Oscar Blah-minations (Get It?)

Once again, the Oscar nominations do not fail to disappoint. Without seeing every movie nominated my opinion may lack perspective. But here it is:

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

I'm thrilled to see Richard Jenkins nominated, if only because I love him so much in Six Feet Under (he was also terrific in Burn After Reading). Ben Kingsley would have been nice for his work in Elegy.

BEST ACTRESS
Anne Hathaway - Rachel Getting Married
Angelina Jolie - Changeling
Melissa Leo - Frozen River
Meryl Streep - Doubt
Kate Winslet - The Reader

Of all the movies nominated this year, Rachel Getting Married is the one I'm most disappointed I haven't seen yet. Again, I think Elegy and Penelope Cruz is sadly overlooked.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Josh Brolin - Milk
Robert Downey Jr. - Tropic Thunder
Phillip Seymour Hoffman - Doubt
Heath Ledger - The Dark Knight
Michael Shannon - Revolutionary Road

I actually think Downey Jr.'s nomination is kinda inspired. It certainly isn't the kind of performance you see very often. Hoffman was excellent in Doubt. I'm pretty certain at this point Ledger will win. The amount of praise heaped on him at this point is almost at ridiculous levels. I certainly won't be upset by his win, though.

BEST 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

I haven't seen Vicky Cristina Barcelona, and I haven't really heard anything about it that would make me want to see it. But if Cruz got her nomination for this and not Elegy, maybe there's something there worth checking out. If I remember correctly, Viola Davis is only in one scene in Doubt. But it is the most emotionally charged scene in the whole film.
Did I say Rachel Getting Married is the film I wanted to see the most? Make that The Wrestler.

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
Bolt
Kung Fu Panda
Wall-E

There should be no doubt about who is taking home the Oscar here. Kung Fu Panda was very entertaining, but you can't touch Pixar.

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

Great. I haven't seen a single one of these movies.

BEST FEATURE DOCUMENTARY
The Betrayal (Nerakhoon) - Ellen Kuras, Thavisouk Phrasavath
Encounters at the End of the World - Werner Herzog, Henry Kaiser
The Garden - Scott Hamilton Kennedy
Man on Wire - James Marsh, Simon Chinn
Trouble the Water - Tia Lessin, Carl Deal

I've seen Encounters and Man on Wire. Both good movies, I hope Man on Wire takes it.

BEST SONG
WALL-E - "Down to Earth"
Slumdog Millionaire - "Jai Ho"
Slumdog Millionaire - "O Saya"

Clearly I think "Down to Earth" should win (Peter Gabriel, baby!). But one of those Slumdog songs will probably win. People are shitting themselves over that movie, and with two songs nominated it has the edge.

BEST PICTURE
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Frost/Nixon
Milk
The Reader
Slumdog Millionaire

This may be the first year ever I haven't seen any of the Best Picture nominees. Nothing I have heard or seen about Benjamin Button would have led me to believe it would garner so many nods. I'm going with Milk at this point, because it's the only one I've heard nothing but good about. Maybe I'll re-post after I've caught up.

I continue to grow more apathetic about the Oscars every year. The trend continues. None of the movies I really cared about this year were really represented. In Bruges rightfully picked up a Best Original Screenplay nomination, but I'm almost certain it won't win. I'm happy to see Doubt pick up as many as it did, but Elegy was completely ignored. I have severe doubts about Slumdog, Benjamin Button, and Frost/Nixon all being that great. But I guess I can't talk until I've actually seen them.

Tropic Thunder

Man, was this over-hyped or what? Very entertaining, but not nearly as funny as I'd been led to expect. Tom Cruise was more of a gimmick than actually funny. The "Simple Jack" schtick was funny the first time and then overused into the ground. I really wish that hadn't been such a large part of the story.

Anyway, on to the good. Robert Downey Jr. was fantastic. I was worried that they showed all of his good stuff in the trailer, but he gives a damn good performance. Jack Black is given some great stuff to do (particularly the bat scene). There's a great twist with Steve Coogan. Nick Nolte is great at the beginning as the most hardened Vietnam vet of all time. The movie looks good, it's very well produced. Great soundtrack.

You probably all saw this before me, but if you haven't I recommend it. It's a good time.

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang

After reading this, I decided to pick up a copy of Kiss Kiss Bang Bang at McKay's. It was three dollars, and possibly the best deal I've ever gotten in the store.

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang received some warm critical attention when it came out in 2005, but it wasn't a huge success at the box office, and I never got around to seeing it. But now I have, and I loved it.

I won't say too much, since the article linked above does a pretty decent job. Robert Downey Jr. and Val Kilmer give excellent performances. In fact, I can't remember liking Kilmer in anything this much in a long time. It's really a shame the movie didn't do better in the theaters (and the fact it was so cheap at McKay's says something about it's success on video as well). The script is hilarious. Not only is the dialogue incredibly clever, but there are some fantastic, unexpected physical gags as well. Once the mystery starts revealing itself things get a little muddy, but it doesn't really matter. The story kind of takes a back seat anyway, and just lets the character and the style of the movie take over.

