happy saturday: oscar nominations

Anyone else dissapointed by this week’s Oscar nominees? To be honest, I hadn’t seen any of the Best Picture nominees but I’m having a hard time imagining any Brad Pitt movie (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button) being worthy of 16 nominations. The list of nominees did prompt me to see Frost/Nixon last night and I’d like to at least catch Slumdog Millionaire, Waltz with Bashir, and Doubt before the awards ceremony on February 22. Of the five Documentary Features nominated I’ve seen three and would recommend each: Encounters at the End of the World (my rednoW review), Man on Wire and Trouble the Water (my rednoW review). Anyone seen the other two nominated documentaries, The Betrayal – Nerakhoon and The Garden?

The lackluster nominees have made me appreciate the caliber of films currently be screened in Park City, Utah at the Sundance Festival. If you’d like some advance notice of quality films that might show at a theater near you, check out the Christainity Today Sundance Report by my friend Bob Davidson. Bob’s daily reports have made me slightly jealous that he’s at the festival and I’m not.

Of the Oscar nominees that you’ve seen, are there any you’d recommend viewing (or staying away from)?

David Swanson

January 24, 2009

film

9 responses to “happy saturday: oscar nominations”

Catherine

January 24, 2009 at 2:06 pm

I’m going to have to disagree with you sharply on one point – Benjamin Button was fantastic. The most shocking thing for me was indeed how well Brad Pitt acted…’twas very well done. You should absolutely go see this movie, and I hope it does win some awards.

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BC

January 24, 2009 at 2:17 pm

Haven’t seen it yet, but ex-pat friends gave Slumdog Millionaire high marks. Hoping to catch it sometime soon and will let you know.

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David

January 24, 2009 at 4:20 pm

Good to know Catherine. I’m going to see it this evening with a friend.

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otakudad

January 26, 2009 at 2:16 am

Slumdog Millionaire was probably one of the most brilliant films I’ve seen in a long, long time. Honestly well worth paying full price. Really, I loved it *so* much.

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am

January 26, 2009 at 7:58 am

We just watched Doubt. Very good. We also watched Grand Torino. A VERY GOOD movie. Worth watching.

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Jeremy

January 26, 2009 at 12:09 pm

Kara and I saw Slumdog a while back… ’twas the cat’s meow. I recommend it sehr viel. Certainly not the easiest film to watch, but beautiful. Go to the cinema, sir.

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David

January 26, 2009 at 2:51 pm

Thanks for the recommendations folks. Hope to see Slumdog this weekend… and Doubt soon. I saw Benjamin Button on Saturday and remain befuddled at its many nominations. A bit too much like Forest Gump in my opinion.

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Catherine

January 27, 2009 at 1:47 pm

It was like Forest Gump…but much much better (IMO)

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Ford

February 9, 2009 at 7:14 pm

Slumdog was fun and made me want to go back to India. It really put me there. It was a fairy-tale to be sure that cheats and manipulates the viewer quite a bit, but most probably won’t notice. I still liked it a lot. For a more realistic depiction of slum life, check out last year’s Chop Shop. Very subtle, very slow, but really good stuff
Milk really should be seen; it’s difficult viewing for a committed Evangelical, but it forced me to think a bit more about how much a Christian’s moral values should influence public policy.
Frost/Nixon suffered from the current trend that equates a shaky camera with realism. Howard also chose to use mock interviews with the actors as if they were the characters, which I don’t think worked. But Langella is good, and the final half hour or so is worth it. It deals with themes of guilt and the necessity for repentance.
Still need to catch up on Button; don’t think I can justify watching the Reader.

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