Slumdog Sweeps Oscars

First off, what a brilliant, magnificent show! Didn't catch the name of the guy who directed the Oscars this year but he did a great job. And Hugh Jackman, whaaat?? He did an outstanding job hosting the show. I had no idea before this that he could sing no less perform a hilarious, exhausting number at the start of the show. I'm glad they went with him this year instead of the typical comic. It was good to see the first 10 minutes of the Oscars look more like the Tony Awards. Well done Hugh!

I'm kind of busy right now so I'll keep this post short. Maybe I'll do another Oscars post some time soon. But for now, here are the winners of the 81st Annual Academy Awards.

Best Picture
My prediction: Slumdog Millionaire
Winner: Slumdog Millionaire

Best Director
My prediction: Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire)
Winner: Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire)

Best Actor
My prediction: Sean Penn (Milk)
Winner: Sean Penn (Milk)

Best Actress
My prediction: Kate Winslet (The Reader)
Winner: Kate Winslet (The Reader)

Best Supporting Actor
My prediction: Heath Ledger (The Dark Knight)
Winner: Heath Ledger (The Dark Knight)

Best Supporting Actress
My prediction: Penelope Cruz (Vicky Cristina Barcelona)
Winner: Penelope Cruz (Vicky Cristina Barcelona)

Best Adapted Screenplay
My prediction: Slumdog Millionaire
Winner: Slumdog Millionaire

Best Original Screenplay
My prediction: Milk
Winner: Milk

Best Cinematography
My prediction: Slumdog Millionaire
Winner: Slumdog Millionaire

Best Visual Effects
My prediction: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Winner: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Best Animated Feature Film
My prediction: WALL-E Winner: WALL-E

Best Art Direction
Winner: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Best Costume Design
Winner: The Duchess

Best Film Editing
Winner: Slumdog Millionaire

Best Makeup
Winner: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Best Original Score
Winner: Slumdog Millionaire

Best Original Song
Winner: “Jai Ho” (Slumdog Millionaire)

Best Sound Editing
Winner: The Dark Knight
Best Sound Mixing
Winner: Slumdog Millionaire

Best Foreign Language Film
Winner: Departures

Best Documentary Feature
Winner: Man on Wire

Best Documentary Short
Winner: Smile Pinki

Best Animated Short Film
Winner: La Maison en Petits Cubes

Best Live Action Short Film
Winner: Toyland

Big Winners
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

Congratulations to Slumdog Millionaire on the impressive 8 wins out of 10 categories nominated. The film truly deserved this glorious recognition.

Having gone 11 for 11 for my predictions, I really should've predicted for more categories than 11. Hopefully next year I will. Are you happy with the results? Sound out in the comments.

My Oscar Predictions

Its finally that time again. Oscar time. And what better way to celebrate the Oscars than making predictions on who's going to win. Before reading my predictions, you can check out the list of nominations here.

The way I'll do it is who I think will win and who I would want to win. I hope you enjoy my list. Here we go!


BEST PICTURE
Who will win: Slumdog Millionaire
Who should win: Slumdog Millionaire
Really? Are we doing this? Slumdog is undoubtedly the runaway favorite and deservedly so. A loss would be the biggest upset you could possibly imagine. Also, the runaway winner in the Best Picture poll in the sidebar.


BEST ACTOR
Who will win: Sean Penn (Milk)
Who should win: Mickey Rourke (The Wrestler)
This is a tough one. Sean Penn is more likely to win for his portrayal of Harvey Milk, the first openly gay politician in California. But Mickey Rourke could definitely win this one after such an amazing, personal, committed performance as Randy the Ram, the title character in Darren Aronofsky's brilliant The Wrestler. Or you could look at it the other way- Penn taking it from under the nose of Rourke. In any case, only these two have a chance.


BEST ACTRESS
Who will win: Kate Winslet (The Reader)
Who should win: Kate Winslet (The Reader)
This is another no-brainer. Winslet to take it for her role in Stephen Daldry's holocaust drama The Reader.


BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Who will win: Heath Ledger (The Dark Knight)
Who should win: Heath Ledger (The Dark Knight)
Once again, really? Is there any question? Not only should Ledger win this award just because he's dead, but also because of his out-of-this-world performance as the maniacal Joker in Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight. Anyone who's willing to get into a nurse costume before blowing up a hospital deserves an Oscar.


BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Who will win: Penelope Cruz (Vicky Cristina Barcelona)
Who should win: Amy Adams (Doubt)
Okay this one is a tricky one, trickiest so far. Penelope Cruz has generating tons of buzz as of late with her performance in Woody Allen's Vicky Cristina Barcelona. Having said that, underrated Amy Adams could easily take it away from Cruz as her depiction as a naive nun in John Patrick Shanley's highly-rated Doubt opposite Meryl Streep (nominated for Best Actress, stands no chance) and Phillip Seymour Hoffman (nominated for Best Supporting Actor, even less of a chance). And then theres always Taraji P. Henson. Who you say? Taraji played Queenie, adoptive mother to Benjamin Button (Brad Pitt, also no chance for Best Actor).


BEST DIRECTOR
Who will win: Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire)
Who should win: Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire)
This year is Danny Boyle's year. Simple as that. Nobody's gonna break the stranglehold Boyle's got on that little golden statuette.


BEST ANIMATED FILM
Who will win: WALL-E
Who should win: WALL-E
Kungfu Panda and Bolt never had a chance this whole year. WALL-E was simply in a league of its own.


BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Who will win: Slumdog Millionaire
Who should win: The Dark Knight
I can definitely see why Slumdog will win. But The Dark Knight should win just for its pure awesome-ness.


BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Who will win: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Who should win: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Strangely enough, the only thing I loved about Ben Button was how Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett's appearances were digitally altered. Amazing work.


BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Who will win: Milk
Who should win: WALL-E
Gus van Sant's Milk should have no problem taking this. But the just the possibility of WALL-E winning it makes me feel all fuzzy inside.

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Who will win: Slumdog Millionaire
Who should win: Slumdog Millionaire
Simon Beaufoy gets all the credit for transforming the novel Q & A into such a wonderful story on the big screen.


Well that's all from me now. What did you think of my predictions? Agreed whole-heartedly? Or think I'm full of horse shit? Either way, sound out and comment. Do share these predictions too. Check back Monday night for all the winners from the 81st Annual Academy Awards.

Review: Slumdog Millionaire

Jamal Malik is one question away from winning 20 million rupees.
How did he do it?

A: He cheated
B: He's lucky
C: He's a genius
D: It is written

From brilliant screenwriter Simon Beaufoy and genius British filmmaker Danny Boyle (Trainspotting, Sunshine) comes Slumdog Millionaire, the story of an 18 year-old Mumbai orphan who is in the hot seat having already won 10 million rupees on the local version of 'Who Wants To Be A Millionaire'. Suspected of cheating on the show, Jamal Malik (Dev Patel) is tortured and interrogated by police. Forced into explaining how he answered all the questions, he tells the police that the experiences he had while living his life in the slums of Mumbai were a clue to the questions.

The one thing that truly makes this whole film is how its told in a non-linear form, switching between the depressing and difficult times during Jamal's time in the slums and his curious and uncertain experience on the game show. It was amazing to see how the storyline flashed back whenever the next question was asked, incorporating his past experiences with the question being asked. The clues were discrete yet it stood out and gave a sense of understanding and made me feel that every chapter of his life was being told for a reason. The film is so brilliantly structured it leaves a very deep imprint. Where a typical movie starts off high, dips low then comes up again for the climax, 'Slumdog' starts off amazingly dismal and gloomy then climbs up to a brief period of comic relief and glee before dipping again and finally ending. On a high or low note, you find that out for yourself. not going to spoil it.

