Finally, Oscar Night!!!

My predictions and the winners when they are announced are posted below . I probably won't do very well but I'll keep myself honest. The nominees with ??? means that I have no idea about that category and haven't seen more than 2 of the movies in the category.

I really think Angelina Jolie should win Best Actress for Changeling but it won't happen because Kate Winslet is "due." Other than that, I pretty much agree with all of the other major categories.

eh 14 out of 24 isn't too bad...I really blew this one. There is always next year.

Winners in Bold

Award Who Won? Who Will Win?

Best Picture Slumdog Millionaire "Slumdog Millionaire"

Actor in a Leading Role Sean Penn "Milk" Sean Penn "Milk"

Actor in a Supporting Role Heath Ledger "The Dark Knight" Heath Ledger "The Dark Knight"

Actress in a Leading Role Kate Winslet "The Reader" Kate Winslet "The Reader"

Actress in a Supporting Role Penelope Cruz "Vicky Christina Barcelona" Viola Davis "Doubt"

Animated Feature Film Wall-E Wall-E

Art Direction The Curious Case of Benjamin Button "The Dark Knight"

Cinematography Slumdog Millionaire"Slumdog Millionaire"

Costume Design The Duchess"The Duchess"

Directing Danny Boyle "Slumdog Millionaire" Danny Boyle "Slumdog Millionaire"

Documentary Feature Man on a Wire "Man on a Wire"??

Documentary Short Smile Pinki"The Final Inch"???

Film Editing Slumdog Millionaire"Milk"

Foreign Language Film Departures "Waltz with Bashir"???

Makeup The Curious Case of Benjamin Button "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"

Music (Song) Jai Ho Slumdog Millionaire"Jai Ho" "Slumdog Millionaire"

Music (Score) Slumdog Millionaire "Slumdog Millionaire"

Short Film (Animated) La Maison en petites cubes "Presto"??

Short Film (Live Action) On the Line"The Pig"??

Sound Editing The Dark Knight "Wall-E"

Sound Mixing Slumdog Millionaire "Wall-E"

Visual Effects The Curious Case of Benjamin Button "The Dark Knight"

Writing (Adapted Screenplay) Slumdog Millionaire "Slumdog Millionaire"

Writing (Original Screenplay) Milk "Milk"

Frozen River

Another average to below average movie. The reason I watched it was because of Melissa Leo who plays Ray Eddy a struggling mother trying to provide for her kids. She does this by becoming a smuggler of illegal aliens (the apparent theme for today's movies) across the Canadian border through the Mohawk Indian reservation. The acting was just okay, even by Leo. The American Indian acting was pretty terrible and overall I give the movie a 1.5 out of 5.

The Visitor

I thought this movie was average. I enjoyed the plot and Richard Jenkins who is nominated for Best Actor was good but he doesn't really compare to the others that are nominated. The acting other than Richard Jenkins was not very good I didn't think. It is about a man (Walter Vale) who is a professor in Connecticut and he hates his job and he has to present a paper in NYC. He somehow has a huge house in Connecticut and an apartment in Manhattan on a professors salary which is mind boggling to me and he drives a Volvo station wagon. Anyway, when he arrives at his apartment there are 2 people living there and they say that they were rented the apartment by someone and instead of calling the Police, Vale lets them stay. Vale and the man (Tarek Khalil played by Haaz Sleiman) become good friends. It turns out that the Khalil and his girlfriend (Zainab played by Danai Gurira) are illegal alins. Khalil ends up being arrested and put in a detention center in Queens. The plot twists so that Khalil's mother and Vale become close as they try to get Khalil out of prison. Overall, I give this movie a 2 out of 5.

Changeling

I really enjoyed this movie. The acting and the plot was great. Angelina Jolie was magnificent and I really think was better than both Meryl Streep and Kate Winslet. I know she is not favored to win the Best Actress Oscar but she should. I still need to see Frozen River before I make my final choice but I was glued to the TV throughout this movie. You could really feel her pain and the supporting cast was great as well. I really thought that Amy Ryan (also on The Office) who played the part of a patient in the asylum was excellent. Changeling is the story of a mother (Angelina Jolie) who's son is kidnapped and then returned to her. Only the boy that is returned to her is not her son and she tries to tell the police and anyone who will listen and she is committed to an insane asylum. I give it a 3 out of 5.

Tropic Thunder

So the only reason I saw this was because Robert Downey Jr. was nominated for Best Supporting Actor. There were several laugh out loud parts and Robert Downey Jr. was pretty hilarious. Overall, I probably wouldn't watch it again but it was a good movie to see after you have been writing a thesis all day. It was definitely mindless and I didn't even notice Tom Cruise until the last scene. That's how out of it I am. 1.5 out of 5.

The Wrestler

This movie was the last movie that I had to see in the theater. I think this was a mistake because I saw the trailer for this movie about 10 times. Not including what I saw on TV. I had really high hopes for this movie because the trailer was awesome and it was built up by one of my friends who then warned me after he saw it that I would be disappointed. Well I was. I was looking for an epic movie, one that I would walk out contemplating this movie for days. I've noticed that when I can immediately write a review, it probably is not that great of a movie. I don't think it is best picture worthy and I don't think that Mickey Rourke should win Best Actor. I don't really think there was much of a resolution to this movie. I'm okay with movies ending this way but I needed something else. I needed another scene or an extra scene before the last scene. I would probably see this movie again but it will definitely not be at the top of my Netflix when it comes out. Overall I give this movie a 2 out of 5.

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

This movie was nominated last year for Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay. It also won several Golden Globes. It is a beautifully filmed movie in mostly first person. It gives the unique perspective of a man who has locked-in syndrome where he can't move or speak but can only blink his eye. It is based on a true story where a man wrote an entire autobiography with this syndrome. When I did some more research, I found that the man's friends say that most of the movie is false but it is still a great film. I would definitely recommend in my mind it would come very close to winning Best Picture this year. I would probably give it a 4 out of 5. It won't be on the ratings because it was nominated last year.






(Thanks Josh for recommending it)