Slumdog Millionaire

I went to see this movie primarily to understand why it was winning so many accolades and fans all over the world. Was it really as good as everyone was saying or were they all just falling for a smart marketing campaign?

Well, I was glad to see that the movie really is as good as everyone says it is. Especially since it just won the Oscar for Best Picture!

The film is well written and the story is told with the help of flashbacks into the characters' past. Editing, soundtrack, and cinematography all help tell the story, and Danny Boyle's hand helps string it all together (his directorial effort also was recognized by the Academy with an Oscar this past Sunday; the film won eight of the ten awards it was nominated for).

The actors are all unknown here, but given their ages I think they're newcomers in India as well, which just adds to the product's final quality. The beauty of the love story that sits at its center is heartwarming and cannot be escaped.

Don't miss this movie.

Grade: 9

The 81st Academy Awards

Last night's Oscar ceremony was the best I ever saw (although not the best host; that honor still goes to Whoopi Goldberg for what I'm concerned). The new format was original and svelte and will hopefully be kept and improved upon in the future.

Hugh Jackman did a good job and showed the world that he can sing and dance up a storm. He has a very nice voice and a lot of charisma. I'm quite sure he'll be invited back to host, perhaps even as soon as next year. His opening number was funny and he looked at ease. Even his skit with the beautiful Anne Hathaway looked improvised.

The stage was completely redesigned, with the orchestra in plain view (a change the musicians surely appreciated) and a series of mobile panels that were used as projection screens. The audience was seated much closer to the stage, which made for a more intimate experience and looked cozier.

I liked how the acting awards were awarded by five previous winners in those same categories. The presenters' introductions were touching and heartfelt, and the only complaint I have is that I miss the short clips from each nominated performance while each name is called. It's always nice to get a glimpse of the performance, especially if you haven't seen the movie.

I was a little concerned by how long this new format took to award the acting nominees however, since the Oscars' producers are always worried about running over time (which they did again, in spite of swearing they wouldn't, by about 30 minutes...). My concern was alleviated when I saw how they opted to squeeze together the technical awards and keep the same presenters for a series of them. This cut down on the time it takes to clear the stage and introduce new people and made for a nice flowing ceremony.

That's probably the best way to describe it actually, a ceremony with a good flow that delivered on the promise of the producers that the awarding of the prizes itself would have followed a storyline. Explaining the different stages of movie-making (pre-production, production and post-production) not only flowed nicely, but it also helped the viewers understand how movies are actually made.

I usually like the montages a lot, and even those were linked in a narrative, that of 2008 in movies. I liked the animated and the romance ones, but the comedy one made me feel like, judging by the clips shown, 2008 wasn't such a great year for comedies.

The musical number was fantastic, although I doubt Jackman's right when he says the musical's back. If it's a good movie, people will go see it, no matter the format, otherwise they won't.

As for the awards themselves, I was pleased with the winners, although I correctly forecast almost all of them, and this takes away any anticipation. I got 19/24 right, and if you take out the four "minor" categories of documentaries and shorts, I got 18/20 correct. Arguably my best showing ever, especially considering that one of the two I got wrong, Best Foreign Language Film, was maybe the biggest upset of the night.

I loved Slumdog Millionaire, and I thought it deserved to win, but I was still quietly hoping that Milk would pull an upset, given its theme, its focus, its lessons, and its message of hope. I was very happy therefore for Milk's wins in the Best Original Screenplay and Best Actor categories.

Dustin Lance Black's and Sean Penn's acceptance speeches were also the best of the night, especially Black's, who made me cry for his courage to speak directly to those kids out there who need to know they are not alone and unwanted.

And now, on to this year's potential candidates...

Kung Fu Panda

I like animated movies and consider them on par with live-action films because even if the characters are fake, when they're well made, they can evoke emotions that are as strong as those that real actors can elicit.

Kung Fu Panda is one such example. I was literally blown away by this movie. It's funny, interesting, well written, incredibly elaborate, and perfectly executed.

I was literally laughing out loud more than once. The facial expressions of all the characters are incredibly well rendered. So well, in fact, that they look almost "human."

