2009 Oscar Results

Best Picture: “Slumdog Millionaire”
Best Director: Danny Boyle, “Slumdog Millionaire”
Best Actor: Sean Penn, “Milk”
Best Actress: Kate Winslet, “The Reader”
Best Supporting Actor: Heath Ledger, “The Dark Knight”
Best Supporting Actress: Penelope Cruz, “Vicky Cristina Barcelona”
Best Adapted Screenplay: “Slumdog Millionaire”
Best Original Screenplay: “Milk”
Best Art Direction: “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
Best Cinematography: “Slumdog Millionaire”
Best Costume Design: “The Duchess”
Best Film Editing: “Slumdog Millionaire”
Best Makeup: “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
Best Music (Original Score): “Slumdog Millionaire”Best Music (Original Song): “Jai Ho” from “Slumdog Millionaire”
Best Sound Editing: “The Dark Knight”
Best Sound Mixing: “Slumdog Millionaire”
Best Visual Effects: “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
Best Animated Feature Film: “WALL-E”
Best Foreign Language Film: “Departures”
Best Documentary Feature: “Man on Wire”
Best Documentary Short: “Smile Pinki”
Best Short Film (Animated): “La Maison en Petits Cubes”Best Short Film (Live Action): “Toyland”

Tally:
“Slumdog Millionaire” — 8
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” — 3
“The Dark Knight,” “Milk” — 2“Departures,” “The Duchess,” “Man on Wire,” “The Reader,” “Vicky Cristina Barcelona,” “WALL-E” — 1

Push ***

Cast: Chris Evans, Dakota Fanning, Camilla Belle, Djimon Hounsou, Neil Jackson, Cliff Curtis, Ming-Na, Nate Mooney
Director: Paul McGuigan
Running Length: 1:51
MPAA Classification: PG-13

Nick (Evans) is a “mover” – someone who can move things with his mind. He meets up with Cassie (Fanning), a “watcher” – someone who can predict the future. She is trying to rescue her mother from the government, but as they try to piece things together, Kira (Belle) enters their lives. Kira is a “pusher” – someone who can influence others thoughts. She also had a relationship with Nick, and is the only person to survive a power “enhancement” drug that was administered to her by the sinister Company. Now, the Company is after her, and Nick and Kira must help her if they want to survive.

“Push” is a gritty looking superhero movie that is not based on any existing comic book (for a change). It is fast paced and rich in mythology. Evans, who has some experience in these types of movies, is credible as Nick. Fanning, who is great in any movie she appears in, can add action star to her resume. The story is full of backstory, but that does not slow down the almost nonstop action. The gritty look adds to the feel of the film, and works well. “Push” is a surprisingly good film, and I recommend checking it out.

He’s Just Not That Into You **1/2

Cast: Ginnifer Goodwin, Jennifer Aniston, Jennifer Connelly, Scarlett Johansson, Drew Barrymore, Ben Affleck, Bradley Cooper, Justin Long, Kevin Connolly, Kris Kristofferson
Director: Ken Kwapis
Running Length: 2:05
MPAA Classification: PG-13

Gigi (Goodwin) is getting dating advice from Alex (Long). Beth (Aniston) has been living with her boyfriend Neil (Affleck) for years, but he shows no signs of proposing marriage. Janine (Connelly) and Ben (Cooper) are married and have just bought a new house; but Ben is cheating on her with Anna (Johansson). Anna is currently seeing Connor (Connolly), but it isn’t that serious.

Like “Love, Actually” before it, “He’s Just Not That Into You” weaves multiple, related storylines together dealing with love and relationships. Unfortunately, it does not do so as well, and runs about fifteen minutes too long. There is a lot of star power here, and they do the best they can with what they are given, but only about half of the story lines work in any real way. Still, there is enough here to entertain many. This is best left for DVD if it must be seen.

