Having just watched Benjamin Button last night, I'm baffled at all its nominations. Huh? Except for technical awards, I don't get it.
The Reader is one of the few I haven't seen yet. But I assume that it's just a mass left-wing conspiracy to make Kate Winslet thank Ricky Gervais in her acceptance speech, for showing her the Holocaust=Oscar light.
I liked Ben Button a lot but I don't really get the Brad Pitt nomination. I mean, he's fine in the movie, but the character isn't really designed to be a big actor's showcase. Same deal with Taraji P. Henson, who I like in general but doesn't really do anything particularly difficult in the movie. But it is beautifully directed, especially for a guy who usually directs movies about serial killers.
ranty rantyaliwilliamsJanuary 22 2009, 18:28:41 UTC
Eh, I think Button didn't go far enough with their sepia-tinged flashbacks and fake-boat style. Either go big or go home, I says. Plus the whole movie copped the eff out when Benji [Uh, SPOILERS, I guess] didn't have any memory-or connection to the character at all-once he "turned" 10 years old or so. One minute he looks 22 (and creepy, but basically normal Brad Pitt) and the next he's a random kid who doesn't know a thing?
And why did they keep saying Cate couldn't "raise" both Ben and their kid? Clearly he'll physically devolve, but how is that her "raising" him? I was thinking ooh, maybe he'll slowly de-mature, emotionally, as he gets older, in some end-of-Flowers for-Algernon way, but he stayed as blank as ever. Erm, I'll stop now. Didn't hate it, but overrated in my book for sure.
Re: ranty rantywmetoileJanuary 23 2009, 00:03:32 UTC
It also struck me as odd that he developed dementia toward the end of his life. He was born with a bunch of old age-related conditions, like cataracts and arthritis, so wouldn't he have had the dementia when he was an old man baby, and then just turned into a real baby when he was "old"? Bah. Logic.
I thought Leo was awesome in that movie, actually, and I'm surprised that he could get in for freaking Blood Diamond a few years ago, but not this -- though Best Actor is always really competitive. Still, I'd sub him in for Brad Pitt easily. I'd guess the movie got shut out because it was sort of unpleasant and grim? Although The Reader is plenty grim with a lot less energy, so I don't know.
I am glad. You know how I feel about Revolutionary Road. I thought it was way over-the-top. I just didn't buy the acting or the screenplay. And I really liked The Reader!
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The Reader is one of the few I haven't seen yet. But I assume that it's just a mass left-wing conspiracy to make Kate Winslet thank Ricky Gervais in her acceptance speech, for showing her the Holocaust=Oscar light.
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And why did they keep saying Cate couldn't "raise" both Ben and their kid? Clearly he'll physically devolve, but how is that her "raising" him? I was thinking ooh, maybe he'll slowly de-mature, emotionally, as he gets older, in some end-of-Flowers for-Algernon way, but he stayed as blank as ever. Erm, I'll stop now. Didn't hate it, but overrated in my book for sure.
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How are those Broadway tickets coming??
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Working on the Broadway thing.
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