No one has ever not accused the Academy of not being political, or of making good choices in the voting process for the Oscars. This year was no exception.
In a year with mediocre movie nominations, mediocre movies and actors won Oscars.
Heath Ledger supporting actor? They gave him the Oscar the day he died.
Sean Penn best actor in Milk? Give me a break.
Slumdog Millionaire best picture? Has NO ONE in the Academy ever seen a Bollywood movie in the Indie channel before? There are way better movies about Indian life out there.
Kate Winslet best actress? Just because she’s been passed over so many times?
Just the nomination process must be rigged.
Every year I kick myself for watching any of that “show”.
The only film I saw was the Dark Knight and Heath Ledger certainly did not deserve an award from that performance any more than the actors that play Freddy Kruger or Jason in other horror films and those guys were never nominated. The only possible way he gets the win is if all the other nominees just sucked. I didn’t see the other films, but I doubt all of them were as bad as the portrayal in the Dark Knight. In fact, no way he even gets nominated if he was still living.
I totally disagree with you on HL. I thought he was brilliant and the comparison to slasher movies is just plain wrong. I think it’s very easy to go over the top with a character like that, especially in a comic book movie, but he played the part perfectly, IMO. There was talk about how great he played that role even before he died, so I still think he would have been nominated had he not died. Not sure if he would have won (I haven’t seen many of the other films), but he definitely deserved the nomination and I’m very happy he won.
…yes…it is true that at times the Academy does play a bit of politics here and there. However, I completely disagree with you on the selections and winners this year. I’ve seen most of the movies represented, and most people nominated were also nominated by other groups (SAG, Hollywood Foreign Press, etc.) - so there weren’t REALLY big surprises. In a year where I believe they actually had better quality films than years past (more specifically towards the end of the year when the award “hopefuls” got released).
Heath Ledger - absolutely. His character was complex, twisted, and it is a shame he is not here to receive validation for his talents.
Sean Penn - I was a bit surprised by this, as Harvey Milk just seemed like a bit of a gayer representation of “Sam” Perhaps because I’ve seen him take on these roles, I am less excited. I was truly impressed with Brad Pitt’s year this year, and thought Benjamin Button was one of the best movies I’ve seen in a few years (both technically - and for pure story enjoyment - as it was unique).
Slumdog Millionaire - OK, I somewhat agree with you. I really enjoyed the movie, it was put together well. However, the premise is not that unlike many Bollywood movies - kids from the slums somehow make it out of their desperation while finding love in the process. I think they did just enough technically correct (great cinematography, character development, etc.) to finally validate the Bollywood movement. I would have ranked it in my top 5 this year - but definitely not the best. However, it really IS up to the members of the academy and how they perceive it.
Kate Winslet - I think you are so far off here - she is this generation’s Meryl Streep. Probably one of the widest “ranges” of character depiction by a female actor today. If you don’t like her for some reason, I have a feeling you better find a way to accept her - she’s going to be getting nominated quite frequently.
Perhaps you should go look, read, and understand the nomination process. Then go look at the other “award” shows too. You’ll see some very common trends between them, and when people from the industry vote for performances, shows, etc…perhaps those from outside the industry just don’t know what differentiates these people as well as those within?
Anyone else think that Sarah Jessica Parker is ugly? Bleah.
Sorry, she was too pumped up for me to notice last night.
I didn’t watch, but the pics this morning looked boobalicious. She isn’t beautiful but she is attractive.
I mentioned that to a gaggle of women I work with who were in a post-orgasmic haze after a group viewing of the Sex and the City movie. I narrowly avoided a beating.
I mentioned that to a gaggle of women I work with who were in a post-orgasmic haze after a group viewing of the Sex and the City movie. I narrowly avoided a beating.
Sarah Jessica Parker is what happens when women and gay men take it on themselves to decide who is attractive.
Anyone else think that Sarah Jessica Parker is ugly? Bleah.
That bitch done been beat with an ugly stick. She needs to be placed in a stall, given a feed bag and hitched to a wagon. I’d rather have gay horsey sex with Mr. Ed.
