And the Oscar Goes to....

The Academy announced this morning its selections for the 81st annual Academy Awards. These would have usually come out on Tuesday — but the Academy held off to give proper respects to the Inauguration. 

I always love finding out what movies have been nominated. I am slightly surprised to see Brad Pitt nominated for Benjamin Button but am glad to see the movie received so many nods. I am still laughing that Robert Downey, Jr. actually got a best supporting nomination for his Hollywood mockery in Tropic Thunder. Few are surprised, but Heath Ledger could receive a post-humus Oscar for his role as the Joker in The Dark Knight. Sean Penn really was phenomenal in Milk — so it would be great to see him win.

And of course, I'll need to see several of these movies in the next few weeks (if they're available). On the top of the list: The Reader, Doubt, Slumdog Millionaire and Changeling. 

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

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

BEST ACTOR
Frank Langella, "Frost/Nixon"
Sean Penn, "Milk"
Brad Pitt, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"
Mickey Rourke, "The Wrestler"
Richard Jenkins, "The Visitor"

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Amy Adams, "Doubt"
Penelope Cruz, "Vicky Cristina Barcelona"
Viola Davis, "Doubt"
Taraji P. Henson, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"
Marisa Tomei, "The Wrestler"

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Josh Brolin, "Milk"
Robert Downey Jr., "Tropic Thunder"
Philip Seymour Hoffman, "Doubt"
Heath Ledger, "The Dark Knight"
Michael Shannon, "Revolutionary Road"

BEST DIRECTOR
Danny Boyle, "Slumdog Millionaire"
Stephen Daldry, "The Reader"
David Fincher, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"
Ron Howard, "Frost/Nixon"
Gus Van Sant, "Milk"

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Dustin Lance Black, "Milk"
Courtney Hunt, "Frozen River"
Mike Leigh, "Happy-Go-Lucky"
Marttin McDonagh, "In Bruges"
Andrew Stanton, Jim Reardon, "WALL-E"

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Simon Beaufoy, "Slumdog Millionaire"
David Hare, "The Reader"
Peter Morgan, "Frost/Nixon"
John Patrick Shanley, "Doubt"
Eric Roth, Robin Swicord, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
"The Baader-Meinhof Complex" (Germany)
"The Class" (France)
"Departures" (Japan)
"Revanche" (Austria)
"Waltz with Bashir" (Israel)

BEST ANIMATED FILM
"Bolt"
"Kung Fu Panda"
"Wall-E"

BEST ART DIRECTION
"Changeling"
"The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button"
"Dark Knight"
"The Duchess"
"Revolutionary Road"

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
"Changeling" Tom Stern
"Slumdog Millionaire," Anthony Dod Mantle
"The Reader," Chris Menges
"The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button," Claudio Miranda
"The Dark Knight," Wally Pfister,

BEST FILM EDITING
"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," Kirk Baxter, Angus Wall
"The Dark Knight," Lee Smith
"Frost/Nixon," Daniel P. Hanley, Mike Hill
"Milk," Elliot Graham
"Slumdog Millionaire," Chris Dickens

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
"Australia," Catherine Martin
"The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button," Jacqueline West
"The Duchess," Michael O'Conner
"Milk", Danny Glicker
"Revolutionary Road," Albert Wolsky

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
"The Betrayal (Nerakhoon)"
"Encounters at the End of the World"
"The Garden"
"Man on Wire"
"Trouble the Water"

BEST ORIGINAL SONG

"Slumdog Millionaire," "Jai Ho," A.R. Rahman
"Slumdog Millionaire," "O Saya," A.R. Rahman & M.I.A.
"Wall-E," "Down To Earth," Peter Gabriel & Thomas Newman

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
"The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button," Alexandre Desplat
"Defiance," James Newton Howard
"Milk," Danny Elfman
"Slumdog Millionaire," A.R. Rahman
"WALL-E," Thomas Newman

BEST MAKEUP
"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," Colleen Callaghan, Fionagh Cush
"The Dark Knight," Peter Robb-King, John Caglione Jr.
"Hellboy II: The Golden Army," Mike Elizalde, Thom Floutz

BEST SOUND EDITING
"The Dark Knight," Richard King
"Iron Man," Frank Eulner, Christopher Boyes
"Slumdog Millionaire," Tom Sayers
"Wall-E," Ben Burtt, Matthew Wood
"Wanted," Wylie Stateman

