2009 Academy Award Winners - The "Oscars"

[robbalvey]

Here are the winners -

 

Best Picture - Slumdog Millionaire

Best Foreign Language Film - Departures - Japan

Best Documentary Feature - Man on Wire

Best Animated Feature - WALL·E

Best Director - Danny Boyle - Slumdog Millionaire

Best Actor in a Leading Role - Sean Penn - Milk

Best Actress in a Leading Role - Kate Winslet - The Reader

Best Actor in a Supporting Role - Heath Ledger - The Dark Knight

Best Actress in a Supporting Role - Penélope Cruz - Vicky Cristina Barcelona

Best Writing - Original Screenplay - Dustin Lance Black - Milk

Best Writing - Adapted Screenplay - Simon Beaufoy - Slumdog Millionaire

Best Art Direction - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Best Cinematography - Slumdog Millionaire

Best Costume Design - The Duchess

Best Documentary Short - Smile Pinki

Best Animated Short - La Maison En Petits Cubes

Best Live Action Short - Toyland

Best Film Editing - Slumdog Millionaire

Best Makeup - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Best Original Score - Slumdog Millionaire

Best Original Song - "Jai Ho" from Slumdog Millionaire

Best Sound Editing - The Dark Knight

Best Sound Mixing - Slumdog Millionaire

Best Visual Effects - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

 

Discuss!

[spaceace12]

I have nothing to share...didn't see any of those.

[Mr. Starr]

WALL-E was literally one of the best movies I've seen. I mean, it's robot love, but it was totally awesome!

[SixFlagsTexas]

I felt that all those who won deserved it, but I would have liked to have seen Wally Pfister win for cinematography and for Wall-E to win an award for sound.

 

Also, one thing I've always wanted to do was see a screening of all the animated and live action shorts that were nominated for an Academy Award. It's just I'm not sure if a theatre here in the DFW area that will do that.

 

I also need to see Man on Wire now too...

[Erik Johnson]

This is the first year in a long time that I have not seen a single one of the movies that was nominated. I just think that last year's set had a lot more appeal for me.

[cfc]

It was a pretty weak crop this year; to be quite frank, I thought Wall-E was the best flick of the bunch. I was really pulling for Mickey Rourke and Marisa Tomei, too.

 

I agree with Tyler about Slumdog--it's a good movie, but I really doubt anyone is going to remember much about it in the next year or two. The plot was similar to one of those "good brother/bad brother" gangster flicks Warners used to make in the 1930s with, say, Jimmy Cagney and Pat O'Brien.

[Mechanic]

I only saw WALL-E and The Dark Knight. Both were worth seeing, but nothing that knocked my socks off. The only other movie from that list that I'm somewhat interested in is The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. To those that have seen any of the other movies, am I really missing anything?

[Jds03]

I'm so glad Heath Ledger won for The Dark Knight. There was just so much originality in his character yet he fit into the role we knew as the joker. His character was what really made The Dark Knight feel so fresh to me, so I'm really glad he got that award, even if he can’t be there to accept it.

[downunder]

I haven't seen any of the nominated films.

 

I'm surprised Gran Torino wasn't nominated for anything, was it released too late for this years oscars or was it just too politically incorrect or just didn't make the cut in voters eyes?

 

Ledger deserved the Oscar - even in less tragic circumstances, I can't comment on the other contenders for his gong as I haven't seen their films.

[Mr. Starr]

The problem with The Curious Case of Benjamin Button was that the plot line was not believable. People may have been more interested if it were some kind of freak medical case, but its not.

l

Otherwise, I do agree with CTU's Slumdog description.

[cfc]

I wasn't as blown away with Ledger's Joker as some folks were. Yes, it's a good performance, but I think any other competent actor could've done it as well. (Besides, Caesar Romero rules! )

 

Then again, I'm getting pretty sick of Hollywood constantly "reimagining" Batman, so maybe I'm not the best judge.