Coraline 3-D ***1/2

Cast (voices): Dakota Fanning, Teri Hatcher, Jennifer Saundes, Dawn French, Keith David, John Hodgman, Robert Bailey Jr., Ian McShane
Director: Henry Selick
Running Length: 1:40
MPAA Classification: PG

Coraline Jones (Fanning) and her family have just moved to an old mansion in the middle of nowhere. Her mother (Hatcher) and father (Hodgman) are writers with little time for her, so she spends her days exploring. She meets a lot of strange people that living in the area, including the next-door neighbor, Wybie Lovat (Bailey) and his cat; two sisters (Saunders and French); and the "circus man," Mr. Bobinsky (McShane). But, the most interesting thing that she finds is a hidden door that appears to lead nowhere, until one night it leads her through a portal to her “Other Mother” and “Other Father”. They only want to make her happy, but things may be too good to be true.

“Coraline” is the first stop-motion animated film made in 3-D, and it looks spectacular. It looks almost computer animated, but with rich textures that computer animation doesn’t provide. The animation is incredibly smooth, and everything looks amazing. Director Selick is known for his work with stop-motion animation, and has taken things to the next level here. The voice talents all do wonderful jobs bringing their characters to life. The story is for all ages and not predictable. I highly recommend “Coraline” for both children and adults, but be sure to see it in 3-D.

The Wrestler ***1/2

Cast: Mickey Rourke, Marisa Tomei, Evan Rachel Wood
Director: Darren Aronofsky
Running Length: 1:49
MPAA Classification: R

Randy “The Ram” Robinson (Rourke) is a past-his-prime professional wrestler who is now performing in small venues and doing signings for a living. He still thinks he can regain the glory of 20 years ago, but a heart attack tells him differently. His doctor tells him give up wrestling or die. He does not know any other way of life, but gets a job at a deli counter to make some extra money. He also attempts to reconnect with his estranged daughter (Wood) and start a relationship with a stripper (Tomei) with whom he is friends. Her life parallels his, as she is past her prime in the stripping business, and maybe that is enough of a connection for them to start something.

“The Wrestler” is a great comeback for Rourke, and a great acting showcase for both him and Tomei. They both bare theor souls in their troubled characters. The movie’s inside look into the world of wrestling is fascinating, especially the behind-the-scenes stuff. Director Darren Aronofsky uses a minimalist approach to filming, and that suits the story well. This is a solid film filled with great performances. I highly recommend it.

Doubt ****

Cast: Meryl Streep, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams, Viola Davis
Director: John Patrick Shanley
Running Length: 1:45
MPAA Classification: PG-13

At Saint Nicholas Church School, Sister Aloysius Beauvier (Streep) is the principal. She is an old-school nun who sees sin just about everywhere she looks. Sister James (Adams) is a new and impressionable nun who is very idealistic. When she sees something that may be inappropriate between Father Brendan Flynn (Hoffman), a progressive priest, and a student, she confides in Sister Aloysius. Sister Aloysius then takes on Father Flynn, who professes his innocence.

“Doubt” is an intense drama with amazing performances. Streep, Hoffman, Adams, and Davis (as the boy’s mother) all deliver Oscar nominated performances. Those nominations are all well deserved. The story works so well because of the doubt that is present. Did Father Flynn act inappropriately? Or is Sister Aloysius just on a witch hunt, seeing what she wants to see? The movie forces the viewer to think and come to their own conclusions. This is a great film, and is definitely worth seeing.

Inkheart **1/2

Cast: Brendan Fraser, Eliza Hope Bennett, Paul Bettany, Helen Mirren, Andy Serkis, Jim Broadbent, Sienna Guillory
Director: Iain Softley
Running Length: 1:46
MPAA Classification: PG

Mo Folchart (Fraser) and his daughter Meggie (Folchert) travel the world in search of the hard to find book “Inkheart”. He is a silvertongue, and when Meggie was younger, Mo read from the book and brought the story to life. But, when something comes out of the story, something, or someone, must take its place. In this case, it was his wife, Resa (guillory). They are chased by two characters from the book, the evil Capricorn (Serkis), who wants to rule the real world, and Dustfinger (Bettany), who just wants to go home. With the help of Mo’s Great Aunt Elinor (Mirren), they set out to find the author of the book (Broadbent) to set things right.

