by DAVID KERN

On Wednesday, we posted our choices top 20 films of 2008. Today, as promised, we offer a preview of Sunday night’s Academy Awards.

A topic of wide discussion and even wider consternation, the Academy’s various nominations were full of terrible oversights and seemed to be driven by politics more than ever. Many movie lovers, fans and critics alike, were frustrated that films like Wall-E, The Dark Knight, Rachel Getting Married and Gran Torino were overlooked as much as they were, not to mention the Academy’s major oversight in denying Bruce Springsteen a nomination for his great song “The Wrestler” for Darren Aronofsky’s film of the same title. Of course, their were a few pleasant surprises among the nominations (see: Anne Hathaway) and some great stories (see: Mickey Rourke). And, as always, there were some sure things (see: Heath Ledger). But, hey, that’s Oscar season.

The Into the Hill Oscar Preview includes a list of the nominees in each of the major categories, my prediction for who will take the gold statuette, my choice for who I think is most deserving among the nominees and a choice or two of people who should have been nominated but weren’t (denoted by “got robbed”). I conclude with a few thoughts on some of the other various categories.

Be sure to let us know who you think will and/or should win. Just leave a comment for all of posterity. Feel free to rant at will.

2009 OSCAR PREVIEW:

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE:

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

Prediction: Kate Winslet.
Winslet seems to be the probably choice here, at least according to the buzz. She has never won and certainly has deserved it, but this nomination should have been for supporting actress and, in fact, she have been nominated for the leading role award for her astounding work in Revolutionary Road. Don’t be altogether shocked if Streep or Hathaway pull of an upset.

Our Pick: Anne Hathaway
Despite the fact that it’s Winslet’s time and that she is a fantastic actress, I still think that Hathaway’s performance was extraordinary. I believe it is a performance that will be talked about by cinephiles for years to come.

Got Robbed: Michelle Williams
Williams’ role in Wendy and Lucy was incredibly nuanced and heartbreaking. A pitch perfect indie performance.

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE:

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

Prediction: Penelope Cruz
It’ll be a fairly big surprise if she doesn’t walk away with this one. She certainly was riveting in Woody Allen’s most recent film. And apparently actresses in comedies win in this category fairly often.

Our Pick: Viola Davis
Despite appearing on screen for only about 12 minutes, Davis has garnered worldwide acclaim for her role opposite Meryl Streep and rightly so. They were among my favorite moments in any film this year. However, my choice would be….

Got Robbed: Rosemarie DeWitt
Like many critics, I loved Rachel Getting Married and I’m dismayed that DeWitt wasn’t nominated for her performance as the title character. See this movie and get to know this young woman (you can also catch her in AMC’s great, award winning show, Mad Men).

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE:

Nominees:
Sean Penn, Milk
Brad Pitt, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Richard Jenkins, The Visitor
Micky Rourke, The Wrestler
Frank Langella, Frost/Nixon

Prediction: Micky Rourke
It’s between Penn and Rourke and either could win. Hollywood loves come back stories so I’m sticking with Rourke to wrestle his way to the top.

Our Pick: Frank Langella
Always great, Langella was superb in Frost/Nixon. It was he who made this film good, not Ron Howard.

Got Robbed: Leonardo DiCaprio, Revolutionary Road
Sam Mendes’ film was sorely under-nominated in my opinion and DiCaprio was beyond deserving of a nod. This was one of his greatest performances yet. Perhaps he was overshadowed by Winslet. Clint Eastwood also deserved a nomination for Gran Torino.

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE:

Nominees:
Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight
Josh Brolin, Milk
Robert Downey Jr., Tropic Thunder
Michael Shannon, Revolutionary Road
Philip Seymour Hoffman, Doubt

Prediction: Heath Ledger
This is a no brainer. If he doesn’t win, well… he will. All of these performances were excellent though.

Our Pick:Heath Ledger
Sometimes the world is perfect - in certain categories. Ledger was chilling as the Joker, one of the creepiest bad guys ever, and he deserves this award more than anybody in any other category.

Got Robbed:Brendon Gleeson, In Bruges
What a great, underrated film and Gleeson’s performance is a joy.

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE:

Nominees:
Man on Wire
Trouble the Water
The Garden
The Betrayal
Encounters at the End of the World

Prediction: Man on Wire
Seems to be their to lose, in part because it was the most widely seen of these selections.

Our Pick: Man on Wire
Well, the world isn’t perfect, but this was a great, great film. In fact, it was the best heist film of the year and one of the best suspense films too.