The whole production is top notch, of the highest grade, the kind we've become accustomed to after the visual razzle-dazzle that Pixar unleashed in theaters with 1995's Toys Story and each subsequent release.

DreamWorks, the studio behind Kung Fu Panda, already amazed us with Shrek, but they pulled off all the stops this time around.

Kung Fu Panda will probably go home empty handed after tonight's Oscar ceremony, where it is nominated for a Best Animated Feature award that will likely (and deservedly) go to Pixar's groundbreaking Wall-E, but it would most definitely deserve it any other year. It is actually so good, that I almost feel bad it will lose, but in spite of its greatness, it doesn't inspire the timeless feelings that a work of art like Wall-E does.

And yet, I have to say, I consider Kung Fu Panda as one of the funniest movies I've ever seen, and one of the best animated ones as well. Don't miss it, no matter your age.

Grade: 9

Disclaimer:I graded Wall-E 8.5 last year, but this year I dropped the half grade. If I were grading Wall-E now, it would get a 9 as well.

2009's Academy Awards: my predictions.

Following are my totally unscientific predictions for who or what will win an Oscar during tonight's ceremony.

Best Motion Picture of the Year

• Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The - Kathleen Kennedy; Frank Marshall; Ceán Chaffin
• Frost/Nixon - Brian Grazer; Ron Howard; Eric Fellner
• Milk - Dan Jinks; Bruce Cohen
• Reader, The - Anthony Minghella; Sydney Pollack; Donna Gigliotti; Redmond Morris
• Slumdog Millionaire - Christian Colson

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role

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

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role

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

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role

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

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role

• Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The - Taraji P. Henson
• Doubt - Amy Adams
• Doubt - Viola Davis
• Vicky Cristina Barcelona - Penélope Cruz
• Wrestler, The - Marisa Tomei

Best Achievement in Directing

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

Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen

• Frozen River - Courtney Hunt
• Happy-Go-Lucky - Mike Leigh
• In Bruges - Martin McDonagh
• Milk - Dustin Lance Black
• WALL·E - Andrew Stanton (screenplay/story); Jim Reardon (screenplay); Pete Docter (story)

Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published

• Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The - Eric Roth (screenplay/story); Robin Swicord (story)
• Doubt - John Patrick Shanley
• Frost/Nixon - Peter Morgan
• Reader, The - David Hare
• Slumdog Millionaire - Simon Beaufoy

Best Achievement in Cinematography

• Changeling - Tom Stern
• Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The - Claudio Miranda
• Dark Knight, The - Wally Pfister
• Reader, The - Chris Menges; Roger Deakins
• Slumdog Millionaire - Anthony Dod Mantle

Best Achievement in Art Direction

• Changeling - James J. Murakami (art director); Gary Fettis (set decorator)
• Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The - Donald Graham Burt (art director); Victor J. Zolfo (set decorator)
• Dark Knight, The - Nathan Crowley (art director); Peter Lando (set decorator)
• Duchess, The - Michael Carlin (art director); Rebecca Alleway (set decorator)
• Revolutionary Road - Kristi Zea (art director); Debra Schutt (set decorator)

Best Achievement in Costume Design

• Australia - Catherine Martin
• Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The - Jacqueline West
• Duchess, The - Michael O'Connor
• Milk - Danny Glicker
• Revolutionary Road - Albert Wolsky

Best Achievement in Sound

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

Best Achievement in Editing

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

Best Achievement in Sound Editing

• Dark Knight, The - Richard King
• Iron Man - Frank E. Eulner; Christopher Boyes
• Slumdog Millionaire - Tom Sayers; Glenn Freemantle
• WALL·E - Ben Burtt; Matthew Wood
• Wanted - Wylie Stateman

Best Achievement in Visual Effects

• Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The - Eric Barba; Steve Preeg; Burt Dalton; Craig Barron
• Dark Knight, The - Nick Davis; Chris Corbould; Timothy Webber; Paul J. Franklin
• Iron Man - John Nelson; Ben Snow; Daniel Sudick; Shane Mahan

Best Achievement in Makeup

• Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The - Greg Cannom
• Dark Knight, The - John Caglione Jr.; Conor O'Sullivan
• Hellboy II: The Golden Army - Mike Elizalde; Thomas Floutz

Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Song

• Slumdog Millionaire - A.R. Rahman; Maya Arulpragasam - For the song "O Saya"
• Slumdog Millionaire - A.R. Rahman (music); Sampooran Singh Gulzar (lyrics) - For the song "Jai Ho"
• WALL·E - Peter Gabriel (music/lyrics); Thomas Newman (music) - For the song "Down to Earth"

Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Score

• Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The - Alexandre Desplat
• Defiance - James Newton Howard
• Milk - Danny Elfman
• Slumdog Millionaire - A.R. Rahman
• WALL·E - Thomas Newman

Best Short Film, Animated

• Maison en petits cubes, La - Kunio Katô
• Oktapodi - Emud Mokhberi; Thierry Marchand
• Presto - Doug Sweetland
• This Way Up - Alan Smith; Adam Foulkes
• Ubornaya istoriya - lyubovnaya istoriya - Konstantin Bronzit

Best Short Film, Live Action

• Auf der Strecke - Reto Caffi
• Grisen - Tivi Magnusson; Dorthe Warnø Høgh
• Manon sur le bitume - Elizabeth Marre; Olivier Pont
• New Boy - Steph Green; Tamara Anghie
• Spielzeugland - Jochen Alexander Freydank

Best Documentary, Short Subject

• Conscience of Nhem En, The - Steven Okazaki
• Final Inch, The - Irene Taylor Brodsky; Tom Grant
• Smile Pinki - Megan Mylan
• Witness from the Balcony of Room 306, The - Adam Pertofsky; Margaret Hyde

Best Documentary, Features

• Betrayal - Nerakhoon, The - Ellen Kuras; Thavisouk Phrasavath
• Encounters at the End of the World - Werner Herzog; Henry Kaiser
• Garden, The - Scott Hamilton Kennedy
• Man on Wire - James Marsh; Simon Chinn
• Trouble the Water - Tia Lessin; Carl Deal

Best Foreign Language Film of the Year

• Baader Meinhof Komplex, Der - Germany
• Entre les murs - France
• Okuribito - Japan
• Revanche - Austria
• Vals Im Bashir - Israel

Best Animated Feature Film of the Year

• Bolt - Chris Williams; Byron Howard
• Kung Fu Panda - John Stevenson; Mark Osborne
• WALL·E - Andrew Stanton

Monster House

I was very curious to see this movie, given that it had been nominated for an Oscar in the Best Animated Feature category along with Cars and Happy Feet, and that it had received very good reviews.

The story is interesting, original, and well developed, but I wasn't crazy about the animation. Given that two of the producers were Steven Spielberg and Robert Zemeckis, I thought they could have done better, especially since Cars was released that same year and it was eons better.

What I didn't like was the utter abnormality in the movements of virtually every character. The characters are "human," but they don't feel human when they move. Human animated characters have been drawn before, which much better results. Even simple 2D animation has achieved better results as far back as 1937's Snow White, the first full-length animated feature ever.

Here, a bouncing ball, a walking kid, or a person gesticulating, don't look and feel the way they are supposed to. It's like they live in a world with a different set of laws of physics. I read somewhere that making an animated character's movements feel real to the human eye is a challenge, precisely because when we look at something moving, we have an expectation of how it should look, even if it's animated, and if what we see doesn't meet our expectations, it feels weird, and it jolts us out of the story.

That's exactly how I felt over and over while watching this movie. I do hope that the effect was intentional on the part of the filmmakers, because otherwise they failed miserably. Human or animal, 2D or 3D, I've seen much better animation than I've seen here, for years and since. Even in a stop-animation movie like The Nightmare Before Christmas, the characters move more freely and naturally than here. Hell, even Cars's cars look more realistic than Monster House's children!!

And that was my tirade, at the end of which I do want to point out that the movie is good, the script solid, and the whole experience entertaining. Do watch it, even just to see what I mean.

Grade: 7

Dark City

I decided to watch this movie after seeing it listed as one of the best sci-fi movies of all time, but I was only partially impressed.