[Anfronee]

The problem with The Curious Case of Benjamin Button was that the plot line was not believable. People may have been more interested if it were some kind of freak medical case, but its not.

 

I am glad they didn't try to give medical reason for his condition. I feel that would have added nothing to the movie and made it even more complex and confusing. I thought the beauty of him just living his life was what made me fell for the character.

 

As far as Heath Ledger's performance goes, I believe with practice many actors could copy it. His actual acting isn't the cool part - it's that he came up with it. Before his version, most would have never thought of a character like that. The fact that he decided to portray him in such a mesmerizing, creepy way is what blows me away.

 

I agree. I think the reason so many people loved his performance is because when they were walking into the theater they were expecting to see 'the joker' they know. Heath brought a completely new character and not only was the character new, he surpassed all other attempts at it.

 

While it didn't win anything, Doubt was amazing. The cast was great and it is also in my top films.

 

I would have loved to see Amy Adams get Best supporting actress for her role. I thought she was amazing in Doubt. Meryl was also wonderful. While I enjoyed Hoffman's take on the role, i thought he played the character a little too...guilty? In the stage show when you leave the theatre wondering 'did he do it?', I left the movie with out a DOUBT in my mind that he had.

[gisco]

I haven't seen the Academy Awards in over 30 years. I'm just not into a show where egotistical actors and actresses vote themselves awards.

 

They are out of touch with the general population. How many of the top 100 grossing movies of all time have won best picture? Four! Obviously the GP doesn't know what a a good picture is and we need these entertainers to tell us.

[thrillerman1]

While I liked Nicholson's version of the Joker a lot, I feel he was portraying the character. With Ledger, I actually felt that he became and was the living embodiment of the Joker...no portrayal involved. Same thing Heath was able to do with Brokeback Mountain. I say he definitely deserved the award.

[BeemerBoy]

If Heath Ledger deserved it, then the academy should send a belated trophy to Nicholson as well. They both portrayed the Joker perfectly. One in a "cartoony" comic book way, and one in a more gritty, real world setting. I've come to love both performances equally.

[cfc]

^True. Burton took more of a "gothic" approach to Batman, and Nicholson filled the bill there, whereas Nolan's approach is "grittier," so Ledger's performance makes sense. Caesar Romero's Joker fit in with the campy social satire of the 1960s TV series, which was always smarter than it let on.

[thrillerman1]

If Heath Ledger deserved it, then the academy should send a belated trophy to Nicholson as well.

 

I don't know...I just always feel like it's still Jack Nicholson with clown makeup. Maybe I need to go back and watch it again since it's been a long time.

 

I do prefer the Burton/Gothic look of Gotham over the grittier Chicago look. That's one thing that bothered me about the continuity between BB and TDK. Where did all the elevated train tracks go?

 

On a side note, does anyone else happen to have the McDonald's collector glasses from when Batman Forever came out? I just found mine when I was moving a few weeks ago.

[Hercules]

Personally I was completely blown away by Heath Ledger's performance. I always saw the Nicholson performance as just Nicholson in paint as said above. I just don't think he added anything to the character other than him just being himself, and that to me is the The Joker and is not that great of a performance. It was a much different movie that he was in, but I just don't think it was all that great of a job.

 

On a side note that has not been mentioned - I wish some people wouldn't keep crapping on Robert Downey Jr. and his role in Tropic Thunder. Sure, it was a crap movie, but I honestly think out of the movies that I have seen from this year, that was the second best performance I saw.

[Meteornotes]

I thought Ledger was very good as the Joker, and the highlight of a very overrated movie. Though I doubt he would have won the award if he was still alive. This is not the sort of role the academy likes to reward.

 

I still think Robert Downey Jr. should have been nominated for Iron Man, as he just absolutely nails that part.

 

I have not seen any of the best picture nominees from this year. I rarely go to the movies any more, as it requires me to interact with far too many annoying people that won't shut up and/or turn off their phones. So I'll catch them as they show up on DVD or the movie channels.