Shot on site in India, 'Slumdog' so beautifully illustrates the dirty, compact, upsetting slums of old Bombay as well as the developing, 21st century Mumbai. The slums were depicted so strongly I don't think the film did any favors to Mumbai in the way of tourism. But I think this film puts India in a bad light, highlighting the negative stereotype that is poverty in India. Nevertheless, the cinematography and lighting was simply breathtaking. Half of the film was shot with a handheld which was very obvious in the opening sequences of the movie where the guards are chasing the kids through the slums. The film should win an Oscar for Best Cinematography purely for shooting half of it with a handheld and not screwing it up, let alone making it work beautifully.

Believe you me, you want to be Dev Patel right now. Before this, he was a relatively unknown actor on the British TV show 'Skins'. To sum up his entire performance, he was very passive and laidback, looking extremely comfortable on the big screen like he's been doing this for awhile. Sometimes a performance like this can potentially mess the film up but Patel pulled off the 'less is more' swagger pretty well. Although the lead actor in the film I felt more of an impact from little Jamal (Azharuddin Ismail). While watching him and Salim begging for money running from gangsters, I was thinking where in the world did they find these kids. Their acting was flawless. Even more important, the acting from the kids felt genuine and innocent. They were so cute and at times funny. After reading a little bit, I learned that the kids were from the real slums of Mumbai and were terribly underpaid. They still reside in the slums today. Terrible ain't it? Well Danny Boyle said they were paid three times the salary of the average adult living in their neighborhood. Well thats not saying much considering their neighborhood is a collection of makeshift shacks. Veering off topic here. Enough of that.

Already won a Golden Globe and a BAFTA, the soundtrack for 'Slumdog' is so so so good. Very good. So good I'm listening to it right now. My personal favorite is 'O...Saya' which plays in the sequence where the guards chase the kids through the slums. Composed by A. R. Rahman with contributions from M.I.A., the soundtrack boosts the film and brings out the culture and color of India that much more. Soundtrack- Ah-mazing!

This film proves that a simple story and simple concept can be a great success just as long as its shot in a unique way with a great crew and cast. By far, Slumdog Millionaire is my new favorite film of 2008. Also my pick for best movie of the year. It wholly deserves all its wins so far especially at the Golden Globes and the BAFTAs. I'm very sure it will sweep the Oscars as well.

I urge everyone to watch this if you have not. If you have, please do drop me a comment.

D: It is written

Doctor's prognosis: 9 out of 10 popcorns!

*Check out my preview post with more details and trailer here.

Review: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)
Starring: Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett
Director: David Fincher
Writer: Eric Roth
USA release: 25 December 2008
Msia release: 12 February 2009
Genre: Drama, Fantasy, Romance
Runtime: 166 mins
Rated in USA: PG-13 for brief war violence, sexual content, language and smoking
Rated in Msia: N/A

Loosely based (and I mean very loosely) on a 1921 short-story by F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button follows the life of a man who is born old, grows younger through life and finally dies as an infant. Being a movie that is about the entire life of one man, we don't learn much about Benjamin Button (Brad Pitt). Although the film runs for 2 hours and 46 minutes long, its definitely not enough time to tell the tale of a man's life and have a great deal focus on the character I wish it did.

Benjamin Button is born in New Orleans, Louisiana right after World War I and his mother dies childbirth. Disgusted and upset, Thomas Button ditches his newborn son on the step of an old folks’ home. Benjamin is discovered by a caretaker at the nursing home, Queenie (Taraji P. Henson) and she takes him in and raises him as her own. Not long after, we see Daisy (Cate Blanchett), who is the granddaughter of a resident at the home and is the love of Benjamin's life. Following Benjamin's life story as he grows younger in appearance, he goes off the sea to work on a tugboat and is thrown into World War II when his boat battles and sinks a German U-Boat. Returning home after the war, Banjamin learns that Daisy has moved to New York and become a successful dancer. When Benjamin visits Daisy in a hospital in Paris after she was hit by a taxi, he's turned away by Daisy, telling him to get out of her life. Later when Daisy returns to New Orleans, Benjamin and her share a period of romance where they have a baby girl. Realizing he cannot be a proper father and husband, he leaves Daisy and his daughter behind. With only the clothes on his back, Benjamin travels the world. Later in his life he returns to visit Daisy one last time before growing into a teenager and suffering from dementia. As Benjamin loses all memory of his life, Daisy takes care of him. Finally Benjamin dies as an infant in Daisy's Arms.