The story was somewhat original, but I felt like there were some holes in the plot that didn't explain some important points (SPOILER: like how exactly the aliens got to Earth, kidnapped the people they needed, and moved them into outer space).

I did enjoy the movie, I just didn't love it. What I did love was the music, by Trevor Jones, which I realized I had heard time and time again, but didn't know was this movie's score.

I also came to the realization that I just don't like Kiefer Sutherland, whose acting always feels forced, fake, and contrived. My opinion of Jennifer Connelly (an Oscar winner, if you can believe it) got a little worse (and it wasn't that high to begin with), as did that of William Hurt (but his started off at a higher level), while Rufus Sewell (whom I previously saw in The Illusionist) does a fairly good job.

No one really stands out, not as much as the landscape at least, which is morbid and scary but also intriguing. The visual effects and makeup are good too, so I guess the score and the technical features are the real success of the movie.

Take it or leave it, it's up to you.

Grade: 6

Wishful Drinking, by Carrie Fisher

Ray got me this book for our last vacation after I expressed admiration for Fisher's humor and delivery style in an interview I saw.

The book is Fisher's first autobiography after four novels, one of which is the wildly successful Postcards From The Edge, which was turned into one of my favorite movies by the same title.

Fisher is not just a writer, but also a comedian and a pretty famous actress, thanks to her role as Princess Leia in the original Star Wars trilogy.

I thought the book was funny and interesting, especially since I didn't know Fisher was Debbie Reynolds' daughter. She recounts many interesting stories about herself, her mother, father, and others she met throughout her life.

Too bad she had to have electroshock to get relief from her bipolar condition, which literally erased a bunch of her memories, by her own account.

Unfortunately, this also seems to have resulted in a much lighter tome than one might have expected from a famous actress-writer-performer, daughter of celebrities, and with a very prolific career.

The book is not very long, is written in the largest typeface I've ever seen in what looks like double space, and is filled with many pictures. Granted, it's still a good read, but it does leave you wondering why it's so short and what got left out. Not that I'm suggesting Fisher's hiding anything. She probably just can't remember it.

Grade: 7

A Quote By:

New York Governor David Paterson, condemning yesterday morning's vandalism attacks at the Long Island Gay and Lesbian Youth Center:

"In the diverse world in which we live, where we find ourselves increasingly dependent on each other to advance the qualities of our own lives, we must learn to celebrate our differences and embrace our common condition. We must understand that an attack on any of us is an attack on all of us. Hate is unacceptable."

Iceland led by a gay Prime Minister

I'm posting this because it is the first time in the world that a country is led by an openly gay or lesbian person.

Not only is Johanna Sigurdardottir the world's first openly gay prime minister, she is also Iceland's first female leader, but in this case that takes second place.

From Towleroad:

"She began her political career as a union organizer with the national airline, now known as Icelandair, where she had worked more than 30 years ago as a flight attendant. She has two sons with her former husband, a banker, and six grandchildren. Ms. Sigurdardottir established a civil partnership in 2002 with Jonina Leosdottir, 54, an author, playwright and journalist. She, too, is a divorced mother. Although Ms. Sigurdardottir’s rise has drawn widespread attention on Web sites for gay men and lesbians outside Iceland, her relationship is considered unremarkable at home. In 1940, while still a dependency of Denmark, Iceland decriminalized gay sex. It approved civil partnerships for gay and lesbian couples in 1996, one of the first countries to do so. 'Iceland is a small society, and the public knows what Sigurdardottir stands for as a politician, and that’s the only thing that is important,' said Frosti Jonsson, a spokesman for Iceland’s National Association of Queers. 'Nowadays, not only does Iceland have one of the most progressive legal environments for gay people, there have also been changes in public attitudes towards gay people. It simply isn’t an issue anymore.'"

WOW!

This is great news for two reasons. First, there always needs to be a first at some point, and this is it, however long her administration lasts.

Second, this woman looks like a solid candidate and a "clean" politician, if there ever was one. She doesn't strike me as someone who's got many scheletons in her past, which is a very good thing when you're carrying the torch for all the gays and lesbians in the world.

We'll be watching her progress. Good luck!