Slumdog Victorious

Last night was the Critics' Choice Awards, aired on the most unlikely of channels, VH1. And Slumdog the underdog came out on top. When Dev Patel, its shining star, won The Best Young Actor award (sadly, he wasn't there to accept it), things were looking bright but not extremely positive. Then, Slumdog Millionaire, the little film that could, continued winning. It took home Best Screenplay (update- it's adapted, not original, based on a book called Q & A) and Best Score. But the first big surprise of the night was when Danny Boyle was named Best Director. Most of the time, if a film wins Best Director, it also wins Best Picture. And that was certainly the case this time. Slumdog, in an incredible feat, beat out nine other critically acclaimed and more typically award-worthy films (Changeling, Benjamin Button, Doubt, The Dark Knight, Wall-E, The Wrestler, Milk, The Reader, Frost/Nixon) to win the ultimate title: Best Picture of the Year! My favorite little film was #1! And let's not overlook the likelihood that this same outcome will ring true next month at a little show called the Academy Awards. Could this be the year that the heartwarming indie flick take the top prize? I don't want to jinx anything, so I'll shut up. But I think there's a little gold man in this movie's future.

The Most Glam Category of Them All

One of my favorite Oscar categories is Best Costume Design. So how can I resist predicting the five nominees this year?

The one thing that always reeks of a Best Costume Oscar is a period piece. A film that may be ignored in the major categories but won't be overlooked in terms of visual appeal is The Duchess. Of course, it's impossible to put Keira Knightley in anything that makes her look bad, but The Duchess follows in the footsteps of Marie Antoinette in terms of drama and elaborate dressing. The 18th century-style costumes were designed by Michael O'Connor.

The period pieces continued to deliver this past year, and Changeling was no exception. Angelina Jolie wandered around in classic twenties cloche hats and fur-collared coats throughout the film. Deborah Hopper's retro ensembles with most likely get a nod.

Let's continue with the period films, this time going ahead a few decades to Revolutionary Road. The fifties style dresses and sleek fedoras ooze the style and glamour of the decade, which is the purpose of a movie's wardrobe. I predict Albert Wolsky with get a nod for his costumes.

From khakis and leather boots to glamorous gowns and prim and proper skirt suits, everything Catherine Martin put on Nicole Kidman in Australia was super-stylish and chic. This epic film provided nearly three hours worth of gorgeous vintage dressing, and it must get a nomination.

Jacqueline West had nearly a century's worth of wardrobe to design for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. From pretty ballerina ensembles to motorcycle chic, this film has it all, and should definitely get some recognition.

Oscar Predictions

It's that time of year again! Award season! And what's the most important award show of all, at least in my opinion? The Academy Awards! The nominations will be announced very soon, but I always like to put my two cents in as well, and see how well my Nostradamus skills are. Here goes.

BEST PICTURE
Doubt
Milk
Frost/Nixon
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Slumdog Millionaire

(Doubt is a definite. Milk has all the ingredients for a contender. Frost/Nixon just looks like an something Oscar would like. Revolutionary Road is a little iffy. It could be replaced by The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. And Slumdog Millionaire is my personal pick, plus it's the dark horse that the Academy always throws in — think Lost in Translation, Little Miss Sunshine, Juno.)

BEST DIRECTOR
John Patrick Shanley, Doubt
Ron Howard, Frost/Nixon
Sam Mendes, Revolutionary Road
Danny Boyle, Slumdog Millionaire
Christopher Nolan, The Dark Knight

(The Academy usually picks directors that match the Best Pic nominees, and ones who have a pretty big reputation, and I think they'll probably do that this year, but based on the huge success of Knight, I feel like they might throw Nolan in, and Sam Mendes is a well-known director. Who knows?)

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Milk
Rachel Getting Married
???
???
???

(This is really sad, because this is my favorite category. I'd love to be nominated for this Oscar one day, and some of my favorite movies have won this award — Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Juno, anyone? But this year, there was such an original screenplay draught. Most of the big movies were adapted. I'd love to see Synecdoche, NY get a nod. It's Charlie Kaufman's — Bow down!— new movie, which I haven't seen yet but hope to soon. It was hailed among the indie crowd, but kind of got overlooked for the bigger awards. We'll just have to see what happens.)

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Doubt
Frost/Nixon
Revolutionary Road
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Slumdog Millionaire
BEST ACTOR
Frank Langella, Frost/Nixon
Leonardo DiCaprio, Revolutionary Road
Brad Pitt, Benjamin Button
Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler
Sean Penn, Milk

(This was a pretty big year for the fellas. I'm crossing my fingers for Leo.)