BEST SOUND MIXING
"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," Mark Weingarten, David Parker, Michael Semanick, Ren Klyce
"The Dark Knight," Ed Novick, Lora Hirschberg, Gary Rizzo
"Slumdog Millionaire," Ian Tapp, Richard Pryke and Resul Pookutty
"Wall-E," Ben Burtt, Tom Myers, Michael Semanick
"Wanted," Chris Jenkins, Frank A. Montaño and Petr Forejt

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," Eric Barba
"The Dark Knight," Chris Corbould, Nick Davis, Paul Franklin, Tim Webber
"Iron Man," John Nelson

BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM
"Auf der Strecke (On the Line)"
"Manon on the Asphalt"
"New Boy"
"The Pig"
"Spielzeugland (Toyland)"

BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM
"La Maison en Petits Cubes"
"Lavatory - Lovestory"
"Oktapodi"
"Presto"
"This Way Up"

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT FILM
"The Conscience of Nhem En" 

"The Final Inch" 

"Smile Pinki" 

"The Witness - From the Balcony of Room 306"

Milk

My younger brother and I went to go see Milk on Friday night. The Gus Van Sant-directed movie is based on the true story of Harvey Milk, the first openly-gay, publicly-elected official in California. I expected I would like the movie (based on reading reviews online, hearing friend's reviews and the cast) but I did not expect to leave the theater feeling so moved. 

Sean Penn, Emile Hirsch and James Franco gave stand up performances — especially Sean Penn. Diego Luna and Josh Brolin were fun to watch as well. I couldn't help but feel immersed in the tireless campaigning, social struggles, nasty stereotypes (many that still exist today) and many failed attempts before his victorious Supervisor election.

Milk tells a part of the American civil rights history that we don't hear about enough. Harvey Milk, his campaign team and his believers helped blaze a trail that has given a better quality of life to gay Americans. I am by no means saying that I think being gay is easy — but it seems that perceptions and and legislation have come a long way (yet there's still more room for change). 

Go see Milk. It's a film every American should see.

See more about what awards the movie has won and what people are saying:

Focus Feature's Web site. IMDB also has some great reviews and info on the film.

A Few Observations on Pineapple Express

I'm not quite in the mood for a full blown review (I cite a coffee mishap that led to a pot of coffee on the floor, in a drawer, on a cabinet, on the rug, stuck up in the maker itself, etc. and being late to work because of it).

Instead, I am making a short list of my observations. 

I will start with the pre-movie madness:

1. Free movie previews are fun, but they give away about twice as many tickets as they have seats. You have to get there REALLY early. (Thanks, Emily, for the free tickets!)
2. You can't bring your cell phone into advanced screenings. They are serious about this.
3. Don't be a douchebag with a laser pointer. Someone pointed a laser pointer at the screen before the previews began. Movie management said they wouldn't turn on the movie until it was turned in, and the movie had to start in under 20 minutes or it would be cancelled. Would you believe it took this goofball 10 minutes to turn in the silly laser pointer? And he left it in the bathroom instead of owning up to his sixth grande antics. Smooth one, loser.

The movie itself:

1. I had no idea that "pineapple express" was the name of a certain blend/grade of marijuana.
2. I hadn't realized before that James Franco can be funny, actually, really funny.
3. If you liked Superbad, you'll really like Pineapple Express. It has more action, more of a plot and a helluva lot more one liners. It's also wittier and less crude than the younger Judd Apatow flick. 
4. Watch out for the character "Red" played by Danny R. McBride. He had a lesser role but may have been the funniest person in the film.
5. I recommend that you see it. Pineapple Express is one funny movie. I think it may even find a home in our DVD collection. 

Favorite Flicks

So Dan, Ben and I got into a conversation the other day about our favorite movies. While I don't feel that my "top 10" list is yet complete, I felt like sharing some of my favorite flicks. Maybe you haven't seen one of these and are interested in expanding your movie horizons... who knows?

As you can see by the below, I am not one who's much into romantic comedies or the like; so if that's your dig, maybe my list isn't for you.

• American Psycho (Perfectly exquisite blend of 80's tunes, dark comedy, witty one-liners and a little bit of, well, psycho)
• Donnie Darko (Odd drama, great 80's music -- am I seeing a theme here?)
• Big Fish (Tim Burton does a great job; feel good, whimsical and "tall tale" kind of movie)
• Boondock Saints (I am not sure why this movie hasn't received more critical acclaim. What a beat 'em up, sock-it-to-em movie); my brother told me this weekend that a sequel is coming out!
• Good Fellas (Yes, I am a sucker for gangster flicks)
• City of God (Amazing cinematography, wild story of Rio de Janeiro... you almost forget you're reading subtitles)
• The Departed (Scorsese did it right)