Derek Bodner’s Blog

Went to see AMC’s Best Picture Showcase, which had all 5 best picture nominees in succession. Believe it or not, I was able to sit in a movie theater for 14 hours and not go stir-crazy.

There will be spolers, so if you haven’t seen these movies and don’t want to be spoiled, don’t read on. Otherwise, click Read More.

Thoughts:

I actually, more or less, liked all 5. I have some nitpicking things about each, but more or less I thought they were all good movies.

I thought Slumdog was the most realized and engaging movie. This was the one that had me the most entertained throughout, and at no point did I go “if they had just done this”, which was the only movie of the 5 to do so. Just a good, well told story. If I had to pick a best movie of the year, it would probably be it.

I thought the second best was probably Milk. Obviously, having a compelling, heart-tugging tale helps any movie, and it would have taken an absolute disastrous performance not to feel some sympathy towards the title character. But the performance was the polar opposite. This movie can be boiled down quite easily. Great real story, with real, non-manufactured emotion, + Sean Penn = great movie. My only minor complaint is I thought they would have done more with the Dan White character. Brolin was fine (although not superb, IMO), but I would have liked more airtime dedicated to his personal feelings towards Milk and the movement he represented. Was he prejudiced? Or was his action ONLY the result of his career?

Those two I thought were head and shoulders above the other 3. I thought those were “best picture” worthy movies. The other 3 I thought were “only” really good movies, and at about the same level.

Frost/Nixon I thought was the most compelling story, and the perspective of doing the Nixon saga from a series of real-life interviews was good. It had the opportunity to be boring (if you’re not already interested in the subject), but I thought it kept you engaged. I thought, at times, they went into stereotypical Nixon’isms, and almost presented him as a caricature of himself at times. I wasn’t blown away by either Michael Sheen (David Frost) or Frank Langella (Richard Nixon), although I do think Langella did a good job of showing Nixon’s shame and regret through facial expressions, without coming out and saying it.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button was, well, the most curious. This is the one I probably have the least read on. I would have to watch this again to truly judge whether this was a great movie, or just a great concept. Certainly, the concept gave an entirely new slant on a love story, and Brad Pitt did a tremendous job on playing different stages of the character, both physically and emotionally. But the thing I don’t have a read on is whether or not they sold the “I have to leave you because the kid needs a father, not a playmate” thing. To me, the entire movie hinges on whether or not Blanchett and Pitt effectively pull off the necessity of Pitt running off, and I’d have to re-watch the film to judge based on that. I also don’t think the film is necessarily deep, as it’s sometimes being labeled. It’s a gimmick, and it’s a gimmick that’s pulled off successfully, but at its heart, it’s a simple love story, and not overly profound as much as it is entertaining.

The Reader I thought was the most unrealized of the 5. I went in purposefully not being spoiled. I knew it was about Nazi Germany, but I didn’t know the plot twist. And I thought the plot twist had a heckuva lot of potential, and in the end was a good, thought provoking movie. But I couldn’t help but want more. Want more of Hanna Schmitz’s story. I wanted to know more about what she knew, what she felt about what she did, and how much remorse she felt. In the end, the focus really was on her learning to read, and the title was descriptive. Which is fine, a good story, but the more interesting parts of the story were left largely ignored. I thought they setup the revelation well, with how quiet and reserved Hannah was, but would have preferred a little more analysis of Hannah from the trial forward. I do think they successfully pulled off the heart-tugging end, with Michael’s outward disapproval of Hannah’s actions, and Hannah’s ensuing heart-break. I just thought there was more to the movie that could have been tapped, making a good film great.

I also do think The Dark Knight was at least in the class of Button, The Reader, and Frost/Nixon. But the moment the lead character put on a mask and cape, any Oscar hope was dashed. The Oscar’s reward thought-provoking stories, and great real-life retelling’s. But that’s part of the argument for The Dark Knight in my opinion. It so far exceeded the genre it’s in, that it deserved consideration. The 3 movies I enjoyed most this year were Slumdog, Milk, and The Dark Knight. It would be nice if one day the Academy could get past that. Take out the chase scene (which, coincidentally, I thought was the weakest part of the movie), and the movie really was more in the genre of Silence of the Lambs and Seven than it was Superman. It was a movie about terrorism and fear, the main two characters just happened to be wearing a cape, mask and makeup. I’m not sure it deserved to win, but it deserved to be in the running IMO.

I do think Slumdog wins (and deserves) best picture. I think Penn deserves the award for best lead actor (although I haven’t seen The Wrestler). And I’d be shocked of Ledger doesn’t win best supporting actor, and deservedly so.