Oscar post 2009


I enjoyed watching the Academy Awards again this year. As usual, I managed to see most of the contenders prior to award night, and I enjoyed many of the films of 2008, both nominated and not. Overall, not a great movie-going year for this film fan, but a good one.



















The film I'd recommend first is Man On Wire. This documentary is my favorite movie of the year. Philippe Petit is either amazingly brave, or completely alien to this world. Probably a little of both. Either way, this movie was a thrill to watch from start to finish. And one that rewards with repeated viewings. A true gem of a film.


Slumdog Millionaire has captured all the awards both here and around the globe, and rightly so IMHO. I'm glad I hadn't heard much about it before seeing it--it both shocked and engaged me. Not bad for a little indie film. The story of Warner Bros. passing on it (or trying to send it straight to the DVD market) must make the Oscar win that much sweeter for Danny Boyle and his crew. I'm looking forward to seeing this one again soon.


I'm not a big fan of either Ron Howard or Richard Nixon, but I enjoyed Frost/Nixon very much. I agree with all the great things that have been written about it: great script, great acting, excellent directing and a fab supporting cast. A pleasant surprise for me at the theater, and another film I'd recommend for sure.



My only challenge to the "And the Oscar Goes To" list is Meryl Streep for Best Actress. Forget about her 14 previous nominations, her long list of great films, and her two previous Oscar wins: she deserved the statuette this year based solely on her outstanding work in Doubt. She's awesome. Phil Hoffman is also great, but it's the paranoid and cunning Sister Aloysius Beauvier that drives this film forward (and the church backward). If you haven't seen it yet, go.

Honorable mention must also go to: Milk, The Visitor, Wall-E, Iron Man, The Wrestler, Revolutionary Road, The Reader, Tropic Thunder, and The Dark Night.