81st Academy Award Nominees

I find it interesting that Iron Man gets nominated for Visual Effects, yet Transformers did not.

man on wire was nominated! Loved that one. Also, wow, slumdog gets 2/3 nominations for best song lol

Just to list the nominees with my initial reactions...

1. Best Picture: "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," "Frost/Nixon," "Milk," "The Reader," "Slumdog Millionaire."

I think they are setting up a Button/Slumdog showdown in which older Academy members will side with the Hollywood epic and the younger constituency will side with the indie film. Indie usually loses.


2. Actor: Richard Jenkins, "The Visitor"; Frank Langella, "Frost/Nixon"; Sean Penn, "Milk"; Brad Pitt, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"; Mickey Rourke, "The Wrestler."

OK, we know Mickey Rourke is going to win but I like Pitt getting a nomination for what I thin kwas the best role of his career. Eastwood got snubbed.


3. Actress: Anne Hathaway, "Rachel Getting Married"; Angelina Jolie, "Changeling"; Melissa Leo, "Frozen River"; Meryl Streep, "Doubt"; Kate Winslet, "The Reader."

Winslet for the Reader and not Revolutionary Road? Really? Considering Revolutionary Road is the good version of American Beauty, that's a surprise. And I'm very pumped for Melissa Leo, who won't win, but she did have the performance of the year in Frozen River.

4. Supporting Actor: Josh Brolin, "Milk"; Robert Downey Jr., "Tropic Thunder"; Philip Seymour Hoffman, "Doubt"; Heath Ledger, "The Dark Knight"; Michael Shannon, "Revolutionary Road."

I'm not sure how Philip Seymour Hoffman was a supporting actor in Doubt, but whatever. Obviously, this is Ledger's award to lose, but I really, really liked Brolin in Milk.

5. Supporting Actress: Amy Adams, "Doubt"; Penelope Cruz, "Vicky Cristina Barcelona"; Viola Davis, "Doubt"; Taraji P. Henson, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"; Marisa Tomei, "The Wrestler."

So close to no noms for the grossly overrated Vicky Cristina Barcelona, only the tenth Woody Allen film to be hyped as the best Woody Allen film in years. Viola Davis has one scene, but it was the best scene of any movie of the year. But Doubt will split its support and Tomei has a real shot.

6. Director: David Fincher, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"; Ron Howard, "Frost/Nixon"; Gus Van Sant, "Milk"; Stephen Daldry, "The Reader"; Danny Boyle, "Slumdog Millionaire."

No love for Aronofsky? As long as Daldry doesn't win, I'm happy. OK, I'll be ticked if Ron Howard wins, too. I would love for Fincher to finally win this thing.

7. Foreign Film: "The Baader Meinhof Complex," Germany; "The Class," France; "Departures," Japan; "Revanche," Austria; "Waltz With Bashir," Israel.

Why Sweden didn't submit Let the Right One In is a mystery. The Class is gonna win, but Waltz With Bashir is simply amazing.

8. Adapted Screenplay: Eric Roth and Robin Swicord, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"; John Patrick Shanley, "Doubt"; Peter Morgan, "Frost/Nixon"; David Hare, "The Reader"; Simon Beaufoy, "Slumdog Millionaire."

A lot of love for the thoroughly mediocre Frost/Nixon. Screenplay usually goes to a risky film that won't win Best Picture, which looks like either Doubt (which did win a Pulitizer) or Slumdog.


9. Original Screenplay: Courtney Hunt, "Frozen River"; Mike Leigh, "Happy-Go-Lucky"; Martin McDonagh, "In Bruges"; Dustin Lance Black, "Milk"; Andrew Stanton, Jim Reardon and Pete Docter, "WALL-E."

Is it me or are the adapted screenplays better? Though it is cool to see In Bruges get nominated. And Wall-E. That's a comedy and a cartoon.


10. Animated Feature Film: "Bolt"; "Kung Fu Panda"; "WALL-E."

No love for Horton?

12. Cinematography: "Changeling," "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," "The Dark Knight," "The Reader," "Slumdog Millionaire."

Dark Knight was seemingly shot without the benefit of light. I'd like to poijnt out that Slumdog is, at points, a simply beautifully shot movie.

No nom for the One Trick Pony song by the Boss

Thank God

I'm just glad that Richard Jenkins got nominated for "The Visitor". He won't win but the nomination is nice.

Surprised that Clint Eastwood got nothing as the academy usually loves him.

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Surprised that Clint Eastwood got nothing as the academy usually loves him.

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That is indeed a shocker. They must be giving him time to have more mantles and cabinets installed.

Props to M.I.A. getting a nomination

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I think they are setting up a Button/Slumdog showdown

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I agree with this but I'm thinking it's leaning towards Slumdog.

I did see the Reader. It's good, but it didn't blow me away, though Winslet and Feines are great, as usual.

I know Button is getting compared to Forrest Gump and there are some obvious parrallels, but I do believe the movies are very different. One of the biggest differences is that Forrest was constantly getting involved in major hisotircal events. Button, by contrast, lives a fairly oridnary life despite the aging backwards. He goes to war, falls in love, raises a family.

In any case, I think they missed the boat not nominating "Gran Torino" for something...anything!