Got Robbed: American Teen

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM:

The Nominees:
The Class
Departures
Revanche
Waltz with Bashir
The Baader Meinhoff Complex

Prediction:
It’s between The Class and Waltz with Bashir. Sounds like the former should win.

Got Robbed: The Flight of the Red Balloon
One of the most beautifully mezmerizing films of the year. But it’s cleary not for everyone and it had no chance of getting a nod. See it though. Take a chance.

BEST ANIMATED FILM:

Nominees:
Wall-e
Bolt
Kung Fu Panda

Prediction: Wall-e
Were the possibilities really this dreary. Wall-e should win EASILY. However, that being said, the Annie’s did give their award to that Panda film.

Our Pick: Wall-e
Not only one of the best animated films of the year but also one of the best films period. Deserved a nomination.

Got Robbed: Waltz with Bashir

ACHIEVEMENT IN DIRECTION:

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

Prediction: Boyle
Millionaire is beloved world wide and chances are its director will be honored as best director.

Our Pick: Fincher
In my opinion, this category is fairly weak. Andrew Stanton, Jonathan Demme, and Christopher Nolan all deserved bids more than Howard, Daldry or, in my opinion, Boyle. That being said, Fincher’s work was very good and he has proven, yet again, that he can make most any kind of film and make it well.

Got Robbed: See above. Perhaps the three best directorial jobs this year.

ACHIEVEMENT IN CINEMATOGRAPHY:

Nominees:
Changeling
Slumdog Millionaire
Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
The Reader

Prediction: Slumdog Millionaire
Again, this movie is beloved worldwide and will ride its momentum to multiple awards. It’s beautiful and rugged at the same time and is certainly pleasing to the eye.

Our Pick: The Dark Knight
It did everything Millionaire did, but better.

Got Robbed: Revolutionary Road
Best cinematography of the year. Breathtaking in its simplicity and poignant in its subtle imagery. Really masterful work here by Roger Deakins, perhaps the best there is in his field.

BEST PICTURE:

Nominees:
The Reader
Slumdog Millionaire
Frost/Nixon
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Milk

Prediction: Slumdog Millionaire
This good but not great epic will, as I’ve already said, ride its momentum to glory. Unfortunate because their are many films that are more deserving, including:

Our Pick: Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Of these offerings, Button was the best. It was beautiful looking, moving, poetic, well acted, and a more coherent, less contrived story than Millionaire.

Got Robbed: The Dark Knight, Wall-E, Rachel Getting Married, In Bruges, Wendy and Lucy, Chop Shop, Shotgun Stories
While Wendy and Lucy, Shotgun Stories and Chop Shop are minimalist indies and therefore had no shot at a nomination, but they were still among the best films of the year. In Bruges is sorely underrated but also not exactly Academy fare. On the hand, under no circumstances should the other three films have been left out. The Dark Knight may go down as one of the great films of our time and Wall-E was one of the most enticing, enjoyable, moving, important films of the year. Rachel Getting Married may have been too fringe, but that is more of indictment on the Academy’s criteria than on the film. It might just be the best film of the year.

A FEW CONCLUDING THOUGHTS:

- It’s been said many-a-time by now, but how could there not have been a nomination for Springsteen’s The Wrestler for best original song?
- Where’s the love for Charlie Kauffman?
- In Bruges should win best original screenplay. Rachel Getting Married should have been nominated.
- It’s hard to get too excited about an award like best adopted screenplay when the nominees are just essentially copy and paste from the other major awards. I cast my vote (which I don’t own) for The Dark Knight: Nolan was able to use his incredible screenplay to keep the film on course and maintain the emotional punch - as opposed to simply visceral - that it had throughout. Great, great work.
- That being said, where is nomination for Revolutionary Road?!
- The Dark Knight probably will and should win for film editing, although Chris DIckens and Danny Boyle’s famous jump cuts may give him a run for his money.
- Original score should go to Wall-E, but it won’t. Give it to Slumdog. Again.
- Costume design? My vote and my prediction is for the long-shot crew of Australia.
- Art Direction: Should and probably will go to the ladies and gents from Benjamin Button. Revolutionary Road’s art direction was fantastic as well.

ENJOY THE OSCARS - IF YOU WATCH AT ALL!

Don’t forget to cast your own votes in the comments section.

David Kern is the editor-in-chief of Into the Hill and a film enthusiast. Email him: david@intothehill.com

This entry was posted on Friday, February 20th, 2009 at 12:23 pm and is filed under Film Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.