BEST ACTRESS
Kate Winslet, Revolutionary Road
Meryl Streep, Doubt
Anne Hathaway, Rachel Getting Married
Angelina Jolie, Changeling
Melissa Leo, Frozen River

(There are never enough good roles for actresses, and this year is no different. The first four are almost definite, but the last is up for grabs. But I don't think it matters, because Meryl's gonna take it all.)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight
Philip Seymour Hoffman, Doubt
Robert Downey, Jr., Tropic Thunder
Michael Shannon, Revolutionary Road
James Franco, Milk
(Does it really matter? It's Heath, hands down.)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Kate Winslet, The Reader
Marisa Tomei, The Wrestler
Viola Davis, Doubt
Amy Adams, Doubt
Penelope Cruz, Vicky Christina Barcelona

(I feel like it's the year of the battling Kates, and thank goodness she'll probably be nominated in two separate categories. After five nominations and zero wins, I think it's finally her year!)

So, those are my basic predictions for the major categories. Be sure to watch the Oscars, live on ABC, February 22, 2009. I'll be on the couch from noon, when the only person there is the guy vacuuming the red carpet. And see some of the aforementioned films; it's worth it to be a film geek.

Worth a Million

Want to know my pick for the best movie of the year? Well, you're about to read about it.

Slumdog Millionaire tells the story of a Jamal, an orphan growing up in the streets of Mumbai. The film begins when he's 18 and appearing on India's version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire?, and continues in a series of flashbacks detailing his childhood roaming India with his brother Salim and Latika, the girl he loves. It turns out that every question he has to answer on Millionaire can be traced back to some key moment in his life, and that's how he knows all the answers.

We soon learn that the real reason Jamal is on the show is to contact Latika, with whom he has lost contact more than once. The film's climax is heart-poundingly tense, and when it was over I'd had my breath taken away. This movie is a must-see for anyone with a heart, and it just might give hearts to the heartless.

Dev Patel shines as Jamal, and his character is such a refreshing contrast to his cold and conniving brother Salim. The story is absolutely beautiful, emphasizing the timeless power of love, and the idea that all we really need to be a millionaire, financially or emotionally, is what we've learned from life, no matter how or where we've lived it.

And the film is so visually stunning. The colors, the movement of the scenes, the shocking cinematography — I was blown away. And the music adds to the cultural aspect of the film, while enhancing the gorgeous imagery.

Oscar predictions: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, Best Original Score, Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography. And I hope it wins all of them!

Burn After Watching

What better pick for a Christmas movie than a comedic espionage film? Well, I didn't choose Burn After Reading because of its seasonal quality. I chose it because I was tired of seeing TV spots begging me to see this "brilliant" film, and after a while, Brad Pitt getting punched in the nose gets darn funny.
And, surprisingly, Brad Pitt was the funniest part about this movie. But that's not saying much, because I didn't find the movie that funny at all. I probably never should have picked the DVD off the shelf at all, given my previous experience with the Coen brothers. I suffered through Raising Arizona forcing laughter out of my unwilling chest at things that I recognized as jokes but wasn't quite tickled by; and I don't care how much critical acclaim or awards No Country For Old Men got. I just didn't get it. And I couldn't even get through O, Brother, Where Art Thou?. I honestly don't know why I keep doing this to myself. No offense to any Coen brothers fans out there, or the Coen bros. themselves, for that matter.
First, I suppose I should give a quick plot synopsis. Burn After Reading tells the story of a CIA agent who loses a very important disc, which is found by a pair of bumbling gym employees who embark on a ridiculous quest to blackmail him. There are all sorts of entwined stories, and I think one of the characters says it best: "I think they're all sleeping with each other." I'm paraphrasing here.
So, I truthfully had such high hopes for this film, but it didn't deliver. I could appreciate its dark, absurdist humor to a certain extent, and I'm certainly someone who loves a weird movie. But I just didn't get it. Every "joke" felt half-executed, like it was about to be funny, but then it just stopped. I have to admit I laughed out loud at Brad Pitt's dorky dance moves, and I applaud the wardrobe and hair stylists for managing to make him look dorky in the first place; but all I can really say about this movie is that if you like the Coens, you'll probably love it, but if you don't like the Coens, you're probably better off staying away from it, but you might get a kick out of one or two moments. And it's certainly worth it to watch Tilda Swinton say "Stop the foolishness!" in that accent of hers.