Off-Topic: Going for the Gold (Part Two)

Once again, I return to you with a post that has almost nothing to do with foreign steamy romance. (I do have my pick for Best Foreign Film here, so that’s got to count for something.) But before I get to my predictions, I thought I’d throw this question out there—do the Academy Awards still matter? Sure, the poster tells us that they’re “the biggest movie event of the year”—and I guess that’s pretty much true. But what do they actually mean, and are we still as entranced by the results? I’m actually asking here, and not only because I want to know if my goal of watching every single film nominated (I failed) has been for naught. Am I blindly following that golden idol, or are the Academy Awards—despite the snubs and questionable nominees—still going strong?

But enough about that. Let’s just pretend that they’re vitally important for the sake of this post.

Best Original Screenplay
WALL-E
Happy-Go-Lucky
Frozen River
In Bruges
Milk

Will win: WALL-E
Should win: In Bruges

I’m not really sure about this category, and I didn’t want to taint my predictions by looking at everyone else’s. Instead, I went with my gut: WALL-E, among the top five best films of last year, will get recognized in a category other than Best Animated Feature. For me, though, the animation itself trumps the dialogue. Frozen River is about the performances, and Milk is about … well, Harvey Milk. The power of that film has everything to do with the man and his story. Between Happy-Go-Lucky and In Bruges, I’d go for the latter, which left a more lasting impression by deftly weaving together the comedy, drama, and thriller genres.

Best Adapted Screenplay
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Frost/Nixon
The Reader
Slumdog Millionaire
Doubt

Will win: Slumdog Millionaire
Should win: Frost/Nixon

This was a much easier call for me. I went with Slumdog, since it’s nearly a shoo-in for Best Picture and apparently, a notable improvement on the book. But, as with WALL-E, it was more the spectacle than the screenplay that impressed me. The same goes for Benjamin Button. Doubt was good, but it didn’t seem as though John Patrick Shanley did all that much to adapt his play into a feature film. And with The Reader, “the book was better” most certainly holds true. So we’re left with Frost/Nixon. Again, very performance-driven, but I still think the script was an award-worthy achievement.

Best Animated Feature
Bolt
Kung Fu Panda
WALL-E

Will win: WALL-E
Should win: WALL-E

Normally I’d begrudge the fact that one film is such a lock, but … I loved WALL-E. There’s nothing not to love about it. I will say, however, that Bolt and Kung Fu Panda were both very good, to the extent that I was able to overlook my distaste for John Travolta and Jack Black (respectively). That having been said, WALL-E.

Best Foreign Language Film
Revanche (Austria)
The Class (France)
The Baader Meinhof Complex (Germany)
Departures (Japan)
Waltz With Bashir (Israel)

Will win: The Class
Should win: Waltz With Bashir

In my post on Revanche, I said that I thought Waltz With Bashir would take the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film. I overlooked The Class, which I still haven’t seen but will probably win. In general, I’m a bit bummed about this category, because—despite my efforts—I was only able to see two of the five movies nominated. I picked Waltz With Bashir not because I think it’s necessarily the best, but because it’s marginally better than Revanche. If anyone has any Academy screeners or knows where these films are playing around the Bay Area, hook a compulsive film blogger up!

Best Cinematography
Changeling
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
The Reader
Slumdog Millionaire

Will win: The Dark Knight
Should win: The Dark Knight

Are you kidding me? This shouldn’t even be a contest. Can we give Wally Pfister two awards for The Dark Knight, just because the film got snubbed overall? Nothing about The Reader stood out for my cinematography-wise, but then, I found the movie as a whole to be underwhelming. Changeling and Benjamin Button were pretty, but nothing exceptional. Slumdog Millionaire would be my pick, if The Dark Knight‘s cinematography weren’t so damn flawless. And we know Wally Pfister is a professional, because Christian Bale never ripped his head off.

Best Documentary Feature
Nerakhoon (The Betrayal)
Encounters at the End of the World
The Garden
Man On Wire
Trouble the Water

Will win: Man On Wire
Should win: Encounters at the End of the World

Alas, here’s another category in which I’ve only seen two of the films. Luckily, they’re both strong contenders. I really liked Man On Wire, and I wouldn’t be upset to see it win. (Which is good, because I think that’s very likely.) On the other hand, Encounters is a more creative, insightful, and ultimately thought-provoking film. I’m not a huge Werner Herzog fan, but I think his on-screen presence in his latest documentary really makes the movie a worthwhile viewing experience.

I feel like Entertainment Weekly with all of this Oscar coverage. I’ll try to break things up with a post on Anatomie de l’enfer, once I get around to watching it. My final Academy Awards predictions will be posted at some point before Sunday night. Don’t get too excited.