With all the hype surrounding this movie, I went into watching it with high hopes and I really thought I was going to love it. At the end of the movie, I wanted to love it but I just didn't. The few problems I had with it were that it was a bit too long, too much time was devoted to some parts of Benjamin's life and that the focus of the of the character was just not sufficient. The acting was very good from Pitt, Blanchett and especially from Taraji P. Henson. I thought Pitt did the southern accent very well. He made it sound very laid back , lazy and original. I didn't quite feel the chemistry between him and Cate Blanchett. It was definitely no where as close to their performance in Babel a few years back.

There were a few unnecessary scenes and sequences that added nothing much to the movie. Like the opening sequence to the movie about the man who made the clock that goes backwards. And the affair with Elizabeth Abbott in Russia. Too much time was spent on Benjamin's childhood and too little on the illustration of the romance between him and Daisy when they're life's paths crossed. I didn't really like the whole idea of the story being constant flashbacks. When I was really getting into the story and the character, we get pulled out into the hospital room where Daisy's daughter is reading Benjamin's diary. The one sequence I did like though, was when Daisy was hit by the taxi. That was the most interesting the movie got for me.

I must say though that the movie was shot beautifully. I really dug the whole old, musky, yellowish aura the movie had. I especially loved the old nursing home. And who's going to deny that the makeup deserves an Oscar. The makeup and visual effects that went into making Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett look old was simply amazing.

My final verdict is that 'Ben Button' was without a doubt an amazingly well done movie. From the cinematography to the set up to the acting to the makeup and visual effects. But for me, it was just not to my liking. Not my cup of tea if you would. So in my eyes, the tale of Benjamin Button is a curious one indeed.

Doctor's diagnosis: 7 out of 10 Popcorns

81st Annual Academy Awards Nominations

Best Picture
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Frost/Nixon
Milk
The Reader
Slumdog Millionaire

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

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

Best Supporting Actor
Josh Brolin - Milk
Robert Downey Jr. - Tropic Thunder
Philip Seymour Hoffman - Doubt
Heath Ledger - The Dark Knight
Michael Shannon - Revolutionary Road

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

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

Best Original Screenplay
Courtney Hunt - Frozen River
Mike Leigh - Happy-Go-Lucky
Martin - In Bruges
Dustin Lance Black - Milk
Andrew Stanton - WALL•E

Best Adapted Screenplay
Eric Roth + Robin Swicord - Benjamin Button
John Patrick Shanley - Doubt
Peter Morgan - Frost/Nixon
David Hare - The Reader
Simon Beaufoy - Slumdog Millionaire

Best Foreign Language
Der Baader Meinhof Komplex
The Class
Departures
Revanche
Waltz with Bashir

Best Animated
Bolt
Kung Fun Panda
WALL•E


Catch The Oscars, hosted by Wolverine himself (Hugh Jackman), a month from today.
Set your calendars. 22 February 2009!

Check out my source for the nominations of the other categories.

More Dark Knight "For Your Consideration" Posters

I personally like the first one more.

For Your Consideration

Its started. The race to the Oscars. A few days ago, Warner Bros. released for your consideration posters for The Dark Knight for Best Picture and Heath Ledger for Best Supporting Actor. Here are the awesome awesome posters.

The Academy Award ballots willed be mailed on December 26th, polls close on January 12th, nominees announced January 22nd and the Oscars will be on February 22nd.