1.06.2009

EW's "25 Movies You Should See Before Oscar Night"

The list of 25 movies to see before Oscar night from EW's list are as follows:

1. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
2. Slumdog Millionaire
3. Milk
4. Frost/Nixon
5. The Dark Knight
6. Doubt
7. Revolutionary Road
8. WALL-E
9. The Wrestler
10. Gran Torino
11. The Reader
12. Rachel Getting Married
13. Changeling
14. Vicky Cristina Barcelona
15. Tropic Thunder
16. Happy-Go-Lucky
17. The Visitor
18. I've Loved You So Long
19. Frozen River
20. Nothing But the Truth
21. Man on Wire
22. Synecdoche, New York
23. The Duchess
24. Defiance
25. Australia (why is this on the list?!)

So, I've seen 6 of the 25 movies so far. Here's my take on the six:

The Curious Case Benjamin Button was good. I was expecting something profound but didn't get that in the end. It was very Forrest Gump-ish in the way the story was told. I did enjoy it overall despite the 2 hours and 45 min run time. It won't win Best Picture though. Brad Pitt may get nom for Best Actor and Taraji P. Henson (Queenie) for Best Supporting Actress

Rachel Getting Married was good if you like deep family drama with superb acting (Anne Hathaway is really good...should be a lock for a Best Actress nomination.

The Dark Knight was awesome. I loved it. It was a long one but a great ride! Heath Ledger is a shoe-in for Best Supp. Actor Oscar...might get Best Picture nomination.

Wall*E....my favorite by far. I hope it will get a Best Picture nomination. I don't think people realize how much goes into making animated movies these days. The first 30-40 minutes of Wall*E are dialogue free and it's just beautiful. Who would've thought that 2 robots and a roach would be so entertaining. Of course it will win Best Animated...something is seriously F'd up at the Academy if it doesn't!

Milk....really moved me. I had no idea about Gay history...this is Gay History 101. Sean Penn can play anyone...he's a chameleon....he's the male Meryll Streep. He should win Best Actor...and this will get nom for Best Picture...go see it!!

Slumdog Millionaire.......loved it. The way the story is told is very cool. I believe what has captivated most American audiences with this film is learning how life is in India. I know that not all of India is slum-ridden, but wow....I had no idea. The directing is quite amazing and with large a large extras cast it must have been very challenging to coordinate all the large scenes. Slumdog has won most of the critics Best Picture and Best Directing awards....not sure if Oscar will give it to them though. If it does win it will be a triumph for a Bollywood movie. Everyone should see this.

Next on my list is Doubt. I see it tomorrow night.

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