PHENOMINAL. Whether you liked the movie or not, whether you like him or not, there is no denying that Leo DiCaprio has incredible talent.

Depressing movie, incredible acting from DiCaprio and Michael Shannon!

And I liked The Dark Knight, but, come on, the final act was SLOPPY! And I haven’t seen Gran Tarino, but I certainly will.

This year, when I read about the Oscar nominations, I was kinda stunned to realize that I had not seen ONE of the films with a major nomination.
Most of them look like ‘wait for DVD’ (if then) for me, a far better deal for my time and money. (Movie theatres which don’t offer a $6 matinee – even @ 10 AM – won’t get my money. How much do they make off all the empty seats I always see in the daytime showings?)

Slumdog Millionaire looks like it could be a good date movie.
If you’ve seen it, would you recommend it as such?

The Oscar awards are ridiculous because they pick just one nominee per category, as if you can compare five different things and pronounce one of them “best”. The Oscars could take a small step toward validity if they changed to a practice of handing out awards for as many nominees as were simply deemed “excellent”. [And even then, come on, for example, some performances owe so much to the writing, editing, etc.]

The complaints about ‘X never won an Oscar’ are usually silly, because these complaints (usually) tacitly accept the silly policy of choosing just one nominee per category and calling that one “best”.

Isn’t it obvious the degree to which Oscars for Best Film (and others)are often awarded on a basis of the voters making a statement about how admirable they wish to appear, and/or stating which social issues they feel strongly about?

Another change to make the Oscar awards more respectable would be to wait five years after the films came out to decide what was “best” that year. But of course that would not help the big pros make more money.

FYI, I made these Oscar comments about 2 months ago
on Dirty Harry’s Place website.

IMHO, Dark Knight was too long (plodding), complicated, and gloomy to be an enjoyable entertainment (unlike, say, Iorn Man), yet too much like a comic book to be effective as adult drama. A big ‘neither-nor’.

FYI, I liked Gran Torino very much.

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[...] – January 25th, 2009 at 5:41 amGran Torino has my vote. Then Dark Knight. Neither w source: 2008 Best Picture Nominee Open Discussion Thread, Big [...]

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