One the eve of the Thanksgiving holiday, Oscar bloggers have stepped into the Best Picture arena. If you're an Oscar enthusiast which movies should you make a point to see? Sasha Stone at Awards Daily has this list:
Milk
Slumdog Millionaire
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Revolutionary Road
The Dark Knight
The Reader
Frost/Nixon
Doubt
Rachel Getting Married
Gran Torino
The Wrestler
Of these, I've seen "The Dark Knight" and "Rachel Getting Married." In reverse: "Rachel Getting Married" was a moving and deeply difficult film to watch. It was over-long, which was its only fault. Anne Hathaway, Rosmarie Dewitt and Debra Winger give outstanding performances. Jonathan Demme, of "The Silence of the Lambs" fame, made a very fine film. But I cannot imagine it as a Best Picture contender. If it belongs on this list, so does "The Visitor."
As for "The Dark Knight," it's one of the best films of the year. I can already tell you that it will be very high on my annual top 10, and when I saw it I thought it had it all. Initially it was regarded for Heath Ledger's performance, but if you see the film again (and you'll probably have a chance in January) you'll notice how complete Chris Nolan's Batman-pic is. If it's fair to compare it to "The Departed," the Best Picture winner a few years back, "The Dark Knight" is better in every respect. Which is to say that I am pulling for it. But because it's a comic book film, the strange Academy may ignore it for the big prize (although you can book Mr. Ledger's win.)
Guy Lodge over at InContention.com has this response.
Milk
Slumdog Millionaire
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Revolutionary Road
The Dark Knight
The Reader
Frost/Nixon
Doubt
Rachel Getting Married
Gran Torino
The Wrestler
Of these, I've seen "The Dark Knight" and "Rachel Getting Married." In reverse: "Rachel Getting Married" was a moving and deeply difficult film to watch. It was over-long, which was its only fault. Anne Hathaway, Rosmarie Dewitt and Debra Winger give outstanding performances. Jonathan Demme, of "The Silence of the Lambs" fame, made a very fine film. But I cannot imagine it as a Best Picture contender. If it belongs on this list, so does "The Visitor."
As for "The Dark Knight," it's one of the best films of the year. I can already tell you that it will be very high on my annual top 10, and when I saw it I thought it had it all. Initially it was regarded for Heath Ledger's performance, but if you see the film again (and you'll probably have a chance in January) you'll notice how complete Chris Nolan's Batman-pic is. If it's fair to compare it to "The Departed," the Best Picture winner a few years back, "The Dark Knight" is better in every respect. Which is to say that I am pulling for it. But because it's a comic book film, the strange Academy may ignore it for the big prize (although you can book Mr. Ledger's win.)
Guy Lodge over at InContention.com has this response.
