And they Call him Oscar (the Rest of it Edition)

The following awards I have no opinions on since I don't know enough or seen enough to form one. I am not going to speculate on best foreign language film, documentary, documentary short subject, and live action short film.

Best Animated Short

In La Maison en Petits Cubes a grandfather reflects on his life and the life of his family whole building a house with blocks of water which presents it own set of issues.
It was produced in Japan by Kunia Kato for Robot Communications Production. The form of animation used was drawing and some computer use. This has a very classic look and feel of animation.

Lavatory - Lovestory is animation in the more traditional form. Konstantin Bronzit tells an amusing story of a woman who takes care of a men's room and dreams of love. When love seems to find her, she can't find the admirer. It was produced in Russia by Melnitsa Animation Studio and CTB Film Company Production . I have seen Bronzit's work before and have never been disappointed by it. He is a good visual storyteller.

Oktapodi is done a CGI style of animation and is worthy of the demented minds of Pixar. The love of two octopi is greater than the world around them. It was funny and wonderful but the last image just puts it over the top. Emud Mokhberi and Thierry Marchand do a terrific job with this piece with no dialogue but a lot of expression. It was produced by A Gobelins, L'école de l'image Production of France

Speaking of those demented minds at Pixar we have from them Presto. Bunny wants carrot. Bunny is denied carrot. Hilarity ensues. Directed by Doug Sweetland, Pixar hit it out of the park again. We found that it got funnier each time we watched it.

This Way Up by Alan Smith and Adam Foulkes is an insane little piece about undertaking and the here-after (sort of). Very funny in an emo morbid kind of way. The animation is like Nightmare before Christmas or Wallace and Gromit. It was produced in England by A Nexus Production.

This one is hard to call. I think La Maison en Petits Cubes is going to get it because of a backlash against CGI. I also think that Oktapodi and Presto are going to cancel each other out in the vote which is too bad since they were both really good too.

Best Animated Film

I saw all the animated nominees in the theater. I know, big surprise there.

Bolt came out of Disney's need to fill in without Pixar but then Pixar came back and Bolt ended up in a bit of limbo. It was originally to be a regular animated feature by Chris Sanders (Lilo and Stitch) called "An American Dog" and the plot was rather grim. Disney brought in Chris Williams who overhauled the entire thing and make it the film it is today. I have read the plot for "An American Dog" and I wouldn't have minded seeing that film but I think this version works better for the younger audience. I saw Bolt in both 3-D and 2-D and enjoyed them both. It would have worked fine as a regular animated film rather than CGI.

Kung Fu Panda was a lot of fun and is Caroline's favorite of this group (well it flips from day to day but today it is the Panda). My biggest problem with it was that it didn't need the CGI style of animation. It would have worked just fine in that lovely 2-D they had for Po's dream and the credits. Yeah I know that the animation of the panda pelt was an amazing thing but for me if there is not a reason to computerize it, why do so?

WALL-E did need to be CGI. It would only work in that form. This is such a lovely film and honestly my favorite film of last year. It is such a simple tale and it is told very well. It is also a film that younger kids (I mean really younger) can grasp since there is not much dialogue for most of the picture.

So I think Wall-E should win hands down but I have a feeling that a Panda is going to do the wushi finger hold on this category.

Best Director

There were some very strong entries in this group. Some directors have been up for this award before and for others it was the first time they were tapped.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button directed by David Fincher. He did a good job with the material and told the story well. Not epic but very good.

Frost/Nixon directed by Ron Howard which I think is the dark horse in the group. Howard did a good job of translating the play to the screen and keeping it very intimate even though it was a sweeping tale. He's the one I want to win for various reasons.

Milk directed by Gus Van Sant was good but if it had been released early in the year I think it would have been forgotten. Also the framing devise didn't need to be there at all. The film would have worked without it.

I am glad I didn't know much about The Reader directed by Stephen Daldry before I saw it because I was mesmerized by the tale as it unfolded. I find it interesting of the use of light both warm and cold as a player in the piece.

Slumdog Millionaire directed by Danny Boyle is probably going to win and he deserves it. The Directing style in this film will probably be studied down the road by other directors.

Best Motion Picture

I am honestly in a quandary about this one because I can make an argument for each as to why it should win Best Picture.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button was entertaining and I did shed a tear or two at the end. It was well acted and the special effects that allowed the director to pull of this idea of someone living backwards were amazing. I was entertained by the film but I did feel that it went on a bit too long at places. This film might seem too commercial by the Academy and there for dismissed which I think is sad.

Frost/Nixon was a chapter from my childhood. I remember this debate and I remember the Watergate hearing and Nixon's resignation. It was really the first political event that was important enough to make an impression in my life. The translation from play to movie isn't an easy one. Plays do have the advantage of structure that works with a film but there is a lot more you can see in a film than a play so you have to fill in the edges (unless you are just filming the play). I enjoyed this and thought it was a powerful piece that needs to be seen by the current generation so they can see what probably formed a lot of their parents' political views. It's the new dark horse of the group and might squeak out a win.

Milk is about the struggle for gays to be able to live and work where they want without harassment. Throwing my memory back I remember more about the Twinkie defance that came up at trial than the actual murders but I do remember them. And I do remember there was a big deal about Harvey Milk being the first openly gay politician. As a whole this film is really good. It tells the story of a man who wanted better for himself and the people he loved. He didn't give up and it cost him his life. I could see this one winning as a big o' FU to those who voted for prop 8.

The Reader is another powerful movie. As I have stated before I was glad that I hadn't read about the plot before seeing the film. I enjoyed the twists and turns of the whole thing. It does raise some strong questions about morality and about guilt of all forms. I think it will get Kate Winslet and Oscar but I don't think the picture get one as a whole.

Slumdog Millionaire had the momentum behind it between the Golden Globe awards and a lot of good buzz. This is a fascinating film to watch unfold. I didn't know anything before I saw it so I was taken for the whole ride unspoiled. We had known it had been talked about as the outsider for the Oscars this year. I could see this one winning as the little film that could.

I am grateful that this year I have more knowledge than I have had most years when I watch the Oscars.