“Inkheart” could have been much better. The solid cast is there, and they all do credible jobs in their roles. The effects are there – they are as good as any special effects laden film of late. The problem lies in the story. Not that it is bad; one just gets the feeling that something was lost in the translation from book to film. I have been told that things have been changed, and I cannot help but think that they were for the worse. The ending itself suffers from what “Hellboy II” suffered from: a sense that things could have been resolved much earlier and easier given what resolves things. (Of course “Hellboy II” was a better film and able to overcome this problem.) If more movies are made in this series, the moviemakers need to tighten the story a little more and stay truer to the author’s original vision.

Slumdog Millionaire ***1/2

Cast: Dev Patel, Freida Pinto, Madhur Mittal, Anil Kapoor
Director: Danny Boyle
Running Length: 2:00
MPAA Classification: R

Jamal Malik (Patel) is a “slumdog” – a poor boy – from the streets of Mumbai. And yet, when he ends up on the Indian version of “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?”, he answers enough questions correctly to get to the final round. He wins 10 million rupees before time runs out for the episode. He will need to come back the next day for the final question, but as he is leaving the studio, the police take him in for questioning. They are sure that he has cheated, given his roots. After a torture session, he begins to recount how he has come to know the answers to the questions. This involves a flashback tour of his life that includes two other significant players: his brother Salim (Mittal) and the girl he loves, Latika (Pinto).

“Slumdog Millionaire” is a well told story of a boy’s attempt to make it from the slums of India and find the girl of his dreams. Despite its early gloominess, it is surprisingly uplifting. Crossing genres, this film is a romance, mystery, and thriller all at once. The framing of the story around the questions of the game show adds to its uniqueness. The actors, while not grizzled veterans, embody their characters and are thoroughly likeable. “Slumdog Millionaire” is very much worth checking out. It is the Oscar favorite for best picture, and I would not be surprised if it walks away with the trophy.

Underworld: Rise of the Lycans ***

Cast: Michael Sheen, Bill Nighy, Rhona Mitra, Steven Mackintosh, Kevin Grevioux
Director: Patrick Tatopoulos
Running Length: 1:32
MPAA Classification: R

Hundreds of years before the first “Underworld” movie, werewolves were slaves to the vampires, led by Viktor (Nighy). The werewolf Lucian (Sheen) is the favored slave of Viktor. They maintain a respectable relationship despite their differences. Unbeknownst to Viktor, Lucian and Viktor’s daughter Sonja (Mitra) are in love. They sneak off to be together even though relationships between vampires and warewolves is forbidden. Their relationship prompts Lucien to remove his collar and go after when she is in danger. Despite saving her, Lucien is punished like the rest of the warewolves. This plants the seeds for their uprising.

“Underworld: Rise of the Lycans” is a movie that probably does not need to be made. The story was laid out quickly in the first “Underworld” movie. That being said, “Rise of the Lycans” is surprisingly entertaining. Nighy and Sheen are doing the overacting that fans of the series have come to love. There are plenty of actions scenes. And, this time, the film is a bit of a period piece. Shakespeare this ain’t, but I do not think that fans of the series will be disappointed.

Gran Torino ***1/2

Cast: Clint Eastwood, Bee Vang, Ahney Her, Christopher Carley
Director: Clint Eastwood
Running Length: 1:55
MPAA Classification: R

Walt Kowalski (Eastwood) is a grumpy old man whose wife has just died. He now lives with only his dog, and barely speaks with his family. The neighborhood where he lives is changing. There are more gangs and the population is becoming more diverse – two things which don’t please Walt at all. He doesn’t get along well with the Asian family next door, and when the son, Thao (Vang) tries to steal his 1972 Gran Torino, things get even cooler. But, after saving Thao from a gang, things change. Soon Thao is working for Walt doing chores, and his sister Sue (Her) is hanging out with Walt. The family is grateful for what Walt has done, but the gang is still out there, and they are not so easily dissuaded.

“Gran Torino” is a great showcase for Clint Eastwood. He makes the movie, and is the reason to see it. The grumpy, irritable Walt is a real piece of work, and his transformation is effective and believable. The supporting cast does a good job, but they are far outshined by Eastwood. The story is interesting and believable, and does not have a cheap (or cop-out) ending. Supposedly this is Eastwood’s last acting role. If that is the case, get out there and see “gran Torino.” You will not be disappointed.