 

dt

[BeemerBoy]

^^ I second that about Downey Jr. in Tropic Thunder. I didn't see the movie, and had absolutely no interest in it at all until I read about and saw clips of who Downey's character was. That is acting, regardless of the type of movie it is.

 

I don't know...I just always feel like it's still Jack Nicholson with clown makeup.

In a sense, yeah. After Nicholson's transformation from ordinary bad guy to "super villain", he still retained that hard a$$ persona of Jack Napier, just covered up with crude plastic surgery and some goofy makeup to compliment the new aloof attitude and maniacal intentions.

 

I only saw it once, and my memory's a bit hazy for some reason, but in DK, did we even see the transformation, or was he the Joker from the outset? I think that's the main difference between the two.

 

All in all, when you stop and think about it, or maybe more precisely, dissect it, they're really movies about the Joker. The Batman title is almost sort of a false front. Without a strong presence from Nicholson and Ledger, the movies just wouldn't carry the same weight. You know, I mean, how many people really ever discuss who played a better Batman first?

[cfc]

^In Dark Knight, the Joker just "appears" (much as villains did in the old TV series--no origins given). He gives you a few hints as to who he is, but his stories are contradictory. Roger Ebert used to describe Batman as a "suit," and not necessarily a "character" (epsecially in the Schumacker flicks).

 

I tought Tropic Thunder was hilarious (especially Downey and even Tom Cruise, who I usually loathe in just about anything).

[Philrad71]

I'm surprised Gran Torino wasn't nominated for anything, was it released too late for this years oscars or was it just too politically incorrect or just didn't make the cut in voters eyes?

 

I agree! I thought Gran Torino was the best movie I had seen this year...although I did think Doubt was also very good.

 

Funny that movies which are up for several Academy Awards are normally not shown within an eighty mile radius of Western New York, but Mall Cop will get extended days because of it's popularity?

 

Really looking forward to Milk coming out on DVD or PPV...closest theater in the area to show it was in Buffalo at very odd times.

[thrillerman1]

One of my favorite parts of Batman Begins is at the end when the Joker is alluded to with the playing card. I think that's about all we are told of his background.

[chauncey]

Slumdog Millionaire - the most overrated film of the year!!! To me, it was nothing more than a mediocre, shallow, fantasy-style, unrealistic, 'love' story. I thought the premise sounded dumb for the Millionaire plot, but it wasn't that bad. It was everything else that was bad. I don't want to spoil anything for those who still plan to see it, but I kept checking my phone during the movie to see how much longer it would last.

The problem with The Curious Case of Benjamin Button was that the plot line was not believable. People may have been more interested if it were some kind of freak medical case, but its not.

really, is that why you didn't like the movies? because they were “unrealistic”, because they weren't “believable”, because they were “fantasy?” sheesh! isn't that the whole point of movies!?! if you want reality go outside, go anywhere, but the last place you should be going is to a movie theatre!

 

I agree with Tyler about Slumdog--it's a good movie, but I really doubt anyone is going to remember much about it in the next year or two. The plot was similar to one of those "good brother/bad brother" gangster flicks Warners used to make in the 1930s with, say, Jimmy Cagney and Pat O'Brien.

i haven't seen Slumdog Millionaire yet, but, uh, what's wrong with the old Warners gangster movies, exactly? those are some of my favorite films of all time! James Cagney is a god! i might have to see this Slumdog Millionaire thing after all…

 

as far as the awards go: few of my favorite films were nominated for anything, and even fewer won anything, but i've got sort of strange taste (like, my favorite movie of the year was probably The Fall, and i actually really loved Speed Racer, etc.) i was really pissed off to learn that Mickey Rourke and Marisa Tomei didn't win for “The Wrestler”, but, on the other hand, i didn't see the performances which won, either, so…

[DBru]

I personally didn't find Downey Jr.'s performance in Tropic Thunder very memorable at all...

 

Also, what was the deal with having only one major live performance, starring VANESSA HUDGENS AND ZAC EFRON???