Guess who's back? (maybe)

It has been almost exactly a year. Time for me to give my periodical attempt to revive this blog. Movies are pretty much my favorite thing, and I do enjoy writing about even if no one is reading. As I get older though, it becomes increasingly tough to find the time to fit this into my schedule, especially when it offers no reward exception some sort of vague personal gratification. Regardless, I am going to give this the old college try yet again and I guess we'll see where it goes.

The natural place to start would of course be a wrap up of 2008, but I can honestly say I am still getting caught up on all of last year's offerings. I feel it would be unfair to offer up some sort of numbered list when I am still getting around to viewing some of the year's best reviewed films. The Oscars are coming up soon though, so I thought I would run down a few of the categories and discuss what I have seen.

Best Picture

• The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - Kathleen Kennedy, Frank Marshall, Cean Chaffin
• Frost/Nixon - Ron Howard, Brian Grazer, Eric Fellner
• Milk - Dan Jinks and Bruce Cohen
• The Reader - Anthony Minghella, Sydney Pollack, Redmond Morris, Donna Gigliotti
• Slumdog Millionaire - Christian Colson

- I have only seen two of these (Benjamin Button and Frost/Nixon), but out of those two, I would certainly lean two Benjamin Button. Frost/Nixon was well acted but felt a little slow and uneventful at times. It didn't quite do enough to shake off its roots as a stage play. It worked for Chicago a few years ago though, so who knows? I plan on seeing both Slumdog and Milk as soon as my schedule allows, so perhaps I will amend this if one of them really strikes my fancy, but as of now, I'm going to throw my support behind Benjamin Button in what seemed to be a rather weak year for motion pictures overall.

What about The Reader you ask? Well, the beauty of doing this kind of writing just for fun is I do not have to see every single movie, and frankly The Reader looked about as boring as watching paint dry, so I think I will probably take a pass on that one.

Best Director

• Danny Boyle – Slumdog Millionaire
• Stephen Daldry – The Reader
• David Fincher – The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
• Ron Howard – Frost/Nixon
• Gus Van Sant – Milk

- As stated before, I can only speak on 2 of these movies, but although I haven't seen either picture, I would really have no problem with Boyle or Van Sant winning. They have both spent their careers making films that, while not always successful, and that is to be commended. I would have to go with David Fincher here though, because even though Benjamin Button is probably not his best work. In the 90's, he was making some of the best films in Hollywood, and it will be nice to see him get recognized next weekend.

Best Actor

• Richard Jenkins – The Visitor
• Frank Langella – Frost/Nixon
• Sean Penn – Milk
• Brad Pitt – The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
• Mickey Rourke – The Wrestler

- Judging by the hype, this is a two man race between Penn and Rourke. Frank Langella was good as Nixon, but the fact that Anthony Hopkins already portrayed the same man in a very similar manner will probable hurt his case. Pitt was good as well, but a lot of what made his performance interesting came from special effects. He chooses his roles well anyway, and I have little doubt that he will be nominated again. Harvey Milk is supposedly a career roll for Penn, but the Mickey Rourke cinderella story, combined with the fact that his film was mostly shut out of other major categories, leads me to believe that he will probably be collecting his first statue.

Best Actress

• Anne Hathaway – Rachel Getting Married
• Angelina Jolie – Changeling
• Melissa Leo – Frozen River
• Meryl Streep – Doubt
• Kate Winslet – The Reader

- I have yet to see a single one of these films. I hope that doesn't make me sexist.

Best Supporting Actor

• Josh Brolin – Milk
• Robert Downey, Jr. – Tropic Thunder
• Philip Seymour Hoffman – Doubt
• Heath Ledger – The Dark Knight
• Michael Shannon – Revolutionary Road

- As close to a lock as I can remember in the recent history of this show. Bet your house, your car, your kids, whatever. I don't care if you love or hate the film. Ledger WILL be awarded this Oscar posthumously. I was wondering why exactly Tropic Thunder snuck into this, but it is just filler. As much as these other four nominees matter, you could have given Jason Mewer a nomination for Zack and Miri Make A Porno. Ledger by a mile.

Best Supporting Actress

• Amy Adams – Doubt
• Penélope Cruz – Vicky Cristina Barcelona
• Viola Davis – Doubt
• Taraji P. Henson – The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
• Marisa Tomei – The Wrestler

- Once again, not a whole lot to say here, but I'll play the odds and go with the movie Doubt as my winner.

Besides that, I'd say the only category I can really offer any thoughts on is Best Animated Feature, and I would bet my winnings from Heath Ledger on Wall-E in that category. So if you make a killing taking my advice and betting the Oscars, I expect you to paypal a cut to Chuck.delross@gmail.com.

I think that is it for today since its almost time for me to leave the office, and I certainly wouldn't deign to work on this on my own time. Look for more tomorrow (maybe), although I haven't quite decided what I'll write about.