We could see an upset at the Oscars as the late-to-the-party Slumdog Millionare may unseat Benjamin Button for best picture.
Personally, I liked both but Slumdog seemed to be a hidden gem and I loved it.
I hope Slumdog gets it.
The Ultimate Geek, Mr. Statistics himself, Nate Silver says ( www.fivethirtyeight.com ):
Best Picture:
*Slumdog Millionaire…*99.0%
*Milk…*1.0%
*Frost/Nixon…*0.0%
*The Curious Case of Benjamin Button…*0.0%
*The Reader…***0.0% **
I’m still bummed that Gran Torino was snubbed by voters at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences with no — zero — nominations.
Tom, why is everyone loving this movie. I have yet to see it but I have read the book and it seems SO depraved. Every question leads to another situation of cruelty. It’s not even uplifting!
I have read the book and it seems SO depraved. Every question leads to another situation of cruelty. It’s not even uplifting!
Well if you have ever been in or walked through any third world slum, such as Dharavi in Mumbai, you would see that depravtion is really what it’s all about. Not much optimism to be seen. It’s an unsettling and disturbing site that overwhelms every one of your senses and leaves images in your head that will remain their a life-time.
And I should note that Dharavi is a well developned slum - if you can say that - that looks a lot nicer than it really is in the film. It’s been there for many, many years and has become established. The truly aweful ones are the ones that have more recently formed - that have been thrown up and together, by thousands and thousands of squatters and refugees in the past few years. There is such a slum on the outskirts of Mumbai, out near the international airport. You invariably have to take a cab right through the middle of this to get to downtown Mumbai - this is often people’s first image of India, and it’s not a pretty one at all.
There are slums and camps like this in or near almost every major city in the third and developing world. To millions and millions of people, this is home. This is all they know.
Who you got for best actor? It seems like Heath Ledger is the favorite for best supporting actor.
I’d like to see the guy from Frost/Nixon or Sean Penn as best actor.
Saw both too and definitely like Slumdog better…
Agreed, think Pitt is actually a very good actor along with Cate Blanchett but Slumdog was IMO a far better movie, better paced, better cinematography, entertaining, gripping and so on and so forth.
Its bloody annoying that Gran Tourino is not out here until post Oscars but c’est la vie…
Great movie but still very much in the Hollywood-style and rife with plot and characters seen before many times. But at least it opens more eyes than films like Titanic or Forrest Gump, so I give it credit. It’s great to see good films about poorer parts of the world not only get noticed, but actually get millions of viewers.
Funny you say that since Gandhi is one of the all time great in the number of oscars 
.
I think it depends on the year. Lately its been more like “The Departed” and “Crash,” very American-style films set in contemporary times, plus some history stuff like “Last King of Scotland” … I haven’t seen Gandhi in many years but as I recall it is like Schindler’s List: History done very well. (Schindler is one of the best films ever) Forrest Gump & Titanic are more just spectacles. I would put Slumdog above those 2 but well below Schindler.
I really hope Mickey Rourke wins best actor. I’ve seen most of the movies which have nominees for best picture, best actor, etc…and Rourke’s portrayal in the Wrestler was, imho, far and above the others.
screw that… they should cancel that stupid game show and get back to helping me dafrag my hard drive on the 800# tech line…
Just another T-Rex recyle…
hey retardo, well actually my hard drive is still jacked up…