If you haven't seen this yet, it's definitely worth the price of a rental. Or at least moving to the top of your queue on Netflix, or whatever it is the kids are doing these days.

Iron Man

I went to see Iron Man last night. This is the first time I've gone to see a big movie since...I'm not sure. I don't get out to movies as much these days, unfortunately. But that's the result of having to buy tickets after getting them free for six years.

The trailers were a mixed bag. A movie like Iron Man (probably the most anticipated blockbuster outside of Dark Knight and Crystal Skull) is supposed to have great trailers. You can usually count on seeing something new before any major release. That was almost the case here.

The first trailer was a brand new one for The Love Guru, which has the distinction of being the lamest-looking movie of the year. I groaned and gritted my teeth and waited for the wretched thing to end. Fortunately, any trailer following this one would have to be amazing, if only by comparison, right?

Unfortunately that next trailer was You Don't Mess With The Zohan. Terrible.

Then things picked up with Speed Racer. I'll see it on the Imax, and likely enjoy it. But I doubt it's going to blow me away.

Then there was the new Incredible Hulk trailer. This movie looks like it will be fun. It will also be kind of stupid. But then the Hulk is kind of a stupid character. I've never been a huge fan. I don't read the comics much, because they all pretty much amount to the same thing. When is the Hulk going to go off again, and how much damage will he create this time? It's hard to create a lot of character depth when your character's main feature is that he is really angry. Like, all the time.

That was followed by the new Dark Knight trailer which somehow makes me want to see the movie even more than I did before. I didn't know that was possible. Regardless of how much Heath Ledger's death casts a shadow over this movie, his performance is going to be simultaneously hilarious and creepy as all hell. Also, it's official: Two Face is in the movie, but I don't think that was really a secret at this point. There are two very brief shots in the trailer to look for. One is Harvey Dent just before he becomes Two Face, and the other is Two Face driving a car and holding a large revolver. But you only see him in profile from his good side, so you have to look carefully for the scars.
This is definitely my most anticipated movie of the summer.

The final preview, and second most anticipated movie, was Indiana Jones: Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. It's basically just a longer version of the tv spot that's been online for awhile. It looks cool, I guess. I'm just being very reserved about this one. It's been a long, long time since George Lucas had his name attached to anything worthwhile. And I love the Indiana Jones movies, even the often-mocked Temple of Doom. I just don't want to be let down, so I'm not getting my hopes up. Some of the scenes look very computery, which may prevent the film from fitting in with the rest of the series. We'll See.

So it was cool to see new trailers for some really cool movies, but I was hoping to see something brand new. Oh well. The summer is just getting started.

On to the main feature!

I don't have too much to say about Iron Man. I've been behind the movie since it was first revealed who was attached to star and direct. And all of the hype leading up to the release sounded very promising. This is probably the least controversial comic book movie ever developed, as far as fan reactions. I'm kind of late coming to the Marvel universe as a reader, but it seemed like even the hardcore Iron Man fans were behind this one from the start.

Fortunately all of that support is payed back in full. Iron Man is one of the best comic book movie adaptations to come out. It is on par with Batman Begins, Spiderman I & II, and X2. In some ways it is better than all of those. It is perfectly cast, right down to the smallest role. All of the characters are set up very well, and you really want all of the characters to be expanded in the sequels. In other words there is no dead weight. Most comic book movies, no matter how good, contain some bloat. This is usually a result of just trying to cram as much of the comics' lengthy history into the story as possible. Iron Man isn't as popular of a title as something like X-Men, or Spiderman, so it's easier to trim the fat without losing much of the comic's essence.

The only real problem with the film, if you can even call it a problem, is that origin stories are never the best stories comic books have to offer. They are necessary, and sometimes very cool (and Iron Man's definitely is), but they lack the weight that the characters potentially have to offer. Scenes of novice super hero misfires can be very entertaining if handled right. That's something Spiderman did very well, and Iron Man has some equally funny moments. But ultimately we want to see these characters be super heroic. Iron Man has some great action moments in this movie, but it's really just a taste of what you know he's capable of. It keeps you wanting more, in the best way.

Robert Downey Jr. is awesome as Tony Stark. He is the funniest character in a comic book movie to date, and also has some very real issues. Iron Man is a great character, not because of the cool suit, but because of the person inside it. And you really care about him in this. It's also fun to see a billionaire super hero who actually really enjoys being a billionaire super hero. Batman is awesome, but why does Bruce Wayne have to be such a downer? Tony Stark has his problems, but he doesn't sit around moping all the time.

I really hope they start making the sequel as soon as possible. This film is a great setup for things to come.