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Oscar Picks (No Surprises Here)

Tricia Olszewski — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 18:26:30 +0000

I'm always excited about the Academy Awards — yeah, there are still a few of us left out there — but I'm guessing there won't be a whole lot of thrilling and/or shocking moments this year. (Most any upset would go thusly: Oooh, the frontrunner didn't win! Which means...someone or -thing completely undeserving did.)

But for the record, here are my predictions anyway. And tune in at 8:30 when, give or take some DVR-shifting, I'll be live-blogging the entire ceremony. Or at least for as long as my cold medicine holds out.

BEST PICTURE
WALL*E. Not nominated? The Dark Knight. Sigh! How about The Wrestler? OK, I'll stop. It's gonna be Slumdog Millionaire, though between the five that were chosen I loved Milk the most.

BEST ACTOR
I'd love to see Mickey Rourke get this, but Sean Penn's performance as Harvey Milk was so completely transformative, it's gotta be recognized.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Please. (In this usage, "please" is defined as "Heath Ledger.")

BEST ACTRESS
I'm going with Kate Winslet, though her speech better include shout-outs to the makeup crew and her nipples for help making her turn remotely remarkable in The Reader.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Penelope Cruz has the buzz, but c'mon, she could be passionate and sensuous in her sleep. Would be nice if D.C. native Taraji P. Henson got it, but my guess is Viola Davis for her brief role in Doubt. The Academy loves those incisive knock-outs.

BEST DIRECTOR
I'm torn. My gut says it'll go to Danny Boyle in a Slumdog lovefest. But I wouldn't be surprised if David Fincher won for his technically proficient handling of Benjamin Button.

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
WALL*E would be a nice upset, and Frozen River and In Bruges were great stories. but I'm thinking this is where Milk will get its love.

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Slumdog.

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
Please. (In this usage, "please" is defined as "WALL*E.")

BEST ART DIRECTION and CINEMATOGRAPHY
Both to The Dark Knight.

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Period pieces = Oscar. The Duchess.

BEST DOCUMENTARY
Man on Wire.

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT
Total blind guess, but I'm going with The Witness – From the Balcony of Room 306.

BEST FILM EDITING
Slumdog.

BEST FOREIGN FILM
I've only seen two of the nominees, but I can't imagine a doc more imaginative and affecting than Waltz With Bashir.

ACHIEVEMENT IN MAKEUP
Ben Button.

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
Slumdog.

BEST SONG
The popular opinion is that the two Slumdog noms will split the vote. But really, have you heard anything more catchy in a movie this year than Jai Ho? Sorry, Peter Gabriel, but Down to Earth is kind of a snooze.

BEST ANIMATED SHORT
Presto was adorable, the Academy doesn't really do adorable. Going with La Maison en Petits Cubes.

BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT
No idea, but Auf der Strecke seems to be getting the praise.

BEST SOUND EDITING and BEST SOUND MIXING
Considering it's nearly dialogue-free yet still the most engaging film of last year, WALL*E's gotta win both.

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Benjamin Button, because if you're honest about it, the film's strongest characteristic is its looks.

AMC Best Picture Showcase

Tricia Olszewski — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 03:40:19 +0000

You know it's the same every year: You swear you're going to see all the Academy Award-nominated films before the big day. You put the chosen ones on your to-do list as soon as awards season kicks off. You've got plenty of time!

Then suddenly it's Oscar night, and you're left shrugging at all the opening-monologue jokes because you chose to spend your weekends with Paul Blart and warring brides instead of watching Brad Pitt age backward.

It doesn't have to happen again. AMC Entertainment is offering its annual Best Picture crash-course on Sat., Feb. 21, a five-film marathon that for $30 grants you a daylong pass, a "souvenir lanyard," and a bottomless bucket o' popcorn.

So slack all you want if you really feel up to catching all the Academy's good-but-not-great anointed ones in a single sitting. (Apologies to Milk and Slumdog Millionaire, in my opinion the only films that deserve such accolades.)

The schedule below is the same for every theater, which this year includes Loews Georgetown 14, AMC Hoffman Center 22, AMC Potomac Mills 18, Loews Rio Cinemas 18, AMC Owings Mills 17, and AMC Tyson's Corner 16. Advance tickets can be purchased at AMC Theatres.

Milk
10:30 a.m.

The Reader
1:05 p.m.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
3:45 p.m.

Slumdog Millionaire
7:15 p.m.

Frost/Nixon
9:45 p.m.

Christmas Openings: The Wrestler, Gran Torino, Marley & Me, the List Goes On…and On

Tricia Olszewski — Thu, 25 Dec 2008 15:17:34 +0000

I've still got rum balls to roll, people. So let's make this run-down of the week's openings quick, using an easy-to-understand grading system that's both familiar and festive:

The Wrestler: NICE
Gran Torino: NICE
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button: NOT AS NICE AS IT THINKS IT IS
Marley & Me: NAUGHTY
Bedtime Stories: REALLY NAUGHTY
The Reader: BORDERLINE, BUT I'M VOTING NAUGHTY
The Spirit: PRETTY BUT NAUGHTY
Valkyrie: WHO CARES

Look for reviews of The Wrestler, Gran Torino, and Benjamin Button on this site soon, if not already — there's a good chance that, through the magic of the Internet, I'll still be sleeping when this posts.

Ho ho ho, etc.!

The Reader‘s Kate Winslet on the Holocaust: “We Get It, It Was Grim. Move On.”

Tricia Olszewski — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 05:15:40 +0000

OK, so that quote is actually from Extras' Kate Winslet, when her character is giving a Tropic Thunder-esque speech on a surefire way to win an Academy Award. The full clip of her appearance on Ricky Gervais' show is here, with the Holocaust talk around the three-minute mark:

It was all I could think about while sitting through the first of Winslet's two holidays releases, The Reader. That, and her gigantic nipples. And the groceries I needed to pick up on the way home. It wasn't the most fascinating movie, despite the fact that all she does is bone a 15-year-old during half of it. Oscar!